Bauer started to roll out of the pocket, but was tripped up by an incoming Jaguar defender. On third-and-five from their own 30-yard line, Bauer took the snap and was immediately met with pressure. The Chippewas weren’t done yet however, with Jase Bauer pulling off perhaps his best play of the night after the fourth quarter ticker started. South Alabama stopped the 20-point unanswered point rally with 53 seconds to go in the third quarter, having to settle for a 36-yard Diego Guajardo field goal to end a 12-play, 61-yard drive which saw an endzone shot dropped on third-down. Once again, CMU found whatever they liked on the ensuing 10-play, 56-yard drive, culminating in Jase Bauer’s third rushing touchdown of the day from one yard out to put the Chips in the lead for the first time at 20-14 with 8:31 to go in the third quarter. Instead, South Alabama went three-and-out, and punter Jack Martin had his worst boot of the night, a 30-yard howler which gifted CMU the ball at their own 44-yard line. A conversion could have offered the opportunity to double up points on the halftime flip. This play loomed large, as the Jaguars got the ball back to start the third quarter. The conversion attempt failed, as Trey Jones III met Webb two yard behind the line of scrimmage to force a turnover-on-downs. USA head coach Kane Wommack opted to go for it with a one-point lead, calling an inside hand-off to La’Damian Webb. South Alabama looked to answer with a strong offensive drive of their own, and managed to get all the way to CMU’s 29-yard line with around 45 seconds to go thanks to an eight-yard reception by Caullin Lacy on third-and-nine, setting up a fourth-and-one attempt. Tristan Mattson would hook the extra point attempt wide left, however, allowing South Alabama to preserve their lead at 14-13 with 4:13 to go in the second quarter. Jase Bauer would come into the game on the third offensive series for Central, and never gave the keys back, leading an 11-play, 75-yard drive over five minutes, capping it off with a powerful 15-yard touchdown run, shedding multiple defenders to cross the goal line and put the score at 14-7 with 13:37 to go in the second quarter.Ī quick three-and-out forced by the Chippweas defense gave the offense the ball back within a minute, and once again, CMU matriculated down the gridiron on a nice 14-play, 69-yard drive, giving Bauer the opportunity to score on a QB sneak and give CMU a chance to tie. stalled on two straight three-and-out possessions, allowing the Jaguars to build a quick 14-0 lead on the back of a La’Damian Webb three-yard run and a Carter Bradley pass to Caullin Lacy on a 35-yard wheel route. Given all that background, Saturday’s matchup in Mobile, Alabama proved to be an exorcising of several ghosts, as the Central Michigan Chippewas (2-2) took down the South Alabama Jaguars in their shiny new stadium by a final score of 34-30 thanks to a gritty last-gasp drive led by backup quarterback Jase Bauer.Ĭentral crawled out of the gate to start the game, as the offense under starting quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. They’ve proven competitive at points in 2023 thus far despite their imperfections, with punching early against Michigan State and Notre Dame, while taking FCS powerhouse New Hampshire to the wire. Since then, the Chippewas have been a state of self-discovery and adversity. It was the first sign that something was amiss in the 2022 campaign, and proved to be a bellweather game, as the Chippewas finished 4-8 and looked head-long at a litany of departures and perhaps a potential rebuild. The Chips were five-point favorites going into last year’s game, but came out a wounded mess, scratched by the Jaguars for a 31-10 halftime lead which ultimately stretched into a 38-24 final for the road team. The contest was the second game of the season for a CMU team expected to make a run at the MAC West division title once again in 2022 after getting left out of the championship game due to a tiebreaker. It was an emphatic and definitive statement, rooted in fact thanks to the box score from the last time these two programs met in Mt. “They killed us,” Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain said when quizzed about last year’s contest against South Alabama.
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