Jacksonville State University made all of northeast Alabama proud Saturday with a thrilling 49-48 win double overtime over the University of Mississippi.

Ole Miss is a member of the elite group of schools that play football and plays in arguably the best conference in the nation — the Southeastern Conference.

JSU, on the other hand, is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, not one of the major football conferences in the country. _But all that didn’t matter on Saturday. What mattered was that after trailing 31-10 at halftime, JSU outscored Ole Miss 21-3 in the fourth quarter, tied the game and went into overtime. In the second extra period Ole Miss scored and kicked the extra point. JSU scored on a fourth and long play. _Coach Jack Crow could have kicked the point and sent the game to the third overtime. But he didn’t. Instead, he called for a two-point conversion play and the JSU team made it work. And that meant JSU went home a winner.

Other big schools, including Auburn and Alabama, have been beaten by lesser rivals in the past. This year, it’s Ole Miss’ turn at losing to smaller school.

But this is not to gloat. This is cause to celebrate. JSU is a few miles up the road from Talladega, in northern Calhoun County. But it is part of our area and we congratulate our neighbors on a job well done.