Jacksonville State goes for 2 to stun Ole Miss in 2 OTs

OXFORD, Miss. - On the final crazy play of a crazy game, Jacksonville State running back Calvin Middleton caught a two-point conversion pass from Coty Blanchard in the middle of a mass of bodies as the lower-tier Gamecocks punctuated a 49-48 victory over Mississippi in two overtimes Saturday.

"The coaches called a shovel pass," Middleton said. "I don't even know if [Blanchard] saw me."

Blanchard threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Kevyn Cooper on fourth-and-15 to pull within 48-47 in the second overtime. That's when Gamecocks coach Jack Crowe made the call to go for the win. "I just didn't think we could play defense again," Crowe said.

Crowe, teary-eyed during the postgame news conference, was fired as coach at Arkansas in 1992 after his team lost to The Citadel, also a lower-level program. Jacksonville (Ala.) State, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) team from the Ohio Valley Conference, trailed 31-10 at halftime but outscored Ole Miss 21-3 in the fourth quarter.

"Without a doubt, it's the worst loss of my career," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said.

Jeremiah Masoli made his debut for Mississippi after being cleared by the NCAA on Friday. He completed 7 of 10 passes for 109 yards and one interception and led the Rebels on both TD drives in overtime.

The Ole Miss offense, which debuted eight new starters, scored on five of six first-half possessions, including four TDs.

After that, Jacksonville State scored on its final six possessions, including touchdowns on the last five. The Ole Miss defense, which returned six starters, ranked in the top half of the SEC in most major categories last season.

Ole Miss kicker Bryson Rose made a 35-yard field goal to extend the lead to 34-26 with 2:55 left in regulation, but Jacksonville drove the field for a touchdown to pull within 34-32 with 18.9 seconds left. Marques Ivory threw a 2-yard pass to La'Ray Williams for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 34 and send it to overtime.

Blanchard and Ivory combined to go 22-for-36 for 252 yards and four TDs.- AP