South Alabama Falls To Western Kentucky In New Orleans Bowl
South Alabama (10-3) was simply unprepared for Western Kentucky’s (9-5) passing attack led by Austin Reed. Reed threw for a New Orleans Bowl record 497 yards to lead the Hilltoppers to a 44-23 win over the Jags.
The Hilltoppers used tempo during the season, but they dialed up the tempo and caught the Jags unprepared for the additional speed of play. The defense struggled to get the plays in and the defense struggled to get lined up before the snap.
Yam Banks was caught in coverage against a wide receiver early in the game which resulted in a score.
Reed was 36-of-55 in the game with four touchdowns and one interception. Malachi Corley led the Hilltoppers with 11 catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Dalvin Smith led the Hilltoppers with 145 receiving yards on six catches with a touchdown. Jaylen Hall added another 138 yards on nine catches and a touchdown.
Markese Stepp led the Hilltoppers with 63 rushing yards on seven attempts. Davion Ervin-Poindexter led the rushers with nine carries but only gained 33 yards.
Carter Bradley was 36-of-53 for 360 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in the loss.
Devin Voisin led the Jags with 11 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. Caullin Lacy added seven catches for 57 yards. DJ Thomas-Jones had four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. La’Damian Webb caught four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Webb also led the Jags rushing attack with 48 yards on 12 carries. Braylon McReynolds added 15 yards on four carries.
CJ Thompson led the Jags defense with seven total stops, six solo. Trey Kiser, CJ Rias, and Jalen Jordan all had one tackle for loss in the game. The Jags couldn’t get to Reed for any sacks in the game.
Yam Banks had a highlight reel worthy interception to save a touchdown. It was a leaping one-handed catch in the end zone to turn away the Hilltoppers on one drive.
Overall, the Jags defense was just seemingly overwhelmed. They allowed a single game record 677 yards of total offense and 522 passing yards.
Meanwhile the Jags rolled up 421 yards of total offense, 377 yards through the air and only gained a net of 44 yards rushing after sack yardage was applied.
The Hilltoppers averaged 9.3 yards per passing attempt and 8.3 yards per snap against the Jags.
In the end, it wasn’t the ending to the season that the players and staff wanted or were hoping for. But on a positive note, the Jags still set a new program record for wins in a season as an FBS program. Coming into the bowl game, the two losses were by a combined 5 points.
On another positive note, the Jags got several additional practices in when many teams didn’t have the same opportunity. Hopefully those additional practices will help the Jags going into spring practice in just a few short months.
The 2022 South Alabama Jaguars set the bar high for future teams and the returning players will have a chip on their shoulder for 2023.
Go Jags, J’s Up!
