MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama rushed for 351 yards Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, but Sun Belt Conference Western Division leader Louisiana-Lafayette scored 20 consecutive points in the second half and beat the Jaguars 37-27.
The loss was South Alabama’s eighth in a row and dropped the Jaguars to 1-9. Their only win this season came against FCS opponent Jackson State.
Garror Punt Return Swings Momentum
South Alabama led 21-17 with about nine minutes left in the third quarter before the Ragin’ Cajuns took control. Mobile native Eric Garror returned a punt 72 yards to the South Alabama 4-yard line. The Jaguar defense kept Louisiana out of the end zone, but the drive produced the go-ahead field goal, and the Cajuns went on to build a 37-21 lead with 4:12 remaining.
Tra Minter dove in at the pylon for an 11-yard touchdown with 2:48 to play. On the ensuing two-point attempt, Desmond Trotter’s pass was tipped away in heavy traffic, leaving South Alabama behind 37-27.
The Jaguars appeared to recover the following onside kick, but the ball touched a South Alabama player before traveling the required 10 yards, and Louisiana took possession at the spot of the illegal touch.
Head coach Steve Campbell used two of his three timeouts after Louisiana’s first two offensive snaps. He held his final timeout as the Cajuns faced fourth-and-long, and about 40 seconds ran off before Louisiana coach Billy Napier called timeout and sent out the punt team. The punt avoided Minter and was downed at the South Alabama 3-yard line with 1:41 left.
Holding penalties slowed the Jaguars’ final drive. Trotter broke a 25-yard run for a first down at the 44, and Campbell called his last timeout with eight seconds left. Trotter then hit Jalen Tolbert for a 14-yard gain to the Louisiana 42, with Tolbert getting out of bounds with two seconds remaining. The game ended on a sack of Trotter.
Back-and-Forth First Half
Louisiana opened the scoring with a field goal. South Alabama answered on a drive extended by a roughing-the-passer penalty on third-and-3, and Carlos Davis finished it with a 20-yard touchdown run for a 7-3 lead.
The score held until early in the second quarter, when Cajuns quarterback Levi Lewis threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Neal Johnson for a 10-7 lead. South Alabama responded with a drive during which a Louisiana defender was ejected for targeting, and Jared Wilson scored on a 4-yard run to put the Jaguars back in front 14-10.
Louisiana returned the next kickoff 60 yards to the South Alabama 36. Facing second-and-goal at the 1, Lewis found Hunter Bergeron alone in the back corner of the end zone, giving the Cajuns a 17-14 lead with 7:30 left in the half. South Alabama had a chance to tie before halftime, but Frankie Onate’s 43-yard field goal attempt was partially blocked.
By the Numbers
South Alabama ran for 351 yards on 50 carries. After throwing for just 2 yards in the first half, the Jaguars finished with 116 passing yards and 467 total yards. They had 23 first downs, converted 3 of 10 third downs and held the ball for 29:58 to Louisiana’s 30:02.
Louisiana totaled 391 yards, 255 rushing and 136 passing, with 23 first downs, and converted 5 of 14 third downs.
Minter led all rushers with 137 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Davis added 122 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and Trotter ran 12 times for 64 yards. Trotter completed 8 of 15 passes for 116 yards and was sacked twice. Cade Sutherland led South Alabama with three catches for 64 yards, and five other Jaguars caught one pass apiece.
For Louisiana, Elijah Mitchell ran for 117 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, Raymond Calais added 77 yards on 13 carries, and Trey Ragas had 52 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Lewis completed 16 of 29 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns and was sacked once. Jamal Bell caught three passes for 51 yards.
Campbell Reacts
“I thought the guys played extremely hard; I thought they gave a really good effort against the No. 1 scoring defense in our league,” Campbell said. “There were a couple of plays I wish we could have back, (including) that punt. We knew their guy doesn’t like to fair catch and we worked on it. I wish I could have that one back, and re-emphasize some things there.”
“Our defense I thought played really good red zone against three of the best backs in the league,” he added. “We held them to field goals down there.”
Up Next
South Alabama travels to Atlanta to face Georgia State at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23. The Panthers are coming off a 56-27 loss to Appalachian State. The game will stream on ESPN+, with pregame radio coverage beginning at 11 a.m. on 99.5 FM The Jag, 96.1 FM and the iHeartMedia app.
