CONWAY, S.C. — South Alabama moved the ball but could not finish drives Saturday, settling for two field goals and coming up short on fourth down at the 1-yard line in a 23-6 loss at Sun Belt Conference leader Coastal Carolina.
The Jaguars fell to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the Sun Belt. Coastal Carolina, ranked No. 15, improved to 7-0 and 4-0. South Alabama never led.
Touchdowns vs. Field Goals
South Alabama went three-and-out to open the game, and Coastal Carolina scored on a seven-play, 72-yard drive that took 2:48.
The Jaguars answered with an 11-play, 62-yard drive that used 5:18 and ended in a field goal. The Chanticleers responded with a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in 2:50 for a 14-3 lead. It was the last touchdown either team scored.
Diego Guajardo made a 43-yard field goal with 5:01 left in the first half to make it 14-6. On South Alabama’s next possession, head coach Steve Campbell passed on another field goal and went for it on fourth-and-3 at the Coastal Carolina 32, but Desmond Trotter’s sideline pass to Trent Tyre came up short of the line to gain. The Chanticleers turned the stop into a field goal with 2:11 left in the half.
Stopped at the Goal Line
South Alabama was shut out in the second half. Its best chance came on a 17-play, 68-yard drive that took 7:23 off the clock. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 1, Kawaan Baker lined up in the wildcat formation, kept the ball and was stopped about half a yard short.
Statistics
Trotter played the entire game for the second straight week, completing 23 of 31 passes for 243 yards. He was sacked five times and finished with minus-27 rushing yards.
- Jalen Tolbert led all receivers with seven catches for 78 yards. Jalen Wayne had a team-high 91 receiving yards on five catches.
- Carlos Davis ran 17 times for 73 yards, and Terrion Avery had 27 yards on four carries.
- South Alabama converted 2 of 14 third downs and held a slight edge in time of possession, 30:15 to 29:45.
- Riley Cole led the defense with 15 tackles, nine solo, and recovered a fumble.
The South Alabama defense held Coastal Carolina, which entered averaging 40 points per game, to 3 of 11 on third down, though the Chanticleers finished with 445 total yards.
Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall completed 17 of 24 passes for 209 yards and ran for 72 yards on eight carries. Reese White ran for 81 yards on nine carries, and Shermari Jones had 60 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Jaivon Heiligh caught five passes for 95 yards, and CJ Marable caught three for 21 yards and a touchdown.
Campbell Looks Ahead
“I thought the defense played extremely hard,” Campbell said. “Offensively I thought we played hard. We just didn’t execute once we got down in the red zone.”
“You’re not going to beat good teams kicking field goals and not scoring touchdowns, especially a team that’s averaging 40 points per game,” he said. “After the first two [touchdown] drives, I think we settled down and were able to keep them out of the end zone. … We’ve got to do a better job of giving ourselves a chance to win.”
Campbell said next week’s game at Louisiana carries division stakes. “I told the guys in the locker room that, of the five teams in our division, only one has one conference loss and we play them next week,” he said. “This next game is for the sole lead of our division. If we can go on the road and beat Louisiana, we’ll own the tiebreaker over them.”
“We still control our own destiny,” Campbell said.
South Alabama and Louisiana kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, in Lafayette, La.
