JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Quarterback Caden Creel and Cam Cook combined to rush for 252 yards and three touchdowns, powering Jacksonville State to a 35-26 victory over Kennesaw State on Saturday night in a Conference USA showdown.
The Gamecocks (7-3, 6-0) have used a five-game win streak to move a game ahead of the field. The Owls (7-3, 5-1) fall a half-game behind second-place Western Kentucky.
Amari Odom scored on a 1-yard run at the end of a 14-play drive and Kennesaw State jumped in front. Creel answered with an 18-yard touchdown run to tie it 7-all after one quarter.
Daniel Kinney’s 43-yard field goal gave the Owls a 10-7 lead with 4:33 left before halftime. Cook scored on a 6-yard run less than two minutes later and Gavin Wimsatt fired a 62-yard scoring strike to Deondre Johnson with 4 seconds left on his only pass to put the Gamecocks up 22-10.
Garrison Rippa stretched the lead to 15 with a 32-yard field goal midway through the third quarter and Creel scored on a 15-yard run for a 32-13 advantage with 10:30 left in the game.
Backup quarterback Dexter Williams II connected with Clayton Coppock for a 10-yard touchdown before scoring on a 9-yard run at 3:22 to cut the Owls’ deficit to 32-26.
Jacksonville State ran all but 20 seconds off the clock before Rippa kicked a short field goal.
Creel completed 8 of 13 passes for 137 yards and rushed 14 times for 127 more. Cook carried 27 times for 132 yards. Johnson totaled 112 yards on two catches.
Odom and Williams combined to complete 27 of 44 passes for 362 yards. Odom threw three interceptions and Williams had one.
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