South Alabama erased the memory of a painful loss five days earlier with a dominating 41-14 victory over Georgia Southern on Thursday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The win was the kind of performance head coach Kane Wommack had been waiting for. The Jaguars had dropped a 14-point lead and fumbled away a chance to win in overtime at Texas State the previous Saturday; against the Eagles, they controlled the game from the opening kick.
“Tonight was the best we’ve played by far,” Wommack said. “The defense continued to get three and outs. They made some adjustments on their side and we adjusted and took it right back from them in the second half. This program has been waiting to beat that team for a very long time and we got it done tonight.”
The victory was South Alabama’s first in eight meetings with Georgia Southern. It was also the Jaguars’ first Sun Belt Conference win of the season and snapped a two-game losing streak, moving the team to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in league play. Georgia Southern fell to 2-5 and 1-3.
Bentley sets school record
Quarterback Jake Bentley turned in the best night of his South Alabama career. He completed 24 of 31 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and added a pair of rushing scores. The 389 yards set a school record for a single game, made him the first Jaguars quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards since Evan Orth in 2018, and made him the first South Alabama player to account for five touchdowns in one game.
Jalen Tolbert caught 11 of Bentley’s passes for 174 yards and a score, while Jalen Wayne added seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. Tolbert tied program marks with his sixth 100-yard receiving game and 16th career touchdown catch.
The South Alabama defense smothered a Georgia Southern triple-option attack that had repeatedly gashed the Jaguars in past seasons. The Eagles managed just one yard of total offense midway through the second quarter and did not record their first first down until that point. Quinton Wilfawn led the unit with seven tackles, and C.J. Rias returned an interception that set up a score. Darrell Luter broke up multiple passes for the third straight game.
Bentley opened the scoring with a 12-yard keeper — the first time all season South Alabama scored on its opening possession — and the Jaguars led 31-0 before Georgia Southern finally answered. Diego Guajardo connected on field goals of 42 and 40 yards, and tight end Lincoln Sefcik caught a fifth touchdown pass to close the scoring.
South Alabama travels to Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday for a 6 p.m. Sun Belt matchup against the Warhawks and first-year head coach Terry Bowden.