Jags Come Up Short in Lafayette 48-38
The Jags came up on the short end of a 48-38 shoot out with Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night. Though they have fallen to 2-9 and 1-6 in Sun Belt Conference play on the season, but they showed signs of life, which they had not shown much of over the past few games.
It looked like the Jags were on the verge of being in another blowout loss after the Ragin’ Cajuns broke out with a 54 kickoff return followed by a 44 yard touchdown pass to break a 10-10 tie with 4:38 remaining before halftime. Then they caught the Jags off guard with an onside kick, which they recovered and took 2:16 to drive 54 yards in five plays to add a second touchdown with 2:04 left until halftime.
This had been the point in previous weeks when the opponent took over the game but the Jags drove 75 yards in 13 plays and 1:53 to cut the Cajun lead to 24-17 at halftime.
USA opened the second half by receiving the kick off and driving 65 yards in nine plays to tie the game at 24-each with 10:51 left in the third quarter.
But the Cajuns responded with by scoring 17 points to regain control of the game. It started with a 45 yard touchdown run by Elijah Mitchell on the third offensive play. Then two Jag fumbles book ended a Cajun interception lead to a 41 yard field goal and a 34-24 Cajun lead at that point.
Another good special teams return, this time a 24 yard punt return, kick started a 70 yard, nine play touchdown drive to take a 41-24 lead at the end of third quarter.
The Jags could only get within 10 points in the final quarter with the Cajuns responding to the Jags touchdown midway through the quarter. But the Jags drove back down once more to with just :15 left in the game on a 50 yard touchdown pass from Cole Garvin to Kawaan Baker. The Jags attempted to recover an onside kick to try to make the game even more interesting but it was not to be.
South Alabama led the Cajuns in just about every statistical column you can find except for points. The Jags out gained the Cajuns 477 to 407, out rushed the Cajuns 223 to 210 and out passed them 254 to 197 yards. The Jags ground out 27 first downs to 17. They had 85 offensive plays to the Cajuns 52, they dominated time of possession 35:59 to 24:01, converted 11-of-19 3rd downs, converted a perfect 5-of-5 on 4th down, and they scored all five times they were in the red zone.
The Jags had more penalties with nine flags for 61 yards while the Cajuns had six flags for 66 yards. The Jags lost the turnover battle with 3 to the Cajuns lone interception, but the difference in the game was that Cajuns cashed in on those turnover for 10 points.
Cole Garvin, who started for the first time since the Oklahoma State game, went 18-for-28 for 254 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Eight Jaguars caught passes with Jamarius Way leading the way with six receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. Kawaan Baker caught four passes for 80 yards and the other touchdown.
Seven Jags carried the ball in the game, Tra Minter again was the leading rusher with 87 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown. Garvin gained 50 yards on 12 attempts. Baker added two rushing touchdowns to his receiving touchdown with 44 yards on the ground on seven carries.
Andre Nunez went 12-for-18 for 153 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Ja’Marcus Bradley and Jalen Williams both caught three passes each with the former gaining 62 yards and three touchdowns while the latter had 38 yards.
Elijah Mitchell rushed for 105 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns. Trey Ragas and Raymond Calais were both kept in check with the former rushing for 53 yards on 10 carries while the latter rushed for 34 yards on seven carries.
“I was proud of the guys and the way they fought,” head coach Steve Campbell said. “Obviously, we are disappointed when you get beat. We put ourselves in a hole right off the bat and went down 10-0, but the guys fought back and tied it back up twice. The last two weeks, we had started off well and didn’t finish the half.”
“Defensively, I didn’t like the way we finished the first half,” he continued. “We gave up two touchdowns right before halftime right after we had tied it up at 10-10. Offensively, I liked how we finished the first half, we were able to get some points on the board. We came back and tied it back up to start the second half after we had challenged the offense to start the second half fast.”
South Alabama will wrap up the 2018 season on Friday, November 23 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium when they host Coastal Carolina for their first-ever meeting. Kickoff is set for 2pm with the game being broadcast on ESPN+ (requires a subscription).
Inside the Numbers: