MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama made several big plays on offense and defense, but could not maintain its fourth-quarter lead, and dropped a 45-38 decision to Texas State in a back-and-forth affair Friday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The loss dropped South Alabama to 6-6 on the year with a 5-3 record in Sun Belt Conference play. It is the second-straight season the Jaguars finished .500 in the regular season.
"Obviously, disappointed for our seniors," said South Alabama head coach
Major Applewhite. "That group has done a lot for our school and our football program. I wanted them to take their pads off tonight as winners, and it's just disappointing. There are spots in the game where we played well. On defense, we had some third downs and red area opportunities where we hung tough. By and large, we gave up too many explosive plays and allowed them too much time of possession. It's the same thing offensively. I thought we played well at times, but you can't win very many games with four turnovers. Those are obvious statements and reasons for the loss. I'm proud of the way our guys continue to play. They are playing the game the right way. They are playing with the right kind of effort and physicality, but we ran into a really good team, and you can't have that many mistakes on both sides of the ball against that type of team."
After Texas State opened the scoring, the Jags quickly stole the momentum when running back
Fluff Bothwell ripped off a 51-yard rushing touchdown on the first offensive drive of the night. Just a few plays later, linebacker
Blayne Myrick notched the first interception of his career which he returned for a 33-yard touchdown to give South its first lead of the night. Texas State responded with 14-straight points, but USA matched that to take a 28-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Texas State quickly regained the lead in the second half before Bothwell scored his second explosive touchdown of the night, this one on a 29-yard scamper. That would be the last lead of the night for the Jags, though, as Texas State scored the next 14 to create and insurmountable lead.
Laith Marjan trimmed the deficit to seven with a late field goal, but the ensuing onside kick was unsuccessful and the Bobcats ran out the clock.
Quarterback
Gio Lopez threw for 190 yards and a touchdown on the night while adding 29 rushing yards and a score on the ground. His top target in the receiving game was
Jamaal Pritchett, who hauled in 10 passes for 85 yards and a score. Pritchett's touchdown reception was his ninth of the year, moving him into a tie for the most in a single season at South Alabama. Bothweel led the ground attack with 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Jaden Voisin led South Alabama's defensive effort on the night with 14 tackles and an interception. Voisin's interception was the 11th of his career, adding to his school record for career interceptions. In addition to his pick six, Myrick also notched 10 tackles.
Darius McKenzie and
Jordan Scruggs also recorded double-digit takedowns with 13 and 10, respectively.
The Jags will now wait to learn their bowl destination after becoming bowl eligible with their sixth win against Southern Miss. It is the third-consecutive season South Alabama has achieved bowl eligibility.
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