University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, November 12
Mobile, Ala.
6:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
4-5 , 3-2
25
at
32
South Alabama
5-4 , 3-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Louisiana-Lafayette
6
0
7
12
25
South Alabama
7
10
0
15
32
Team Stats
UL
USA
Total Yards
313
495
Pass Yards
270
288
Rushing Yards
43
207
Penalty Yards
57
59
1st Downs
18
26
3rd Downs
5
8
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
27:48
32:12
1st Quarter
UL 6, USA 0
UL - Nixon, Jalen 18 yd run (Artigue, Stevie kickblocked), 6 plays, 44 yards, TOP 2:44
UL 6, USA 7
USA - Xavier Johnson 9 yd run (Aleem Sunanon kick), 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 3:18
2nd Quarter
UL 6, USA 10
USA - Aleem Sunanon 25 yd field goal 11 plays, 81 yards, TOP 5:00
UL 6, USA 17
USA - Gerald Everett 10 yd pass from Cody Clements (Aleem Sunanon kick) 13 plays, 89 yards, TOP 3:13
3rd Quarter
UL 13, USA 17
UL - McGuire, Elijah 3 yd run (Artigue, Stevie kick), 9 plays, 76 yards, TOP 4:16
4th Quarter
UL 13, USA 24
USA - Cody Clements 7 yd pass from Gerald Everett (Aleem Sunanon kick) 7 plays, 85 yards, TOP 2:09
UL 19, USA 24
UL - Robinson, Jamal 45 yd pass from Haack, Brooks (Haack, Brooks passfailed) 5 plays, 83 yards, TOP 1:54
UL 25, USA 24
UL - Brown, Savion 85 yd interception (McGuire, Elijah passfailed)
UL 25, USA 32
USA - Xavier Johnson 16 yd run (Cody Clements rush), 2 plays, 16 yards, TOP 0:51
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
21
TD
1
YDS
270
INT
1
Players Mentioned
DB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
Johnson's Late TD Helps Jaguars Edge Ragin' Cajuns, 32-25
11/12/2015 11:25:00 PM | Football
Career night for Robinson not enough in heartbreaking loss
MOBILE, Ala. – Xavier Johnson rushed for a pair of touchdowns, including the eventual go-ahead score on a 16-yard carry with 3:32 remaining as South Alabama scored 15 points in the final quarter to defeat the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, 32-25, in a nationally-televised Sun Belt Conference game on Thursday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Johnson, who rushed for a game-high 118 yards on 23 carries, scored on a 9-yard TD in the first quarter as South Alabama (5-4, 3-2 SBC) built a 24-13 in the fourth quarter before Louisiana (4-5, 3-2 SBC) scored a pair of TDs in just over two minutes to take its first lead since the first series of the game.
Jamal Robinson, who set career-best with 10 receptions for 188 yards, hauled in a 45-yard TD pass from Brooks Haack with 10:57 remaining in the game before Savion Brown picked off a Cody Clements pass and raced 85 yards to give the Ragin' Cajuns a 25-24 lead with 8:26 remaining – their first of the game since scoring on the opening drive.
But after the Ragin' Cajuns defense forced South Alabama to punt on its ensuing possession, E.J. May picked off Haack and returned it 11 yards to the UL 16 before Johnson scored on the following play to give the Jaguars the lead for good.
The Jaguars sealed the win after stopping the Ragin' Cajuns on fourth-and-6 before Gerald Everett's leaping 2-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the UL 23 helped South Alabama run out the clock.
"We had ourselves in position to win the game and battled back once again," head coach Mark Hudspeth said. "The defense hung on all night long and offensively, we finally we got a little something enough to get back in the game. Special teams were really good again, but overall it was not good enough. We hate to give up that last touchdown like we did because we had a chance to win it with a lead late in the game."
Louisiana scored on its opening possession for the third straight game as it drove 44 yards in six plays. Jalen Nixon and Torrey Pierce each gained seven yards on a pair of runs before Nixon scored two plays later with an 18-yard run off left tackle for a 6-0 lead.
After a three-and-out on its opening drive, South Alabama drove 72 yards on its second drive to take a 7-6 lead. Clements connected with Everett on a 23-yard gain on third-and-9 to the UL 38 to keep the drive alive before Johnson capped the drive with a 9-yard scoring run with 8:00 remaining in the first quarter.
A 25-yard field goal by Aleem Sunanon gave the Jaguars a 10-6 lead with 6:20 remaining in the second quarter before Clements, who finished 17-for-28 for 281 yards, connected with Everett for a 10-yard scoring pass with 20 seconds remaining in the half for a 17-6 lead at the half.
Elijah McGuire, who was held to a season-low 21 yards on the ground, capped a nine-play, 76-yard drive when he scored on a 3-yard carry on the Ragin' Cajuns opening drive of the second half. McGuire, who was held to 13 yards in his previous game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, passed Christian "Keener" Cagle for fourth-place on the school's all-time scoring list with 240 points.
South Alabama extended its lead to 24-13 with 12:51 remaining when Dami Ayoola took a snap from the wildcat position, flipped to Everett on a reverse and hit Clement in the right corner of the end zone for a 7-yard score.
But like they've done in the second half all season, Louisiana came back in a hurry. The Ragin' Cajuns responded on the ensuing drive as they drove 83 yards in five plays to cut the lead to 24-19. Haack, who threw for a career-high 266 yards on 21-of-34 passes, fired passes of 19 and 26 yards to Robinson before the duo connected on a 45-yard score on second-and-19.
South Alabama started its next drive at its own 35 and drove to the UL 16 before the Ragin' Cajuns defense stepped up. Clements, looking to avoid the sack by Darzil Washington threw a pass into the right flat where Brown picked it off and returned it 85 yards (the fifth-longest return in school history) for a 25-24 lead with 8:26 left.
But after forcing South Alabama to punt with 6:16 remaining, the Ragin' Cajuns couldn't convert as Haack was intercepted by May and the Jaguars would take the lead for good.
South Alabama outgained the Ragin' Cajuns, 495-313, with the Jaguars holding Louisiana to 43 yards on the ground. Everett and Danny Woodson each caught four passes for the Jaguars while Jeremy Reaves led the team with nine tackles.
Al Riles hauled in five passes for Louisiana, setting a single-season best with 37, while Nixon led the Ragin' Cajuns with 30 yards rushing. Defensively, Otha Peters and Taboris Lee each set career-highs in tackles with 13 and 10 respectively. Dominique Tovell added nine stops for the Ragin' Cajuns while Washington had a career-high seven tackles, including a personal-best four stops for loss and sack.
"We've got to get back to work," Hudspeth said. "We've still got three games left (on the schedule), working on getting bowl eligible and finishing really strong."
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 21 when it hosts New Mexico State in a Sun Belt Conference game at Cajun Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN3.
Johnson, who rushed for a game-high 118 yards on 23 carries, scored on a 9-yard TD in the first quarter as South Alabama (5-4, 3-2 SBC) built a 24-13 in the fourth quarter before Louisiana (4-5, 3-2 SBC) scored a pair of TDs in just over two minutes to take its first lead since the first series of the game.
Jamal Robinson, who set career-best with 10 receptions for 188 yards, hauled in a 45-yard TD pass from Brooks Haack with 10:57 remaining in the game before Savion Brown picked off a Cody Clements pass and raced 85 yards to give the Ragin' Cajuns a 25-24 lead with 8:26 remaining – their first of the game since scoring on the opening drive.
But after the Ragin' Cajuns defense forced South Alabama to punt on its ensuing possession, E.J. May picked off Haack and returned it 11 yards to the UL 16 before Johnson scored on the following play to give the Jaguars the lead for good.
The Jaguars sealed the win after stopping the Ragin' Cajuns on fourth-and-6 before Gerald Everett's leaping 2-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the UL 23 helped South Alabama run out the clock.
"We had ourselves in position to win the game and battled back once again," head coach Mark Hudspeth said. "The defense hung on all night long and offensively, we finally we got a little something enough to get back in the game. Special teams were really good again, but overall it was not good enough. We hate to give up that last touchdown like we did because we had a chance to win it with a lead late in the game."
Louisiana scored on its opening possession for the third straight game as it drove 44 yards in six plays. Jalen Nixon and Torrey Pierce each gained seven yards on a pair of runs before Nixon scored two plays later with an 18-yard run off left tackle for a 6-0 lead.
After a three-and-out on its opening drive, South Alabama drove 72 yards on its second drive to take a 7-6 lead. Clements connected with Everett on a 23-yard gain on third-and-9 to the UL 38 to keep the drive alive before Johnson capped the drive with a 9-yard scoring run with 8:00 remaining in the first quarter.
A 25-yard field goal by Aleem Sunanon gave the Jaguars a 10-6 lead with 6:20 remaining in the second quarter before Clements, who finished 17-for-28 for 281 yards, connected with Everett for a 10-yard scoring pass with 20 seconds remaining in the half for a 17-6 lead at the half.
Elijah McGuire, who was held to a season-low 21 yards on the ground, capped a nine-play, 76-yard drive when he scored on a 3-yard carry on the Ragin' Cajuns opening drive of the second half. McGuire, who was held to 13 yards in his previous game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, passed Christian "Keener" Cagle for fourth-place on the school's all-time scoring list with 240 points.
South Alabama extended its lead to 24-13 with 12:51 remaining when Dami Ayoola took a snap from the wildcat position, flipped to Everett on a reverse and hit Clement in the right corner of the end zone for a 7-yard score.
But like they've done in the second half all season, Louisiana came back in a hurry. The Ragin' Cajuns responded on the ensuing drive as they drove 83 yards in five plays to cut the lead to 24-19. Haack, who threw for a career-high 266 yards on 21-of-34 passes, fired passes of 19 and 26 yards to Robinson before the duo connected on a 45-yard score on second-and-19.
South Alabama started its next drive at its own 35 and drove to the UL 16 before the Ragin' Cajuns defense stepped up. Clements, looking to avoid the sack by Darzil Washington threw a pass into the right flat where Brown picked it off and returned it 85 yards (the fifth-longest return in school history) for a 25-24 lead with 8:26 left.
But after forcing South Alabama to punt with 6:16 remaining, the Ragin' Cajuns couldn't convert as Haack was intercepted by May and the Jaguars would take the lead for good.
South Alabama outgained the Ragin' Cajuns, 495-313, with the Jaguars holding Louisiana to 43 yards on the ground. Everett and Danny Woodson each caught four passes for the Jaguars while Jeremy Reaves led the team with nine tackles.
Al Riles hauled in five passes for Louisiana, setting a single-season best with 37, while Nixon led the Ragin' Cajuns with 30 yards rushing. Defensively, Otha Peters and Taboris Lee each set career-highs in tackles with 13 and 10 respectively. Dominique Tovell added nine stops for the Ragin' Cajuns while Washington had a career-high seven tackles, including a personal-best four stops for loss and sack.
"We've got to get back to work," Hudspeth said. "We've still got three games left (on the schedule), working on getting bowl eligible and finishing really strong."
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 21 when it hosts New Mexico State in a Sun Belt Conference game at Cajun Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN3.
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