HOUSTON — Every Southern win this year has been followed by a loss.
The Jaguars have been searching for consistency all year. With a chance to win consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference games, the Jaguars couldn’t find a way to pick up the victory on the road.
Southern lost 24-21 to Texas Southern (2-5, 1-3 SWAC) on Saturday at Reliant Stadium. Tigers kicker Miguel Arana drained a 46-yard field goal as time expired, capping off a victory powered by an efficient Texas Southern rushing attack.
While TSU quarterback Cam’Ron McCoy, a transfer from Southern, couldn’t get much going through the air with 42 yards on 5-of-8 passing, the Tigers piled up 218 yards and three touchdowns on 43 carries as a team. Athean Renfro TSU with 23 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown.
McCoy was at his best on the ground, rushing 16 times for 71 yards and a score.
Southern (4-4, 1-3) tied the game at 21-21 with 4:24 left in the contest on a 2-yard run by Trey Holly and an extra point by Chris McKenna. Holly finished with 156 rushing yards and a TD on 35 carries.
Texas Southern played with the desperation of a team on a five-game losing streak. After allowing Southern to score on its opening drive, the Tigers kept their opponent scoreless for the remainder of the first half, entering halftime with a 14-7 lead.
Texas Southern coach Cris Dishman assumed defensive play-calling duties for the first time this season, a responsibility he previously had as a defensive coordinator in the XFL and the USFL. The change worked as his defense looked invigorated coming off a bye week like Southern. Texas Southern pressured the Southern backfield consistently, calling multiple blitzes that forced Southern quarterback Christian Johnson to escape the pocket and rush through his progressions.
The Tigers were sound tackling Southern’s weapons in the open field. Redshirt freshman safety Darius Sims was active early with a team-high seven tackles in the first half. Their biggest defensive play was a strip-sack by Texas Southern linebacker Donovan Jones with 12:35 left in the third period. The fumble was recovered by Tigers defensive back Ryan Robinson Jr., a New Orleans native, on the Southern 43-yard line.
Three plays later, McCoy ran 41 yards for a touchdown. The former Jaguars QB faked a toss to his running back and sprinted with no defender having an angle on the left side of the field.
Texas Southern entered the game allowing both the third-most points (44.3) and yards (451.3) per game in SWAC play. It had been especially poor on pass plays, allowing the second-most passing yards per game (283.7) in conference play.
The Jaguars appeared to be on their way to a strong offensive showing on their first possession of the game. After a fake hand-off, Johnson threw a 40-yard pass to freshman wideout Damien Henderson on the Jaguars’ second pass attempt of the game. Johnson went to the same target to finish the drive with a 4-yard passing touchdown at the 8:17 mark of the first period.
Faulk’s team began to falter after sophomore kicker Nathan Zimmer had his 37-yard field-goal attempt blocked with 2:05 left in the first quarter. On the following possession, Texas Southern marched down the field for a 10-play, 53-yard touchdown drive.
The Jaguars’ struggling special teams unit influenced Faulk’s decision on a fourth-and-7 from the opposing 24-yard line. Instead of kicking a 41-yard field goal, they went for it and threw an incompletion to turn the ball over on downs while trailing 14-7 with 2 minutes left in the first half.
Dishman relied on his ground game to get most of his team’s yards. The first-scoring drive ended with a 15-yard rush by Athean Renfro. The 5-foot-9 senior had 13 carries for 96 yards at halftime.
Southern returned star defensive end Ckelby Givens after missing the last two games due to a head injury. The graduate student, who entered the game second in the SWAC in tackles for loss, had four tackles for the game.
Southern’s next game is against Florida A&M at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
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