USA Drops Home Game 33-31 to Tulane in the Battle of I-10

by Jeff Clark, Staff Writer

MOBILE (GG) — College football is all about wins and losses, except when it’s not. Sometimes, college football is what happens between the white lines, growing as a steam and having the strength to stage a comeback, even when the odds are against you. Welcome to the Battle of I-10, where Tulane defeated South Alabama 33-31 Saturday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile. The Jaguars are now 1-1 and Tulane moved to 2-0 after the narrow victory.

It was a wild game from start to finish. USA drove the field and scored on their first possession, jumping out quickly to a 7-0 lead off the Quarterback Bishop Davenport 9-yard run. Tulane fumbled on the next drive, setting up a 14-0 lead for the Jaguars following a 65-yard touchdown to Wide Receiver Devin Voisin from Davenport.

And then, Tulane started running the ball at will. And scoring. And scoring along with two lengthy field goals from Placekicker Patrick Durkin, leading 27-14 at the end of the third quarter. Throw in a few turnovers, and things looked bleak for South Alabama.

South Alabama marched to the Tulane one-yard line, but a penalty pushed them back to the five. The Jaguars had to settle for a short field goal from Hamilton DiBoyan that cut the deficit to 27-17.

Tulane answered quickly, putting together a 78-yard drive capped by a 28-yard touchdown run from Zuberi Mobley that stretched the lead to 33-17 with just under 10 minutes to play.

South came right back with a 12-play, 75-yard drive on its next possession. South Mississippi native Kentrel Bullock finished it off with a one-yard touchdown plunge, and Davenport added a successful two-point conversion run to bring the Jags within eight.

The Jaguar defense forced a stop to give the offense one more chance. Davenport then found Voisin for their second scoring connection of the night, pulling South within two. But the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game fell incomplete, and Tulane escaped with a 33-31 victory.

“Obviously, we’re never pleased when we lose,” said Jaguars Head Coach Major Applewhite. “There are some things we’ve got to correct on offense, like our ball security, and on defense in terms of tackling, but I was really pleased with the way they fought. I was proud of the way, down 17 points, that these guys found a way to get back in the ball game and have a chance to tie it. I want to continue building those intangibles with our team and show that, no matter what, we’ll continue to play. It was just frustrating to get in that hole to begin with, but I was proud of the way they fought. We just made too many mistakes early on, and against a good team, it’s hard to come back in the fourth quarter like that with that many down. I’m just proud of the way they fought.”

KEY STATS

• After the Jags got off to a red-hot start in the first quarter, Tulane out-gained South 125-36 in the second quarter.
• South Alabama went 3-of-4 in the red zone while Tulane was perfect in the red zone. The Jaguars scored just 18 red zone points while the Green Wave scored 24 points inside USA’s 20-yard line.
• The Jaguars lost the turnover battle 2-1. One of South’s two fumbles led to an empty red zone possession
• Tulane out-rushed South 241-190, but the Jaguar passing attack outdid Tulane’s 231-165.
• Voisin finished the game with eight catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns to lead the USA offensive attack
• Caleb Dozier and Darius McKenzie both tallied 10 tackles to lead the defensive effort. Wesley Miller also pitched in nine of his own.
• Two of Tulane’s players from Mississippi (Armondous Cooley & Chris Rodgers) combined for 7 tackles and a tackle for a loss.

 NOTABLE

• Harris’ forced fumble and Henderson’s fumble recovery in the first quarter were both the first of their respective South Alabama careers
• Voisin’s 65-yard touchdown reception was the longest catch of his career. His previous long was 47 yards against Western Kentucky in 2022.
• The touchdown strike to Voisin was the longest completion of Davenport’s career. His previous long was 52 yards in the 2024 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl against Western Michigan.
• Running back Kentrel Bullock recorded the sixth 100-yard rushing game of his career, and his second in as many games this season.

Quarterback Bishop Davenport, in his second start of 2025, threw for 232 yards and he had two passing touchdowns in the loss to the Green Wave. The Jaguars tossed more yards than the Green Wave 232 yards to 165.

“Our competitiveness that we have on the team, of course we got to get rid of the turnovers and things like that, but we have a very competitive team and I love that about us,” Davenport said after the game.