South Alabama costs itself chance to beat UCLA with inexplicable fake FG
By Andrew Olson
Published:
South Alabama snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Saturday against UCLA.
The Jaguars led the Bruins deep into the 4th quarter. Up from 31-29 with 3:15 left, South Alabama faced 4th-and-2 at the UCLA 22-yard line. The Jaguars sent the field-goal unit out, but instead of kicking ran a disastrous fake that turned the ball over on downs.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING pic.twitter.com/iW05Kcbbr6
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 17, 2022
Unfortunately for South Alabama, its defense was not up to the task of protecting a 2-point lead. In the final 2:52, Chip Kelly’s squad went 61 yards on 10 plays, kicking the game-winning field goal with 3 seconds left to secure a 32-31 victory, thrilling the handful of Bruins fans in attendance at the Rose Bowl.
After an incompletion on the first play of the drive, UCLA was in South Alabama territory on the third play of the drive. Once the Bruins reached the Jaguars’ 24-yard line, Kelly called all running plays to control the clock. UCLA may well have gone on to score a touchdown on its final possession if down by 5 points, but the starting field position of its own 33-yard line and only a 2-point deficit made things a lot easier for the Bruins.
UCLA is now 3-0 in the 2022 season.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
