Jacksonville State (13-1, 8-0 Ohio Valley)

Transcription

1 2015 FOOTBALL 2015 SCHEDULES Jacksonville State Gamecocks (13-1, 8-0 OVC) DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT) SEPTEMBER (3-1) 5 at #8 Chattanooga W, at #6 Auburn (SEC Network) L, OT 19 *TENNESSEE STATE (ESPN3) W, *at UT Martin (ESPN3) W, OCTOBER (4-0) 3 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE W, *at Tennessee Tech W, *at Austin Peay W, *#13 EASTERN KY (ESPN3) W, 34-0 NOVEMBER (3-0) 7 *at Eastern Illinois (ESPN3) W, *SOUTHEAST MISSOURI W, *MURRAY STATE W, DECEMBER (3-0) 5 ^#7 CHATTANOOGA (ESPN3) W, OT 11 ^#8 CHARLESTON SO (ESPN2) W, ^#7 SAM HOUSTON ST (ESPNU) W, North Dakota State Bison (12-2, 7-1 MVC) DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT) AUGUST/SEPTEMBER (2-1) 29 at #12 Montana L, WEBER STATE W, NORTH DAKOTA W, 34-9 OCTOBER (4-1) 3 *at #5 South Dakota State W, *#10 NORTHERN IOWA W, *SOUTH DAKOTA L, *at #18 Indiana State W, *at Southern Illinois W, NOVEMBER (3-0) 7 *WESTERN ILLINOIS W, *at #20 Youngstown State W, *MISSOURI STATE W, 55-0 DECEMBER (3-0) 5 ^#16 MONTANA W, ^#14 NORTHERN IOWA W, ^#11 RICHMOND W, 33-7 * - Conference Game ^ - NCAA FCS Playoff Game JSU SPORTS INFORMATION Interim AD/SID/Football... Greg Seitz gseitz@jsu.edu; ; cell Assistant SID/Football...Josh Underwood underwood@jsu.edu; ; cell JSUGamecockSports.com ON THE AIR JSU Radio Network Mike Parris, play-by-play Ray Hammett, analyst ESPN2/Watch ESPN Anish Shroff, play-by-play Ahmad Brooks, analyst Quint Kessenich, sideline #1 Jacksonville State (13-1, 8-0 Ohio Valley) vs. #2/3 North Dakota State (12-2, 7-1 Missouri Valley) 2016 NCAA Division I Championship Jan. 9, a.m. CT Toyota Stadium (20,500) Frisco, Texas ESPN2 BREAKDOWN Jacksonville State Record 13-1, 8-0 Ohio Valley Conference Ranking 1st in STATS Poll 1st in Coaches Poll Last Game Dec. 19 in FCS Semifinals Defeated #7 Sam Houston St, Head Coach John Grass (Jacksonville State, 90) Career Record 23-3/2nd year JSU Record 23-3/2nd year Grass vs. NDSU 0-0 vs. Klieman 0-0 JSU vs. NDSU 2-0 North Dakota State Record 12-2, 7-1 Missouri Valley Conference Ranking 2nd in STATS 3rd in Coaches Last Game Dec. 18 in FCS Semifinals Defeated #11 Richmond, 33-7 Head Coach Chris Klieman (Northern Iowa, 92) Career Record 29-10/3rd year SHSU Record 26-3/2nd year Klieman vs JSU 0-0 vs. Grass 0-0 QUICK HITS Today marks the third meeting between the Gamecocks and Bison, with the Gamecocks winning both meetings in the Division II Playoffs. JSU defeated NDSU in the 1977 Semifinals and again in the 1989 Quarterfinals. JSU enters the game with a 12-game winning streak, the longest active streak in FCS, while NDSU s 8-game streak is FCS s second longest. A win would tie the school record of 13-straight wins. The only active Division I streak longer than JSU is Clemson s 17-game streak. A win by the Gamecocks would give them 14 wins for the first time in school history. They join the 1989 team (13-1) as the only two 13-win teams in school history. After polishing off its second-straight 8-0 OVC record, JSU is the only Division I team (FBS or FCS) to post unbeaten conference record in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons. JSU is in the FCS Championship Game for the first time and is the first OVC team in the game since Eastern Kentucky played for the 1982 Championship. The FCS Championship game pits the nation s No. 2 offense in JSU (529.2 ypg) against the nation s No. 3 total defense in NDSU (276.3 ypg). Two of the nation s best head coaches square off this week. John Grass 23-3 start to his career is tied with NDSU s Chris Klieman as the best 26-game start at a school in FCS history. THE GAMECOCKS BY THE NUMBERS 12 - Consecutive wins by the Gamecocks entering this week, the longest active streak in FCS and tied for the fourth longest in school history Career sacks by Chris Landrum, Sr., tied with Warren Blair s school record set from Rushing touchdowns by JSU in three playoff games. JSU has run for six TDs in each game, despite never having back-to-back games with six rushing TDs in school history Passing TDs by Eli Jenkins this season, third in school history and two away from Ryan Perrilloux s school record 23 in /JSUGamecocks 39 - Consecutive games in which Josh Barge has caught at least one pass, breaking Taurean Rhetta s school record of 32 from School records broken by JSU this season Career receptions by Josh Barge, a school-record and the first 200-catch receiver in JSU history Yards rushing by Troymaine Pope in three playoff games this season after running for 234 in the second round vs. Chattanooga, 250 in the Quarterfinals vs. Charleston Southern and 181 in the Semifinals vs. Sam Houston State. 1,757 - Rushing yards by Troymaine Pope this season, the JSU single season record and 29 yards away from Mike Clark s (Akron) OVC record of 1,786 in CHAMPIONS ,409 - Total offense by JSU this season, a school record and the third year in a row and the third time in school history the Gamecocks have gained 6,000 yards in a season. It s the first time JSU has gained 7,000 yards. 8,212 - Yards of total offense by Eli Jenkins in his JSU career, breaking Montressa Kirby s school record 7,688 from and making him the first player in school history with 8,000 yards of total offense in a career. 23,692 - Fans at JSU s Semifinal win over Sam Houston State, the largest crowd in JSU Stadium history.

2 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES NCAA FCS Championship Week Schedule (Schedule subject to change) 4 Monday Practice - 11 a.m. 11:30 a.m. - Practice opens to media. Grass/Player Interviews available on the field after practice. NCAA Teleconference 1 p.m. - Grass on call at 1:30 p.m. 5 Tuesday Practice 11 a.m. 6 Wednesday Practice 11 a.m. Travel to Frisco Leave Anniston at 3 p.m. 7 Thursday Practice 10 a.m p.m. Closed to media Player Interviews Immediately after practice 8 Friday Walk Through 2:30 p.m. CT Open to media Press Conference Grass and Selected Players after practice 9 Saturday Gameday JSU vs. North Dakota St Toyota Stadium 11 a.m. CT Post Game Coach Grass and Players will be available in interview room. 10 Sunday Off Day JACKSONVILLE STATE SPORTS INFORMATION MEDIA POLICIES PRESS CONFERENCE John Grass weekly press luncheon will not be held this week due to a conflict in JSU s practice schedule. Instead, JSU s Monday practice will be opened to the media beginning at 11:30 a.m. and Coach Grass and JSU Players will be made avaialable for one-onone interviews on the field at the conclusion of the workout. NCAA TELECONFERENCE There will be a teleconference for the media featuring North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman and JSU head coach John Grass on Monday at 1 p.m CT. Coach Klieman will be on the line from 1-1:30 p.m. CT and will be followed by Coach Grass from 1:30-2 p.m. CT. Media Call-In Number: Passcode: JOHN GRASS ON THE WEB Media members can watch John Grass full press conference each week. The video will be uploaded by 4 p.m. CT each Monday at JSUGamecockSports.com. MONDAY TRANSCRIPTIONS Exact transcriptions of John Grass Monday press conferences are available by 4 p.m. each Monday on the athletic web site at JSUGamecockSports.com. COACHES INTERVIEWS Outside his regular Monday press conference at 1:30 p.m. CT on Monday, Coach Grass will be available after practices on Thursday and Friday in Frisco. PLAYER INTERVIEWS If at all possible, player interviews need to be conducted during Monday s weekly press conference. JSU SPORTS INFORMATION STAFF The Jacksonville State Sports Information offices are located on the second floor of #JSUGamecocks facebook.com/jsugamecocks instagram/jsugamecocks GREG SEITZ Interim AD/SID/ FB Contact gseitz@jsu.edu Office: Cell: JOSH UNDERWOOD Assistant SID FB Contact underwood@jsu.edu Office: Cell: TONY SCHMIDT Assistant SID aschmidt@jsu.edu Office: Cell: 2 CHAMPIONS

3 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES THE COACHES Jacksonville State Head Coach John Grass John Grass has a 23-3 record in his second season as the Gamecocks head coach, the best 26-game start in JSU and FCS history. He is 16-0 in OVC play, the best conference start by a coach in OVC and FCS history. His first season in 2014 saw him lead JSU to a 10-2 record and as high as a No. 2 national ranking. JSU won its fourth OVC title with a perfect 8-0 record and Grass continued that success in 2015, when he led JSU to a school-record tying 13 wins and to the program s first championship game at the Division I level. He has been named the Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year and the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year in both seasons as JSU s head coach. Prior to coming to JSU in 2013, Grass was head coach at Oxford (Ala.) High School from , where he posted five straight winning seasons and a record. He also served as head coach at Spain Park from , where he was named the 2007 AHSAA Class 6A Coach of the Year. He also was the head coach at Moody High School ( ), Albertville High School ( ) and Ashville High School ( ) He began his coaching career at his alma mater of Ashville High School, and also was an assistant at Eufaula and Hoover High School. He is a 1990 graduate of Jacksonville State University. PROBABLE STARTERS Jacksonville State Probable Starting Offense TE 85 Spencer Goffigan R-Sr. X-WR 15 Ruben Gonzalez Sr. LT 69 Justin Lea R-So. LG 63 Adam Wright R-Sr. C 50 Casey Dunn So. RG 72 Blake Burks R-Sr. RT 77 Dylan Cline R-So. QB 7 Eli Jenkins R-Jr. RB 24 Troymaine Pope Sr. Z-WR 12 Josh Barge R-Jr. H-WR 16 Dalton Screws R-Jr. Jacksonville State Probable Starting Defense DE 40 Darius Jackson R-So. NT 95 Allan Carson R-Sr. DT 92 Desmond Owino Jr. SLB 23 Brandon Bender Sr. MLB 47 Dawson Wells Sr. WLB 3 Joel McCandless So. BAN 90 Chris Landrum, Sr R-Sr. CB 2 Jermaine Hough Sr. FS 4 Folo Johnson R-Sr. SS 31 DeBarriaus Miller Sr. CB 11 Jaylen Hill R-Jr. Jacksonville State Special Teams P 19 Hamish MacInnes Sr. PK 98 Connor Rouleau R-So. KOR 6 Reggie Hall So. 21 Miles Jones Sr. PR 12 Josh Barge R-Jr. LS 52 Chad Sharp R-Sr. HOLD 19 Hamish MacInnes Sr. NDSU Head Coach Chris Klieman Chris Klieman was hired as NDSU s head coach prior to the 2014 season and he continued the run of national success enjoyed by his predecessor Craig Bohl. Klieman completed his first season as North Dakota State s head football coach in 2014 with a 15-1 record, a fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship and a fourth straight NCAA Division I FCS national championship. Klieman came to NDSU in 2011 as the defensive backs coach and was the defensive coordinator in 2012 and He signed a two-year contract extension in January 2015 that will keep him at North Dakota State through the 2020 football season. NDSU didn t skip a beat in Klieman s first year despite losing 23 seniors and welcoming seven new assistant coaches. The Bison scored 34 unanswered points to beat Big 12 member Iowa State in the season opener as part of an FCS-record 33-game winning streak that extended into November. Klieman was a finalist for the 2014 Eddie Robinson Award, which is given annually to the FCS National Coach of the Year. His 9-0 start was the best by any first-year head coach in NDSU and Missouri Valley Football Conference history. North Dakota State Probable Starting Offense QB 12 Easton Stick Fr WR 82 Zach Vraa Sr LT 59 Joe Haeg Sr LG 66 Zack Johnson Jr C 75 Austin Kuhnert So RG 54 Jeremy Kelly Sr RT 78 Landon Lechler Jr TE 46 Andrew Bonnet Sr FB 30 Jedre Cyr Sr RB 22 King Frazier Jr WR 16 RJ Urzendowski So North Dakota State Probable Starting Defense LE 97 Brad Ambrosius Jr DT 61 Brian Schaetz Sr NG 99 Nate Tanguay So RE 96 Greg Menard So SLB 47 Pierre Gee-Tucker Jr MLB 49 Nick DeLuca Jr WLB 41 MJ Stumpf Jr CB 6 CJ Smith Sr SS 35 Robbie Grimsley Fr FS 3 Tre Dempsey So CB 5 Jordan Champion Sr North Dakota State Special Teams P 19 Ben LeCompte Sr PK 36 Cam Pedersen Fr KOR 42 Bruce Anderson Fr Eric Perkins Jr PR 13 Eric Perkins Jr LS 51 James Fisher So HOLD 19 Ben LeCompte Sr CHAMPIONS

4 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Tale of the Tape Here is a statistical comparison of both JSU and North Dakota State Jax State North Dakota State Rushing Offense Passing Offense TOTAL OFFENSE Rushing Defense Passing Defense TOTAL DEFENSE Scoring Offense Scoring Defense Grass In Uncharted Fields JSU head coach John Grass has found himself in a territory not many coaches have ever gone. His 23-3 record is the best start in JSU history by a head coach and ties North Dakota State s Chris Klieman for the best start to an FCS career by any coach. Grass in the only coach in FCS history to go 16-0 in conference play to start his coaching career. Most Conference Wins in First Two Years of Coaching Career Coach, School All Conf. John Grass, Jacksonville State (2014-A) / Dale Lennon, Southern Illinois ( ) / Dino Babers, Eastern Illinois ( ) / Chris Klieman, North Dakota State (2014-A) / Best records in FCS history through 26 games John Grass, Jacksonville State (2014-A) 23-3 Chris Klieman, North Dakota State (2014-A) 23-3 Gamecocks Getting Offensive Jacksonville State is ranked second nationally in total offense this season after being ranked fourth in JSU had 600 yards of total offense four times last season and four times so far this season. Here s a list of the Gamecocks 600-plus yards of total offense games in the school s Division I history: Yards Opponent Date Rush Yds/Pass Yds vs Austin Peay Nov. 1, rush/239 pass vs Murray State Sept. 28, rush/334 pass vs Samford Nov. 6, rush/193 pass vs Chattanooga Dec. 5, rush/208 pass vs Sam Houston State Dec. 19, rush/279 pass vs West Alabama Sept. 20, rush/294 pass at Murray State Sept. 28, rush/246 pass at Tennessee Tech Oct. 17, rush/278 pass vs Southeast Missouri Nov. 14, rush/218 pass at Southeast Missouri Nov. 22, rush/245 pass vs Eastern Kentucky Nov. 5, rush/300 pass vs Nicholls State Sept. 25, rush/456 pass Gamecocks On the Air The Gamecock Sports Network continues to provide Gamecock Fans the best coverage of JSU football throughout the southeast. The anchor of the Gamecock Football Network is the JSU campus station WLJS-FM 91.9 and the JSU Sports Network affiliates will allow Gamecock football to be heard in four southeast states and can reach a worldwide audience on the Internet at Radio veteran Mike Parris is in his 33rd season calling play-by-play and Ray Hammett provides color. Here s a list of the radio affiliates that will carry Gamecock Football. WLJS-FM 91.9 (Jacksonville State University) WKXX-FM WVOK-FM 97.9 (Oxford/Anniston/Talladega) (Gadsden/Boaz/Albertville/Huntsville) JSU vs. the OVC Before joining the OVC prior to the 2003 season, Jacksonville State had faced only four teams from the Ohio Valley Conference. Jax State is all-time versus teams from the Ohio Valley Conference. Since joining the OVC, the Gamecocks are against the league. Below is a series breakdown against the OVC. Team Record Austin Peay Eastern Illinois 7-6 Eastern Kentucky 7-6 Murray State 11-2 SE Missouri State 16-4 Tennessee-Martin 30-7 Tennessee State 9-2 Tennessee Tech 13-6 TOTAL Longest Plays Since Joining the Ohio Valley Conference in 2003 Rush: 83, Washaun Ealey vs Eastern Kentucky (11/5/11) and Eli Jenkins vs. Charleson Southern (12/11/15) Rush TD: 83, Washaun Ealey vs Eastern Kentucky (11/5/11) and Eli Jenkins vs. Charleson Southern (12/11/15) Pass: 88, Eli Jenkins to Markis Merrill vs West Alabama (9/20/14) Pass TD: 88, Eli Jenkins to Markis Merrill vs West Alabama (9/20/14) Punt Return: 88, Maurice Dupree at Murray State (9/29/07) Kick Return: 99, Gabriel Chambers at Kentucky (10/22/11); Maurice Dupree vs Southeast Missouri (10/4/08) Int. Return: 98, Pierre Warren at Tennessee State (11/19/11) Fumble Return: 75, Pierre Warren vs Chattanooga (9/8/12) Blocked FG Ret: 72, Andrew Ridgeway vs Tenn State (11/15/08) Punt: 86, Hamish MacInnes at Tennessee Tech (10/26/13) Field Goal: 52, Steven Lee vs Murray State (10/4/03) 4 CHAMPIONS

5 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES 2015 (FCS - OVC Champions) Second Round at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 41,Chattanooga 35 - OT Quarterfinals at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 58, Charleston Southern 38 Semifinals at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 62, Sam Houston State 10 National Championship at Frisco, Texas JSU vs. North Dakota State 2014 (FCS - OVC Champions) Second Round at Jacksonville, Alabama Sam Houston State 37, JSU (FCS - At-Large) First Round at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 55, Samford 14 Second Round at Lake Charles, La. JSU 31, McNeese State 10 Quarterfinals at Cheney, Wash. Eastern Washington 35, JSU (FCS - At-Large) Second Round at Jacksonville, Alabama Wofford 17, JSU (FCS - OVC Champions) First Round at Greenville, SC Furman 49, JSU (FCS - OVC Champions) First Round at Bowling Green, Kentucky Western Kentucky 45, JSU (Division II - GSC Champions) First Round at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 41, Savannah State 16 Quarterfinals at Florence, Alabama JSU 14, North Alabama 12 Semifinals at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 46, New Haven 35 National Championship in Florence, Alabama JSU 17, Pittsburg State (Division II - GSC Champions) First Round at Winston-Salem NC JSU 49, Winston-Salem 24 Quarterfinals at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 35, Mississippi College 7 Semifinals at Jacksonville, Ala. JSU 27, Indiana-Pennsylvania 20 National Championship at Florence, Alabama Pittsburg State 23, JSU 6 JSU POSTSEASON APPEARANCES 1990 (Division II - At-Large) First Round at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 38, North Alabama 14 Quarterfinals at Clinton, Mississippi Mississippi College 14, JSU (Division II - GSC Champions) First Round at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 33, Alabama A&M 9 Quarterfinals at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 21, North Dakota State 17 Semifinals at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 34, Angelo State 16 National Championship at Florence, Alabama Mississippi College 3, JSU 0 (Title has since been vacated) 1988 (Division II - GSC Champions) First Round at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 63, West Chester 24 Quarterfinals at Portland, Oregon Portland State 20, JSU (Division II - GSC Champions) First Round at Jacksonville, Alabama JSU 34, Northeast Missouri State 21 Semifinals at San Marcos, Texas Southwest Texas State 19, JSU (Division II - GSC Champions) First Round at San Marcos, Texas Southwest Texas State 38, JSU (Division II - At-Large) First Round at San Luis Obispo, California Cal Poly-SLO 15, JSU (Division II - GSC Champions) First Round at Newark, Delaware Delaware 42, JSU (Division II - GSC Champions) First Round at Flagstaff, Arizona JSU 35, Northern Arizona 0 Semifinals at Anniston, Alabama (Grantland Rice Bowl) JSU 31, North Dakota State 7 National Championship at Wichita Falls, Texas Lehigh 33, JSU 0 JAX STATE IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS First Round Record: 8-5 (.615) Second Round Record: 2-2 (.500) Quarterfinal Round Record: 4-4 (.500) Semi-final Round Record: 5-0 (1.000) Finals Record: 1-3 (.250) JSU has an all-time record of in 34 NCAA Play-off games NCAA APPEARANCES: 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2003, 2004, , 2014, 2015 National Champions: 1992 NCAA Runner-up: 1977, 1989, 1991 CHAMPIONS

6 INDIVIDUAL GAME Rushes: 24, Eli Jenkins vs #7 UTC, 2015 Second Round; DaMarcus James vs #6 McNeese State, 2013 Second Round Yards Rushing: 250, Troymaine Pope vs #8 Charleston Southern, 2015 Second Round Rushing Touchdowns 3, Eli Jenkins and Troymaine Pope vs #7 UTC, 2015 Second Round; Troymaine Pope vs #8 Charleston Southern, 2015 Quarterfinals; DaMarcus James vs #6 McNeese State, 2013 Second Round ; Sean Richardson vs New Haven, 1992 Semifinals Pass Attempts: 44, Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1981 First Round Pass Completions: 22, Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1981 First Round Pass Interceptions: 3, Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1982 Semifinals Yards Passing: 304, Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1981 First Round Total Offense: 316, Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1981 First Round Pass Receptions: 8, Rusty Fuller Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1981 First Round; Derrick Whitley vs Cal Poly-SLO, 1980 First Round Yards Receiving: 132, Joe Hartsfield, Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1982 Second Round 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES JSU POSTSEASON INDIVIDUAL RECORDS Longest Run for TD: 83, Eli Jenkins vs #8 Charleston Southern, 2015 Quarterfinals Longest Pass Completion for TD: 90, Chuck Robinson to Danny Lee vs New Haven, 1992 Semifinals Longest Punt: 68, Hamish MacInnes vs Samford, 2013 First Round Longest Punt Return for TD: 82 yards, Danny Lee vs New Haven, 1992 Semifinals Longest Pass Interception Return: 100 yards, Charles Harris vs Northeast Missouri State, 1982 First Round Most Passing Yards 304, Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1981 First Round ( /1) 247, Eli Jenkins vs Sam Houston State, 2015 Semifinals ( /2) 242, Ed Lett vs Southwest Texas, 1982 Semifinals ( /2) 208, Eli Jenkins vs UTC, 2015 Second Round ( /0) Most Rushing Yards 250, Troymaine Pope vs Charleston Southern, 2015 Quarterfinals (16 carries) 234, Troymaine Pope vs UTC, 2015 Second Round (17 carries) 195, Eli Jenkins vs Charleston Southern, 2015 Quarterfinals (21 carries) 195, Eli Jenkins vs UTC, 2015 Second Round (24 carries) 181, Troymaine Pope vs Sam Houston State, 2015 Semifinals (21 carries) 143, Terrence Bowens vs North Alabama, 1990 First Round (21 carries) 133, Pat Clements vs Lehigh, 1977 National Championship (16 carries) 127, DaMarcus James at McNeese State, 2013 Second Round (24 carries) 124, DaMarcus James vs Samford, 2013 First Round (22 carries) 119, Danny Lee vs New Haven, 1992 Semifinals (10 carries) 116, by Oscar Bonds vs Furman, 2004 First Round 115, by Eli Jenkins vs Samford, 2013 First Round (12 carries) 108, by Brian Stevenson vs West Chester, 1988 First Round 106, Pat Clements at Northern Arizona, 1977 first round 105, Ralph Johnson vs West Chester, 1988 First Round 102, Shawn Johnson vs West Chester, 1988 First Round 101, Pat Clements vs North Dakoka State, 1977 Semifinals (22 carries) Most Receiving Yards 132, Joe Hartsfield vs Southwest Texas, 1982 Second Round (6 rec.) 132, Rusty Fuller vs Southwest Texas, 1981 First Round 121, Josh Barge vs Sam Houston State, 2015 Semifinals (6 rec.) 101, Ruben Gonzalez vs Chattanooga, 2015 Second Round (5 rec.) 92, Donald Young vs North Dakota State, 1977 Semifinals (5 rec.) 90, Danny Lee vs New Haven, 1992 Semifinals (1 rec.) Most Pass Receptions 8, Rusty Fuller vs Southwest Texas, 1981 First Round 8, by Derrick Whitley vs Cal Poly-SLO, 1980 First Round Rushing Attempts 24 carries, Eli Jenkins vs Chattanooga, 2015 Second Round 22 carries, DaMarcus James vs Samford, 2013 First Round 22 carries, Pat Clements vs North Dakota State, 1977 Semifinals 21 carries, Eli Jenkins vs Charleston Southern, 2015 Quarterfinals 21 carries, Terrence Bowens vs North Alabama, 1990 First Round 21 carries, Troymaine Pope vs Sam Houston State, 2015 Semifinals Total Points Scored: 18, Eli Jenkins & Troymaine Pope vs #7 UTC, 2015 Second Round; Troymaine Pope vs #8 Charleston Southern, 2015 Quarterfinals; DaMarcus James vs #6 McNeese State, 2013 Second Round ; Sean Richardson vs New Haven, 1992 Semifinals PAT s: 9, Ashley Kay vs West Chester, 1988 First Round Field Goals: 3, Connor Rouleau vs Charleston Southern, 2015 Quarterfinals Most Tackles 14, by Russell Green, at Western Kentucky, 2003 First Round Most Sacks 3, by Robert Gray and Dustin Gayton, at McNeese State, 2013 Second Round JSU NCAA PLAYOFF INDIVIDUAL SUPERLATIVES 6 CHAMPIONS

7 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES JSU POSTSEASON TEAM RECORDS TEAM OFFENSE TEAM DEFENSE Rushing Attempts: 65, vs West Chester, 1988 First Round Most Yards Rushing: 566, vs West Chester, 1988 First Round Least Yards Rushing: -61 vs Southwest Texas State, 1981 First Round Most Pass Attempts: 49 vs Southwest Texas State, 1981 First Round Most Pass Completions: 24 vs Southwest Texas State, 1981 First Round Pass Interceptions: 3 vs Southwest Texas State, 1982 First Round Most Yards Passing: 391 vs Southwest Texas State, 1981 First Round Best Completion Percentage: (4-for-4) vs West Chester, 1988 First Round Least Yards Passing: 18, vs North Alabama, 1992 Second Round Most Total Yards: 661, vs West Chester, 1988 First Round 640, vs Chattanooga, 2015 Second Round 639, vs Sam Houston State, 2015 Semifinals Least Total Yards: 166, vs Mississippi College, 1989 National Championship Most First Downs: 28 vs Chattanooga, 2015 Second Round Least First Downs: 8, vs Mississippi College, 1989 National Championship Most Points Scored: 63, vs West Chester, 1988 First Round 62, vs Sam Houston State, 2015 Semifinals 58, vs Charleston Southernm 2015 Quarterfinals Least Points Scored: 0, 1977 National Championship; 1980 First Round; 1989 National Championship Least Yards Allowed Rushing: 46, McNeese State, 2013 Second Round 93, Samford, 2013 First Round 95, North Alabama, 1990 First Round Most Yards Allowed Rushing: 266, at Winston-Salem, 1991 First Round 250, vs Charleston Southern, 2015 Quarterfinals Least Yards Allowed Passing: 21 vs North Alabama, 1992 Second Round Most Yards Allowed Passing: 375, vs Portland State, 1988 First Round Least Total Yards Allowed: 201, vs Samford, 2013 First Round 229, vs Mississippi College, 1989 National Championship Most Total Yards Allowed: 444, Chattanooga, 2015 Second Round Least Points Allowed: 0, Northern Arizona, 1977 First Round Most Points Allowed: 49, at Furman, 2004 First Round Least First Downs Allowed: 8, vs Mississippi College, 1989 National Championship Most First Downs Allowed: 27, at Furman, 2004 First Round Most Interceptions: 4, vs Alabama A&M, 1989 First Round Most Fumbles Recovered: 3, vs Samford, 2013 First Round 3, vs Sam Houston State, 2015 Semifinals Most Punts Blocked: 2, vs Northeast Missouri State, 1982 First Round Most Sacks: 11, at McNeese State, 2013 NCAA Second Round CHAMPIONS

8 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES 2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final November 28 December 5 December 11/12 December 18/19 January 9 #1 *Jacksonville St. (10-1) *Chattanooga (8-3) 2 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 *Jacksonville St., (ot) 1 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 Chattanooga, Fordham (9-2) Friday, December 11 8 p.m. (ET) *Jacksonville St., #8 *Charleston So. (9-2) ESPN2 *Coastal Caro. (9-2) 1 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 Charleston So., p.m. (ET) ESPN3 The Citadel, The Citadel (8-3) Saturday, December 19 #5 *James Madison (9-2) 4 p.m. (ET) *New Hampshire (7-4) 1 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 Colgate, ESPNU 3:30 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 Colgate, Colgate (7-4) Saturday, December 12 Noon (ET) #4 *McNeese St. (10-0) ESPN3 Sam Houston St., Jacksonville St., *Sam Houston St. (8-3) 7 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 *Sam Houston St., p.m. (ET) ESPN3 Sam Houston St., Southern Utah (8-3) Toyota Stadium #3 *North Dakota St. (9-2) Frisco, Texas *Montana (7-4) 3:30 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 *North Dakota St., 37-6 Noon (ET) NATIONAL 3 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 Montana, ESPN2/WatchESPN CHAMPION South Dakota St. (8-3) Saturday, December 12 Noon (ET) *North Dakota St., #6 *Portland St. (9-2) ESPN *UNI (7-4) 10 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 UNI, p.m. (ET) ESPN3 UNI, Eastern Ill. (7-4) #7 *Richmond (8-3) *William & Mary (8-3) Noon (ET) ESPN3 Richmond, :30 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 William & Mary, Duquesne (8-3) #2 *Illinois St. (9-2) Friday, December 11 7:30 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 *Dayton (10-1) 2 p.m. (ET) ESPN3 *Illinois St., Noon (ET) ESPN3 Western Ill., 24-7 Western Ill. (6-5) Friday, December 18 8 p.m. (ET) ESPN2 Richmond, *North Dakota St., 33-7 * Host Institution All times are Eastern time. Information subject to change National Collegiate Athletic Association. No commercial use without the NCAA's written permission. The NCAA opposes all forms of sports wagering. 8 CHAMPIONS

9 JSU vs. RANKED FCS FOES Since joining the Division I-AA ranks in 1995, the Gamecocks are versus ranked opponents. Under John Grass, JSU is 8-1 vs ranked opponents. Here s a complete list vs ranked opponents: Year Opponent Result 1995 #4 Troy State L, #9 SF Austin L, #4 Troy State L, #7 at SW Mo. St. L, at #2 Troy State L, #11 McNeese St. L, at #13 SF Austin L, #15 Nicholls State L, #24 SW Missouri L, at #1 McNeese St. L, #3 Ga. Southern L, #9 NW State L, #14 Troy State L, #3 Ga. Southern L, at #22 SF Austin L, at #6 Troy State L, at #22 McNeese L, #10 NW State W, #3 Troy State L, at #23 SF Austin L, #21 SW Texas W, at #15 NW State L, at #18 Sam Houston L, #11 McNeese State L, #2 McNeese State L, #3 Northwestern State W, #4 Georgia Southern L, at #8 Western Kentucky L, at #2 Furman L, #2 Furman L, #22 Eastern Illinois L, at #5 Furman L, at #17 Eastern Illinois L, #25 Eastern Illinois L, at #16 Eastern Illinois W, #15 Tennessee State W, #24 Eastern Illinois L, #7 Southeast Missouri W, #6 Wofford L, at #23 Chattanooga L, #19 Tennessee Tech L, at #21 Eastern Ky L, #17 Tennessee State W, at #22 UT Martin W, #23 Tennessee State L, at #2 Eastern Illinois L, #16 Samford W, at #6 McNeese State W, at #2 Eastern Washington L, at #13 Chattanooga ot-w, at #25 Tennessee State W, at #15 Eastern Kentucky W, #19 Sam Houston State L, at #8 Chattanooga W, #13 Eastern Kentucky W, #7 Chattanooga W, OT 2015 #7 Charleston Southern W, #6 Sam Houston State W, Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Pope In 2nd Place, Closing In On OVC Single-Season Rushing Record After a combined 665 yards in Jacksonville State s first three playoff games, senior Troymaine Pope increased his season total to 1,757 yards to move into second place in OVC single-season history. That is the most by a Jacksonville State player in program history. He needs just 29 more yards to tie the OVC single-season record of 1,786 held by Akron s Mike Clark (1986). So far in the playoffs Pope has rushed for 234, 250 and 181 yards respectively (the first two being the two highest single-season totals in the league this season) and scored eight touchdowns. For the season Pope now has 19 rushing touchdowns which ranks him tied for fourth in league history. JSU vs NDSU Meet For 3rd Time: 1st since 1989 The Gamecocks and Bison have met twice before, both of which came in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The Gamecocks defeated NDSU 31-7 in Anniston on Dec. 3, 1977, in the Division II semifinals and then won 21-7 in Jacksonville on Nov. 25, 1989 in the Division II quarterfinals. The two have never met in Division I. JSU Getting To Opposing QBs The Gamecocks have recorded 40 quarterback sacks this season, second in school history to the 51.5 recorded in The 206 yards from sacks is third in school history, behind the record of 316 in 2013 and 249 in Ringing in the New Year For First Time JSU s appearance in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game will be the Gamecocks first January game in school history. Jacksonville State Looking to Become Just Fourth Program With Both Division I and Division II National Championship With a win on Saturday Jacksonville State would become just the fourth program in NCAA history to claim both a Division II and Division I Football National Championship. The Gamecocks won the 1992 Division II National Championship. The other teams to accomplish the feat at North Dakota State (DII in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990 and DI in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Montana State (DII in 1976 and D1 in 1984) and Delaware (DII in 1979 and DI in 2003). JSU With 4th Best Record in FCS Over Past Five Years Saturday s National Championship game matches the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in terms of victories over the past five seasons in the FCS: North Dakota State: 70-5 Sam Houston State: Coastal Carolina: Jacksonville State: CHAMPIONS JSU Rewriting the School Record Books The Gamecocks have broken or are set to break 50 school records this season. A list of those are below: Individual Career (9) Receiving yards Josh Barge 2,917 Receptions Josh Barge 204 Receptions/Game Josh Barge 4.98 Cons. Games w/catch Josh Barge 39 Total Offense Eli Jenkins 8,212 Tackles for Loss Chris Landrum 38.0 Yards from TFL Chris Landrum 157 Sacks Chris Landrum 16.0 Tie Games Played Goffigan & MacInnes 52 Individual Season (12) Rushing Yards Troymaine Pope 1,757 Completions Eli Jenkins 220 Receiving Yards Josh Barge 1,113 Receptions Josh Barge 90 Receiving TDs Josh Barge 11 Receptions/Game Josh Barge 6.43 Total Offense Eli Jenkins 3,804 TD Responsible For Eli Jenkins 35 Total Offense/Play Troymaine Pope 8.41 PAT Attempts Connor Rouleau 67 PAT Made Connor Rouleau 64 Tackles for Loss Darius Jackson 18.5 Individual Game (8) Receptions (14) Josh Barge vs. Auburn Tackles for Loss (4.5) Chris Landrum vs. MVSU Carries in Postseason (24) Eli Jenkins vs. UTC Rush Yds in Postseason(250) Troymaine Pope vs CSU Rush TDs in Postseason (3) Eli Jenkins vs UTC Troymaine Pope (Twice) Lg TD Run in Postseason (83) Eli Jenkins vs CSU Points in Postseason (18) Eli Jenkins vs UTC Troymaine Pope (Twice) FG in Postseason (3) Connor Rouleau vs CSU Team Game (2) Tackles for Loss vs. Miss. Valley St st Downs in Postseason vs. UTC 28 Team Season (19) Rushing Yards 4364 Yards per Rush 6.29 Rushing Yards/Game Rushing TDs 52 Wins 13 Tie Passing Yards 3,045 Completions 249 Total Offense 7,409 Total Offense/Game TDs Responsible For 96 All-Purpose Yards 8,758 All-Purpose Yards/Game PATs Made 69 PATs Attempted 73 Points Scored 574 TDs Scored 75 Assisted Tackles 552 Tackles for Loss Opponents Total Off/Game

10 Jenkins Closing In On TD Mark Quarterback Eli Jenkins has been responsible for 64 touchdowns in his career, 36 passing and 28 rushing. He is one away from Ed Lett s school record of 65 (61 passing/4 rushing) from Jenkins Chasing Passing Record Junior Eli Jenkins is in reach of JSU s single-season record for passing yards. With 2,731 yards so far this season Jenkins is just 86 away from Montressa Kirby s record of 2,817 set in Racking Up Tackles for Loss The Gamecocks have destroyed the school record for tackles for a loss in a season in 2015 with 130.5, 22.5 more than the previous record of set in Darius Jackson has set the single-season record by an individual with 18.5, while Chris Landrum s 17.5 are the second-most in a season in school history. In all, the 2015 Gamecocks have five of the top 20 on the single-season TFL list with Brandon Bender s 11.5 in 9th and Joel McCandless and Dawson Wells tied for 17th with Gamecocks Running Wild In Playoffs Jacksonville State rolled up 432 rushing yards in its win over Chattanooga in the second round of the FCS Playoffs, the Gamecocks first 400-yard rushing game since gaining 416 against Austin Peay on Nov. 1, The 432 yards against the Mocs were the sixth-most in a game in school history. One week later against Charleston Southern, the Gamecocks ran for 506 yards against a defense that hadn t allowed 200 yards on the ground in 2015, including 195 to Alabama. The 506 yards are the second -most in a game in school history and only the second 500-yard rushing game in school history. JSU ran for 360 yards in the semifinal against Sam Houston State, 174 more than their average heading into the game, and ran for six touchdowns for the third-straight game after not running for six in twostraight before this year s playoffs. Through three playoff games, JSU is averaging total yards and on the ground, while outscoring its foes, Gamecocks Making 16th NCAA Playoff Appearance Jacksonville State is making its 16th NCAA playoff appearance and the sixth since 2003 after winning the Ohio Valley Conference s automatic bid with a perfect 8-0 conference record. The Gamecocks earned the No. 1 overall national seed to earn a first-round bye for the third time since JSU has an all-time record of in 34 NCAA playoff games. JSU is 5-5 in 10 FCS playoff games, claiming two wins in 2013 when the team advanced to the FCS quarterfinals and is 3-0 this postseason Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Gamecock All-Americans Jacksonville State has five players that have earned All-America honors for their play in JSU placed five players on the STATS All-America Team, the most of any FCS program, and then had three selected by the Associated Press and one on the AFCA All-America Team. Eli Jenkins was named the ADA FCS Quarterback of the Year. STATS FCS All-America Team 1st Team QB Eli Jenkins 2nd Team OL Casey Dunn 3rd Team CB Jermaine Hough 3rd Team DE Chris Landrum 3rd Team RB Troymaine Pope AP All-America Team 1st Team CB Jermaine Hough 2nd Team QB Eli Jenkins 3rd Team RB Troymaine Pope ADA All-America Team 1st Team QB - Eli JEnkins AFCA All-America Team 1st Team OL - Casey Dunn Jenkins Named Top FCS QB Junior Eli Jenkins was honored by the FCS Athletic Directors Association by being named the FCS ADA Quarterback of the Year. In the third year of the award s existence, Jenkins is the second OVC signal caller to win, joining Jimmy Garropolo from Eastern Illinois in Jenkins, the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-American by STATS last month, has had a record-breaking season leading a record-breaking offense. With 2,731 passing yards and 1,073 rushing, the Birmingham native is the only FCS quarterback with 2,500 passing and 1,000 rushing yards this season. He and Houston signal caller Greg Ward are the only two quarterbacks in all of Division I to reach those marks. Jenkins has run for 14 touchdowns and thrown for 21 and has climbed several career lists for JSU this season. Just a junior, his school-record 3,804 yards of total offense is 850 more than any other player in school history, while his 8,212 career yards of total offense also broke the school record. He ran for 195 yards in each of JSU s first two playoff wins over Chattanooga and Charleston Southern and is 26-0 in his career as a starter against FCS foes in the regular season. Pope and Jenkins Both Reach A Grand Senior Troymaine Pope (1,757) and junior Eli Jenkins (1,073) are the first teammates to run for 1,000 yards in the same season in school history. JSU had 14 1,000-yard seasons in school history prior to 2015, but has never had two Gamecocks hit the grand mark in the same year. 10 CHAMPIONS JSU IN THE OVC/NCAA TEAM STATS (Totals are as of 12/20/15) OVC NCAA 3rd Down Efficiency (.454) rd Down Eff. Defense (.287) th Down Efficiency (.750) th Down Eff. Defense (.231) Blocked Kicks (2) Blocked Punts (2) Completion Pct. (.609) Fewest Penalites (96) Fewest Penalty Yds (876) st Downs (353) st Downs Def. (225) Fumbles Lost (10) Fumbles Recovered (8) Kickoff Return Defense (22.82) Kickoff Returns (19.81) Net Punting (36.61) Passes Had Intercepted (7) Passes Intercepted (17) Passing Offense (217.5) Passing Yards Allowed (178.1) Punt Return Defense (7.15) Punt Returns (9.50) Red Zone Defense (.824) Red Zone Offense (.847) Rushing Defense (116.6) Rushing Offense (311.7) Sacks Allowed (1.21) Scoring Defense (18.7) Scoring Offense (41.0) Tackles for Loss Allowed (5.18) Team Pass Eff. (136.94) Team Pass Eff. Def (103.33) Team Sacks (2.86) Team Tackles for loss (9.3) Time of Poss (32:14) Total Defense (294.7) Total Offense (529.2) Turnover Margin (0.57) Turnovers Gained (25) Turnovers Lost (17)

11 The Last Time JSU had an Overall Record of never Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES never 14-1 never Pope Reaches JSU Rushing Royalty With his 250 yards against Charleston Southern in the FCS Quarterfinals, senior Troymaine Pope broke the school record for rushing yards in a single season. It is the 15th time in school history a player has run for 1,000 yards, while Eli Jenkins became the 16th. in a season and he gives JSU a 1,000-yard rusher for the third-straight year after DaMarcus James had 1,477 in 2013 and 1,151 in With 1,576 yards, he breaks James school record of 1,477 rushing yards set in Below are all of JSU s 1,000-yard rushers: Player Year Yards 1. Troymaine Pope , DaMarcus James , Rondy Rogers , Clay Green , Boyce Callahan , Kory Chapman , Oscar Bonds , DaMarcus James , Boyce Callahan , Clay Green , Washaun Ealey , Terry Thomas , Eli Jenkins , Bill Nichols , Reginald Goodloe , Al Woodham ,024 Pope Leads the Nation in Yards Per Carry After backing up All-American DaMarcus James for three seasons, senior Troymaine Pope has stepped in and filled his shoes nicely in The Anniston, Ala., native is currently leading the nation in yards per carry with an average of He has rushed for 1,757 yards through 14 games this season, tops in the OVC and the third-most in the country. His yards per game rank sixth in the nation. Gamecocks Run Through Bucs The Gamecocks ran for 506 yards against Charleston Southern in their Quarterfinal win on Dec. 11. The total was the second-most rushing yards in a single game in school history, behind 523 vs. Jacksonville University on Sept. 7, Prior to the game, CSU had not allowed 200 yards rushing in a game all season and were holding opponents to an average of 117 rushing yards. Half A Dozen Rushing TDs, Three Times The Gamecocks ran for six touchdowns in each of their first three FCS Playoff games this season. The six rushing scores in a game ties for the fourth-most in a game in school history, but it marks the first time in school history that JSU has run for six or more touchdowns in back-to-back games, let alone three-straight games. CHAMPIONS Pope Finding the End Zone Senior Troymaine Pope has had tremendous success finding the end zone when the ball is put in his hands. He has 19 rushing touchdowns this season, tied for the second-most in a season in school history, while his 34 career rushing scores are fourth on the school s career list. JSU Career Rushing TDs 1. DaMarcus James ( ) David Gulledge ( ) Boyce Callahan ( ) Troymaine Pope ( ) Clay Green ( ) 30 JSU Single-Season Rushing Tds 1. DaMarcus James (2013) Troymaine Pope (2015) 19 Oscar Bonds (2004) David Gulledge (1988) David Gulledge (1989) 16 Jenkins Running Them In Eli Jenkins has run for 28 touchdowns in his career at JSU, tied for sixth-most in school history with Rondy Rogers 28 from Eli Tossing TD Passes Junior Eli Jenkins has thrown 21 touchdown passes this season, third-most in school history and just two away from Ryan Perrilloux s school-record 23 in His 36 career touchdown passes are fifth on the school s career TDs list. JSU Single-Season Passing Tds 1. Ryan Perrilloux (2009) Ed Lett (1982) Eli Jenkins (2015) Ed Lett (1981) Ryan Perrilloux (2008) 19 JSU Career Passing TDs 1. Ed Lett ( ) Montressa Kirby ( ) Ryan Perrilloux ( ) Marques Ivory ( ) Eli Jenkins ( ) 36 Huge Second Half Sinks Bucs In the FCS Quarterfinals, Jacksonville State and Charleston Southern went into the half with the Gamecocks clinging to a lead and just a advantage in total offense. The tides turned in the second half, when JSU erupted for 425 yards on just 30 second-half plays to run away from the Buccaneers. JSU scored 21 points and racked up 234 yards in the third quarter to take control of the game. 11

12 JSU Becomes First OVC Team in Finals Since 1982 Two years ago OVC teams broke a 19-game playoff losing streak (that stretched back to 2000) and advanced two teams (Eastern Illinois and Jacksonville State) to the Quarterfinals marking just the second time in league history two teams had advanced that far in the same year. This year Jacksonville State helped the OVC snap a six-game losing streak in FCS Quarterfinal contests with a victory over Charleston Southern. The Gamecocks were the first OVC team to reach the semifinals since Eastern Kentucky did in 1991 and the first OVC team to make it this far in a field bigger than 12 teams (the field expanded to 16 teams in 1997). They then snapped the OVC s four-game losing streak in the FCS Semifinals with a win over Sam Houston State to become the first OVC team to advance to the National Championship game since 1982 (when EKU won it all). JSU One of Four Teams in OVC History With 12 Wins With its win over Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State reached 13 victories in a season for the first time at the Division I level and first time overall in program history since its 1989 Division II National Runer-Up team finished the year The 13 victories are tied for the most in OVC history with the 1982 National Championship Eastern Kentucky team. Jacksonville State Scores OVC Playoff Record 62 Points With its 58 points in a victory over Charleston Southern in the FCS Quarterfinals, Jacksonville State established a new OVC FCS Playoff scoring record. One week later, the Gamecocks passed that mark with 62 points against Sam Houston State. The previous record was 55 set by the Gamecocks in 2013 in a first round victory over rival Samford, meaning JSU has the three highest single-game point totals in OVC postseason history Start Best Since 1989 The Gamecocks 13-1 start to the season is the first time JSU has been 13-1 since 1989, the only other time a JSU team has won 13 games in a season. A win today would give the Gamecocks 14 wins for the first time in school history. Overtime in the FCS Playoffs Jacksonville State s overtime victory over Chattanooga on Dec. 5 marked the first OVC team to play an overtime contest in the FCS Playoffs since 1991 when Middle Tennessee beat Sam Houston State in overtime. OVC teams are 4-0 all-time when going to overtime in the Playoffs Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Pope Doubles the Century Mark. Again. Senior running back Troymaine Pope rumbled his way to 234 rushing yards in JSU s second-round win over Chattanooga, the third-highest single-game total in school history and JSU s first 200-yard rushing game since DaMarcus James had 206 vs. SE Missouri on Nov. 23, Pope had just 35 yards at the half before amassing 199 in the second half, thanks to touchdown runs of 49 and 75 yards. One week later against Charleston Southern, he did better by running for 250 yards on just 16 carries, 208 of which came in the second half. He ran for three scores for the second-straight week. He didn t get to 200 against Sam Houston State, but did amass 181 and two scores on 21 carries. Through three playoff games, Pope has 665 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Eli JSU s Top Rushing Quarterback With his 195 yards in JSU s Quarterfinal win over Charleston Southern on Dec. 11, junior Eli Jenkins passed David Gulledge (2,389 from ) as the school s all-time rushing leader among quarterbacks. He now has 2,724 career rushing yards and sits in sixth among all players in school history. He trails Clay Green in fifth place by 190 yards. Jenkins Runs For Three Scores, Again Junior Eli Jenkins ran for three touchdowns in the regular season finale against Murray State and then for three more in the Gamecocks first playoff game against Chattanooga. Jenkins became the first Gamecock to run for three scores in back-to-back games since DaMarcus James in 2013 and the first quarterback with back-to-back three rushing touchdown games in school history. Troymaine Pope ran for three scores in each of JSU s first two playoff wins. Jenkins Piling Up The Yards vs. UTC Junior Eli Jenkins rolled up 403 yards of total offense (195 rushing, 208 passing) in JSU s second-round playoff win over Chattanooga. It was the first time a JSU player has recorded 400 yards of total offense in a game since Marques Ivory had 451 (444 passing, 7 rushing) at Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 6, Jenkins total was only the third 400-yard total offense game in school history. Gamecocks Break Total Yardage Record With 7,409 yards of total offense so far in 2015, the Gamecocks have demolished the school record of 6,637 set in 2013 John Grass first year as offensive coordinator. JSU had never had a 5,000- yard season until 2013 and have now reached the 6,000-yard mark in three-straight years. The Gamecocks yards per game is currently 18.4 yards better than the school record of set in CHAMPIONS Current Gamecocks that have claimed OVC Player of the Week Honors: 2012 Sept. 2 Troymaine Pope...co-Newcomer Sept. 9 Troymaine Pope...Newcomer Oct. 21 Jermaine Hough....Defensive Jermaine Hough....Newcomer 2013 Sept. 8 Troymaine Pope, Miles Jones, Eli Jenkins... Co-Players Eli Jenkins...Newcomer Oct. 27 Rashod Byers....Defensive Nov. 10 Eli Jenkins.. Offensive/Newcomer 2014 Sept. 7 Eli Jenkins... Offensive Davaunte Sigler...Newcomer Sept. 28 Eli Jenkins...co-Offensive Oct. 5 Miles Jones co-Offensive Oct. 12 Jermaine Hough....Defensive Oct. 25 Hamish MacInnes....Specialist Nov. 9 Folo Johnson.... co-defensive Nov. 16 Michael Carlisle....Defensive 2015 Sept. 7 Joel McCandless... Newcomer Connor Rouleau...Specialist Sept. 13 Josh Barge.... Offensive Dawson Wells... co-defensive Joel McCandless...Newcomer Sept. 27 Eli Jenkins...co-Offensive Oct. 18 Eli Jenkins... Offensive Nov. 1 Eli Jenkins... Offensive Dawson Wells...Defensive Nov. 8 Dawson Wells... co-defensive Nov. 15 Eli Jenkins... Offensive NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Oct. 22, Sports Network Jermaine Hough, Freshman Sept. 29, College Sporting News Eli Jenkins, Quarterback Sept. 29, College Sporting News Jermaine Hough, Defensive Nov. 10, College Sporting News Folo Johnson, Defensive Sept. 8, College Sporting News Connor Rouleau, Specialist Sept. 14, NCAA FCS Josh Barge, Player of the Week Nov. 2, STATS FCS Eli Jenkins, POTW Honorable Mention Nov. 2, College Sporting News Eli Jenkins, Player of the Week Nov. 9, College Sporting News Dawson Wells, Defensive

13 JSU Career Games-Starts Player GP-GS Ty Anderson A.J. Barge Josh Barge Octavious Baxter Brandon Bender Bo Billups Bo Brummel Blake Burks Rashod Byers Jordan Cagle Earl Calloway Dalton Campbell Davis Carrandi Allan Carson Ryan Childers Josh Clemons Dylan Cline Dantley Coker Nate Craft Lawon DeBardelaben Casey Dunn Dalton Etheridge LaMichael Fanning Emmanuel Fennell Tre Garland Dylan Gibson Spencer Goffigan Ruben Gonzalez Eliah Goodman Ra Shad Green Reggie Hall Zach Heard Jaylen Hill Jairus Hollman Bryant Horn Jermaine Hough Martez House Casey Hunt Darius Jackson DaQuan James Eli Jenkins Anthony Johnson Folo Johnson Jarren Johnson Nick Johnson Tyler Johnson Miles Jones Chris Landrum, Sr Justin Lea JaJuan Lee Christian LeMay Hamish MacInnes Joel McCandless Markis Merrill DeBarriaus Miller Bryant Mitchell E.J. Moss Siran Neal Santavius Oden Desmond Owino Joseph Roberts Randy Robinson Connor Rouleau Kyron Samuels Dalton Screws David Segers Chad Sharp Devaunte Sigler Luke Smith Gerald Sterling Cade Stinnett Thomas Stinson Quan Stoudemire Tyler Swindle Kyle Trego Spencer Watley Dawson Wells Brandon Wilson Kameron Wood Adam Wright JoJo Wynn Monty Young Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Losing Yards Thanks To Landrum Senior defensive end Chris Landrum, Sr., recorded 4.5 tackles for a loss in the regular season finale vs. Murray State, breaking the school record of 4.0 held by 11 players. Landrum s big game also gave him 33.5 career tackles for a loss, breaking Warren Blair s school-record 32.0 from He now has extended that record to Jenkins Climbing OVC Total Offense List Eli Jenkins has cracked the top 10 on the Ohio Valley Conference s career Total Offense list and moved past Tony Romo into 8th: Years Player (School) Yards Jimmy Garoppolo (EIU) 13, Casey Brockman (Murray St) 10, Michael Proctor (Murray St) 9, Michael German (Tenn St) 8, Chris Swartz (Morehead St) 8, Derek Carr (UT Martin) 8, T.J. Pryor (Eastern Ky) 8, A Eli Jenkins (Jacksonville St) 8, Tony Romo (EIU) 8, Stewart Childress (Murray St) 7,803 Barge Making His Way Up OVC List Junior Josh Barge now has 204 catches for 2,917 career receiving yards, making it into the Top 10 on the Ohio Valley Conference Career Receptions and Receiving Yards List: OVC Career Receptions Years Player (School) Receptions Erik Lora (EIU) Harold Roberts (Austin Peay) Tim Benford (Tenn Tech) Marcus Harris (Murray St) Walter Powell (Murray St) A Josh Barge (Jacksonville St) Adam Drake (EIU) Taurean Stephens (UT Martin) Larry Shipp (Tenn Tech) 195 OVC Career Receiving Yards Years Player (School) Rec. Yds Erik Lora (EIU) 4, C.J. Johnson (Tenn St) 3, Tim Benford (Tenn Tech) 3, Andre Ralston (Eastern Ky) 3, Harold Roberts (Austin Peay) 3, Adam Drake (EIU) 2, Larry Shipp (Tenn Tech) 2, A Josh Barge (Jacksonville St) 2, Rondel Menendez (EKU) 2, Craig Rolle (Tenn Tech) 2,813 Barge Hauls Em In Every Time Out Junior Josh Barge has now hauled in at least one catch in his last 39 games, breaking Taurean Rhetta s previous school record of 32 consecutive games with a catch from CHAMPIONS AND 0. AGAIN! Jax State became just the third program in OVC history to complete back-to-back 8-0 seasons, joining Eastern Kentucky (1993 & 1994) and Murray State (1995 & 1996). John Grass, in his second year as a collegiate head coach, made NCAA history this season in becoming the first FCS coach to begin his career with a perfect 16-0 conference record in leading JSU to its second-straight OVC Championship. Gamecocks Place 17 on All-OVC Squads One year after the No. 1 Gamecocks received a conference-record 18 All-OVC nods, the back-to-back champions garnered 17 honors in John Grass nabbed his second-straight Roy Kidd Coach of the Year honor, while Eli Jenkins became the second Gamecock (Ryan Perrilloux in 2009) to be named the league s Offensive Player of the Year. Jenkins, senior running back Troymaine Pope and junior wide receiver Josh Barge earned First Team All-OVC honors at their skill positions, while the Gamecocks made up four of the five offensive linemen on the first team. Seniors Blake Burks and Adam Wright, junior Casey Dunn and sophomore Justin Lea all received first team honors. On defense, senior defensive end Chris Landrum, Sr., senior linebacker Dawson Wells and senior defensive backs Folo Johnson, Brandon Bender and Jermaine Hough also grabbed first team all-conference mentions. JSU had three second team all-conference players in senior defensive lineman Devaunte Sigler, sophomore defensive end Darius Jackson and junior return specialist Lawon DeBardelaben. Sophomore linebacker Joel McCandless and junior defensive lineman Desmond Owino were named to the OVC All-Newcomer Team. JSU Dominates All-OVC Offensive Line When the 2015 All-OVC Teams were announced, the five-person First Team Offensive Line featured four Gamecocks sophomore Justin Lea, junior Casey Dunn and seniors Blake Burks and Adam Wright. The Gamecocks became the third team in OVC history to have four of the five first team offensive linemen, joining the 2010 Southeast Missouri and 1956 Middle Tennessee squads. The foursome of Burks, Wright, Lea and Dunn helped pave the way for a JSU offense that entered the playoffs ranked fourth in FCS in total offense (503.0 ypg), seventh in rushing offense (278.7 ypg) and ninth in scoring offense (37.5 ppg). 13

14 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Grass Named OVC and Region Coach of the Year, Again John Grass, in his second year as a collegiate head coach, made NCAA history this season in becoming the first FCS coach to begin his career with a perfect 16-0 conference record in leading Jacksonville State to its second-straight OVC Championship. Jax State became just the third program in OVC history to complete back-to-back 8-0 seasons, joining Eastern Kentucky (1993 & 1994) and Murray State (1995 & 1996). Those accomplishments resulted in Grass earning the league s Roy Kidd OVC Coach of the Year and the AFCA a Region Coach of the Year Awards for the second-straight season. Grass team started the season with a victory at No. 8 Chattanooga (the eventual Southern Conference champions) and followed that by becoming the first-ever FCS team to take a ranked FBS opponent to overtime in giving No. 6 ranked Auburn all it could handle before falling Despite the loss the Gamecocks ascended to No. 1 in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll, the first-ever No. 1 ranking at any level of football in program history. JSU was the first OVC team to be atop the FCS rankings since the 1999 season and has held that No. 1 ranking for 11-straight weeks entering the postseason. This year s OVC Championship is the fifth in program history and JSU will be making its sixth FCS Playoff berth, this time as the No. 1 overall national seed. Grass, who was a finalist for the STATS FCS National Coach of the Year, is the eighth OVC coach to win the award in back-to-back seasons and first since EIU s Dino Babers in 2012 and The OVC Coach of the Year award is named after Eastern Kentucky legend Roy Kidd, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, who won the award a record 10 times during his career ( ) and retired with 314 victories, the second-most in I-AA/FCS history. Jenkins Honored As OVC s Top Offensive Player Junior Eli Jenkins was named the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He joins Ryan Perrilloux (2009) as JSU s only OVC Offensive Players of the Year since joining the league in Jenkins led Jacksonville State to its first-ever No. 1 ranking at any level of football and its second-straight OVC Championship in In the process Jenkins improved to 26-0 in his collegiate career as a starter against non-fbs opponents during the regular season. Jenkins was named OVC Offensive Player of the Week a league-high four times in 2015 including the last week of the regular season when he accounted for five touchdowns (2 passing, 3 rushing) as he passed for 212 yards and rushed for a season-high 130 yards against Murray State; it marked the first time in his career he had passed for more than 200 and rushed for more than 100 yards in the same game. Barge Scoring In Bunches With his two touchdown catches against Murray State in the regular season finale, Josh Barge notched his fifth multi-touchdown reception game in a JSU uniform. That broke Ronald Bonner s school record for games with two or more touchdown receptions. Bonner had four from Grass Off To OVC s Best Start JSU head coach John Grass became just the second coach to win back-to-back OVC Championships in the first two years of their career, joining EIU s Dino Babers, who won titles in 2012 and Grass is off to a 16-0 start against OVC opponents, the best start by a coach in league history. He became the first coach in OVC and FCS history to post back-to-back unbeaten conference seasons to start his career. Gamecocks Run For More Than 4,000 The Gamecock offense has run for 4,364 yards so far this season, the most in a season in school history. Before John Grass took over the reigns as offensive coordinator in 2013, JSU had five 3,000-yard rushing seasons in school history, while his offense has passed that mark in each of his three seasons. Below are JSU s 3,000-yard rushing seasons: Team Rush Yds * 4, , , * 3, , , * 3, ,213 Gamecocks Get Off The Field on Third Down Jacksonville State finished the 2014 season ranked fourth in the nation in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, holding the opponents to just a.281 conversion percentage. The opponents were just 48-of-171 last season on third downs against the Gamecocks. This season, FCS foes are just (27%) on third down conversions. Overall, JSU opponents are converting just 29% of the time on 3rd down (58-for-202), first in OVC and sixth nationally. Jenkins In JSU s Top 10 In Passing Yards and Rushing Yards Junior quarterback Eli Jenkins is now in the Top 10 in JSU history in career rushing and passing yards in just his third season with the Gamecocks. The Birmingham native currently has 2,724 career rushing yards, sixth all-time and just 190 yards away from Clay Green in fifth. His 5,488 career passing yards are third on that list, 1,099 yards behind Montressa Kirby in second place. Jenkins is the first player in school history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,500 and just the second quarterback in Jacksonville State history to pass for 2,500 and rush for 1,500 yards during a career, joining former Gamecock David Gulledge ( ), who rushed for 2,389 yards and passed for 2,950 yards during his career. JSU Claims 5th OVC, 20th Conference Title With its win over Southeast Missouri on Nov. 14, Jacksonville State clinched the 20th conference football championship in school history and the fifth OVC title. JSU also won the OVC title in 2003, 2004, 2011 and JSU is making its 16th NCAA Playoff Appearance after earning the OVC s automatic bid for the second-straight season. It marks the school s sixth appearance in the postseason since the Gamecocks joined the OVC in JSU has an all-time record of in 33 NCAA playoff games. 12-game Win Streak is Longest in FCS, NDSU Second The Gamecocks have won 12 straight headed into this week s game, the longest active winning streak in FCS. They will face North Dakota State, who holds the second-longest active streak in FCS. Below are the longest active streaks in FCS: 1. Jacksonville State North Dakota State 8 3. N.C. Central 7 4. San Diego 6 Prairie View 6 Penn 6 JSU s 12-game streak is the second-longest in Division I behind Clemson s 17-game streak. Alabama is third with an 11-game streak. 14 CHAMPIONS

15 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Record-Setting Day For Barge Wide receiver Josh Barge did some damage to the JSU record books in the Gamecocks win over Southeast Missouri on Nov. 14. Barge caught eight passes for 108 yards and two scores, but those weren t the numbers that impressed the most. With the big day, the junior from Carrollton, Ga., set the Jax State single-season and career reception records during the game. He broke Ronald Bonner s single-season record of 62 and then Joey Hamilton s career record of 178. Barge now has 90 catches this season and 204 in his career. The two touchdowns gave Barge his fourth multi-touchdown game in his career, tying Bonner for that record, as well, while his yard receiving games are just two behind Hamilton s school record of 14 games with 100-or-more receiving yards. Jenkins Hitting His Mark Junior Eli Jenkins has completed 62.1 percent of his pass attempts so far in 2015 ( ) for 21 touchdowns and 2,731 yards. The.621 completion percentage is the best by a JSU player in school history with at least 100 attempts since Coty Blanchard was for 64.0 percent in Jenkins is first in the OVC in 2015 and ranks 21st nationally in completion percentage. Wells Nabs Pick-6 in Back-To-Back Games Senior linebacker Dawson Wells intercepted a Bennie Coney pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown against Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 31 and then returned a Jalen Whitlow pass 35 yards for a score the next week at Eastern Illinois. It was the first time since 2007 JSU has returned an interception for a score in back-to-back games and Wells became the first player in school history to return an interception for a touchdown in consecutive games. Also, Wells is the first player in FCS to return a INT for a TD this season in back-to-back games and just one of four players with 2 INTs for TD this season. Shutout of EKU JSU s 1st vs. Ranked Foe The Gamecocks 34-0 shutout of No. 13 Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 31 was rare in a few senses. It was the Colonels first scoreless OVC game since JSU shut them out in It was also the first time JSU has shut out a nationally ranked Division I team. It was JSU s fourth shutout of an OVC foe (EKU in 2006, Tennessee State in 2011, Austin Peay in 2014). Gamecock Defense Being Extra Stingy The Gamecocks have limited their opponents to yards per game in 2015, good enough to rank JSU 11th nationally in total defense. JSU is also ranked 12th in scoring defense (18.7 points per game), 16th in rushing defense (116.6 yards per game) and 17th in passing defense (178.1 yards per game). JSU Trio Named Academic All-District Senior cornerback Jermaine Hough, junior wide receiver Dalton Screws and sophomore offensive lineman Justin Lea were each named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District squads in early November. The teams honor players that excel on the field of play and in the classroom. All nominated student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average at his current institution. They must also have completed one full calendar year at their current institution and reached at least sophomore athletic eligibility. Screws, a native of Anniston, carries a 3.99 GPA as a biology major at JSU. He was recently one of just 11 FCS players named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which is considered the most-esteemed off-the-field honor in college football. He was also one of just three male recipients of the Ohio Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Award, the highest honor an OVC student-athlete can obtain. Hough, a native of Lovejoy, Ga., was selected to the Academic All-District squad for the second year. He holds a 3.73 GPA in exercise science and wellness at JSU, while excelling in the Gamecocks defensive backfield. An All-American and First Team All-OVC selection a year ago, Hough is currently on the STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. Lea earned his first Academic All-District honor in just his second season on the gridiron for the Gamecocks. The 2014 Freshman All-American from Henagar, Ala., has a 3.89 GPA in emergency management and has started every game at left tackle since the beginning of the 2014 season. Barge Breaks Single-Season Record Junior wide receiver Josh Barge currently has 90 catches this season, passing Ronald Bonner for the most catches in a season in JSU history. Barge s three seasons in a JSU uniform are each in the top six in JSU history. Below are JSU s single-season leaders in receptions: Player Catches Season 1. Josh Barge Ronald Bonner Donald Young Josh Barge Joey Hamilton Big Play Gamecocks Jacksonville State has been putting up some big numbers on the scoreboard over the last 13 years and they ve used big plays to make it happen. This season, the Gamecocks have 123 plays of 20-yards or more, including 49 rushing, 43 passing and 31 by kick returns, fumble returns and interceptions. The Gamecocks have a total of 978 plays of 20 yards or longer since joining the OVC in Here s a year-by-year breakdown of plays 20 yards or longer since 2003: Year Rush Pass Kick/Fum/Int TOTAL Touchdowns CHAMPIONS

16 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Second Quarter Huge For JSU The Gamecocks have used the second quarter to pull away from their opponents in JSU has outscored its foes in the second quarter alone, including a second-quarter advantage over the last 10 games. Barge Nabs Touchdown Catches Record Junior Wide Receiver Josh Barge has hauled in 11 touchdown catches so far in 2015, the most in a season in school history. The Carrollton, Ga., native hauled in two touchdown receptions vs. Murray State on Nov. 21 to break Maurice Dupree s school record of 10 set in Below are the school s single-season touchdown reception leaders: Player TD Catches Season 1. Josh Barge Maurice Dupree Derrick Thomas Alan Bonner Ralph Jenkins Joey Hamilton Rusty Fuller Ronald Bonner Eli Passes 5,000 Yards With his 208 yards against UTC in the second round of the FCS Playoffs on Dec. 5, junior Eli Jenkins became just the fifth player in school history to pass for over 5,000 yards in a career. Jenkins now has 5,488 passing yards in his career, which ranks third all time. He trails Montressa Kirby in second place by 1,099 yards. Below are JSU s 5,000-yard passers: 1. Ed Lett ( ) 7, Montressa Kirby ( ) 6, Eli Jenkins (2013-A) 5, Reggie Stancil ( ) 5, David Coffey ( ) 5,145 Defense Shuts Down Peay In JSU s 27-7 win at Austin Peay on Oct. 24, the Gamecocks limited the Governors to just 82 yards of total offense, the first sub-100-yard game against the Gamecocks in school history. It bested the previous school record of 111 yards gained by Chattanooga in The Govs ran for just 17 yards on 27 carries. The 17 rushing yards and 0.60 yards per rush are both the third lowest totals against a JSU defense in the Gamecocks Division I history. Gamecocks On An OVC Roll The Gamecocks have won 17-straight Ohio Valley Conference games, passing a 14-game streak against Gulf South foes that stretched across the 1981, 82 and 83 seasons as the longest streak against conference foes in school history. JSU s last OVC loss was when they paid a visit to Eastern Illinois on Nov. 16, The current 17-game streak is also the longest active conference win streak in the nation. Below are the Top active conference win streaks in FCS: 1. Jax State OVC McNeese State Southland 9 3. Grambling SWAC 8 4. N.C. Central MEAC 7 Colgate Patriot 7 Gamecocks Win 10, Again With its win over Murray State on nov. 21, JSU recorded three-straight 10-win seasons for the first time in school history. Success On 4th Down The Gamecocks have taken chances on fourth down and made them count so far this season. JSU is 21-for-28 in fourth down situations, a.750 success rate that ranks third nationally. On the defensive side of the ball, JSU is holding opponents to a 6-for-26 (.231) success rate on fourth down, first in the OVC and fourth nationally. Piling In the Snow Through eight home games, the Gamecocks rank among the nation s best in attendance. JSU has averaged 20,598 fans at Burgess-Snow Field so far this season, second-most in FCS. Below are the Top 10 attendance averages so far this season in FCS: School Conference Avg. Att. 1. Montana Big Sky 24, Jacksonville St. OVC 20, Yale Ivy 20, James Madison Colonial 19, Montana State Big Sky 19, Liberty Big South 18, North Dakota St. MVFC 18, Southern SWAC 18, Delaware Colonial 15, S. Carolina State MEAC 15,629 Gamecocks Chasing Longest OVC Streak JSU s current 17-game win streak against OVC foes is the fourth longest by any OVC member in the league s history. Below are the OVC streaks that JSU is chasing: 26 Eastern Kentucky ( ) 22 Eastern Kentucky ( ) 19 Murray State ( ) 17 Jacksonville State (2013-present) 15 Middle Tennessee ( ) 15 Middle Tennessee ( ) Gamecocks Put Clamp On Tigers Run Game In JSU s win over Tennessee State on 9/19, JSU held the Tigers to 24 yds on 31 carries, an average of just 0.8 yards per carry. The 24 yards were the fourth-fewest rushing yards against JSU since the Gamecocks moved to Div. I, while the 0.8 yards per carry is the third-lowest average against JSU in its Division I era. Sagarin Ratings In the latest Sagarin Ratings released after the games on Dec. 13, the Gamecocks are ranked 66th among all Division I teams. JSU is the second-highest FCS program behind North Dakota State (52). JSU is ahead of 64 FBS programs, including South Carolina (68), Louisiana Tech (69), Indiana (70), Cincinnati (73), Southern Miss (74), Virginia (75), Air Force (76), Syracuse (80), Kentucky (81), Vanderbilt (83), Maryland (85), Boston College (86), Middle Tennessee (88), Colorado (90), Oregon State (106) and Troy (111). January Birthdays Six Gamecocks were born in the month of January. They are: Brandon Bender (Jan. 24), Nate Craft (Jan. 3), Daniel Everhart (Jan. 8), Martez House (Jan. 31), Anthony Johnson (Jan. 26), JaJuan Lee (Jan. 18). 16 CHAMPIONS

17 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Grass Off To A Hot Start Jacksonville State head coach John Grass is off to a hot start in his collegiate head coaching career. The 1990 graduate of JSU is 23-3 through his first 26 games as the Gamecocks head man, extending the start by a head coach in JSU history. Here are the first 26 games of all of JSU s head coaches: Record through Coach 1st year 26 games John Grass Jack Crowe Mike Williams Bill Burgess Jim Fuller Clarkie Mayfield Charley Pell Jim Blevins Don Salls T.B. Shotts J.W. Stephenson Ben Harris Pope and Jenkins Run for 2,000, Move Into Rushing Top 10 With his 159 yards at UT Martin on Sept. 26, senior running back Troymaine Pope became the 10th player in school history to run for 2,000 yards, while Eli Jenkins 18 against EKU on Oct. 31 made him the 11th. Pope enters this week with 3,345 career rushing yards, in third place on the school s career rushing yards list, while Jenkins 2,724 is sixth. Jenkins joins David Gulledge (2,389 from ) as the only quarterbacks in JSU history with 2,000 career rushing yards. Below is the school s Top 10 rushing leaders of all time: Player Yards 1. Boyce Callahan ( ) 4, DaMarcus James ( ) 3, Troymaine Pope (2012-A) 3, Rondy Rogers ( ) 3, Clay Green ( ) 2, Eli Jenkins (2013-A) 2, Reginald Goodloe ( ) 2, David Gulledge ( ) 2, Terry Thomas ( ) 2, Bubba Long ( ) 2,109 JSU Finding the 400 Club Despite playing one of the top defenses in FCS in the season opener and a Will Muschamp-led SEC defense in week two, the Gamecocks have gained over 400 yards in all but one game this season, with 385 yards at Eastern Illinois in Game 9 the only time it hasn t happened. The EIU game snapped a school-record streak of 19-straight games with at least 400 yards, demolishing the previous record of eight-straight in the middle of the 1999 season. Barge Has Record-Breaking Day at Auburn On the game s biggest stage at #6 Auburn on Sept. 12, junior wide receiver Josh Barge stepped up in a big way. The Carrollton, Ga., native hauled in a school-record 14 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown. His 14 catches breaks Joey Hamilton s school record of 11 set against Nicholls State on Sept. 25, The day was good enough to earn Barge his first OVC Offensive Player of the Week honor. He also earned the FCS National Player of the Week. Barge is averaging 6.4 catches per game, which is third in the OVC and is 20th in the nation. The Flip of the Coin The Gamecocks have won all but two coin tosses in 2015, losing the toss at UTM and vs. Murray State. Here is a game-by-game breakdown of the opening coin toss: Game Won Decision at UTC JSU Deferred at Auburn JSU Deferred Tennessee State JSU Deferred at UT Martin UTM Received Miss. Valley State JSU Deferred at Tennessee Tech JSU Deferred at Austin Peay JSU Deferred Eastern Kentucky JSU Deferred at Eastern Illinois JSU Deferred SE Missouri JSU Deferred Murray State MSU Deferred Chattanooga JSU Deferred Charleston So JSU Deferred Sam Houston St JSU Deferred JSU has also won the coin toss in both overtime games vs. Auburn and Chattanooga, electing to go on defense in both. Eli Breaks JSU Total Offense Record While moving into the Top 10 in both passing and rushing yards in a career at JSU, Eli Jenkins has also become just the second player in school history to gain 7,000 yards of total offense and the first with 8,000 in only his third season at JSU. With his 286 yards against Charleston Southern in the FCS Quarterfinals, he broke Montressa Kirby s school record of 7,688 yards from He now has 8,212 career yards of total offense. JSU Career Total Offense Leaders 1. Eli Jenkins (2013-A) 8, Montressa Kirby ( ) 7, Ed Lett ( ) 6, Reggie Stancil ( ) 6, Ryan Perrilloux ( ) 5,479 Landrum, Jackson Chasing Sack Record Senior Chris Landrum, Sr., currently has 16.0 career sacks at JSU, while sophomore Darius Jackson already has Landrum is currently tied with Warren Blair (16.0) for first on the school s career sacks list. Jackson sits in seventh on that list as just a sophomore. JSU on The Tube Jacksonville State is (.636) in televised games in its football history, including a 9-1 record in JSU played just 10 televised games before moving up from Division II after the 1992 National Championship, and is in televised games at the Division I level. Its Quarterfinal game vs. Charleston Southern was JSU s first on ESPN2. JSU is 1-2 on ESPN, 1-0 on ESPN2 and 1-3 on ESPNU. CHAMPIONS

18 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Barge Breaks Career Receiving Record Closing In On Receiving Yards Record In just his third season at JSU, junior wide receiver Josh Barge is already climbing the Gamecocks career receiving lists. With eight catches against Southeast Missouri on Nov. 14, he moved past Joey Hamilton s school record of 178 career catches and now has set the new mark at 204. He is also first school history in career receiving yards with 2,917 and joined Joey Hamilton as the only two 2,000-yard receivers in school history. He is the only player in school history to have 1,700 receiving yards on 101 catches in his first two seasons at JSU. His 17 career touchdown receptions are tied with Ralph Jenkins and Rusty Fuller for fourth all-time. JSU Career Receiving Yards 1. Josh Barge (2013-A) 2, Joey Hamilton ( ) 2, Alan Bonner ( ) 1, Derrick Thomas ( ) 1, James Wilkerson ( ) 1,780 JSU Career Receptions 1. Josh Barge (2013-A) Joey Hamilton ( ) Donald Young ( ) Rusty Fuller ( ) Alan Bonner ( ) 114 JSU Career Receiving Touchdowns 1. Joey Hamilton ( ) Alan Bonner ( ) Derrick Thomas ( ) Josh Barge (2013-A) 17 Ralph Jenkins ( ) 17 Rusty Fuller ( ) 17 Gamecocks Are #1 When the FCS Top 25 Polls were released on Sept. 14, the Gamecocks found themselves somewhere they d never been No. 1. JSU topped the STATS FCS Top 25, the first time the Gamecocks have ever been ranked No. 1 in the polls. JSU has been ranked as high as No. 2 three times in Division I and seven times in Division II. In JSU s Division II National Championship season of 1992, the Gamecocks were ranked No. 3 at the end of the regular season, and there was no poll after the playoffs. It marked the first time a team from the Ohio Valley Conference has been No. 1 since TSU was ranked #1 in the final poll of 1999 and just the fourth time an OVC team has been No. 1 in the last 25 years. Gamecocks Stop Devils in Backfield JSU recorded 18 tackles for a loss in its Oct. 3 win over Mississippi Valley State. The 18 stops for a loss were a school record, besting the previous high of 17 against Murray State on Sept. 28, Gamecocks Racking Up OVC Player of the Week Honors The Gamecocks earned 11 OVC Players of the Week in JSU had three players earn honors for their efforts at Auburn on Sept. 12. Junior WR Josh Barge was named the league s Offensive POTW after hauling in a school-record 14 catches for 132 yards and a score, senior LB Dawson Wells was named co-defensive POTW after recording seven tackles and an interception, and sophomore LB Joel McCandless was named Newcomer of the Week for the second-straight week after recording seven tackles and an interception. McCandless (Newcomer) and sophomore PK Connor Rouleau (Specialist) received honors on Sept. 5. Eli Jenkins earned co-offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 27 after going 16-for-25 for 254 yards and three touchdowns and running for another score at UT Martin on Sept. 26. Jenkins earned Offensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 18 after carving up the TTU defense and leading JSU to 619 yards in a win in Cookeville. Jenkins earned the honor again on Nov. 1 after throwing for a career-high 324 yard and two scores vs. EKU, while Wells grabbed Defensive honors after recording six tackles and returning an interception 48 yards for a score in the win. Wells received his third honor after recording eight tackles, 1.5 for a loss and a 35-yard interception return for a score in a 24-3 win at Eastern Illinois. Jenkins nabbed his fourth OVC Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 22 after running for 130 yards and three scores, while throwing for two more touchdowns. Gamecock Captains Here are the Gamecocks captains for each game this season: at UTC: Brandon Bender, Hamish MacInnes, Troymaine Pope, Kyron Samuels, Dawson Wells at Auburn: Blake Burks, Ruben Gonzalez, Chris Landrum, Chad Sharp, DeBarriaus Miller Tennessee State: Bo Brummel, Spencer Goffigan, LaMichael Fanning, Folo Johnson, Adam Wright at UT Martin: Christian LeMay, Miles Jones, Rashod Byers, Darius Jackson, Brandon Wilson Miss. Valley State: Jaylen Hill, Dawson Wells, Dalton Screws, Ruben Gonzalez, Santavius Oden at Tenn. Tech: Jermaine Hough, Justin Lea, Markis Merrill, Devaunte Sigler at Austin Peay: Folo Johnson, Chris Landrum, Spencer Goffigan, Dalton Screws Eastern Kentucky: Jermaine Hough, Adam Wright, Devaunte Sigler, Troymaine Pope at Eastern Illinois: Josh Barge, Nick Johnson, DeBarriaus Miller, Dawson Wells SE Missouri: Rashod Byers, Spencer Goffigan, Dalton Screws, Dawson Wells Murray State: All Seniors UTC: Spencer Goffigan, Chris Landrum, Troymaine Pope, Devaunte Sigler Charleston So: Brandon Bender, Adam Wright, Dalton Screws Sam Houston St: Spencer Goffigan, Jermaine Hough, Chris Landrum, Troymaine Pope Scare In Jordan-Hare JSU had #6 Auburn on the ropes on Sept. 12, when the Tigers needed overtime to win It was the first time an FCS team has ever taken a ranked FBS team to overtime and the second time JSU has taken an SEC team to OT. JSU beat Ole Miss in double OT in Pope Breaks Out vs. UTC Senior Troymaine Pope took advantage of his first game as The Guy in the JSU backfield on Sept. 5 at No. 8 Chattanooga. The senior from Anniston, who d backed up All-American DaMarcus James in his first three seasons at JSU, took his first carry of the game 65 yards on JSU s first offensive play. The longest carry of Pope s career set the stage for a career-high 173 yards on 15 carries. The 173 yards were the 17th-highest single-game total in JSU s Division I history and the most in a game since James had 206 against Southeast Missouri on Nov. 23, CHAMPIONS

19 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Running Backs Have Familiar Face The Gamecocks have the same coaches at every position this year, but there s one on the staff that has been around for a while. Associate Head Coach and running backs coach Jimmy Ogle is in his 16th year on the JSU staff and his 15th-straight year coaching the Gamecock running backs. Winning On The Field and In The Classroom Not only did the Gamecocks win the 2014 Ohio Valley Conference football championship, they also claimed the OVC s Team Academic Award for football after posting the best GPA in program history. The team posted a GPA in the fall semester and a in the spring to boast a cumulative GPA of for the academic year. JSU placed 28 players on the OVC Commissioner s Honor Roll with a 3.25 GPA or higher and had two players sophomore OL Justin Lea and junior WR Dalton Screws boast a perfect 4.0 GPA to earn the OVC Academic Medal of Honor. No New Faces on Gamecock Staff Second year head coach John Grass has the pleasure of having every one of his assistants back from the 2014 season this year. He added one full-time assistant in Owen Kilgore, who moves up into the cornerbacks coaching position after serving as a graduate assistant in the JSU program last year. Landrum Pushing Em Back Senior defensive end Chris Landrum has made a school-record 38.0 tackles for a loss in his JSU career for a total loss of 157 yards, most in a career in JSU history. Below are the Top 5 in those categories. JSU Career Tackles For A Loss 1. Chris Landrum (2013-A) Warren Blair ( ) Rodney Garrott ( ) Jamison Wadley ( ) 27.0 Devin Phillips ( ) 27.0 JSU Career Yards From Tackles For A Loss 1. Chris Landrum (2013-A) Devin Phillips ( ) Warren Blair ( ) Rodney Garrott ( ) Jamison Wadley ( ) 105 Comeback Gamecocks Keep on Winning Jacksonville State has 31 come-from-behind wins since the start of the 2010 season and has rallied for four come-from-behind wins in Speaking on come-from-behind wins for the Gamecocks, 11 of those wins have occurred in the final 1:16 or less. Gamecocks Gain On The Ground JSU has run for a school-record 4,364 yards so far in 2015, making this year s team the eighth in school history to run for 3,000 yards and the first to run for 4,000 in a season. It marks the third-straight season JSU has rushed for 3,000 yards, the first time since the 1990, 91 and 92 teams to achieve that feat. In 2015, the Gamecocks are averaging rushing yards per game, first in the OVC and third in the nation. The school record for rushing yards per game is 285.3, set in Grass Offense Like No Other in JSU History When John Grass took over as the Gamecocks offensive coordinator in 2013, no JSU team had ever gained 5,000 yards in a season. That year, his offense amassed a school-record 7,409 yards. In his first season as head coach in 2014, when he also called the offensive plays, JSU racked up 6,129 yards in just 12 games, a school-record yards per game 68.2 yards per game more than the previous record held by the 2004 squad. In 2015, the Gamecocks are averaging yards per game - second in FCS - and have racked up 7,409 yards, most in school history. Not So Long... The Gamecock defense only allowed nine rushes of longer than 20 yards last season in 446 rushing attempts by the opponents. JSU allowed just yards rushing yards to rank 23rd nationally to lead the Ohio Valley Conference. In 2015, JSU has only allowed 16 rushes of 20 yards in 489 attempts by its opponents, who have combined for just yards per game on the ground. That ranks JSU first in the OVC and 16th nationally in rushing defense. Offensive Line Experience The Gamecocks returned all but one starter from last year s offensive line, one that paved the way for a school-record yards of total offense per game and another record in rushing yards per game. All-American Max Holcombe vacated the starting center job, but junior Casey Dunn steps in and has already garnered Preseason All-OVC honors. In fact, four JSU offensive lineman have earned accolades from the OVC: Sophomore T Justin Lea (2014 All-OVC, 2014 Freshman All-American, 2014 OVC Freshman of the Year), senior G Adam Wright (2014 All-OVC), senior G Blake Burks (2014 Preseason All-OVC). Three Headed Running Back The Gamecocks may have lost the school s second all-time leading rusher DaMarcus James to graduation last year, but they returned a little experience in A pair of four-year seniors in Troymaine Pope (3,345) and Miles Jones (1,784) have combined for 5,129 yards over their three-plus seasons at JSU and both had over 600 yards last year. They ve also added senior Josh Clemons to the mix to keep Grass preferred three-man rotation in his backfield. Clemons graduated from Kentucky and transferred to JSU from the Wildcats to finish his career. He had 65 yards on eight carries in his JSU debut at Chattanooga on Sept. 5, including a 49-yard run on the first play of JSU s game-winning scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. In 2015, Pope (19), Clemons (4) and Jones (9) have combined for 32 rushing touchdowns, while quarterback Eli Jenkins has also added 14. Gamecocks Have Three 1,700-Yard Career Rushers Jacksonville State has three players with 1,700 career rushing yards, led by senior running back Troymaine Pope s 3,345. Junior quarterback Eli Jenkins is second on the team with 2,724 and Miles Jones has 1,784 career rushing yards for the Gamecocks. The trio has combined to run for 7,853 yards in their careers at JSU. CHAMPIONS

20 2015 Jacksonville State FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Gamecock 100-Yard Rushers Since 1995 Since moving to FCS in 1995, a total of 28 different Gamecocks have rushed for 100-yards or more in a game for a total of 116 times. Four current Gamecocks have 100-yard games in their careers. Here s a list of JSU s career 100-yard rushers: Current 100-yard Gamecock Rushers 250 Troymaine Pope vs Charleston Southern (Dec. 11, 2015) 234 Troymaine Pope vs Chattanooga (Dec. 5, 2015) 195 Eli Jenkins vs Charleston Southern (dec. 11, 2015) 195 Eli Jenkins vs Chattanooga (Dec. 5, 2015) 181 Troymaine Pope vs Sam Houston State (Dec. 19, 2015) 173 Troymaine Pope at Chattanooga (Sept. 5, 2015) 160 Troymaine Pope vs Jacksonville (Sept. 7, 2013) 159 Troymaine Pope at UT Martin (Sept. 26, 2015) 150 Miles Jones vs UT Martin (Oct. 3, 2014) 149 Eli Jenkins at Murray State (Sept. 28, 2014) 138 Miles Jones vs Jacksonville (Sept. 7, 2013) 137 Troymaine Pope vs. Southeast Missouri (Nov. 14,2015) 130 Eli Jenkins vs. Murray State (Nov. 21, 2015) 128 Eli Jenkins vs Jacksonville (Sept. 7, 2013) 124 Christian LeMay vs. Southeast Missouri (Nov. 14, 2015) 121 Troymaine Pope vs West Ala (Sept. 20, 2014) 120 Eli Jenkins vs Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 9, 2013) 115 Eli Jenkins vs Samford (Nov. 30, 2013) 114 Troymaine Pope at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 7, 2015) 114 Troymaine Pope at SEMO (Nov. 25, 2014) 110 Miles Jones vs. Eastern Kentucky (Oct. 31, 2015) 108 Miles Jones vs West Ala (Sept. 20, 2014) 102 Troymaine Pope at Southeast Missouri (Nov. 22, 2014) 100 Troymaine Pope vs. Miss. Valley State (Oct. 3, 2015) 100 Troymaine Pope vs UTC (Sept. 9, 2012) Career JSU 100-yard Rushing Games *-Active player 19 -DaMarcus James 14 - Clay Green 13 - *Troymaine Pope 9 - Rondy Rogers 8 - Washaun Ealey 7 - Oscar Bonds, *Eli Jenkins 6 - Kory Chapman, Daniel Jackson 4 - *Miles Jones 3 - Calvin Middleton 2 - Roger Bell, Amel Jackson, Marcus Mitchell, Ryan Perrilloux, Jamal Young 1 - Darius Barksdale, Herman Bell, Michael Davies, Tywone Dyson, Brandon George, Carlow James, Cedric Johnson, Montressa Kirby, *Christian LeMay, Maurice Mullins, Demetric Thomas, Gabe Walton Sharing the Wealth... In 2015, JSU s 75 touchdowns have been spread over 13 players: Troymaine Pope (20), Eli Jenkins (14), Josh Barge (11), Miles Jones (9), Ruben Gonzalez (4), Josh Clemons (4), Dalton Screws (3), Christian LeMay (3), Dawson Wells (2), Markis Merrill (2), Jarren Johnson (1), JoJo Wynn (1), and Bo Billups (1). Grass Sets Record with 10 Regular-Season Wins in 2014 First-year head coach John Grass finished the 2014 regular season with a 10-1 overall record to post the most wins by a JSU head coach in his debut season, passing the record of nine wins by Bill Clark (2013) and Jim Fuller (1977). Fuller finished with an 11-3 overall record, while Clark posted a 11-4 record in his inaugural season guiding the Gamecocks. Grass team ended with a 10-2 record. Gamecocks Post Record Since 08 Season Jacksonville State has posted a record since the start of the 2008 season, a.740 winning percentage. Keeping Them Close The Gamecocks are 12-5 in games decided by four points or less since the start of the 2010 season. JSU went 3-1 in 2010, 2-1 in 2011, 3-2 in 2012, 2-1 in 2013, 1-0 in 2014 and is 1-0 in JSU Winningest Team in OVC Jacksonville State has the all-time highest winning percentage of any other team in the OVC against conference members. Here s a list of the top three teams: Team OVC Record Pct. 1. Jacksonville State Eastern Kentucky Eastern Illinois Where Gamecock Seniors Rank in Winningest Classes The 2015 Jacksonville State University senior class ranks as the winningest four-year classes and currently have the best winning percentage since the Gamecocks left the Division II ranks in For the record, JSU s all-time best four-year record is held by the 1992 NCAA Division II National Championship team, which finished 46-6 over their tenure. Here s a list of the top JSU Division I senior classes: BY WINS FOUR-YEAR CLASS RECORD PCT BY PERCENTAGE FOUR-YEAR CLASS RECORD PCT JSU s John Grass Joins Elite OVC Coaches JSU s John Grass led his team to the OVC Championship in his first year as a collegiate head coach. In doing so he became just the fifth OVC coach to lead his team to the title in his first season as a head coach, joining Austin Peay s Boots Donnelly (1977), UT Martin s Jason Simpson (2006), Eastern Kentucky s Dean Hood (2008) and Eastern Illinois Dino Babers (2012). He and Babers are the only two coaches to win OVC crowns in each of their first two seasons in league history but Grass is the first coach in league and FCS history to go 16-0 in his first two seasons. 20 CHAMPIONS