Rich Rodriguez sat down in his postgame news conference with a sigh and a smile.

“As we say: Jax State football, are you not entertained?” the veteran coach quipped.

Jacksonville State emerged the victors out of a back-and-forth contest against Florida International, taking a 34-31 win after trailing twice in the second half.

The win gave Jax State its seventh straight victory and sole possession of the Conference USA lead, with Western Kentucky falling to Louisiana Tech at home.

“It’s tough, and you’ve got to give them credit,” Rodriguez said. “They had some extra time, they had a great plan. Offensively all day, we were scrambling around a little bit and defensively, their defense in the second half did a nice job.

“Our guys are pretty resilient; we made plays when we had to, we ran the ball at the end of the game when everybody knows you’ve got to run the ball to win it, and that was good to see. It’s hard winning.”

The victory on Saturday at AmFirst Stadium marked Jax State’s first time since 2010 winning back-to-back games when trailing in the fourth quarter.

With the victory, the Gamecocks (7-3, 7-0 CUSA) can win next Saturday’s contest against Sam Houston and clinch a spot in the conference championship game.

“That’s pretty good stakes right there; if you win the game, you’re in the conference championship,” Rodriguez said. “Who would’ve thought? A month and a half ago, the way we started, we’d be sitting here with a chance to go to be in the conference championship game in our last home game and in our seniors’ last home game.

“Congrats to our guys for that, but it’s going to be a big week.”

Heading into this week’s contest and the next week, quarterback Tyler Huff has preached the same message to his group as it prepares to play for the highest stakes of the season at home.

“It’s a great feeling to know you’re in the driver’s seat and the destiny is in all of our control,” the Furman transfer said. “Super exciting game, my message to the guys is don’t let the pressure of the game make us play out of our bodies and make us play who we are.

“This is going to be good, but I think after we celebrate this one tonight and get back and study the film tomorrow and everybody recovers, we’ll be in good shape.”

The second half of Saturday’s contest saw four lead changes, three of which occurred in the fourth quarter. Down 24-20, tight end Sean Brown broke loose for a 56-yard receiving touchdown to give the Gamecocks a 27-24 lead before FIU retook it two minutes later with a 39-yard connection between quarterback Keyonte Jenkins and receiver Antonio Ferguson.

Tre Stewart’s 56-yard touchdown break with 9:55 left to play gave the Gamecocks a lead they never lost.

“You look every week at college football, ‘geez look at that score, geez look at that score,’” Rodriguez said. “It’s hard, and we’ve gotten seven in a row, and so I’m proud of the way our guys have hung in there.”

Stewart had his sixth-straight 100-yard rushing game, piling up 136 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries; he also hauled in three catches for 20 yards. Running back Ron Wiggins also saw the field for the first time this season after recovering from a toe ligament surgery, carrying the ball four times for 23 yards.

“We got him in a little bit,” Rodriguez said of Wiggins. “Tre Stewart is one of the best in the league, and we’re going to ride him as much as we can, but it’s good to have Ron back in the game. He’s got explosive stuff.

“He’s not 100% in shape because he hasn’t practiced as much, but he’s going to help us; Q Lewis didn’t get any reps, and we trust Andrew Paul as well, but Tre Stewart is a guy that everybody knows we’re going to ride him because I think he’s proven to be one of the best in the league.”

Huff completed 15 of his 28 passing attempts for 211 yards and a touchdown, also running for 76 yards and a touchdown on the ground; Michael Pettway was his favorite receiver, catching four of his six targets for 46 yards.

Garrison Rippa knocked in field goals of 31 and 42 yards in the victory, both in the first half.

“The dogfights are good because it builds our team,” Huff said. “Now we know how to handle them, but they’re scary to play in. The last two weeks, those are tough ones. We miss the blowouts, but this will be good for us. We’re building up and knowing how to handle these big games, tight dogfight games, and it’ll help us in the long run.”

Jax State (7-3, 7-0 CUSA) will host Sam Houston on Saturday, a win clinching the Gamecocks a spot in the conference title game.

A victory against Western Kentucky the following week would give Jax State hosting rights in the conference championship game, which is slated for Friday, Dec. 6.