SAN MARCOS, Texas – The University of South Alabama football team found itself in a familiar position on Saturday when it entered the locker room trailing Texas State by 11 points.  And when the Jaguars would fight back to tie the contest early in the fourth quarter but give up 10 points in a 17-second span, it appeared the Bobcats would cruise to the victory.

Ross Metheny hit Danny Woodson II for two scores in less than four minutes however, with the second giving USA a one-point lead, but Jason Dann converted a 41-yard field goal — his fourth of the night — to help provide TSU with a 33-31 Sun Belt Conference victory over the Jags at Bobcat Stadium.

On the Bobcats' ensuing possession after USA (3-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) drew even, Tyler Jones connected with Isaiah Battle for a 41-yard gain, leading to a Dann 37-yard field goal that put TSU (5-3, 2-2 SBC) up 20-17 with little more than eight minutes to go.  The lead grew to 10 two plays later when Justin Iwuji picked off a pass and returned it 29 yards for a score.

It was the first time in four-plus seasons of competition that the opposition has run back an interception for a touchdown against the Jaguars.

Metheny hit Woodson II over a defender for a 42-yard touchdown pass with five minutes, 20 seconds to go, to cut the deficit to three, but Dann's field goal from 43 yards out with two minutes and 22 seconds remaining extended the Bobcat advantage to 30-24.  The two connected again — this time from 43 yards out with 92 seconds left in regulation — to give the Jaguars their first lead, capping a possession in which USA drove 75 yards in four plays and 50 seconds.

On third-and-four from the TSU-46 on the Bobcats' final march Jones found Jafus Gaines for five yards, however the Bobcats were called for offensive pass interference on the play.  Maleki Harris broke up Jones' next pass, and a false start moved the ball back five more yards, but a 51-yard completion from Jones to Benjamin Ijah — his only catch of the contest — on fourth-and-25 moved the ball to the USA-23.  One play later, Dann hit with four seconds to go to give the Bobcats their second straight win in league play.

"I thought they outplayed us for three quarters; they controlled the game," explained USA head coach Joey Jones.  "We fought our way back into it and had a chance to win it.  We had them on fourth-and-long and they convert it.  But I thought they outplayed us most of the game.  They ran the ball well on us.  We didn't do anything offensively in the first half.  We can't fall behind that much and expect to win ball games.

"We had a chance though, we just didn't get it done."

Jones posted career highs with 218 yards passing — which came while completing 15-of-25 attempts — 68 yards on the ground and 286 yards of total offense, helping TSU record 452 yards in the contest.

Metheny countered with his second career 300-yard effort, hitting that number exactly in a 27-of-43 passing effort.  The senior added 40 yards rushing, and he tied career highs with three touchdown throws and accounting for four scores.  Woodson II finished with five receptions for 118 yards, tying his previous high in the former category and setting a new one in the latter.

USA trailed by double figures at the half, 14-3, with its first touchdown of the night was sparked by a defensive play as Montell Garner intercepted a pass at the TSU-41 and ran it back 35 yards.  The Bobcats were called for a personal foul on the play moving the ball to the three-yard line, with Metheny going around left end untouched on the next snap to make the score 14-10 with just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Dann kicked a 35-yard field goal 24 seconds before the end of the period, as the Bobcats answered by moving 72 yards in 15 plays to push their lead back to a touchdown.  Robert Lowe and Jones each gained 11 yards on third-and-one, then the latter found Chris Nutall on a 12-yard completion down the left sideline to move the chains again.  USA ended the drive when Jesse Kelley held Lowe to a one-yard gain on third-and-two from the 19-yard line.

Lowe rushed for 89 yards on 15 carries to lead all players, and Nutall had 12 attempts for an additional 76 as the Bobcats had a total of 234 yards on the ground.

But the Jags needed just over two minutes to even the score, going 79 yards in six plays before Metheny hit Shavarez Smith for a 13-yard scoring pass with 13 minutes and 10 seconds remaining in regulation.  Cris Dinham had a 32-yard rush — his longest as a Jaguar — to move the ball to the TSU-24, adding 11 more yards on the next play from scrimmage; he would lead the team for the first time with 50 yards in the game.

TSU held a 177-140 advantage in total offense at the break — including limiting the Jaguars to just 26 yards on 13 carries — while holding on to the ball for 17-and-a-half minutes.  USA would finish with 409 total yards though, with 239 of those coming in the final quarter.

After becoming the first opponent since opening day to prevent the Jaguars from scoring on their opening possession, the Bobcats marched 62 yards in eight plays after a 13-yard punt return by Andy Erickson.  Jones found Battle for a 26-yard pass play on TSU's second snap, and Nutall followed with a 10-yard run to move to the USA-25.  After another Nutall carry set up first-and-goal at the 10-yard line, Jones hit Ryan Carden in the right flat for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with just under 10 minutes to go in the opening quarter.

Battle's 62 yards on three catches would lead the TSU receiving corps.

Jones doubled the Bobcat advantage with 13 minutes to go in the first half, hitting Brandon Smith from 16 yards out in the back left corner of the end zone — one of his team-leading four receptions for 39 yards — to cap an 11-play, 68-yard drive that took more than five minutes off the clock.  The possession began with back-to-back tackles behind the line of scrimmage by Harris and Pat Moore, but Lowe gained 12 yards on third down and Jones moved the chains with a five-yard carry on fourth-and-inches.

Enrique Williams recorded a career-best 13 total tackles including one for loss to pace the Jags, with Qudarius Ford adding nine.  Harris collected a total of eight stops — two were behind the line of scrimmage — and broke up a pass, Garner had seven in addition to the interception and Charles Watson finished with seven as well.  All three of Pat Moore's stops were behind the line, with two of those sacks, and Montavious Williams was credited with his first sack of the year also.

The Bobcats were led defensively by Damion McMiller's nine tackles, with Aaron Matthews supplying eight.

The Jags got on the board just over two minutes before the intermission on a 20-yard Aleem Sunanon field goal.  The possession covered 61 yards and used more than five minutes of clock time, with the biggest gain a 23-yard completion from Metheny to Wes Saxton.  That was one of an individual game record-tying 10 catches for the tight end, as he finished with 89 yards.

Jeremé Jones supplied four receptions for 50 yards, and Smith collected 41 yards on three catches for the Jags too.

"Our kids are always going to come back and fight," Joey Jones stated.  "I told them in the locker room that we have to close those games out.  We went ahead with a minute-and-a-half left, we just had to find a way to stop them."

USA is next in action on Saturday when Arkansas State visits for the Jaguars' annual Hall of Fame Game.  Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. with the game set to be broadcast nationally on ESPN3.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—