Jackson State Kicks Its Way past Tennessee State 26-24
Andrew Ivaniciuc kicked four field goals, the last one from 21 yards with 2:31 left, and Jackson State won 26-24. Flip that final kick into a miss and Tennessee State is the one celebrating a one-point win.
Jackson State got off to a flying start on an 88-yard touchdown pass from Jared Lockhart to Jabari Jones in the first quarter, but then Tennessee State took over the scoreboard. Brenton Paul scored from 9 yards to tie it at 7-7, Daylin Lee ran in from a yard out, and Preston Hurless added a 45-yard field goal for a 17-7 lead. That was the biggest gap of the day, 10 points. Ivaniciuc cut it to 17-10 with 26 seconds left in the half.
The second half belonged to the kicker. Ivaniciuc hit from 45 yards in the third, Emari Matthews ran in from 2 yards for a 20-17 lead, and Ivaniciuc made it 23-17 from 51 yards with 1:13 left in the quarter. Lee threw a 5-yard score to Francisco Pratts III at 8:48 of the fourth to put Tennessee State back in front, 24-23. The lead changed hands four times, and the last change was the 21-yarder.
Jackson State finished with 405 yards to 356 and ran 36 times for 183 yards against Tennessee State's 91. Neither team threw an interception or lost a fumble. Jackson State is 1-0, and Tennessee State is 0-1 after leading with 8:48 to play.
Fantasy-wise, the two best scorers in this one, Lee and Jayden Guy, both played for the losing side.