South Alabama Loss to Louisiana Tech: Jaguars Shut Out After Halftime in 35-20 Halloween Defeat

MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama scored on its first three possessions, moved the ball almost at will between the 20-yard lines and won most of the statistical battles on Halloween. The night still ended in a 35-20 South Alabama loss to Louisiana Tech at Hancock Whitney Stadium, a result that dropped the Jaguars out of a share of first place in the Sun Belt Conference West Division and turned the rest of their regular season into a push for bowl eligibility.

The defeat on Saturday, Oct. 31, was the Jaguars’ second straight defeat and their first at home this season. South Alabama fell to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in Sun Belt play. The Bulldogs won their fifth straight game and improved to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the league, keeping sole possession of first place in the West.

A win would have pulled South Alabama even with Louisiana Tech atop the division. Instead, the Jaguars are part of a five-way tie for second place with four games left.

Plenty of yards, not enough points

By most measures, South Alabama played well enough to win. The Jaguars outgained Louisiana Tech 397 yards to 315, ran for 205 yards, converted 6 of 10 third-down attempts and controlled the clock. Louisiana Tech converted just 2 of its 10 third downs.

The difference showed up in the categories that tend to decide close conference games. South Alabama was flagged 12 times for 100 yards, while Louisiana Tech had four penalties for 29 yards. The Jaguars lost a fumble, threw an interception and came up empty on three fourth-down attempts. Louisiana Tech did not turn the ball over.

Several of South Alabama’s penalties extended Bulldogs drives that ended in touchdowns, and head coach Major Applewhite made clear afterward that he saw those as avoidable mistakes.

“Some of those penalties are things that we can control,” Applewhite said. “Has nothing to do with our execution on the play, has nothing to do with the play call.”

A fast start in the first quarter

South Alabama’s game plan centered on taking away explosive plays and leaning on the running game to move the chains and keep the Louisiana Tech offense on the sideline. Early on, it worked.

The Jaguars’ defense opened the game by forcing a three-and-out that included two sacks. The offense followed with a quick scoring drive, capped when quarterback Jared Hollins found receiver Anthony Eager for a 10-yard touchdown that put South Alabama up 7-0 with 9:33 left in the first quarter.

Louisiana Tech answered almost immediately. A screen pass to Rayshun Hurt went for 67 yards and moved the ball to the South Alabama 5-yard line, and Andrew Burnette scored on a 4-yard run to tie the game at 7 with 8:12 left in the opening period.

South Alabama went back in front on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Hollins to Eager, and the Jaguars led 14-7 after one quarter. In all, South Alabama held the ball for almost 11 minutes in the first quarter.

Second quarter turns on a drop and a trick play

The momentum shifted in the second quarter. Louisiana Tech tied the game early in the period when quarterback Blake Baker threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Calwise Jr.

On the Bulldogs’ drives in the quarter, Louisiana Tech faced two third downs and one fourth down, and a penalty gave the visitors a first down on that fourth-down snap.

The Jaguars then had a chance to keep a drive alive on fourth down, but Eager could not hold on to a pass that would have moved the chains. Louisiana Tech took over with a short field and went to its bag of tricks, running a double pass that ended with backup quarterback Trey Kukuk throwing 27 yards to Jalen Mickens for a touchdown. That score, with 8:50 left in the half, gave the Bulldogs a lead they never gave back.

South Alabama responded when running back Keenan Phillips scored on an 11-yard run, but Davis Little’s extra-point attempt was no good, leaving the Jaguars behind 21-20. Baker and Calwise connected again on a 35-yard touchdown pass a little over three minutes before halftime, and Louisiana Tech took a 28-20 lead into the locker room. The Bulldogs outscored South Alabama 21-6 in the second quarter.

Linebacker Xavious Anderson Jr. said the frustrating part was that the Jaguars did not feel physically overmatched.

“You really feel it knowing that they didn’t really push us around,” Anderson said. “We just kind of gave it to them.”

Defenses take over after halftime

After a first half in which the teams combined for 48 points, both defenses tightened. South Alabama’s defense came out of the break strong, forcing three-and-outs on Louisiana Tech’s first three possessions of the second half.

The Jaguars’ offense kept moving the ball but could not finish. South Alabama drove into Louisiana Tech territory four times in the second half without scoring, punting three times and turning the ball over on downs twice over the course of the half.

The decisive moment came late in the third quarter. Phillips fumbled on the first play of a drive, and Louisiana Tech recovered at the South Alabama 10-yard line. Two plays later, Baker threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Luke Watkins with 39 seconds left in the quarter, stretching the lead to 35-20. It was the only score of the second half.

“Obviously disappointed in our game and our performance,” Applewhite said. “We felt like it was back and forth, ebbs and flows, in the first half and the second half.”

He said the offense moved the ball after halftime but stalled as it approached scoring range.

“In the second half I felt like we came out offensively and moved the ball but got down towards plus territory and didn’t convert,” Applewhite said. “Defense held them, didn’t convert. Then they did some things that in the second half were a little bit different. I’ve got to do a better job of adjusting and helping our players.”

Applewhite also pointed to the fumble as the play that put the game out of reach.

“Then we had a costly turnover that turned into a two-possession game,” he said. “Proud of the ways the guys fought, but I think our guys feel the same way we do as a staff. It’s a minimum expectation that you fight. We didn’t make the plays in the second half against a really good defense that we were making in the first half to take this thing all the way down to the wire.”

Louisiana Tech’s defense does it again

Louisiana Tech arrived in Mobile having shut out its previous two opponents, blanking Louisiana-Monroe 24-0 on Oct. 17 and Old Dominion 26-0 a week later. South Alabama ended that streak with 20 first-half points, but the Bulldogs’ defense looked like its recent self after halftime and did not allow a point over the final two quarters.

Before the game, the matchup that drew the most attention was Louisiana Tech’s passing game against a South Alabama secondary that entered the week ranked last in the Sun Belt in pass defense, allowing an average of 251.9 passing yards per game. Mickens and Eli Finley came in ranked first and fourth in the conference in receptions. The Bulldogs threw for fewer yards than that average on Saturday, but they made their completions count, with four of their five touchdowns coming through the air.

Baker was efficient, completing 10 of 16 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Kukuk threw only one pass, and it went for a 27-yard score.

Statistical leaders

• Jared Hollins, South Alabama: 14 of 31 passing, 192 yards, two touchdowns, one interception
• Anthony Eager, South Alabama: seven catches, 102 yards, two touchdowns
• P.J. Martin, South Alabama: 12 carries, 82 yards
• Keenan Phillips, South Alabama: 11 carries, 62 yards, one touchdown
• Blake Baker, Louisiana Tech: 10 of 16 passing, 167 yards, three touchdowns
• Trey Kukuk, Louisiana Tech: 1 of 1 passing, 27-yard touchdown
• Marcus Calwise Jr., Louisiana Tech: two touchdown catches, of 22 and 35 yards

Scoring summary

• First quarter: South Alabama — Anthony Eager 10-yard pass from Jared Hollins (9:33), 7-0
• First quarter: Louisiana Tech — Andrew Burnette 4-yard run (8:12), 7-7
• First quarter: South Alabama — Eager 9-yard pass from Hollins, 14-7
• Second quarter: Louisiana Tech — Marcus Calwise Jr. 22-yard pass from Blake Baker, 14-14
• Second quarter: Louisiana Tech — Jalen Mickens 27-yard pass from Trey Kukuk (8:50), 21-14
• Second quarter: South Alabama — Keenan Phillips 11-yard run (kick failed), 21-20
• Second quarter: Louisiana Tech — Calwise 35-yard pass from Baker, 28-20
• Third quarter: Louisiana Tech — Luke Watkins 4-yard pass from Baker (0:39), 35-20

Eager’s up-and-down day

Eager, a Mobile native and former McGill-Toolen standout, again showed why he has become one of the Jaguars’ most dangerous targets. He scored South Alabama’s first two touchdowns and finished with seven catches for 102 yards. He also had a couple of drops, including the fourth-down incompletion in the second quarter that set up Louisiana Tech’s go-ahead trick play.

The senior has been one of the best stories of South Alabama’s season. After years of waiting behind a deep group of receivers and playing through hand and wrist injuries, he posted the best game of his career with 168 yards and two touchdowns in a 52-35 homecoming win over Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 3.

Hollins: ‘Wasn’t good enough’

Hollins made his sixth straight start after Applewhite stuck with him following a difficult night in a 20-13 loss at Marshall on Oct. 20, when he completed 12 of 33 passes for 148 yards. Against Louisiana Tech, he threw for two touchdowns and 192 yards but completed less than half of his passes.

Applewhite said after the game that he could have put Hollins in better situations and called different plays to help the quarterback and the rest of the offense. Hollins offered a blunt assessment of his own performance.

“Wasn’t good enough at all,” Hollins said. “I gotta be better for this team and gotta get back to working.”

He said the team’s challenge now is to put the loss behind it quickly.

“Everybody’s pretty good at flushing it,” Hollins said. “Whether we win or lose that’s every week you’ve got to flush it. Just because you win doesn’t mean you’re going to win the next one. Just because you lose doesn’t mean you’re going to lose the next one. You’ve got to flush it, and we’ve done a good job of that so far, but we’ve got to get to work and come back with a higher sense of urgency.”

How South Alabama got here

The Jaguars entered the night 3-0 at home, with wins over Southeastern Louisiana, Ohio and Louisiana-Monroe at Hancock Whitney Stadium. They had also won a 56-49 shootout at Arkansas State earlier in October, a game in which Phillips scored four touchdowns, including a 100-yard kickoff return, to give South Alabama a 2-0 start in Sun Belt play for the first time since 2022.

The offense has cooled since then. South Alabama, which entered the Marshall game averaging 38.8 points per game, has scored 33 points in its last two games combined. Saturday’s game was also the Jaguars’ first since that Oct. 20 loss in Huntington, West Virginia, after an 11-day break.

Louisiana Tech came into the game leading the all-time series with South Alabama 2-1. The Jaguars had won the most recent meeting, 38-14 in 2022. With Saturday’s win, the Bulldogs now lead the series 3-1.

Bowl eligibility now the target

The loss was a significant blow to South Alabama’s hopes of reaching the Sun Belt Conference championship game, with Louisiana Tech now holding a two-game lead in the loss column over the Jaguars in the West. The more immediate goal is a postseason berth. South Alabama needs two wins in its last four games to become bowl-eligible for the third time in four seasons.

Anderson said the Jaguars still believe in what they have.

“We got a good ball club,” Anderson said. “So I feel like we know what we got to do to overcome these two losses.”

The remaining schedule includes two road games and two home games:

• Saturday, Nov. 7: at Louisiana, Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium, Lafayette, La., 4 p.m. Central
• Next: vs. Troy at Hancock Whitney Stadium in the Battle for the Belt
• Then: at Southern Miss
• Black Friday: vs. Appalachian State at Hancock Whitney Stadium

Louisiana leads the all-time series with South Alabama 10-4 and won last season’s meeting 31-22 in Mobile. The in-state rivalry with Troy, known as the Battle for the Belt, follows at home.

Louisiana Tech, meanwhile, puts its unbeaten conference record on the line next Saturday at Troy.