HUNTSVILLE, Texas – For much of the night, Jax State's first Conference USA road game was trending toward the same outcome as the Gamecocks' previous trip to Sam Houston State.
 
But Jax State (4-1, 2-0 in CUSA) found a way and pulled off the comeback to stun the Bearkats 35-28 in overtime Thursday night at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. The Gamecocks grabbed an early lead in the first quarter, then saw Sam Houston State (0-4, 0-1) storm back with 21 unanswered points as Jax State struggled through much of the second and third quarters to establish any momentum offensively.
 
Quarterback Logan Smothers moved Jax State 75 yards in eight plays in less than a minute in the game's final moments, finishing off the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Perry Carter.
 
Trailing 28-26, Smothers then rolled right and found Quinton Lane for the game-tying two-point with 13 seconds left on the clock to force overtime.
 
Jax State started on offense first in OT and wasted little time taking its first lead since the first quarter. Smothers found Sean Brown with a perfect 24-yard strike and Alen Karajic's extra point gave the Gamecocks a 35-28.
 
The comeback was complete when Sam Houston's desperation fourth-down pass fell to the turf, setting off a raucous celebration by Jax State's players and coaches on the field.
 
"Were you not entertained?" said Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez. "To make so many mistakes and come back and win a game like this, that's really neat.
 
"The last drive was phenomenal. Logan Smothers had a phenomenal drive and our wideouts and skill guys did a phenomenal job in that last minute. It just showed a lot of guts and a lot of heart on our guys."
 
Smothers, who missed on his first eight passes, got Jax State back in the game in the third quarter with a 31-yard pass to Michael Pettyway at the 8:32 mark. The Gamecocks drew to within 21-20 with just under nine minutes in the game when Smothers swept right and raced 16 yards to the end zone. A missed extra point, however, left Jax State trailing on the scoreboard and things looked bleak when Sam Houston scored with 1:11 on the clock to extend its lead to 28-20.
 
The Gamecocks led 7-0 with 9:47 remaining in the first quarter by moving 86 yards in only four plays.
 
Malik Jackson, a Lufkin, Texas, native, did all the damage himself. He picked up a first down to get things started, then burst up the middle for a 48-yard gain deep into SHSU territory.
 
Jackson covered the last 26 yards in a flash on the next play and Karajic's extra point gave the Gamecocks the early lead.
 
But Jax State found itself on the short end of a 21-7 score at intermission after producing just 57 total yards the rest of the half.
 
Jackson finished with 129 yards rushing on 13 carries, his second straight performance with over 100 yards. Smothers shook off his rocky start and finished 16-of-28 for 197 yards with three touchdowns.
 
Jax State next travels to Middle Tennessee State for a Wednesday game on ESPNU. The Blue Raiders (1-4, 0-1) lost at Western Kentucky tonight.
 
Kickoff at Floyd Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
 
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Sam Houston
September 28, 2023 • Elliott T. Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, Texas

• JSU Captains: Redshirt-senior running back Malik Jackson, redshirt-senior linebacker Quae Drake and redshirt-senior wide receiver Perry Carter.
• SHSU won the toss and elected to defer.
• Head Coach Rich Rodriguez is now 13-3 at the helm of Jax State in his second season.
• With a 2-0 Conference USA start and 5-0 ASUN mark a season ago, Rodriguez had yet to lose a conference game in seven matchups.
• Jax State improves to 10-8 all-time in overtime since the NCAA established the tiebreaker period in 1995. The Gamecock win is the second-straight overtime game won by a 35-28 score after defeating Kennesaw State by the same margin on Oct. 1, 2022.
• Jax State's win ties the all-time series at 6-6 through 12 meetings. The Gamecocks are equally 3-3 in Huntsville, Texas.  
• Thursday's game starts a string of five consecutive nationally-televised games for the Gamecocks – four straight on ESPNU followed by one on CBS Sports Network
• Alen Karajic's extra point in OT moved him into a seventh-place tie with Boyce Callahan (1970-73) with 240 career points.
• JSU is now 17-18 all-time against teams from the state of Texas
• Junior quarterback Logan Smothers finished 16-of-28 passing for 197 yards with three scores and zero interceptions along with tossing the game-tying two-point conversion with 13 second remaining in regulation.
• Redshirt-junior running back Malik Jackson led the Gamecocks with a career-best 129 rushing yards, narrowly edging his previous high of 127 set last week versus Eastern Michigan.
• Jackson's 48-yard run to set up the first score of the game was the longest play from scrimmage for Jax State this season.
• Redshirt-sophomore wide receiver Michael Pettway led Jax State with 74 receiving yards on three catches, including his first touchdown reception since April 24, 2021 during the spring FCS playoffs.
• Sophomore safety Fred Perry led the Gamecock defense with a career-high 14 tackles.