South Alabama Wins IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl 30-23
South Alabama overcomes a slow start in the first quarter to win the 2024 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl 30-23 over Western Michigan in Montgomery Alabama.
The Broncos moved the ball at will to start the game with a touchdown. USA moved the ball down the field but stalled deep in Broncos territory. With Laith Marjan opting to go into the transfer portal, true freshman Davis Little came in for a field goal, but pulled it wide left.
The defense started to figure out the Broncos and held them to a field goal early in the second quarter to trail 10-0 just 10-seconds into the second quarter. The offense answered with their own field goal from Hamilton DiBoyan, another true freshman kicker.
After a three-and-out, it only took the Jags two plays to put their first touchdown on the scoreboard. A 28-yard pass from Davenport to Devin Voisin started the drive then Davenport connected with Jeremiah Webb for 52-yards and his first of two touchdowns in the game.
Another defensive three-and-out gave the offense an opportunity to take the lead, and they seized it.
Davenport went deep for Webb and the pass looked like it might be intercepted, but Webb took the ball away from the defender and walked into the end zone and a 16-10 lead after a missed PAT.
The Broncos tacked on a field goal late in the half for a 16-13 score at halftime.
Davenport showed his legs late in the third quarter when he put his foot in the ground and sprinted 50 yards for a touchdown and a 23-13 lead.
A little past midway through the fourth quarter the Broncos got within a field goal when Hayden Wolff found Anthony Sambucci for a 7-yard touchdown.
Kentrel Bullock wasn’t going to let the game slip away.
On 4th and 1 at the Broncos 27, he powered his way through the defensive line for 5 yards to make sure there was no doubt about the conversion. Then he took the next handoff the final 22 yards to seal the game.
Western Michigan added a 48-yard field goal but were unable to get the onside kick and the Jags were able to simply run the clock out.
Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Western Michigan |
| Total Yards | 537 | 317 |
| Passing Yards | 271 | 196 |
| Rushing Yards | 266 | 121 |
| 3rd Downs | 2 of 8 | 5 of 13 |
| 4th Downs | 2 of 2 | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers (points off) | 1 (3) | 1 (0) |
| Time of Possession | 27:56 | 32:04 |
South Alabama
Bishop Davenport finishes 15 of 24 for 271 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also finished as the second leading rusher for the Jags with 85 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown.
Kentrel Bullock led all rushers with 130 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown.
Jeremiah Webb set a new program record with 182 receiving yards on 6 catches with two touchdowns.
Jaden Voisin, in his final game, finished with 9 total stops, 4 solo, with a TFL and quarterback hurry. Blayne Myrick also finished with 9 total stops, 4 solo.
Amarion Fortenberry had the only interception by the Jags defense.
Ed Smith IV and Jordan Norman each had a sack in the game.
Western Michigan
Hayden Wolff was 17 of 27 for 196 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Kenneth Womack had 89 receiving yards on 5 catches. Anthony Sambucci had 36 yards on three catches with a touchdown.
Jaden Nixon led the Broncos rushing with 45 yards on 11 carries. Zahir Abdus-Salaam had 33 yards on 9 carries. Jalen Buckley had 26 yards on 8 carries with a touchdown.
Final
The Jags end the season 7-6 and go into the offseason with more momentum. After chasing the western division crown, the Jags just came up short in the quest to go to the conference championship game. But with head coach Major Applewhite’s first season, the bar has been set higher and it was put there by some very committed players over the last three seasons.
The potential in the 2025 season should excite the fans, students, and the players themselves.
Go Jags!
IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl Preview: South Alabama vs Western Michigan
Kickoff: Saturday, December 14, 2024
Venue: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
South Alabama is playing in their third-consecutive bowl game just one season after earning their first-ever bowl win in the 68 Ventures Bowl in 2023. This game will cap off head coach Major Applewhite’s first at the helm of the program and could mark the first head coach to win a bowl game in their debut at South Alabama.
It also marks a return for the Jaguar program. They return to the site of their first-ever bowl game ten-years removed. The Jags, then still under the direction of Joey Jones, played in the first-ever Cameillia Bowl in 2014.
The Jaguars knew about their selection a little early, the official bowl selection show was just on Saturday, December 8th which would have been less than a week before the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl. Early last week the teams accepted their invites so preparations by both teams could begin in earnest for the kickoff of the bowl season.
USA enters the game 6-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play. Their season finale against Texas State didn’t turn out the way they wanted. They came out on the losing side of a 45-38 score after committing three turnovers and eight penalties at home.
Western Michigan (6-6, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) got a 26-18 win over Eastern Michigan in their season finale to earn bowl eligibility and to snap a three-game losing streak.
Let’s compare the stats between the two teams.
Offensive Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Western Michigan |
| Points | 34.8 | 29.4 |
| Total Offense | 433.8 | 374.4 |
| Passing Offense | 240.8 | 186.1 |
| Rushing Offense | 193 | 188.3 |
| Interceptions | 5 | 8 |
| Time of Possession | 29:33 | 29:21 |
| Penalty Yards per game | 71 | 39.1 |
| 3rd Downs | 58 – 146 (39.7%) | 51 – 147 (34.7%) |
| 4th Downs | 11 – 17 (64.7%) | 18 – 30 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 46 – 53 (86.8%) | 34 – 38 (89.5%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 34 – 53 (64.2%) | 28 – 38 (73.7%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 99 – 852 | 48 – 469 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 11 – 6 | 11 – 4 |
| Total Turnovers | 11 | 12 |
Defensive Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Western Michigan |
| Points | 25.3 | 31.4 |
| Total Offense | 397.8 | 404.9 |
| Passing Offense | 253.3 | 218.6 |
| Rushing Offense | 144.6 | 186.3 |
| Interceptions | 15 | 7 |
| Time of Possession | 30:27 | 29:48 |
| Penalty Yards per game | 49.1 | 35.7 |
| 3rd Downs | 66 – 172 (38.4%) | 68 – 157 (43.3%) |
| 4th Downs | 12 – 24 (50%) | 11 – 14 (78.6%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 35 – 44 (79.5%) | 40 – 43 (93%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 21 – 44 (47.7%) | 30 – 43 (69.8%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 64 – 589 | 52 – 428 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 11 – 4 | 23 – 13 |
| Total Turnovers | 19 | 20 |
Western Michigan
The Broncos are back in a bowl game for the first time since 2021 and the first under head coach Lance Taylor. Taylor is fairly well known in southern Alabama and to some in the state of Alabama. He’s a native of Mt. Vernon, went to high school at Citronelle, and was a walk-on at the University of Alabama from 1999-2003 where he played in 38 consecutive games and served as specials teams captain for then head coach Mike Shula.
After a short stint in the Arena Football League, Taylor began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama from 2007-08. He then coached receivers at App State in 2009. Then spent 2010-2012 with the New York Jets as an offensive quality control coach and assistant tight ends coach.
He made two stops at the Carolina Panthers with a stint at Stanford in between. While at Stanford he coached running backs such as Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey and recruited another runner-up in Bryce Love. He then spent three seasons at Notre Dame coaching running backs and run game coordinator. Finally, he served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Louisville before landing the head job at Western Michigan.
Offense
Hayden Wolff is 191 of 285 (67%) for 2,212 yards with 17 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.
His most prolific receiver, tight end Blake Bosma, caught 37 passes for 403 yards with 6 touchdowns. However, he entered the transfer portal and does not look like he will be playing. Chris Toudle is the next tight end on the receiving list with just 8 catches for 91 yards in 7 games with a touchdown.
Kenneth Womack is next up with 34 catches in nine games, with 456 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Sambucci has 31 catches in 10 games with 376 yards and two touchdowns.
Zahir Abdus-Salaam has 28 catches for 227 yards and a touchdown.
Jaden Nixon leads the rushing attack with 876 yards on 132 carries with 12 touchdowns. Jalen Buckley has 657 yards on 120 carries with 8 touchdowns in 9 games played. Abdus-Salaam has 567 yards on 104 carries with three touchdowns. Broc Lowry has 123 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns in 10 games played.
Defense
Donald Willis leads the defense with 99 total stops, 58 solo, with a sack and six tackles for loss from his linebacker position. Tate Hallock is second on the team with 78 total stops, 47 solo, with a team-leading four interceptions and 5 tackles for loss from his safety position.
Isaiah Green leads the team with three sacks. Mason Nelson is behind him with two sacks and nine other players each have one sack each.
Special Teams
Ryan Millmore is averaging 40.3 yards per punt with 21 fair catches, 21 downed inside the 20-yard line, 7 kicks of 50+ yards and a long of 60 on the season.
Luka Zurak is 10 of 12 on the season placekicking with a long of 45 yards. His misses were from 40+ yards and one of 50+ yards.
South Alabama
Offense
Gio Lopez is 205 for 311 (65.9%) for 2,557 yards with 18 touchdowns to 5 interceptions in 11 games played while adding 465 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns. His availability for the game is unknown after suffering an injury against Texas State that forced him out of the game.
Bishop Davenport is 33 for 55 (60%) for 333 yards and a touchdown on the season passing and added 76 yards rushing.
Jamaal Pritchett finished the regular season with 91 catches for 1,126 yards with 9 touchdowns.
Jeremiah Webb had 467 yards on 30 catches with three touchdowns. Devin Voisin had 31 catches for 365 yards. DJ Thomas-Jones had 22 catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns.
Fluff Bothwell ended the season as the Jags leading rusher with 834 yards on 112 attempts with 13 touchdowns. However, it is uncertain if he will play as he announced he was entering the transfer portal.
Kentrel Bullock was the next leading rusher with 702 yards on 135 carries with six touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds rushed for 113 yards on 19 carries in 8 games with a touchdown.
Defense
Blayne Myrick finished the regular season with 92 total stops, 41 solo, with two sacks and 7 TFLs and an interception.
Jaden Voisin is second on the team with 74 total stops, 38 solo, with 2.5 TFLs and a team leading 5 interceptions.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 40.5 yards per punt with 21 fair catches, 16 downed inside the 20, two touchbacks and two kicks of 50+ yards with his longest being 67 yards.
Laith Marjan is 16 of 17 placekicking on the season with his only miss coming from 50+ yards. He has a long of 49 on the season. It’s uncertain if he will play as he has also announced he is entering the transfer portal.
If Marjan does not play, it will either be Davis Little (true freshman) or Hamilton DiBoyan (redshirt freshman) handling the placekicking duties.
Keys to the Game
Don’t beat yourself with penalties
Against Texas State the Jags had eight penalties but many of them came at inopportune times. South Alabama finished the regular season tied for 127th in fewest penalties, only four schools were flagged more than the Jags. They also finished 124th with fewest penalty yards.
So many penalties have disrupted offensive drives and put the offense behind the chains which led to the ball going over to the other team one way or another.
Turnovers
Both teams are +8 in turnover margin, both teams are better at taking the ball away from their opponents than giving the ball away. However, both teams have gotten there in different ways. The Jags have done it more through intercepting the ball while Western Michigan has gotten there by generating fumbles. The Broncos have forced 23 fumbles and recovered 13 of them.
Three turnovers coupled with the eight penalties was just too much for South Alabama to overcome against Texas State.
Fundamentals
Often times bowl games are kinda sloppy because teams have had a lot of time off from the end of the season until the bowl game without game action. So you tend to see more unforced errors, missed tackles, and the such. Both teams enter just two weeks since their last action and should be ready to go, like both teams just had a bye week.
Prediction
Bowl games in this day in age with Name, Image and Likeness and the Transfer Portal is very hard to predict. We may not know until the day of the game who may or may not play for either team. We already see that a key offensive and defensive player for the Jags have opted to go into the portal. Meanwhile the Broncos have a laundry list of players in the portal, including some key players on both sides of the ball as well.
Setting aside the uncertainty of NIL and transfer portal, I believe South Alabama has a more talented roster from top to bottom, however inconsistent they can be from game to game.
The spread opened with South Alabama as the favorite by 10.5-points and is down to 7.5-points depending on where you look. Some of the factors are Fluff Bothwell and Jordan Scruggs opting for the portal and Gio Lopez’s injury against Texas State. While by all accounts Bishop Davenport is a very capable quarterback who really hasn’t been used to his full potential on gameday, we have only really seen him in limited duty even when he started against Ohio in week 2.
I think the Jags cover the 7.5-points and goes into the postseason with momentum for 2025.
Go Jags!