MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama fell behind early, then scored the game’s final 31 points as its defense forced five turnovers in a 31-7 season-opening win over Southern Miss on Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The victory was the first for Kane Wommack as a head coach. The Jaguars’ defense also turned Southern Miss away three times inside the 10-yard line, and Davyn Flenord closed the scoring with a 45-yard interception return in the final minute.
Targeting Call Sets Up Early Score
Southern Miss scored first with 3:55 left in the first quarter. South Alabama appeared to have stopped the Golden Eagles on fourth-and-8 when AJ DeShazor delivered a hit on quarterback Trey Lowe, but after a targeting review, DeShazor was disqualified and Southern Miss was awarded a first down at the South Alabama 15. The Golden Eagles scored three plays later.
Bentley Leads the Response
Quarterback Jake Bentley pulled South Alabama even with 12:27 left in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Trent Tyre.
Southern Miss fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Jaguars their first takeaway, and Bentley capitalized with a 5-yard touchdown pass to running back Kareem Walker. South Alabama led 14-7 with 10:29 left in the half.
The Jaguars opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive. Bentley hit Caullin Lacy for 28 yards on the first play, and an apparent touchdown catch by Jalen Tolbert was overturned on review when officials ruled he stepped out of bounds at the 3. Bentley scored on a quarterback sneak a few plays later for a 21-7 lead with 11:48 left in the third quarter.
Diego Guajardo made a 48-yard field goal with 9:51 left in the third to make it 24-7.
Defense Holds in the Red Zone
Shawn Steele intercepted Lowe on Southern Miss’ next possession, though the Jaguars did not score off the turnover. Late in the third quarter, the Golden Eagles reached the South Alabama 4-yard line but turned the ball over on downs.
After a South Alabama punt early in the fourth quarter, Southern Miss again moved into the red zone, and the Jaguars forced a fumble to end the threat. With 44 seconds left, Flenord stepped in front of a Lowe pass and returned it 45 yards for the final touchdown.
Leaders
Bentley completed 14 of 19 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Tolbert caught four passes for 147 yards, 137 of them in the third quarter.
Wommack Wants More
Wommack said he liked how his team handled adversity but was not satisfied with the overall performance.
“It was fun for me to see coordinators up in the box making adjustments with our players, having real adversity — whether it was self-inflicted adversity or from the other side,” Wommack said. “We trailed early and we were able to respond to that adversity.”
“Just overall, I thought it was not nearly to the standard we want to hold this team to,” he said. “I thought we had poor execution at times, I didn’t think we finished well. … I want to enjoy wins, but you have to have an urgency to get this program better. That was not a convincing win in my mind.”
South Alabama (1-0) plays at Bowling Green on Saturday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio.
