Jacksonville State pulled off its second straight stunning comeback on the road Wednesday night, overcoming a 16-point halftime deficit to beat Middle Tennessee 45-30 at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Gamecocks (5-1, 3-0 Conference USA) trailed 23-7 at the break, but scored 38 straight points to win going away. Jax State beat Sam Houston 35-28 in overtime last Thursday after trailing 21-7 at halftime and 28-20 with little more than a minute left.

After rallying behind its offense last week, Jax State on Wednesday pulled off the comeback behind big plays on the defensive side of the ball. The Gamecocks forced four turnovers by the Blue Raiders, including one resulting in a defensive touchdown late in the game.

Jax State’s Zion Webb replaced starting quarterback Logan Smothers in the second quarter, and went on to have a huge game off the bench. The senior — who began the season as the Gamecocks’ No. 1 QB — passed for 186 yards and two touchdowns and added 101 yards and a touchdown rushing.

“Our guys kept playing and kept plugging along,” Jax State coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Nobody was quitting and nobody was down. Zion came in and gave us a spark. It’s a great team win.”

Still, the Gamecocks trailed big at halftime after Middle Tennessee (1-5, 0-2) dominated the second quarter. Nicholas Vattiato threw touchdown passes of 71 and 19 yards to Elijah Metcalf, the latter giving the Blue Raiders a 23-7 lead after the extra point failed.

Jax State went to work after Kekoura Tarnue picked off Vattiato at the Middle Tennessee 40 early in the third quarter. Webb capped a six-play drive by throwing a 10-yard touchdown to tight end Sean Brown, making it a 23-14 game with 11:31 left in the third.

Middle Tennessee’s Zack Dobson muffed a punt at his 27 with 6:46 left in the quarter, setting up Webb’s 1-yard run to pull the Gamecocks within 23-21. After the Blue Raiders went three-and-out and punted, Alen Karajic’s 43-yard field goal at the 1:03 mark of the third put JSU up for good at 24-23.

The Gamecocks weren’t done, however. After another Middle Tennessee State punt pinned JSU inside its 10, Webb ran for a 29-yard gain to the JSU 37, then Perry Carter turned a short pass into a 63-yard touchdown and a 31-23 score with 12:14 left in the game.

Middle Tennessee drove to the Jax State 19, but Gamecocks defensive end Chris Hardie intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 58 yards to the MTSU 17. J’Wan Evans scored from a yard out shortly thereafter to put JSU up 38-23.

Jax State added a defensive touchdown with 3:42 remaining, as Kamari Stephens sacked Vattiato and popped the ball loose. Curley Young scooped it up and scored from 26 yards out to extend the Gamecocks’ lead to 45-23.

Middle Tennessee scored the game’s final points moments later, when Terry Wilkins ran 75 yards to make it 45-30 with 3:29 left. Jax State missed a field goal with 1:03 left, but the Gamecocks kept the Blue Raiders off the board in the final minute.

Vattiato threw for 408 yards for the Blue Raiders, but the Gamecocks sacked him eight times and recorded 14 tackles for loss. Hardie and Kolbi Fuqua had two sacks each, while Hardie totaled 4.5 tackles for loss and also had the interception.

Brown caught five passes for 103 yards for Jax State, while Carter added four catches for 76 yards. Malik Jackson ran for 54 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown that gave the Gamecocks a 7-3 lead in the second quarter.

Jax State stays in the midweek next Tuesday, hosting Liberty at 6:30 p.m. at Burgess-Snow Field. That game will be televised by ESPNU.