What We’ve Learned So Far This Season
With the breaking news that the South Alabama game against Troy in the annual ‘Battle for the Belt’ has been postponed due to Covid-19 concerns, now it a good time to look back on what we’ve learned about the Jags through three games.
First we’ve learned that we all have to stay vigilant in the face of Covid. No matter what you think about the virus itself, an outbreak on the team can and will disrupt the season. With the Troy game postponement, the first opportunity for both teams to face off, based on their current schedules, would be December 12. The date of the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
The South Alabama Jaguar football (1-2) team closed our their home-and-home series with UAB (2-1) with a second 32-point loss. Not the showing you want against a peer in-state opponent, especially when you get outscored in the two games by a combined score of 77-13.
Looking at it through red, white and blue glasses you can point to the fact that the Jags scored more points this time around and they stayed in the game longer than too.
But a loss is a loss. UAB still bested us by 32 points both times (35-3 last year, 42-10 this year).
There’s seems to be a pattern that we can identify. The Jags come out of the gate in the first game of the season with fire. In 2018 they lost a close game to Louisiana Tech at home 30-26 before going on the road to Oklahoma State and getting blown out 55-13 then the season goes downhill from there.
In 2019, they traveled to Nebraska and gave the Cornhuskers a bit of a fright in a game that was closer than the 35-21 final score indicates. They then came home and defeated FCS Jackson State 37-14 before the debacle that was Memphis (42-6 and the infamous PAT) which started the nine-game losing streak.
After the season-ending win over Arkansas State and the season-opening win over Southern Miss, you started to think that ‘Maybe the Jags have finally turned the corner.’
That thinking continued into the second half against Tulane before the 21 unanswered points that was the remainder of the second half.
Then the blip of offense that was the UAB game that provided us with the 10 points in the second quarter and clawed the Jags to within four points of the Blazers. But that was short lived and the Blazers cruised to victory from that point on.
So what have we learned from the UAB game and the season so far?
Offensive Line
The Jags offensive line still has lots of work to do. They struggled to protect Chance Lovertich the entire game and the rushing game struggled overall too.
The Jags had 0 passing yards and only 28 yards of offense in the first quarter.
Actually both lines suffered. The defensive line couldn’t get any rush on redshirt quarterback Bryson Lucero the entire game and they had problems stopping Spencer Brown consistently.
Without a pass rush, the Blazers were able to torch the secondary through the air. It all started with the 56 yard bomb on their first offensive play to set the tone for the game. When you have single coverage in the secondary with no pass rush, well you see what happens.
Third down efficiency
South Alabama was 3-of-12 on third down conversion attempts. Again this stat is reminiscent of the last two seasons.
But the third down scenarios were somewhat self inflicted.
The offense often found themselves behind schedule with poor first down play selection and execution. In the first quarter, on the five 1st down plays the Jags offense had the results were: 2 yard rush, incomplete pass, -2 yard rush, incomplete pass, 0 yard rush.
So five plays and a net of zero yards of offense.
Of the three 3rd downs they faced in the first quarter, the Jags shortest attempt was a 3rd & 8. That just makes a defensive coordinator smile when they can consistently get an offensive into those situations. I mean, give me that all day in NCAA Football (yes, I still play it occasionally RIP) or Madden (this is speculation, I haven’t played Madden in many years).
Distractions
So the Jags blew an 18-point lead against Tulane to lose the opener at Hancock Whitney Stadium. I don’t know if that carried over into the UAB game, but even in pregame warmups everything felt off. The team and even the fans were flat.
If we’re being honest here, it’s been a while since the fans have been fired up for more than one or two games a season. The opening of Hancock Whitney Stadium is one of those occasions this year. Troy is typically another one.
Granted the previous week saw the area take a hit from a hurricane and people were recovering from it. The university had class cancellations and the football team missed some practice time. But they had two weeks to prepare so I wouldn’t think the missed time was that much of a difference maker.
The major factor is getting the team back up after a loss. Especially one like the one to Tulane.
They have an extra week to attempt to get over UAB now that the November 3rd ‘Battle for the Belt’ has been postponed.
Despite Troy traveling across the continental United States to play BYU, any fan of these two schools know they were going to be ready for their first trip to Hancock Whitney Stadium. They were relishing the opportunity to get a win on their first opportunity in the new venue.
Offensive playcalling
The play calling in the first six quarters of the season was pretty good. I don’t think anyone would say a lot of negative things about the playcalling against Southern Miss or the first half against Tulane either.
The Jags moved the ball, scored points, and generally looked good.
But things changed in second half of the Tulane game. The offensive line started getting pushed around by the Green Wave defense. Jaguar quarterbacks started getting more pressure applied.
Lovertich, and Desmond Trotter in what snaps he got before reinjuring his shoulder, started having to move around and get rid of the ball quicker.
It seemed that the Jaguar coaching staff were determined to run the ball against UAB from the start. It didn’t go very well. Even with 6 or 7 in the box, the Jags stuck with the run.
Yes Carlos Davis would occasionally bust one outside and get a big run, but overall it just wasn’t as effective.
The South Alabama players and coaching staff had two weeks to prepare for UAB. Now they have two weeks to prepare for Texas State.
That is whenever they can resume workouts after the Covid-19 pause.
South Alabama Without Answers In 42-10 Loss To UAB
The South Alabama Jaguars (1-2) just did not have an answer for the UAB Blazers (2-1) as they fall in their second game in Hancock Whitney Stadium 42-10.
The redshirt freshman Bryson Lucero, in his first start as a Blazer, opened the game with a 56-yard bomb to Austin Watkins Jr on the first offensive play from scrimmage and set the tone for how the next four quarters of football was going to be played. Three Spencer Brown rushes later and UAB Blazer would put the first points on the scoreboard.
The next Blazer possession would showcase Brown’s running ability with seven total runs and the last five for his second touchdown of the game to go up 14-0 with 5:26 left in the opening quarter.
South Alabama opened the 2nd quarter facing a 3rd and 7 at their own 33 but Chance Lovertich would finally get the Jaguar offense in gear with a 29 yard completion to Jalen Wayne followed two plays later with a 38 yard completion to Jalen Tolbert for a touchdown. On the play, Antonio Moultrie would be flagged for a hit to the head and disqualified from the game. With the point-after, the Jags halved the Blazer lead to 14-7.
With the 15-yard penalty assessed on the kickoff, Diego Guajardo would tee up the ball on the 50 yard line. A sneaky onsides kick would be recovered by Devin Voisin and the Jags were back in business again on the UAB 43 yard line.
Lovertich connected with Kawaan Baker for 14 yards and a first down, but a roughing the passer penalty added an addition 14 yards to the 13 yard line. However the Blazer rush defense shut down the Jags with back-to-back runs for no gain. Guajardo would put through a 31 yard field goal to cut the Blazer lead to 14-10.
From there, it was all Blazers.
UAB responded on their next possession with Lucero finding Watkins Jr for another 39 yards on 3rd and 10 to extend the drive. Spencer Brown capped off the drive with a 20 yard touchdown run.
The Blazers would add another touchdown with 3:20 left in the half and would take a 28-10 advantage to the locker room at halftime. After Guajardo missed a field goal wide right, Lucero would toss up another deep pass this time to Myron Mitchell for 52 yards then he would connect with Trea Shropshire for the score.
UAB wouldn’t score again until about midway through the fourth quarter.
On the Blazers final scoring drive, true freshman Dewayne McBride gashed the Jaguar defense for 53 yards on 5 carries to carry UAB into the end zone.
Chance Lovertich went 14-of-29 for 168 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his first start.
Kawaan Baker led the Jags with five catches for 35 yards. Jalen Tolbert caught three passes for 59 yards and a score.
Carlos Davis led the rushing attack for the Jags with 105 yards on 17 carries.
Nick Mobley led the defense with 9 total tackles, 4 solo. Riley Cole was the only Jag to record a sack, with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Bryson Lucero went 18-of-28 for 319 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate start as a redshirt freshman.
Watkins Jr led the way with seven catches for 183 yards and a touchdown. Myron Mitchell added three catches for 77 yards. Trea Shropsire caught two passes for 8 yards and the other touchdown.
Spencer Brown carried the ball 20 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns, and set the new career touchdown record for a running back in the process.
McBride carried the ball 8 times for 64 yards and a touchdown.
In all, the Jaguar offense was outgained 509 to 315 yards and out-rushed 319 to 168.
The Jaguars cleaned up their act some with only two penalties for 30 yards in the game. The Blazers were flagged 11 times for 122 yards and had two players ejected in the game.
Head coach Bill Clark threw some shade at coach Campbell and the Jags leading up to the game. “Their coach said that they are going to be ready for us,” Clark said. “I heard him say that last year.”
However Clark and his Blazers backed up their talk with play on the field, even if the penalties and ejections marred it somewhat.
South Alabama was on the losing end of the time-of-possession 25:00 to 35:00. In addition the Jags only convert 3-of-12 on 3rd down. While the Blazers converted 10-of-16 3rd down attempts, it sure seemed like much more than that.
“It’s very disappointing,” Campbell said after the game. “I thought we would play better than that. We had a hard time getting off the field early defensively, and offensively had trouble moving the ball there for a while. In the second half, we couldn’t generate any offense. It’s just disappointing.”
“We didn’t coach well, we didn’t play well,” Campbell said. “We played better than that the first two weeks, but we didn’t play well tonight.”
“This is indicative of how we practices the last two weeks,” UAB head coach Bill Clark said. “Our guys were on a mission to come back and play who we are. Proud of our guys, that was a team effort.”
South Alabama has a lot to work on over the next week to prepare for in-state rival Troy to open Sun Belt Conference play. Troy will travel to #18 BYU on Saturday for a 9:15pm CDT kickoff before returning home to begin their preparation for the Jags.
The Jags and the Trojans will kick off at 7:00 pm CDT on Saturday, November 3 at Hancock Whitney Stadium and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
Preview: UAB At South Alabama
Kickoff: 6:30 pm CDT Thursday, September 24th
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium
Television: ESPN2
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag, 96.1 FM The Rocket, iHeartRadio App
The South Alabama Jaguars now have two games under their belt for the 2020 season. They upset Southern Miss to open the season in Hattisburg as a double-digit underdog. Then gave up 21 unanswered points in the final quarter and a half of play against Tulane to open Hancock Whitney Stadium with a loss.
Desmond Trotter injured his shoulder against Southern Miss, which gave Chance Lovertich an opportunity to show what he can do. Lovertich got another chance against Tulane when the offense needed a spark and helped lead the Jags to a 24-6 advantage before the offense ground to a halt in the second half.
Trotter returned early in the fourth quarter, but left the game after re-injuring his shoulder. Subsequently head coach Steve Campbell announced on Monday that Lovertich will start on against UAB.
During the open date last week, Campbell also indicated that both quarterbacks will continue to get playing time, “I thought both of them did some good things. Desmond did some good things early and Chance came in and gave us a lift. … We’ve got two good quarterbacks and I think it’s going to take both of them playing well and staying healthy.”
Trotter has started the first two games of the season going 20-of-35 for 373 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions (both against Southern Miss). Lovertich has gone 20-for-32 for 311 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, but he was sacked five times and pressured numerous other times by Tulane.
With the announcement of Thursday’s starter, we’ll get to see what the offense looks like with Chance as the starter. It’s unknown if Trotter will be available if needed or if Tanner McGee would be the next man up should anything happen.
Speaking of quarterbacks, last week UAB head coach, and former South Alabama defensive coordinator, Bill Clark announced that Tyler Johnston III will be out indefinitely with a injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Johnston, a redshirt junior from Spanish Fort, was set to play basically in his back yard against the Jaguars.
The only other Blazer quarterback to have seen playing time other than Johnston this season has been Bryson Lucero who has gone 11-of-21 for 138 yards and a touchdown in two games played this season.
Probably one of the biggest concerns for South Alabama coming into the 2020 season, only slightly ahead of the quarterback position (which is always the most talked about position leading up to the season), was the offensive line.
Campbell, an offensive line guru, has struggled to get the Jaguar offensive line to play up to what is necessary to win week-in and week-out.
The offensive line played great against Southern Miss, though the Golden Eagle defensive front looked undersized compared to the Jags. But that was flipped when they took on Tulane. The Jag line looked good in the first half before the Tulane talent and size took over in the second half allowing five sacks and numerous pressures.
The Green Wave shut down the Jaguar rushing game to a tune of just 13 yards which allowed them to tee off on the 5’10” Lovertich. Potential returns of Hadon Merchant and Josh McCulloch may help the line against UAB.
One of my keys to the game against Tulane was turnovers. Last season the Green Wave forced lots of turnovers. The Jags only committed only one turnover in the game, but it was costly. Trotter fumbled on a QB keeper at the 2 yard line early in the game. Nether team would score any points in the first quarter. The Jags defense forced three fumbles, but only recovered one of them.
Meanwhile penalties became a problem again for the Jaguars. Tulane defensive end Cameron Sample drew a pair of holding penalties from veteran center Brian Ankerson, which hamstrung a potential scoring drive before halftime. A pass interference call aided the Green Wave to a touchdown in the third quarter. Roughing the quarterback in the fourth quarter allowed Tulane a second-chance at their two-point conversion attempt that put them up by three points.
However the penalty that hurt the most came with just over 1:30 left in the game. The Jags defense forced the Green Wave to punt. D.J. Exilhomme was flagged for leaping, which on the field at game speed it probably looked like that and may have met the letter of the rules, but in review it looked accidental. Either way the only penalty that is reviewable is targeting.
Another one of the keys to the game from last week was special teams. The place kicking improved with no issues on snaps or holds for extra-point or field goal attempts. Diego Guajardo even made a career-best 49-yard field goal in the third quarter.
While the return game was non-existent, there were some better decisions made on kickoff returns that did not pin the Jaguars inside their own 15 yard line.
The punting game was hit or miss. Jack Brooks had a 57 yard punt that rolled to the 1 yard line and another one that went inside the 15 yard line. But punts of 22 and 33 yards were the flip side of the coin. The punt coverage allowed a 19-yard return as well.
Despite the reduction in attendance, the fans were loud and a full Hancock Whitney Stadium will definitely be impressive in the future. Easy to navigate concourses, hand rails on the stairways, and much improved concessions made quite the impressions on fans. And that video board is the envy of the conference.
I could only find two things to “gripe” about with the new stadium. The first was a lack of airflow that made it feel much warmer than it was. But the enclosed endzones kept the sound in, which made 25% attendance sound louder than expected. You can’t really have it both ways unfortunately.
The other gripe was with the only speakers for the sound system seeming to be in the video board structure. The fans in the North end zone are BLASTED with sound. My advice is to bring some ear plugs if that is where your seats are located.
But if those are your only two complaints, I think you’ve done a pretty good job.
But seriously, those speakers can be REALLY loud in the end zone and as a proponent of proper hearing health, I cannot stress enough that a good pair of ear plugs is an invaluable investment.
Previewing UAB
So far this UAB Blazer team does not look like the same Blazer team you’ve seen over the last couple of years on the surface. Or is it?
Allowing 35 points to an FCS team is not the start to the season you really want. However not all FCS teams are alike.
Central Arkansas has one of the best offenses in the nation on their level. While they did load up on the points, the Blazers only allowed 293 offensive yards while forcing three turnovers and recording two sacks and five tackles for loss.
On the other hand, the Bears took advantage of three Blazer turnovers in the first half and, with the short fields, they cashed them in for points. Two of those turnovers were an interception that was returned to the 4 yard line and a mishandled fair catch that was recovered at the 15 yard line.
Against Miami, the Blazer defense was gashed by Miami’s run game. After taking a 7-0 lead, the Blazer defense forced a 4th & 1 at the Miami 34 yard line, then gave up a 66 yard touchdown run. Then an ineffectual offense led to a gassed defense that gave up 337 rushing yards in all.
Blazer running back Spenser Brown looks like he is already in mid-season form. Against Central Arkansas, he carried the ball 24 times for 127 and a touchdown.
He looked like he was going to have another good game against Miami before the yellow flags started flying. A 20-yard gain on the second play of the second drive was negated by an illegal motion penalty. He finished the game with 74 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.
Behind Brown the Blazers have two more backs that look capable of getting playing time without too much of a production dropoff. Though they did not put up good numbers against the hurricanes.
With the announcement of Johnston’s injury, Bryson Lucero looks to be the starter for the Blazers. However, Dylan Hopkins started five games in 2018 for the Blazers and led them to a 3-2 record and a west-conference division title. But Hopkins is listed as 3rd on the depth chart. Is this some gamesmanship in game preparation?
Both teams are coming into the game after an off week. Though UAB has had a couple extra days since they played on a Thursday.
The Jags have what is considered one of the best group of wide receivers in the nation. Both Jalen Tolbert and Kawaan Baker are in the top five in the nation currently. However their rushing game just has not solidified yet.
The Jags defense has allowed 150.5 yards per game rushing with an average of 4.1 yards per carry. With wet and rainy conditions and UAB’s stable of running backs, the ground game may be the one of the deciding factors in the game.
Keys to the Game
Rushing defense
As mentioned previously, with wet and rainy conditions predicted up until kickoff and thunderstorms possible during the game while missing Tyler Johnston III at quarterback, look for UAB to lean heavily on Spencer Brown and the running back corps to grind it out on the ground.
That will put a lot of pressure on the Jaguar defense to stop the run. Brown may be one of the best running backs the team faces all season.
Turnovers
In wet conditions turnovers are always a huge concern. Hopefully the Jags have done their share of wet ball drills and then some.
Special teams
Against Southern Miss the Jags had issues in place kicking and some in kickoff returns. Against Tulane the Jags had issues punting.
What will the third game bring?
I keep going back to the weather conditions because it could play a huge role in the game. A kicker could slip, a punter shank one, a returner could fumble a return or muff a catch. Any one of those could make or break the game. The Jags need to be solid in all aspects of special teams.
Spread and Prediction
UAB is a 7 point favorite in Mobile. The Jags have been underdogs in 12 consecutive football games and are 8-2 against the spread in the last 10 overall. This includes the two games this season that the Jags have covered in both, winning outright against Southern Miss.
I think the trend continues with the Jags covering the spread but, again, I don’t think they win outright.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Falters In Second Half, Falls 27-24 To Tulane In Hancock Whitney Stadium Opener
South Alabama came out strong, but faltered down the stretch for a 27-24 loss to Tulane in their first-even game at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The Jags didn’t get the start that they wanted. Desmond Trotter fumbled at the one yard line on their second play from scrimmage after recovering a fumble from the Green Wave. Then followed that by turning the ball over on downs on their second possession before their first punt of the season on the third possession.
But on the fourth possession, and their first of the second quarter, they struck paydirt for the first-ever score in Hancock Whitney Stadium history. Chance Lovertich connected with Kawaan Baker for a 34 yard touchdown to put the Jags in the lead.
Tulane quickly answered four plays later when Cameron Carroll took it in from six yard out. However a missed PAT left the Jags with a 7-6 advantage.
Lovertich would throw the Jags down the field with a pair of completions to Jalen Tolbert for 15 and 41 yards then a 13 yard touchdown toss to Jalen Wayne capped it off for a 14-6 advantage.
South Alabama took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored on a 2-yard run by Carlos Davis to go up 21-6 with 12:15 left in the quarter.
Trotter made an appearance in the third quarter, but after a hard hit he took himself out while holding his right shoulder. This was the same shoulder injured in the Jags win over Southern Miss.
Tulane turned the ball over on downs when Tyjae Spears was stopped on 4th and 1. The Jags got down to the Green Wave 22 before going backwards. Lovertich ran for a loss of 3, had a pass dropped, then was sacked for a loss of 6 more yards. Diego Guajardo added a 49-yard field goal to stretch the lead out to 24-6.
Tulane answered back with a 6 play, 60 yard drive taking 2:31 off the clock. Pass completions of 21 and 16 yards started the drive, then Carroll ended it with a 12 yard touchdown run with 5:07 left in the 3rd quarter.
Tulane opened the 4th quarter with a touchdown to cut the Jaguar advantage to 24-19.
After that, the Jaguar just couldn’t do anything.
Tulane’s offensive line manhandled the Jaguar defensive front and the Tulane defensive front did the same with offensive line and put pressure on Lovertich the rest of the game.
Tulane took the lead with 3:18 left in the game on Amare Jones’ 16 yard touchdown run. On the first 2-point attempt, Keon Howard’s pass would go incomplete but AJ DeShazor would be flagged for roughing the passer. On the second attempt, Howard would connect with an wide open Tyrick James to take a 27-24 lead.
The Green Wave dialed up the pressure and Lovertich threw two incomplete passes sandwiching an 11 yard sack.
The Jags forced a punt with 1:38 left, but the Jags were flagged for a personal foul when a defender illegally “leaped” over the offensive line. With no time outs left, the Green Wave kneeled three times and secured the win.
The Jags just couldn’t get their running game going consistently. USA gained a total of 419 yards of total offense to Tulane’s 394. But the Jags could only rush for 83 yards to the Green Wave’s 203 yards on the ground. But the Jags threw for 336 yards to Tulane’s 227.
Carlos Davis led the Jags rushing attack wtih 82 yards on 16 attempts with a touchdown. Caullin Lacy added 36 on four carries and AJ Phillips ran once for 11 yards. However Lovertich lost 43 yards to hurt rushing numbers.
South Alabama’s third down efficiency was a flashback to the 2019 season They only converted 4 of 14 attempts. Tulane only converted 1 of 11 attempts though.
Lovertich was 18-of-27 for 262 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Trotter, who went 4-of-8 for 74 yards.
Baker led the receiving corps with 129 yards on seven receptions with a touchdown. Tolbert caught six passes for 114 yards, his third consecutive 100+ yard game dating back to 2019. Carlos Davis caught four for 46 yards and Jalen Wayne caught three for 33 and a touchdown.
Keon Howard was 14-of-30 for 191 yards in his debut for the Green Wave.
Jha’Quan Jackson was his leading receiver with three catches for 44 yards. Three other players caught two passes each and five others caught one pass each.
Spears led the way rushing with 105 yards on 11 carries. Howard added 31 yards on 8 carries with a touchdown. Jones had 29 yards on four carries and a touchdown. Carroll had two scored on 10 carries with 26 yards.
“It’s a very disappointing loss,” head coach Steve Campbell said. “I thought the guys played extremely hard, but disappointed that we weren’t able to come away with the win. We came out ready to play, but there were some things we didn’t handle well, and that’s coaching. We’ve got to do a better job of putting our guys in position to win a close game.”
“I didn’t see it [personal foul for jumping]…” Campbell said. “You can’t jump the shield. We’ve gone over that… We don’t need to do that. Again, that’s coaching.”
“They started doing a couple of stunts. They changed their defense a little bit,” Lovertich said. “They started playing us soft, so we couldn’t beat them deep.”
“We didn’t finish when we needed to,” Lovertich said.
“It’s a bad loss,” Kawaan Baker said. “We came in thinking we were going to win, but we didn’t finish like we were supposed to. We’ve got to learn from it and move on.”
Baker added, “We were hurting ourselves with the penalties and mistakes. That’s what we’ve got to correct.”
South Alabama has a bye weekend coming up before a Thursday night rematch against UAB on September 24th. ESPN will be airing the game that is set to kickoff at 6:30pm.
Andrew Zink and his now famous beard. 
The Jags waiting to take the field for the first time at Hancock Whitney Stadium. 
Desmond Trotter fumble on the first possession. 
Trotter waiting for the snap. 
Caullin Lacy 
Kawaan Baker waiting for a kickoff. 
Chance Lovertich leading the Jaguar offense deep in their own territory 
Riley Cole looking to the sideline. 
Jalen Tolbert with a catch. 
Maurice Strong walking to the locker room after the game. 
Final Score
Know Your Stadiums – Hancock Whitney Stadium
This history of Hancock Whitney Stadium begins today.
It is a blank slate.
As a lifelong fan of college football, I have a deep respect for the traditions and the history of each institution.
As historical as the schools and the football programs are the stadiums. Which is why I have written a number of posts in the series of ‘Know Your Stadiums.’ Stadiums like Neyland Stadium, Vaught Hemingway Stadium, Davis Wade Stadium, Carter-Finley Stadium, and the Kibbie Dome each have their own, unique story.
For the previous 10 seasons, that has been Ladd-Peebles Stadium for South Alabama. Opening in 1948, it debuted with the University of Alabama versus the Vanderbilt Commodores (in a 14-14 tie). It’s been home to the Senior Bowl from 1951-2020. It’s been the home of the Mobile Alabama Bowl since 1999.
Last year I wrote “A Long Goodbye To Ladd-Peebles.” Without Ladd-Peebles, the South Alabama football probably wouldn’t be in the same position that it is today. They were able to focus on practice facilities and their field house without having to build a stadium.
But now they have the field house and a grass and field turf practice facility.
They recently added a covered practice facility. Because if you know Mobile, you know it’s propensity to rain and thunderstorms. Now they are no longer relegated to the basketball gym on stormy days.
And beginning today, they have Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Every game will add to the story of HWS Stadium. Every touchdown. Every field goal. Every turnover. Every win and every loss will continue to add that history.
When the stadium was announced, everyone envisioned a packed house to officially open the stadium. A crowd of 25,000 fans clad in red cheering the team at the brand new facility.
Then Covid-19 struck.
Now about 6,000 will be there, spread out around the stadium, to officially introduce the stadium to the world on national TV.
It’s not the grand opening we envisioned. But it’s the hand we’ve been dealt.
The Jags are a 10.5 point underdog to the Tulane Green Wave. What will the first chapter of this story hold for the history of Hancock Whitney Stadium?
If you don’t have tickets to the game, tune in to ESPN2 beginning at 6:30pm CDT and find out.
Go Jags!
Preview: Tulane At South Alabama
Kickoff: 6:30pm CDT Saturday, September 12
Television Coverage: ESPN2
Radio: 99.5FM The Jag, 96.1FM The Rocket, iHeartRadio app
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The University of South Alabama football team made the most of their opportunity on the national stage on Thursday night. In doing so, they finally shed a couple of monkey’s off their back.
The nation-leading road losing streak was broken. The streak of season opening losses was broken. They also have their first two-game win streak (if you go back to the season finale of 2019) since 2017.
Add to that, they will be debuting their brand new $78 million (by last accounting) stadium and the Jaguars are looking to make another statement.
If it’s not obvious enough, the media department is pushing the #Something2Prove hashtag as well.
Next up is the Tulane Green Wave.
This will mark Tulane’s start to the season so they are a bit of an enigma right now. Head coach Willie Fritz is going into his 5th season in New Orleans after going 7-6 overall last season and a career record of 23-27 at the school.
Some Jaguar fans may remember him at Georgia Southern. Though he was only there two seasons, he led them to an undefeated conference schedule in their first year playing a Sun Belt Conference schedule.
However, they were not eligible to play in a bowl game as an FBS Transitional school.
But the two times he faced South Alabama he was victorious by a combined score of 83-23.
Fritz took over a team that had gone 3-9 the previous two season and began his rebuild. He has gone 4-8, 5-7, 7-6 and 7-6 in his four seasons at the helm with season-ending bowl victories the last two years.
Offense
Offensively, coach Fritz has adapted to his personnel. At Georgia Southern he ran an option attack. Now at Tulane he is running more of a spread attack that seems to throw the ball well enough to get by. But the running game definitely works.
Will Hall joined the program last season as the new offensive coordinator. His debut saw the offense finish 22nd in the nation in total offense and 30th in the nation in scoring. They also put up the 3rd most yards per game (449.3) and 3rd most points per game (33.1) in school history.
Quarterback and top rusher Justin McMillan is gone. He helped lead the team to an average of 243 yards rushing per game. However they have Keon Howard that looks to be the defacto starter.
Howard came to the Green Wave from Southern Miss. After sitting out a season he played in four games in 2019 and went 13-of-18 for 208 yards and two scores passing and one running. While he isn’t quite the runner that his predecessor was, he is ready to step in to push the passing game more while still adding some running ability.
But behind Howard there’s no experience, so if he’s not it then it may be a steep learning curve for someone and a rough go until someone can settle into the position.
The Green Wave’s top returning receiver is a senior that made 13 catches last season. So the receiving corps may be a bit of a work in progress as the season starts.
But if you’re facing a Willie Fritz team, you know they are going to run the ball well. Last season he had six player rush for 250 yards or more. Corey Dauphine rushed for 575 yards last season with seven scores with his speed. While he was in line for a big role in the offense, he is out for the season with a torn Achilles.
Freshman Tyjae Spears now looks to be the guy at running back and could very well be the most talented player on offense.
Amare Jones is a more all-around back. He averaged over six yards per carry on the way to 371 yards rushing with four scores. But he also played a bit as a slot receiver where he hauled in 34 passes for 367 yards and two scores. But wait, there’s more. He averaged 24 yards per kickoff return in his first two seasons and almost ten yards per punt return.
Defense
Defensively the Green Wave have had their losses from a year ago, but still return a veteran group and seven starters. They finished 4th in the American Athletic Conference in overall defense while allowing 26 points per game.
Despite not being healthy throughout the entire season their best defensive player, Patrick Johnson, still had a team-high four sacks, but was a significant drop off from the previous season’s 10.5 sacks.
Throw in a pair of defensive tackles that weigh 320 and 290 pounds and another 280-pound veteran who can play inside or out and they obviously have some beef up front.
What they have been missing is a pass rush.
They have to replace a big playmaker at safety, but they return Chase Kuerschen who lead the team with 76 stops.
At corner they return a veteran on one side and a former Florida State standout recruit, Kyle Meyers, is likely to start on the opposite side.
In what sounds like a pattern by now, Fritz loses a standout player yet returns a veteran and adds someone to fill the empty cleats. Gone is the top linebacker, but returning is a 6’2″ 230-pound Marvin Moody who has a way of getting into the backfield. Then they add a 230-pound juco transfer with experience to go along with the other players they have.
Keys to the Game
Big plays
The Jaguar defense needs to prevent big plays. They were very successful against what looked like an unprepared Southern Miss team, but Tulane should be a big step up in competition and cannot be taken lightly.
During the regular season, the Green Wave was 6-0 when they gained at least 7 yards per play. When they didn’t reach that, they were 0-6. The 2020 team may not need all those big plays to be as successful, but if they do reach that milestone they have proven they are hard to beat.
But in the same vein, South Alabama used big plays to defeat Southern Miss. It was only the third offensive play of the game when the Jags struck paydirt on a 73 yard touchdown catch and run by Jalen Tolbert.
Turnovers
The Jaguar offense will have to protect the ball. Desmond Trotter threw two interceptions in the opener, one due to being hit as he was throwing. But they didn’t put the ball on the ground.
The Green Wave defense had 12 interceptions last season. They also forced 17 fumbles, however they were only able to recover four of them. And only one fumble recovery over the final 11 games of the season.
Special teams
Special teams must improve.
While the Jags didn’t punt in the opening game, they are still lumped into this group for good measure.
A missed field goal and PAT along with a botched PAT had some fans on edge late in the game. USA converted a field goal attempt to essentially put the game out of reach, but a miss would have given USM a chance to tie with a touchdown and two-point conversion.
Between those errors, and a couple of ill-advised kickoff returns that didn’t even make it out to the 15 yard line, you can see where I’m going. While it didn’t hamper the Jags efforts against Southern Miss, it could in the future. If a bad return pins them back inside the 15 yard line, the offense fails to get a first down and is forced to punt, the opponent has a decent opportunity for excellent field position and a short field.
We hope the team spent some extra time between games working on these things.
Spread/Prediction
Tulane is a 9.5 point favorite in the game.
South Alabama appeared to be improved in the season opener against a Southern Miss team that seemed lost and looked undersized. The loss was enough to prompt coach Hopson to resign a few days later.
I think Tulane will still win, coach Fritz prepares his teams well and has something good going in New Orleans. But I think the Jags cover the spread to open their brand new home stadium. It may even be a nail biter at the end. It could easily be up to special teams to win or lose the game.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Breaks Road Streak With 32-21 Upset Over Southern Miss
September 3rd is a good date in South Alabama football history.
10 years ago to the day was the announcement of the home-and-home series against Southern Miss. Four years ago was the biggest win in program history against Mississippi State.
Now they can add the upset of Southern Miss to that list.
South Alabama entered the game as a two-score underdog with a nation-leading 15-game road losing streak. They had not won a season-opening game since that defeat of Mississippi State in 2016.
Both of those streaks ended in Hattiesburg.
The Jags struck early, on the third offensive play to be exact. Desmond Trotter connected with Jalen Tolbert on the right sideline. Tolbert made two guys miss and he took it 73 yards for the score. However a bad snap on the point after attempt led to an incomplete pass and left the Jags with a six point advantage.
Southern Miss would score 10 unanswered points in the second quarter, with a field goal in the waning seconds of the opening half to make it a 13-10 game at the half.
Near the end of the half the officiating crew made a good call when Frank Gore Jr. had his momentum stopped but seemingly lateraled the ball back to Abraham who took it into the end zone. However the play was ruled dead much to the dismay of the Golden Eagles.
Part of the confusion was due to the new “electronic” whistles being used this season. They are not nearly as loud as conventional whistles.
South Alabama picked right back up in the second half by forcing a three-and-out to start then navigating a 10-play 56-yard scoring drive. Trotter found Tolbert on a key 3rd & 8 play for a 31 yard touchdown making it 20-10.
Trotter and the Jags may have been huge benefit of a huge call on the play before the touchdown pass though. Trotter was bottled up by the defense and he was trying to throw it but it appeared to go backwards. USM was quick to cover it. The call was upheld and is now history.
A 52 yard touchdown pass and run from Trotter to Kawaan Baker all but put the game away early in the fourth quarter. Yet another missed kick happened as the left footed Diego Guajardo pushed it wide left a second time.
The Jags held a 29-13 lead at the time.
Southern Miss wouldn’t go quietly though. They scored a touchdown with 5:42 left in the game then followed it up with a 2-point conversion cutting the lead to one score.
The Southern Miss defense just could not stop the Jags offense. Meanwhile the Jaguar defense would consistently get enough pressure on Abraham to keep him from getting comfortable in the pocket.
Carlos Davis reeled off a big 40 yard run which led to a field goal to ice the game but not without a little worry at the end.
The Golden Eagles got all the way down to the Jaguar 1 yard line at one point, but the defense held strong and refused to let them score again.
Desmond Trotter went 16 of 27 for 299 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Carlos Davis led the Jaguar rushing attack with 85 yards on 15 carries. Trotter added 41 on nine carries.
Jalen Tolbert picked up where he left off against Arkansas State to end the 2019 season. Tolbert hauled in 6 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Wayne also caught 6 for 101 yards. Kawaan Baker caught 4 for 82 yards, with the 52 yard touchdown.
Nick Mobley led the Jaguar defense with 15 total tackles. Riley Cole and Keith Gallmon added 12 each.
Jack Abraham went 22 of 32 for 314 yards and two touchdowns.
Frank Gore Jr. rushed for 32 yards on 12 carries. to lead the USM rush attack.
Tim Jones caught 6 passes for 139 yards.
South Alabama put up 526 yards of offense with 363 of them through the air and 163 on the ground. Meanwhile USM gained 409 yards total, 314 through the air and only 95 on the ground.
This was a very good win for South Alabama. A much needed win too.
The Jags lost the turnover battle 2-0 and had three special teams mishaps. Both will need to be cleaned up.
Notably they were only penalized four times for 38 yards and had zero punts, which is a first in program history.
South Alabama will host Tulane on Saturday, September 12 in the debut of Hancock Whitney Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm with tv coverage on ESPN2.
Preview: South Alabama at Southern Miss
Kickoff: 8pm CDT Thursday, September 3
Television Coverage: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 99.5FM The Jag, 96.1FM The Rocket, iHeartRadio app
South Alabama fans have been waiting for a long time to finally square off against regional foe Southern Miss.
They’ve been waiting 10 years to be exact.
When the two teams finally kick off it will be 10 years to the day of the announcement of the home-and-home agreement between the two schools.
Southern Miss completed their fifth consecutive winning season in 2019. While the Golden Eagles are quite a bit removed from their 12-2 season in 2011 under Larry Fedora, head coach Jay Hopson looks to dethrone UAB from the top of the Conference USA West Division.
Offense
Jack Abraham returns for his third year as the teams starting quarterback. The senior has been selected as the conference’s first-team All-Preseason quarterback.
Abraham led the FBS in completion percentage as a sophomore and had the eighth highest completion percentage in college football history when he connected on 73.1% of his attempts.
As the full-time starter last year, he still completed 67.9% of his attempts for just shy of 3,500 yards. While he threw 19 touchdowns, he also threw 15 interceptions. That will have to improve for a successful 2020 season.
Abraham’s top receiver graduated last year but he returns Tim Jones, a preseason all-conference selection and a contender for CUSA’s best receiver. Last year he caught 73 passes for 902 yards, but his production ramped up late in the season.
Jaylond Adams was set to start on the other side from Jones, but decided to opt-out of the season altogether. With the addition of two juco transfers, the Golden Eagles still have some experienced options at receiver.
USM had a trio of running backs dividing up the carries. One went to the NFL and another opted out of the season. That left Kevin Perkins as the only returning back of the trio playing this season. Highly touted juco Don Ragsdale seems to have won the starting job and will look to help improve a rushing attach that finished the season with only 1,527 yards rushing.
Coach Hopson brought in new offensive coordinator Matt Kubik to improve the rushing game and score more than the 27 points per game that the 2019 team averaged.
All that is good, but the offensive line is where the offense starts. The 2019 squad was good in pass protection but was the worst in the nation in giving up tackles for loss with an average of seven per game. They return four of the five starters, which gives them lots of expectations up front especially if they can correct those problems from last year.
Defense
Defensively the Golden Eagles defensive coordinator Tim Billings is dealing with some massive turnover in front seven.
Despite the turnover up front, they return six of the top eight tacklers from last season. That defense allowed an average of 353 yards and 26 points per game. They allowed 17 points or fewer on five occasions.
The teams top pass rusher Jacques Turner was another player who opted not to play this season. Which leaves Eriq Kitchen, a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker and one of many juco transfers, will be looked to step up as a defensive leader. They also look to 339-pound Von’Darious Freeman to cause some havoc and clog rushing lanes.
Swayzee Bozeman is the top returning linebacker with six tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles last season.
The Golden Eagles secondary is by far their strongest defensive unit in 2020, especially the safeties.
Rover Ky’el Hembry was selected to the CUSA All-Preseason team after finishing first on the team in total tackles. He also picked off six passes.
Keys to the game
Turnovers
The Golden Eagles were a turnover machine last season. They were 121st in the nation in turnovers with 26 giveaways and finished the season with a turnover margin of -11.
In the five games where their turnover margin was -2 or worse, they lost them all.
But the Jaguars were also very turnover prone. They had 22 give aways and a turnover margin of -6 themselves.
Offense
The USM defense was stingy last season. They ranked 1st in the conference and 18th in the nation against the run. They allowed only 1,506 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground for the year.
The USM offense is expected to be more balanced and score more points this season. Which means the Jags offense will have to take advantange of all scoring opportunities for a chance at the W.
Adjustments
With it being the first game of what have been a tumultuous year, it will be critical for the Jags to be able to make in-game adjustments and corrections. The spring practice period was lost to the pandemic and, while coaches think the team may be more fresh going into the season, they missed their 15 practices and the opportunity to learn and work over the summer on that feedback.
Spread/Prediction
The Golden Eagles are a 15.5 point favorite in the game. I was high on the team last year after their valiant effort against Nebraska, I’m not so high on the team out of the gate this season. The offensive line had problems last year yet most of the return this season, they have to replace Tre Minter’s production, and the defensive line is all fresh faces.
I think USM will ultimately win the game, but I think the Jags will score late to cover the spread. But feel free to prove me wrong!
Go Jags!