An attempt at a 20-point comeback in Jacksonville State’s final game of the season fell just short on Friday.

The Gamecocks ended their season with a 30-27 loss to Ohio in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl, ending the program’s hopes of becoming the first to win back-to-back bowl games in its first two years of FBS play.

Jax State closes out the season at 9-5 and will head into 2025 with a new head coach.

It was reported during the Cure Bowl that Auburn co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly accepted the Jax State head coaching vacancy.

Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro scored twice in the first quarter on runs of 24 and 8 yards as the Bobcats had a 14-0 lead with 1:22 left to play. On Jax State’s first offensive play after Navarro’s second score, Huff found Cam Vaughn for a 75-yard touchdown.

Vaughn, who will reportedly enter the NCAA transfer portal, finished with a game-high 169 receiving yards and a touchdown on nine catches, while Jarod Bowir finished with 105 yards on four catches; Bowie also ran the ball twice for 19 yards.

Huff finished the day with a Cure Bowl-record 349 passing yards, marking the highest passing yards mark for a Jax State quarterback since Zerrick Cooper threw for 365 against Maine in the 2018 FCS Playoffs.

Meanwhile, it was Ohio’s Navarro who shined on the ground and earned MVP honors; the quarterback ran for 110 and three touchdowns in the win, also passing for 255 yards and a touchdown while tossing one interception.

Down 27-7 at halftime, Huff ran the ball for a 7-yard score for the lone points of the third quarter; after a 38-yard field goal by Ohio’s Gianni Spetic, Tre Stewart ran for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns of 3 and 1 yards.

The Gamecocks were held to just 48 yards in the loss, with Stewart leading the charge with 27 yards; Stewart also had three catches for 34 yards.

Curley Young Jr. finished the day with 2.5 sacks to lead the Gamecocks, while J-Rock Swain had half a sack and Ky’Won McCray finished with an interception.

This story will be updated.