South Alabama Stops Two-Point Conversion Late To Defeat Cajuns 24-22
South Alabama raced out to an early lead with touchdowns on their first three possessions of the game. But held off a second half surge and turned away a two-point conversion with under two minutes to go to earn a 24-22 win over Louisiana-Lafayette at Cajun Field.
The Jags (5-5, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) scored all of their points in the first half and held a 24-3 lead at halftime. The Cajuns (8-2, 5-1) scored a potential game-tying touchdown with 1:16 left in the game, but the Jaguar defense kept them out of the endzone on the two-point try. Then the onside kick bounced out of bounds to allow the Jags to run out the clock.
Gio Lopez scored the first two touchdowns on short runs. The third touchdown came by Kentrel Bullock. Laith Marjan added a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
“We were just executing the offense,” Lopez explained after the game. “We weren’t trying to do too much. If the hole was open, we took it. We game-planned for two weeks and we just executed it.”
The second half was all Cajuns though despite starting quarterback Ben Wooldridge being knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury early in the third quarter.
“The first half was really beautiful. In the second half, we made our mistakes,” head coach Major Applewhite said. “We had a special teams error that resulted in a field goal. We have a bust on the defensive call that ended up in a big touchdown, brining it within eight. But we also did some good things. After the issue on the punt, we held them to a field goal. We did more the ball a little bit, obviously we need to sustain drives better in the second half; put points up on the board. But when it mattered, we got some first downs and took some time off the clock.”
The Cajuns drove deep into Jaguar territory twice and were turned away with only field goals for a 24-9 score in the fourth quarter.
The Jaguar offense couldn’t sustain any drives in the second half. After a punt with 9:30 remaining in the game, Chandler Fields found Dre’Lyn Washington for a 66-yard touchdown to shrink the Jaguar advantage to just one score, 25-16 with 8:28 left.
As the Jags were trying to burn clock, Lopez was picked off on a deep pass with 5:30 left in the game. The Cajuns then proceeded to drive 85 yards, aided by penalties for offsides and pass interference, to score to get within two points on a two-yard quarterback keeper off left tackle with 1:16 left. The two-point conversion was almost the same play with Fields running off left tackle, but this time Wy’Kevious Thomas was there to deny him the endzone.
Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Total Yards | 353 | 413 |
| Passing Yards | 285 | 276 |
| Rushing Yards | 68 | 137 |
| 3rd Downs | 4-of-11 | 4-of-13 |
| 4th Downs | 1-of-2 | 3-of-4 |
South Alabama
Lopez finished the game 24-of-34 for 285 yards with an interception. He also ran for 34 yards and two touchdowns.
Jamaal Pritchett led all receivers with 170 yards on 11 catches. Shamar Sandgren had 3 catches for 41 yards and Jeremiah Webb added 31 yards on 4 catches.
Fluff Bothwell was held to 38 yards on 9 carries and Kentrel Bullock was held to only 24 yards on 9 carries.
Jaden Voisin led the defense with 10 total stops, 6 solo, with an interception that gives him the program record for career interceptions.
Louisiana-Lafayette
Ben Wooldridge was 8-of-13 for 91 yards and an interception before having to leave the game. Chandler Fields came in and went 14-of-17 for 185 yards and a touchdown.
Harvey Broussard led the Cajuns with 84 yards on 6 catches. Lance LeGendre led the Cajuns with 7 catches for 75 yards. Dre’Lyn Washington had one catch for 66 yards and a touchdown. Terrance Carter had 5 catches for 41 yards.
Bill Davis led the Cajuns with 50 yards rushing on 16 carries. Washington had 41 yards on 5 carries. Fields had 28 yards on 7 carries with a touchdown.
Next
The Jags will travel to Southern Miss for a 2pm kickoff in Hattiesburg, MS on ESPN+. If the Jags win, they will earn bowl eligibility for the third-consecutive season, a program first. A chance to win the SBC West Division is still alive but it will require the Jags to win out and get some help.