ATHENS, Ohio — South Alabama could not get a late defensive stop and was hurt by penalties on Saturday, falling 27-20 to Ohio in a non-conference game.
The Jaguars dropped to 0-2 under head coach Major Applewhite. Ohio evened its record at 1-1.
Davenport Steps In for Lopez
Redshirt sophomore Bishop Davenport made his first start for South Alabama in place of Gio Lopez, who was held out with a turf toe injury suffered in last week’s loss to North Texas. Lopez set program records in that game with 432 passing yards and 496 yards of total offense.
Davenport, who transferred from Utah State before the 2023 season, completed 24 of 38 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown. One of his passes was intercepted, but a roughing-the-passer penalty wiped out the turnover.
“I’m proud of the way he competed, proud of the way he played, proud of the opportunities he gave the offense,” Applewhite said.
Bothwell Ties It, Ohio Answers
Ohio built a 10-0 lead around the middle of the second quarter. The Bobcats’ touchdown was set up when Jamaal Pritchett fumbled a punt at the South Alabama 18.
The South Alabama defense then settled in. Aleki Pulkkinen flipped field position with a 47-yard punt that was fair caught at the Ohio 9, and after a three-and-out, the Jaguars took over at their own 36. Davenport completed two passes to open the drive, which ended with a 28-yard Laith Marjan field goal.
Another three-and-out and a short Ohio punt gave South Alabama good field position. Fluff Bothwell carried on four consecutive plays for 37 yards, finishing with an 8-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 10 with 1:25 left in the half.
Ohio needed only 49 seconds to respond. Quarterback Parker Navarro led a quick drive that ended with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Chase Hendricks down the right sideline, and the Bobcats took a 17-10 lead into halftime.
Second-Half Exchange
Ohio opened the second half with an 11-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that took 6:14 off the clock and gave the Bobcats a 24-10 lead.
South Alabama answered immediately, converting two third downs and a fourth down along the way. Davenport scrambled to his right for a first down on the first third down. Facing third-and-21, he found Devin Voisin for 18 yards, and on fourth-and-3 he hit Bothwell, who broke a tackle at the catch and gained the first down. On third-and-2 at the Ohio 26, Davenport connected with Voisin for 17 yards to set up first-and-goal, and he then threw a touchdown pass over the middle to Pritchett to make it 24-17.
The Jaguars got the ball right back late in the third quarter when Tyler Thomas strip-sacked Navarro and Carlos Johnson Jr. recovered at the Ohio 41. South Alabama could not reach the end zone and settled for a 38-yard Marjan field goal that cut the deficit to 24-20.
Ohio Drains the Clock
The South Alabama defense forced another three-and-out, but the Jaguar offense went three-and-out as well. After the punt, Ohio put together a 14-play, 78-yard drive that consumed 7:53 and ended in a field goal for a 27-20 lead with 3:16 remaining.
South Alabama took over with 3:15 left needing a touchdown, but a holding penalty and a false start stalled the possession. With a little more than two minutes left and all three timeouts remaining, Applewhite elected to punt in hopes of a defensive stop, but Ohio ran out the clock.
“When we get it down to a four-point game, get the ball at the 50-yard line, we go three and out, then it’s a seven-point game,” Applewhite said. “We get the ball back again, a chance to go tie it and we back up eight yards. So, just some untimely execution on each side of the ball in terms of what we need to do to play complimentary football.”
“It was disappointing,” he said. “There were mistakes in the game, but in terms of the way they played, I was proud of the way they competed.”
“We’re maturing as a ball club in terms of poise and composure in these late, fourth quarter games,” Applewhite said. “But we didn’t make plays.”
Statistics
- Receiving: Pritchett caught eight passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. Voisin had a team-high 77 receiving yards on five catches. Sandgren added three catches for 35 yards, PJ Martin two for 26 and DJ Thomas-Jones one for 2.
- Rushing: Bothwell ran for 70 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Kentrel Bullock added 28 yards on six carries, and Davenport had 12 yards on 10 attempts.
- Defense: Blayne Myrick led South Alabama with 10 tackles, six solo, along with a forced fumble and half a tackle for loss. Jordan Scruggs, playing with a broken thumb, made seven tackles, three solo, with half a tackle for loss. Wesley Miller had two tackles for loss, and Thomas recorded a sack.
For Ohio, Navarro completed 20 of 28 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown and ran 13 times for 62 yards and a score. Coleman Owen caught five passes for 33 yards, and Hendricks led the Bobcats with 65 receiving yards and a touchdown on four catches. Anthony Tyus III ran for 74 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, and Rickey Hunt Jr. added 73 yards on three carries. The Ohio defense recorded one sack, three quarterback hurries and five tackles for loss.
Availability
Several Jaguars missed the game, including Braylon McReynolds, who was a game-time decision and did not play.
“I expect no matter what the position is, if there’s a backup that comes in, I expect them to come in and perform because they’re here and they’re great players and they work their tail off,” Applewhite said.
Up Next
South Alabama returns home on a short week to host FCS opponent Northwestern State. Kickoff at Hancock Whitney Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, on ESPN+.
