ATLANTA (AP) — TaQuon Marshall passed for three touchdowns, receiver Ricky Jeune scored twice and Georgia Tech beat Jacksonville State 37-10 on Saturday.
Playing five days after losing in two overtimes to Tennessee, The Yellow Jackets (1-1) had a sluggish start but took charge with three TDs in the third quarter and added a fourth-quarter score when Marshall ran for 1 yard.
Marshall, making his second career start, was 5 for 7 passing for 112 yards but he had just 25 yards rushing on 13 carries, far off his production from Monday, when he ran for five touchdowns and set an Atlantic Coast Conference record for yards rushing by a quarterback with 249.
Roc Thomas rushed 18 times for 86 yards for Jacksonville State (1-1), which is ranked No. 5 in the FCS coaches' poll and has a 32-game winning streak in the regular season against non-FBS opponents.
Jacksonville State quarterback Bryant Horn had 50 yards passing and 41 rushing in the first half, but he threw his second pick of the game on the opening drive of the second half. Both of his interceptions immediately led to touchdowns.
Georgia Tech made it 17-7 on its first drive of the third when Marshall and Jeune connected for a 23-yard TD. Horn lost a fumble on the Gamecocks' next offensive snap, and the Jackets went up 23-7 when J.J. Green caught a 10-yard pass on a crossing route in the back of the end zone.
The Jackets took a 10-7 lead late in the second quarter on Marshall's 27-yard pass to Jeune. Jacksonville State led 7-3 early in the period on Horn's 5-yard pass to Krenwick Sanders. Georgia Tech was on the board first when Davis kicked a 34-yard field goal in the first.
THE TAKEAWAY
Jacksonville State: John Grass has had an outstanding run in four years as head coach, not losing a regular-season game to a non-FBS opponent and overseeing one of six Division I teams to win at least 10 games since the start of 2014. The others are Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Florida State and perennial FCS national contender North Dakota State. Despite the loss, the Gamecocks are still heavily favored to win the Ohio Valley Conference and make a run for the national title.
Jacksonville State dropped to 0-3 against Georgia Tech. Its only other regular-season losses under Grass are to Michigan State, Auburn and LSU.
Georgia Tech: The Jackets needed a defender make a big play against Tennessee, but nobody stepped up. CB Lawrence Austin did his part against Jacksonville State even though he had an inauspicious start in losing his helmet on Krenwick Sanders' touchdown catch early in the second. On the Gamecocks' next two possessions, Austin broke up a third-down pass attempt and picked off Horn for a 21-yard return to set up Georgia Tech's first TD.
UP NEXT
Jacksonville State: The Gamecocks host Liberty on Sept. 23.
Georgia Tech: The Jackets visit Central Florida next Saturday.
