Jacksonville State blanked Eastern Michigan 21-0 at Burgess-Snow Stadium on Saturday on the strength of a smothering defense.

The Gamecocks (3-1) held the Eagles (2-2) to just 152 total yards, and totaled three turnovers, six sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Jax State also limited EMU to 1-for-15 on third down.

“We had an extra week to get ready and that helped a little bit,” Jax State coach Rich Rodriguez said. “We had a couple of turnovers and offensively we took care of the ball. “Good effort, good win against a solid program. Now we turn around in five days and play another one.”

Offensively, Jax State rushed for 295 yards, with both running back Malik Jackson (127) and quarterback Logan Smothers (118) both going over the century mark. Smothers — a Nebraska transfer in his first season with the Gamecocks — also passed for 95 yards and accounted for a pair of first-half touchdowns, a 16-yard pass to Quinton Lane in the first quarter and a 41-yard run in the second.

J’Wan Evans’ 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter accounted for the other score. Jax State held the ball for the final 7:38 of game time to run out the clock.

Linebacker Quae Drake led the Jax State defensive effort with 10 tackles and an interception. Chris Hardie added five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup, while Larry Worth and Jabari Mack also had interceptions.

The victory was the 175th for Rodriguez in a 26-year career that includes stops at West Virginia, Michigan, Arizona, Division II Salem and NAIA Glenville State before Jax State. His win total ranks ninth among active FBS coaches.

Jax State has a short week before traveling to Conference USA rival Sam Houston on Thursday. That game kicks off at 7 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.