Jacksonville St. 27, Chattanooga 24

Published Sep. 8, 2012 11:33 p.m. ET

foxsports

Griffin Thomas knocked down a 37-yard field goal at the final gun, helping Jacksonville State stave off Chattanooga 27-24 Saturday night.

The Gamecocks (1-1) led by as many as 14, but Chattanooga's (0-2) Jacob Huesman passed for a pair of touchdowns in the second half, including a game-tying, 16-yard scoring pass to Ron Moore with 39 seconds left.

Jacksonville State's Marques Ivory orchestrated a six-play, 35-yard drive in the remaining seconds, though, completing 3 of 4 passes for 22 yards to set up Thomas' winning kick.

DaMarcus James and Troymaine Pope led the Gamecocks' offense on the ground, with James netting 120 yards on 16 carries and Pope earning 101 yards on 12 attempts. James also scored a pair of touchdowns.

Huesman finished 18-of-30 passing for 181 yards and two scores, and also ran for 171 yards on 21 carries, including a touchdown.