The Ohio Valley Conference has been eliminated from the FCS Playoffs, as Jacksonville State lost at home Saturday 37-26 to Sam Houston State in the second round of the postseason.

Jacksonville State was the last OVC representative in the playoffs, after Eastern Kentucky lost its opening-round game 36-16 in Richmond, Ky., to Indiana State on Nov. 29. The Gamecocks ended the year at 10-2, while the Colonels were 9-4 to finish the season.

Heading into the second half with a 26-24 lead, Jacksonville State’s offense was shutout in the final 30 minutes, while the Bearkats scored two third-quarter touchdowns to come back and advance to the quarterfinals against No. 6 seed Villanova.

Sam Houston State quarterback Jared Johnson only made 19 passing attempts, but he completed 13, with three ending as touchdowns. He threw for 161 yards, but also caused havoc for the Jacksonville State defense, as Johnson rushed for 85 yards and scored a 10-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter to tie the game at 14.

Johnson’s third touchdown pass of the game came on his longest passing play of the game. He connected with LaDarius Brown for 49 yards, putting Sam Houston State ahead for good at 30-26, with 8:03 left in the third quarter.

Jalen Overstreet’s 33-yard rushing touchdown later in the third quarter padded the Bearkats’ lead, while the Gamecocks struggled to get anything going on offense.

After putting up 351 yards of offense in the first half, Jacksonville State managed to gain 162 yards in the second half.

Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins threw for 211 yards in the first half and threw a touchdown pass. He did through an interception in each half, though. Jenkins finished 12-of-24, for 253 yards, adding a rushing touchdown and 84 yards on the ground.

“I feel like we made more plays in the first half and we had a lot of penalties in the second half that stopped our drives,” Jenkins said during his postgame press conference. “We just didn’t make enough plays.”

The Gamecocks committed 12 penalties for 129 yards in their loss.

Jacksonville State coach John Grass said his team left some points on the field in the first half, when the Gamecocks kicked two field goals when they were inside the Sam Houston State 30-yard line.

“We kicked field goals in the first half that I thought we could have gotten touchdowns,” he said after the game. “They just made a few more plays than we did.”

As a conference, the OVC was 0-2 in this year’s FCS Playoffs. Last season, Eastern, Jacksonville State and Tennessee State were able to combine for four wins, as the Panthers and Gamecocks both reached the quarterfinals.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.