MOBILE, Ala. – Tulane put together three touchdown drives over the final 20-plus minutes of the game on Saturday to record a 27-24 come-from-behind non-conference victory over the University of South Alabama in the program's debut at the new Hancock Whitney Stadium.

Cameron Carroll scored on a 12-yard run in the third quarter, while Keon Howard and Amare Jones reached the end zone from one and 16 yards out, respectively, in the final period to lift the Green Wave in their first game of the season.  Tyjae Spears led all players with 105 yards rushing while Howard added 191 through the air to pace a Tulane offense that gained 394 yards.

Kawaan Baker caught seven passes for 129 yards and a score while Jalen Tolbert added 114 yards on six receptions for the Jaguars (1-1), who finished with 336 yards passing and 419 total.  Chance Lovertich threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns with Carlos Davis recording 82 yards and a score on the ground.

The Jaguars' Nick Mobley led all players with nine tackles, as Keith Gallmon and Tré Young were both credited with six stops apiece; the latter added two passes broken up with a tackle for loss also.  Nick Anderson made a team-high seven stops for Tulane, while the duo of Cameron Sample and Patrick Johnson combined to record  5½ tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Tulane 27, South Alabama 24 (final stats)
South Alabama/Tulane photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-The two teams finished with nearly identical yardage figures — the Jags had 108 total yards, Tulane 103 — in a scoreless first quarter.
-Baker and Jalen Wayne both reached the end zone in the second quarter as South led 14-6 at the break.
-The Jaguars extended the lead to 24-6 following a Davis two-yard touchdown run and a 49-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo on the first two possessions of the second half.
-Tulane limited USA to 32 yards on its final five drives to complete the comeback.
-The Green Wave gained 203 yards on the ground and averaged better than five yards per carry.
-Tulane's defense was credited with 12 tackles for loss including five sacks.

NOTES
-It was the first time the two teams met since the Jaguars' 41-39 victory in New Orleans on Sept. 7, 2013.
-This marked the first occasion that the Jags have thrown for 300 or more yards in back-to-back games in school history.
-Tolbert has now posted 100-plus receiving yards in three straight outings, making him the first individual in the program to turn the trick.
-It's the third time in his career that Baker — who recorded career-high totals in both catches and receiving yards — has hauled in a touchdown reception in consecutive contests, and the first occasions he has accomplished the feat dating back to USA's games against Jackson State and Memphis on Sept. 7 and 14 a year ago.
-Mobley became the first Jag to pace the defense in tackles in each of the first two games of the year since Jeremy Reaves did so during the 2017 season.
-It was the first occasion since joining the program last year that Young has been credited with multiple passes defensed in the same contest.
-Davis has now rushed for over 80 yards in each of South's first two games after accomplishing the feat just once in 12 outings a year ago.
-Maurice Strong Jr. accounted for the first takeaway by the Jaguar defense this fall with a fumble recovery that ended the Green Wave's opening possession, and he would go on to add a tackle for loss as well.
-Davyn Flenord forced a fumble and recorded a stop behind the line among his three total tackles.
-Guajardo's field goal in the third quarter was the longest of his career, tying Aleem Sunanon for the fourth-longest attempt made in the school's record books.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell
Opening statement: "This was a very disappointing loss. I thought our guys came out and played extremely hard. I'm just disappointed that we weren't able to come away with the win. I thought that we had opportunities early. I thought we came out ready to play. We had a turnover inside the five [on the first drive] that could have given us points that could have been the difference in the game. There were some things that we didn't handle well and that's coaching. We need to keep working on those types of things and put our guys in better position to win a close game like this one."
On what Tulane was doing differently offensively at the line of scrimmage in the second half: "We didn't change a whole lot of stuff. Tulane started running some 'stretch' sets and were able to get the ball out on the perimeter. They were able to hit some inside zones. We weren't able to slow them down as much in the second half as well as we did in the first half. We weren't able to get off the field defensively. Their quarterback [Keon Howard] did a good job and was able to hit a couple RPOs. We then had to start hanging on the perimeter for the RPO. Once we did that, he'd pop it up inside. He kind of got a feel for what we were doing and then he started attacking with the RPO and pop pass and the bubbles on the perimeter to loosen us up. Once they did that, they were able to pop some things on the inside running game."
On the play of Tulane's defensive line: "Cameron Sample's a really good player. Coming into the game, we knew he was good and felt like their defensive line was really good with all the players they returned. Patrick Johnson and Jeffery Johnson their 320-pound nose tackle we thought were great players. They were who we thought they were. Tulane is a very good football team. We had our opportunities; we just didn't capitalize on all of them. There are definitely some things we need to do better to give ourselves a chance."
On the penalty on Tulane's last punt: "We don't need to have penalties like that in those situations. We had a young guy in there. He went and made a rookie mistake. We had a chance to get the ball back around the 35 or 40 yard line with a minute, 38 seconds, and we can't commit that error."
On the two quarterback rotation tonight: "We went with Desmond [Trotter] on the first couple of series and we didn't score. We put Chance [Lovertich] and we scored a couple of times in a row. We started Chance in the second half and we were able to go in for a touchdown and a field goal, but then we got stale again and had some three-and-outs two or three times in a row, so I said to give Desmond another opportunity, but he had to come out with some soreness in his shoulder and we went back with Chance. I think they both bring something to our team and they are both really good football players. We're blessed to have two good quarterbacks."

Senior WR Kawaan Baker
On the loss: "It was a bad loss. We came into the game thinking we were going to win. We came out hard like we were supposed to, we just have to put it away. We have to learn from it, move on and be better next game."
On the Tulane defense in the second half: "We were really hurting ourselves with the penalties and turnovers all game, and that is what we have to correct; we have to do the little things right."
On moving forward: "We're going to take the good from it: the rushing and passing game. We just have to keep moving forward and make the plays when they come to us, and put the game away."

Junior S Keith Gallmon
On the second half: "We struggled to get off the field on third down. They opened up some schemes and were able to open up big runs that we could not defend."
On the reaction in the locker room: "We felt like we got knocked in the head, and left it out there. We felt that this was a game that we should have won. The way we battled all night and pulled together, we felt we left something out there in the fourth [quarter]."
On moving forward: "We are going to bounce back when we get to work tomorrow. All we can do is look forward to the next game and get prepared the way we know how to, because we are going to play hard every week against any opponent."

Senior DL Jeremiah Littles
On the second half: "We did not play with technique we needed to. We had a few penalties and it just did not work out for us at the end. We did not play like we did in the first half."
On the loss: "It's disappointing, but it shows us that we have to play all four quarters and put in the work. We must be able to finish plays and have that drive on both defense and offense. We must have better execution and game planning moving forward."

Junior QB Chance Lovertich
On the loss: "This one is tough. We're definitely going to learn from this. We have a tough group of guys in there, and I know we're going to bounce back like I know we should."
On the second half: "They [Tulane] started doing a couple of stunts, and changed their defense a little bit and started playing us soft so we couldn't beat them deep. We hit them in front and were still driving the ball, but we have to finish; that's the main thing we didn't do was finish when we needed to."
On moving forward: "We have a week off, and all we can do is go back to work and work even harder."

Up next: The Jaguars are off until Thursday, Sept. 24, when they will face UAB at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) at Hancock Whitney Stadium; the contest can been seen nationally on ESPN.

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

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