Jacksonville State nearly beat Auburn and earned the No. 1 FCS seed. Now North Dakota State awaits

Jacksonville State has been one of the FCS’s most successful programs in recent years. Since firing long tenured head coach Jack Crowe in 2012, the Gamecocks have advanced to at least the second round of the FCS Playoff all three years. They’ve won the Ohio Valley Conference crown twice. Since 2010, they’ve beaten Ole Miss on the road and took then-No. 6 Auburn to overtime in a narrow defeat. Now, they’re the top seed in this year’s playoffs and one win away from a national title.

And all people can talk about is North Dakota State.

It’s true the narrative favors the Bison. A fifth-straight FCS title would be unprecedented in college football. They spend so much money on their now-annual trips, Frisco has come to depend on the economic influx of NDSU fans. But when the FCS championship game kicks off on Saturday, the Gamecocks have the chance to shed all those storylines for the one that actually matters; their success on the field.

Jacksonville State has been a juggernaut in 2015. Its only loss came at Auburn, which at the time was still fresh off of being named the preseason SEC favorite. In the surrounding weeks, the Gamecocks have defeated five ranked opponents by an average 23-point margin of victory. Last week’s national semifinal game against No. 6 Sam Houston State was supposed to be their biggest test of the season. Instead, it was a 62-10 blowout that put the Gamecocks on the brink of their first Division I title in any sport.

While the team’s defense has shined in big performances against Sam Houston State, Eastern Kentucky, and Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State’s headliner is a rushing offense that gashes opponents early and then lets them bleed out as the game wears on. Only two teams in the FCS averaged more ground yardage per game than the Gamecocks’ 311.7.

Tailback Troymane Pope and quarterback Eli Jenkins have combined for 2,830 rush yards this season and 33 rushing touchdowns. In a four quarter stretch between their quarterfinal matchup against Charleston Southern and their semifinal rout of SHSU, they torched opposing defenses for eight touchdowns - five of which came on runs of 44 yards or longer. That’s pretty much commonplace for Pope, who is one of the biggest home run threats in the country. He has 10 scoring plays of 30 yards or more.

Jenkins can throw the ball, too. He’s averaged 195 passing yards per contest and posted a strong 21:6 TD:INT ratio. He’ll get tested against a North Dakota State defense that’s produced top 15 results against the pass and the run, but he’s passed similar tests in 2015. He threw for 277 yards and a touchdown against a Will Muschamp-led Auburn defense back in September.

Less recent history is on Jacksonville State’s side as well. The Gamecocks are undefeated in the postseason against North Dakota State. The two teams met in 1977 and 1989 in the Division II Playoffs, where Jacksonville State recorded 31-7 and 21-17 wins, respectively, over their national title game opponents.

The two programs will meet again on Saturday. This time it will be in the biggest game in Gamecock history. Jacksonville State may be flying under the national radar, but the Gamecocks will have a chance to create their own narrative when they play in the weekend’s biggest college football game. A win on Saturday means they’ll be able to start annexing North Dakota State’s claim in north Texas. They’ll have to survive a Frisco shootout to get there first - but with two of the nation’s most dynamic scoring threats on their sideline, this Jacksonville State team shouldn’t have a problem writing their own headline.