Jags Defeat ULM Behind Solid Defensive Effort
Teammates celebrate with Ross Metheny after his 63-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter against Louisiana-Monroe.
The University of South Alabama football team kept their bowl chances alive after a record-setting defensive effort against the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The team set a school record with nine sacks in the contest with Pat Moore and Montavious Williams each collecting 2.5 sacks and allowing a season-low 274 yards in the 36-14 win.
Ross Metheny also became the first Jaguar in school history to throw and rush for over 100 yards in a single game as the threw for 194 yards and rushed for 128 yards on 16 carries, including a game-sealing 63 yard scamper down the left sidelines in the fourth quarter for a touchdown.
The win improves the Jaguars record to 4-6 overall and 2-3 in Sun Belt play while snapping a three-game losing skid. The Warhawks fell to 5-6 overall and 3-3 in SBC play, their second-consecutive loss.
The Jaguars first two scores came off the toe of redshirt freshman Aleem Sunanon. His first came with about six-and-a-half minutes left in the first quarter when he connected on a 43 yard kick to cap off an eight-play drive that began with a 17 yard rush by Metheny.
On the Jaguars next possession, Metheny would connect with Shavarez Smith for a 43 yard reception to set up the second field goal. With about three-and-a-half minutes left in the first quarter, Sunanon connected from 45 yards out to give South Alabama a 6-0 advantage.
ULM took the lead after an 11-play, 80 yard drive when Kolton Browning caught the Jaguars blitzing and split the defenders and scampered in from six yard out with two-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter.
However the Jaguars would respond. Just over three-minutes later, Metheny found Shavarez Smith again, this time for a 29-yard touchdown where the defender initially had the ball, but Smith took it away to secure the touchdown. The drive was highlighted not only by Smith’s catch, but a 17 yard completion from Metheny to Jereme Jones and also a reverse to Jake Howton who threw a 13-yard completion to Metheny to keep the drive alive. The point-after attempt was fumbled so the Jaguar lead was 12-7.
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USA Vs Lousiana-Monroe: By The Numbers
The University of South Alabama Jaguar football team (3-6 overall, 1-3 SBC) will kickoff against conference foe Louisiana-Monroe (5-5 overall, 3-2 SBC) at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday at 6:00pm. They are coming off of a 42-14 loss at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. Navy rushed for 351 yards against the Jaguars in the triple-option offense.
ULM is also returning to action after a 42-14 loss of their own to Arkansas State which snapped their three-game winning streak.
Lets take a look at how the two teams stack up in terms of Sun Belt statistics. It should be noted that the Jags have played nine games this season while the rest of the conference have played 10 games, excluding Troy who has played 11 games so far this season.
The scoring offense category sees the Jags ranked fifth in the conference with an average of 27.7 points per game while the Warhawks are ranked seventh with an average of 22.2 points per game this season.
In scoring defense, South Alabama ranks 5th by allowing an average of 29.2 points per game while ULM is right behind them with an average of 29.8 points per game allowed to their opponents.
Total Offense again have the Jags and Warhawks ranked back to back. South Alabama has the edge in 5th place with an average of 421.9 yards per game of total offense. ULM ranks 6th with an average of 365.6 yards per game of total offense. That’s a difference of over 50 yards per game between the two.
Breaking down the total offensive yards, the Jags rank 5th in the conference by gaining an average of 158 yards on the ground per game. ULM ranks 7th with an average of 128.1 yards per game rushing. Meanwhile the Jags rank 3rd in the conference in passing offense with an average of 263.9 yards passing per game. ULM ranks 5th with an average of 237.5 yards per game passing.
The Jags rank 5th in the conference in passing efficiency with a rating of 129.7 while ULM ranks last in the conference, 8th, with a rating of 110.7.
Looking to the other side of the ball we see USA and ULM ranked back-to-back again. The Jags rank 5th in the conference in total defense by allowing an average of 420 yards per game. ULM comes in right behind them in 6th place by allowing 422.7 yards per game of total offense.
Breaking down the total offense stat, we see ULM ranking 6th in the conference in rushing defense allowing an average of 188.7 yards per game on the ground. The Jags rank right behind them in 7th place by allowing an average of 194.7 yards per game on the ground.
Pass defense sees South Alabama fare a bit better as they rank 2nd in the conference in pass defense by allowing an average of 225.3 yards per game through the air. The Warhawks rank 4th in the conference allowing an average of 234 yards per game through the air.
Pass defense efficiency sees ULM rank 2nd in the conference with opponents pass efficency rating being 122.3. USA ranks 5th in the conference with opponents pass efficency rating of 137.1.
Now we turn to special teams. The Jags rank 3rd in the conference in kickoff returns with an average of 22.2 yards per return. ULM ranks 5th with an average of 20.5 yards per kickoff return. Though the Jags fare worse in punt return average where they are dead last in the conference with an average of 6.1 yards per punt return. ULM ranks 4th with an average punt return of 9.7 yards.
South Alabama average 35.4 yards per punt which is good for 6th place in the conference. ULM ranks 2nd in the conference with an average of 39.0 yards per punt.
South Alabama ranks 4th in the conference in field goals by making 68.8% of their kicks. USA is 11-for-16 on the season through nine games. ULM ranks last in the conference by making 50% of their field goal attempts. They are 4-of-8 on the season through eight games.
ULM is tied for 3rd place in defensive interceptions this season with nine. The Jags are in a tie for 5th place with 8 interceptions through nine games.
The Jags are 2nd in the conference in defensive sacks with 22 through nine games. ULM ranks 7th in the conference with only 13 sacks through 10 games.
While the Jaguar offense has given up the fewest sacks on the season with 14 through 9 games. ULM ranks 3rd by allowing 16 sacks through 10 games.
South Alabama and ULM are neck-and-neck in 3rd down conversion rates. USA converts 37.5% of their 3rd down opportunities while the Warhawks convert 37.2% of their 3rd down opportunities.
Defensively, ULM ranks 1st in the conference in opponents 3rd down conversion rate by allowing their opponents to convert only 35.8% of their attempts. The Jags rank 4th by allowing opponents to convert 41.3% of the time.
The Warhawks ranks 1st in the conference in penalties with an average of 40.4 yards per game of penalties. The Jags rank 3rd with 45.9 yards per game of penalties. Though the two are tied with 51 penalties each.
Lousiana-Monroe and the Jaguars are again back-to-back this time in time of possession. ULM averages 29:17 per game which is good for 6th place in the conference. The Jags are 7th place with an average time of possession of 28:55 per game.
Turnover margin is in South Alabama’s favor as they are even on the season, 11 gained and 11 lost. Meanwhile ULM ranks 6th with a -8 turnover margin. They have gained 15 from opponents while losing 23 balls, 14 of them interceptions.
USA ranks 6th in the conference in red zone offense by converting 28-37 opportunities into points for an average of 75.7%. ULM ranks last, 8th place, in the conference by scoring on 21-of=34 times in the red zone for an average of 61.8%.
Red zone defense is polar opposites for the two teams. ULM ranks 1st in the conference by allowing opponents to score 26-of-35 times in the red zone for an average of 74.3%. South Alabama ranks 8th, dead last, in the conference by allowing opponents to score 32-of-37 times in the red zone for an average of 86.5%.
Wes Saxton may be able to suit up for the game after a sprained ankle suffered against Navy.
The game will be televised on ESPN3 and the Sun Belt Network. Audio play-by-play will also be available from wnsp on 105.5FM and from their website www.wnsp.com
Non-AQ Top 10 11-18-2013
Fresno State and Northern Illinois get even tighter atop the top 10. Fresno State has the edge by 1 first place vote and 1 point overall. Louisiana-Lafayette remains the only Sun Belt representative in the top 10 at #7 with former SBC member North Texas one spot behind them in 8th place.
Arkansas State is not in the top ten, but did receive some votes this week.
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Non-AQ Top 10
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|||
|
RK
|
TEAM
|
RECORD
|
PTS
|
|
1
|
Fresno
State (7) |
9-0
|
124
|
|
2
|
Northern
Illinois (6) |
10-0
|
123
|
|
3
|
Brigham
Young |
7-3
|
87
|
|
4
|
East
Carolina |
8-2
|
77
|
|
5
|
Ball
State |
9-2
|
76
|
|
6
|
Boise
State |
7-3
|
60
|
|
7
|
Louisiana
|
8-2
|
59
|
|
8
|
North Texas
|
7-3
|
29
|
|
9
|
Toledo
|
7-3
|
26
|
|
10
|
Bowling Green
|
7-3
|
18
|
Dropped from rankings: Marshall,
Others receiving votes: Buffalo 12, Marshall 11,
Rice 9, Arkansas State 3, Ohio 1.
Monday Press Conference
Jaguars head coach Joey Jones spoke with the media on Monday to reflect on their game against Navy and to preview this weekend’s game against Louisiana-Monroe. He was joined by defensive lineman Alex Page and wide receiver Shavarez Smith as representatives from the offense and defense. Below are highlights from the press conference.
Coach Jones spoke about how tough it is at the end of the season to have had so many close losses. “The biggest thing I challenged them with yesterday is we’re going to finish the season [strong]. I think it struck home with our seniors, they realized that they could still make something special of this year. They’ve done some really good things to get this program where they are now, and to do something special these last three games is within our grasp. It really comes down to going back to work and having the same energy we’ve had for almost every game this year. I see a different look in our seniors’ eyes right now, because I think they see it coming to an end and they want to do something about it.”
He answered a question about if he has been surprised by how the team has responded. “I’ve told the players this is one of the toughest things I’ve ever been through in my football career, just because you’re doing so many things right but you don’t see it on the scoreboard like you want to. Let’s face it, we’re maybe three plays away from three more wins, and that’s difficult to go through because you tell kids all the time don’t worry about the scoreboard, worry about the process, but that scoreboard matters at times.”
“It’s difficult, there’s no doubt about that, but they’ve laid a foundation and are doing things right,” he continued. “I don’t know that I could look back and say that I would do anything different. We’re a growing program right now, Yes, I would have liked to have won two or three or four of those close games, but the players have brought it every week and that’s the thing that is so satisfying to see. You always say it doesn’t matter what happened last week, but do you really believe that? To me they do, they believe they are moving forward and are going to take these last three games to heart.”
Jones talked about the keys to Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe. “We have to go back to work and do what we’ve been doing. The tendency sometimes when you lose a game is to tray and revamp things, but to me we’re doing a lot of great things. The kids are working hard, paying attention to video, we’re having good practices, and they are mentally charged up for games. When you lose a game like we did last weekend to a really good Navy team, you have to go back to work.”
“I think we’re doing the right things. I believe in the system we have here and I believe in our players.”
He also talked about what aspects about the team impresses him that others cannot or may not see. “The biggest thing is how much they care about each other and how much they care about this football program. It means a lot to our seniors that they want to build this program in the right way, when they came here there was nothing, and now here they are in their senior year and they want to make something of it. They have goals and dreams, and one of those goals is intact, but they want to see this program be the best it can be and do it in the right way. It’s not just about winning football games for them but in doing things the right way, and you can see they truly believe that.”
Jones spoke about the Warhawk’s and some of what they have learned through scouting them. “They are very good on offense, I think everyone knows about Kolton Browning. He’s what I call a magician out there, he just makes play when you don’t think he can make one. He has an uncanny ability to scramble, run towards the line of scrimmage, see someone 40 yards downfield and throw it for a touchdown. He does things you can’t coach.”
“Offensively they have weapons and a power running game they didn’t have the last couple of years.”
“Defensively they run every front known to man, they are by far the most multiple defense of anybody we’re going to play. They’ll have all sorts of fronts and blitzes that we will have to block and protect against, it will be a great challenge for us.”
Jones addressed a question about how much last year’s game will help the Jags prepare to face the Warhawk defense. “I remember we had a decent game against them last year, I think that was one of our better games toward the end of the year. You certainly remember some of the personnel. You leave a game sometimes taking notes on what you wish you had done and bring those with you the next year. Anytime you play anybody you gain experience and know what they are thinking, how they make adjustments. We, in turn, will try to make adjustments from last year.”
Defensive lineman Alex Page talked about facing Navy’s triple option. “The triple option requires so much discipline. It’s so hard-nosed and it takes a toll on your body throughout the game. It’s tough. But being able to get away from that this week and pass rush and do the things that are fun as a defensive lineman is exciting. It will get you going for this week. That’s what you want. You want to be able to run around and have fun out there.”
Page spoke about the things they need to do in order to succeed in the Jags final three games of the season. “We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. You can always say you could have done more, but we’ve played as hard as we could in each game and studied film and learned from the coaches as much as possible. We’ve done all these things. We’ve just had some bad breaks. But knowing we have three more games left, you want to make sure you have every little detail fine-tuned. And you want to make sure the game plan is as ready as it can be. We just have to be as prepared as we’ve ever been.”
He also spoke about Browning at he ULM offense. “They have a great quarterback in Kolton Browning. He makes them go. They get it out on the perimeter, they can run and catch the deep ball. They make big plays. That’s what you see in the league each week. They’re the high-powered offense that we always see in Sun Belt games. We know that we have to contain the quarterback if we want to have a chance. It’s not much different from last year. They are very similar to last season. We just need to contain the quarterback and avoid the big plays.”
Wide receiver Shavarez Smith spoke about the upcoming game against ULM. “This team has a tremendous amount of respect for our seniors. As a whole, we’re going to do what we have to do to send them out on as good of a note as we can because we really respect what they’ve done for this program. We’re just going to go back to work and do what we do every week. We’re going to do what the coaches ask us to do and work as hard as we can.”
He also spoke about what the team needs to do in order to be successful in the final three games of the season. “We just need to be confident. I believe we are a confident team, and we believe in what we do and our abilities. So we just have to be resilient. We have to work hard, believe in our coaching staff and teammates, and just continue to work to win.”
South Alabama and Louisiana-Monroe are scheduled to kick off at 6pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday.
Jags Fall To Navy 42-14 In Annapolis
The Naval Academy and their triple-option offense rushed for over 300 yards against the South Alabama defense. Darius Staten rushed for 127 yards on seven carries to lead the Midshipmen to a 42-14 win over the Jaguars.
Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds rushed for 59 yards on 17 carries and also threw for 168 yards by going 10-of-17 passing. Navy gained a total of 519 yards against the Jaguars while outgaining them by 219 yards.
The Jags fell to 3-6 on the season with three games to go in the season and will need to win their final three games in order to get bowl eligible in their first year as a full member of the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Enrique Williams led the Jaguar defense with 12 tackles for his third consecutive outing with a double-digit total.
Ross Metheny went 18-of-27 passing for 160 yards. Shavarez Smith caught five passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns, his first time posting multiple touchdowns in a game. This was the Jaguars lowest offensive output of the season.
South Alabama was only the second team this season to score a touchdown against the Midshipmen in the first quarter.
Navy’s first drive stalled at the Jaguar 20 after a Jesse Kelley sack on second down and a Romelle Jones pressure forced the Midshipmen to settle for a 37 yard field goal.
The Jags responded with one of their best drives of the season when they marched 78 yards in 14 plays that spanned 5:39 to take a 7-3 lead.
Navy moved the ball in some large chunks on their next scoring drive as they covered 91 yards in just over two minutes to take a 10-7 lead on the Jaguars.
Metheny would lead the Jaguars down the field again as he went 4-of-5 and 41 yards including the 22 yard touchdown strike to Shavarez Smith to put the Jaguars back in the lead 14-10. But that would be the final time the Jags would put points on the board as it would mostly be all Navy for the rest of the game.
The Jags had a chance to get back into the game down 27-14, but could not convert and the triple-option attack would continue to wear on the Jaguar defense.
Navy made some very good adjustments to what South Alabama was doing offensively and held a commanding 261-108 total yardage advantage on the Jags in the second half.
Kendall Houston led the Jaguar ground game with 36 yards on 11 carries with Jay Jones adding 31 yards on seven carries.
Kendall Houston was unable to get into the end zone after two rushing attempts inside the Midshipmen’s five-yard line.
Quarterback Brandon Bridge saw the field after being held out of the previous two games but was to spark the offense as the coaching staff were hoping.
“They were a better football team than us tonight,” head coach Joey Jones said. “You feel like you’re playing catch up the entire game once you fall behind.”
“When you play a team like this, you have to score points to beat them and we just didn’t,” said Jones. “When teams beat them, they score 30-something points, you just have to do that. Our defense didn’t play great. We stopped them a couple of times but we gave up a lot of big plays. They are dang good at what they do.”
The only obvious injury was to Wes Saxton when he was tackled on a crossing pattern and had his leg twisted under him when he went down. After going to the locker room for some time he returned to the sideline on crutches with a sprained ankle and will be listed as day-to-day while he recovers. This is some good injury news for the Jaguars after losing two players for the season in their previous game against Arkansas State. Danny Woodson ruptured his Achilles in a routine play away from the ball and Cris Dinham injured his knee and required surgery that will sideline him the remainder of the regular season.
South Alabama will resume their Sun Belt schedule when they host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, November 23 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
South Alabama vs Navy Gameday
The South Alabama Jaguars and Navy Midshipmen play at 2:30pm CST today in Annapolis, Maryland. The game will be available for viewing on CBS Sports Network and play-by-play can be heard on 105.5FM WNSP and streaming online on www.wnsp.com.
There are a few keys to a Jaguar victory. One of the big things is containing the Midshipmen’s triple-option offense. If the Navy offense gets going, they can grind out yards and eat through clock. It’s possible the Jags could only possess the ball one time in a quarter. But the defense cannot be too aggressive, they will have to play assignment football and be in position at all times.
The Jaguar offense will have to be productive when they have the ball. As mentioned before, it’s possible the offense could only have the ball once a quarter if the Jaguar defense cannot stop the Navy offense. The Jaguar offense must convert on third down and may have to play ball-control offense themselves if the Jaguar defense starts to tire against the Navy offense.
The Navy offense starts with quarterback Keenan Reynolds. He is the team’s top rusher by a large margin and is effective as a passer when needed. Though when the Midshipmen throw more than nine passes their winning percentage plunges. The strategy with the best results when executed against the Midshipmen is to contain the run game, including Reynolds, and force them to throw on third-and-long situations.
The Jags will have to start quickly. Navy has scored 52 points in the first quarter this season while only allowing 19 points to opponents. They also finish pretty well by scoring 86 points in the fourth quarter and allowing 73 points defensively.
The Jags offense will need to score touchdowns, not field goals, when they have the ball. Meanwhile the Jaguar defense wants to hold the Navy offense to field goals when they can.
Navy has a couple players injured as they enter the game. Defensive lineman Bernard Sarra has an injured foot and is doubtful for the game. Fullback Noah Copeland has a leg injury, defensive back Chris Ferguson sufferred a concussion, and offensive lineman Jake Zuzek also a leg injury will all be questionable for the game.
The Jags have lost four players to season ending injuries through the course of the season. Offensive lineman Melvin Meggs tore his ACL over the summer. Defensive end Will Thompson required ankle surgery back in fall camp. Defensive lineman Randon Carnathan had a torn Achilles against Tulane and most recently wide receiver Danny Woodson had a ruptured Achilles in the Jags previous game. Defensive lineman Romelle Jones sprained his MCL a couple weeks ago but was able to play in the Jaguars previous game. Tight end Wes Saxton has been recovering from a shoulder injury but will play. Linebacker Maleki Harris left the previous game and was on the sidelines with a sling on his right arm, but will also be ready to play. Finally Qudarius Ford left the previous game with a concussion, but has passed the battery of tests in order to return to practice and be able to play.
The Jags have four games left this season including todays game. Navy is a 7.5 point favorite in today’s game.
Know Your Stadiums: Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium
Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. | bloguin.com
The Naval Academy plays in the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is an outdoor stadium near the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. As well as being the home of the Navy football team, but also the men’s lacrosse team and the Chesapeake Bayhawks lacross team. It will also be the home of the Military Bowl starting in 2013.
The stadium opened on September 26, 1965 with a win over William & Mary 29-2.
The stadium serves as a memorial to the Navy and Marine Corps and is dedicated to those who have served, and will serve, as upholders of the traditions and renown of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Prior to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Navy played their football games at Thompson Stadium which seated only 12,000. Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium seats 34,000 officially but has a record attendance for the Navy vs Air Force game in October 5, 2013 is 38,225 to see the Midshipmen win 28-10.
In 2004 the stadium underwent a major renovation. Among the improvements the press box was expanded, 140 club seats and associated club lounge, private suites, new stadium seating in the northwest end zone, ADA enhancements, updated restrooms, concession areas and stadium operation facilities, new banquet facilities and renovated locker room facilities.
The stadium surface was natural grass until the 2005 season when it was replaced with FieldTurf.
Navy’s rivalry game against Army has never been played at Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium. Instead they play at a neutral site between the campuses on the east coast, most often in Philadelphia and with occasional visits to Baltimore and East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Also, the Navy’s rivalry game against Notre Dame has never been played in Annapolis since the series began in 1927. All of Navy’s home games have been played in either Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland, East Rutherford, Orlando or Dublin, Ireland over the years. However, since 1953, all of Notre Dame’s home games have been played in South Bend.
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- Aerial photo of Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium. | Militarybowl.org
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- A view of Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium from the pressbox on a game night. | wikipedia.org
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- Navy-Memorial Memorial Stadium | grfx.cstv.com
South Alabama vs Navy By The Numbers
South Alabama travels to play Navy tomorrow in Annapolis, Maryland. Kickoff for the game is set for 2:30 CST and the first of a home-and-home series.
The Midshipmen run the triple-option which is now considered a throw-back offense. However they run it to near perfection which is not unexpected from a service academy. In the Midshipmen’s 38-34 loss to Notre Dame they did not commit a single penalty.
The key to any team that runs the triple-option is the quarterback. This holds true with Navy. Keenan Reynolds is the engine that makes the Navy offense go. Reynolds is the team’s leading rusher with 825 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also throws for an average of 90.4 yards per game, though they rarely go to the air. He does have six touchdown passes and has been intercepted twice in 91 attempts.
When the midshipmen throw 9 or fewer passes, they have a much higher winning percentage.
Navy ranks 5th in the nation in rushing offense with an average of 306.6 yards per game and 32 rushing touchdowns on the season. The Jags rank 72nd in the nation in ushing with an average of 162.8 yards per game and 18 touchdowns.
South Alabama ranks 31st in the nation is passing offense with an average of 274.4 yards per game and 10 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Navy ranks 122nd out of 123 with an average of 97.1 yards per game with six touchdowns.
South Alabama ranks 46th in total offense with an average of 437.1 yards per game and 29 touchdowns. Navy ranks 69th in the nation with an average of 403.7 yards per game of total offense with 38 touchdowns.
In total defense, South Alabama ranks just ahead of Navy in overall yards per game allowed. The Jags rank 73rd with an average of 407.6 yards per game and 26 touchdowns. Navy ranks 76th in the nation and allows an average of 412.9 yards per game and 31 touchdowns.
Navy Ranks 27th in the nation in pass defense by allowing an average of 213.2 yards per game through the air or an average of 10.32 yards per completion. The Jags rank 66th in the nation allowing an average of 232.5 yards per game and 11.41 yards per completion.
The Jags rank 79th in the nation in rushing defense allowing an average of 175.1 yards per game and a naverage of 4.64 yards per rush and only eight touchdowns. Navy ranks 98th in the nation in rushing defense by allowing an average of 199.7 yards per game and an average of 4.94 yards per rush. They have only given up 14 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Navy ranks 53rd in the nation in scoring offense with 30.9 points per game. South Alabama ranks 63rd in scoring offense with an average of 29.4 points per game.
Navy ranks 64th in the nation in scoring defense allowing an average of 26.4 points per game while South Alabama ranks 72nd in the nation by allowing an average of 27.6 points per game.
The Jags have lost four games this season by two points or less and their three conference losses has been by a total of four points. Their largest loss of the season was by seven points to the University of Tennessee.
Wes Saxton is the team’s leading receiver with 39 receptions for 496 yards while averaging 62.0 yards per game. Shavarez Smith is second on the team with 29 catches for 551 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 68.9 yards per game. Jereme Jones is third with 28 catches for 335 yards and two touchdowns with an average of 41.8 yards per game. Danny Woodson ranks fourth on the team with 26 catches this season for 439 yards and four touchdowns. However Woodson is gone for the season with a ruptured achilles. The next two receivers have 14 catches each with Bryant Lavender gaining 168 yards and Jay Jones gaining 114 yards. Lavender is the only one of the two with a touchdown.
Look for Corey Besteda to be used more with Woodson gone for the season.
Jay Jones is the leading rusher with 446 yards on the season with three touchdowns. Ross Metheny is second with 359 yards and eight touchdowns. Cris Dinham is the third leading rusher with 266 yards and two touchdowns, though he is also gone for the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury. He could possibly return if the Jags get to go to a bowl game though.
Brandon Bridge is fourth in rushing with 196 yards, Kendall Houston is sixth an the last Jag in triple digits rushing with 101 yards.
Tomorrows game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network as well as every Jaguar game it will be broadcast on 105.5FM WNSP and streamed on wnsp.com.
Also look for Terrance Timmons and Julien Valentin to possibly get more playing time in Dinham’s absence.
Coach Jones Monday Press Conference
Head coach Joey Jones spoke with the media on Monday to preview his team’s trip to Navy on Saturday. Below are some highlights from the press conference.
“We’re looking forward to the game in Annapolis with Navy,” Jones began. “They are a great football team — they took Notre Dame down to the wire, 38-34 — and haven’t had any trouble moving the ball on anybody. They’ve done a good job offensively and play real scrappy defense. It’s going to be a good football game, I’m looking forward to it.”
Jones spoke about the environment he expects on game day in Maryland. “One thing we have to keep in mind is we are going to play a football game and not get caught up in whatever is around the stadium and what is going on during the game. From what I hear it’s going to be an exciting atmosphere in Annapolis, they are very proud of their football team. But we are very proud of our team too and are excited about going up there and playing them.”
Jones talked about what he wants to see out of his team this week while preparing for Navy. “We’re just trying to get better fundamentally. We worked three days last week, I thought we got better, and thankfully we had three days to work on their offense because they are very difficult to prepare for. I don’t think people understand the difficulties in playing this offense. But we have a good plan, we have to go out and execute it.”
He then answered a question about the most difficult aspects of defending Navy’s triple-option offense. “They make adjustments to everything you do, they know teams can’t prepare and have a lot of schemes against them. Most teams have two or three plans against the option attack, but they’ve been doing it long enough where they have answers to that. The most difficult thing will be for us to adjust in the game. Hopefully we can respond and make a few adjustments on the sideline during the game, that’s the biggest thing we will have to do.”
Jones also answered a question about what he wants to see from the Jaguar offense on Saturday. “Their defensive front is a little different from most teams we play, but they play extremely hard. They are real sound in what they do, they are a bend-but-don’t-break defense. We have to be able to sustain drives, we have to keep their offense off the field, and we can’t have three-and-outs and expect to win the ball game. We’ve got to be able to drive the ball down the field and change the field position at worst but hopefully score.”
Talking about the offense and what the team needs to do offensively against Navy, Jones had this to say. “I don’t think it’s different from what we’ve been doing, we are going to try and isolate some players if we can. We have to be smart about what we call because we can’t get into a pass-happy game either, we’ve got to be able to run the ball as well. It’s very critical that you stay ahead of the chains where you are not third-and-eight or third-and-10 against them, because they can make you pay.”
He spoke about being aggressive defensively against the Navy offense. “You can do some things aggressively, but you have to be careful about your blitzing because if they find that you’re blitzing inside they are going to get the ball outside, pitch it on you and be around the perimeter. But you can definitely mix things up and be aggressive, but what we have to do for the most part is play great technique. That’s the best way teams can play against this offense, if you try to get fancy and draw things up that look good on the board, all of a sudden they’re in the end zone.”
South Alabama and Navy will kick off at 2:30pm in Annapolis, Maryland. The game will be broadcast on 105.5FM and WNSP.com with television converage by CBS Sports.
USA Football Returns After Three-Day Break
After a three day break, the Jaguar football team returned to the Jaguar Practice Facility on Sunday night to continue preparation for their trip to Navy on Saturday.
The Jags are preparing to defend the triple-option that the midshipmen run very well. They have won a number of close games and run their offense and defense with lots of discipline.
Head coach Joey Jones told AL.com that they had a good practice. “They came back refreshed and we had a good practice,” Jones said. “We went over special teams and also had a good 45-minute period with offense and defense. It was good to get back together and kind of finalize the gameplan after being off for three days last week. We narrowed it down and presented it to them.”
“I thought it was good,” he continued. “I think when you have a few days off, we still worked them pretty hard this week and we tried to hit the weight room pretty hard, but they came back and had a couple of days off and they came back ready to roll.”
Navy is 5-4 overall with wins over Indiana, Delaware, Air Force, Pittsburgh, and Hawaii. Their losses have come to Western Kentucky (19-7), Duke (35-7), Toledo (45-55 2OT) and Notre Dame (38-34).
South Alabama will have their normal off day on Monday before returning to the practice field again on Tuesday morning. They will continue to implement their game plan and working to defend the triple option. Texas State ran a version of the option, but nothing quite like what they will see Navy run.
The Jaguar defensive players will have to be in position, if they allow themselves to be out of position, Navy will make them pay. Navy has been successful in moving the ball on every team they faced this season, the Jags will have to find a way to keep the Midshipmen behind the down and distance and also find a way to get off the field on third down. Also, defensive substitutions will be key as Navy will look to control the ball for large chunks of time and grind out yards and scores.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30pm (CT) in Annapolis, Maryland. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network as well as WNSP 105.5FM locally and WNSP.com streaming world wide.