Preview: South Alabama Hosts Coastal Carolina For Regular Season Finale With Bowl-Eligibility On The Line
Kickoff: Friday November 26, 2:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium – Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey: Chris Henderson
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
It’s down to a one game season for the South Alabama Jaguar football team.
After dropping the last three games, all on the road, the Jags (5-6, 2-5 SBC) have one final shot to get bowl-eligible this season. The last time the program was bowl eligible and went to a bowl game was 2016.
Last weeks trip to Knoxville did not go as hoped. Tennessee used their athletic advantage and had their way with South Alabama from the opening kick. The Vols cruised to a 60-14 win to earn bowl eligibility themselves.
To even be talking about bowl eligibility in year 1 under head coach Kane Wommack is something fans should be celebrating. The last three seasons the Jags compiled only 9 wins and were no where near bowl eligibility.
Much less above .500 at any point either.
A meteoric 3-0 start to the season slowly came back to earth as the schedule progressively got more difficult. Combine the schedule difficulty with the number of injuries the Jags have suffered and you can see why some celebration is warranted.
Coastal Carolina
The Chanticleers (9-2, 5-2 SBC) were one of the 2020 darling teams. They finished undefeated in the regular season and ranked 9th in the nation however their scheduled game against then #17 Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference Championship had to be cancelled due to positive Covid-19 tests and contact tracing within the program.
They fell in over time to #23 Liberty 37-34 in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl.
The Chants lost to Appalachian State in Boone, NC 30-27. Then after losing their starting quarterback, they lost to Georgia State 42-40 and will miss earning consecutive Sun Belt Conference East Division Championships.
Last week their quarterback and 2020 SBC Player of the Year Grayson McCall returned to field and picked up where he left off. McCall threw for 319 yards and five touchdowns in their 35-21 win over Texas State.
Offense
The Chanticleer offense is best described as a spread option or a speed option but they also use triple option plays too.
As you’ll see by the stats, they run their offense very well.
For the season they are averaging 41.6 points, 493.3 total offensive yards, 223.6 rushing yards, and 269.6 passing yards per game.
They are converting 70-of-124 (56%) of their 3rd down attempts and 7-of-9 (78%) of their 4th down attempts on the season.
They’ve scored on 39 of their 44 red zone trips, of those 39 scores, and incredible 36 of them have been touchdowns.
Their quarterbacks have been sacked only 16 times this season.
McCall is 138-of-186 (74.2%) on the season with 2.382 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and only two interceptions in 9 games played. Bryce Carpenter, who started in place of McCall in two games, is 41-of-69 for 483 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
Jaivon Heiligh is the teams leading receiver with 53 catches for 947 yards and six touchdowns. Isaiah Likely has 49 catches for 795 yards and 10 touchdowns. Kameron Brown has caught 30 passes for 533 yards and five touchdowns. Braydon Bennett is the last receiver with either double-digit catches or in triple digits in receiving yards, he has 19 catches for 246 yards and one touchdown.
Shermari Jones leads the Chanticleer rushing attack with 128 carries for 777 yards and 12 touchdowns. Reese White has 71 carries for 516 yards and seven touchdowns. Bennett adds 62 carries for 485 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Carpenter adds 215 rushing yards on 53 carries with two touchdowns. McCall rounds out the triple-digit yardage club with 191 yards on 67 carries with three touchdowns.
Defense
The Chanticleer defense is fairly stingy.
They allow an average of 19.9 points, 322.6 total offensive yards, 176.3 passing yards and 146.4 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are only converting 53-of-145 (37%) of their 3rd down attempts and 8-of-20 (40%) of their 4th down attempts.
They have 26 sacks and 69 tackles for loss on the season.
Opponents have reached the red zone 29 times and came away with points 23 of them with 19 of those scores being touchdowns.
Silas Kelly leads the team with 88 total stops, 35 solo with 7 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. The next closest is Teddy Gallagher with 67 stops, 30 solo with 7 TFLs and 2 sacks.
Josaiah Stewart leads the team in both tackles for loss with 12 and sacks with 10. They have three players with one interception each. They’ve recovered six fumbles on the season too.
Special Teams
Biscardi Massimo is 5-of-6 in field goal attempts with his longest being 50 yards and is a perfect 40-of-40 in extra points. Liam Gray is 12-of-13 on extra points and has made one of this two field goal attempts on the season with it being a 46 yard kick. Kieran Colahan is 7-of-7 on extra points and made a 39 yard field goal, the only attempt of the season.
Charles Ouverson has punted 34 times on the season with an average of 37.85 yards per kick with 13 fair catches, 11 downed inside the 20 and one kick traveling over 50 yards.
South Alabama
Since the injury to quarterback Jake Bentley the offense has struggled.
Desmond Trotter took a couple series to settle in after taking over against Troy. His comeback attempt fell one score short unfortunately.
But in the two game he has started for the Jags they have scored a grand total of 21 points.
But injuries to the offensive line and a number of defensive players have really piled up and taken their toll.
Offense
For the season now the Jags are averaging 25.3 points, 369.1 total offensive yards, 247.1 rushing yards, and 122 rushing yards per game.
The 3rd down conversion rate has fallen to 51-of-163 (31%) while their 4th down conversion rate is now 26-of-41 (63%).
The Jags red zone efficiency had dropped some. They’ve had the ball in the red zone 45 times and come away with points on 34 of those trips (76%) and 29 times they have been touchdowns (64%).
Jaguar quarterbacks have been sacked 25 times. They’ve had eight passes intercepted and 9 fumbles lost.
Trotter is 61-of-104 (58.7%) for 596 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. Prior to his injury, Bentley was 184-of-262 for 2,122 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Jalen Tolbert got to showcase his skills on national television with an impressive one-handed catch against the Volunteers and fresh off of accepting an invitation to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl. He leads the team with 72 catches for 1,283 yards with seven touchdowns (including the 68 yard touchdown against Tennessee).
Jalen Wayne has 44 catches for 519 yards and two touchdowns. Caullin Lacy has 38 catches for 273 yards. Lincoln Sefcik has 29 catches for 205 yards and four touchdowns.
Terrion Avery continues to lead the running back corps with 497 yards on 132 carries with one touchdown. Bryan Hill has 85 carries for 335 yards and three touchdowns. Kareem Walker has 286 yards on 77 carries with four touchdowns.
Defense
The defense was picked apart last Saturday in Knoxville. The big Tennessee offensive line and the breakneck speed at which the offense operates just keep the Jags on their heels.
As of now the Jags defense is allowing an average of 26.4 points, 342.3 total offensive yards, 211.4 passing yards, and 130.9 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 52-of-150 (35%) of their 3rd down attempts and 12-of-20 (60%) of their 4th down attempts.
Opponents red zone efficiency now stands at 29-of-39 (74%) for red zone scoring and 22-of-39 (56%) for red zone touchdowns.
The Jags have sacked opposing quarterbacks 27 times and they have 62 total tackles for loss. They have collected 14 interceptions and recovered 8 fumbles.
Keith Gallmon now leads the team in total stops with 51, 31 of them solo, with an interceptions and a fumble recovery. He’s also ran the ball twice on two fake punts and have converted both of them into first downs.
AJ DeShazor is right behind him with 50 total stops, 24 solo, with two tackles for loss and 1/2 sack.
Wy’Kevious Thomas and Jamal Brooks continue to lead the team with 5.5 tackles for loss each. Charles Coleman and CJ Rias share the team lead with 3 sacks each. Darrell Luter leads the team with four interceptions.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo made both of this extra point attempts to run his season record to 32-of-34. He’s also still 10-of-15 on his field goal attempts, but he didn’t attempt any against Tennessee.
Jack Brooks is averaging 42.5 yards per kick over this 51 punts. He’s had 16 fair caught, 13 downed inside the 20 and 12 have gone 50+ yards with his longest traveling 54 yards.
Keys to the Game
Offensive Line Play
The last two weeks the offensive line has gone up against some strong defenses and had problems. Against App State losing Anterrious Gray from an already thin position group didn’t help. The incident that led to Gray being disqualified from the game was inexcusable, but when a player swings at another player it is now in the hands of the officials.
Tennessee also had their way with the Jags offense for most of the night.
In order to win they’ll need to play at the level they’re capable of and the level they’ve shown earlier in the season.
Defensive Discipline
Coastal Carolina executes their offense very efficiently. Their offensive scheme gives defenses problems every week.
Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon faced the Chanticleers just last season with Liberty. That recent experience will definitely aid in preparing for them.
The Jags defense bottled up the usually potent Georgia Southern option offense. However Georgia Southern was not nearly as prolific through the air as the Chanticleers.
The defenders will have to stick to their assignments and fill their gaps. When the Chants get opponents out of position they are quick to take advantage.
Seizing an Opportunity
Only two people on the roster has ever been a part of a bowl game at South Alabama. One is head coach Kane Wommack, who was defensive coordinator in 2016.
The other is Chris Henderson, who was a freshman at the time. He’s a “super” senior, what they call a 6th year senior with the additional eligibility to play afforded to them due to Covid-19.
Chris’ father Terry is a huge supporter of his son and South Alabama. He’s a prolific tweeter and a master of choosing the perfect gif response. Read this article about Chris and Terry. (Jag Nation needs more Terry’s!)
There are other players who may be suiting up for the final time in a South Alabama Jaguar uniform.
But they have a chance to earn a shot at one more game.
With a win they would put the Jaguars in the category of bowl-eligible teams. While not a guarantee they will receive an invite, but without a 6th win it’s a certainty they won’t.
The Jags defeated the Chanticleers in Mobile in 2018 then lost last season in Conway, SC. A win and a bowl invite would give the team a chance at the first bowl win in program history. And a chance at the first winning record since joining the ranks of FBS.
Prediction
The Jags are a 14.5 point underdog at home against Coastal Carolina.
Head coach Kane Wommack did not rule out any chance of Jake Bentley being able to play. He did warm up with the quarterbacks in Tennessee. Was all that some coaching game to make your opponent have to prepare for two quarterbacks?
I believe the coaches and players will be ready. They’ve played road games the last three weeks, it’s senior day, and if you didn’t know they could get bowl eligible.
I believe the Jags not only cover but they win outright and get bowl eligible. They get the upset and they get a chance at a bowl invite.
Encourage your friends and family to come out to Hancock Whitney Stadium. The Jags need the fans in the stands. They need to be loud when the Chanticleers are on offense. Hancock Whitney needs to be rocking Friday afternoon!
Go Jags!