South Alabama football improved to 2-0 on the fall Saturday afternoon as the Jags used a spurt at the end of the first quarter to take control and pick up a 38-24 road victory over Central Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Trailing by one, the Jaguars grabbed the momentum over the final one minute, 29 seconds of the first quarter. La'Damian Webb ignited the key stretch with a three-yard score. On the ensuing kickoff, Ke'Shun Brown forced a fumble and Trey Kiser recovered, setting up a 22-yard touchdown reception by Devin Voisin from Carter Bradley. South's defense then ended the opening period of play with a four-down stop of Central Michigan (1-1) at midfield.

Bradley was 26-of-42 through the air for 354 yards and three touchdowns, while receivers Jalen Wayne and Caullin Lacy nearly put up 100-yard games. Wayne recorded 10 receptions for 98 yards and a score, while Lacy had five for 97 yards with a long of 40 yards.

Webb led the ground attack posting 95 yards on 20 rushing attempts and a pair of scores. 

The Jaguar defense held Central Michigan below 100 yards rushing with a majority of the 81 yards coming late in the fourth quarter. Chippawas' running back Lew Nicholls III, who led the nation in rushing (1,848) in 2021, was held to 20 net yards on 15 attempts on Saturday. 

Jaden Voisin, Kiser and Quintin Wilfawn led the way with six tackles apiece, while James Miller, CJ Rias and Wy'Kevious Thomas each had a sack.

Postgame Notes

• Captains: Darrell Luter, Jr., Jamie Sherriff and Wayne (South Alabama won the toss and deferred until the second half)
• Attendance: 17,205
• Saturday's meeting was the first in the series versus CMU and the sixth versus an opponent from the Mid-American Conference
• South Alabama also faced a MAC member in its first road game last fall, defeating Bowling Green (22-19) on September 11, 2021
• Webb has now recorded multiple touchdowns in each of his first two games as he now has four through the first two games this fall
• The 22-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter by D. Voisin marked the first of his Jaguar career
• Bradley threw for 249 yards during the first 30-minutes of action, which were 11 yards shy of his total (260) in the season opener against Nicholls
• Bradley's 354 passing yards were tied for fourth most (Jake Bentley, vs. Georgia Southern) in a single game
• With his 10 receptions, Wayne surpassed the 100-career reception mark, and did so with his third reception of the game, a 10-yard score in the second quarter
• Wayne tied and passed Shavarez Smith (104, 2013-14) for sixth on the all-time receptions list as he now has 10-107 for his career
• The 10 receptions are tied for third-most in a single game in program history and the most since Jalen Tolbert's 11 versus Georgia Southern last season
• With his 97 yards receiving, Wayne (1,358) passed Gerald Everett (1,292, 2015-16), Bryant Lavender (1,294, 2009-13) and Josh Magee (1,326, 2015-18) to move into sixth place on the program's career receiving yards list
• South Alabama scored touchdowns on three-straight possessions beginning with Webb's three-yard run with under two-minutes remaining in the opening quarter of play, and scored on four-straight possessions
• Luter two passes broken up, moving his career total to 12, which is one shy of moving into the top 10 at South in the category
• CMU's Nichols was held to six yards rushing in the first half
• For the second-straight game, the South Alabama defense held its opponent under 200 yards of total offense. The Jags held Nicholls to 60 yards of offense in the first half during Week 1
• CMU was also 0-for-7 on third down in the first half and finished 5-for-15 in the category for the game, while South Alabama was 8-of-17
• The 31-first half points were the most recorded by the Jags since last fall's 41-14 victory over Georgia Southern (10/14)