LAFAYETTE, La. — South Alabama ended its touchdown drought with a second-quarter scoring pass from Desmond Trotter to Kawaan Baker, but Louisiana pulled away for a 38-10 win over the Jaguars on Saturday.
South Alabama fell to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 7-1 and 5-1.
The Jaguars played without starting offensive linemen Jacob Shoemaker and Connor Estes, who were held out because of COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. Both may also miss next week’s game against Georgia State.
Cajuns Strike Early
Louisiana opened the game with seven straight running plays and an incomplete pass before quarterback Levi Lewis threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Errol Rogers.
After a South Alabama three-and-out, the Cajuns returned the punt 38 yards to the Jaguars’ 26. Three plays later, Chris Smith ran 22 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 8:19 left in the first quarter.
South Alabama’s offense answered with five consecutive runs before Trotter began throwing, including a 12-yard completion to Baker on third-and-9. The drive reached the 7-yard line before stalling, and head coach Steve Campbell sent out the field goal unit for a 26-yard kick that made it 14-3.
Baker Touchdown Ends Drought
Louisiana went 75 yards in 11 plays early in the second quarter, with Lewis throwing a sidearm pass while rolling left to Rogers for a 3-yard touchdown and a 21-3 lead.
The Jaguars responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:50. It began with a pass interference penalty on the first play and ended with Trotter’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Baker.
The Cajuns answered immediately. Facing third-and-10 at their 22, Lewis found Kyren Lacy for 17 yards. Smith followed with a 47-yard run up the middle to the South Alabama 14, and two plays later Elijah Mitchell scored from 5 yards out for a 28-10 lead.
Louisiana threatened again before halftime, but Nick Mobley intercepted a bobbled pass to end the drive.
Scoreless Second Half
South Alabama did not score after halftime. Its best chance came on its first possession of the second half, when the Jaguars reached the Louisiana 16, but a fourth-down pass to Baker gained 6 yards when 7 were needed. Louisiana added 10 more points.
Statistics
Louisiana outgained South Alabama 506-268. The Cajuns threw for 252 yards, ran for 254 and converted 6 of 13 third downs. The Jaguars passed for 145 yards, ran for 123 and were 6 of 18 on third down.
- Trotter completed 15 of 28 passes for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chance Lovertich was 3 of 8 for 12 yards.
- Baker caught six passes for 43 yards and the touchdown. Jalen Tolbert caught five passes for 64 yards, and Cade Sutherland had five for 37.
- Terrion Avery ran for 62 yards on 14 carries. Carlos Davis had 18 yards on six carries.
For Louisiana, Lewis completed 21 of 31 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. Smith ran for 99 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, Trey Ragas had 78 yards on 10 carries, and Mitchell added 61 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Peter LeBlanc caught five passes for 34 yards, and Neal Johnson had three for 40.
Campbell: ‘We Just Didn’t Play Well’
“I thought we would play better,” Campbell said in his postgame radio interview. “They played a lot better than we did. We had some opportunities to make plays and didn’t do it. Offensively, we didn’t stay on the field as much as we needed to, and defensively we had a hard time getting off the field.”
Campbell said he was pleased with his team’s practices during the week despite the disruptions. “I don’t feel that we blinked or backed down today,” he said. “We need to find a way to have a good week of practice and take that and apply it on Saturday, so that we can find a way to beat a very good Georgia State team.”
On the offense’s struggles, he said, “Obviously we have not come up with the answer yet. We need to keep searching and find that answer and put the ball in the end zone.”
Up Next
After three straight road games, South Alabama returns to Hancock Whitney Stadium to host Georgia State at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, on ESPNU.
