3 takeaways from South Alabama’s 24-22 win over Louisiana

South Alabama pulled off arguably its biggest win of the season on Saturday night, holding on for a 24-22 victory at first-place Louisiana.

The Jaguars (5-5 overall, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) led 24-3 at halftime, which was just large enough to last after a wild second-half comeback by the Ragin’ Cajuns (8-1, 5-1). South Alabama needed a stop on a two-point attempt with 1:16 left to close out the win. South Alabama is now one win away from qualifying for a third straight bowl trip, with two games remaining in the regular season. Before that, here are three takeaways from the Jaguars’ 2-point win in Lafayette:

1. South Alabama finally wins a close game

The Jaguars had not won a game by fewer than 15 points before Saturday, and had lost three times by a touchdown or less. Though South Alabama nearly blew a fourth-quarter lead for the third time this season, the Jaguars ultimately closed out a one-score win for the first time under Major Applewhite. There are still execution and mental focus errors that still need to be ironed out, but those are much easier to do after a win than after a loss. Winning this game in the fashion that it did will no doubt build confidence for a South Alabama team that is loaded with youth, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

2. Jaguars in very good shape for bowl-eligibility

South Alabama had played in only two bowl games in its history before 2022, but now is on the verge of a third straight postseason berth. The Jaguars will almost certainly be a heavy favorite next Saturday at last-place Southern Miss, which it has beaten four consecutive years. If South Alabama can lock up a bowl trip next week, it could secure an even more desirable destination by beating Texas State in the regular-season finale in Mobile on Nov. 29. After the devastating loss to Georgia Southern two weeks ago, the Jaguars looked destined to be sitting home in December. Now after knocking off the first-place Ragin’ Cajuns, there is once against postseason life in Mobile.

3. Earlier losses really painful for USA now

Of course, South Alabama could have been in the driver’s seat to host the Sun Belt Conference championship game if it could have finished off either Arkansas State or Georgia Southern earlier this year. The Jaguars led the Red Wolves by one in the final two minutes before allowing a game-winning field goal to lose 18-16, and blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead vs. the Eagles before falling 34-30. The Jaguars are still mathematically alive for the conference championship, but need Louisiana to lose to either Troy or Louisiana-Monroe for that to happen. South Alabama would win a three-way tiebreaker with the Ragin’ Cajuns and Arkansas State, however.

NEXT UP: South Alabama travels to Southern Miss (1-9, 0-6) at 2 p.m. next Saturday. That game will stream live via ESPN+.