No. 1 seed Jacksonville State cruised past Sam Houston State in the FCS semifinals Saturday afternoon, winning 62-10 in Jacksonville. The Gamecocks will face four-time defending FCS champion No. 3 North Dakota State in the championship game Jan. 9 at noon ET on ESPN2.
Jacksonville State advances to face North Dakota State in FCS Championship Game
It’s the first time the Gamecocks will play for an FCS title. NDSU won the last four.
John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
This is the first FCS Championship Game appearance in Jacksonville State history. The last national title game for the Gamecocks was a 17-13 win over Pittsburg State in the 1992 Division II National Championship Game. North Dakota State beat Richmond 33-7 on Friday to secure its spot.
Jacksonville State scored four plays into the game after recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff, and didn’t look back from there. Troymaine Pope made it a two-score game early with a 62-yard TD.
The Gamecocks led 41-10 at halftime, and ended up getting 181 yards and two touchdowns from Pope in the win. Eli Jenkins also had a good game, completing 17 of 23 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
Jacksonville State has an explosive offense, scoring at least 40 points in each playoff game. But remember Bob Stitt’s explosive Montana offense, the one that upset North Dakota State in Week 1? The Bison just shredded it in the quarterfinals, beating the Grizzlies 37-6 and allowing just 3.5 yards per play.
You may remember Jacksonville State as the FCS team that nearly beat Auburn. But keeping NDSU from a fifth straight title might be an even tougher task.
See More:
