Analysis: nearly from the outset, sharp money flooded the betting market in favor of South Alabama, moving the Jaguars from 1-point home underdogs to 2.5 to 3-point favorites.
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“To me”, Hudspeth said, “that’s a sign that, obviously, we can’t just run the ball unless we’re running the quarterback too a few to open up the rest of the run game”. The Jaguars may capitalize on a fragile Ragin’ Cajuns pass defense that allows 15.2 yards per pass. During their last five games, the Jaguars gave up 188.6 passing yards per game.
The Louisiana-Lafayette rushing attack is ranked 25th nationally this year, compared to the 114th-ranked run defense of South Alabama. “The defense hung on all night long and offensively, we finally we got a little something enough to get back in the game”. Surprisingly, the Jaguars are just 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS at home this season where they are giving up 41.0 points and 433 total yards at 5.8 yards per play. The thing that will ultimately be remembered is Haack’s costly interception that provided the go-ahead score for South Alabama, but to see the passing game going is an undeniably good thing.
But like they’ve done in the second half all season, UL Lafayette came back in a hurry.
Louisiana Lafayette vs South Alabama 2015 (start time 4:30 pm PST) features the Cajuns coming off a 4-4 starts.
Lafayette answered with Jamal Robinson’s 45-yard touchdown reception and, seven plays later, Savion Brown returned an interception 85 yards to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a 25-24 lead.
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 UL Lafayette to 43 yards on the ground. Al Riles had a huge game for the Ragin’ Cajuns, grabbing eight receptions for 103 yards and one TD. Defensively, Otha Peters and Taboris Lee each set career-highs in tackles with 13 and 10 respectively.
Another struggle for the Cajuns was tackling, as Louisiana struggled to wrap up for four quarters.
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“We’ve got to get back to work”, Hudspeth said. “He’s had a few really good weeks of practice, and that’s why he’s getting to play now”. More important, the Jaguars are 3-2 in Sun Belt play, tied for fourth in the conference and hold the tiebreaker over ULL, which is also 3-2. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN3.
