DAVIS, Calif. – The University of South Alabama football team found itself in unfamiliar territory Saturday against UC Davis, as the Jaguars did not take a lead to the locker room at halftime and were trailing with 15 minutes to go.
C.J. Bennett hit Courtney Smith for a 45-yard touchdown catch with five-and-a-half minutes left, and the Jaguars would survive a last-second field-goal attempt to send the game into overtime to hold on for a 24-21 victory at Aggie Stadium Saturday.
It was the 14th straight win for USA, which improved to 7-0 in its second season of competition, though the first the Jaguars have won by fewer than two touchdowns.
“We went through man coverage all week, and they were in cover zero,” Smith explained. “C.J. recognized it and he threw the post; I just went up for the ball. They needed me, and I had to come through for my team.”
“We went with an empty set and waited for the defense to get set. They brought the house and Courtney Smith was one-on-one on a post,” added Bennett. “I threw it up there and he went and got it — it was just a great play. Their guy had good coverage but as soon as I threw it up, Courtney broke away.”
The contest was tied at the half, 14-14, but with just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, the Aggies (3-4) moved the ball 79 yards in seven plays and two minutes, 34 seconds before Randy Wright connected with Tom Hemmingson on a 19-yard scoring play.
Jordan Means kicked a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the period to cut the USA deficit to 21-17 after Myles Gibbon moved the Jaguars 28 yards in seven plays in his first appearance of the game. Bennett would complete the comeback when he found Smith to cap a four-play, 75-yard drive.
UCD would move the ball across midfield on its ensuing possession, but Jake Johnson sacked Wright for a loss of eight yards and Jerron Mitchell followed by breaking up a pass intended for Hemmingsen on third down to force the Aggies to punt.
The Jags faced third-and-one, but Dozie Amajoyi recovered a fumble to give the Ags the ball back at the USA-33. Anthony Taylor sacked Wright twice, but in between he hit Sean Creadick for 22 yards to leave UCD facing a 34-yard field goal with three seconds go that — after a timeout — would sail wide right and give the Jaguars the victory.
“We came through at the end, the defense did a great job,” stated USA head coach Joey Jones. “We fumbled the ball on the 30 [yard line], but we sacked them and made them kick a field goal that was fortunately wide right.”
Smith finished with his first 100-yard game of the season, and third of his career, after making six catches for 105 yards. Jeremé Jones added four receptions for 35 yards and Corey Waldon had three for another 32 as USA’s quarterbacks combined to complete 22-of-33 attempts for 238 yards. Brennan Sim was 13-of-18 for 116 yards, with Bennett finishing 7-of-13 for 105 yards as well and Gibbon completing his only two attempts for 17 yards.
But Creadick led all players with 12 receptions for 147 yards, and Wright matched the Jaguar passing total after going 23-of-42.
The Jags would outgain the Aggies 369-347, though, with Santuan McGee carrying eight times for 53 yards and Kendall Houston supplying 47 on 14 rushes. Nick Aprile paced UCD with 44 yards on seven attempts.
“They are a well-coached team, and did some things that we had trouble stopping,” Johnson said. “We knew if we stepped our game up, then we would stop them. It felt great. We had two big stops, and it was an awesome feeling to come away with those. It was just a fun game and a great experience.”
Taylor ended the night with a career-best six stops — five of which were unassisted — to match Mitchell for team-high honors. Logan Bennett also recorded two tackles for loss among his four stops, with Jonathan Cameron, Justin Dunn, Charlie Higgenbotham, Romelle Jones and Enrique Williams also credited with four tackles each. Clifton Crews broke up four passes, accounting for half of USA’s total, while Cameron recorded the only takeaway by the unit with a second-quarter interception.
Amajoyi led all players with nine tackles, while Danny Hart supplied eight and Jordan Glass and Byron Gruendl made seven stops apiece.
The Jags put together their longest scoring drive of the season when they took the opening kickoff and marched 74 yards in 13 plays, taking a 7-0 lead exactly six minutes into the contest when Houston scored on a run up the middle from 10 yards out. Sim was 5-of-6 for 39 yards on the drive, hitting both Kevin Helms and Jones to move the chains on third down while Houston gained two yards when the Jaguars faced fourth-and-one at the UCD-31.
USA’s defense forced a three-and-out on the Aggies’s first possession, with T.J. Glover — who would finish with a game-high 150 all-purpose yards — returning the punt 34 yards down the right sideline to put the Jaguars in the red zone. After a one-yard carry from Sim, he found Smith in the back corner of the end zone for a 14-0 USA edge with six-and-a-half minutes left in the opening period.
CD got on the board with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first, answering Smith’s touchdown catch with an eight-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a three-yard scoring run from Corbin Cutshaw.
The Aggies twice got the ball near midfield after cutting their deficit in half, but the Jag defense held by forcing a 41-yard field goal that went wide right and a punt. UCD wouldn’t tie the score until 15 seconds before the half, when Wright found Creadick for a seven-yard touchdown pass to cap a nine-play, 84-yard march that lasted one minute and 38 seconds. Creadick had five receptions on the possession, including a gain of 22 on the initial play, while Wright hit all eight of his pass attempts and added a seven-yard rush.
“I have to tell you, UC Davis is a great, first-class football team,” Jones commented. “We came out to California and beat an extremely good football team tonight. They have great players and are very well-coached team. We had so many setbacks during the game, whether it was penalties or turnovers, but never had the feeling we were out of the game. Our kids kept playing hard.
“It’s just a great statement for our program. People have been asking me all year long, and I know where we are now; we beat a great [NCAA] I-AA program that won its conference last year, is probably going to win it this year, and beat San Jose State this season. We’re up there. Are we Division I-A yet? No, but we’re probably close.”
USA will conclude its second season with a three-game homestand, beginning Saturday when Georgia State visits for a 4 p.m. kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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USA-UC Davis box score
USA-UC Davis photo gallery
