South Alabama Shows Fight, but Outmatched Against No. 22 Auburn

Auburn, Ala.– South Alabama plays tough, but is overpowered by Auburn, losing 31-15, in front of a sold-out homecoming crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.

Despite just being a few hours apart, South Alabama and Auburn had never met in football prior to Saturday’s game. The close proximity and many ties between fans of the two schools creating a unique atmosphere that was closer to a conference game than the usual power conference versus group of five game.

Thank you, #JagNation 👆#LSF pic.twitter.com/R5EGy5rLLV

— South Alabama Football 🏈 (@SouthAlabamaFB) September 13, 2025

As for the game itself, it was never really in doubt. Auburn never trailed Saturday and was never really uncomfortable. However, the tigers were never fully able to pull away from an upset minded South Alabama team. The Jaguars had a number of chances to make things interesting, or to cut the lead to one possession, but the size and physicality of Auburn turned out to be too much for South to overcome.

The game would start with Auburn losing the coin toss. They would receive the opening kick and start on their own 8 yard line following an early mistake. This would be the only mistake on that first drive though, as Auburn would run right through South Alabama, scoring a touchdown on a 32 yard Jackson Arnold pass to Cam Coleman.

South Alabama then would have no issues driving the ball right down the field themselves. They used a strong drive by Bishop Davenport to get on the board with a Hamilton DiBoyan field goal. Momentum staying with them, the Jags would force a quick three and out after this.

Things really began to change for the Jags after the stop though. A dropped pass on the ensuing South Alabama drive would get batted up and caught for an Auburn interception. The Tigers taking full advantage of the short field, scoring a touchdown on a quarterback draw. Then just a few minutes later, Auburn scoring another touchdown on a Jackson Arnold design run. Both teams would score a touchdown later in the quarter to send it to the half 28-9 in favor of the Auburn Tigers.

South Alabama would come out of halftime with new life, running the ball well before a Davenport touchdown pass to Devin Voisin. They would then have a chance to cut the lead to 12 on the extra point, but a second missed PAT by Hamilton DiBoyan kept the Auburn lead at 13.

DAVENPORT TO VOISIN 12 YARD TUD 🙌

Q3 9:55 | USA 15, AUB 28#LSF | @Devinvoisin pic.twitter.com/D96MXNDPdB

— South Alabama Football 🏈 (@SouthAlabamaFB) September 13, 2025

On their following possession, Auburn would get a field goal, but after that the Jags were able to drive right down the field with a chance to bring it to within one possession at the start of the fourth quarter. Auburn would make a couple stops, bringing a fourth and short for South Alabama. That 4th down play would really be it for the Jags though, as an untimely fumble by Bishop Davenport, ended the drive for South. The Jags would get one more chance on offense, but this time turn it over on downs just outside the redzone. Auburn ran out the clock on their next drive to seal a 31-15 victory.

The loss hurts for Jag fans, especially in a game that South Alabama had plenty of opportunities to make it close, but it was an impressive showing nonetheless for South Alabama against a ranked SEC team in a hostile environment. While the defense left room for improvement, the offense showed out against a really good defense, totaling 310 yards and beating Auburn in time of possession. South Alabama’s 310 yards consisting of 170 passing yards and 140 rushing yards.

“You’re never satisfied unless you win. Proud of the way they played, proud of the way they came into a good environment, settled down and executed,” said Coach Applewhite, “We’ve got a lot of other things we can focus on to get better, but pleased with the way the guys came in and competed against a really good football team.”

Individually Bishop Davenport stood out on offense, throwing 18 completions on 26 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 27 yards. Devin Voisin had a decent game as well, totaling 4 receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. Christopher Wallace Jr. had the best day on defense with 8 solo tackles.

Mr. Consistency.

4 Tuds in 3 weeks for @Devinvoisin 🔥 https://t.co/oP6ISkBUlr pic.twitter.com/EJMciDdJYO

— South Alabama Football 🏈 (@SouthAlabamaFB) September 13, 2025

As for Auburn, while it was a win, it still left a lot to be desired for Tiger fans, who entered the game as 25 point favorites. Auburn had to rely heavily on their offensive line and capitalizing on a few South Alabama mistakes. Auburn finished the game with 337 yards of offense, with 195 of those yards on the ground. Running Back Jeremiah Cobb had the best game on offense, rushing for 199 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts. Defensively Auburn was led by Keyron Crawford, who had 5 tackles and 1 interception.

“I think South Alabama is a solid football team and we’ve got a lot we can obviously improve on, but the goal of today was to be 3-0 and 1-0 today headed in to conference play. Our team achieved that and we’re gonna celebrate that,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze on the game

Looking ahead to next week, both teams will start conference play. Auburn will go on the road and take on No. 11 Oklahoma and South Alabama will return home, looking to get back in the win column against a struggling Coastal Carolina.