MOBILE, Ala. – In an all-night, back-and-forth battle, South Alabama took the lead with just under three minutes to play, but could not hold on as Central Michigan drove down the field to score with seconds remaining and secure a 34-30 victory Saturday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
 
The loss dropped the Jaguars to 2-2 on the season while Central Michigan improved to an identical 2-2 overall.
 
"I think we've shown that we can play winning football," said head coach Kane Wommack. "If we will do it consistently, we'll be in a really good position. We've let the emotion of a game overwhelm us at times; we've let the momentum of games overwhelm us. When things are going well, we stack good things on top of each other. When things aren't going well, we will challenge ourselves. We fought back in the fourth quarter, got some great stops, and got some explosive plays. There are some pieces of winning football, and overcoming adversity, but we weren't consistent enough, and that to me will be the tell-tale sign for us over the next eight games of our regular season."
 
Despite the loss, South outgained the Chippewas, 405-355, on the night. The Jags rushed for 151 yards to CMU's 125 and threw for 254 yards to Central Michigan's 230. The USA defense also made eight more tackles than CMU for the game, but struggled to get off the field on third down as the Chips converted 9-of-13 third-down attempts.
 
Quarterback Carter Bradley threw for 254 yards on the night with two touchdowns, including a 72-yard bomb to Caullin Lacy in the fourth quarter. It was Lacy's fifth touchdown of the season of 30 yards or more as he also scored from 35 yards out in the first quarter. Lacy finished the game with six catches for 132 yards and two scores. On the ground, La'Damian Webb and Kentrel Bullock paced the Jaguars with 68 and 65 yards, respectively. Webb scored twice on the night, while Bullock ripped off a long rush of 29 yards.
 
Defensively, Quentin Wilfawn had a big game with 10 tackles, eight of which were solo. Jaden Voisin added eight tackles, and James Miller compiled seven. Yam Banks and Charles Coleman III each recorded sacks on the night, and Jamie Sheriff earned 1.5 tackles for loss along with Banks.
 
The Jags started off hot, quickly going up 14-0 on their first-two drives of the game. CMU then responded to make it 14-13 going into halftime. The Chippewas continued to carry that momentum into the second half and held the lead until there was just 2:42 on the clock in the fourth quarter. A Webb touchdown from one yard out put South Alabama up in the final minutes, but the Chips went 75 yards in just over two minutes to score the game-winning touchdown with just 13 seconds remaining.
 
UP NEXT
 
South Alabama will now prepare to hit the road again as it begins Sun Belt Conference play at James Madison on Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
 
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