Game StatsPostgame QuotesPhoto GalleryMOSCOW, Idaho – The University of South Alabama football team's defense has been a consistent performer early in the 2014 season, and its production in the Jaguars' first Sun Belt Conference road game Saturday was no different with seven sacks and two interceptions, including one that Montell Garner returned 59 yards for a score. But after scoring one touchdown and nine points in two previous outings at home, the Jag offense rebounded by gaining a season-high 429 yards — led by Brandon Bridge, who accounted for 267 of those and a pair of scores — to help USA earn a 34-10 league victory over Idaho at the Kibbie Dome.
Bridge completed 15-of-25 attempts for 196 yards and a touchdown, adding a career-best 71 and a score on six carries as the Jags improved to 2-2 overall, 1-1 in the conference. Jay Jones rushed 18 times for 108 yards as well, recording the second 100-yard game of the year for the senior running back, while Kendall Houston posted 31 of his 37 yards on the ground in the opening half on his way to becoming the first individual in program history with 2,000 in a career.
Qudarius Ford paced the Jags with a season-best nine tackles and Demarius Rancifer collected a career-high seven to help USA limit the Vandals (0-4, 0-2) to season-low totals of 239 yards through the air, 269 overall and 10 points — in fact, it was the first time this fall that Idaho has recorded fewer than 400 yards of total offense. Terrell Brigham finished with six stops and Garner posted five — both were credited with their first career sacks — while combining to break up three additional pass attempts. Maleki Harris added five tackles, with Ridge James and Desmond LaVelle collecting four apiece for the Jaguars.
"Our defense is playing hard. They are getting after it, and that's the way we play defense here at South Alabama," stated USA head coach Joey Jones. "Our defensive front did a great job. The guys covered well, the linebackers were fitting holes — it was a total team effort. All of the coaches did a great job. [Defensive coordinator] Coach [Travis] Pearson and his staff did a heck of a job. When you play defense like that then you have a chance.
"That is one of the best offenses in the league, and we did a great job stopping them."
USA went up 7-0 with less than four minutes to go in the first quarter when Bridge found Claude Garrett down the right sideline for a 51-yard touchdown, the first of the receiver's career. It capped an eight-play, 88-yard march — the Jags' longest of the season — as Bridge found Jeremé Jones for five yards to convert on third-and-four, with the offense moving past midfield after runs for first downs from Kendall Houston and Jay Jones that picked up 12 and 14 yards, respectively.
Two plays and 36 seconds later, Garner doubled the Jaguar advantage with a 59-yard interception return of a Matt Linehan pass, putting the team up by double digits for good in the process.
"They tried to get me on the first drive on hitches and stops, but I just went back to my technique on the next drive," he explained. "I wasn't getting my eyes back to the quarterback to read his eyes, but I read them the next series. I just trusted myself, jumped it with confidence and took it to the house. I only had the quarterback to beat, and once I cut back I knew I was in the end zone."
A 44-yard pass from Bridge to Braedon Bowman set up Grant McLaurin's 19-yard field goal, the first of his USA career, which increased the Jaguar lead to 17-0 with less than nine minutes remaining in the opening half, with the junior-college transfer connecting again — this time from 44 yards out — as time expired to make the score 20-0 at the break.
On the second scoring drive, Bridge hit Shavarez Smith for gains of 10 and seven yards in the waning seconds to move the team into field-goal range. The senior receiver ended up leading the team with six catches while totalling 44 yards.
Bridge capped the opening drive of the second half with a 54-yard touchdown run on third-and-one just over a minute after the intermission, the longest carry of his career as well as his first rushing score since a 40-yard touchdown run against Southern Utah last fall in his USA debut. "That's one of my favorite plays," observed Bridge. "It gives me an option, and I saw the outside divider go out a little bit. Our offensive line created a big hole with some great blocks. I knew when I saw open field that no one was going to catch me."
Jones tacked on an 18-yard scoring run with eight minutes left in the contest as the Jaguars' 34 points surpassed their three-game season total entering play.
"We got a lot better, but we have to continue to improve," Jones explained. "I'm never satisfied, we're going to get there. But I thought we were a much-improved offense this week. I think we are honing in on what we are good at, and the coaching staff is doing a good job of calling plays we are good at running.
"We have to continue to do that and continue to get better."
The Vandals got on the scoreboard with a 37-yard Austin Rehkow field goal with just under seven minutes remaining in the third quarter — it ended a 17-play, 63-yard march — while a Chris Edwards interception on the Jags' first play from scrimmage on their ensiung drive led to a 10-yard Linehan-to-Joshua McCain touchdown pass that made the score 27-10 with six-and-a-half minutes to go in the period.
Another Idaho takeway, this time a fumble recovery from Jayshawn Jordan, presented an opportunity to cut further into the deficit, but for the second time in the contest Rehkow had a field-goal attempt sail wide left as the score remained the same with just over three minutes minutes left in the third quarter.
McCain and Richard Montgomery led the Vandals with 72 and 62 yards, respectively, on eight receptions, while Linehan finished 25-of-40 passing for 239 yards. Elijhaa Penny managed to rush for 24 yards and Kris Olugbode supplied 21, but with the Jaguars' seven sacks accounting for a loss of 70 yards Idaho recorded 30 total on 33 carries; that's the third-fewest USA has allowed to an NCAA Division I opponent.
Marc Millan paced all players with 12 stops, and Bradley Njoku and Broc Westlake contributed eight apiece for the Vandal defense. Irving Stelle posted seven tackles and forced a fumble, while Jordan had six solo stops including one for a loss of six yards.
"I thought the guys really adapted well after coming out here on the road with a four-hour plane ride," Jones stated. "We were ready to play when we started the football game; we just played with more fire and passion, and you have to do that. We played smart early and started off on a good note, and I think that propelled us through the end of the game."
USA will return to the road for the second straight conference game Saturday, taking on Appalachian State in Boone with kickoff slated for 5 p.m. (CDT).
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—
