TROY, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football once again dug itself a double-digit second-half deficit Saturday, this time against Sun Belt Conference rival Troy, but was seconds away from pulling out a victory when Ross Metheny and Jeremé Jones connected on a 65-yard touchdown pass with 48 seconds left in regulation.

Corey Robinson hit Eric Thomas on a 20-yard scoring play with seven seconds to go, however, and when Will Scott converted the extra-point attempt the Trojans held on for a 34-33 victory over the Jaguars at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Scott had connected on a 20-yard field goal with five minutes, 22 seconds left in regulation to give Troy (3-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) a 27-19 advantage.  Metheny brought the Jags (2-3, 1-1 SBC) within two points two-and-a-half minutes later with a 16-yard scoring run — the two-point conversion try failed — then put USA in front for the first time on the day when his pass to Jones completed a three-play, 99-yard drive.

Troy started its final possession on its own 34-yard line, with Robinson completing passes for gains of 11 yards to Bryan Holmes and seven to Brandon Burks to move past midfield.  After a timeout, Chris Williams caught a pass for a nine-yard pickup and Burk followed with a 19-yard reception to set the stage for Thomas, who caught his second touchdown of the day.

"It's heartbreaking," said Jag head coach Joey Jones.  "With 40-plus seconds left in the game when you go up six points you feel good about it.  My hat's off to the guys in our locker room, they've got a lot of fight in them.  We're a way better football team than we were last year, they proved that today.  But credit to Troy for making that last drive and putting it in the end zone."

"I saw they had three timeouts, so you weren't comfortable yet," Metheny added.  "(Corey) Robinson is a great quarterback, and he did a great job leading them on that drive.  My hat's off to them.  They made the plays when they had to and won the ballgame."

USA finished with a school game-record 630 yards of total offense, including throwing for 471 as Metheny and Brandon Bridge combined to complete 26-of-41 attempts.  The former was 15-of-21 passing for 236 yards, finishing with 291 yards of offense, and the latter hit 11-of-20 passes for 235 yards while posting 289 total yards.

"I thought the offense did a good job," Bridge observed.  "(Offensive coordinator) Coach (Robert) Matthews called a great game, and (quarterbacks) coach (Bryant) Vincent did a good job rotating all three of us in the game.  It was a great effort on the offensive side of the ball despite the loss."

Shavarez Smith totaled 106 yards on six receptions, becoming the first player in program history other than Courtney Smith to finish with 100-plus receiving yards in a contest.  Wes Saxton also caught six balls, chipping in with 95 yards, with Jones, Bryant Lavender and Danny Woodson II recording three receptions apiece for 84, 68 and 61 yards, respectively.

Holmes had six catches for 93 yards for the Trojans, and Thomas collected five for 129 as Troy quarterbacks connected on 24-of-34 attempts for 305 yards.  Burks supplied 100 yards on 17 carries as well, as the unit totaled 434 yards overall.

Holmes' second touchdown catch — covering 10 yards and coming from Robinson — capped Troy's opening possession of the second half, extending the Trojan lead to 24-7 with 12-and-a-half minutes to go in the third period.  T.J. Glover returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards, and just over two minutes later Jay Jones went around left end for a 10-yard scoring run; USA trailed by 11 with little over 10 minutes left in the quarter after Chris Davis blocked the extra-point attempt.

Jones had 38 yards on 13 carries, and he also caught a career-high four passes for 43 yards for the Jags.

Late in the third quarter, the Jaguars missed an opportunity to cut into their deficit when a 36-yard field goal attempt was wide, however Troy was flagged for being offside on the play and the drive continued.  A 10-yard Bridge run set up fourth-and-one at the Troy-6, but Camren Hudson and Brandon Timmons combined to stop Trey Fetner for no gain to turn the ball over on downs.

After the USA defense forced a three-and-out, Bridge hit Lavender on the left sideline — the senior spun out of a tackle and went untouched down the left sideline for a 56-yard touchdown reception.  The two-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 24-19 with just over 12 minutes remaining in regulation.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Trojans marched 73 yards in 12 plays before posting the first points of the contest on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Deon Anthony to Holmes with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first quarter.  Troy converted twice on third downs early in the possession, then rushes by Jordan Chunn for 10 yards, Burks for 13 and Anthony for 16 more moved the Trojans inside the USA-10.

Nearly five minutes later, the Jaguars answered when Cris Dinham scored on a five-yard run up the middle, capping a 12-play, 75-yard march.  Saxton caught passes from Metheny for gains of 11 and 14 yards, and Metheny also found Woodson II for an 11-yard completion on third-and-14 from the USA-42 — Ethan Davis forced a fumble that Jeremé Jones recovered for the Jags on the Trojan 34-yard line for a first down.  On the next play, the senior quarterback found Smith for a pickup of 19 yards, while one snap later his nine-yard run set up first-and-goal for USA.

Troy regained the lead on the second play of the second quarter as Anthony and Thomas hooked up on a 62-yard scoring pass; it was the latter's seventh straight game with a touchdown catch, and he set the Sun Belt all-time record with the 25th of his career on the play.  Scott tacked on a 20-yard field goal with six-and-a-half minutes before the break, ending a nearly five minute possession while extending the Trojan advantage to 10 points.

With less than three minutes to go in the half, Robinson found Holmes for a 54-yard completion to the Jaguar 14-yard line to move the Trojans back into the red zone.  But on the next play from scrimmage, Pat Moore hit Burks in the backfield, forcing a fumble that Maleki Harris recovered to end the threat.

Harris led USA with a career-best nine tackles, which included 1½ behind the line with a sack.  Montell Garner recorded seven unassisted tackles, Terrell Brigham had seven as well and Qudarius Ford supplied six.  Two of Romelle Jones' four total stops — which were all solo — were sacks that ended Troy possessions.

"It seems like every week we go in at halftime and make our adjustments, and we come out angry and motivated," explained Jones.  "If we could play like that for four quarters, I don't think we can be beat."

Bridge led the Jags 70 yards down the field inside the Troy-10, running for 19 yards one snap before hitting Woodson for an additional 22 yards.  He and Woodson connected again — this time for a pickup of 15 yards — and Jay Jones added a 12-yard run to the left, but with less than a minute remaining in the half a 22-yard field-goal attempt that would have made it a one-score contest sailed wide right.

Hudson had nine tackles to lead the Trojans defensively, with one behind the line plus a pass broken up.  Wayland Coleman-Dancer and Chris Pickett were each credited with eight stops, and Mark Wilson added seven including the Trojans' lone sack of the afternoon.

"When I talked to them after the game, I told them we can't expect to put ourselves in a hole and win on the road," Jones stated.  "We had some penalties in the first half, with a block below the waist after returning a kickoff past the 50 and three offensive holding calls killing drives.  We haven't really been called for that many penalties [this season], but we have been putting ourselves behind.  It's tough to win a ballgame when you do that on the road.

"We aren't going to quit, I can promise you that," he continued.  "You can get that out of everyone's mind.  I'm damn sure not going to quit, and these kids aren't either.

"Does it hurt?  Heck yeah it hurts, if you're a competitor you're going to hurt after that one."

After a week off, USA will play host to Kent State on Saturday, Oct. 19 as part of Homecoming weekend festivities.

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).

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