Jags Fall 31-7 In Raleigh
Senior linebacker Jake Johnson zeroes in on a NC State runner for one of his 14 tackles in Raleigh, NC.
South Alabama fell in a tough road game at North Carolina State on Saturday night by a score of 31-7. The Jags (1-2) finally scored in the fourth quarter to prevent a shutout.
NC State’s Mike Glennon went 24-of-34 for 257 yards and three touchdowns (all in the first half) to lead the Wolfpack over the Jags. On the Wolfpack’s first possession, Glennon went 8-of-9 and accounted for all but five yards of the 80-yard drive. He capped off the first drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass with 9:22 left in the first quarter.
Glennon’s second touchdown pass came with four minutes left in the first quarter and went for 44-yards. His third touchdown pass put the Wolfpack up 28-0 before halftime.
Demetre Baker led the Jags with 45 yards rushing on seven carries. Kendall Houston added 17 yards on four carries.
Ross Metheny went 14-of-20 for 189 yards with an interception and a touchdown. C.J. Bennett went 10-of-15 for 74 yards with an interception. Both quarterbacks were sacked three times each.
Jereme Jones extended his catch streak, and tied the all time record set by Courtney Smith, with his eight yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Demetre Baker led the receiver corps with five catches for 55 yards. Wes Saxton added four catches for 72 yards. Corey Besteda got the offense going on the touchdown drive with a 43 yard reception. Besteda caught three passes for 68 yards. T.J. Glover added three catches for 10 yards. Three other Jaguars had two catches each and another three had one catch each.
Jake Johnson led all players with a season high 14 total tackles. Alex Page had five tackles, with two sacks for 14 yards. Clifton Crews and Anthony Taylor both had sacks as well.
The wolfpack had 22 first downs to only 14 for the Jags. Overall, NC State outgained the Jags 384-314. The wolfpack out-gained the Jags on the ground 127 to 51, but the Jags would outgain their adversaries 263-257 through the air.
In the Jaguars first drive, Bennett picked up first downs with completions to Saxton and Besteda, but a poor pass was intercepted on a third-and-15 near midfield. Then on the ensuing Wolfpack drive, one of Page’s sacks put the Wolfpack with a third-and-15, but a personal foul gave them a first down. But the Jaguar offense could not recover from the setback.
“We knew when N.C. State held Connecticut to seven points last weekend that they were a very good defensive football team,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones said after the game. “When you look at their film from last year and this year, they are two totally different teams. They showed that today. They were very good up front, and got to the quarterback several times. We could have done some things better, but they are very good defensive football team.”
“I thought we fought hard defensively, and the positive thing was that I thought we won the second half,” Coach Jones continued. “I challenged them at halftime to win the second half, and we came out and did that. We didn’t quit. Our kids fought hard. There are obviously some things we can work on, but a lot of it had to do with the fact that they were pretty good on defense.”
If the Jags can limit their mistakes, such as turnovers, negative yardage plays and penalties at key times, the Jags offense could move the ball and score like they did in the season opener against UTSA. But it seems that, once the offense commits a mistake, they have a hard time regaining their forward momentum.
Metheny really looked good at quarterback tonight after Bennett started struggling. He did a great job getting the ball out to his receivers quickly. The offensive line had their hands full with a big, quick defensive line for the Wolfpack. Drew Dearman had another great block on a screen pass play that allowed the receiver to gain some extra yards.
The Jags will continue their two game road-trip with a Saturday night match-up with Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm.
Know Your Stadiums: Carter-Finley Stadium
Image of Vaughn Towers at Carter-Finley Stadium.
North Carolina State’s home football stadium, Carter-Finley Stadium, was opened in 1969 as a replacement for an obsolete on-campus stadium named Riddick Stadium. It now seats 57,583 after two major expansions and following a renovation in 2006 as well.
Originally named Carter Stadium in honor of Harry C. and Wilbert J. “Nick” Carter who were both graduates of the university and major contributors to the original building of the stadium. Albert E. Finley, a major contributor to the University, was added in 1978.
The stadium is located on University land, however it is not on the University grounds proper. It is actually located a few miles west of the academic campus on Trinity Road.
When it originally opened it seated 41,000 from 1966-1973, they then expanded to 45,600 from 1973-1983. In 1984-1991 it sat 47,000 fans. From 1992-2002 it seated 51,500, when in 2001, the university began mordernizing the stadium and enclosing the southern end zone and began building the Murphy Center, which houses the football offices.
Seating expanded each of the next four years with seating increasing to 53,800 in 2003, 55,600 in 2004 the year they began building the Vaughn Towers which houses luxury boxes, club seats and media facilities. When the Vaughn Towers were completed in 2005, the seating capacity was 57,500 Then finally the university added seating underneath the video scoreboard, making the stadium a bowl and seating 57,583 in 2006.
Carter-Finley Stadium from above.
In October of 2009, U2 and Muse held a concert in the facility.
Also in the same complex is the PNC Arena (Formerly the RBC Center) which is the home of the NC State Wolfpack basketball program, and the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL. It seats 19,722 for basketball and 18,680 for ice hockey.
The ground breaked was held on July 22, 1997 and opened in October 29, 1999. It is the second largest arena in the ACC and 10th largest in the NCAA.
The idea for a new basketball arena initially came in the 1980s under coach Jim Valvano. In 1989, the unversity trustees approved plans to build a 23,000 seat arena. The North Carolina Legislature created the Centennial AUthority in 1995 as the governing entity of the arena. It was financed by state appropriation, local contributions and University fundraising.
The Centennial Authority refocused the project into a multi-use arena, which lead to the relocation agreement with the Hurricanes (then the Hartford Whalers) in 1997. An estimated construction cost of $158 million was largely publicly financed by a Hotel and Restaurant Tax and the Hurricanes agreed to pay $60 million of the cost.
It has held a number of notable events including the NHL Stanley Cup Finals twice, the NHL Draft and NCAA Basketball Tournaments.
It can be seen directly behind the video Scoreboard at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Mobile Native John Hartwell To Be Introduced As Troy’s New AD On Friday
On Wednesday, Troy University announced that Mobile native John Hartwell was selected to be the next Athletic Director for the University. Hartnell comes from Ole Miss where he has spent the last nine years in their athletic department. He is in his third year as the schools senior executive associate AD which is the schools number two administrator in athletics.
He will be officially introduced as the Troy AD in a press conference scheduled for Friday.
He will take over for Steve Dennis who abruptly resigned from his position earlier this year to seek other career opportunities. Dennis was in his eighth year as the Trojan’s AD.
Former South Alabama athletic director Joe Gottfried has known Hartwell for a long time. Hartwell played basketball alongside his son Mark, who is the head basketball coach at NC State.
Hartwell is a 1987 graduate of The Citadel and spent more than four years as a CPA with Ernst & Young before returnig to The Citadel to act as the director of an internal audit in 1991. During his three years at The Citadel, he was also the color commentator for the Citadel Network covering basketball. He then served as the CFO for a beverage distributor on the South Carolina coast from 1994-1997.
Hartwell began in athletics administration as an assisstant AD for business at Georgia State in 1997. He was later promoted to associate AD for internal affairs in 1999 and his reponsibilities grew to include sport supervision for Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Golf and Men’s and Women’s Track and Cross Country.
Hartwell also had oversight of athletics facilities and game management in addition to his previous responsibilities of all financial aspects of the department. While at Georgia State, he would earn a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration.
Jones Happy With Wednesday Practice In Preparation For NC State
Receiver Jereme Jones looks in the pass from CJ Bennett in the first half of the 33-31 loss to Texas-San Antonio.
The South Alabama Jaguars returned to the practice field on Wednesday morning for a two-hour practice as they continue to refine their game play for North Carolina State on Saturday. Coach Jones said he was happy with what he saw during the practice.
“We had real good intensity,” he observed. “We had some real good one-on-one periods where the offense went against the defense. (We had) perfect intensity to the point where we’re not tackling but we’re playing hard to the point where we would tackle. That’s going to help us. As fast as they are on defense and as big as they are on defense, we’ve got to see that. As well as they execute on offense we’ve got to have the scout team showing good looks and they did that today.”
One of the keys to the game will be how the offense improves on it’s performance last week in the red zone. The Jags reached the red zone five times but had to settle for three field goals. But they also have to improve on their third-down efficiency to keep drives alive.
“We’ve got to control the ball,” he continued. “We can’t go three-and-out and put our defense in a bind throughout the game. We’ve got to be able to control the ball and run the clock. We’ve got to be able to convert when we have the chance to make big plays. We’ve got to be able to convert big plays. And that’s any game, but it’s more so when you are playing a team with a great defense like N.C. State.”
As the Jags get ready to travel to Raleigh for the game, wide receiver Jereme Jones is one game away tying the school record for consecutive games with a reception set by Courtney Smith at 17 consecutive games which is every game he played for the Jaguars. Jereme has a catch in the last 16 consecutive games for the Jags.
Ross Metheny is expected to get playing time under center on Saturday in Raleigh as he has in the Jaguars previous two games. Metheny transfered to South Alabama after he graduated in three years brought two years of eligibility to South Alabama.
While at Virginia in the ACC, Metheny faced the Wolfpack once in his three years there. Metheny knows some of the players on the NC State team, but he never traveled to Raleigh. Virginia hosted NC State last season and was the only time the two teams met while Metheny was on the roster.
But Metheny may have more experience playing in larger stadiums that most Jaguars. “Fortunately I have been in a couple of those big stadiums before. UVA is a pretty big stadium itself and I’ve been to Florida State and (Virginia) Tech and all those places. I have some experience going to those places. I got in a couple of game reps in an environment like that and that’s always useful to have. But it’s a new game and a new experience and a new team with these guys. I’m excited to get there.”
Metheny played sparingly at Virginia and this season he has gone 6-of-12 for 58 yards with no interceptions and no touchdowns. He has also run 10 times for 14 yards.
C.J. Bennett has taken more reps in game that Metheny as he has gone 26-of-44 for 293 yards, one interception and two touchdowns.
But Metheny is eager to do anything to assist the team. “Anything I can do to help the team win is the main thing,” Metheny said. “It was good to get in there. I was telling someone those were the first meaningful snaps I’ve taken in three years. Anytime I got in at Virginia and got some experience, we were down big. It was that kind of situation. It was good to get in the game in that kind of environment and that stage and perform. I think it’s definitely useful going forward.”
Metheny continued, “Anytime you get some reps it becomes more comfortable. There’s definitely areas to improve on and that’s never going to change. I was comfortable (with the offense) coming out of camp, but anytime you get more reps and you’re preparing for a team and you get to practice, you get a lot more comfortable. So I’d definitely say I’m getting more comfortable with things.”
According to quarterbacks coach Bryant Vincent, Metheny has also caught on to the new offense quickly and has pushed Bennett throughout camp and the beginning of the season. “I think Ross has gotten better every day, every week, since he’s gotten here,” he said. “He’s a very driven, hard-working guy that really pays attention to every minor detail. I think he’s been a good addition for C.J. and for our football team because he gives us depth at quarterback and he gives us competition at the quarterback position.”
Tight end Greg Hollinger is listed as day-to-day but is expected to play in Raleigh however, he has been limited in practices this week due to a sprained left thumb. Hollinger was the only reported injury by the Jaguars staff.
The Jaguars and Wolfpack kickoff in Raleigh at 5pm CDT (6pm Eastern) at Carter-Finley Stadium. The game can be viewed on ESPN3 and WNSP 105.5FM will also carry the game, as they do every Jaguar game.
Both The Jags And Wolfpack Coming Off Defensive Games
Myles Gibbon takes in Carter-Finley Stadium before the team takes the field for warm-ups.
The Jags and the Wolfpack both come off of defensive games where special teams play were key to their victories.
South Alabama’s Michel Chapuseaux accounted for a career high three field goals to score all of the Jaguars points. He is 4-of-5 on the season thus far and leads the team with 16 points. Punter Scott Garber averaged 43.6 yards per punt with two kicks downed inside the opponents 20 yard line. He also boomed a 69 yard punt in the contest to help flip field position into the Jags favor.
NC State’s Wil Baumann punted nine times against UConn with three downed inside the opponents 20 yard line. He averaged almost 39 yards per kick. Placekicker Niklas Slade gave the Wolfpack their final margin of victory by connecting on a 40 yard field goal that were the only points scored before halftime.
“I think they [N.C. State] are better defensively this year,” Jones said. “Their defensive front seems more active. They lost a couple of NFL guys at linebacker, but they replaced them with a couple of good ones. They are very well-coached and do a good job with their schemes.”
Mike Glennon, who went 17-of-20 for 274 yards and four touchdowns against the Jags last season, is 42-of-76 (55.3%) this season for 492 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target so far is Tobias Palmer who has nine receptions so far this season. QUintin Payton has a team-best 177 yards receiving. While on the ground, Mustafa Greene leads a trio of running backs with 101 yards but Tony Creecy and James Washington have split the two rushing touchdowns by the Wolfpack.
“Offensively, it starts with their quarterback,” Jones said. “He’s very efficient, and they do a good job moving the ball down the field and are patient with their play calls. Our defense is looking forward to the challenge of playing them. They do a good job with run-pass balance. They can throw the ball underneath and downfield, and they can run the football. They put some pressure on you defensively to make sure you cover all parts of the field.”
Coach Jones believes their trip to Raleigh last season will be very beneficial to the Jags in preparing for Saturday’s game and handling game day emotions.
“I think it will help, the fact that we did play there last year,” he said. “But I always say that it doesn’t matter where you play, you play between the lines. Our kids will be ready to play no matter what, and that’s one thing we pride ourselves on. One thing we can control is ourselves, how hard and how well we play. I thought we walked out last year as confident as a team could be. It wasn’t a deal where we were star struck by the lights or the fact that it was our first FBS opponent. Our kids came to play. that’s what I like about our team, and I expect them to play well this year.”
Go Jags!
Jags Workout In Shells On Tuesday
Wide Receiver Bryant Lavender waits on the ball during Jaguars preseason camp.
South Alabama practiced in shells on Tuesday as they continued to prepare for the Jags road trip to NC State on Saturday. This will be the Jags second trip to Raleigh where they lost last season 35-13. It was the Jags first-ever game against a FBS team and will be their first FBS opponent this season.
Head coach Joey Jones was pleased with what he saw at practice and what they accomplished. “I thought it was really, really good today,” he said. “The kids are preparing the way they are supposed to. There was a little more pep in their step. We had a good physical day and the tempo was really good, I thought. The kids almost went 100 percent without knocking each other to the ground and that’s the perfect type tempo we need.”
NC State returns several starters from last season and coach Jones said that his team must stay focused and work on the details if they exepct to play well on Saturday. “N.C. State is fast and on offense and defense they can do really well and execute very well offensively,” Jones commented. “We’ve got to be sharp this week. I challenged our scout team. They’ve got to do a great job of giving us a look this week because N.C. State, they do things really well, so if the scout team gives us a good luck, we’ve got a good shot on Saturday.”
A year ago NC State quarterback Mike Glennon went 17-of-20 for 274 yards and four touchdowns against the Jaguars defense. The secondary will be tested again this season and they understand that they must be prepared for what the Wolfpack will throw their way. But the defensive front will need to put pressure on Glennon as well.
“First of all, I think we’re better in the secondary this year,” he said. “Our kids are really understanding the concepts back there now and we’ve got some better cover people there, so we feel good about that. As always, you’ve got to be able to play physical up front and that’s what we have challenged our kids to do. I think they understand that and that’s one thing we’re working on this week.”
The Jags played a tough game and kept it close until mistakes allowed NC State to pull away late. “We went up there and played a really good football game,” Jones said. “I thought we went out there and went toe-to-toe with them. Our kids are very competitive and want to be in these type of situations. You want to get into an atmosphere like you see in Raleigh. I’ll never forget walking out onto the field last year and how exciting it was to be in that atmosphere. Our kids are looking forward to it.”
Through two games this season, the Jags defense stacks up pretty well in the Sun Belt. They are tied for first place in red zone defense, kickoff returns, opponents’ third-down conversion rate and fourth-down conversions. They are either solely in second place or tied for second in total defense, sacks, passing defense efficiency and interceptions. But don’t get too excited about those stats just yet. It’s only two games into the season and the offense is not ranking that well.
In the 10 team Sun Belt Conference, the Jags are 9th in scoring offense, 10th in total offense, 10th in rushing offense, 9th in passing offense. But if you contrast that with the defense in similar categories and you see the disparity between the two. The Jags scoring defense is 3rd in the league, 2nd in total defense, 3rd in rushing defense and 3rd in passing defense.
Offensive coordinator Robert Matthews mentioned before the Jaguars game against Nicholls State, that they need to improve their third down efficiency. Heading into their game against NC State the offense has converted 12-of-32 third downs. That’s a mere 38%, which includes a 7-of-19 mark against Nicholls State last Saturday.
However, the defense is holding their opponents to a 4-of-24 third down success rate, which is a mere 17%. Both opponents were 2-of-12 in their games.
Jags Monday Press Conference
On Monday, South Alabama sat down with the press to recap Saturday’s win over Nicholls State and preview their upcoming game at N.C. State on Saturday. Here is some highlights from the press conference.
“We’re glad for the win this past weekend,” said Jaguar head coach Joey Jones in his opening statement. “I thought we played extremely well on defense, and kind of played conservative offensively. But a win is a win, it’s a team win whether offense, defense or special teams does well. I think our kids were glad to get it, and we were excited to get the win.”
Coach Jones then turned his focus towards NC State. “We look forward to ballgames like this. Last year, N.C. State was our first [Football Bowl Subdivision] game. We went up there and played a really good football game. They are very good opponent, obviously well-coached and have good players. I thought we went out there and went toe-to-toe with them. Our kids are very competitive and want to be in these type of situations. You want to get into an atmosphere like you see in Raleigh [N.C.]. I’ll never forget walking out onto the field last year and how exciting it was to be in that atmosphere. Our kids are looking forward to it.”
“I think they are better defensively this year,” Coach Jones continued. “Their defensive front seems more active. They lost a couple of NFL guys at linebacker, but they replaced them with a couple of good ones. They are very well-coached and do a good job with their schemes. Offensively, it starts with their quarterback Mike Glennon. He’s 6-foot-6 and will probably be in the NFL next year. He’s a very efficient quarterback, and they do a good job moving the ball down the field and are patient with their play calls. Our defense is looking forward to the challenge of playing them. They do a good job with the run-pass balance. They can throw the ball underneath and downfield, and they can run the football. They put some pressure on you defensively to make sure you cover all parts of the field.”
Coach Jones then spoke about how it helps to have experienced the atmosphere last season in Raleigh. “I think it will help, the fact that we did play there last year. But I always say that it doesn’t matter where you play, you play between the lines. Our kids will be ready to play no matter what, and that’s one thing we pride ourselves on. One thing we can control is ourselves, how hard and how well we play. I thought we walked out last year as confident as a team could be. It wasn’t a deal where we were star struck by the lights or the fact that it was our first FBS opponent. Our kids came to play, that’s what I like about our team, and I expect them to play well this year.”
Finally, he spoke about the Jaguars offensive production in the red zone. “We have to do a better job, and I do as well, of adjusting at halftime to something new. They [Nicholls State] ran a new defensive front that we weren’t expecting, and we did a good job and played hard. We got a little conservative in the second half. The defense was playing so well that we didn’t want to make a mistake, but we have to punch it in down in the red zone. That’s one thing we talked about as a staff.”
Running back Demetre Baker then spoke with the media beginning with his performance so far and his expectations for the NC State game. “At this point in the season, I have done OK. I’m not where I want to be. There are things that I can work on. There’s more time I can put in the fieldhouse watching more film. Our first two opponents were tough teams, they weren’t pushovers. They came out and were ready to play. I look forward to doing more studying and practicing harder this week and can give it all I can for N.C. State.”
Baker then spoke about playing a team from the ACC and how that environment increases the excitement level. “It is, one reason is because of the crowd, being in that atmosphere when it’s loud with 40,000-plus people. I’m wishing and hoping we can get that here one day, so we can get used to it. I don’t think it’ll be a problem for us, it motivates us and gets us really pumped up for the game.”
Finally, Baker spoke about the offensive performance against Nicholls State and bouncing back from the opening game loss to UTSA. “I’m not disappointed at all. I think we just have to put everything together. We have what it takes, we have the offense and we certainly have the plays to do what it takes to get in the red zone. We just have to finish up, do a little more polishing and practice harder and put one in. When we score that touchdown it will be exciting for us because we know we did everything we could to get in the red zone and score.”
Defensive back Tyrell Pearson then spoke with the media. He spoke about his performance so far this season and his expectations for the NC State game. “I feel that on the defensive side of the ball, as a unit we’re tough. The first game we didn’t come out fast in the first half, but in the second half we came out with fire and intensity. That carried over to the second game against Nicholls State. As you can see, we did very well with that. I’m not sure what we held them to in total yardage, but we did pretty well. Going in to North Carolina State, I feel like we’re going to do the same. I feel we’ll step up to the challenge on defense, especially in the secondary.”
He also spoke about facing NC State quarterback Mike Glennon. “Darrius Morrow and I have been talking about this the whole week. It’s going to be a big game for both of us. Playing at junior college, we expect to be playing against big competition and big-time quarterbacks. Our slogan is ‘Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.’”
Coach Jones Sets Record Straight On Birmingham News Article
A Birmingham News reporter apparently took Coach Joey Jones quote out of context on Sunday. The Press-Register posted an article Monday evening concerning the misunderstanding.
The article had the quote, “We try to keep (the opponents’ score) in the 40s,” Jones said. “You’re going to get beat bad, but if you can keep them in the 40s it’s OK.”
However, as always, context is what matters. Coach Jones told the Tommy Hicks of the Press-Register, “There was a question from the audience about Savannah State getting beat 77-0 and so I made a joke and said, ‘Yeah, we try to keep ours (games against bigger schools) in the 40s and not the 70s.’ I was just making a joke obviously and everyone in the room laughed,” Jones said.
In 2011, the Jags played two FBS teams in NC State and Kent State. The Jags played the NC State Wolfpack closely before turnovers and mistakes let them finish with a 35-13 win over the Jags. Then the Jags traveled to Kent State and allowed them to take a big first half lead, but the Jags roared back in the second half by scoring 25 unanswered points and had the ball with a chance to drive the field for a chance to tie the game with a potential 2-point conversion.
In both of those games the Jags kept the score under 40 and were very competitive in both, nothing like the article suggested with the out of context quotation.
Jaguar’s Defense Improves In Second Game Of Season
Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Bill Clark works with the linebacker corps during pregame warmups prior to the Jags 9-3 win over Nicholls State.
The Jaguar defense played a very stingy game against Nicholls State on Saturday. They produced six sacks and 14 tackles for loss against the Colonels for a total loss of 60 yards. That was more like what head coach Joey Jones and defensive coordinator Bill Clark wanted to see out of the Jaguar defense.
The Jags had problems getting pressure on the quarterback and catching ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage. They only had 15 sacks and 59 tackles for loss all last season. That is only an average of 1.5 sacks per game and 5.9 tackles for loss per game.
They got a slow start against UTSA when they failed to record a sack and only managed five tackles for loss.
While the Jags didn’t have any film to review for the Colonels, they did have a plan that consisted of getting in the backfield, causing problems and making plays. And that’s what they did.
In addition to the stats mentioned above, they forced two interceptions and a fumble recovery while only allowing 118 yards of total offense. Coach Clark summed it up well after the game. “We got after the quarterback. We said that was our goal coming in. We schemed the whole week trying to get four guys coming at all times and the d-line really gave us a great push. It starts with pressure. That sure helps you out a lot.”
“We got some turnovers today, some takeaways, and we had a lot of three-and-outs,” Clark continued. “We had a tough penalty near the end and we can’t have any penalties, especially gifts like that. But sometimes when you’re playing hard and you’re running your tail off, you get some of those. We’ve just got to be smart, and for the most part I think we have. But our emotion, our energy, the way we tackled, being physical, that’s everything we preached this week. It kind of got back to being who we are. Sometimes, you have to step up. The offense is going to step up one week and we’ll step up another, but this week it was our turn and that’s what a team game is all about. It was our turn to do it and it will make us better for it.”
Jake Johnson got started early by sacking the Colonel quarterback on their third play from scrimmage. He would end the game with eight tackles , 2.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. Also Pat Moore added five tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass break-up in his first start for South Alabama. Two of his sacks came in the second half in the red zone. Anthony Taylor had two tackles for loss and a sack. Terrel Brigham and Bryson James came away with interceptions in the game.
Looking ahead to the next couple games which include away games to NC State and Mississippi State before returning to host their first-ever Sun Belt game against in-state foe Troy University then following a week off they travel to defending Sun Belt champs Arkansas State, Coach Clark had the following to say. “I think this stretch is huge. We’ve got to go in with some confidence. You’re playing people who have got some great skilled athletes and they’re well coached. That’s the elite of the elite, so we have to play. The one we’re going to this week, at the end of the year (last season) they were scoring 50 points a game. I don’t know what they’re doing right now, but we’ve got our work cut out for us. This week we’ll just focus on N.C. State and then we’ll go from there.”
Coach Jones Speaks At Over The Mountain Touchdown Club In Birmingham
On Sunday, Coach Joey Jones had a speaking event in Birmingham for the Over the Mountain Touchdown Club. When speaking about the Jags two game road trip to NC State and Mississippi State, the Jaguars will be collecting “blood money.”
Speaking about major Division I schools giving smaller teams large paychecks to play at their home stadium. “I read an article recently called ‘Blood Money,’ and that’s a good analogy,” Jones said to the Birmingham News. “You have to take a beating in those games.”
But coach Jones added that it’s the price a young program has to pay in order to build their programs. He told the attendees that the Jags will get $980,000 for their trip to Tennessee next season. He also mentioned that it helps when they are recruiting prospects when you tell them they will be traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina, Starkville Mississippi and Hawaii.
Coach Jones likes the progress the Jaguars have made. “For four years we’ve been building a program, but now we’ve got to start building a team,” Jones said. “The players we were getting at first weren’t Division I players … but now it’s completely different. The athletes we got this year and will get moving forward are D-I players. We’re a better team this year. We’re competitive and on track where we need to go.”
While the Jaguars are not eligible to win the conference championship, they will be playing a full eight game Sun Belt schedule. NC State begins a tough four game stretch over five weeks. The Jags travel to NC State then Mississippi State before returning home for their first-ever Sun Belt game when they host Troy in Mobile Alabama. Then, after an off-week, they will then travel to Arkansas State, the defending Sun Belt champions coached by former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzhan.
The Jags will be underdogs in those game, but it’s all part of the programs progress.