Jags Dominated By Memphis 42-6
The cat fight turned out to be a one-sided event as the Memphis Tigers (3-0) dominated all phases of the game against South Alabama (1-2) at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday.
USA looked to have made big strides leading into this season as they pressed Nebraska hard in a 35-21 loss in Lincoln to open the season, then a program record 413 yards rushing last week against Jackson State. But Memphis, from the American Athletic Conference, showed the Jags that they had not progressed as much as they may have thought, at least on September 14th.
The Jags were staring squarely at being shut out at home for the first time in program history, but a big play touchdown near midway through the fourth quarter saved the team from that fate. But they did suffer their worst home loss in program history to a non-Power 5 conference team.
Both teams opened the game with three-and-outs on offense, but Memphis eventually got their offense going as Kenneth Gainwell scored on a 5-yard run with 7:21 left in the first quarter. Kylan Watkins dove for an 18-yard touchdown pass from Brady White to make it 14-0 at the 14:18 mark in the second quarter.
Later in the second quarter after a big run by Watkins, the Tigers scored on a 4th and goal when White found Kedarian Jones for a 2-yard touchdown pass taking a 20-0 lead after the 2pt attempt on the swinging gate formation.
The Tigers added a 36-yard field goal with :39 left in the second quarter to close out the first half leading 23-0.
Of the eight first-half possessions by the Jaguars offense, six of them ended with punts. One ended by a fumble by Cephus Johnson and halftime ended the other.
The Tigers out gained the Jags in the first half 327 – 93. They out rushed the Jags 245 – 55.
Tra Minter left the game late in the first quarter after a vicious hit on an 8-yard jet sweep left him laying motionless for a couple minutes before he was helped off the field by the athletic trainers and visibly woozy. He will be in the concussion protocol this week and will have to clear that before he can be cleared to play again for the Jags.
Memphis opened the second half with a quick score that was sparked by a big play when safety DJ Daniels tipped a pass that fell right into tight end Joey Magnifico’s hands that went for 58 yards to the 4 yard line. White then connected with Antonio Gibson for the touchdown to take a 30-0 lead.
Memphis added a field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 33-0 lead with 13:10 left in the game.
On the ensuing drive Tylan Morton ran for a 7-yard gain, but fumbled the ball and Austin Hall picked it up and returned it 48 yards for another Memphis touchdown making it 40-0 with 11:18 left in the game.
The Jags got the ball back and on the second play Morton connected with Kawaan Baker on an inside slant play which turned into a 74 yard touchdown. However on the PAT snap was bobbled and in an attempt to make a play, the ball was fumbled and Jacobi Francis took it the distance for 2-points for Memphis closing out the scoring at 42-6.
The Jags were held to 248 total yards of offense while Memphis rolled up 530 total yards. The Jags rushed for only 101 yards in the game compared to 312 for the Tigers and the Jags only managed 147 yards passing to 218 by the Tigers.
USA only converted 5 of 15 3rd down attempted, but Memphis only converted 7 of 15 attempts.
I guess the positive point in the game was the Jags were only flagged three times for 30 yards. Memphis was flagged 10 times for 100 yards.
Cephus Johnson was a mere 5-for-14 for 42 yards before he was pulled midway through the third quarter. Tylan Morton was 4-for-12 for 105 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Johnson led the Jags with 37 rushing yards on 14 carries, followed by Jared Wilson who had 28 yards on 10 carries.
Jalen Tolbert caught four passes for 37 yards. Kawaan Baker caught two passes for 84 yards and the lone Jaguar touchdown.
Brady White went 12-for-20 for 209 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Connor Adair completed both of the throwing attempted for 9 yards.
The Tigers had a pair of runners go over the century mark with Kenneth Gainwell rushing for 145 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Kylan Watkins added 113 yards on 11 carries.
Damonte Coxie caught three passes for 81 yards to lead the Tigers receiving corps.
The Jags visibly struggled at the line of scrimmage, which Jaguar head football coach Steve Campbell noted in his post game comments. “We had a hard time running the ball and we had a hard time stopping the run,” Campbell said. “If you aren’t able to run the ball, you become one dimensional on offense. We had a chance to hit a play or two early and we didn’t, so all they did was tighten up defensively, and we struggled to run the ball. Memphis rushed the ball for 312 yards and we were only able to rush it for 101 yards and most of that I believe came in the fourth quarter. We got beat on the line of scrimmage.”
Campbell also noted the loss of Minter in the game. “It hurt because we are a young football team,” he said. “Tra is someone we look to for a lot of leadership on offense. Jared {Wilson] stepped up for us a little bit, but it hurt to lose Tra because he does a lot for us.”
South Alabama will travel to Birmingham for the first game of a home-and-home series between the two programs and the Jags final non-conference game of the season. UAB is coached former South Alabama defensive coordinator Bill Clark. He is joined by former Jaguar offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent as well as former assistant coach Richard Owens.
The Jags and the Blazers are set for a 2:30pm kickoff at Legion Field. The game will be televised on the NFL Network. Radio coverage can be heard on 99.5 The Jag locally in Mobile and on the iHeartMedia app.