NEW ORLEANS — South Alabama built a 28-7 lead, watched Tulane rally in front in the third quarter, then answered with a blocked punt for a touchdown and a game-saving interception on a two-point conversion attempt to beat the Green Wave 41-39 on Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Quarterback Ross Metheny ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more, a school record for touchdowns accounted for in a game, as the Jaguars rebounded from a season-opening loss to Southern Utah the previous Thursday night. South Alabama finished with 465 yards of total offense, the most in program history against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.
“It’s the biggest win we’ve ever had,” head coach Joey Jones said. “I’m so proud of the way they fought back, and fought against the fact we lost last week late in the game and came out here and won a tough game on the road.”
A Fast Start
South Alabama scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions and gained 245 yards and 11 first downs in the first quarter alone.
Jay Jones ran for 29 yards on the game’s first play from scrimmage. After an incompletion, Metheny gained 11 yards on a quarterback draw, then ran up the middle for a 35-yard touchdown just 47 seconds into the game.
Tulane’s first possession ended when Terrell Brigham forced a fumble that Montell Garner recovered at the Tulane 46. The Jaguars came up empty on that series, as Cris Dinham was stopped short on third-and-11 and lost two yards on fourth down.
After a three-and-out and a 16-yard Tulane punt, South Alabama took over at its 40. A personal foul on Tulane’s Sam Scofield moved the ball into Green Wave territory, Metheny hit tight end Wes Saxton for 26 yards and then found Shavarez Smith for a 14-yard touchdown. The three-play, 60-yard drive took 56 seconds and made it 14-0 with 10:18 left in the first quarter.
Tulane answered when quarterback Nick Montana connected with Ryan Grant for 41 yards, and Orleans Darkwa ran 2 yards for a touchdown with 5:56 left in the quarter.
The Jaguars responded with a drive that featured a 24-yard pass to Saxton and back-to-back runs by Metheny. On third-and-3 from the Tulane 30, Metheny threw to Davin Hawkins for Hawkins’ first career touchdown reception and a 21-7 lead. The 21 first-quarter points were South Alabama’s most in an opening quarter since it scored 20 against Lamar on Sept. 10, 2011.
On the next drive, Metheny hit Danny Woodson for 41 yards, a pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Tulane 24, and Saxton converted a third-and-6. Metheny then ran 12 yards on a quarterback draw for a touchdown and a 28-7 lead with 13:52 left in the first half. It was the first time since an Oct. 15, 2011, game against Tennessee-Martin that the Jaguars had produced more than one scoring drive lasting under a minute.
Tulane Chips Away
The Green Wave put together an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to 28-14. On the ensuing kickoff, an illegal block pushed South Alabama back to its 6-yard line, and after one first down the Jaguars lined up to punt from their 17. The snap got past punter Scott Garber, who ran it down to prevent a touchdown, and Tulane settled for a safety to make it 28-16.
Defensive lineman Randon Carnathan was injured on Tulane’s next series and did not return. Later in the quarter, Montana found Grant for 45 yards, and the Green Wave kicked a 47-yard field goal to make it 28-19 with 1:31 left in the half.
South Alabama used the remaining time to add points. Metheny hit Jereme Jones for 18 yards, then completed passes of 10 and 8 yards to Saxton, the second getting out of bounds at the Tulane 29. Aleem Sunanon made a 46-yard field goal, and the Jaguars led 31-19 at halftime. South Alabama had 328 yards in the first half, nearly matching the 335 it gained in the entire game against Southern Utah.
Turnovers Put Green Wave Ahead
Tulane turned three South Alabama turnovers into 14 points early in the second half.
On third-and-5 from the Tulane 48, a Metheny pass bounced off a receiver and was intercepted by Nico Marley, who returned it 30 yards. A personal foul moved the ball to the South Alabama 15, and Darkwa scored from a yard out three plays later to make it 31-26 with 11:42 left in the third quarter.
On the next possession, Metheny fumbled a read-option exchange with Dinham, and Marley recovered at the South Alabama 39. The Jaguars’ defense held, forcing an incompletion on fourth-and-2 at the 31 to take over on downs with 8:47 left in the quarter.
That drive ended when Metheny, flushed from the pocket, tried to throw to Saxton along the sideline and was intercepted. The return went 25 yards to the South Alabama 40, where offensive lineman Drew Dearman pushed the returner out of bounds. On the next play, Montana threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Grant, and Tulane led 33-31 with 6:35 left in the third quarter, its only lead of the game.
Ford’s Block Swings It Back
After a South Alabama punt, Alex Page sacked Montana for a 10-yard loss on third-and-8 from the Tulane 22, forcing a punt from deep in Green Wave territory. Qudarius Ford broke through to block it, and Terrance Timmons recovered in the end zone for a touchdown that put the Jaguars back in front 38-33 with 1:13 left in the third quarter.
“We practiced that punt block all week,” Ford said. “We saw how the wings always flared out, and it left the underneath gap wide open. I knew when I got through that it was money.”
The South Alabama defense then pushed Tulane backward on a single series. A holding penalty, a bad snap, a 4-yard loss on a screen pass that Romelle Jones stopped and a 6-yard sack by Clifton Crews left the Green Wave facing fourth-and-36 from their 29.
Later, with 9:46 remaining, true freshman Roman Buchanan intercepted a deep Montana pass at the South Alabama 16, a call that was upheld on review. Metheny then hit Smith for 43 yards to the Tulane 26, and Dinham picked up 14 yards on third-and-10 to the 12. Jay Jones ran for 8 more yards to the 4, and when the drive stalled, the Jaguars kicked a 23-yard field goal for a 41-33 lead with 6:07 to play.
The Final Stand
Tulane answered with a long drive, with Montana completing passes to Matt Marfisi, Grant, Xavier Rush, Rob Kelley and Sydie London. After a review overturned an apparent Buchanan interception at the 10, Montana threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Grant with 1:19 left, making it 41-39.
On the two-point attempt, South Alabama sent an all-out blitz, forcing Montana out of the pocket to his right, and Maleki Harris intercepted his throw. Bryant Lavender recovered Tulane’s onside kick at the Tulane 44, and the Jaguars ran out the clock.
“Most teams want to sprint out to the right, and I went up to coach Sherrer and asked him if we were going to bring edge pressure and he said, ‘We’re going to bring everybody,'” Jones said. “We brought an all-out blitz and pressured the quarterback, and he couldn’t really get his feet set to throw the ball.”
Statistical Leaders
South Alabama totaled 465 yards, with 297 passing and 168 rushing, and had 25 first downs to Tulane’s 20. Tulane held a slight edge in time of possession, 30:03 to 29:57.
- Metheny completed 19 of 30 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, was sacked twice and led the team with 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Brandon Bridge was 1 of 2 for 7 yards.
- Jay Jones ran for 64 yards on 11 carries, Dinham added 28 yards on 10 carries and Kendall Houston had 17 yards on seven carries.
- Saxton led the receivers with seven catches for 92 yards. Jereme Jones had four for 50, extending his streak of games with a reception to 29. Woodson caught three for 50, Smith had two for 57 and a touchdown, and Hawkins had two for 45 and a touchdown.
- Ford had eight tackles, two pass breakups and the blocked punt. Romelle Jones and Brigham had seven tackles each, with Jones adding two tackles for loss and a sack. Crews and Page also had sacks.
For Tulane, Montana completed 29 of 47 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. Grant caught 14 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and Darkwa ran for 32 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Scofield had a game-high 15 tackles, including 13 solo and two for loss.
Injuries and What’s Next
Carnathan returned to the sideline in a protective boot after an apparent Achilles injury; the extent of the injury was not known after the game. Junior college transfer Jerome McClain left with a concussion and must clear medical testing before returning to practice or games.
Jones praised Buchanan’s performance as a true freshman and said he would welcome a regular series with Tulane, which is about two hours from Mobile. “We’d love to have a rivalry with them in the future,” he said. The schools’ next scheduled meeting is Oct. 10, 2020, in Mobile.
“We were just taking what they gave us and kept rolling,” Metheny said. “The offense played great the first half, probably the best offensive half we have had. Then we came out and had three turnovers fairly quickly in the second half, but the defense was playing really good in the second half.”
South Alabama opens Sun Belt Conference play Saturday against Western Kentucky, which opened its season with a road win over Kentucky under coach Bobby Petrino. It will be the first meeting between the schools. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
