MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama forced two first-quarter fumbles, built a 30-0 halftime lead and beat Sun Belt Conference co-champion Louisiana-Lafayette 30-8 on Saturday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium to become bowl eligible for the first time in program history.
The Jaguars finished the regular season 6-6 overall and 4-3 in the Sun Belt in their first season as a full member of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and their first season eligible for postseason play. South Alabama, which began playing football in 2009, was 3-6 three weeks ago after a third straight loss and won its final three games, all against Sun Belt opponents.
Louisiana-Lafayette finished the regular season 8-4 overall and 5-2 in the conference. The Ragin’ Cajuns will play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 21 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Defense Sets the Tone
South Alabama held Louisiana-Lafayette, the Sun Belt’s top rushing team, to 69 rushing yards on 33 attempts. The Cajuns, who entered with the league’s top offense, finished with 212 total yards and 12 first downs and converted 2 of 13 third downs.
After taking over on downs near midfield on Lafayette’s opening possession, the Jaguars drove for a 40-yard field goal by Aleem Sunanon.
On Lafayette’s next possession, defensive lineman Romelle Jones broke into the backfield, forced a fumble and recovered it at the Cajuns’ 28. Jay Jones ran for 5 and 22 yards on consecutive carries, and Kendall Houston scored on the next play for a 10-0 lead with 4:45 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Bryson James forced a fumble by returner Torrey Pierce, and Charles Harris recovered at the Lafayette 30. Quarterback Ross Metheny completed a 24-yard pass to Wes Saxton, and Houston scored his second touchdown on a 4-yard run to make it 17-0 with 3:29 left in the quarter.
30-0 at Halftime
After a Lafayette punt, South Alabama drove 83 yards in 12 plays over 5:35. Jay Jones opened with an 11-yard run, and Metheny hit Shavarez Smith for 27 yards. The Cajuns stopped Houston at the 1, and Sunanon kicked a 19-yard field goal for a 20-0 lead with 10:16 left in the second quarter.
Lafayette’s next drive covered 31 yards in 10 plays before a punt from the South Alabama 44, which T.J. Glover allowed to roll into the end zone for a touchback. Metheny then completed a 14-yard pass to Smith and ran for 12, 2 and 3 yards. On third-and-5 from the Lafayette 49, he found Jake Howton for 6 yards and a first down, and a few plays later he hit Saxton down the middle on a seam route for 36 yards to the Cajuns’ 7. The drive ended with Sunanon’s third field goal, a short kick that made it 23-0 with 55 seconds left in the half.
On the second play of Lafayette’s next possession, cornerback Qudarius Ford stepped in front of a pass from Haack, one of three quarterbacks the Cajuns used, on the left sideline and returned the interception 39 yards for a touchdown and a 30-0 lead with 39 seconds left before halftime.
Second Half
South Alabama played conservatively in the second half on a cold, windy night. Lafayette broke the shutout with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter. After Harris ran 14 yards on fourth-and-1 from the Cajuns’ 39, quarterback Jalen Nixon threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Johnson and ran in the two-point conversion to make it 30-8.
Lafayette’s onside kick attempt failed when the Cajuns were called for illegal touching, giving South Alabama the ball at its own 40. Jones then removed his senior starters one at a time, beginning with Metheny, who received an ovation from the crowd. Center Matt Calcagnini came out after Terrance Timmons ran 25 yards around the right side and a personal foul moved the ball to the Lafayette 19. Rush Hendrix was the last senior announced as he left the field. South Alabama turned the ball over on downs at the Cajuns’ 17 with 2:21 remaining.
On fourth-and-19 from its own 49, Lafayette had an interception by Charles Watson wiped out by a roughing-the-passer penalty, but Watson intercepted Nixon two plays later at the South Alabama 27 and returned it 8 yards. Backup quarterback Brandon Bridge took a knee to end the game after a brief delay for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
By the Numbers
South Alabama finished with 22 first downs and 363 total yards, including 192 rushing, and converted 5 of 16 third downs.
- Jay Jones ran 19 times for 105 yards.
- Metheny, in his final regular-season game, completed 13 of 23 passes for 171 yards and ran 16 times for 46 yards.
- Houston ran nine times for 18 yards and two touchdowns, and Timmons added 28 rushing yards.
- Saxton caught five passes for 88 yards, and Smith had three catches for 40 yards.
- Jereme Jones extended his streak of games with a reception, catching two passes for 18 yards. Bryant Lavender, Howton and Glover each had one catch.
- Senior Scott Garber punted six times for a 37.7-yard average.
- Enrique Williams had eight tackles and a tackle for loss. Pat Moore had seven tackles, two for loss.
- Clifton Crews, Jesse Kelley and Alex Page each recorded a sack and three tackles. Romelle Jones was credited with three tackles and the forced fumble.
Jones: ‘Our Guys Had a Look in Their Eyes’
“Our guys had a look in their eyes, they wanted to get to a bowl. That was one of our goals this season,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones said. “It was the mindset ever since we were 3-6.”
“The first thing I did after the game was talk to the team and tell them how proud I am of them and the way they turned the season around,” Jones said. “They are going to face times in life when things are going to get tough, and they can remember back to this year and how they fought back from 3-6 and ended 6-6 and bowl eligible in our first year in Division I.”
Jones credited his defense. “They have played great all year, but especially these last three games,” he said. “Offensively, when we had those opportunities to punch it in, we did. It was just a total team effort, offensively, defensively and special teams. We kind of got conservative in the second half because I didn’t want to turn it over. But my hat’s off to Louisiana-Lafayette, those guys are the class of the league and have been the last few years.”
“We’re 6-6 and bowl eligible, and there has to be somebody out there that would take this team in a bowl,” Jones said. “If you look at our story and how we came back at the end of the year in our first year in Division I, we would be a great story for some bowl somewhere.”
Waiting on a Bid
South Alabama now waits to learn whether director of athletics Joel Erdmann will receive a bowl invitation for the Jaguars. No bowl agreement has been announced.
