KENT, Ohio — South Alabama football scored 25 unanswered points after falling behind by 33 but ran out of time Saturday, as Kent State held on for a 33-25 victory in the first of three scheduled meetings between the schools.
The Jaguars’ final play ended at the Kent State 23-yard line, 23 yards short of a touchdown that, with a two-point conversion, would have tied the game. South Alabama fell to 2-2 with its second straight loss to a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. Kent State improved to 1-3 with its first win of the season.
A Difficult First Half
Kent State controlled the opening 30 minutes. The Golden Flashes led 7-0 after one quarter and scored 19 points in the second quarter to take a 26-0 lead into halftime, the largest halftime deficit in the young program’s history.
South Alabama managed five yards on nine plays in the first quarter, with four rushes for two yards and 2-of-5 passing for three yards, and held the ball for only 4:21. Kent State ran 16 times for 53 yards and completed 2 of 4 passes for 21 yards in the period.
The second quarter followed the same pattern. The Jaguars ran five times for 14 yards and completed 3 of 11 passes for 25 yards with two interceptions, possessing the ball for 5:38.
At the half, Kent State had 13 first downs, 142 rushing yards on 31 carries and 56 passing yards on 6-of-11 passing. The Golden Flashes converted 7 of 11 third downs, were penalized twice for 20 yards and held the ball for 20:01. South Alabama had two first downs, 16 rushing yards on nine carries and 28 passing yards on 5-of-16 passing with two interceptions. The Jaguars punted five times for a 43.2-yard average, were penalized three times for 36 yards and converted 1 of 7 third downs.
Third-Quarter Turnaround
South Alabama forced a three-and-out to open the second half, but Kendall Houston was caught behind the line and fumbled on the next possession. Kent State returned the loose ball 27 yards to the Jaguar 11, and two plays later the Golden Flashes led 33-0 with 11:36 left in the third quarter.
The Jaguars answered immediately. Demetre Baker returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the South Alabama 40. Quarterback C.J. Bennett hit Corey Besteda for 37 yards to the Kent State 23, then ran a draw for 18 yards to the 5. After a three-yard run by Houston and an incomplete pass intended for Kevin Helms, coach Joey Jones called timeout facing third-and-goal from the 2 with 9:48 left in the quarter. Baker scored out of the timeout, and Jordan Means added the extra point to make it 33-7.
On Kent State’s next possession, quarterback Spencer Keith completed an 18-yard pass, but Jake Johnson forced a fumble that Ken Barefield recovered at the Kent State 42. Bennett ran for 11 yards and a first down, then found Helms for 21 yards to the Kent State 11. The drive stalled at the 8 after a third-down incompletion intended for Bryant Lavender, and Means kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 33-10.
After a Kent State punt, Jereme Jones returned the kick to the Jaguar 29. Bennett connected with Lavender on a 61-yard pass to the Kent State 10, where Lavender fumbled and South Alabama recovered. Facing fourth down after three plays netted one yard, Joey Jones elected to go for it, and Bennett found Jereme Jones in the end zone with 1:05 left in the third quarter. Means’ extra point made it 33-17.
Fourth-Quarter Push
South Alabama’s defense forced another punt early in the fourth quarter, and Jereme Jones returned it 15 yards to the Jaguar 28. The Jaguars then put together a long drive behind Bennett’s passing and a mix of runs by Baker, Houston and Bennett himself, reaching the Kent State 5. Two incomplete passes left South Alabama facing fourth down, and Bennett’s throw fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs.
The defense forced a three-and-out, and Jereme Jones returned the punt eight yards to the Kent State 47. Bennett hit Waldon on a 42-yard pass to the 5, and a substitution penalty moved the ball to the 3. Baker scored on second down, and South Alabama went for two. Bennett found Helms in the left side of the end zone to make it 33-25.
Kent State took over at its 22 with 5:59 to play and leaned on running back Trayion Durham. A personal foul on South Alabama’s Damond Smith gave the Golden Flashes 15 yards, but a Kent State personal foul later pushed them back. The Jaguars used their final timeout with 3:22 left before a Kent State punt, which Jereme Jones returned 10 yards to the South Alabama 29.
Two incompletions were followed by an interception at the Jaguar 47. The South Alabama defense held, stopping Anthony Meray for no gain on third down, and Kent State let the play clock expire before punting for a touchback.
With 29 seconds left, South Alabama took over at its own 20. After two incompletions, Bennett found Jereme Jones for 23 yards to the Jaguar 43, and the offense spiked the ball with four seconds remaining. On the final play, Bennett scrambled and threw to Besteda, who was tackled at the Kent State 23 as he tried to reach the left sideline.
By the Numbers
South Alabama finished with 14 first downs to Kent State’s 16 and outgained the Golden Flashes 374 yards to 281. The Jaguars ran 27 times for 93 yards, a 3.4-yard average, while Kent State ran 49 times for 187 yards, a 3.8-yard average. Kent State completed 10 of 19 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown and won the time of possession battle 34:59 to 25:01.
- Bennett completed 14 passes for 281 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions and led the team in rushing with 40 yards on five carries.
- Baker had 28 yards on 10 touches, Houston had 23 yards on 11 touches and Myles Gibbon ran once for two yards. Gibbon threw one pass, which fell incomplete.
- Lavender caught five passes for 97 yards. Jereme Jones had three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown, Besteda had two for 71 yards, Helms had two for 32 yards, Waldon had one for 42 yards and Lamontis Gardner had one for eight yards.
- Johnson led the defense with 17 tackles, six solo, and a forced fumble. Barefield added 10 tackles, four solo, and a fumble recovery.
- The Jaguars held Durham to 72 yards on 27 carries and Meray to 64 yards on 13 carries.
- South Alabama did not record a sack, and Kent State had one.
Field position shifted as the game went on. South Alabama’s average starting position in the first quarter was its own 15, while Kent State’s was the Jaguar 46. In the fourth quarter, the Jaguars averaged their own 32 and Kent State its own 26, the Golden Flashes’ worst of the game.
Jones: ‘A Comedy of Errors’
Joey Jones took responsibility for the slow start.
“The first half was just a comedy of errors. We fell behind 26-0 at halftime, but we talked to them and they came out ready to play,” Jones said. “I didn’t think we were ready to play early, and I take the blame on that. But the field position was horrible in the first half, and turnovers and all of the things we talk about that we can’t do we had happen.”
“In the second half, we came back and played our football and started moving the ball, scoring and the defense started stopping them. We played a good second half, but came up just a little bit short. I’m real proud of the way they came back,” he said.
Jones said the staff adjusted the running game at halftime. “We changed a few things in the running game, and made some checks and started running toward the boundary. That helped us, and we started pitching and catching it pretty good. But we just got some momentum; we never got any momentum in the first half.”
Up Next
South Alabama has an open date next week before returning to the road Oct. 8 at UTSA. The game is scheduled to be televised on the Longhorn Network.
