MOBILE (Interstat) — South Alabama defeated Louisiana-Monroe 52-35 on Saturday in a Football Bowl Subdivision game at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The Jaguars improved to 3-2, while the Warhawks dropped to 0-5. South Alabama scored in each quarter and used a 21-point fourth quarter to secure the win. Louisiana-Monroe scored seven points in the first quarter, 14 in the second, seven in the third and seven in the fourth. South Alabama scored 10 in the first, 14 in the second, seven in the third and 21 in the fourth. The Jaguars led 24-21 at halftime and 31-28 after three quarters before pulling away.

Jared Hollins, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback, led South Alabama with 321 passing yards and three touchdowns. He completed 14 of 19 passes and ran seven times for 24 yards. Hollins connected with Anthony Eager and Brendan Jenkins for long scores. Eager finished with four receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Jenkins added three receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown. Jeremiah Jones-Thomas had two receptions for 16 yards and one punt return for six yards. Trae Stevenson added one reception for 17 yards and one tackle. Micah Woods had one reception for 15 yards. Everett Hunter caught one pass for seven yards. Hollins’ previous recent performance came against Kentucky, when he completed 23 of 43 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns.

Aidan Armenta kept Louisiana-Monroe in contention. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound quarterback from Albuquerque, N.M., completed 25 of 41 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 10 yards and one touchdown. Bryce Anderson caught two passes for 20 yards and one touchdown. Darrion Gilliam had one reception for nine yards and one touchdown. Nic Trujillo added two receptions for 15 yards, and JP Coulter had two receptions for 21 yards. The Warhawks moved the ball effectively at times, but South Alabama’s defense made enough stops in the second half.

South Alabama’s running game complemented Hollins. Trae’von Dunbar carried 12 times for 91 yards and one touchdown. PJ Martin rushed 13 times for 58 yards and one touchdown, and he caught one pass for two yards. Keenan Phillips added 12 carries for 42 yards and one touchdown, plus one reception for five yards and one kick return for 12 yards. Caleb Wynn had two carries for 34 yards. The Jaguars controlled the clock late and finished with a balanced offensive effort.

South Alabama’s defense was led by Jordan Williams, a 6-foot-2, 223-pound linebacker, with 10 tackles. Jayvon Henderson added seven tackles. Dallas Young had five tackles. Tre Brown, Camen Upshaw and Tyler Carter each finished with four tackles. Cole Blaylock made three tackles. Damyrion Darby recorded two tackles, one quarterback hurry and one interception. Masey Lewis had two tackles and one quarterback hurry. E’Mauri Smiley and Tre’Mon Henry each had two tackles and half a sack. Kam Robinson, Deon Callins and Parker Shattuck each made two tackles. Xavious Anderson Jr. and William Felton IV each had three tackles. Jaylen Moson added one tackle. Rodney Hunter, Andrew Hines, Teryn Green, Christian Ross, Stephen Johnson, Bradley Thomas and Andrew Washburn each contributed one tackle. South Alabama’s special teams got three punts for 112 yards from Aleksi Pulkkinen. Davis Little converted extra points and a 37-yard field goal.

Louisiana-Monroe’s defense got nine tackles and one quarterback hurry from Noah Flemmings, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound linebacker. Marcus Ross, Zyan Tremont and Chris Payne each made seven tackles. Rickey Banks added six tackles. Taijh Overton and DJ Jester each had five tackles. Makenzie Ryan punted four times for 153 yards. Abram Murray kicked extra points and missed a 24-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

South Alabama entered the game after a loss to Kentucky. The Jaguars had beaten Ohio and Southeastern Louisiana earlier this season and lost to Tulane. Louisiana-Monroe entered after losses to Florida Atlantic, Southeastern Louisiana, UAB and Mississippi State. The Warhawks remained winless. South Alabama will next play at Arkansas State. Louisiana-Monroe will next play at home against Louisiana Tech.

South Alabama opened the scoring in the first quarter when Hollins threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Jenkins with 14:08 remaining. Louisiana-Monroe answered at 9:22 when Z. Palmer-Smith ran 31 yards for a touchdown. Keenan Phillips scored on a 1-yard run with 5:24 left in the first. In the second quarter, PJ Martin scored on a 1-yard run at 9:27, and Davis Little made a 37-yard field goal with six seconds remaining before halftime. In the third quarter, Hollins threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Eager at 11:42. Armenta answered with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Anderson at 8:21. Hollins then connected with Eager for a 69-yard touchdown at 6:54, and Armenta scored on a 1-yard run at 2:53. In the fourth quarter, Murray missed a 24-yard field goal at 6:08. Dunbar broke free for a 32-yard touchdown run at 2:31, and Armenta threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Gilliam at 0:53.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of South Alabama 50, Louisiana-Monroe 28. Interstat’s ELO system had projected South Alabama with a 90.6 percent probability to win. Louisiana-Monroe had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-13.5. The total score finished at 87 against an over/under line of 57.5.