South Alabama’s Comeback Falls Short In 20-18 Loss To Louisiana
South Alabama went toe to toe with Louisiana-Lafayette but came up short in their upset bid, falling by a score of 20-18.
The Jags (3-1, 0-1 SBC) had opportunities late to take the lead over the Ragin’ Cajuns (3-1, 2-0 SBC). Diego Guajardo just barely missed a 37-yard field goal with 1:06 left in the game.
In the previous offensive drive, the Jags had the ball 4th and 1 at the Cajuns 4 yard line. Head coach Kane Wommack opted to keep the offense on the field. The snap to quarterback Jake Bentley was low and rolled on the ground. Bentley picked it up and rolled to his right and tossed the ball towards a diving Lincoln Sefcik however the ball was just too short and incomplete.
Two missed extra points and a failed two-point conversion attempt also left points on the field for the Jags.
Cajuns’ Chris Smith took the opening kickoff to the Jaguars 13 yard line. Smith would get the touchdown a couple plays later to put Louisiana on top 7-0 with under a minute off the clock.
The Jags offense was stuck in reverse and went three-and-out.
The Cajuns kept the ball on the ground and gashed the defense for second touchdown on only four plays. Runs of 13, 8, 14 and capped off by quarterback Levi Lewis’ 22 yard touchdown run. USA then trailed 14-0 with 11:10 left in the opening quarter.
The Cajuns got down to the Jaguar 23 at the end of the first quarter. The defense stood their ground and forced a 43 yard field goal attempt by Nate Snider, however sailed wide right.
Coach Wommack and the Jags special teams were looking to catch Louisiana off guard with a fake punt early in the second quarter. However Jack Brooks couldn’t get to the edge and ended up losing 3 yards and giving the ball back to the Cajuns at the Jags 31 yard line.
Two Emani Bailey’s runs later and the Cajuns were back in the end zone. However Nate Snider missed the extra point leaving the Cajuns with a 20-0 lead with 11:23 left in the second quarter.
South Alabama finally put points on the board just before halftime. Bryan Hill ran the ball and Bentley connected with Jalen Wayne to move the ball down the field. Hill finally punched it in on 3rd and goal at the 1. Guajardo’s extra point was blocked leaving the Jags trailing 20-6 with 1:33 left in the half.
The Jags came out in the second half with a completely different air about them. They had an air of confidence about them.
South Alabama looked to Bryan Hill and Jalen Tolbert to jump start the offense. Hill was the workhorse, but it was a pass to Tolbert for 49 yards that flipped the field. Hill capped off the drive with a two yard touchdown. The extra point attempt by Guajardo missed to the right leaving the Jags trailing 20-12 at the 4:20 mark in the third quarter.
USA got the ball back after the defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession.
It looked like the Jags were going to go three-and-out themselves but a snap to Keith Gallmon, the up man, who took it 38 yards to the Louisiana 13 yard line. Jake Bentley carried it in for the touchdown with 12:51 left in the game.
The coaches opted for the two-point conversion since they trailed by two points. Bentley was pressured and rolled to his left and missed seeing a wide open Terrion Avery on the right side of the field and took a sack.
Jags get the ball at their own 20 yard line with 9:58 left in the game. Their second offensive play Bentley went deep for Jalen Tolbert, who high pointed the ball perfectly, and came down with a 61 yard catch at the Cajuns 13 yard line.
Facing 4th and 1 at the 4, the ill-fated snap occurred where the ball rolled to Bentley then the throw was short for Sefcik and giving the Cajuns the ball at their own 4 yard line with 6:20 left in the game.
The Jags offense got the ball back at their own 35 yard line with 3:20 left in the game. On the second offensive play again, Bentley went deep to Jalen Wayne for 34 yards and flipped the field once more.
Terrion Avery put the ball on the left hashmark at the 19 yard line with 1:11 left in the game for the potential game-winning field goal from 37 yards out. Guajardo’s kick looked like it was going to slip inside the upright, but instead it barely slipped outside the right upright.
The Jags put up 387 yards of total offense, 144 rushing and 243 passing.
Bryan Hill led the Jags with 81 rushing yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns. Gallmon had 38 yards on the one run. Avery added 27 yards on 10 carries.
Bentley went 19-of-29 for 243 yards.
Tolbert led all receivers with 6 catches for 143 yards. Wayne added 5 catches for 56 yards. Lacy had 5 catches as well for 19 yards.
USA was 6-of-17 on 3rd down attempts and 3-of-5 on 4th down attempts. USA also led the way in time of possession with 36:47.
The South Alabama defense held the Cajuns to 283 total yards of offense, 225 rushing and 58 passing.
Emani Baily rushed for 81 yards on seven carries. Quarterback Levi Lewis rushed for 61 yards on 10 carries.
Lewis went 9-of-20 for 49 yards. Chandle Fields came in for one play and completed his only pass attempt for 9 yards.
Cajuns had three receivers who all caught two passes each and four players with one catch each.
The Cajuns only converted 2-of-10 3rd down attempts and converted their only 4th down attempt.
Next Up
South Alabama will travel to San Marcos, Texas to face Texas State on Saturday, October 9 with kickoff scheduled for 6pm. The game will be streamed online on ESPN+.
