LAFAYETTE, La. — Diego Guajardo kicked a 44-yard field goal on the final play Saturday, and South Alabama beat Louisiana 20-17 at Cajun Field in the Jaguars’ Sun Belt Conference opener.
The kick came 42 seconds after the Ragin’ Cajuns completed an 82-yard drive to tie the game at 17. It also came a year after Guajardo missed a kick against Louisiana on a wet field.
The win moved South Alabama to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Sun Belt. Louisiana fell to 2-3 and 0-2.
The Winning Drive
South Alabama started its final possession at its 25 with 42 seconds left. After two incompletions, running back La’Damian Webb ran 21 yards on third-and-10 to keep the drive going.
Two more incompletions followed before Caullin Lacy caught an 11-yard pass for a first down with nine seconds remaining. Quarterback Carter Bradley then found Jalen Wayne in single coverage for a 17-yard gain to set up the kick with four seconds left, and Guajardo’s 44-yard attempt was good as time expired.
How It Unfolded
Louisiana scored first. After a South Alabama three-and-out, Eric Garror returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown at the 7:53 mark of the first quarter.
Webb tied the game with a 2-yard touchdown run with 2:54 left in the first half. Guajardo put South Alabama ahead with a 38-yard field goal at the 8:29 mark of the third quarter, and Bradley’s 3-yard touchdown run later made it 17-7.
Louisiana responded. The Ragin’ Cajuns converted a fourth down at their own 36 to extend a drive that ended with a 51-yard field goal with 7:43 left. After forcing a three-and-out, Louisiana took over at its 18 and drove 82 yards in 6:17, converting four third downs along the way, to tie the game with 42 seconds remaining. Louisiana converted six third downs in the game, none before the fourth quarter.
Statistics
South Alabama outgained Louisiana 361-276 and threw for 245 yards to the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 115. Louisiana outrushed the Jaguars 161-116.
- Third down: South Alabama 12 of 21, Louisiana 6 of 16
- Fourth down: South Alabama 1 of 3, Louisiana 1 of 1
- Penalties: South Alabama 8 for 60 yards, Louisiana 7 for 65 yards
- Time of possession: South Alabama 30:18, Louisiana 29:42
South Alabama held a time of possession advantage of about 10 minutes early in the fourth quarter before Louisiana’s late drives narrowed the gap.
Bradley completed 18 of 41 passes for 245 yards with an interception. Lacy caught five passes for 112 yards, Wayne had four for 55 and Devin Voisin had three for 41. Webb ran for 75 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, Braylon McReynolds added 25 yards on three carries and Marco Lee had 6 on three.
James Miller led the defense with eight tackles and half a tackle for loss. Trey Kiser had seven tackles, four solo, and a sack. Jaden Voisin and Darrell Luter Jr. each intercepted a pass.
For Louisiana, Ben Woolridge completed 18 of 29 passes for 90 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Chandler Fields was 4 of 7 for 25 yards with an interception. Running back Chris Smith ran for a game-high 107 yards on 12 carries and caught five passes for 16 yards. Peter LeBlanc had a team-high 23 receiving yards on three catches, and Woolridge ran for 36 yards on nine carries.
Up Next
South Alabama is off next Saturday and returns on Saturday, Oct. 15, to host Louisiana-Monroe at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
