Monday Press Conference
Below are highlights from Monday’s press conference covering the Jags game against Troy and a little preview of their upcoming game against Kent State on October 19.
Head coach Joey Jones kicked it off with his opening statement. “It was a gut-wrenching loss. Any time you are up six points with 40 seconds left in the game, you feel pretty good about it. We let it slip away, but we’re a lot better football team this year versus last year, it’s not even close. We’ve made a lot of strides to get where we are, but you still don’t like losing a game like that. The good thing going forward is that we can learn from it. We have to continue on our quest for our goals. If we continue that, then we are going to achieve them. Just because you have a setback and lose a close ballgame late in the game doesn’t mean you fold your tent. That’s where we are, and I think our kids understand that.”
Jones then spoke about playing close games this season. “Before the season I talked about how we were going to have to win a lot of close ballgames to have a good year. I didn’t know it would be that way through the first five games, but it’s a good thing. We’re right there in the mix with a chance to win it. I think it is good for us. It’s going to make us more mature. If nothing else, it is going to create that confidence in us that we can handle it the next time around.”
He then addressed how the team must move forward and put the loss behind them. “It’s vital. It (Kent State game) obviously doesn’t have anything to do with the conference championship, but we want to go to a bowl game. That’s one of our goals. It’s important for us because we really want to get there. It’s achievable for us if we do what we have to do, so I’m going to keep our eyes set on that goal.”
Jones then spoke about the Jags upcoming game against Kent State while reflecting on their previous matchup against them. “We played against Roosevelt Nix two years ago. He’s probably one of the quickest defensive linemen I have ever seen. He really creates a lot of havoc. They know how to win as well. They had a great season last year. But they have built their team on playing really good defense over the last couple of years, and that’s what they have continued to do.”
Jaguar quarterback Brandon Bridge spoke about what he and the team learned from the loss to Troy. “What I learned personally and I think what the team learned as well is that no game is officially over (until it’s over). We have to keep playing until the clock says triple-zero. We have to keep fighting and keep on battling and work these next two weeks on getting better.”
“Kent State is a big opponent. It’s out of conference but it’s still a big game for us. We have to get back in the winning column. We’ll make a lot of strides this week, look at the film and get better. Next week we’ll come out with guns blazing and finish 60 minutes of football. That’s what we haven’t been doing in our losses, we haven’t been playing 60 minutes. We need to have a complete game in three aspects: offense, defense and special teams.”
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Kickoff Time Set For USA’s Homecoming Game Against Kent State
The University of South Alabama announced that kickoff of their homecoming game against Kent State is officially scheduled for 2pm on Saturday, October 19.
This will be the Jaguars first home game since their 31-24 win over Western Kentucky back on September 14. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3.
This will be the second time the two teams have faced off, the first was a 33-25 loss in Kent, Ohio on September 24, 2011. In the game, the Jags fell behind but roared back in the second half. They had the ball when time expired after a deep throw but the Jaguar receiver could not get into the end zone.
This is the final non-conference home game for the Jags this season as they will travel to Navy for a game on November 16. They will rotate home and away games the remainder of the season with home conference games against Arkansas State on November 2, UL-Monroe on November 23 and Louisiana-Lafayette on December 7.
Special Teams Key Between Wins And Losses
South Alabama’s Aleem Sunanon attempts a 22-yard field goal from the right hashmark against Troy.
South Alabama has two examples this year demonstrating how special teams play can be the difference between a win and a loss.
The Jags game against the Trojans saw a missed 22-yard field goal and a blocked PAT for the Jags in their 34-33 loss. He also missed a 36-yard field goal, but it did not count as an official play because of a penalty which kept the USA drive alive.
If you go back a couple of weeks a blocked punt for a touchdown led the Jaguar charge to defeat Tulane in New Orleans. Then the opening game of the season against Southern Utah, the Jags were 0-for-2 in field goal attempts against the Thunderbirds in the 22-21 loss.
I’m sure the coaching staff will be working with Aleem Sunanon on his kicking as well as getting more reps for true freshman Brandon McKee, who usually handles kickoffs for the Jaguars, and redshirt freshman Logan Gunn.
An interesting stat from the game involves third downs, or the lack of them. On the first possession of the game the Jags converted 2 of 3 on their way to their first score. Ross Metheney converted on a 6 yard completion to Bryant Lavender. They later converted a 3rd and 14 when Metheny connected to Danny Woodson for 11 yards, then a fumble bounced forward and was recovered by Jereme Jones.
For the entire game, the Jags converted 7 of 16 third downs and 3 of 8 in the second half. But in their three touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, the Jags did not face a single third down.
Production on first and second downs were the obvious keys there but also absence of penalties and negative plays in early downs kept the Jaguars from getting behind in the down and distance.
Second quarter play, and first quarter play even, need to improve. The Jags offense tends to come out quick on their first possession, but tend to struggle throughout the rest of the first and second quarters, with the exception of the Tulane game.
The halftime adjustments the coaching staff have made in each game have been excellent. They come out in the second half and roar back. But, as Romelle Jones said in his postgame remarks after Troy, if the Jags could come out and play a full four quarters like they tend to play the second half, I don’t think anyone on the Jaguars schedule could beat them.
Go Jags!
Jags Fall To Troy In Final Seconds 34-33
South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones waits for an explanation for penalty flags in the Jaguars game against the Troy Trojans.
South Alabama traveled to Troy for their first time and only their second game between the two schools in football on Saturday. It was a hard fought game, but Troy scored the winning touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the game to send the Jaguars home with a 34-33 loss.
The Jags fought back from a double-digit deficit in the second half and finally take their first lead of the game with just :48 left in the game. But the ending of the game was an example of how experience and perseverance wins games.
It was Troy who struck first in the game after receiving the opening kickoff of the game. They used a 12 play, 73 yard drive which spanned 4:12 that was capped off with a nine yard touchdown pass from quarterback Deon Anthony to Bryan Holmes to take the 7-0 lead.
The Jaguars answered right back with a drive of their own going 75 yards in 12 plays and 4:47 to tie the Trojans at 7 in the first quarter. Two key plays on the drive were when the Jaguars were facing 2nd and 28 at their own 28 yard line. Metheny connected with Saxton to gain 14 and cut the needed yardage in half. Then on the next play, Metheney then connected with Danny Woodson for 11 yard, but a fumble would roll forward and be recovered by Jereme Jones at the Troy 34 for a first down.
The scored would stay tied until early in the second quarter when Troy’s Deon Anthony connected with Eric Thomas on a 62 yard touchdown pass with 13:53 left in the second quarter. The drive covered 70 yards in five plays and only took 1:42 off the clock.
USA would be unable to do anything on their next drive and gave Troy the ball with fairly good field position after a 33 yard punt.
Troy would then march it down the field in 11 plays to cover the 63 yards in 4:57 to score their second touchdown of the game to take a 17-7 lead.
South Alabama would attempt to score prior to going to the locker room for halftime, but Brandon Bridge would be forced to run on 3rd and 6 at the Troy 7, but would only be able to manage to gain two yards. Head coach Joey Jones would opt to go for the field goal, but Aleem Sunanon’s attempt from the right hashmark would sail right of the upright.
The Jags would open the second half with a three-and-out and after a 50 yard punt by Scott Garber, Troy would be forced to start at their own 30 yard line.
The Trojans would only need five plays and 1:38 to drive the 70 yards for the touchdown to put the Jags behind 24-7. But there was still lots of time to play.
South Alabama would answer with another drive of their own. It would begin with a 37 yard kickoff return by T.J. Glover. Bridge would connect with tight end Wes Saxton for a 34 yard gain to the Troy 29 yard line. A few plays later it would be Jay Jones scoring on a 10 yard rush to put the Jags back on the board. However, Sunanon’s extra point would be blocked to leave the Jaguars trailing 24-13 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.
With Troy trying to drive and facing 3rd and 4 at the Jaguar 46, Romelle Jones sacked Corey Robinson for a 10 yard loss to force them to punt. Glover would field the punt at the Jaguar 7 and return it five yards to the 12 yard line.
The Jags would drive again late in the third quarter but would face a 4th and 4 at the Trojan 19 yard line. Coach Jones would opt for the field goal again, but it would miss wide right again, however an offsides call would give the Jags a first down at the Troy 14. A couple plays later, the Jags would face a 4th and 1 at the Troy 5. Jones would call on Trey Fetner to go for it for the second time in the game. However, Fetner would get stopped short of the first down to give the Trojans the ball back with 13:29 left in the game.
The Jags would force a three-and-out as Troy escaped a possible safety when two holding penalties were called on 3rd and 9, but none of them occurred in the end zone. The Troy punt would be downed by T.J. Glover at the Jaguar 44 yard line after being booted 50 yards.
It would not take long for the Jags to respond either. After an incomplete pass on first down, Bridge would connect with Bryant Laveder on the left sideline and he would break loose for a 56 yard touchdown to cut the Trojan lead to 24-19. Ross Metheny would enter the game on the two-point conversion attempt, but his pass would fall incomplete in the end zone.
Sunanon’s kickoff would be fielded at the eight yard line and returned 51 yards to the Jaguar 41 yard line. But the Jags defense would force another three-and-out and a punt.
USA would take over at their own six yard line after the punt rolls out of bounds. But the Jags would not be able to get anything going and would go three-and-out themselves. Scott Garber’s punt would be caught at the Jaguar 46, but the returner would lose five yards on the return.
Troy would drive down to the Jaguar 6 yard line, but the Jags would hold them to a 23 yard field goal as the Trojans lead would increase to 27-19 with 5:22 left in the game.
The Jags would begin their drive at their own 26 after Glover returned the kickoff 26 yards out of the end zone. With Ross Metheny back in at quarterback, the Jags would drive down the field to the Troy 16 yard line with a 1st and 10. Metheny would see an opening up the middle and he would exploit it all the way to the end zone. Again, the two-point conversion would fail and leave the Jags trailing the Trojans 27-25 with 2:51 left in the game.
Troy, expecting the Jags to kick an onsides kick, would only send one player deep to field the kickoff. Sunanon’s kick would be fielded at the Troy 8 yard line and he would slide down at the 17 to prevent a possible turnover.
The Jags defense would be helped out by Troy as incomplete passes and players going out of bounds would stop the clock with the Jags only using two of their three time outs. The Troy punt would roll down to the Jaguar 1 yard line with 1:27 left in the game.
A personal foul for targting on Troy’s Deon Anthony would eject him from the game and move the ball out to the Jaguar 16 yard line. Metheny would connect with Jay Jones for nine yards before he stepped out of bound at the Jaguar 25 yard line. Metheny would call his own number and run up the middle for 10 yards and a first down at the Jaguar 35 yard line.
Then Metheny would throw down the left sideline picking on the corner that replaced the ejected player. The defender would tip the ball and fall down but the tipped ball would fall into Jereme Jones’ arms and he would have nothing but turf between him and the end zone to get the go-ahead touchdown. Metheny would then connect with Corey Besteda to convert the two-point conversion to take a 33-27 lead with :48 second left in the game.
However the Jaguar celebration was a bit premature.
Sunanon’s kickoff would be fielded at the 3 yard line and returned 26 yards to the Troy 29. Robinson would connect with Holmes for 11 yards then Burks for seven more yards before calling a time out with :25 left and the ball at the Jaguar 48 yard line.
Robinson would then complete passes to Williams for nine yards and Burks again for 19 yards before the clock stopped as he went out of bounds at the Jaguar 20 yard line. Defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer then called an all-out blitz that was a split second away from getting to the quarterback, but Robinson was able to get the ball away in time. Qudarius Ford would do everything to keep Thomas from catching the ball, but his effort, an obvious pass interference, did not work as he came down with the ball and ruled a touchdown with :07 left in the game. The extra point put the Trojans up 34-33.
Brandon Bridge would get one chance with :01 second left from his own 32 yard line. The Trojan rush had him roll to his left and heave a prayer down the field. Shavarez Smith would come down with it at the Troy 18, but the Jags was unable to get it into the end zone.
South Alabama put up record numbers in the loss with 630 yards of total offense and 471 yards through the air.
South Alabama had 30 first downs compared to Troy’s 24. They out rushed the Trojans 159-129, out passed the Trojans 471-305 for the total yardage totals of 630-434.
South Alabama also held a 32:11 – 27:49 advantage in time-of-possession. Though, the Jaguars only converted 7 of 16 third downs and 1 of 3 fourth downs.
Ross Metheny was the leading rusher for the Jags with 10 attempts for 55 yards, but close behind him was Brandon Bridge with 54 yards on 11 carries. Jay Jones added 44 yards on 13 carries with Cris Dinham adding 19 on six carries.
Passing Ross Metheny went 15-of-21 for 236 yards and a touchdown and was sacked once. Bridge went 11-of-20 for 235 yards and a touchdown.
Shavarez Smith led the receivers with 106 yards on six catches. Wes Saxton added 95 yards on six catches, Jereme Jones had 84 yards on three catches with a touchdown, Bryant Lavender added 68 yards on three catches, Danny Woodson had 61 yards on three catches, Jay Jones added 43 yards on four catches and Dinham caught one pass for 14 yards.
Corey Robinson went 20-of-26 for 210 yards and two touchdowns while being sacked three times. Anthony went 4-of-8 for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
Burks rushed 17 times for 100 yards, Anthony rushed 10 times for 38 yards and Jordan Chunn added 26 yards on six carries.
Eric Holmes gained 129 yards receiving with five catches and two touchdowns. Holmes added 93 yards on six catches with two touchdowns. Six other Trojans catch passes.
Sunanon was 1-of-2 in PAT attempts and missed his only official field goal attempt. Though he did attempt a second that did not count due to offsides penalty by Troy.
Maleki Harris led the Jags with nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery. Romelle collected four tackles with two sack for a 24 yards.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Coach Jones said after the game. “With 40-plus seconds left in the game when you go up six points you feel good about it. My hat’s off to the guys in our locker room, they’ve got a lot of fight in them. We’re a way better football team than we were last year, they proved that today. But credit to Troy for making that last drive and putting it in the end
zone.”
“When I talked to them after the game, I told them we can’t expect to put ourselves in a hole and win on the road,” he continued. “We had some penalties in the first half, with a block below the waist after returning a kickoff past the 50 and three offensive holding calls killing drives. We haven’t really been called for that many penalties [this season], but we have been putting ourselves behind. It’s tough to win a ballgame when you do that on the road.”
“We aren’t going to quit, I can promise you that. You can get that out of everyone’s mind. I’m damn sure not going to quit, and these kids aren’t either. Does it hurt? Heck yeah it hurts, if you’re a competitor you’re going to hurt after that one.”
Quarterback Ross Metheny spoke about the drive that gave the Jaguars their first and only lead of the game. “Offensively, getting the ball on the 99 1/2-yard line and being able to go that length and make a big play there – Jeremé made a big play. That speaks volumes for our offense about how we didn’t quit. We kept battling trying to respond to adversity. We did a good job up front all day long, so my hat’s off to those guys. It’s heartbreaking – you put yourself in a position to be successful but Troy did a good job coming out on that last drive and making some plays to end up winning the game.”
Romelle Jones spoke about the game by saying, “Our Achilles heel all season has been that we haven’t been able to start fast. If we can start fast, it will be a lot easier on us in the second half. We always seem to put a burden on ourselves, but it’s just too late at times.”
“The mentality of this team is you don’t quit,” Romelle said about the Jags coming from behind in the fourth quarter. “It’s just the way we’re built. The core guys on this team are built like that, and all you can do is reflect those core guys.”
Then Jones pointed out what many fans also believe about this team, “It seems like every week we go in at halftime and make our adjustments, and we come out angry and motivated. If we could play like that for four quarters, I don’t think we can be beat.”
The Jags drop their second consecutive game to fall to 2-3 on the season and 1-1 on Sun Belt play. Troy breaks their three game losing streak to even their record to 3-3 on the season and even their conference record at 1-1 on the season. Troy travels to Georgia State next Saturday while the Jags have a week off before hosting Kent State for homecoming on October 19.
Gameday: South Alabama Vs Troy
South Alabama faces a determined Troy team today in Troy, Alabama. The Trojans have dropped three-straight games and are looking to even their overall record as well as their Sun Belt Conference record.
The South Alabama defense will have to play well because the Trojan offense can roll up some yards and points quickly. The Trojan defense has been pretty suspect this season, but came out and played strong in the second half against Duke last week.
Both teams use a dual-quarterback system. They tend to use them as a “change of pace” to their play.
The game can be heard on 105.5 FM WNSP and on http://wnsp.com/ or you can watch it if you have Comcast television service on CSS or online through ESPN3 with kickoff scheduled for 12:00pm CDT.
Go Jags!
Know Your Stadiums: Veterans Memorial Stadium In Troy Alabama
Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama. | encyclopediaofalabama.org
Located in Troy, Alabama, Veterans Memorial Stadium was built in 1950 at the cost of $65,000. It was originally dedicated to the Troy State Teachers College students and Pike County residents who had died in World War II. When it was built, it consisted solely of small, 5,000 seat grandstand on the west side of the running track and had been built into the natural slope of the ground.
It has since been expanded several times to it’s present capacity of 30,000.
It has been expanded several times including an addition of an upper deck in 1998 that brought the capacity up to 17,500. The most recent was completed in 2003, the season that the Trojans made the move to Division I-A (FBS). It removed the press box that cut into the upper deck that was constructed in 1998 and replaced it with chair-back seats. A larger press box with 27 luxury boxes was added behind the expanded upper deck.
They also removed the track and lowered the field with more permanent seating placed over the old berm area that was located behind the south grandstand. It is now a “flattened U” shape with the north end still open.
Additionally, they installed a large-screen endzone replay board with a then state of the art Danley Sound System in 2003.
The natural grass surface was replaced with AstroPlay synthetic grass. In 2012, they replaced it with ProGrass synthetic Turf.
The record attendance for a game was recorded on September 15, 2012 in a 30-24 loss to Mississippi State in front of 29,013. Previously the largest was recorded on September 9, 2004 when they defeated #17 ranked Missouri 24-14 in front of 26,574.
It also hosted the Blue-Gray Football Classic in 2003 after moving from the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. It had been held at the Cramton Bowl for 62 consecutive years prior to the move. It was cancelled after the 2003 game for the lack of a title sponsor.
Veteran Memorial Stadium in Troy Alabama. | Wikimedia.org
Concept art showing what Veterans Memorial Stadium might look like after a future expansion. | al.com
Jags Finish Preparation For Troy With Hurricane Watches In Place
The Jaguars finished their preparation for Troy in full pads on Thursday. It was another pleasing practice according to head coach Joey Jones.
Both schools use two quarterbacks, which can hamper preparation for an opponent, but both schools are used to it as they both utilize similar systems.
Coach Jones believes the emotion of a rivalry game should fade quickly when the game kicks off on Saturday. Last season the game was “chippy” throughout the whole game with several penalties on both sides of the ball.
Currently the game is still on schedule as the gulf coast is under a hurricane watch due to Tropical Storm Karen approaching in the Gulf of Mexico.
Karen has slowed down and current projections have it approaching the Mobile area on Sunday morning, which is good news for the Jaguars football game on Saturday.
According to Athletics Director Joel Erdmann everything is still on schedule up in Troy, Alabama for the game at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon and, if the storm stays on it’s current path and speed, the game should be minimally impacted. Currently, the concerns would be their trip back to Mobile.
If the game were to be postponed, it is uncertain when it could be rescheduled as both schools do not share a common off-week through the rest of the season and the Jags has a game on December 7, the scheduled final week of the regular season which also coincides with several conference championship games.
The Jags and Trojans are set for a 12 noon kickoff at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama. The game will be broadcast on Comcast Sports South (CSS) and ESPN3. As always, Lee Shirvanian will call the play-by-play on WNSP 105.5 FM in the Mobile area and streaming from http://WNSP.com worldwide.
Below is Troy head coach Larry Blakeney from his press conference on Monday speaking mostly about his team, but talking about South Alabama on a couple of instances.
Non-AQ Top Ten – USA Earns Votes
Fresno State stays on top of the rankings but South Alabama earned two votes this week, but not enough to crack into the top 10 just yet.
|
Non-AQ Top 10
|
|||
|
RK
|
TEAM
|
RECORD
|
PTS
|
|
1
|
Fresno
State (8) |
4-0
|
98
|
|
2
|
Northern
Illinois (2) |
4-0
|
86
|
|
3
|
Utah
State |
3-2
|
54
|
|
4
|
Brigham
Young |
2-2
|
51
|
|
5
|
Boise
State |
3-2
|
45
|
|
6
|
East
Carolina |
3-1
|
44
|
|
7
|
Bowling
Green |
4-1
|
43
|
|
8
|
Ball
State |
4-1
|
42
|
|
9
|
Ohio
|
3-1
|
32
|
|
10
|
Texas
State |
3-1
|
17
|
Dropped from rankings: Wyoming, Navy
Others receiving votes: Marshall 6, Wyoming 6, Tulane 5, Rice 3,
Louisiana 3, Nevada 3, Navy 2, South Alabama 2, Western Kentucky 1.
Troy Players Called Players-Only Meeting After Duke Loss
Troy head football coach Larry Blakeney.
The Troy football team called a player-only meeting after their 38-31 loss to Duke.
“I walked into the meeting room and left,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney told AL.com. “They got there early to meet and I granted them that privilege. Sometimes as a group you need a cleansing of your mind, your heart, your spirit. Sometimes you need to air things out as a team and I’ve never seen one of those things hurt a team.”
While Blakeney is the school’s all-time winningest football coach with a record of 171-101-1 record into the game against South Alabama, they have fallen on tough times the last two seasons. The Trojans last had a winning season in 2010 when they went to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and defeated Ohio University for an 8-5 season.
Over the last two seasons they have gone 3-9 in 2011 and 5-7 in 2012 for a combined 8-16 mark. They have started off the 2013 season with a 2-3 mark.
Troy will welcome South Alabama to Veterans Memorial Stadium for the first time and only the second time the two teams have met in South Alabama’s short history. The Trojans won the first meeting between the two 31-10 in a wet, sloppy game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
This will be Troy’s homecoming game against the Jags who are quickly developing into a bit of a rivalry. The two schools recruit the same players and areas while only being separated by about 176 road miles.
Could Blakeney’s seat be getting a little warm in Troy? I wouldn’t put his job on the market by any means, but there may be a sense of urgency starting to grow in Troy to get more wins and back to a bowl game.
Don’t forget what Blakeney said last year during SBC Media Day. Read his quotes here.
Go Jags! Beat Troy!
Jaguars Vs Trojans By The Numbers
How do the Jags and Trojans stack up as they enter the game this weekend? Let’s dissect the numbers.
The Jags enter the game with a 2-2 record coming off a 31-24 loss at Tennessee. Troy enters the game with a 2-3 record. They opened the season with wins over UAB and Savannah State, but have lost three in a row against Arkansas State, Mississippi State and Duke all on the road.
Troy is second in the Sun Belt in scoring offense with an average of 34.4 points per game with South Alabama in fourth with an average of 29.2 points per game average. Edge: Troy.
South Alabama has the edge in scoring defense as they rank third in the conference allowing an average of 29.0 points per game. Troy ranks seventh in the conference, just ahead of Georgia State, allowing an average of 35.0 points per game. Edge: South Alabama.
Troy ranks first in the conference in total offense with an average of 468.0 yards per game. South Alabama is fifth in the conference with an average of 401.5 yards per game. Edge: Troy.
South Alabama ranks third in the conference in total defense allowing an average of 399.5 yards per game. Troy ranks sixth in the conference allowing an average of 439.6 yards per game. Edge: South Alabama.
South Alabama ranks fifth in rushing offense with 158.5 yards per game. Troy is right behind South Alabama in sixth place with an average of 147.2 yards per game rushing. Edge: South Alabama. Edge: South Alabama.
Troy ranks first in the conference in passing offense with an average of 320.8 yards per game. South Alabama ranks fourth in the conference in passing offense with an average of 243.0 yards per game. Edge: Troy.
South Alabama ranks second in the conference in rushing defense by allowing an average of 150.5 yards per game. Troy is right behind the Jags in third place allowing an average of 155.0 yards per game. Edge: South Alabama.
South Alabama ranks third in the conference in pass defense by allowing an average of 249.0 yards per game passing. Troy is next to last in seventh place allowing an average of 284.6 yards per game passing. Edge: South Alabama.
Troy comes in first in the conference in pass efficiency with a rating of 154.7. South Alabama is ranked seventh in the conference with a ranting of 115.7. Edge: Troy.
South Alabama ranks first in the conference in interceptions with 7 through four games while Troy ranks seventh with two through five games. Edge: South Alabama.
South Alabama ranks third in the conference in pass defense efficiency with a rating of 122.3. Troy ranks last in the conference with a pass defense efficiency of 157.5. Edge: South Alabama.
Special teams is where games can be won or lost. Lets see how these two teams stack up there.
South Alabama ranks second in the conference in kickoff returns with an average of 24.1 yards per return. Troy ranks last in the conference with an average of 16.2 yards per return. Edge: South Alabama.
South Alabama ranks fifth in the conference in punt returns with an average of 5.7 yards per return. Troy ranks seventh in the conference with an average return of 4.8 yards. Edge: South Alabama.
Troy ranks second in the conference in punting with an average of 39.3 yards per punt. South Alabama ranks fifth in the conference with an average punt of 36.7 yards. Edge: Troy.
South Alabama and Troy are neck-in-neck on kickoff coverage. They both average 37.5 yards per return. Hoever, Troy had nine touchbacks. Edge: Troy.
Troy barely edges out South Alabama in field goals. Troy ranks third by going 4-of-6 for a field goal percentage of 66.7%. South Alabama is 6-of-10 for a field goal percentage of 60.0%. Edge: Troy.
South Alabama is in a five way tie for first place in PAT kicking with a perfect 13-for-13. Troy is in sixth place with a 95.7 percent rating on PAT kicking by making 22-of-23. Edge: Push (while the Jags have not missed one, Troy had kicked 23 PAT’s).
Troy is tied with three other teams for first in the conference in sacks with 10 through five games. South Alabama is tied for fourth with three other schools with nine sacks through four games. Edge: South Alabama (slightly higher sacks per game average).
South Alabama and Troy are tied with WKU for sacks allowed. Both schools have allowed seven sacks though Troy has done it over five games while the Jags have done that through four games. Edge: Troy (due to a lower average per game).
Troy ranks first in the conference in first downs with an average of 24.4 per game. South Alabama ranks sixth in the conference with 20.2 first downs per game. Edge: Troy.
South Alabama’s defense ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 21.0 first downs per game allowed. Troy is close behind with an average of 21.2 first downs per game allowed putting them fifth. Edge: South Alabama.
Troy ranks fourth in the conference in 3rd down conversions with a conversion percentage of 42.7%. South Alabama ranks sixth in the conference with a 3rd down conversion percentage of 39.0%. Edge: Troy.
Troy’s defense ranks fifth in the conference by allowing the opponents to convert 39.4% of their third down attempts. South Alabama is right behind them in sixth place allowing 42.4% of their opponents 3rd down conversions to be successful. Edge: Troy.
Troy is first in the conference in 4th down conversions going 6-of-8 for a 75% mark. South Alabama has converted 2-of-6 for 33.3% and good for fifth in the conference. Edge: Troy.
South Alabama has allowed 2-of-5 fourth down conversions for a tie for fifth place in the conference with a 40% conversion rate. Troy is tied for last with Georgia State by allowing 2-of-4 4th down conversions for a 50% conversion rate. Edge: South Alabama.
South Alabama ranks fifth in the conference in penalties with an average penalty yardage of 50.2 per game. Troy is last in the conference with an average of 62.8 yards per game. Edge: South Alabama.
South Alabama is even in turnover margin with a +0 good enough for fourth place in the conference. Troy ranks sixth in the conference with a -10 margin for the season. Edge: South Alabama.
Final tally: South Alabama 14 – Troy 12. So as you can tell, it’s a close match between the two and should be a very exciting game to watch.
Kickoff in Troy is slated for 12-noon with radio coverage on 105.5FM WNSP and www.wnsp.com. Comcast Sports South (CSS) and ESPN3 will also carry the game on TV.