South Alabama Downs Texas State, 24-20

For South Alabama, it was nearly a case of deja vu. 

Texas State set up the game-winning field goal as time expired in last year’s meeting. The Bobcats were in a similar situation this year. Trailing, with the ball, and the clock ticking down.

South Alabama entered Saturday’s matchup with the conference’s stingiest red zone defense.

The game, fittingly, came down to one final red zone possession. Five seconds remained in the fourth quarter, with the Bobcats stationed inside the five-yard line. 

Time for one last play. Did sophomore quarterback Tyler Jones, accustomed to late game heroics, have one more big play left in him? 

Not this time around. Jones’ pass, intended for senior wide receiver Ben Ijah, was incomplete. South Alabama earned bowl eligibility and a valuable head-to-head tiebreaker with the 24-20 win.

“We tried to motion our receiver and hide him in the back field,” Coach Dennis Franchione said. “We also had some crossing things in there, because we knew (South Alabama) would be in man coverage. We wanted to free some people up. South Alabama did a good job of getting back out on Brandon (Smith) and didn’t give Tyler (Jones) a lot of time. They covered it up pretty good.”

As Texas State’s offense went dormant, South Alabama’s offense woke up. The Jaguars scored 17 unanswered points to take a 24-17 lead with 12:18 left in the fourth quarter. 

Texas State cratered in the second half. South Alabama rose to the occasion. 

“We live in a one-play world don’t we with our football team?” Franchione said. “We came up a play or two short tonight. South Alabama did a nice job. I thought their quarterback did a better job in the second half and that was big for them. We still were able to get down there and have a chance to win the game. We just didn’t quite get it done.”

If the first quarter was any indication, Texas State was going to run away with the game. South Alabama fumbled not once, not twice, but three times in the quarter. 

The Bobcats scored 10 points off the turnovers. Even though they gifted Texas State with several scoring opportunities, South Alabama remained in striking distance. 

“We didn’t get enough out of (turnovers),” Franchione said. “We got 10 points in the first quarter and we got three turnovers. We had field position and we missed a field goal.  That was certainly something that came back to haunt us. There’s no doubt about that.”

South Alabama’s first touchdown incorporated sophomore quarterback Hunter Vaughn as a pass catcher, instead of a pass thrower.

Vaughn threw to senior wide receiver Jake Howton behind the line of scrimmage. What ensued caught the Bobcat defense off guard.

Right when the defenders collapsed on Howton, he lofted a pass across the field to Vaughn, who had space and a blocker in front of him.

“We went in with the game plan that the first time we crossed the 40-yard line that we were going to run it,” South Alabama Coach Joey Jones said. “We did it and it was wide open. It was a heck of a throw by Jake Howton, and a great catch and run. He did a great job of catching it, and the linemen did a good job of getting out in front of him down field. It was a beautiful play. It changed the momentum in the first half a little bit.”

The touchdown allowed South Alabama to hang around a little longer.

Eventually, Vaughn gained more confidence. The sophomore quarterback finished with 182 passing yards and one touchdown in place of senior quarterback Brandon Bridge, who missed the game with an ankle injury.

“We knew it was going to be a tough one,” (Coach Joey) Jones said. “We went all week long knowing that this was do-or-die for us to get into a bowl game. I just want to commend our players and my staff who have done so much in preparation to get to this point. They believed all week long, and they believed the entire game. We got behind and had a few early turnovers, but they didn’t panic. I thought we played a wonderful ballgame.”

Texas State is now on the periphery of bowl contention. A win secures bowl eligibility, but they’ll likely need to win both games and get some help to nab an invitation to a bowl game.

Quixem Ramirez is a Sports Editor with the University Star where this story originally published, and is reprinted here through a news partnership between the University Star and the San Marcos Corridor News  |  @CorridorNews