# 2015 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

The 2015 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach John Grass, the Gamecocks compiled an overall record of 13–2 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the OVC title for the second consecutive season. Jacksonville State received the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. After a first-round bye, the Gamecocks defeated Chattanooga in the second round, Charleston Southern in the quarterfinals, and Sam Houston State in the semifinals before losing to North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. The team played home games at Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 5:00 pm | at No. 8 Chattanooga* | No. 7 | Finley StadiumChattanooga, TN | SDN | W 23–20 | 15,812 |
| September 12 | 11:00 am | at No. 6 (FBS) Auburn* | No. 5 | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL | SECN | L 20–27 $^{OT}$ | 87,451 |
| September 19 | 1:00 pm | Tennessee State | No. 1 | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL | ESPN3 | W 48–13 | 23,413 |
| September 26 | 2:00 pm | at UT Martin | No. 1 | Graham StadiumMartin, TN | ESPN3 | W 48–41 | 3,982 |
| October 3 | 1:00 pm | Mississippi Valley State* | No. 1 | JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL | WJXS | W 49–7 | 13,889 |
| October 17 | 6:00 pm | at Tennessee Tech | No. 1 | Tucker StadiumCookeville, TN | OVCDN | W 42–13 | 5,575 |
| October 24 | 4:00 pm | at Austin Peay | No. 1 | Governors StadiumClarksville, TN | OVCDN | W 27–7 | 5,411 |
| October 31 | 1:00 pm | No. 13 Eastern Kentucky | No. 1 | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL | WJXS | W 34–0 | 21,988 |
| November 7 | 1:00 pm | at Eastern Illinois | No. 1 | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | OVCDN | W 24–3 | 4,221 |
| November 14 | 1:00 pm | Southeast Missouri State | No. 1 | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL | WJXS | W 56–28 | 18,995 |
| November 21 | 1:00 pm | Murray State | No. 1 | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL | WJXS | W 42–20 | 18,555 |
| December 5 | 2:00 pm | No. 7 Chattanooga* | No. 1 | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN3 | W 41–35 $^{OT}$ | 21,452 |
| December 11 | 7:00 pm | No. 9 Charleston Southern* | No. 1 | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN2 | W 58–38 | 22,279 |
| December 19 | 3:00 pm | No. 6 Sam Houston State* | No. 1 | Burgess–Snow Field at JSU StadiumJacksonville, AL (NCAA Division I Semifinal) | ESPNU | W 62–10 | 23,692 |
| January 9, 2016 | 11:00 am | vs. No. 2 North Dakota State* | No. 1 | Toyota StadiumFrisco, TX (NCAA Division I Championship Game) | ESPN2 | L 10–37 | 21,836 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### @ Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #7 Gamecocks | 3 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 23 |
| #8 Mocs | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 20 |

### @ Auburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| #5 Gamecocks | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| • #6 (FBS) Tigers | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 |

### Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 0 | 21 | 17 | 10 | 48 |

### @ UT Martin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 14 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 48 |
| Skyhawks | 6 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 41 |

### Mississippi Valley State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Delta Devils | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 14 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 49 |

### @ Tennessee Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 14 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 42 |
| Golden Eagles | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |

### @ Austin Peay

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 10 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| Governors | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Eastern Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Colonels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 7 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 34 |

### @ Eastern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
| Panthers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### Southeast Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redhawks | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 7 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 56 |

### Murray State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |

### Chattanooga—NCAA Division I Second Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| #7 Mocs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 0 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 41 |

### Charleston Southern—NCAA Division I Quarterfinal

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 Buccaneers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 38 |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 10 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 58 |

### Sam Houston State—NCAA Division I Semifinal

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #6 Sam Houston State | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • #1 Gamecocks | 17 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 62 |

### North Dakota State—NCAA Division I Championship Game

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #2 North Dakota State | 3 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 37 |
| #1 Gamecocks | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | 7 | 5 (24) | 1 (39) | 1 (93) | 1 (89) | 1 (89) | 1 (89) | 1 (108) | 1 (107) | 1 (139) | 1 (149) | 1 (145) | 1 (135) | 2 |
| Coaches | 9 | 6 (1) | 4 (5) | 3 (3) | 3 (3) | 3 (4) | 3 (4) | 2 (5) | 2 (8) | 1 (23) | 1 (25) | 1 (24) | 1 (20) | 2 |