Preview: South Alabama Hosts Central Michigan For Homecoming, Final Non-Conference Game
Kickoff: Saturday, September 23, 4pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Desmond Trotter
This is an important game for the South Alabama Jaguars.
No, it’s not a flashy game against another Power-5 program. It’s not a conference game. It may be homecoming, but that’s not the reason either.
It’s an important game for two reasons: one, it’s next game on the schedule, and two, we get to see how the team responds after the last game.
You may be reading this thinking “man, you make it sound like they lost last week. But they won arguably the biggest game in program history last week against Oklahoma State.” But that’s exactly it. They won the biggest game in program history, now how do they respond?
The Greek philosopher Epictetus wrote, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
Head Coach Kane Wommack took over the program in 2021 and he has consistently spoken about getting his players to have a neutral mindset. You cannot get too high on emotion, but you cannot get to low either. This week will be a big test for his team to see if they have that neutral mindset nailed down, at least from the emotional high that was last week.
The Jags (2-1) earned a program-defining win last Saturday in dominating fashion. They took a 23-0 lead into halftime and by the time the final whistle blew, they posted a stunning 33-7 beat-down of a Power-5 program in their own stadium. One of the intriguing stats we noted was that the Jags rushed for more yards (248) than Oklahoma State gained in total offense (208) for the entire game.
South Alabama has been showered with praise since the game ended. They were named the Cheez-It’s team of the week (which brought them a big delivery of assorted boxes of Cheez-It’s on Monday). They were honorably mentioned in Matt Mitchell’s “SEC Roll Call”, a weekly comedy sketch he does recapping the previous weeks performances. But they also have Homecoming festivities this coming week.
How they turn around and respond in this game could really define the remainder of the season.
This paragraph may induce PTSD, so be warned. In 2016, South Alabama traveled to Starkville, MS and earned their first win over a Power-5 and SEC program with a 21-20 win. Coincidentally, it happened to be coach Wommack’s first game with the Jaguars as defensive coordinator too. However the Jags lost the following week to Georgia Southern 24-9 as well as the next week at Louisiana-Lafayette 28-23. Then they needed overtime to survive an upset bid by Nicholls 41-40. Similarly in the 2016 season, they were able to defeat the then #19 ranked San Diego State Aztecs 42-24, but lost back-to-back games to Arkansas State (17-7) and Troy (28-21) afterwards.
Coach Wommack keeps stressing “consistency.” This game will be a big measuring stick for how much consistency the coaching staff has been able to instill into this program.
South Alabama (2-1)
In a way the Oklahoma State game was a carry-over from the second half of the Southeastern Louisiana game. The Jaguar offense scored on their first three possessions and four of their six first-half possessions, not counting the last possession with a mere 18 seconds left before halftime.
The defense kept the Cowboys off the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter, and the longest plays from scrimmage was a 21 yard quarterback run and a 15 yard pass completion.
The Jags are +1 in turnover margin for the season. They have thrown three interceptions and lost three of the four fumbles they’ve committed. Defensively the Jags have forced five fumbles and recovered all of them while also collecting a pair of interceptions.
Offense
South Alabama’s mantra ‘Run The Damn Ball’ was on full display in Stillwater. La’Damian Webb, even on a play-count, rolled up an impressive 151 yards rushing on 18 carries with a pair of touchdowns. It was highlighted by a 65 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that put the final dagger in the Cowboy’s heart.
Kentrel Bullock also had 18 carries for 71 yards and Marco Lee Jr had 6 carries for 30 yards.
Carter Bradley was 10-of-16 for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a beautify placed 57-yard strike to Caullin Lacy.
Lacy led the Jags receivers with 5 catches for 104 yards and both of Bradley’s touchdown passes. Lincoln Sefcik had three catches for 21 yards. Javon Ivory and Bullock had one catch each for 17 and 10 yards respectively.
Lacy has really elevated his play after Devin Voisin was lost for the season to a knee injury last week. He was already a big-time playmaker before!
Josh McColloch suffered a knee injury mid-week and did not play, however the offensive line had their best outing so far this season with Jordan Davis stepping up and starting in McCulloch’s place.
The Jags are averaging 389.7 total yards of offense, 201 yards passing and 188.7 yards rushing per game. The running back corps are averaging 5 yards per attempt through three games.
The offense is converting 20-of-39 (51%) of their 3rd down attempts and 3-of-4 (75%) of their 4th down attempts. In the red zone they have scored on all 9 of their trips, with seven of them being touchdowns.
However, Bradley has been sacked 7 times on the season for 50 yards, but only twice last week by the Cowboys.
Defense
Coach Wommack, defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, and assistant coach Jay Hopson seemed to have really turned around the secondary after Tulane exploited them for several explosive plays. They only allowed 208 total yards of offense, 114 passing yards and 94 rushing yards to the Cowboys.
Through three games the defense is allowing an average of 352 yards of total offense, 252.7 passing yards and 99.3 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting just 13-of-34 (38%) of their 3rd down attempts. Of the 11 trips into the red zone for opponents, they have scored on 8 of them with only 4 coming as touchdowns.
James Miller leads the defense with 19 total stops, 10 solo, with a fumble recovery. Jaden Voisin is next behind him with 16 total stops, nine solo, with a forced fumble. Trey Kiser is third with 15 total stops, eight solo, with a tackle for loss, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry.
Brock Higdon leads the defense with 2 sacks on the season. Jamie Sheriff, Quentin Wilfawn, Khalil Jacobs, and Maurice Strong Jr have one sack each.
Yam Banks and Marquise Robinson both have one interception each.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo made good on both of his attempts against OSU last weekend and is 3-of-4 on the season with a long of 42. His only miss was from 52 in the season-opener against Tulane.
Jack Martin is averaging 43.4 yards per attempt, with a long of 53 yards. He has four fair catches, four downed inside the 20.
Central Michigan (1-2)
Despite the Chippewa’s record, they have been playing some pretty good football on the season. Both of their two losses come at the hands of Power-5 programs. The season opener was a 31-7 loss at Michigan State and last week they kept it close in the first half at Notre Dame before the Fighting Irish pulled away in the second half for a 41-17 win.
Between the two losses, the Chippewas earned a win against #11 ranked FCS New Hampshire 45-42 on a field goal as time expired. They led 42-28 with under six minutes left in the game. New Hampshire tied the game with a 71-yard catch-and-run with just over three-minutes left in the game.
Last week against Notre Dame, the Chippewas cut the lead to 7 before halftime before the Irish pulled away in the second half. The Irish, who put up 578 yards of total offense, took back any momentum with a 74 yard touchdown drive in only 7 plays to start the third quarter and never looked back.
Overall they are -1 on turnover margin. Offensively they have fumbled three times but recovered them all, however they have thrown three interceptions. Defensively they have one interception and a forced fumble that they’ve recovered.
Offense
The Chippewa offense is averaging 23 points, 309 yards of total offense, 145.7 passing yards, and 163.3 rushing yards per game. They are only converting 11-of-44 (25%) of their 3rd down attempts but they have converted 4-of-5 (80%) of their 4th down attempts.
Quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr missed the Notre Dame game with an illness but is expected to return and presumably start on Saturday. He is 18-of-36 (50%) for 280 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in those two games. Jase Bauer is 13-of-29 (44.9%) for 157 yards.
The top two receivers both have five catches. Chris Parker has 142 yards on his 5 catches with a touchdown. Tyson Davis has 92 yards with his five catches.
They have five players with three catches each. Jesse Prewitt III has 91 yards and a touchdown, Mitchel Collier has 30 yards, Marion Lukes has 28 yards, Myles Bailey has 11 yards, and Sam Hicks has 7 yards.
Myles Bailey leads the Central Michigan rushing attack with 186 yards on 38 carries with two touchdowns. Emanuel Jr is the next leading rusher, even with sack-adjusted yardage figured in, with 142 yards on 38 carries with two touchdowns in two games played. Marion Lukes has 75 yards on 19 carries. Quarterback Jase Bauer has 43 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown. BJ Harris has 11 carries for 32 yards, the last back with double-digit carries on the team.
Defense
Central Michigan runs multiple fronts. They will switch between 3 and 4 down linemen which give an even and odd look to the offensive line. So the Jaguar offensive line will need to stay on the same for their protection schemes. They have played pretty well against the run, but have been quite susceptible to explosive passing plays.
They are allowing an average of 38 points, 507.3 total yards of offense, 371.3 passing yards, and 136 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 16-of-39 (41%) of their 3rd down attempts and 3-of-6 (50%) of their 4th down attempts.
Donte Kent leads the defense with 26 total stops, 18 of them solo, with a tackle for loss (TFL) from the secondary. Kyle Moretti is right behind him with 25 total stops, 14 solo, with two TFLs from his linebacker position. It drops off to 16 total, 7 solo, stops for Trey Jones from the secondary. Then Justin Whiteside has 13 total stops, 11 solo, for the highest ranking defensive lineman.
Jacques Bristol leads the team with three TFL’s with a sack, as part of his 11 total tackles. He is tied with Michael Heldman and Maurice White for sack leader. Heldman leads the team with 4 quarterback hurries.
Elijah Rikard is the only player on the defense with an interception.
Special Teams
Tristan Mattson, a redshirt-junior transfer from Arkansas State, is 2-of-3 on the season. His long is 47 yards, which was his first attempt of the season and came against New Hampshire as time expired. He also handles kickoff duty and has nine touchbacks on his 13 kickoff attempts.
Jake Walrath is averaging 45.1 yards across his 21 punt attempts. His longest kick was 63 yards. He has two touchbacks, five fair catches, five downed inside the 20 and seven kicks of 50+ yards. He can really flip field position in a hurry.
Keys to the Game
Neutral Mindset
The Jags will be coming off a big win over a Power-5 opponent. It’s also Homecoming week. This is a textbook upset script for the Chippawa’s. It also doesn’t help that they want revenge for last season and to get back to .500 on the season.
Coach Wommack speaks about having a neutral mindset. There are several keys to the neutral mindset. He doesn’t want players to get too emotionally high nor too emotionally low after a game, or even after a play. The players need to approach each play as its own entity, when the play is over it’s time for the next play. It doesn’t matter if the previous play was a big loss or a huge gain; you have to line up for the next play just the same. Each time you line up for a play, just do your job and trust your teammate to do his.
Taking what the defense gives
The Chippewa defense has been quite good against the run. While their passing numbers aren’t that good to observe, they haven’t been that bad against the pass either. Their biggest problem is explosive plays through the air, similar to what the Jags had trouble with against Tulane. They will be working to make similar adjustments this week and hope they show on the field when they arrive in Mobile on Saturday.
Carter Bradley may have to put the ball in the air more than he did against Oklahoma State for the Jags to win. If the Chippewa’s continue to be susceptible to the pass, that’s what the Jags need to exploit.
But a productive running game will also help loosen up the secondary too.
Offensive Line
Last Saturday, the Jags offensive line played arguably the best game of football in program history. They opened running lanes for the Jaguar running backs and they were pretty good in pass protection. Bradley was sacked twice in the game, but did not have a single quarterback hurry on the stat sheet.
Consistency is stacking one good game after another. They could really use another outing like that this week.
Not to keep repeating it, but Central Michigan has been good against the run. If they are able to get success stopping the Jags rushing game, they will turn up the pressure on Bradley and try to get him to force the ball downfield. Two of his three interceptions this season can be contributed to him trying to force the ball under pressure.
Injuries
Reggie Smith was injured late in fall camp and will miss the season. Braylon McReynolds suffered a broken collarbone against Tulane and will likely miss the entire regular season.
Before the game last Saturday, we found out that both Devin Voisin and Keith Gallmon Jr will also miss the rest of the season as well.
Gallmon Jr suffered a torn pectoral muscle early in the game against Southeastern Louisiana. This is the second time in as many seasons he has suffered the same injury and missed an entire season. However this time it’s the opposite pectoral as the one injured in 2022.
Voisin suffered a knee injury in the second half against SLU.
Thankfully, the Jags stayed pretty healthy against Oklahoma State last week.
Prediction
The Jags are pretty much a 14.5 point favorite across the board on most odd-maker sites. I was glad my prediction last week was completely wrong. When I pick against the Jags, I’m more than happy to be wrong.
It may be early for the Chippewa’s to circle the wagons, but I’m sure they feel an urgency for a win before they start conference play. They had 12 players out with Covid last Saturday and was within one score of Notre Dame at halftime (21-14). Thankfully the game will be at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The Jags offensive strengths play into some of the strengths of Central Michigan’s defense. It will be interesting to watch how it plays out.
I’m going with the Jags to win, but maybe they don’t cover the 14.5 spread but barely. I think a strong second half leads to a Jags win 31-17, just under the spread.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Puts On A Football Clinic, Dominates Oklahoma State 33-7 In Stillwater
South Alabama went to Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma on a mission.
Mission Completed: 33-7.
The South Alabama Jaguars (2-1) completely dominated Oklahoma State (2-1) in every phase of the game, from beginning to end. The offensive line protected Carter Bradley and they opened holes for the running backs. The defense shut down the Cowboys rushing attack and the secondary played up to their talent level. The Jags dominated the time of possession. They didn’t turn the ball over. The special teams played flawlessly and even got a takeaway on a muffed punt late in the game to seal the win.
This is only the second win by South Alabama over a Power-5 team. It was by far the most decisive win. The previous Power-5 win was over Mississippi State in Starkville by a score of 21-20.
Carter Bradley threw two touchdown passes to Caullin Lacy in the first half, including a 57 yard touchdown with just over a minute left before halftime. La’Damian Webb rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns, the second touchdown a 65 yard scamper right up the gut of the Cowboy defense midway through the fourth quarter to seal the game.
They took a commanding 23-0 lead into the halftime locker room.
The Cowboys offense finally showed signs of life late in the third quarter. They finally got on the scoreboard to avoid a shutout with 12:14 left in the game.
The Jaguar offense went three and out, but Jack Martin’s punt was muffed and recovered by Travis Drosos at the OSU 24 which led to a field goal and a 26-7 advantage.
When Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was faced with a 4th and 12 with about eight minutes left, he all but signaled it was over by sending in the punt team.
Then on the second play from scrimmage Webb broke free on his final carry of the game and took it 65 yards and the final score of the game.
Stats
South Alabama
South Alabama put up 395 yards of total offense, 243 yards rushing and 152 passing. They were 6-of-14 on 3rd down for the game, with most of their failures to convert coming in the second half. They held the ball for 34:35 and were flagged eight times for only 40 yards.
Bradley was 10-of-16 for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Desmond Trotter came in late but didn’t attempt a throw.
La’Damian Webb led all rushers with 151 yards on 18 attempts with two touchdowns. He averaged 8.4 yards per carry.
Kentrel Bullock had 18 carries for 71 yards. Marco Lee had 30 yards on six carries.
Caullin Lacy led all receivers with 104 yards on 5 catches with a pair of touchdowns. Lincoln Sefcik had three catches for 21 yards. Javon Ivory had one catch for 17 yards.
Oklahoma State had 208 yards of total offense, 114 passing and 94 rushing. They were only 4-of-15 on 3rd down attempts and only held the ball for 25:20. They were flagged seven times for 64 yards.
Diego Guajardo was perfect on two attempts from 39 and 42 yards respectively. Jack Martin averaged 43.8 yards across his five punts with one going 53 yards and three of them being downed inside the 20.
Oklahoma State
Alan Bowman started the game and went 6-of-12 for 42 yards and an interception. Gunnar Gundy came in and went 9-of-18 for 64 yards. Garret Rangel came on late and was 1-of-5 for 8 yards.
Jaden Bray caught 5 passes for 42 yards. Josiah Johnson caught two for 25 yards. Ollie Gordon had two catches for 13 yards.
Elijah Collins led the Cowboys with 31 yards rushing on 9 carries. Gundy added 27 yards on 10 carries. Jaden Nixon had 23 yards on five carries with the only Cowboy score.
Wes Pahl punted eight times with an average of 43 yards.
Final Analysis
This was the type of play that we’ve been looking for this season. It was also the type of play coach Wommack was looking for too.
“I thought our guys are starting to play to the level we’re capable of.” Said coach Kane Wommack. “We really haven’t played well the first two weeks, particularly in the first half. We were able to establish the run early, which gave us some one-on-one shots. We liked some matchups against a couple of their DBs, and we were able to get those matchups early. I think the nice thing is we knew we were very capable of coming in here and executing at a high level and physically putting a team away.”
Tulane exposed similar deficiencies that Western Kentucky exploited in the bowl game to finish the 2022 season. Some adjustments were evident last week against Southeastern Louisiana. But this week the Jags secondary locked all but locked down the Cowboys usually prolific receiving corps.
Before the game we found out that wide receiver Devin Voisin had torn his ACL against SLU and will miss the season. It was also released that Keith Gallmon tore his right pectoral muscle, the opposite one that caused him to miss the entire 2022 season and will miss the rest of the 2023 season.
Braylon McReynolds suffered a broken collarbone against Tulane and had surgery to correct it. He will likely miss most if not all of the Jags regular season. But coach Wommack left it open that he could possibly return before the end of the season or in postseason play.
Jordan Davis started at left tackle in place of Josh McCulloch after he suffered a knee injury in practice. McCulloch’s injury is not considered season-ending though.
Next
South Alabama returns home for their final non-conference game to host Central Michigan on homecoming. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 4pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Preview: South Alabama Faces Off Against Oklahoma State In Stillwater
Kickoff: Saturday, September 16, 6pm
Venue: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Trey Kiser
It took six quarters of football, but we finally saw the Jaguar team we expected this season make their real debut.
The Jags (1-1) first half of play against Southeastern Louisiana (0-2) was just the test we expected the Jaguars to face. SLU was able to move the ball on the Jags, but the defense wouldn’t break. The Jaguar offense also struggled to move the ball consistently early. But by the end of the opening quarter, it looked like the Jags had found their groove and were driving.
Penalties and negative plays completely derailed the drive and took them out of scoring position. They started the quarter at the Lions 25-yard line, but by the time 4th down arrived, they had given up 27 yards mostly due to penalties.
SLU scored first, but the Jaguars responded with a matching touchdown. The third quarter began with more adversity when Carter Bradley was intercepted on the fourth offensive play of the half. After the defense forced a three-and-out the Jags offense came alive with a spark by La’Damian Webb. South Alabama scored 21-straight points before the Lions stopped the bleeding with a field goal.
The next test for South Alabama is a familiar Power-5 foe, Oklahoma State (2-0).
Oklahoma State (2-0)
The Cowboys experienced a rather disappointing season in 2022 going 7-6. In 18 seasons as the head coach at OSU, Mike Gundy has had seven 10+ win seasons and two 12-win season. The 2021 season was one of those 12-win seasons. They were 12-2 with a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. They were ranked #5 in the nation and on the precipice of their first appearance in the College Football Playoff. However, 9th ranked Baylor upset the Cowboys 21-16 in the conference championship game and knocked them out of the playoff picture.
The 2022 season started off 5-0 before dropping 6 of their final eight games.
So far, the 2023 season has started off on the right foot with non-conference wins over Central Arkansas 27-13 and Arizona State 27-15. But this may be the most vulnerable Cowboy team the Jags have faced in their match-ups over the last few years.
In 2018 they defeated the Jags 44-7 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and then they defeated the Jags 55-13 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater 2018.
Offense
Head coach Mike Gundy and offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn have yet to settle on a single starting quarterback. They are currently rotating between three players: redshirt freshman Garret Rangel, senior Alan Bowman and sophomore Gunnar Gundy.
In the first two games each have seen action. Against Central Arkansas they played Rangel-Bowman-Gundy in that order. Then against Arizona State they went Bowman-Gundy-Rangel. All three are pretty equal athletically, neither one is more dynamic in the run game that the others. All three understand the offense and are efficient throwing the ball.
Rangel may be considered the most efficient of the three since he is 16-of-24 for 164 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and an additional 20 yards on four carries rushing. Bowman is 24-of-40 for 193 yards with -7 rushing yards on four carries. Gundy 12-of-16 for 138 yards, one touchdown, and has rushed for 12 yards on four carries.
Every year the Cowboys seem to have a deep stable of pass catchers and this season is no different. De’zhaun Stribling leads the team with 11 catches, 138 yards and a touchdown. Jaden Bray has nine catches for 118 yards. Brennan Presley has 10 catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns. They have eight other receivers who have caught passes so far this season.
Ollie Gordon II leads the rushing attack with 97 yards on 16 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Elijah Collins also has 16 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. Jaden Nixon has 13 carries for 70 yards.
As expected the Cowboy offensive line are quite big. They average 306.6-pounds across their offensive line with the smallest listed starter at 296-pounds and the shortest is 6’4”. That size is probably a good reason why the Cowboys tend to rush the ball better later in the game.
The offense has only turned the ball over once and it was by interception.
Defense
The Cowboy defense is good at converging on the ball. The base defense is a 3-3-5 with three down linemen, three linebackers, two corners and three safeties.
They have allowed an average of 334 total yards of offense to opponents through two games. They give up an average of 116.5 yards rushing and 217.5 yards passing per game.
The defense has taken the ball away from opponents twice, once by interception and once by fumble recovery.
Safety Kendal Daniels leads the team with 15 total stops, 10 of them solo, with a fumble recovery. Linebacker Nickolas Martin is next with 13 total stops, eight solo, with three tackles for loss and two sacks. As a team, the defense has eight sacks and 17 tackles for loss.
Special Teams
The Cowboys have used two punters so far this season. Wes Pahl has 6 punts for an average of 47 yards per attempt, a long of 60 yards, three kicks of 50+ yards, three fair catches, two downed inside the 10, and one touchback. Hudson Kaak has four attempts for an average of 36.5 yards per attempt, a long of 42 yards, four downed inside the 20, and two fair catches.
Alex Hale is 4-of-5 on kicking duties with a season long of 52 yards.
South Alabama (1-1)
The Jaguar offense has taken a little time to find its identity this season. It wasn’t until the second half last week did we really see the offense play up to expectations. La’Damian Webb hasn’t fully gotten up to speed yet this season. He was limited in fall camp due to off-season surgery. He only had seven carries against SLU but he made them count by gaining 81 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
Kentrel Bullock and Marco Lee carried most of the load in the game with a brief appearance by true freshman PJ Martin. In all the Jags rushed for 248 yards and four touchdowns against the Lions.
Offense
The Jaguar offense is averaging 26 points, 387 total yards, 225.5 passing yards, and 161.5 rushing yards per game through the first two contests.
Carter Bradley is 42-of-56 (75%) for 448 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Caullin Lacy leads the team in both catches (15) and yards (199) with a touchdown. His yardage stats are aided by the 84 yard touchdown catch and run against the Lions. Jamaal Pritchett has 8 catches for 99 yards. Devin Voisin has 5 catches for 77 yards with a touchdown. Bullock adds 5 catches for 22 yards out of the backfield. Tight end Lincoln Sefcik has 25 yards on four catches.
Webb leads running back corps with 121 yards on 16 carries (7.6 yards per attempt) with two touchdowns. Bullock leads the team with 26 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown. Marco Lee has 11 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Across the offensive line the Jags are big. They average 322 yards per starter with left tackle Josh McCulloch being the lightest listed at 312-pounds. Which may also lend to why the Jags also tend to run the ball better later in the game.
Defense
The Jaguar defense is allowing an average of 27 points, 424 total yards of offense, 322 passing yards, and 102 rushing yards per game.
James Miller leads the defense with 12 total stops, six solo, with a fumble recovery. Yam Banks, Trey Kiser and Jaden Voisin are all right behind him with 10 total stops each. Banks has 7 solo tackles, a forced fumble and an interception on the season.
Quentin Wilfawn leads the defense with two tackles for loss. Khalil Jacobs and Maurice Strong Jr are tied with one sack each.
Special Teams
Jack Martin only has three punts on the season, two of them against SLU last week. He is averaging 42.7 yards per punt with a long of 45, two fair catches and one downed inside the 20.
Diego Guajardo is 1-of-2 on field goal attempts, both in the season opener against Tulane. His long on the season is 36 yards with his only miss from a 52-yard attempt.
Keys to the Game
Secondary Play
The Jaguar secondary made some big strides from game one where Tulane took advantage with three explosive touchdown plays (two of 47 and one of 48).
Against SLU the secondary played better and more consistent. They gave up only one long pass in the game, but they allowed some easy, short passes to be completed and third downs to be converted.
The Cowboys are a better passing team than SLU though.
They will attack the perimeter and look to create one-on-one matchups to their advantage. They’ll mix tempos during the game at what feels like random. Likely the Cowboys will favor how their personnel matches up with the defensive personnel or they see something that is immediately exploitable, so they go up tempo to dissuade subbing players in-and-out. Or they simply want to catch the defense off-guard.
Offensive Line
The offensive line has struggled protecting Bradley early in the season. They found some success against SLU but Oklahoma State will be another big test for this unit. The starting defensive front they’ll be facing will consist of a trio of redshirt seniors. Actually on their two-deep chart they have nine players listed on the defensive line and seven of them are all redshirt-seniors.
Bradley was unable to stretch the field against Tulane. He doesn’t have a big, tall receiver to really go up and contest passes like Jalen Wayne last season. While the Jags receiver corps is really good, they are a little undersized in some matchups.
If the offensive line can win their battles and give Bradley time to throw and the running backs openings to run, the Jags can play some keep-away and shorten the game, especially with the new clock rules this season.
Stay Healthy
With Braylon McReynolds out for an extended time with a broken collarbone and Devin Voisin looking doubtful with a knee injury, the Jags really need to stay healthy.
McReynolds was listed as the #2 running back behind Webb coming into the season. He also was a primary kickoff returner averaging 23.1 yards per return last season.
Voisin was the leading receiver last season with 64 catches, 871 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Jalen Jordan and Keith Gallmon Jr are likely to return to the defensive secondary this week. Jordan sat out last Saturday after suffering a foot injury against Tulane. Gallmon suffered an unspecified injury against SLU and didn’t return to the game.
With Sun Belt Conference play quickly approaching, staying healthy for a run at the conference championship will be paramount.
Prediction
According to odds sites, the Jags are mostly a 7.5 point underdog to the Cowboys. One site has the Cowboys as much as a 9 point favorite.
I don’t really know about this matchup. One moment I feel like the Jags really have a good opportunity. But then I think how they played the first six quarters this season and how we’ve historically played against OSU and doubts creep in.
I think I’ll go with the pessimistic side and say the Cowboys cover narrowly, but I’ll be hoping that they prove me wrong on the field.
Look for a passionate performance by Trey Kiser, he’s returning to his home state and will be wearing the honorary #5 Anthony Mostella jersey this week.
Go Jags!
Jaguars Use Strong Second Half To Win Home Opener 35-17 Over Southeastern Louisiana
The Jags pulled away eventually to earn a 35-17 win, but it was a tale of two halves.
In the first half, the Jags offense really couldn’t get anything going while the defense bent but wouldn’t break. Head coach Kane Wommack acknowledged that after the game. “I thought our team seemed like we were playing with a bit of a hangover, in terms of some of the things execution-wise, particularly in the passing game on defense, and not executing enough offensively to sustain drives,” he said.
South Alabama (1-1) and Southeastern Louisiana (0-2) played to a scoreless draw in the first quarter. Just when the Jags looked like they were moving the ball well at the end of the first quarter, they started the second quarter and nothing seemingly went right.
Offensive pass interference bookended by holding calls and the Jags went from the SLU 25 back to their own 48.
The Lions were the first to get on the board on the next possession. Aided by a roughing the passer call on Quentin Wilfawn, the Lions mixed run and pass down the field and capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown pass.
The Jags answered quickly with a 4 play, 75 yard touchdown drive. Bradley opened the drive with a pair of pass completions to Caullin Lacy and Devin Voisin for 6 and 29 yards respectively. Then La’Damian Webb got his first two carries of the game and he made good with them. He ran for 33 yards on his first touch then finished it off with a 3-yard touchdown to even the score.
Carter Bradley was intercepted on the third play from scrimmage in the second half and it looked like the first half woes were going to hang around.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Jaguar offense came out swinging with La’Damian Webb. Webb got the drive started and he ended the drive. In all he carried the ball four times for 38 yards while the scoring drive was only 7-plays, 74 yards as the Jags took their first lead of the game and the season, 14-7.
After another three-and-out by the defense, it was Marco Lee and Kentrel Bullock’s turn to drive the running game. Lee started the drive carrying the ball four of the first five plays. Then Bullock finished the drive with three consecutive runs ending with an 8-yard touchdown and a 21-7 advantage.
On the third play of their next possession, and the first play of the fourth quarter, Bradley connected with Caullin Lacy on a drag route just short of the first down. But Lacy weaved his way down the far sideline, got a key block from a fellow wide receiver downfield, and took it 84 yards to the end zone for a 28-7 advantage.
SLU opened their ensuing drive with a 76 yard pass against the Jaguar secondary. The defense held strong and forced a 29 yard field goal.
The Jags pretty much iced the game on their next possession. The Jags put together a 14-play 75 yard drive that burned almost nine minutes off the clock. Marco Lee capped it off with a 13 yard touchdown on 4th and 1 to put the Jags up 35-10 with 3:18 left in the game.
The Lions took advantage of the Jags playing reserves on defense and scored a trash-time touchdown for the final score of 35-17.
Stats
The Jags put up 509 yards of total offense, 261 through the air and 248 on the ground. The defense allowed SLU to put up 412 yards of total offense, 350 through the air and only 62 on the ground.
Carter Bradley finished 19-of-26 for 258 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Gio Lopez took one snap and completed his only pass attempt for 3 yards as a true freshman.
Caullin Lacy led the Jags receiving corps with 8 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. Devin Voisin had four catches for 70 yards before leaving as a precaution after an injury. Jamaal Pritchett caught three passes for 36 yards.
Kentrel Bullock led the Jaguar rushing attack with 14 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. Webb only had 7 carries but rolled up 81 yards and two touchdowns. Marco Lee had 11 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown. True freshman PJ Martin had three carries for 19 yards in his brief appearance.
Yam Banks led the defense with 7 total stops, four solo, and an interception. Trey Kiser, Ricky Fletcher, Quentin Wilfawn, LaMondre Brooks all had a tackle for loss each. Jamall Hickbottom and Wy’Kevious Thomas combine for a sack.
Zachary Clement finished 18-of-24 for 267 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Eli Sawyer finished 7-of-12 for 83 yards.
Darius Lewis led the Lions with 7 catches for 81 yards. Da’Shun Hughley only had one catch but it went for 76 yards. Harlan Dixon had five catches out of the backfield for 62 yards.
Rodeo Graham led the Lions rushing with 33 yards on eight carries. Dixon has 19 yards on 11 carries.
“There are certainly some things that we’ve got to get cleaned up, if we want to reach our potential as a football team,” coach Wommack said after the game.
The Jags had a couple injuries in the game. Keith Gallmon Jr left the game early and didn’t return. Devin Voisin had a knee injury but was seen on the sideline with his pads off and ice on it. They join Jalen Jordan, who didn’t dress out for the game but was seen on the sideline in street clothes. Braylon McReynolds injured his shoulder last week and wasn’t seen on the sideline for the game.
Khalil Jacobs was ejected for targeting on a late hit in the third quarter. He will miss the first half of the Jags game against Oklahoma State next Saturday.
Next
South Alabama will travel to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State for a 6pm kickoff. The Jags are 0-2 all-time against the Cowboys. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Preview: South Alabama Opens Home Slate Against Southeastern Louisiana
Kickoff: Saturday, September 9, 4pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: James Miller
South Alabama (0-1) opens their home schedule against Southeastern Louisiana (0-1) at Hancock Whitney Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The last two games by the Jags, the “reverse bookends” if you will, were both played in New Orleans. That would be the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl to end the 2022 season and the 2023 season opener versus Tulane last week. They have both been humbling and glaring blemishes on what head coach Kane Wommack’s short resume as a head coach.
In his sophomore coaching season, he led the Jags to a 10-2 regular season and a bowl game. Western Kentucky found the most glaring weaknesses in the Jaguar defense and took full advantage of it to the tune of a 44-23 win over the Jags.
The similar issues plagued the team on Saturday: Secondary issues and doing your job. Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt had two touchdowns of 47 yards and a third that went for 48 yards. He was 14-of-15 passing for 294 yards against a defense that returned most of its starters from last season.
But it’s not time to pull the fire alarm on the season just yet. Not one game into the 2023 season.
You have to take the game and the match-up into full consideration as well. It was a top 25 game on the road. Tulane returned some very good players on both lines, and it showed. The Jaguar offensive line, despite its experience, couldn’t maintain their blocks to protect quarterback Carter Bradley from the big Green Wave defensive front.
Meanwhile the Jags defensive front had problems getting pressure on Pratt as the picked apart the secondary like a surgeon.
Coach Wommack has talked about facing adversity during the game and responding to that adversity many times. That’s exactly what happened on Saturday. On the second play from scrimmage, the normally sure-handed La’Damian Webb fumbled the ball away to Tulane, which put the Jags behind early.
But the team responded.
Down 10-0, the Jags cut the lead to a field goal early in the second quarter. Then after back-to-back scoring drives that ended with 47-yard touchdown passes, the Jags responded again. A field goal late in the first half and a touchdown about midway through the second quarter had the Jags within seven points.
Coach Wommack said during his weekly radio show that you don’t get chances like [facing a top 25 team] back, now they have to live with the consequences.
He identified problems in the secondary and offensive line that need to be correctly quickly.
The offensive line played fundamentally inconsistent in the game. However, coach Wommack said that they did well identifying defensive schemes, but they just didn’t execute with consistency.
He also said the secondary got caught looking into the backfield to make a big play and the opposite happened.
But the bottom line is that the coaches and players both believe it can and will be corrected.
Southeastern Louisiana
Next up are the Lions. SLU is coached by Frank Scelfo and he’s been named the Southland Coach of the Year twice since being named head coach in January 2018. He is 34-24 (25-13 in conference play). He led the Lions to the Southland Conference championship last year, their first since 2014, and to their third trip to the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs during his tenure.
If the Scelfo name seems familiar, you’re right. His nephew, Joseph Scelfo, was a starting center for the Jags before transferring to NC State as a Grad Transfer in 2016.
The Lions know how to win, they finished 9-4 in 2022 and reached the second round of the FCS playoffs.
They have a whopping 17 players named to the preseason All-Conference team entering the 2023 season.
Offense
In 2022, under offensive coordinator Greg Stevens, the Lions averaged 35.3 points and 439.8 yards per game.
Helping the Lions out last season was former South Alabama quarterback Cephus Johnson. He finished his collegiate career with the Lions last season and was signed to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad.
Stevens is known for coaching quarterbacks. In 2021 he helped Cole Kelley to Southland Conference Player of the Year, Louisiana Offensive Player of the Year, Walter Payton Award runner up and consensus All-American honors as the threw for 5,124 yards and 44 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 73.6%. But he also ran for 491 yards and 16 touchdowns as well.
SLU only managed 208 yards of total offense (125 passing, 83 rushing) against Mississippi State in their season opening 48-7 loss last weekend.
Starting quarterback Eli Sawyer was 11-of-19 for 85 yards in the first half before giving way to Zachary Clement. Clement went 5-of-9 for 40 yards with a touchdown in relief. Sawyer and Clement were named to the first- and second-team all-conference preseason teams respectively.
Harlan Dixon led the Lions with 51 yards rushing on eight carries. Rodeo Graham Jr ran for 23 yards on five carries. In all, eight players are credited with carries for the Lions, those that were not quarterbacks did not have any negative yardage against the Bulldogs.
Dixon also topped the stat sheet for the Lions with a team-high four catches for 42 yards. Darius Lewis added three catches for 25 yards.
Defense
Defensive Coordinator Bill D’Ottavio is in his third season with the Lions and his second season calling plays. In 2021 he coached safeties. Then in 2022, his first as the Lions DC, this squad finished 10th in FCS in turnovers forced (24), 5th in interceptions (16), and 11th in defensive touchdowns (3).
Previous to joining SLU, he was the defensive coordinator at Samford for 13 seasons, where he coached four NFL draft picks.
Defensive back Ian Goodly led the Lions with 15 total stops, eight solo, against the Bulldogs. Linebacker Herman Christophe collected 10 stops, 1 solo. Anthony Britton Jr., also a linebacker, finished with nine total stops, two solo, with a forced fumble.
The only player to record a sack was defensive back Khamron Ford, which was one of his two stops for the game.
Special Teams
Austin Dunlap had seven punts for an average of 46.3 yards per kick. His long was 56 yards, four of his kicks were 50+ yards and four were downed inside the opponents 20. He is in his senior year and has played in all five seasons as a Lion with a career average of 42.5 yards per punt with only two blocked, both in his freshman season in 2019.
Riley Callaghan (So) earned Stats Perform Freshman All-America and All-Southland Conference honors as a freshman is the teams placekicker. He went 15-of-18 (with a long of 47 yards) and was 42-of-44 on PATs. He did not attempt any field goals last week.
South Alabama
The Jaguar offense may not have played up to their potential in the first game, but they did show some of what they did well last season. La’Damian Webb wasn’t given much room to run, and was also kept out of the game for a while, but he found creases and eeked out positive yardage. He finished with 40 yards on nine carries.
Kentrel Bullock had 12 carries for 37 yards in his Jaguar debut. Braylon McReynolds only had two carries for nine yards before he left the game with an injury.
Carter Bradley was 23-of-30 for 190 yards, with a touchdown but he was also sacked five times and had two interceptions when he tried to force the ball out.
Jamaal Pritchett led the Jags with 63 yards receiving on five catches. Caullin Lacy led the team with seven receptions for 60 yards. Bullock added 19 yards on three catches out of the backfield. Devin Voisin was held to only one catch for a 7-yard touchdown.
As we mentioned above, we the offensive line struggle to protect Bradley, especially on obvious passing downs. Bradley trying to force the ball out, this led to a pair of interceptions.
There were a few key opportunities where the Jags faced 3rd and short and procedural penalties killed their opportunities. What would have likely been easy first downs by running the ball. Instead, two of them turned into quarterback sacks instead.
Defense
The Jaguar defense held strong against the run for most of the game. Quarterback Michael Pratt was just edged out by Makhi Hughes as the team’s leading rusher (41 to 39), and that was due to the Green Wave’s late success running the ball.
As mentioned earlier, the Jags secondary gave up two touchdown passes of 47 yards and one other for 48 yards.
The defensive front held the Green Wave to a mere 36 yards rushing in the first half. It wasn’t until later in the third quarter that Tulane started finding more success running the ball.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo went 1-of-2 in field goal attempts. His attempt from 53 yards out in the first quarter came up short. But he nailed a 36-yarder in the second quarter. In doing so, he broke the tie he had with former Jaguar placekicker Aleem Sunanon for the all-time scoring record. Guajardo now tops that list with 244 career points.
Jack Martin only saw the field once for a 45-yard punt.
Keys to the Game
Establish the Run
The Jags need to establish the run early against the Lions. They have a defense that loves to cause havoc and force turnovers. Last season the Lion defense forced 16 interceptions alone.
An old adage in football says, and I paraphrase “when you throw the ball, there are three outcomes and two of them are bad.” While that statement may still be true, it hasn’t stopped offenses from throwing the ball at a high frequency. But when your opponent has forced 16 interceptions the previous season, you may look to keep the ball on the ground a bit more if you can find success.
Webb has shown he can get it done. Bullock has shown, in one game so far, that he will be a good addition to the backfield.
However, it looks like the Jags will be without Braylon McReynolds for SLU so everyone moves up a spot on the depth chart. But with Marco Lee, Jonathon Carter (R-Fr), and a trio of true freshmen, the Jags look okay depth and talent wise at the position.
Tighten up the Secondary
Getting torched by three explosive touchdown passes in one game will definitely light a fire under you. But then if you go back and see how inconsistent they have played over the last two games (spanning the bowl game last season) and you know these guys are going to put in the work to get better.
You are only guaranteed a limited number of games in a season. You have to make your opportunities count. One has already passed. Now they have 11 more chances during this regular season to show what they can do.
This group needs to go out and show they can get it done on Saturday during game situations.
They need to get their eye discipline back and to simply do their job and trust their teammates to do their job as well.
Pass Protection
The offensive line had a tough assignment against Tulane. But they have to shake that off and get back to executing the fundamentals at a high level. The quarterback needs time to go through his progression and the receivers need to have time to run their routes.
Giving Bradley a little more time in the pocket will allow him to stretch the field vertically, making the defense have to cover and respect more of the field. Last Saturday against Tulane, the defense had effectively shorted the field that they needed to defend and the Jag offense struggled because of it.
Injuries
Jalen Jordan went out early in the game with a foot injury. Coaches think he could be ready to play against SLU, however they will know more later in the week. At this time, they are projecting him as Questionable.
Braylon McReynolds left the game with a shoulder injury after a kickoff return. Coach Wommack said he was “very questionable” for Saturday. They will also know more about the extent of his injury later in the week but we likely will not see him against the Lions at a minimum.
Yam Banks was forced out of the game in the second half after forcing a fumble. They put him in the concussion protocol. While they believe he will be cleared to play by Saturday, if he did suffer a concussion, it’s not a guarantee he will be able to suit up on Saturday.
Prediction
South Alabama opened as a 10-point favorite and the consensus is that the Jags are a 9.5-point favorite if you can find a line anywhere. Looking up and down their roster, their size and skillset are on par with what you see across the Sun Belt.
Southeastern Louisiana is no pushover.
The Jags have won eight consecutive games against FCS teams, but not without some close calls. In 2021, the Jags defeated Alcorn State 28-21. In 2016 the Jags needed two stops in overtime to earn a 41-40 win over Nicholls. The Jags lost to Southern Utah 22-21 to start the 2013 season.
I think they keep the win streak alive. But I think some of the fans who don’t read this site (or any site for that matter) will not be satisfied with the win because SLU is an FCS school.
I think the Jags cover the spread in the friendly confines of the ‘cock, but don’t look for it to be a blow out as the uninformed will expect. I think it’ll be something more modest like 30-13. Even if they are able to have their way with the Lions, I don’t think they will put too much on display for Oklahoma State to watch and prepare for when the Jags go to Stillwater in week 3.
Go Jags!
Jags Fall On The Road At #24 Tulane, 37-17
The 2023 football season did not start as well as the Jaguars had hoped.
Tulane defended their #24 ranking as quarterback Michael Pratt took advantage of the Jaguar secondary for the tune of 294 yards and four touchdowns while completing 14 of 15 pass attempts on the way to a 37-17 over the Jags at Yulman Stadium Saturday night.
The Jaguars woes in the secondary is too similar to the Jags appearance in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl in December when Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed lit up the Jags for 497 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-23 win in the Caesar’s Superdome.
The Jags secondary had receivers running wide open and giving up explosive plays. Pratt connected with Jha’Quan Jackson and Lawrence Keys for 47-yard touchdowns.
South Alabama’s woes started early when the normally sure-handed La’Damian Webb fumbled on the second play of the game giving the Green Wave a short field. It only took them four places to get into the end zone for the first points of the game.
After Diego Guajardo came up short on a 53-yard field goal attempt, the Green Wave answered with a 29-yard field goal.
The Jags got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when quarterback Carter Bradley ran to the right and dove for the pylon. After being called out of bound short of the end zone, the officials reviewed the play and overturned the call on the field for a touchdown.
Tulane only needed three plays to respond. After a four-yard run, Patt connected with Dontae Fleming for 39 yards, but a facemask penalty gave 15 yards back. But Pratt connected with Jackson for the 47-yard score for a 17-7 advantage.
After a punt, the Green Wave would strike again quickly. A six-yard run set up Pratt to connect with Keys for another 47-yard touchdown and a 24-7 lead.
Bradley threw his first interception at the Tulane 27 but the Jags defense got the ball right back with Khalil Jacobs strip sacked Pratt and Ke’Shun Brown recovered it at the 13. Unfortunately, the offense had to settle for a 36 yard field goal for a 24-10 halftime score.
Tulane got the opening kick of the second half and a few plays into the quarter Yam Banks forced a fumble that Ricky Fletcher recovered at the Jags 47. But that was also the end of Banks’ night as he went into the concussion protocol and never returned.
The Jags strung together a 12 play, 53 yard drive that was capped off by Bradley’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Devin Voisin. However, that would be the Jags last points of the game.
Tulane would close out the game with 13-unanswered points. The Green Wave capped off the scoring with a 48-yard touchdown pass from Pratt to Jackson and a pair of field goals.
Stats
The Jags rushed for 75 yards on 32 attempts. They threw for 190 yards for 265 yards of total offense.
Tulane rushed for 142 yards on 38 carries and threw for 294 yards for 436 yards of total offense.
Carter Bradley was 23-of-30 for 190 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Pratt finished 14-of-15 for 294 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
La’Damian Webb led the Jags ground attack with 40 yards on nine carries. Kentrel Bullock added 37 yards on 12 carries, and Braylon McReynolds had 9 yards on two carries.
Makhi Hughes ran for 41 yards on 8 carries to lead the Green Wave. Pratt ran for 39 yards on 11 carries, leading the Tulane rushing attack for most of the game.
Jamaal Pritchett caught five passes for 63 yards. Caullin Lacy added seven catches for 60 yards. Devin Voisin was the only receiver with a score, his only catch for the game.
Jha’Quan Jackson caught three passes in the game for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Lawrence Keys added four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Chris Brazzell also had four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
James Miller and Jamie Sheriff led the team with seven stops each. Khalil Jacobs was the only Jag to record a sack.
Sheriff, Jacobs and Yam Banks all forced one fumble each.
Yam Banks, Jalen Jordan and Braylon McReynolds all left the game with injuries not to return. Their status for next week will need to be monitored for next week.
Quotes
“I’m very disappointed in just the lack of execution of the things we say we wanted to do to win,” said head coach Kane Wommack. “The first thing, you’ve got to take care of the football. We turned the ball over five times. That’s not winning football, that’s not the way we have won here in the past. We said defensively we wanted to limit explosive plays, and we’ve got a very experienced secondary that put their eyes in the wrong place. Whether they were trying to make too many plays up front or the intermediate game. Credit them, they had a good plan, but it’s a hard pill to swallow when you just don’t execute.”
“Two of the issues were things we have worked tirelessly to get corrected,” Wommack said. “And they did not. It’s unfortunate, but we’re going to have to show our guys again how truly disciplined they have to be on the back end.”
Speaking about the Western Kentucky film, Jaden Voisin said, “We’ve got to find those holes on film and patch them up. People are going to attack us based on that (Western Kentucky) film. We’ve got to clean some things up in that area.”
Next Game
South Alabama opens their home schedule with Southeastern Louisiana at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game will kick off at 4pm on Saturday, September 9th. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Jaguar Radio Network.
Preview: South Alabama Opens Season At #24 Tulane
Kickoff: Saturday, September 2 7:00 PM
Venue: Yulman Stadium – New Orleans, LA
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey: Devin Voisin
Thunderjags on X (Formerly Twitter): @USAThunderjags
Preface
The Thunderjags family have been going through a lot over the last few months and our coverage leading up to the season has been basically non-existent unfortunately. It’s been a struggle to get back into gear. We have and continue to be a partnership, but while my family life has calmed down a little bit lately and I am eager to get back to some normalcy, my partner is still going through his own family issues. However you send support, I would humbly ask you to keep my partner, his family (and also my family) in your thoughts, prayers, or however you support people in your personal belief system. Speaking for both Thunderjags, we appreciate it!
Now, on with the preview!
The Season Is Here
South Alabama will open their 2023 campaign with a top 25 matchup versus the Tulane Green Wave in New Orleans at Yulman Stadium.
Tulane was the darling of bowl season finishing with a 12-2 record, which included a win over UCF in the AAC championship game. That win vaulted Tulane into a New Years Day 6 bowl game as the top ranked team with the best record in the Group of Five conference. The Green Wave then defeated the top 10 ranked USC Trojans 46-45 in the Cotton Bowl.
South Alabama finished their 2022 campaign with a 10-3 record. Marking their best FBS season in program history with five straight wins to close out the regular season. However, their streak would come to an end in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl with a 23-44 loss and remain winless in three bowl game appearances over the program’s short history.
Between these two programs, there are lofty expectations for 2023.
But past performance does not guarantee future results, especially not in college football.
Tulane
Tulane finished 2022 ranked 9th in the nation in the AP poll. But you only have to look back to 2021 and the Green Wave’s 2-10 record to understand how preseason rankings don’t necessarily indicate how a new team and a new season will perform. But eighth-year head coach Willie Fritz hopes to maintain the standard set forth by the 2022 team.
Offense
The Green Wave returns three-year starter Michael Pratt who threw for 3,009 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. However, they have to replace running back Tyjae Spears, who was the Cotton Bowl MVP, that rushed for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.
Coach Fritz has not said who will be replacing Spears, but that he had five good running backs and they will be testing them out over the first few games.
The likely starters on the offensive line are all senior or redshirt-seniors that have quite a bit of experience under their respective belts. They also weigh an average of 308lb.
At receiver they have a somewhat untested group of potential starters. A senior transfer from Notre Dame who only saw five snaps in the season opening game in 2021. His usage has trended down from 2019 when he played in 12 games with three starts until sitting out the remainder of the 2021 season.
Defense
The Tulane defense lines up in a base 4-2-5 package, similar to the Jags. The defensive line is experienced and deep but their likely starting linebackers seem to be less experienced.
The secondary is comprised of all upper classmen but the likely starters are mostly transfers into the program at one time or another.
Special Teams
Punter Casey Glover (R-Sr) returns from a season where he averaged over 41 yards per attempt with 20 fair catches, 20 downed inside the 20, 9 punts of 50+ yards and 0 blocks. His longest recorded punt was 65 yards. Glover is also the kickoff specialist and played in all 14 games last season with 45 touchbacks and only one kick out of bounds.
Also returning is placekicker Valentino Ambrosio (R-Sr). He transferred in from Rutgers last season. For the Green Wave he played in eight games going 10-of-11 with a long of 47 yards.
Ethan Hadak (R-Jr) played in 34 games over three seasons for the Green Wave, including all 13 last Fall.
South Alabama
The Jaguars enter the third season under the direction of head coach Kane Wommack with an unprecedented set of expectations. Despite the expectations from what some may consider a season where the Jags overachieved, the players and coaches, when they allow themselves to look back, they see both an amazing season with some undertones of slight underachievement.
They lost to UCLA on a last second field goal and lost to their rival Troy 6-10 in a defensive slug match. But many took the loss to Western Kentucky personal, include coach Wommack.
The Jags felt like they could have easily been in the Conference Championship game and could have been the Group of Five representative in the New Years Day 6 bowl games.
Offense
Coach Wommack and offensive coordinator Major Applewhite return nine starters on an offense that put up an average of over 31 points per game last season. Receiver Jalen Wayne was drafted by the Cleveland Browns but leaves a very talented and experienced pair of receivers for quarterback Carter Bradley to target.
Speaking of Carter Bradley (Sr) he set school records in passing yards (3,326), completions (276), and touchdowns (28) in his first season at USA. He ranked in the top 50 nationally in 11 different categories. He has been named to at least five different watch lists this season including: Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Manning Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, The Wuerffel Trophy, and the Maxwell Award Watch Lists.
Veteran Desmond Trotter will back up Carter and freshman Gio Lopez is listed as 3rd string, seemingly beating out redshirt-freshman Bishop Davenport, a Utah State transfer.
La’Damian Webb (R-Sr) returns after setting the regular season rushing yard mark with 1,015 yards in his first regular season with the program. He saw action in 12 games, missing only one with an injury but was held to minimal carries in two others due to injury. He ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns against Arkansas State and then for 247 yards and four touchdowns (both school records) against Georgia Southern in a game where he willed his team to victory. He ranked in the top 50 in seven categories nationally including 13th in rushing touchdowns and 10th in total touchdowns.
Webb is backed up by Braylon McReynolds (So) who played in 11 games as a true freshman with 326 yards on 59 carries. He was able to show his speed and explosiveness only a few times last season, but look for him to get more opportunities this season.
The staff added Kentrell Bullock (Jr), an Ole Miss transfer, and he will also factor into the rotation with McReynolds.
Marco Lee (Sr) returns after his first season with the Jags where he had 67 carries for 247 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair of touchdowns against UCLA. He will be the bruiser back they can send in for those tough goal line and short yardage situations.
Replacing Wayne as the starter in week one is Jamaal Pritchett (So). He saw action in eight games last fall but only has two catches to his resume. On the other side is Devin Voisin (R-Jr) who played in all 13 games. He was named an honorable mention All-SBC team and All-Conference by Phil Steele. He had 64 catches for 867 yards and five touchdowns on the season, including a season-high 11 catches and 153 yards in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl against Western Kentucky.
Caullin Lacy (Jr) started all 13 games last season in the slot with a team-high 65 catches for 816 yards and six touchdowns with a career high 12 catches for 133 yards against Louisiana-Monroe. He also serves as the primary punt returner with 21 returns for 189 yards and a touchdown return against Louisiana Tech.
What may be one of the more underrated positions of strength on the offense is at tight end. The Jags return five seasoned and talented players in Lincoln Sefcik (Sr), DJ Thomas-Jones (Sr), Brandon Crum (Sr), Jacob Hopper (Jr), and Todd Justice (R-Jr). While they haven’t been featured pass receivers over the last few seasons, they are excellent possession receivers and tend to come through when the ball is thrown their way and a catch is needed.
Sefcik and Thomas-Jones will likely split starting duties again this season.
But what allows the offense to do what it does, the offensive line returns all but one starter from last year. James Jackson is gone since his eligibility was exhausted. But Josh McCulloch (Sr), Dontae Lucas (Sr), Reggie Smith (Sr), and Adrein Strickland (So) all return. Reggie Smith will move over to center and James Robinson (R-Jr) will start at left guard. Robinson transferred in from Tennessee and saw action in eight games last year as a backup guard and also on special teams.
Defense
The defense returns their own fair share of starters from last year while returning some talented players from injury too.
Jamie Sheriff (R-Sr), Wy’Kevious Thomas (R-Jr), and Charles Coleman (Sr) all return as starters on the defensive line. Brock Higdon (R-Jr), Jamall Hickbottom (Sr), and Carlos Johnson (Jr), Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge (R-So), and Maurice Strong Jr. (Sr) all return with game experience from last season. Unfortunately it seems that Ed Smith (So) will miss this game and possibly the season with an injury in the last practice of fall camp.
James Miller (Sr), Trey Kiser (Sr), and Quentin Wilfawn (R-Jr) all return as starters at linebacker. Ke’Shun Brown (R-Jr) also has starting experience and returns to bolster the group as a reserve along with Khalil Jacobs (So) and LaMondre Brooks (So) are both listed on the two-deep with game experience from last season.
The coaching staff added Gavin Forsha (Jr) from Kansas State, Taylor Milton (Jr) from Texas A&M, Emauri Sibley (So) from JuCo ranks, and Eli Webb (So) from Belhaven to add some additional depth at linebacker.
Ricky Fletcher (So) and Marquise Robinson (Jr) return as starting corners with Reggie Neely (Jr) and Dallas Gamble (R-Jr) both return with game experience as reserves.
Keith Gallmon (R-Sr) returns at free safety after missing all of 2022 with an injury. He is backed up by Rickey Hyatt (R-Jr). Jaden Voisin (R-Jr) or Jalen Jordan (Jr) are listed as the starter at Rover. Yam Banks (Jr) is back to start at Husky after leading the team with six interceptions last season.
The coaching staff added a long list of players in the offseason to add quality depth in the secondary. Reggie Neely (Jr Juco), Eli Ntsasa (Jr community college), Cameron Rutledge (Jr Division II transfer), Wesley Miller (R-Fr Mississippi State), Jordon Buchanan (R-Fr Purdue), Jamarrien Burt (R-Fr Oklahoma), Brian Dillart (R-So West Georgia), and Mike Harris (R-Jr Baylor) all transferred.
Coach Wommack also hired former Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson, who previously served two years as Director of High School Relations at Mississippi State to coach the cornerbacks along with defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, who coaches the safeties, but calls plays from the press box during games.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo (Sr) will handle placekicking duties, his fourth season as the starter. Desmond Trotter or Jack Martin are listed as serving as the holder. Jacob Meeks (Sr) will return to serve as kickoff specialist. With Jack Brooks deciding to depart the team, Jack Martin (Sr) who transferred from Alabama but didn’t see any action in 2022, is listed along with true freshman Aleksi Pulkkinen from Helsinki Finland as the punter.
Travis Drosos (Jr) will handle the long snapping duties with Anthony Zaccaro (Jr) backing him up.
Caullin Lacy will handle punt returns and Braylon McReynolds and Caullin Lacy will line up for kickoff returns.
Keys to the Game
Consistency
More often than not, the team that executes more consistently in the first game of the season tends to win the game.
Over the last two seasons with Coach Wommack and his staff, they have been pretty consistent in the early games of the season. In 2021 they defeated Southern Miss, now a fellow conference member, in the season opener. Then in 2022 they handled FCS Nicholls as expected, but they also went to Central Michigan and defeated the Jim McElwain coached Chippewas with consistent execution.
Quarterback Pressure
South Alabama was picked apart by a very talented and experienced quarterback at Western Kentucky. It really exposed and exploited the secondary as the weak point of the Jaguars defense.
Tulane is returning a three-year starter at quarterback who completed 62% of his passes last season for 2,684 yards while also rushing for 494 yards. They may not set off alarm bells, but Pratt has shown that he a player.
He is regarded enough to be named to the Maxwell Award Watch List in 2022 and again for this season.
Tulane will definitely test all aspects of the Jaguar defense. If the Jags defensive front can’t get pressure on Pratt and the Jag secondary struggles against the pass, it could be another long game in New Orleans.
Running Backs
The edited mantra for the Jags last season was “Run the Dang ball.” It was such a thing that strength and conditioning coach Matt Shadeed was, I believe, the first one to have a shirt made to wear at practice with….a version….of the saying prominently displayed on it.
And La’Damian Webb sure did his part!
This may be the deepest and most talented group of running backs, from top to bottom, that have all suited up for the Jags in one season. They may only be three listed on the two-deep chart, but there are five running backs who could easily be put in to start.
Last season the Jags averaged just over 155 yards per game rushing. They have a good opportunity with the talent they have to improve on that this season.
Meanwhile Tulane averaged just under 205 yards rushing per game. Their leading rusher, Tyjae Spears, is gone this season which leaves their top returning rusher as quarterback Michael Pratt.
Coach Fitz and his staff will undoubtedly find someone who fill Spears’ cleats.
The Jags defense held opponents to just over 92 yards rushing per game last season. So this could be a very interesting matchup on the field Saturday night.
Prediction
South Alabama is a 6.5 point underdog to Tulane in New Orleans.
The first game of a new season is often a tricky one. It can set the tone for the entire season to come. You find out quickly where you need to improve and likely where your strengths lie.
This couldn’t be truer than this season opener.
Two teams who exceeded expectations last season who now have higher expectations for this season. But we also have two teams that couldn’t be more opposite once the final whistle sounded last season.
Tulane held off a top 10 ranked USC, while the Jaguars suffered their worst loss of the season in their bowl game. Coach Wommack, his staff and the players all looked back at what the season could have been. A one-point loss on the road at UCLA on a field goal as time expired, a four-point loss at home against Troy in their lowest offensive output of the season, but then the 21-point loss to Western Kentucky in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
South Alabama still has the bitter taste of defeat fresh in their mouth. But they are also going back to the same city where that bitterness originated.
I can’t help but think that’s some extra motivation.
While I may be looking at this through my red, white and blue glasses, I think the Jags not only cover the spread, but they win outright 38-34.
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!
Preview: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – South Alabama vs Western Kentucky
Kickoff: Wednesday, December 21, 8:00pm
Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
TV/Streaming: ESPN
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
South Alabama’s march towards the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl is quickly reaching its end. The Jags will tee it off against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at 8pm on Wednesday, December 21st in the Big Easy.
Jaguar fans have been eager to earn a bowl invite since their last trip in 2016.
Six years is a long time to wait for another shot to win the schools first bowl game. While the Jags were favored to be bowl eligible in preseason prognostications, few outside of Jag Nation thought they would be rolling into the post season with a 10-2 record. Much less only losing their two games by a combined 5 points.
While playing in a bowl game is a huge accomplishment for the team, the extra practices leading up to the bowl game is huge in and of itself. It’s additional reps for the young players and keeps momentum going to bridge the football season into spring football.
Head coach Kane Wommack said in his press conference leading up to game week that the team has gone back to a fall camp practice schedule. They were doing fundamental drills that haven’t been run since August due to time. But they are still doing preparation for Western Kentucky at certain times throughout those practices. Once they got to game week, then they started their usual game-week preparation.
Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers are no stranger to South Alabama. They were fellow members in the Sun Belt Conference from 1982 until their departure in 2014. The Jags and Hilltoppers had a particularly strong rivalry in men’s basketball over the years.
The one and only time the Jags and Hilltoppers met on the gridiron, the Jags won 31-24 back in the 2013 season.
Now the Hilltoppers come in representing Conference USA with an 8-5 record on the season. They were allowed to schedule a 13th regular season game by the NCAA as compensation for traveling to play at Hawaii. Some of their noteworthy games on the season: 33-30 loss at Indiana, 73-0 win over Florida International, 31-28 loss to CUSA Champ UTSA, and a 32-31 win over Florida Atlantic in overtime in the regular season finale.
Offense
Western Kentucky is the #2 ranked passing offense team in the nation, behind only Washington and ahead of #3 Tennessee and #4 Georgia Southern. Their rushing offense ranks 72nd in the nation. They rank 10th in total offense in the nation.
On the season Western Kentucky averaged 35.8 points (18th nationally), 483.5 total yards (9th nationally), 339.2 passing yards (2nd nationally), 144.3 rushing yards (72nd nationally), and 28:52 time of possession per game (92nd nationally).
They converted 72-of-175 (41%) of their 3rd down attempts (T46th nationally) and 15-of-37 (41%) of their 4th down attempts (105th nationally).
They possessed the ball in their opponents red zone 53 times, scoring on 44 of those possessions (83%) with 34 of them being touchdowns (64%) (71st nationally).
Austin Reed went 353-of-548 (64.4%) for 4,249 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions at quarterback. Two other players saw some playing time but neither one had any significant numbers for the season. Reed actually put his name in the transfer portal, but has since removed it to stay at WKU.
In total, WKU had seven receivers who had over 100 yards receiving on the season, four of them with over 500 yards on the season, and also seven receivers who caught touchdowns. Malachi Corley led the team with 1,181 yards on 90 catches with 9 touchdowns. Daewood Davis added 872 yards on 63 catches with 7 touchdowns in 12 games played. Jaylen Hall had 731 yards on 59 catches with 5 touchdowns. Michael Mathison added 580 yards on 49 catches with 3 touchdowns.
Kye Robichaux and Davion Ervin-Poindexter were the top two running backs on the season. Robichaux, a sophomore, rushed for 496 yards on 73 carries with three touchdowns in only eight games played, he suffered an injury against North Texas and saw action in only one other game the rest of the season. Robichaux is listed 3rd on the depth chart at running back. Ervin-Poindexter rushed for 492 yards on 107 carries with 3 touchdowns as well. Quarterback Reed has logged 199 yards on 87 attempts with eight touchdowns.
Defense
The Hilltopper defense is allowing an average of 23.5 points (44th nationally), 380.8 total yards (69th nationally), 225.2 passing yards (70th nationally), 155.6 rushing yards (75th nationally), and 31:08 time of possession per game this season.
Opponents are converting 68-of-194 (35%) of their 3rd down attempts (39th nationally) and 14-of-28 (50%) of their 4th down attempts on the season (T62nd nationally).
Opponents have scored on 36-of-41 (88%) of their trips into the red zone. With 24 (59%) of them result in touchdowns (98th nationally).
JaQues Evans leads the team with 100 total stops, 60 of them solo. Evens also leads the team with 11 tackles for loss, and sacks with 7.5, two fumble recoveries, and a blocked kick. Derrick Smith is next with 90 total stops, 56 solo with six tackles for loss and three sacks and an interception. Kahlef Hailassie has 65 total stops, 44 of them solo, 8 tackles for loss (2nd on team), three sacks, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Kaleb Oliver and Upton Stout are the team co-leaders with three interceptions each. .
Special Teams
Brayden Narveson converted all 59 of his extra point attempts on the season. He also went 15-of-21 on field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards.
Cory Munson has handled all but one punt on the season. Munson is averaging 61.1 yards per punt with 34 touchbacks and 3 kicked out of bounds. Narveson punted once on the season for 65 yards and a touchback.
Transfer Portal
Most of WKU’s student athletes entering the transfer portal are on the defensive side of the ball. Edge rusher and leading tackler JaQues Evans entered the transfer portal on 12/14. He joined fellow edge rusher Dante Walker who joined on 12/12. Safety Arthur Brathwaite entered on 12/7.
Offensive tackle Luke Slusher and wide receiver Joshua Simon both entered the portal on 12/6.
On 12/5 Wide receiver Barry Wagner, safety Talique Allen, quarterbck Darius Ocean, and offensive tackle Rusty Staats all entered the portal.
12/1 starting kicker Brayden Narveson entered his name into the transfer portal.
South Alabama
As has been already mentioned, this is the Jags first bowl appearance since 2016 and only the 3rd bowl appearance in program history.
Head coach Kane Wommack only needed two seasons to get the Jags into a bowl game and to record their best record as a FBS program. The New Orleans Bowl gives them the opportunity to add one more to their win column and to notch the programs first bowl win.
Offense
The Jags are averaging 31.9 points (T41st nationally), 423.8 total yards (40th nationally), 259.2 passing yards (42nd nationally), 164.6 (57th nationally) rushing yards, and 32:24 time of possession (18th nationally) per game this season.
They are converting 77-of-179 (43%, 35th nationally) of their 3rd down attempts, and 17-of-26 (65.4%, T21st nationally) of their 4th down attempts.
Of the Jags 49 trips into the red zone, they’ve scored on 41 of them (83.7%) and scored touchdowns on 30 (61.2%) of those trips. Those numbers rank them at T68 nationally in red zone offense.
Quarterback Carter Bradley, who came to South Alabama from Toledo, has gone 240-of-374 (64.2%) for 2,983 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the regular season. Desmond Trotter appeared in four games going 14-of-18 for 127 yards.
South Alabama had a trio of receivers with over 50 receptions and 700-yards receiving on the season. Jalen Wayne led the trio with 793 yards and 9 touchdowns on 56 catches. Caullin Lacy led the trio with 58 catches for 759 yards and six touchdowns. Devin Voisin, who came on later in the season, caught 53 passes for 718 yards and four touchdowns.
Behind the three-headed beast of receivers, the next closest is Braylon McReynolds with 188 yards on 17 catches with a touchdown.
La’Damian Webb led the Jags backfield with 1,015 yards on 197 carries with 13 touchdowns. He missed one game due to an injury.
McReynolds finished his true freshman regular season with 311 yards on 55 carries as the second leading rusher. Marco Lee rushed for 247 yards and four touchdowns on 67 carries. Omni Wells rushed for 234 yards on 55 carries.
Defense
The Jags are allowing an average of 19.4 points (T14th nationally), 302.6 total yards (11th nationally), 215.0 passing yards (51st nationally), 87.6 rushing yards (4th nationally), and 27:11 time of possession per game.
Opponents converted 49-of-164 (29.9%, 11th nationally) of their 3rd down attempts, and 15-of-26 (57.7%, T105th nationally) of their 4th down attempts.
Opponents have possessed the ball in the red zone 35 times during the regular season and scored on 28 of those trips (80%), with only 17 being touchdowns (48.6%) those numbers lands them at T36th nationally.
Jaden Voisin finished the regular season with 76 total stops, 42 of them solo, to lead the team. He added 6 tackles for loss, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Trey Kiser had 71 total stops, 53 solo, with four sacks and a forced fumble on the season. Kiser and CJ Rias are team co-leaders with 10 tackles for loss each. Jamie Sheriff leads the team with six sacks.
Yam Banks leads the team with 5 interceptions on the season while also leading with 10 pass breakups and five quarterback hurries.
Special Teams
Jack Brooks has 53 punts on the season with an average of 42.8 yards per kick with 16 kicks downed inside the 20, 11 fair catches, 10 punts of 50+ yards and only 3 touchbacks.
Diego Guajardo finished the season 17-of-18 on field goals with a long of 49 yards, and 44-of-45 on extra point attempts.
Transfer Portal
Only two Jaguars who have entered the portal have been Anterrious Gray, who left the team to enter his name into the portal during the season, and reserve quarterback Eli Gainey.
Keys to the Game
Pass Defense
Western Kentucky is a very prolific passing offense led by the most prolific quarterback the Jags will have faced all season. In addition, the Jags have had their share of injuries in the back end of the defense. Keith Gallmon Jr was lost in preseason camp, Marvin Martin was lost during the season with very serious hit in practice, Quentin Wilfawn was lost during the season due to a shoulder injury.
It seems the Jags have been particularly susceptible to inside slants. But when they are able to shut down their opponents rushing attack and are able to get pressure on the quarterback with their defensive front, they have been able to drop a linebacker and take away that play.
The Hilltoppers rank above Georgia Southern (4th ranks passing offense nationally), which the Jags were able to defeat in Statesboro. The Jags held them to almost 50 yards below their season average and only allowed seven points in the second half.
Turnovers
Turnovers as a “key to the game” is pretty obvious. It’s always a key to the game.
An interesting college football stat is that, if your team averages a turnover margin of +1 per game, you should expect them to win 8 or 9 games if all other things are equal (but they never are).
However teams often have more turnovers in bowl games, possibly due to the time between their final regular season game and the bowl game. Call it rust, or just a long layoff, but teams often suffer from the “turnover bug” in postseason play.
It’s a no-brainer that if you get more turnovers than you give away, your chance of winning is higher.
The Jags offense has been very good all season protecting the ball. They’ve had 10 fumbles all season but lost only 4 of them to their opponents. Bradley has thrown 10 interceptions but he threw half of them in the final four games of the season, three in the last two while he was nursing an injured non-throwing shoulder.
Run The D*mn Ball
RTDB has become a mantra for the Jags. It was mentioned that Director of Football Athletic Performance, Matt Shadeed, printed “RTDB” on a sheet of paper and taped it to his shirt for a practice and that was when they adopted it as their mantra. Now they have actually printed shirts that have been worn by coaches in practices.
La’Damian Webb has shouldered the workload in a few games and basically willed the team to a win. The offensive line opened a crease and Webb would explode through them to grind out first down and melt the clock. That has helped him to be only the second 1,000 yard rusher in Jaguar history.
He scored the final three touchdowns against Georgia Southern in the Jags come-from-behind win and ate clock while doing it. He even did that after having the flu during the week leading up to the game.
A strong run game will minimize opponent’s possessions and shorten the game. Braylon McReynolds showed he can fill in for Webb in the final two games of the season when Webb was hampered by a foot injury. Marco Lee and Omni Wells also had a huge game filling in for Webb and McReynolds when they both missed a game early in the season.
Prediction
South Alabama opened at a 7.5-point favorite but the spread has shrunk to only a 4.5 point favorite for the Jags.
Coach Wommack and his staff are great and preparing for games as well as master motivators. I expect the Jags to come out fast. The team, especially the seniors, will be highly motivated to earn the first bowl win in program history. Excluding players who have transferred from other programs, there’s no one on the team who have been to a bowl game before.
I think the Jags win but I think it will be a close, hard-fought game where they don’t cover the spread. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the Jags having to mount a game winning drive late in the game.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Rallies Late To Defeat Old Dominion 27-20, Earns Tenth Win Of Season
South Alabama (10-2, 7-1 SBC) held Old Dominion (3-9, 2-6 SBC) scoreless after halftime for a comeback win over the Monarchs to secure the programs first 10-win season as a FBS program. The win also kept the Jags hopes alive for a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game.
A banged-up Carter Bradley found Jalen Wayne for a 30-yard touchdown with 4:50 left in the 3rd quarter to tie the game.
Then in the 4th quarter the Jags pieced together a 15-play, 69-yard drive in 6:57 to take the lead for the first and only time of the game. Carter Bradley opened the drive with a gutsy 18-yard run with a thrilling hurdle over a Monarch defender. On 3rd and goal at the 2-yard line, Bradley connected with DJ Thomas-Jones for the touchdown to complete the comeback.
The Monarch had one last chance to tie the game. They opened their possession with a 15-yard pass from Wolff to Ahmarian Granger and two plays later what looked like a big sack for a 6-yard loss was negated by a facemask penalty for 15 yards. Five plays later it looked like Old Dominion had a 25-yard touchdown pass but a penalty for a chop block moved them back to the Jaguars 40-yard line. Then on 4th & 13, Jamie Sheriff sacked Wolff for a 10-yard loss and a turnover on downs.
The Jags haven’t won many, if any, coin tosses at home this season. They won the toss and elected to defer their choice to the second half. The Monarchs took the opening kickoff and only needed five plays to find the end zone and put the Jags in the hole 7-0. On the second snap Hayden Wolff connected with Blake Watson for a 36-yard gain. Three plays later and Wolff connected with Javon Harvey for a 26-yard touchdown.
South Alabama answered back with a 15-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game. Carter Bradley finished the drive off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Caullin Lacy.
Old Dominion came right back to retake the lead though. Watson opened the drive with a 35-yard run. But Wolff threw three consecutive incomplete passes at the South Alabama 16-yard line and settled for a 33-yard field goal to go up 10-7 late in the first quarter.
Again, the Jags answered. After driving down to the ODU 24, Carter Bradley’s left non-throwing shoulder was driven into the turf hard and he had to go out of the game to get checked by the training staff. Desmond Trotter came in and reeled off a 14-yard run. On 3rd & 5, Bradley threw for Lincoln Sefcik but he couldn’t bring in the ball. Diego Guajardo converted the 23-yard field goal to bring the teams even at 10-each.
Watson opened the next ODU possession with another big run and finished it with a 6-yard touchdown reception on a shovel pass to put the Monarchs back ahead 17-10.
South Alabama drove down to the Monarchs 28 yard line but couldn’t convert on 3rd & 5. Diego Guajardo nailed a 46-yard field goal to cut lead to 17-13 late in the second quarter.
But Old Dominion wouldn’t quit. They drove down to the USA 2-yard line but the Jags defense set their cleats in the turf and refused to allow the Monarchs in the end zone. Wolff kept the ball and gained a yard. Watson was dropped for a loss and no gain to bring up 4th down. ODU head coach Ricky Rayne rushed on the kicking team and converted an 18-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-13 lead at halftime.
Stats
South Alabama had been out-gained on total yards for the whole game until the Jags go-ahead drive. The Jags out-gained the Monarchs 398-381 in total yards and 208-96 rushing, but was out-gained by ODU 285-190 passing.
The Jags converted 9-of-17 on 3rd down, and all three of their 4th down attempts in the game. ODU converted 7-of-15 on 3rd down and one of their two 4th down attempts.
South Alabama had a 35:08 to 24:52 advantage in time of possession and were only flagged five times for 40 yards.
Carter Bradley was 17-of-29 for 190 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Caullin Lacy caught six passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Wayne caught only 3 of his 9 targets for 63 yards and a touchdown. Devin Voisin caught three passes for 36 yards before having to leave the game with a shoulder injury.
La’Damian Webb didn’t start the game but came in and ran for 74 yards on 18 carries. Webb finished the regular season with 1,015 yards rushing.
Braylon McReynolds carried the ball 10 times for 56 yards. Omni Wells added 40 yards on nine carries. Bradley got 22 yards on five carries.
Old Dominion’s Hayden Wolff finished 21-of-36 for 285 yards and two touchdowns.
Blake Watson ran for 110 yards on 18 carries as the only ball-carrier other than Wolff with carries, and the only one who finished with positive yardage.
Watson also led the team receiving with 88 yards on 6 catches with a touchdown. Granger had 5 catches for 71 yards.
Next
South Alabama would have hosted the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday, December 3rd, however Troy defeated Arkansas State to win the SBC West Division due to the head-to-head tie-breaker against the Jags.
South Alabama will have to wait until Sunday, December 4th at 11am for the Bowl Selection Show to find out who and where they will be spending bowl season.
