JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - An emotional comeback.
A bitter end.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team rallied from down 14 points in the fourth quarter of its Football Championship Subdivision playoff game against top-seeded Jacksonville State, briefly taking a seven-point lead before the Gamecocks forced overtime.
In the extra period, UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman threw an interception and JSU quarterback Eli Jenkins scrambled for the deciding touchdown in a 41-35 win over the seventh-ranked Mocs in front of 21,452 fans Saturday at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium.
The Gamecocks (11-1) next week will face eighth-seeded Charleston Southern, which defeated The Citadel 14-6. The Mocs finish their season at 9-4.
"It was a great football game. I think all the people there saw a great back-and-forth football game," UTC coach Russ Huesman said. "Give Jacksonville State credit: They beat us fair and square. They played fantastic; they are a well-coached team that knows what they want to do offensively and defensively."
Jacob Huesman finished with 258 yards of total offense in his final game and accounted for all five UTC touchdowns. He ran for two, including a 45-yarder that trimmed the margin to 21-14 before halftime after JSU had run off 21 consecutive points.
He also threw for two touchdowns and caught a 39-yard pass from Alejandro Bennifield for a score that put the Mocs in front 35-28 with 8:35 to play in the fourth quarter.
Derrick Craine added 95 yards rushing, giving him 1,251 yards and breaking Eldra Buckley's school record of 1,233 set in 2005. Huesman also topped Buckley's mark, finishing with 1,244 and becoming the third quarterback in FCS history to rush for more than 4,000 yards.
Defensive end Keionta Davis had a pair of first-quarter sacks, giving him 13.5 for the year and topping Davis Tull's single-season mark of 12.5 in 2012, but the Gamecocks had their way offensively against the Mocs, finishing with 432 yards rushing and 640 total.
"Obviously our defense didn't play anywhere near what we're capable of," Coach Huesman said. "They've got some athletes that are incredible. We didn't play good enough to win: They ripped us apart - we didn't fit gaps; we didn't tackle well; the schemes weren't good against them.
"You have to defend (Troymaine) Pope, but you have to defend Jenkins, (Josh) Barge and (Ruben) Gonzalez, and they have four all-conference offensive linemen. It's a hard, hard chore to defend those guys."
Jenkins had 208 yards passing and 195 rushing and ran for three scores, while Pope - who had 173 yards in the first meeting on Sept. 5 - had 234 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns.
Gonzalez had 101 yards on five catches, while Barge had 76 yards on six.
"It was huge to get this victory," Jenkins said. "Chattanooga is a great ball club, and we knew we would get their best. It was down to the wire, but we made the plays to get over the hump.
"We earned this."
He threw a touchdown pass to Gonzalez from 21 yards out that would have given the Gamecocks a 35-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, but the call was overturned on review as it was determined Gonzalez was out of bounds when he secured the catch. JSU kicker Connor Rouleau missed a 38-yard field-goal try on the next play, and the Mocs answered with a 9-play, 79-yard drive that was capped by a touchdown pass to James Stovall that cut the lead to 28-21.
C.J. Board had a 41-yard punt return to give the Mocs the ball on JSU's side of the field, and Jacob Huesman had runs of 13 and 12 yards before a 15-yard touchdown pass to Alphonso Stewart to tie the game.
The Mocs then took the lead on the quarterback's touchdown catch from the backup QB, but Pope responded two possessions later with a 75-yard touchdown run around the left side to tie the game.
Both teams had drives stall, which forced overtime. In the extra period, the Mocs got a first down on their next drive, but Huesman threw a pass that was intercepted by Brandon Bender.
"It was a little throwback," Huesman said. "I thought if I put the ball far enough on Craine's outside shoulder, he'd have a chance at it. I didn't do it, though; I left it inside, and that's mistake number one. I can't do that; it's a tough ending to it, a tough ending."
Jenkins had an 11-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, then finished the game with the 14-yarder.
"We knew we still had to fight no matter the situation," the Mocs' Davis said. "No matter if we were down five touchdowns, we've still got to fight. I had 100 percent confidence in our offense that if we could give them the ball back, they could do amazing things like they did today, so I'm proud of the guys and how we fought."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at @genehenleytfp.