Jacksonville State stays unbeaten in conference play with win over Eastern Kentucky

Jacksonville State went out a winner in its final game at Burgess-Snow Field as an FCS program.

The Gamecocks, who are moving to FBS Conference USA in 2023, knocked off Eastern Kentucky 42-17 as quarterback Zion Webb – one of 11 upperclassmen honored in a Senior Day pregame ceremony – and Pat Jackson each rushed for two touchdowns.

Jax State improved to 8-2, 4-0 in the ASUN Conference, and can stake their claim to the league title outright with a win at Central Arkansas in next week's season finale.

"I'm really proud of our guys – they played hard and all three phases contributed in some way," said Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez. "I think our guys were really focused for those seniors. It was a really good win."

Webb had touchdown runs of four and six yards in the first half as Jax State opened a 21-7 lead at the break.

The senior quarterback finished with a career-best 104 yards on the ground in his 39th appearance in a JSU uniform, his previous high of 100 yards coming against the Colonels four years earlier. He also threw for 155 yards, completing 10 of 16 passes.

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Jackson scored Jax State's first and last touchdowns, both on 1-yard runs in the first and fourth quarters, respectively. Ron Wiggins ran for 139 yards on 13 carries and scored on a 26-yard touchdown jaunt in the third quarter.

Matt LaRoche contributed a 5-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter en route to 82 yards on 14 rushes.

Eastern Kentucky (6-4, 2-2), which entered the day averaging 36.1 points per game, was held to a season-low 17 points.

The Gamecocks will hit the road for their final game next Saturday at Central Arkansas. It will be Jax State's first visit to Estes Stadium, which features a purple and gray striped artificial surface.

"For our guys, they've got at least a share of (the ASUN title), so this is a huge week for us coming up because we don't want a share of it. We want to try to win it outright," said Rodriguez.

Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be available on ESPN+.