South Alabama Falls 32-31 at UCLA on Final-Play Field Goal After Fake Field Goal Fails

PASADENA, Calif. — Nicholas Barr-Mira kicked a 24-yard field goal as time expired Saturday at the Rose Bowl to give UCLA a 32-31 victory over South Alabama, after a Jaguars fake field goal attempt with about three minutes left ended in an 11-yard sack.

The loss was the first of the season for South Alabama, which fell to 2-1. UCLA improved to 3-0.

The Jaguars led for most of the game and went in front 31-23 late in the third quarter before the Bruins rallied in the fourth.

The Deciding Sequence

Holding a 31-29 lead, South Alabama put together an 11-play drive that stalled at the UCLA 22-yard line. Facing fourth-and-2, head coach Kane Wommack sent out the field goal unit, but with third-string quarterback Tanner McGee in place of regular holder Jack Brooks. The Jaguars shifted from the kicking formation into an offensive set. McGee looked for a receiver, came under pressure and was sacked for an 11-yard loss.

UCLA took over at its own 33 with 2:52 remaining and drove the length of the field, forcing South Alabama to use its final two timeouts. With the ball at the Jaguars’ 6-yard line and two seconds left, Barr-Mira made the game-winning kick.

“They adjusted well to it,” Wommack said of the fake. “We thought we had them right there with the fake field goal. Would have been nice to get that one and iced the game. But we didn’t put ourselves in position in the plays prior to that moment to pull away.”

On the play, a South Alabama tight end was working against a linebacker in coverage on the left side, but the rush reached McGee before the receiver could gain separation.

First Half

South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley was intercepted on his second pass attempt of the game, and the return set UCLA up at the Jaguars’ 21. The South Alabama defense held, and the Bruins settled for a 28-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead at 12:18 of the first quarter.

The Jaguars answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive. La’Damian Webb broke a 47-yard run on third-and-8, and Marco Lee scored on a 1-yard run for a 7-3 lead.

The teams traded field goals on the next two possessions, UCLA from 49 yards and South Alabama from 38, leaving the Jaguars ahead 10-6.

UCLA then drove inside the South Alabama 1. A pass to Zach Charbonnet was initially ruled a touchdown, but replay placed him short of the goal line. On the next snap, the handoff from quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was not cleanly exchanged; CJ Rias knocked the ball loose and Zeke Chapman recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

South Alabama capitalized. After a false start moved the ball back from the 4, Webb scored from 9 yards out to put the Jaguars up 17-6 with 5:54 left in the second quarter.

UCLA needed six plays to respond. A 34-yard completion and a 25-yard run by Keegan Jones moved the Bruins to the 9, and two plays later Thompson-Robinson hit Jake Bobo for a 9-yard touchdown. South Alabama led 17-13 at halftime.

Third Quarter Swings

UCLA opened the second half with a scoring drive aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Jamie Sheriff. Thompson-Robinson finished it with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kam Brown, giving the Bruins a 20-17 lead at 13:22 of the third quarter.

Webb then lost his first fumble of the season while reaching for extra yardage. Officials upheld the fumble on review but ruled the UCLA defender was down when he recovered it, wiping out a return for a touchdown. The Bruins turned the turnover into a 28-yard field goal and a 23-17 lead; the drive was extended when Ricky Fletcher was called for defensive holding on a third-and-8 incompletion near midfield.

South Alabama answered. Caullin Lacy’s 37-yard reception moved the Jaguars into the red zone, and Lee scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard run for a 24-23 lead with 1:37 left in the third quarter.

On UCLA’s next possession, starting from its own 30, a fumble was batted and kicked forward by several players before Ed Smith recovered for South Alabama at the Bruins’ 6. Lacy then made a diving 4-yard touchdown catch to put the Jaguars ahead 31-23 with 57 seconds left in the quarter.

UCLA Rallies

The Bruins responded with a long drive. Thompson-Robinson’s 5-yard run set up fourth-and-4 at the South Alabama 8, and UCLA coach Chip Kelly elected to go for it. Thompson-Robinson connected with Logan Loya for a touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving South Alabama ahead 31-29 with 12:25 to play.

After each team punted, the Jaguars began the drive that ended with the fake field goal.

Wommack’s Comments

“We made some plays in big moments, but we were also an inconsistent football team today,” Wommack said. “When you go into big stadiums and have opportunities, you have to take care of the ball offensively and not shoot yourself in the foot from an execution standpoint. … We have to step up on third downs. You have a fourth down in the red zone, you have to get off the field.”

Asked whether his team responded when it needed to, Wommack said, “I thought so. … Our guys competed the entire game. It was just the execution. Physically we did some things on some plays, ran the football, it was just a couple of plays.”

“I told the guys they were going to have an opportunity to respond to this game and that is what we have to do against Louisiana Tech at home,” he said.

Statistics

South Alabama

• Total offense: 399 yards (237 passing, 162 rushing) on 70 plays, with 22 first downs.
• Time of possession: 32:57 to UCLA’s 27:03.
• Third down: 9 of 14. Fourth down: 0 of 1. Red zone: 5 of 5, with four touchdowns and one field goal.
• Rushing: La’Damian Webb had his first 100-yard game of the season, carrying 16 times for 124 yards and a touchdown. Terrion Avery added 29 yards on five carries, and Marco Lee scored twice on four carries for 6 yards.
• Passing: Carter Bradley completed 26 of 36 passes for 237 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
• Receiving: Jalen Wayne caught seven passes for 76 yards, Devin Voisin seven for 64, Webb six for 42 and Lacy four for 49 and a touchdown.
• Defense: Jalen Jordan led with seven tackles, five solo. James Miller recorded the Jaguars’ only tackle for loss.

UCLA

• Total offense: 407 yards (263 passing, 144 rushing) on 67 plays, with 23 first downs.
• Third down: 7 of 13. Fourth down: 1 of 1. Red zone: six scores on seven trips, three of them touchdowns.
• Passing: Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 20 of 30 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns and ran seven times for 27 yards.
• Rushing: Zach Charbonnet ran 13 times for 78 yards and caught three passes for 51. Keegan Jones added 65 yards on 14 carries.
• Receiving: Jake Bobo caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Logan Loya and Kam Brown each caught a touchdown pass.
• Defense: Darius Muasau led all players with 10 tackles, five solo. Carl Jones Jr. had the game’s only sack. JonJon Vaughns had a pass breakup and the game’s only interception.

Up Next

South Alabama returns home to close its non-conference schedule against Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game will stream on ESPN+ and air on the Jaguar Radio Network, including the iHeart app and 99.5 FM in Mobile.

The game caps a week of campus events that includes the inauguration of Jo Bonner as University of South Alabama president on Friday.