FINAL STATS (.pdf)  |  PHOTO GALLERY  |  FINAL STATS (html)

ATLANTA – The Jacksonville State football team needed overtime to escape the Georgia Dome with a hard-fought 34-27 win over upstart Georgia State on Saturday.

In a game that saw three ties and three lead changes, the No. 4 Gamecocks (3-0) pulled another one out of their hats, thanks to a touchdown run from Marques Ivory and a defensive stop in overtime. The win is JSU's third win in the final two minutes this season and puts its record at 3-0 for the first time since the 2004 season.

JSU needed four rushing plays, the last a four-yard scoring run from Ivory, to drive the 25 yards on its overtime possession. Clinging to the seven-point lead, the Gamecock defense forced a fourth-and-goal from the two for the Panthers (1-2). At the end of a night that saw JSU flagged 13 times to GSU's four, one official signaled a touchdown after watching Emmanuel Ogbuehi haul in a Kelton Hill pass with his leg lying out of bounds. As the Panthers and most of the 16,128 in attendance erupted in celebration, the call was corrected and the Gamecocks celebrated their seventh-straight win.

Ivory, a junior from Warner Robins, Ga., completed a career-high 24 passes in 32 attempts for 283 yards, also a career-best. He connected with Jamal Young for a touchdown pass and ran for 21 yards and a score on five carries.

Young, a senior from Jackson, Miss., led the JSU rushing attack with 64 yards on nine carries, thanks to 58 yards on six carries after the third quarter. In the absence of leading rusher Calvin Middleton to a foot injury, the Gamecocks spread 39 carries among five players and totaled 167 of their 450 yards on the ground. Freshman Darius Barksdale ran for 37 yards and his first career touchdown on 14 carries.

The Panthers, in their third game in program history, put the ball in the air 40 times to account for 227 of their 339 yards of total offense. Quarterback Drew Little completed 25 of his 28 pass attempts for 227 yards and an interception, while tailback Travis Evans ran for 54 yards on seven carries to led the GSU ground game.

Sophomore Keginald Harris got the Gamecocks' interception and broke up a pair of passes, the latter being on the final play of the game. He added four tackles, three behind a three-way tie between Antonio Bonner, T.J. Heath and Morrell Jones for the team lead on the afternoon.

The Gamecocks took the opening kickoff and drove down the field before stalling inside the Panthers' 10-yard line. James Esco, capped the 13-play, 69-yard drive with a 20-yard field goal that gave the Gamecocks an early 3-0 lead. That lead would be short-lived, as the Panthers would use a good return on the ensuing kick to set up a 41-yard score on a reverse by Darren McCray that gave them a 7-3 lead with 6:23 on the first quarter clock.

Jax State answered with the next possession, driving 78 yards in 11 plays to close the first quarter, setting up a four-yard touchdown pass from Ivory to Jamal Young. The Gamecocks' first offensive touchdown in the first half this season put them back on top 10-7 with 14:54 remaining in the half.

The Panthers started their next drive at their own 39 and took it into Gamecock territory before stalling. Iain Vance picked up the slack for the GSU offense, sneaking a 39-yard field goal just over the crossbar and tying the game at 10-10 with 10:38 to play.

JSU would use a late drive to reclaim the lead before the half. Blanchard scampered in from four yards out to finish off the 49-yard drive and give the Gamecocks a 17-10 half time advantage, their first lead at the intermission this season.

The Panthers started the second half with a drive, but the Gamecock defense wouldn't break once the ball got deep in their territory. Vance put three points on the board from 25 yards out, cutting the JSU lead to 17-13 with 8:34 to play in the third. The Gamecocks answered with a field goal of their own after a penalty stalled their drive inside the 10. Esco's 27 yarder was true and gave the Gamecocks a 20-13 lead with 12 seconds left in the third.

The Gamecocks couldn't wrap up GSU running back Travis Evans on the Panthers' next drive, one that was capped by a 46-yard scoring run that tied the game at 20-20 with 13:26 remaining in the game.

They did answer again, thanks to a 69-yard drive that was capped by Darius Barksdale's first career touchdown run. The one-yard plunge gave JSU its fourth lead of the afternoon, a 27-20 advantage with 9:38 remaining on the clock.

The Panthers dealt the next blow in the slugfest, a 13-plat, 75-yard drive that was aided by a few timely penalties and a pair of key third-down conversions. Little pushed it in from the one with 3:57 to play and Vance's kick tied it at 27-27, the third tie of the day.

The Gamecocks got the ball back with a little under four minutes to play, but they couldn't stop the clock from running out before attempting a field goal, sending the game into overtime.

Jax State opens Ohio Valley Conference play on Saturday, when they take on rival Eastern Illinois at 1:30 p.m. CT in Charleston, Ill.

POSTGAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: junior QB Marques Ivory, senior OL Curt Porter, senior LB Antonio Bonner and junior DT Jamison Wadley.
- Georgia State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- JSU and Georgia State met for the first time on the gridiron.
- The Overtime contest marked the second extra session game of the season and sixth overall. JSU is now 2-0 on the season on OT games and improves to 3-4 all-time in extra period sessions.
- Jax State is now 3-0 on the season for the first time since 2004....That season, the Gamecocks topped Emporia State, Chattanooga and Eastern Kentucky.
- JSU has now won seven straight games, dating back to the final four wins of the 2009 season.
- The Gamecocks have scored on nine of 11 possessions in the final quarter and overtime periods this season.
- JSU's 17-10 lead at halftime was the first lead that it has had this season at the break.
- The Gamecocks were flagged for a season-high ten penalties for 96 yards. JSU was penalized seven times at Ole Miss.
- Jax State accumulated a season-high 450 yards on offense. The Gamecocks accumulated 355 yards of offense at Ole Miss.
- JSU tallied 24 first downs, the most since it finished with 28 against Tennessee Tech last season (11/11/08).
- Freshman RB Darius Barksdale earned his first collegiate start and punched in his first career TD in fourth quarter. The Batesville, Miss.-native finished with 37 yards on 14 carries.
- JSU's three points in the first quarter is the first time this season that it has put points on the board in the opening period this season...Marques Ivory's TD toss to Jamal Young to start the second quarter was the Gamecocks' first offensive TD of the first half this season.
- Junior QB completed a career-high 24 passes for 283 yards, also a new career mark.
- Senior RB Jamal Young caught his first TD pass of the season and his third scoring reception of his career... Young finished the game with 64 rushing yards on nine carries,.
- JSU converted on seven third-down conversions
- Sophomore DB Keginald Harris posted his second interception of the season to close out the end of the opening half.
- Junior CB A.J. Davis was credited with a tackle for loss and a pass break up. The stop behind the line was the fourth of his career.
- Sophomore PK James Esco nailed two field goals inside 30 yards...His three previous attempts were beyond 40 yards.
- Seniors Antonio Bonner and T.J Heath led the JSU defense with seven tackles. Heath was also credited with a pass break up.
- For the second-straight week, senior WR John Houston Whiddon has paced the receiving corp with six catched for 69 yards against GSU.
- JSU punted just twice in the contest, including a 51 yard punt by Coty Blanchard that went inside the 20, his fourth of the season.
- GSU's Travis Evans' 46-yard TD scamper is the longest rush surrendered by the JSU defense this season.

BY THE NUMBERS
0 - Points in the opening half from the Gamecocks, the first time JSU has been held scoreless in the first 30 minutes since the Georgia Tech Game of 2008.
2 - Games this season that finished in overtime. JSU is now 2-0 and 3-4 overall in OT.
4 - Turnovers commited by the Gamecocks, the most since Oct. 11, 2008 against Eastern Kentucky.
7 - Point lead at halftime, the first lead by the Gamecocks at the intermission.
9 - Touchdowns in the final quarter and overtime this season.
10 - JSU was flagged for a season-high ten times for 96 yards.
24 - Completions by QB Marques Ivory, a new career mark for the junior from Warner Robins, Ga.
450 - Season-high in total yards, topping JSU's 355 total yards at Ole Miss.
103 - Consecutive games in which the Gamecocks have scored, a streak that dates back to Nov.18, 2000, when they were last shut out.