Umaine Defeats Jacksonville State 55-27 In Historic Playoff Win

ORONO, Maine — Jacksonville State entered Saturday’s Football Championship Subdivision second round game with one of the nation’s most potent offenses. But the Black Bear offense put on a show and the defense came up with a number of big plays as the Black Bears set a school record for points in a playoff game en route to a 55-27 victory at Morse Field. UMaine, which improved to 9-3, will play the winner of the Weber State-Southeast Missouri State game next Saturday in the quarterfinals. [How UMaine’s underdog football team turned tragedy into a conference title] Jacksonville State — which averaged 499 yards and 41.1 points which were sixth and eighth in the FCS, respectively — wound up 9-4. Redshirt freshman running back Ramon Jefferson scored two TDs and rushed for 186 yards on 26 carries. Zerrick Cooper completed 19 of 43 passes for 365 yards and two TDs to Jamari Hester for Jacksonville State. UMaine’s first-half output exceeded its point production for an entire game this season: a 38-36 win at Rhode Island on Oct.