Jags Lose Heartbreaker On Kick As Time Expires
First year defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer talks with the defense on the sidelines at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the Jaguars season opener against Southern Utah on Thursday night.
The South Alabama Jaguars fell to Southern Utah on a 28-yard field goal by Colton Cook as time expired 22-21 Thursday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. This is the Jaguars second loss in a season opener game in the last two seasons. Similarly, Texas-San Antonio defeated the Jags on a field goal with 16-seconds remaining in the game a year ago.
The Jags started the game with two first downs in their first three plays before a pass interference penalty on Wes Saxton turned what would have been a 20-yard completion into a 3rd and 25 that the Jags could not convert. Garber’s 41-yard punt would put the Thunderbirds at their own 23 yard line to begin.
Southern Utah start quickly with a 12 play 61 yard drive to get the first points of the game on a 33 yard field goal by Colton Cook.
On the ensuing kickoff, T.J. Glover would pick up the ball after a bounce and return it down the left side for 43 yards to the Jaguar 48 yard line. JuCo transfer Cris Dinham woudl open the drive with a four yard rush before Ross Metheny would find Jereme Jones for an 11 yard completion for a first down and extending his consecutive game with a reception streak. After an incomplete pass to Saxton, Metheny would find Juco tranfer Shavarz Smith for 13 yards to the Thunderbird 20 yard line. Dinham would rush for another five yards before Jay Jones would get stopped for no gain. On Third and five at the SU 15 yard line, Metheny would get sacked by Zak Browning for a nine yard loss. Aleem Sunanon’s 41 yard field goal attempt would sail wide right.
On the first play of the Southern Utah drive Montell Garner would be flagged for pass interference with the ball being placed at the spot of the foul the Thunderbirds would have it first and 10 at their won 38 yard line. Aaron Cantu would find Alphin open and he would scamper for 54 yards to the Jaguar 8 yard line. After a Thunderbird time out, RaySean Martin would run on back-to-back plays for 7 yards and one yard to score the touchdown to put the Thunderbirds ahead 10-0 with 1:16 left in the first quarter.
The Jags would get one first down on their next drive before being forced to punt. The Thunderbird returner would call for a fair catch at their own 11 yard line.
The Jags would hold SU to a three-and-out giving the Jags great field position at the SU 43 after a 30 yard punt by Brock Miller.
Brandon Bridge would take over at quarterback for the second quarter. The drive would open with an 11 yard rush by Jay Jones followed by a 12 yard run by Bridge to move the ball down to the SU 20 yard line. After two incomplete passes to Saxton and Rush Hendrix, the Jags would call a time out. Bridge would run for 1 yard on 3rd and 10 then Coach Jones would opt for a 37 yard field goal attempt by Sunanon which was blocked. Very frustratingly Chris May would be flagged for an personal foul tacking on another 15 yards to give the Thunderbirds great field position at their 44 yard line.
Cantu would complete a 12 yard pass to the Jaguar 38 yard line to convert on 3rd and 4. But on the next play Cantu would be sacked and he would fumble the ball and inadvertently kicked down the field that Southern Utah would eventually recover after a 27 yard loss to face 2nd and 37 from their own 35 yard line. THeir situation would be complicated further after a false start backed them up five more yards for 2nd and 42 at their own 30 yard line. After a loss of two and a gain of one on back-to-back rushes, the Thunderbirds would be forced to punt on 4th and 43 from their own 29 yard line.
South Alabama would begin their drive at their won 28 yard line after the 43 yard punt is downed by T.J. Glover. Bridge would complete a pass to Dinham for four yards before handing it off to him again for one yard. On 3rd and 5, Bridge would find Danny Woodson Jr for 10 yards out to the USA 43. Bridge would run for four yards on first down before connecting with Smith for 13 yards to the SU 40 yard line. Bridge would take the snap and take off for a 40 yard touchdown to put the Jags on the board but still trailing the Thunderbirds 10-7 with 4:37 left in the first half.
The second half would begin the same as the first half for the Thunderbirds. After the Jags stopped SU on third down to force a 4th and 2, a fake punt would net 26 yards and a first down at the Jaguar 28 for the Thunderbirds. The Jags would hold again but Cook would connect on a 37 yard field goal to extend their lead to 13-7 at the 11:15 mark in the 3rd quarter.
The Jags would respond on their ensuing possession with Jay Jones opening with a 9 yard rush out to the USA 36 yard line. Two plays later, Jones would run up the middle for 57 yards to the SU 4 yard line before being caught. Kendall Houston would run for three yards and no gain on back-to-back carries. SU would call a time out before Randon Carnathan would get a carry into the end zone. After the time out facing 3rd and goal at the 1, Rush Hendrix would be called for a false start to back them up to the 6 yard line. Metheny would find Jereme Jones on a slant for a six yard touchdown. The point after would put the Jags up 14-13 with 7:38 left in the quarter.
A roughing the passer on the touchdown play would put the kickoff at the 50, but Hendrix would be flagged for an off-sides on the kickoff. The rekick from the USA 45 would be fair caught at the Thunderbird 11 to give them worse field position.
The Jaguar defense would force SU to go three-and-out in back-to-back possessions. The Jags would begin their drive at the USA 36 with 1:23 left in the third quarter. Dinham would run on three-consecutive plays for 4, 8 and -1 yards respectively. Metheny would find Woodson open for a 33 yard gain down to the SU 20 yard line before being forced out of bounds. Two plays later Metheny would find Woodson again for a 20 yard touchdown down the left sideline to put the Jaguars up 21-13 with 14:47 left in the game.
The game would be a bit of a stalemate until close to midway through the quarter. On 3rd and 9 at their own 23 yard line, Bridge’s pass intended for Hendrix would be intercepted at the USA 43 yard line.
SU would capitalize on the mistake. After a 7-yard sack on Cantu by Maleki Harris, Cantu would find Griff McNabb open for a 44 yard gain to the Jaguar 6 yard line. Three plays later Cantu would find an open receiver for the touchdown. Their two-point conversion attempt would fall incomplete to leave the Jaguars up 21-19.
The Jags would go three-and-out on the next possession giving the Thunderbirds the ball with 4:43 left in the game.
Martin would rush for 6 then 9 yards on back-to-back carries out to the 50 yard line. They would steadily match down the field with a big 16 yard pass completion to put them at the Jaguar 27 yard line. The Jags would take a time out with 42 seconds left with the ball at the Jag 22. Malik Brown would rush for 13 yards to the Jaguar 9 yard line. After a two yard loss the Thunderbirds would let the clock run down before taking a timeout with 2 seconds left in the game. Cook would connected on the 28 yard field goal to end the game. Southern Utah 22 – USA 21.
The Jags would end the game with 16 first down to SU’s 14. Offensively the Jags put up 335 yards of total offense with 187 coming on the ground and 148 through the air. The Jags were 5-of-14 on third down.
The Jags defense allowed 317 total yards of offense with 183 yards passing and 134 yards rushing. SU converted five of their 15 third downs.
Jay Jones would lead the rushing attack with 92 yards on 9 carries. Bridge would add 60 yards on 7 carries, Dinham had 22 yards on 7 carries, Houston 17 yards on five carries, Metheny had 11 yards on three carries adn Valentin had one yard on 3 carries.
Shavarez Smith and Jereme Jones both caught five passes for 52 and 26 yards respectively with Jones getting the only touchdown of the two. Woodson would catch three for 63 yards and a touchdown. Five other Jags would catch a pass in the game.
Ross Metheny would go 12-of-17 for 112 yards and two touchdowns and a sack. Bridge would finish 6-of-11 for 36 yards and an interception.
Southern Utah’s Raysean Martin would rush for 110 yards on 23 carries for a game high. Cantu went 13-of-24 for 183 yards and a touchdown with three sacks. McNabb and Norris would catch 4 passes each for 77 and 20 yards respectively to highlight the receiving corps for SU.
“I want to congratulate Southern Utah for winning the ballgame,” said head coach Joey Jones. “We didn’t have a ton of mistakes, but they made the plays in the fourth quarter when they had to and ended up beating us. My hat’s off to them.”
“It’s a big disappointment. Any time you lose it’s a disappointment,” Jones said. “There’s nothing I can say in there to make them or myself feel any better. We lost a very important ballgame tonight. We’re a better team, but we have to look at ourselves and evaluate what we’re doing. We’re going to have to win some close games to have a good year, and that was one we let slip by.”
“We’re a better football team than that,” Ross Metheny stated. “We’re going to put a better product on the field, and like I said, we’ll just go back and learn. There’s two things we can do with this, we can either use it, learn from it and go forward, or we can tuck our tails and not benefit from it. I promise you that number two is not an option.”
The Jags will next play on the road in New Orleans against Tulane on Saturday, September 7 at 2:30pm in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
USA Gameday Is Finally Here
As the dawn of a new football season is finally upon us the fan, players and coaches are all excited to finally get it underway. The excitement is fueled by South Alabama finally becoming full FBS and Sun Belt members and with that eligibility for a conference championship and a bowl game berth. But lets not put the cart before the horse just yet.
In four seasons of football the Jags are 25-15, including the 2-11 season last year. They were challenged and played some very good teams down to the wire. With the motivation to do better than last season and the carrot on a string that is a possible conference championship and bowl game, this team is high motivated to prove something.
“Going through last season prepared us for this season. There’s no doubt about that. There are certain experiences in life that you just have to go through to be great at anything,” head coach Joey Jones explained. “We went through a season last year where we decided to play Division I football while being a FCS team. It really helped us in the long run.”
The Jags first opponent is Southern Utah Thunderbirds, which will not be a push-over. They also employ the no-huddle spread-style offense which normally means that they have the ability to turn up the tempo as well. Their defense is physical and disciplined.
SUU finished the season with a 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference. They return 38 letterwinners including 13 starters but were selected to finish 9th our of 13 schools in the conference in preseason polls. They will enter the game with an inexperienced backfield. Aaron Cantu is a JuCo transfer that is slated to start at quarterback with freshmen Raysean Martin, Pete Williams, Christian Taele and Toa Afatasi at running back. They return three starters at wide receiver including all-conference pick Fatu Moala who caught 65 passes for 810 yards last season with nine touchdowns.
Defensively, the Thunderbirds returns a linebacker who ranked eighth in FCS with 11.5 tackles per game with 116 tackles for his freshman season in Zak Browning. Miles Killebrew returns after recording 69 tackles and is one of four returning starters in the secondary. James Cowser returns on the defensive line for the Thunderbirds after posting 64 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks last season.
“Defensively is where they really shine in my opinion,” Jones commented. “They just get after you. They play really good technique, and they are strong and physical guys who aren’t going to give you anything. They’re very well-coached, and they do things the right way.”
Football.Com Article On The Jaguars
The Jaguars were featured in a post on Football.com on Friday of last week. The article titled “The Fastest Team in College Football” covered the teams quick rise from nothing to FBS play in just five short years, faster than any other program in college football.
They highlight the area’s close ties with the University of Alabama with coach Jones, Sherman Williams, D.J. Fluker and A.J. McCarron as well as other college football players that have come out of Mobile such as JaMarcus Russell (excluding his NFL career) and other sports.
Go give it a read, it’s a good article and speaks highly of the Jags.
USA Releases Depth Chart For Southern Utah
The University of South Alabama released a depth chart ahead of the Jaguars first game of the season when they host Southern Utah at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Thursday at 6:30pm.
Offense (Multiple – Spread)
No surprises on the offensive line with the two-deep list. For once, the Jags will actually be two deep at each position on the offensive line.
Offensive line:
LT: Ucambre Williams (6-3, 290, Jr., Phenix City, Ala.)
Darius McKeller (6-6, 325, Jr., Jonesboro, Ga.)
LG: Drew Dearman (6-3, 310, Jr., Vestavia Hills, Ala.)
Shane Doty (6-4, 290, Jr., Annandale, Va.)
C: Matt Calcagnini (6-1, 290, Sr., Naples, Fla.)
Joseph Scelfo (6-1, 290, R-Fr., Bogart, Ga.)
RG: Shaun Artz (6-5, 295, Jr., Buford, Ga.)
Steven Foster (6-4, 310, R-Fr., Demopolis, Ala.)
RT: Chris May (6-5, 290, So., Tuscumbia, Ala.)
Daniel Aust (6-2, 280, R-Fr., Hoover, Ala.)
Receivers
Z: Shavarez Smith (6-1, 200, Jr., Fayetteville, N.C.)
Corey Waldon (5-10, 175, Sr., Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
X: Bryant Lavender (6-0, 190, Sr., Gulfport, Miss.)
Danny Woodson (6-1, 210, So., Mobile, Ala.)
A: Jeremé Jones (5-8, 165, Jr., Mobile, Ala.)
T.J. Glover (5-9, 170, Jr., Tampa, Fla.)
TE: Wes Saxton (6-4, 240, Jr., Hueytown, Ala.)
Rush Hendricks (6-3, 235, Jr., Jay, Fla.)
Davin Hawkins (6-2, 230, Jr., Gadsden, Ala.)
Backfield:
RB: Jay Jones (5-9, 190, Jr., Horn Lake, Miss.)
Cris Dinham (5-10, 205, Jr., Lithonia, Ga.)
Kendall Houston (5-10, 220, Jr., Mobile, Ala.)
QB: Ross Metheny (6-3, 205, Sr., Stephens City, Va.)
Brandon Bridge (6-5, 220, Jr., Mississauga, Ontario)
Trey Fetner (6-0, 225, So., Woodland, Ala.)
Defense (3-4 Multiple)
The defense is led by the front with the linemen and linebackers.
DT: Romelle Jones (6-2, 280, Sr., New Orleans, La.)
Jerome McClain (6-3, 275, Jr., Pensacola, Fla.)
NT: Jesse Kelley (5-10, 270, Jr., Birmingham, Ala.)
Randon Carnathan (6-1, 305, Sr., Leeds, Ala.)
Montavious Williams (6-2, 280, Sr., Cairo, Ga.)
DE: Alex Page (6-1, 235, Sr., Prattville, Ala.)
Ceasare Johnson (6-5, 275, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.)
Jack: Pat Moore (6-3, 260, Sr., Southaven, Miss.)
Theo Rich (6-2, 270, Jr., Portal, Ga.)
Sam: Maleki Harris (6-1, 210, Jr., Cordova, Ala.)
Clifton Crews (6-3, 225, Sr., Atlanta, Ga.)
Mike: Enrique Williams (6-0, 235, Sr., Mobile, Ala.)
Bryson James (6-2, 235, Sr., New Orleans, La.)
Desmond LaVelle (5-11, 235, Jr., Decatur, Ala.)
The secondary has a slight surprise. As mentioned in the Joey Jones Radio Show, Tyrell Pearson is not on the two-deep depth chart because he has been suspended for the first game of the season for a violation of team rules.
CB: Qudarius Ford (5-8, 170, Jr., Cantonment, Fla.)
Anthony Harris (6-1, 190, Jr., Miami, Fla.)
FS: Terrell Brigham (6-0, 190, Jr., Waynesboro, Ga.)
Steffon Fuller (6-4, 190, Jr., Scooba, Miss.)
SS: Charles Watson (6-1, 200, Sr., Tylertown, Miss.)
Steven Fuller (6-4, 190, Jr., Scooba, Miss.)
Nickle: E.J. May (5-10, 180, So., Mobile, Ala.)
Antonio Carter (5-8, 185, So., Columbus, Ga.)
CB: Montell Garner (6-1, 185, Jr., Euless, Texas)
Darrius Morrow (5-10, 170, Sr., Memphis, Tenn)
Special teams does not have any surprises but may be subject to change. In his radio show, Coach Jones noted that Sunanon has been doing well with kickoffs as well as field goals. But in the two-deep they still have McKee as the kickoff specialist.
FG:
Aleem Sunanon (5-7, 185, R-Fr., Orlando, Fla.)
Brandon McKee (6-1, 175, Fr., Cumming, Ga.)
KO:
Brandon McKee (6-1, 175, Fr., Cumming, Ga.)
Logan Gunn (6-3, 160, R-Fr., Chatom, Ala.)
P:
Scott Garber (5-9, 195, Sr., Port St. Lucie, Fla.)
Brandon McKee (6-1, 175, Fr., Cumming, Ga.)
LS:
Austin Cole (6-4, 215, Jr., Dallas, Ga.)
Nick Bear (5-11, 220, Sr., Lakewood, Calif.)
Holder:
Scott Garber (5-9, 195, Sr., Port St. Lucie, Fla.)
Trey Fetner (6-0, 225, So., Woodland, Ala.)
KR:
Shavarez Smith (6-1, 200, Jr., Fayetteville, N.C.)
T.J. Glover (5-9, 170, Jr., Tampa, Fla.)
Jeremé Jones (5-8, 165, Jr., Mobile, Ala.)
Terrance Timmons (5-7, 180, So., Theodore, Ala.)
PR:
T.J. Glover (5-9, 170, Jr., Tampa, Fla.)
Jeremé Jones (5-8, 165, Jr., Mobile, Ala.)
See you out at Ladd-Peebles tomorrow evening to support the Jags!
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 08-27-2013
Head coach Joey Jones and host Lee Shirvanian were joined by first year defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer. For the sixth year the show is aired from Baumhower’s Restaurant on Airport Boulevard in Mobile.
Lee started by turning over an open-ended question to Coach Jones to fill in the blank however he saw fit. Coach began with “We are a much improved football team,” which man fans will be excited to hear and eager to see on Thursday night. Coach said that, after last season looking ahead to this year, he thinks the team is better than he thought they would be after last season. Though, he mentioned that he probably should not say that, but coach Jones wanted to give an honest opinion of the team.
Jones pointed out that they have lots of guys who have “come through for them” and they have a senior class that has a lot of experience and maturity.
Lee turned to scheduling after Bo Bishop from Baumhower’s came on to promote their specials and mentioned Georgia and how the Jags will not be facing the Bulldogs next season. Coach Jones said scheduling is really driven by TV in the SEC and he did not understand the problem, but something necessitated moving the Jags game versus Georgia and the way it shook out was Troy now plays them and South Alabama will travel to Columbia, South Carolina to play the South Carolina Gamecocks instead. Either way, both of those teams are a top-10 teams.
The first caller mentioned the many drives to raise money for the school and facilities. He asked if there were any drives for money to improve facilities on campus and if not will there be. But the underlying question that has been asked over and over again, but was not voiced in the call is about fundraising for an On-Campus Stadium. Coach Jones said he did not know the answer to that, but he answered the unspoken question about the stadium by saying that one day South Alabama will have an on-campus stadium, but that he did not know when that would happen.
The caller followed up with by saying that he hopes the University will put something in place so the community can rally behind the plan and help move forward the plans to build an on-campus stadium.
Three Days Till Kickoff Of 2013 Season
Head coach Joey Jones speaks with sideline reporter Pat Greenwood heading into halftime against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, November 17, 2012.
The University of South Alabama football team is just three days away from kicking off the 2013 season, the fifth of the programs history and the first as a full FBS member.
The Jaguars met with the media for their weekly press conference and both the coaches and players shared their excitement for the rapidly approaching season. After about 26 practices with only themselves as their opponent, they are ready for a new challenge. Starting quarterback Ross Metheny told AL.com, “We’re excited to finally go up against somebody other than ourselves. We’ve been hitting each other for a long time. It’s crazy to think about how many hours and how much work we put in all year round all for 12 days in the fall. If you look at it that way, you have to really love the game.”
Qudarius Ford added, “We’re excited about this Thursday. We’re excited about the challenge. We know Southern Utah is going to come in here and be ready to play. We know they play physical. We’re ready for the challenge. From last year to this year I’ve seen a big difference in the team chemistry and we’ll be ready to play ball on Thursday.”
The Jags had a tough season last year as they went 2-11. However the team kept their composure and was competitive in almost every game. Though they were not eligible, they went ahead and played a full Sun Belt Conference schedule in anticipation of this season. Coach Jones knew it would be a tough season last year, but knew it would help prepare his team for the toughest schedule yet for the program this season.
“Going through last season has prepared us for this season, there’s no doubt about that,” head coach Joey Jones said to AL.com. “I think experiences in life, there are certain ones you just have to go through to be great at anything and we went through a season last year where we decided to play Division I football while being a FCS team. It really helped us in the long run.”
“Our kids are excited. They’re excited about the possibilities that we can go to a bowl game and the possibility that we can win a conference championship, and we haven’t had that in the last four years. Dangling that carrot out there certainly makes a difference in the motivation of our players.”
“I know one thing, we’re a lot better football team than we were last year,” said Jones when asked for a season prediction by AL.com. “I can say that. How that translates into wins, I don’t know. But I know we’re better and our leadership is not necessarily better but we have more of it. We have 28 seniors. I see a difference in our ball team this year, I really do. I see a calmness and a confidence that we haven’t had.”
“Stepping into Division I last year, I think we were a little starry-eyed, and maybe as coaches we were. We just didn’t know what to expect to go play Arkansas State and to go play Mississippi State and N.C. State and those people. You just didn’t really know. This year, our kids have been through it, our coaches have been through it. We’re looking for big things. We have lofty goals and we’re always going to have those no matter where we are in our program.”
They will be looking to start the season off on a better note that last season. They originally scheduled to start the season on Thursday night against Texas-San Antonio, but bad weather forced the postponement until Saturday in which the Jags lost a close one on a field goal. That was the first and only season opener the Jags have lost in four seasons at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Coach Jones and his team will look to run that record to 4-1 in season openers at home on Thursday.
The Jaguars and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds kickoff at 6:30pm on Thursday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The weather will cooperate this season as Thursday looks to be mostly sunny with a high of 93 and a low of 67. You couldn’t ask for better weather to start the football season in August.
Go Jags!
Joey Jones TV Show Returns This Week
The Joey Jones TV Show will begin recording on Wednesday at 11am at Mugshots on Airport Blvd beginning tomorrow. The show will be recorded and aired weekly.
Since the season begins on a Thursday, this week’s episode will air on Wednesday evening at 6:30pm on UTV44. It will then begin airing on Saturday morning at 10:30AM on UTV44.
Tune in or set your DVR’s for the TV show and watch the previews of each week’s game and a review of the previous game with head coach Joey Jones and Pat Greenwood.
If you have time at lunch, join them for the live recording at Mugshots too!
Know Your Opponent: Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Southern Utah has gone 6-5, 6-5 and 5-6 over the last three seasons under head coach Ed Lamb. They left the Great West Conference for the Big Sky Conference for last season.
SUU has to replace a record-breaking quarterback who threw for almost 9,500 yards and 61 touchdowns during his three seasons with the Thunderbirds. His replacement, Aaron Cantu, comes from East Los Angeles College. While Cantu takes over the offense he will have an experienced defense as the offense reorganizes and develops.
The SUU returns all of their starters in the secondary plus three linebackers that are projected to be among the best in the Big Sky Conference including their leading tackler from last year, Zak Browning, who collected 115 tackles last season. They return from a defense that allowed an average of 30.3 points per game, but their defense was tied for third in the FCS ranks nationally with 16 fumble recoveries. They returned two of them for touchdowns.
SUU returns 6 on the defense and 7 on the offense and two special teams players.
The Thunderbird offense averaged 85.8 yards per game rushing and 285.4 yards per game passing for an average of 371.2 yards per game of total offense. They averaged 61.1 yards per game of penalties with 28.5 points per game.
Defensively they average 30.3 points per game and 424 yards per game of total defense. That breaks down to 162.5 yards per game rushing and 261.5 yards per game passing.
Offensively they had slow starts as they got outscored 70-37 in the first quarter then were fairly even the remainder of the game as they slightly outscored their opponents 276-263.
They will probably continue the same offensive attack and will be a good tuneup for the South Alabama defense. The Jags secondary was their weakest unit last season and was one of the positions with the most off-season focus. This game could show how improved the secondary is this season.
However, the first game of the season is really an unknown as you just never know what your opponent will come out with scheme wise. The Thunderbirds added a JuCo quarterback with some freshmen running backs and a senior offensive line and experience receivers. While on defense they are known for playing with great technique and not getting caught out of position.
The Jags is a 19.5 point favorite in this game.
Now we just have to wait until Thursday for the 6:30pm kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Go Jags.
7 Days Till Kickoff
We are now one week out from the Jags first game of the 2013 season. They will kick off the 2013 campaign against Southern Utah at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 6:30pm on Thursday, August 29.
You have a chance to meet the team and get memorabilia autographed by coaches and players on Sunday, August 25 at the Mitchell Center from 4-6pm.
Thunderjags wants to hear from you. Comment and tell us what your plans are for the first game of the season? Will you be out there tailgating? Will you be going directly to the stadium after work?
Jags Scheduled To Travel To South Carolina In 2014
The 2014 SEC schedules were released today and there was a surprise for South Alabama fans. Originally the Jags were scheduled to play against the University of Georgia in Athens, but it seems a shuffling of schedules occured between the announcement of the game and the actual schedule being released.
Georgia’s schedule now has Troy going to Athens on September 13, 2014 and the Jags going to Columbia, South Carolina on November 22, 2014 to face the Gamecocks. Originally Troy was scheduled to play South Carolina. Some sort of scheduling problem must have occurred at the SEC office causing the shuffling of schedules but the Jags will still come out with an SEC opponent and presumably a hefty payday for travel.
In 2014, the Jags also play non-conference games at Kent State for their third and final game of their two-for-one contract, at home against Mississippi State for the second game of their two-for-one contract and also host Navy for the final game of their home-and-home series.
Fans who were planning on going to the Georgia game now have a longer commute if they want to see the Jags against another SEC foe, but the upside will be that South Carolina will not have Jadeveon Clowny on their roster then. Just as a reminder, look at the hit he put on Michigan in their bowl game in January: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/1/1/3825442/jadeveon-clowney-dot-gif