A second chance and six days of preparation gave Jacksonville State a historic addition to the trophy case.

Rich Rodriguez’s Gamecocks rolled to a 45-12 victory over Western Kentucky on Friday to claim the Conference USA championship, just six days after falling to the Hilltoppers by two points to end the regular season.

The championship trophy gives Jax State its first at the FBS level and its 26th overall as a program; this season was also the first the Gamecocks (9-4) were eligible to contend for a CUSA title game.

Despite concerns over his status after an ankle injury during last week’s game against Western Kentucky, quarterback Tyler Huff ran the ball 18 times for a game-high 166 yards and a touchdown in the win for Jax State.

Huff’s rushing yards were a Conference USA title game record for a quarterback.

He also completed 11 of his 15 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns in the win, throwing touchdown passes of 6 and 26 yards.

The quarterback led the Gamecocks to a night that saw the offense roll up 562 yards of total offense, 386 on the ground.

Following Huff’s two touchdown passes in the first half, running back Tre Stewart ran for two second-quarter touchdown runs of 4 and 6 yards to extend the Gamecocks’ 28-point scoring streak; the star running back also ran for a 29-yard touchdown with 11:01 left in the fourth quarter.

He finished with 201 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the win, also catching three passes for 54 yards in the win.

Logan Smothers capped off the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run with 3:04 left to play.

Garrison Rippa knocked in a 27-yard field goal with 6:21 left to play for the Gamecocks’ only field goal of the matchup.

Jacksonville State will await its bowl destination, which is expected to be announced on Sunday. Likely options for Jax State are the Cure Bowl or Boca Raton Bowl, both having CUSA tie-ins.

This story will be updated.