South Alabama’s Comeback Falls Short In 20-18 Loss To Louisiana
South Alabama went toe to toe with Louisiana-Lafayette but came up short in their upset bid, falling by a score of 20-18.
The Jags (3-1, 0-1 SBC) had opportunities late to take the lead over the Ragin’ Cajuns (3-1, 2-0 SBC). Diego Guajardo just barely missed a 37-yard field goal with 1:06 left in the game.
In the previous offensive drive, the Jags had the ball 4th and 1 at the Cajuns 4 yard line. Head coach Kane Wommack opted to keep the offense on the field. The snap to quarterback Jake Bentley was low and rolled on the ground. Bentley picked it up and rolled to his right and tossed the ball towards a diving Lincoln Sefcik however the ball was just too short and incomplete.
Two missed extra points and a failed two-point conversion attempt also left points on the field for the Jags.
Cajuns’ Chris Smith took the opening kickoff to the Jaguars 13 yard line. Smith would get the touchdown a couple plays later to put Louisiana on top 7-0 with under a minute off the clock.
The Jags offense was stuck in reverse and went three-and-out.
The Cajuns kept the ball on the ground and gashed the defense for second touchdown on only four plays. Runs of 13, 8, 14 and capped off by quarterback Levi Lewis’ 22 yard touchdown run. USA then trailed 14-0 with 11:10 left in the opening quarter.
The Cajuns got down to the Jaguar 23 at the end of the first quarter. The defense stood their ground and forced a 43 yard field goal attempt by Nate Snider, however sailed wide right.
Coach Wommack and the Jags special teams were looking to catch Louisiana off guard with a fake punt early in the second quarter. However Jack Brooks couldn’t get to the edge and ended up losing 3 yards and giving the ball back to the Cajuns at the Jags 31 yard line.
Two Emani Bailey’s runs later and the Cajuns were back in the end zone. However Nate Snider missed the extra point leaving the Cajuns with a 20-0 lead with 11:23 left in the second quarter.
South Alabama finally put points on the board just before halftime. Bryan Hill ran the ball and Bentley connected with Jalen Wayne to move the ball down the field. Hill finally punched it in on 3rd and goal at the 1. Guajardo’s extra point was blocked leaving the Jags trailing 20-6 with 1:33 left in the half.
The Jags came out in the second half with a completely different air about them. They had an air of confidence about them.
South Alabama looked to Bryan Hill and Jalen Tolbert to jump start the offense. Hill was the workhorse, but it was a pass to Tolbert for 49 yards that flipped the field. Hill capped off the drive with a two yard touchdown. The extra point attempt by Guajardo missed to the right leaving the Jags trailing 20-12 at the 4:20 mark in the third quarter.
USA got the ball back after the defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession.
It looked like the Jags were going to go three-and-out themselves but a snap to Keith Gallmon, the up man, who took it 38 yards to the Louisiana 13 yard line. Jake Bentley carried it in for the touchdown with 12:51 left in the game.
The coaches opted for the two-point conversion since they trailed by two points. Bentley was pressured and rolled to his left and missed seeing a wide open Terrion Avery on the right side of the field and took a sack.
Jags get the ball at their own 20 yard line with 9:58 left in the game. Their second offensive play Bentley went deep for Jalen Tolbert, who high pointed the ball perfectly, and came down with a 61 yard catch at the Cajuns 13 yard line.
Facing 4th and 1 at the 4, the ill-fated snap occurred where the ball rolled to Bentley then the throw was short for Sefcik and giving the Cajuns the ball at their own 4 yard line with 6:20 left in the game.
The Jags offense got the ball back at their own 35 yard line with 3:20 left in the game. On the second offensive play again, Bentley went deep to Jalen Wayne for 34 yards and flipped the field once more.
Terrion Avery put the ball on the left hashmark at the 19 yard line with 1:11 left in the game for the potential game-winning field goal from 37 yards out. Guajardo’s kick looked like it was going to slip inside the upright, but instead it barely slipped outside the right upright.
The Jags put up 387 yards of total offense, 144 rushing and 243 passing.
Bryan Hill led the Jags with 81 rushing yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns. Gallmon had 38 yards on the one run. Avery added 27 yards on 10 carries.
Bentley went 19-of-29 for 243 yards.
Tolbert led all receivers with 6 catches for 143 yards. Wayne added 5 catches for 56 yards. Lacy had 5 catches as well for 19 yards.
USA was 6-of-17 on 3rd down attempts and 3-of-5 on 4th down attempts. USA also led the way in time of possession with 36:47.
The South Alabama defense held the Cajuns to 283 total yards of offense, 225 rushing and 58 passing.
Emani Baily rushed for 81 yards on seven carries. Quarterback Levi Lewis rushed for 61 yards on 10 carries.
Lewis went 9-of-20 for 49 yards. Chandle Fields came in for one play and completed his only pass attempt for 9 yards.
Cajuns had three receivers who all caught two passes each and four players with one catch each.
The Cajuns only converted 2-of-10 3rd down attempts and converted their only 4th down attempt.
Next Up
South Alabama will travel to San Marcos, Texas to face Texas State on Saturday, October 9 with kickoff scheduled for 6pm. The game will be streamed online on ESPN+.
Preview: South Alabama Hosts Louisiana For A ‘White Out’ In Sun Belt Opener
Kickoff: Saturday October 2, 7 pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5 fm, 96.1 fm The Rocket, iHeartRadio App
South Alabama will host Louisiana-Lafayette in their Sun Belt Conference opener on Saturday. This is a huge game for the Jags, probably the biggest game since moving on campus to Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (4-1) have earned three consecutive Sun Belt West Division titles in three seasons under head coach Billy Napier, including back-to-back 10-win seasons. This is the type of consistency that head coach Kane Wommack wants his team to achieve.
Napier is 31-12 as a head coach and 20-5 in conference play, all at Louisiana-Lafayette. Previously he spent time as recruiting coordinator, tight ends coach, and quarterbacks coach during his stint at Clemson. During his stops at Alabama he was an offensive analyst and later a wide receivers coach.
The Cajuns have won the last five match-ups in the series. The last time the Jags prevailed was a seven point victory in 2015. However six of the last seven games have been decided by 10 points or less, the lone exception was last years 38-10 loss in Lafayette.
Last season the Jags were held to a season-low passing total while allowing the most rushing yards on the season. The Cajuns did it with big plays too, they have double-digit number of 20-plus yard plays on the Jags.
South Alabama
The Jags (3-0) have their best start ever in FBS program history under first-year head coach Kane Wommack. After a 31-7 win over Southern Miss, the Jags had two closer contests against Bowling Green (22-19) and Alcorn State (28-21).
After a bye week to correct some things exposed early in the season, the Jag will return to action on Saturday when they open conference play against the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Defense
The key to the Jags success so far this season has been their excellent play on defense.
The Jags are ranked 1st in the nation in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, 1st in red zone defense, 3rd in rushing yards allowed, 3rd in first down defense, tied for 12th in sacks, 18th in scoring defense, 24th in total defense, tied for 30th in turnovers gained, 79th in team tackles for loss and 81st in passing yards allowed.
The defense is allowing an average of 15.7 points per game to their opponents and only 55.3 rushing yards per game. Opponents are passing for 235.3 yards per game on average.
The defensive secondary has been hit with a number of explosive passing plays in the last two games.
Offense
The Jaguar offense has not been as consistent as the defense. They tend to start games slow but eventually find their way. But they also have periods in the game where they have trouble moving the ball.
The Jags are 97th in the nation in total offense and rushing yards per game, and 3rd down conversion percentage. They are a paltry 126th in 1st down offense, 121st in fumbles lost on the season, and 108th in tackles for loss allowed. But they are tied for 43rd in red zone offense and 48th in time of possession.
While those numbers look pretty grim, the offense is averaging 27 points per game this season, 355 yards of total offense per game, and 5.1 yards per play.
The lack of consistency is what really hampers the offense.
Hopefully the break has allowed the offensive line to get healthy once again. With a healthy offensive line and some work with the running backs urgency to hit the holes, the Jags rushing game will improve. If they can get the running game established earlier in games it will really open up the offensive playbook a lot.
However it looks like they may have to do it without running back Kareem Walker as he has been nursing an injury since last week.
Louisiana
Louisiana (4-1) opened the season with a power 5 loss to Texas but have won three straight, including their conference opener at Georgia Southern last Saturday.
Offense
The Cajuns offense is averaging 423 total yards per game. The throw for an average of 271.7 yards per game and rush for another 151.3 yards per game. They are also averaging 30.5 points per game.
In Cajun fashion, they have not just one running back but three who rotate playing time. Chris Smith just barely edges out Montrell Johnson in rushing attempts (43 to 41) and yards (191, 183). Johnson has four touchdowns though to Smith’s two.
Emani Baily has 168 rushing yards on just 27 carries too.
Dontae Fleming leads the receiving corps with 11 catches for 152 yards and a touchdown. Kyren Lacy has 10 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Williams has nine catches for 109 yards.
Levi Lewis is a dual threat quarterback. He is 85-for-130 for 1,047 yards and seven touchdowns this season with only one interception. He’s gained 125 yards on the ground but lost 64 yards in negative plays and sacks so he only has 61 yards rushing officially.
However it was announced three offensive linemen are out for the season. Two of them are listed on the two-deep, however one is a starter. Additionally they have lost their starting kicker for the season as well.
Defense
The Cajuns needed a late defensive stop to hold on to the win over Georgia Southern last week. The eagles got within one score with 1:34 left after a 76 yard touchdown run.
They also forced two fumbles and an interception in the game.
Louisiana-Lafayette allows an average 413.3 yards of total offense per game. Opponents throw for 235.3 yards per game and rush for 178 yards per game. Georgia Southern ran for 278 yards on the Cajuns despite the loss.
Opponents are converting almost 50% of their 3rd down attempts.
Keys to the Game
Start Fast Offensively
The Jags offense tends to start games a bit slow. After a couple of possessions though, they tend to hit their groove.
They may not be able to get away with that against the Cajuns.
Avoid lots of three-and-outs
The Cajuns defense allows quite a bit of yards but they tend to get stops when they need to. The offense needs to convert some first downs on each possession to give the defense time to rest and to help win the field position game.
Late in the game against Alcorn State, the Jags offense had some three-and-out situations and the Jags defense were visibly getting tired. But they still came up big when needed, including a game-clinching interception in the end zone.
Louisiana is a stronger opponent and allowing the defense to get some rest between possessions will help to keep them fresh.
Turnovers
The Jaguar defense has been spectacular in forcing seven turnovers on the season. However the offense has fumbled the ball away five times. Then there was that pick-six at Bowling Green. So the team is only +1 in turnover margin.
Hopefully the defense can continue their turnover havoc. On the other hand, the offense needs to slow their roll.
In a study over a four year period from 2009-2012, a team that averaged a turnover margin of +1 per game could expect about nine wins per season with all other things being equal.
Jag Fans
This may be the first time the crowd truly makes a huge difference in a game.
Yes fans and crowds make differences in games to a point but this one is different. This one could be even more impactful.
This is South Alabama’s first attempt at a “white out” in their new on-campus home.
Penn State has used the “white out” to their advantage a number of times. This could be the beginning of a similar tradition for South Alabama.
So wear WHITE, be LOUD, and create a great ENVIRONMENT!
Prediction
I think this has been one of the games that’s been circled on the calendar for a few weeks now. This is a bit of a measuring stick game too. Where does the team stack up against the back-to-back-to-back Sun Belt Conference West Division Champions.
The Jags have had an extra week to prep for this game. The administration and athletic department are going all out with a “white out” theme. This game clearly means a little more.
The Cajuns opened at a 10.5 point favorite in the game and it has since gone up to 12.5 points.
I think the Jags cover and also I think they win this game outright.
Go Jags!
South Alabama’s Path To Bowl Eligibility: A Look Into The Crystal Football
After the last few seasons, how many people who would have thought the South Alabama would start the season 3-0 and looking at the prospects of getting bowl eligible?
That’s half way to bowl eligibility.
With nine games left, they have plenty of opportunities to win at least three more games. To do so, they have some work to do. But that’s a topic for another article.
In only three game it’s really looking like the hiring of Kane Wommack is the shot in the arm that the South Alabama program needed.
The cultural shift has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Seeing the way the team plays this season versus last season, it’s like night and day. The team responds to adversity in positive, productive ways.
They have bought in.
I don’t know if coach Wommack has a name for his approach, but his “neutral mindset” approach is similar to what other successful head coaches have implemented.
Nick Saban has “The Process” and is in the midst of an unprecedented run in college football at Alabama. P.J. Fleck has the mantra “Row the Boat,” which he’s used to bring Minnesota out of irrelevance in the Big 10. In Fleck’s case, he uses three physical items to reinforce his approach: the oar, the boat, and the compass.
Both Saban and Fleck concentrate on what you can control and living in the present. You cannot change the past. You have no way to know what the future will hold. They all focus on the next play.
Coach Wommack has consistently talked about having a neutral mindset approach. It’s his version of “the process” or “row the boat.” He stresses for the players to approach the next play with a neutral mindset: forget about the past and focus on the next play.
Breaking the Rules
We are going to go against his philosophy and actually take a look ahead. We are going to look down the remaining nine games and guess the likelihood that the Jags can get those necessary wins for bowl-eligibility.
What’s in Store
October 2nd vs Louisiana-Lafayette
Billy Napier is in his 4th season at the helm with back-to-back 10-win seasons under his belt. He also had the Cajuns ranked in the top 25 for a bit last year. However they had to eek out a 27-24 win over FCS Nicholls State in week two of the season.
The Cajuns will have to travel to Georgia Southern before coming to Mobile. Meanwhile the Jags will have an extra week to rest, heal and prepare with a bye week. This could be a game the Jags earn an upset win.
October 9th at Texas State
The Bobcats are have not won more than three games in a season in the last several years. The two teams have faced each other six times since 2013 and the series is evenly split 3-3 with neither team collecting a road win over the other.
The bobcats are probably one of the weaker teams the Jags will face in Sun Belt Conference play. If they play like they should, this should be one of the three wins they need to earn bowl eligibility. However the Bobcats will have a bye week before facing the Jags.
October 14th (Thursday) vs Georgia Southern
The Jags have never defeated the Eagles in any of their seven contests. Though, over the last two seasons, the Jags have closed the scoring gap between the two schools. The 2019 game taking two overtime periods for the Eagles to leave with a 20-17 win.
Georgia Southern opened the season with a struggle win over Gardner-Webb 30-25. They then were spanked by Florida Atlantic 38-6. Last week they were spanked again by #20 Arkansas.
Georgia Southern will travel to Mobile on a short week for a Thursday night game. That will be just after traveling to Troy for a 7pm game the previous Saturday. But the Jags will also have a short week, however they will not have the burden of traveling for the game.
This may be one of the winnable games for the Jags. It would be a huge monkey-off-the-back wins for the program as well.
October 23rd at ULM
The Warhawks had their bye week on the second week of the season, that’s really early. Their first game was a 35 point loss to Kentucky then a 12-7 win over Dion ‘Prime Time’ Sanders coached Jackson State, an FCS school.
The Warhawks only managed four field goals in the win.
However that’s an improvement over their winless 0-10 season in 2020. Though the season was hampered by players missing games due to Covid.
This may be the weakest Sun Belt team the Jags face this season. Historically the Jags are 0-3 in Monroe and this would be another opportunity for coach Wommack and the team to get another monkey off the programs back.
October 30th vs Arkansas State
Arkansas State hired Butch Jones to replace Blake Anderson. Jones was previously an analyst at Alabama as was offensive coordinator Major Applewhite.
Talking about getting a monkey off their back, last year the Jags were able earn their first win in Jonesboro, Arkansas in their fifth try.
After a long run of success, the Red Wolves finished the 2020 season 4-7. They sat home during bowl season for the first time since 2010.
So far this season ASU only has a win over FCS Central Arkansas. They lost a 55-50 shootout against Memphis in week two, then avoided a shutout against Washington in a 52-3 loss last week.
This should be a winnable game for the Jags. A lot of it depends on what first-year head coach Butch Jones does between now and then.
November 6 at Troy
This starts a four week stretch very stiff competition for the Jags. It’s also the first of three consecutive road games.
The Jags have lost the last three “Battle for the Belt” contests. They have also lost four of the last five. The only win in that stretch is the 2017 defensive slugfest when coach Wommack was defensive coordinator.
The Trojans have wins over Southern (55-3) and Southern Miss (21-9) on the season. They lost their second game of the season 21-13 to Liberty.
The Trojans missed an opportunity to get to .500 and bowl eligible when their season finale against ULM was cancelled leaving them with a 5-6 record overall.
In what’s looking like a pattern, the the Trojans will have a couple extra days to prepare to host the Jags. However they will be coming off a Thursday night game against current conference leader Coastal Carolina.
While the last three games have not been particularly close games, this season should be different. This will likely be a close game, as rivalry games should be. But it should be winnable.
November 13 at App State
The Jags have struggled against the Mountaineers the last two times they’ve faced each other (2018 and 2019). In those two games the Jags were defeated by a combined score of 82-10.
Overall the Jags are 1-3 against the Mountaineers. Their only win was a 47-21 contest in Boone in 2014 but then fell to them the following year.
The Mountaineers came up a little short of upsetting #22 Miami 25-23 in week two of the season. They opened the season with a win over East Carolina then defeated Elon the week after the Miami game.
Last night they struggled for most of the game against Marshall. They gave the ball away twice and Marshall capitalized with 10 points off of them. But the missed field goal by the Thundering Herd allowed the Mountaineers to kick a field goal in the fourth quarter and to hold on at the end for a 31-30 win.
Appalachian State will be a tough challenge and will be the second consecutive road contest for the Jags. Additionally it’s after the “Battle for the Belt.” This is one of the more unlikely games for a Jaguar win. But it’s never impossible.
November 20 at Tennessee
Tennessee will be favored in the game. It’s an SEC team vs a Group of Five team.
While the Jags and the Vols last faced off in 2013, the Jags gave them a run for their money in the 31-24 loss. The Jags even lead for a bit in Neyland Stadium.
The Jags had the ball 4th & goal at the Vols 8 yard line but an interception dashed the Jags hopes of a win over an SEC program. They would have to wait until 2016 for that.
Tennessee defeated Bowling Green to open the season 38-6. They’ll enter the game after hosting Georgia (currently ranked #2 in the nation).
It may be a good time for the Jags to visit Knoxville, but I wouldn’t depend on this game to get bowl eligible. A win in this game would be more of an attention-getter and a resume builder for postseason play. It would also be a good introduction of coach Wommack as a definite coach to watch in college football.
November 26 vs Coastal Carolina
The Jags finally end get a home game after three-consecutive road contests. However it will be a short week, but only by a day, as they face off on Friday after Thanksgiving.
The Jags and the Chanticleers have split their two meetings on the field. The Jags welcomed them to Mobile and full conference membership with a 31-28 win in 2018.
Last season they met for the second time with the Chanticleers ranked #15. The Chanticleers sent the Jags home from Conway with 23-6 loss.
They opened the season with a 52-14 win over The Citadel. In week two, they defeated Kansas in Conway 49-22. Last week they went into Buffalo and came away with a 28-25 win.
Both teams will go into the game losing one day of preparation, however the Jags will be the home team. Hopefully the Jags will already have earned bowl-eligibility, because needing to get a win against the Chanticleers would not be an ideal situation. But if the Chanticleers come in with a Thanksgiving hangover, maybe the Jags can capitalize with an upset win.
Gazing into the Crystal Football
(The teams listed in each section are by schedule, not by projected toughness.)
The easiest path to six wins: Texas State, Georgia Southern, ULM, Arkansas State. Win any three out of these four games and they are bowl-eligible.
The next best chance or the “we showed those prognosticators wrong”: Louisiana-Lafayette, Troy, App State. Along with going towards bowl-eligibility, winning any of these would be making a statement to the other programs in the conference that South Alabama is on the rise again.
The long shots or the “we stole the towels on the way out” wins: Tennessee, Coastal Carolina. Winning any of these games, especially Tennessee, would be a rather huge statement and would make for a particularly special season.
Final Thoughts
The Jags best chances for bowl-eligibility all line up over a four week stretch next month.
They could reach six wins before Halloween.
After Halloween the Jags strength of schedule really ramps up. The final four games will be the toughest challenge all season with the first three all on the road. They will be @Troy Nov 6, @App State Nov 13, @Tennessee Nov 20, then home vs Coastal Carolina Nov 26.
The competition in the first three games has been, admittingly, fairly soft. Additionally they have had plenty of struggles in those games, so getting to the six-win mark isn’t a given.
In order to achieve this lofty goal the Jags must continue to live by coach Wommack’s “neutral mindset” mantra.
South Alabama Falls To Troy In Season Finale 29-0
South Alabama dropped their third consecutive ‘Battle For The Belt’ to Troy 29-0. The Jaguars (4-7, 3-5 Sun Belt Conference) was stymied in the first half, particularly in the second quarter, by the Trojans (5-5, 3-3 SBC).
In the end the “battle” felt more like a flailing or a flogging depending on which side you were on.
Despite coming into the game missing a few players and with a few players banged up, the Jags expected to compete in the game. Missing linebacker Christian Bell, tight end Brandon Crum, and wide receiver Kawaan Baker the Jags were missing some key contributors. But they also had player banged up such as Riley Cole, Desmond Trotter, and backup quarterback Tanner McGee.
It was the first time in program history that the Jags have been held scoreless at home, in either Ladd-Peebles Stadium and in the first season at Hancock Whitney stadium. It’s also the first time in the series that a school has won three consecutive games.
It is only the second time in school history that the Jags have been shut out in a game. The only other time was a 52-0 loss at Georgia Southern that effectively ended Joey Jones’ tenure at head coach.
The first points of the game were not scored until there was 6:02 left in the opening quarter. Troy had converted all five 3rd down attempts prior to the failing to convert on 3rd and goal at the Jaguar 1 yard line. The Trojans settled for a 22 yard field goal for the early 3-0 lead.
It was the second quarter where the Trojans did their most damage and pretty much put the game away.
The Jags opened the second quarter with a punt and Troy converted both 3rd down attempts on the drive and finished the touchdown drive with a 15 yard pass from Gunnar Watson to Khalil McClain to grow their lead to 10-0 with 11:06 left in the second quarter.
After connecting with Jalen Wayne for 11 yards on 3rd down, Trotter would get sacked and fumble the ball which Troy would recover at the Jaguar 28 yard line. Three plays later the Trojans would score again on a 15 yard pass from Watson to Kaylon Geiger with 9:26 left in the first half.
South Alabama drove down to the Troy 37 before facing 4th and 5, instead of letting Diego Gujardo try to match this career long head coach Steve Campbell opted to leave the offense on the field down three scores. Trotter threw low and behind his intended receiver and TJ Harris picked him of on a diving catch to take over at the Troy 32.
Continuing to use their very up-tempo offense, the Trojans marched right down the field gashing the defense. On the eighth and final play of the drive, Watson found Tray Eafford for a 21 yard touchdown pass to go up 24-0 with 3:56 left in first half.
After starting at their own 35 yard line from a kickoff out of bounds, the Jags drove down to the Trojans 36 yard line. Facing 4th and 9, Trotter would hold onto the ball too long and get sacked to turn the ball over on downs at the Troy 44 with only 31 seconds left until halftime.
Yet Troy was still not done.
Watson connected on two quick passes for 12 and 11 yards before calling time out at the Jaguar 33 yard line with 15 seconds left in the half. Then Watson connected with Vidal again but for only 6 yards forcing the Trojans to use their final time out with 10 seconds left. Troy head coach Chip Lindsey opted to kick to try for the points with a 44 yard field goal. Coach Campbell called a time out just prior to the snap, but Evan Legassey went ahead and kicked it, missing it wide right. The following snap he would split the uprights to go up 27-0 with 8 seconds left.
When the teams finally headed to the locker room, Troy had put up 24 points in the quarter.
The second half was mostly just running the clock out for Troy. South Alabama moved the ball better but never could hit paydirt.
The Jags Devin Rockette blocked the only scoring attempt in the second half by the Trojans. However Troy also blocked Jack Brooks punt attempt a short time later. The ball went out of the back of the end zone for the only points in the second half, a safety, for the final score of 29-0.
Desmond Trotter went 15 of 28 for 144 yards and an interception. Freshman Eli Gainey lead the final possession and went 6 of 9 for 38 yards. Redshirt freshman Tanner McGee, who finished out last weeks win was unavailable to play due to a shoulder injury.
Caullin Lacy led the Jaguar rushers, I wouldn’t call it an attack, with 38 yards on four carries. Jared Wilson added 33 on eight carries. Carlos Davis was held to a single yard on four carries.
Jalen Tolbert caught 5 passes for 92 yards and because the first Jaguar to break 1,000 receiving yards in a season, ending the year with 1,085 yards. Jalen Wayne caught four passes for 32 yards.
Jaguar linebacker Riley Cole recorded 10 total tackles in his final game as a Jaguar. In a pre-game ceremony to honor seniors on Senior Day, he was surprised with his official invitation to the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl. Cole will get to play at Hancock Whitney Stadium once more on January 30.
Gunnar Watson went 34 of 41 for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Kaylon Geiger caught seven passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. Former Blound standout Reggie Todd caught six for 49 yards. Kimani Vidal caught five passes for 29 yards.
Vidal led all rushers with 76 yards on 22 attempts.
Linebacker Carlton Martial, a fellow Mobile native and McGill-Toolen standout, recorded a game-high 14 tackles.
The Trojans won every statistically category. Total yards: 414 to 239. Passing yards: 297 to 182. Rushing Yards: 117 to 57. First downs: 25 to 17. Third down conversions: 10 of 15 to 5 of 15. Sacks: Troy had 5, Jags recorded one sack. Turnovers: Troy recovered two turnovers, the Jags came away with just one. Time of possession: 31:47 to 28:13.
“It got away from us in the second quarter,” head coach Steve Campbell said. “They got on a little run and we had a hard time stopping them. We didn’t generate what we needed to offensively at all.”
“I’m very disappointed in the way it wound up,” Campbell said about ending the season with a loss. “I thought we had gotten over a little bit of a hump, but we didn’t play very well at all today. We didn’t play the way that we needed to, to finish up. We had a chance to finish strong. But I give Troy a ton of respect, they are a good football team. I thought we practiced well this week and the guys worked hard though a bunch of stuff. I thought we would come out and play better than we did today, and we didn’t.”
“It’s an ongoing problem, but it can be either side of the ball,” Jalen Tolbert said. “We should be able to pick each other up when one side is playing off, and today neither side was able to pick it up. Offense nor defense was doing good, it was just a poor performance by us today so we have to get that fixed.”
With the regular season over and the program shifting into post-season mode, there will be talks about the staff.
Through three seasons the Jags are 9-26 under Campbell.
After a 3-2 start the Jags limped to a 1-5 finish. The programs four wins this season came against teams with a cumulative 8-34 record.
Finally Campbell is now 0-3 against Troy which is one of South Alabama’s most competitive recruiting foe in the area. In those three losses, the Trojans have outscored the Jags 104-30 with the closest margin of defeat coming in 2018 in a 38-17 loss.
Campbell has one more season left in his 4 year contract with a buyout of $350,000. Campbell and Athletics Directory Joel Erdmann will be meeting in the coming days, as he always do with coaches at the conclusion of their seasons.
Preview: Troy At South Alabama (Battle for the Belt)
Kickoff: Saturday December 5, 1:00 pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV: ESPN3
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5FM, 96.1 The Rocket, iHeartRadio
The Battle for the Belt.
After having their annual match up, that was scheduled for October 3 postponed due to Covid, the Jaguars (4-6, 3-4 Sun Belt Conference) will finally host the Trojans (4-5, 2-3 SBC) at 1pm on Saturday, December 5.
This Rivalry Game will be played late in the season rather near the beginning of their conference schedules for the first time in this series. This is what many South Alabama fans have wanted for some time. They have felt that, like fellow in state rivals Alabama and Auburn, that South Alabama and Troy should be played at the end of the season. Thanks to Covid, their wish has finally come true.
Well, mostly.
The game was first rescheduled to be December 12 and would have been the ending of the season for both schools. However, again thanks to Covid, Troy will take on Coastal Carolina on December 12 and thus the Battle for the Belt needed a new date, and December 5 was it.
The Jags enter the game after breaking their four game losing streak and getting their first win ever in Jonesboro, Arkansas against the Arkansas State Red Wolves last Saturday. The Jags had to fight down to the last second for the win. They clinched it on a quarterback sack as time expired with the ball inside their own 10 yard line.
The Trojans travel to Mobile in the midst of a three game losing streak. Last Saturday the Trojans were dominated by Appalachian State 47-10 in Boone, North Carolina. They allowed 275 yards rushing and were held to just 106 yards rushing themselves in the loss.
But nothing can get a pair of football rivals up for a game like a rivalry game.
Troy Offense
Troy head coach Chip Lindsey is still searching for his guy at quarterback. Quarterback Gunnar Watson is 152-of-223 passing for 1,584 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions on the season. Last week against App State he went 13-of-20 for 125 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Jacob Free, a 6’5″ 217 pound junior is 79-of-134 for 957 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. Free last saw action against Georgia Southern on November 7th when he struggled going 21-of-47 with two interceptions. He was unable to play last week due to an illness.
Lindsey was quoted during fall camp saying that their quarterback will be the one who, “can lead the team up and down the field and score.” So its possible that the Trojan may utilize him on Saturday.
On the season Troy is averaging 282.3 yards passing, 102.6 yards rushing, and 384.9 total yards of offense per game. They are scoring an average of 26 points per game, which is a bit un-Troy like.
The leading Trojan runner, true freshman Kimani Vidal, has missed the last two games. Despite that he had 393 yards on 67 attempts for the season with three touchdowns. BJ Smith is behind him with 277 yards on 73 attempts with three touchdowns.
Kaylon Geiger is the favorite receiver with 48 catches and 598 yards on the season with two touchdowns. Reggie Todd and Khalil McClain both have 29 catches and five touchdowns each, they have 380 and 350 yards receiving respectively.
Despite the numbers, Troy can still put points on the board. Especially when you’re talking about a rivalry game with an in-state opponent.
Troy Defense
Overall the Troy defense is allowing 233.7 yards passing, 177.8 yards rushing, 411.4 total yards of offense, and 26.8 points per game.
As previously mentioned, the Trojans allowed 275 yards rushing last week. So defensively they are having trouble stopping the run and the Jags have had problems running the ball in their in games they lost.
Their third down numbers look pretty good too. Defensively opponents are only converting 36% of their 3rd down attempts (48-of-132). The Jaguar offense is converting 40% of their 3rd down attempts (61-of-152) on the season.
The defense is led by linebacker Carlton Martial who has 78 total stops, 40 of them solo, with 7.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, and two quarterback hurries. Next in line behind him statistically is fellow linebacker Jayden McDonald, who has 59 total stops, 36 solo, four tackles for loss, a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries himself.
On the season, the Trojans have 15 sacks defensively.
Keys to the Game
Offensive Line
Last week the Jaguar offensive line held their own against an Arkansas State defense that, lets face it, is pretty terrible.
The Jaguar offense only netted 99 yards on the ground with Carlos Davis leading the way with 31 yards on 12 carries. So I wouldn’t go out and say it was a great performance by the offensive line, but it was an improvement for sure.
They were able to protect the quarterback and only allowed two sacks (25 over the last 6 games but who’s counting). That protection and the poor secondary play by the Red Wolves allowed the Jags to throw for 387 yards for the game and allowed Jalen Tolbert to set a single game record with 252 yards on 10 catches with three touchdowns.
It was good enough to earn him a helmet sticker on ESPN for his effort.
However that game is now the past and the offensive line will have to do it again this week.
Trotter should be back for the game, but will he be 100% and be mobile? Kawaan Baker seems to have suffered a partially torn MCL and does not look good to play. Brandon Crum, the most prolific pass catcher at tight end, will miss the game due to contact tracing precautions concerning Covid.
Turnovers
The Jags have been pretty good over the last couple of games concerning turnovers.
Turnovers are always big in rivalry games. There’s nothing better at shifting momentum or breathing fresh life into a team than forcing a turnover from a bitter rival.
While the Jags are still negative for the season in turnover margin, they have been +2 in turnover margin for the last two games (+3 in the loss to Georgia State). They need to keep that trend going this week and stay in the positive side of the margin.
And better yet, not giving the ball to the Trojans would be even better.
Scoring Points
The Jags found a way to put points on the board last week.
And it wasn’t field goals either!
Three of the touchdown passes went to Tolbert, the shortest of which was a 37 yard score. The only other passing touchdown went to Kawaan Baker. Tolbert scored on the ground with a designed quarterback run from 2 yards out.
With Crum out and Baker likely missing as well, that could allow Troy to focus more on Tolbert and Jalen Wayne. Could this allow the Jaguar runners to find some space to run?
Prediction
Troy opened at a 1 point favorite and the spread has grown to 4.5 points now.
As mentioned above, Crum will be out and Baker will likely be out. Trotter could have some lingering injury issues as well.
That’s just on offense.
Defensively we don’t know if Riley Cole will play, even though he has indicated that he will be ready come Saturday. But Cole has always been eager to play, but will he be cleared and able to? Christian Bell will probably miss the game as well.
The Jags have lost the last two games to the Trojans and would like nothing else than to end the season with win over their rivals as they are likely not going to get an invite to a bowl game. Plus it would be the second season in a row that the team and coaching staff took some momentum into the off-season with a season ending win.
Could this be a team getting better? Could they improve their win total by TWO games this year? A win just might save Steve Campbell his job too.
I think so! Jags not only cover, but they win outright.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Gets First-Ever Win At Arkansas State 38-31
South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert set a new single game record with 252 yards receiving on 10 catches with three touchdowns leading the Jags to a 38-31 win over Arkansas State. This is the first win in Jonesboro in seven tries and the first road conference win since their 2017 win over Troy.
The Jaguars (4-6, 3-4 Sun Belt Conference) needed a defensive took it down to the final play but Jeremiah Littles sacked Layne Hatcher at the South Alabama 13 yard line to end the game. Arkansas State (3-7, 1-6 SBC) drops their fifth-straight game and their first losing season since 2010.
Arkansas State opened the game and scored on their first possession after the Jags were forced to punt. The Jags tied it with :35 left in the first quarter when Desmond Trotter ran it in from 2 yards out.
The Jags took the lead 14-7 in the second quarter when Trotter connected with Kawaan Baker for a 26 yard touchdown.
The Red Wolves tied the game up late in second quarter on a 25 yard touchdown pass by Logan Bonner to Brandon Bowling.
The Jags punt after a short 5 play possession using only 38 seconds off the clock. Arkansas State were not content to go into halftime tied and quickly marched down the field to the Jaguar 18 yard line with just 2 seconds left in the half and added a 35 yard field goal to go into halftime with a 17-14 lead over the Jaguars.
Arkansas State opened the second half with a 9 play, 75 yard touchdown drive to go up 24-14 with 9:55 left in the third quarter.
The Jags would respond with their own score. Trotter connected with Tolbert for a 42 yard touchdown with 6:39 left in the game to cut the Red Wolves lead to 24-21.
After Trotter had to leave with an injury, redshirt freshman Tanner McGee would have to come in and the Jaguar offense didn’t miss a beat. McGee would put the Jags ahead on a 37 yard touchdown pass to Tolbert 28-24.
Arkansas State scored early in the fourth quarter when Bonner connected with Jonathan Adams on a 3 yard touchdown pass with 12:03 left in the game to go up 31-28.
McGee plays throw and catch again with Tolbert covering 51 yards for another touchdown and taking a 35-31 lead with 4:56 left in the game.
Arkansas State turns the ball over on downs at their own 31 but the Jags can only manage to get a 30 yard field goal to extend their lead to 38-31 with 1:28 left in the game.
The Red Wolves behind Layne Hatcher drive down to the Jaguar 6 yard line after what looked like a game sealing interception by Keith Gallmon was overturned. With :16 seconds left in the game, Hatcher had three attempts to get into the end zone. Two incomplete passes followed by the game ending sack by Littles as the clock expired.
The Jags gained 486 total yards, 387 of them through the air and 99 on the ground. The Jags offense was only 5 of 15 on 3rd down.
Trotter went 16-of-22 for 242 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury. McGee came in and went 6-of-8 for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Tolbert caught 10 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Kawaan Baker added five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown before also leaving the game with an injury.
Carlos Davis rushed 12 times for 31 yards. Caullin Lacy and Jared Wilson both ran for 26 yards on four and 13 carries respectively.
Arkansas State rolled up 494 yards of total offense, 324 of them through the air and 170 on the ground. The Red Wolves were 5 of 14 on 3rd down as well.
Logan Bonner went 11 of 16 for 183 yards and four touchdowns. Layne Hatcher went 8 of 14 for 141 yards.
Jonathan Adams caught 9 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Foreman caught 5 passes for 111 yards. Brandon Bowling caught 4 passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
Jamal Jones carried the ball 19 times for 93 yards to lead all rushers. Marcel Murray carried it 13 times for 38 yards.
South Alabama will return home for the season finale and Senior Day game hosting Troy for the annual ‘Battle for the Belt’. Kickoff is scheduled for 1pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium and will be viewable on ESPN3.
Preview: South Alabama At Arkansas State
Kickoff: Saturday November 28, 2:00 pm
Venue: Centennial Bank Stadium Jonesboro, Arkansas
TV: ESPN3
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5FM, 96.1 The Rocket, iHeartRadio
South Alabama enter into their final road game of the season in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Their offensive line has turned into a sieve, leaking sacks at a frantic pace, 20 over the last four games and 33 for the season.
The Jaguars (3-6, 2-4 Sun Belt Conference) look to put an end to their losing streak and notch their second road win of the season. If successful, that would be the first time that the Jags have won two road games in a season since 2015.
The Arkansas State Redwolves (3-6, 1-5 SBC) have struggled this season well. Their biggest struggles have been on defense. Head coach Blake Anderson relieved his defensive coordinator of his duties earlier this season after a 59-52 win over Georgia State.
The Redwolves are coming off of a 47-45 loss at Texas State. This game against the Jaguars is the beginning of a three-game home stand and they would like nothing more than to start it off with a revenge win over the Jaguars and keep their hopes alive of getting back to .500 and get bowl eligible.
Arkansas State Offense
The Redwolves score an average of 31.4 points per game with 125.7 yards rushing and 352.6 yards passing per game. That’s an average of 478.2 yards per game of total offense.
With all that yardage, they are only converting 37.8% of their 3rd down attempts. However they have scored on 77% of their red zone trips with 63% of them being touchdowns. Not a bad stat to have.
They are also embracing their quarterback rotation. Layne Hatcher has gone 97-of-166 for 1,591 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. Logan Bonner has gone 139-of-229 for 1,495 for 13 touchdowns with 5 interceptions on the season.
Jonathan Adams Jr leads the receivers with 70 catches for 973 yards and 10 touchdowns. The next closest receiver has 34 catches for 436 yards and 5 touchdowns. Dahu Green has caught 32 passes for 542 yards and 5 touchdowns. Five other ASU players have caught double-digit passes on the season with six touchdowns combined.
Jamal Jones leads the running attack with 452 yards on 99 carries with three touchdowns. Lincoln Pare is next in line with 450 yards on 72 carries with a touchdown.
Against Texas State the Redwolves put up 654 yards of total offense. Jones rushed for 106 yards and wide receiver Jeff Foreman had 148 yards on three catches with a touchdown.
Arkansas State Defense
As mention above, the defense is a glaring deficiency on this team. So bad the coach Anderson let go of his defensive coordinator mid season.
The defense is allowing 39.6 points per game. They allow 316.6 yards passing and 168.1 yards rushing per game for an average of 484.7 total yards per game.
Opponents are converting 45.9% of their 3rd down attempts. They are also scoring 85% of the time when they reach the red zone. 67.5% of those red zone trips have been touchdowns. With numbers like that, will the Jags be able to put points on the board in the red zone?
Last weekend against Texas State they allowed 505 yards of total offense and could not prevent the game-winning score with :34 left in the game.
Linebacker Justin Rice is the leading tackler with 68 stops and also leads the team with seven sacks.
Keys to the Game
Offensive line
The offensive line play has been terrible. They haven’t been helped with the absence over the last two weeks by starters Jacob Shoemaker and Connor Estes due to Covid and contact tracing.
Last week Georgia State sacked Desmond Trotter seven times. They have allowed 20 sacks over the last four games and 33 sacks for the season.
If the offensive line continues to struggle to protect Trotter and establishing the run, then the Jags will likely add to their loss total.
Turnovers
Last week against the Panthers, the Jaguars as a team was +3 in turnover margin. They managed three interceptions and forced a fumble which they recovered. The Jags offense fumbled twice and only lost one of them.
On the season the Jags have only recovered 13 turnovers. So the four takeaways they recorded last Saturday is over 30% of their turnovers for the season! And despite being +3 last week, the Jags are -1 in turnover margin for the season.
The Jags need to keep generating turnovers. If they can keep up the positive numbers, then this can only give the offense more opportunities to put points on the scoreboard.
Points
The most obvious thing to win a game is to score points. Over the last four games the Jags have scored a measly 47 points, or an average of 11.75 points per game.
That’s not going to get it done.
The offense has to find a way to generate points and head coach Steve Campbell understands that. Arkansas State is a prime opportunity. Last year the Jags ended their nine-game losing streak with a 34-30 win over the Redwolves in their season finale.
It was a bit of a coming out party for Jalen Tolbert and Desmond Trotter. Tolbert caught 5 passes for 144 yards and four touchdowns. Trotter, in addition to the four touchdowns passes, rushed for 58 yards for an offense that ran for 216 yards on the ground.
Prediction
Arkansas State is a 7 point favorite and are able to score a lot of points.
The Jaguar defense hasn’t been playing bad, they just don’t get any offensive help. They held Coastal Carolina to well below their season average in the loss. They also held the Georgia State to 7 points through the most of three quarters. But down the stretch the defense allowing 24 points after the Jags had taken a 14-7 lead in the 3rd quarter.
Arkansas State and coach Anderson really need a win, the Redwolves want revenge for 2019, the Jags have never won in Jonesboro, and the Jags are struggling. I think the Redwolves win and unfortunately I also think they cover the spread.
But as always when I pick against South Alabama, I’d love to be proven wrong.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Suffers Fourth-Consecutive Loss With 31-14 Defeat By Georgia State
South Alabama’s losing streak grows to four after Georgia State comes into Hancock Whitney Stadium and brings home a 31-14 win.
The Jaguars (3-6, 2-4 Sun Belt Conference) attempted to take control of the game in the second half after taking a brief 14-7 lead in the third quarter. However the Panthers (4-4, 3-4 SBC) scored 24 unanswered points to finish the game.
The struggling offensive line allowed seven sacks in the game. That number tied the school record by an opponent that was set in 2012 when the Jags traveled to NC State. The offensive line was missing starters Jacob Shoemaker and Connor Estes for the second-consecutive game due to Covid and contact tracing.
Over the last four games the Jags offensive line has allowed 20 sacks. To say the offensive line pay has been atrocious would be an understatement.
South Alabama has guaranteed a seventh consecutive losing season with only two games left in the 2020 season.
On the second offensive play of the game, South Alabama’s Christian Bell picked off quarterback Cornelious Brown IV at the Panther 34 yard line. They capitalized quickly when Carlos Davis took it in from 17 yards out to give the Jags a 7-0 lead with 13:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
Georgia State was threatening to score when Keon Voisin recovered a fumble at the Jaguar 19 yard line with 8:37 left in the first quarter. However the Jags couldn’t get anything going and punted the ball away.
The Panthers were able to capitalize on their next possession to tie the game 7-7 with 13:25 left in the first half. The Jags were aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty on the PAT.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kawaan Baker fielded the kick at the 21 and seemingly got a big return, was hit deep in Panther territory and fumbled, which was recovered by a Jag and advanced into the end zone for what seemed like a touchdown. However an illegal block was called on Cade Sutherland brought the ball back to the Jaguar 22.
Facing 4th and 8 at the Panther 39 yard line, head coach Steve Campbell opted to go for it. All of Trotters options down field were well covered and he was forced to dump it off to Carlos Davis, who was dropped for a two yard loss and giving the ball to the Panthers at their own 41 with 9:40 left in opening half.
The Jags got the ball back again when Shawn Jennings intercepted the Panthers at the 11 yard line and returned it 15 yards. But the Jags gave the ball back a few plays later when Terrion Avery fumbled and the ball was recovered at the Panther 38.
The Panthers were threatening to take the lead just before halftime but Devin Rockette made a spectacular play to intercept the fade pass in the end zone with one hand and still manage to get his foot down inbounds.
The Jags came out flat in the third quarter but finally got in gear offensively about midway through the quarter.
After taking over on their own 30 yard line, the Jags quickly drove 70 yards on 8 plays only consuming 1:32 off the clock. Jared Wilson had a fumble overturned by replay officials after finding he was down before the call came loose. He then carried the ball three more times for 31 yards, aided by a 15 yard personal foul penalty, to score on a 7 yard touchdown run to put the Jags ahead 14-7 with 6:11 left in the third quarter.
The Panthers answered right back with a lightning fast 3 play, 75 yard drive in only 55 seconds. The big play was on 2nd and 3 when Brown hooked up with Sam Pinckney for 65 yards to the Jaguar 3 yard line.
After a three-and-out by the Jags, the Panthers put together a 5 play, 80 yard drive in only 1:46 to take their first lead of the game 21-14 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.
The Jags had another three-and-out to give the ball back to the Panthers with 43 seconds left in the third quarter. THe Panther drive would stall at the Jaguar 5 yard line and they would have to settle for a 23 yard field goal to extend their lead to 24-14 over the Jags with 11:03 left in the game.
The Jaguar offense finally broke their three-and-out streak when Trotter connected with Jalen Tolbert for 30 yards to the Georgia State 48. But the Jags would give the ball back over on downs when they could not convert 4th and 11.
The Panthers picked right back up where they left off and hit on a 43 yard pass on their second play of the possession to get to the Jaguar 7 yard line. They would punch it in from the 1 yard line to make it 31-14.
Georgia State rolled up 556 yards of total offense on the Jaguar defense. The Panthers threw for 334 yards and rushed for 222 more while converting 9-of-14 on third down.
Brown went 19-of-28 for 334 yards with three interceptions for the game. Sam Pinckney led all receivers with 176 yards on five catches. Roger Carter and Jamyest Williams both caught 5 passes as well for 71 and 48 yards respectively.
Tucker Gregg led all rushers with 79 yards on 18 carries with three touchdowns. Jamyest Williams added 68 yards on 10 carries in addition to his receiving yards.
South Alabama had 324 total yards of offense, 211 yards through the air and 113 on the ground. They were a mere 8-of-19 on third downs and 0-of-3 on 4th down attempts.
Desmond Trotter went 25-of-43 for 211 yards. Jalen Tolbert led the Jags with 75 yards on five catches. Baker added 37 yards on five catches.
Jared Wilson rushed for 49 yards on 7 carries with a touchdown. Carlos Davis added 38 yards on eight carries with a touchdown.
We’re very disappointed in the outcome of this game,” said head coach Steve Campbell after the game. “I thought the guys played hard, but we need to play better. We need to score more points. We need to get off the field more defensively.”
“We were up 7-0 early, but we couldn’t get any separation,” Campbell explained. “We couldn’t score points, and that’s been our issue. You’ve got to score to beat a good team, and we weren’t able to matriculate the ball down the field enough to score points.”
“It’s very disappointing,” Jalen Tolbert said. “The defense gave us four turnovers and we couldn’t get more points than we did. We’ve just got to execute better. We had all the momentum and we let it slip away.”
South Alabama will travel to Jonesboro, Arkansas for their final road game of the season when they face Arkansas State at 2pm. The Red Wolves will look to exact revenge for the regular season finale where the Jags upset them at Ladd-Peebles Stadium 34-30 last season.
Preview: Georgia State At South Alabama
Kickoff: Saturday November 21, 2:30 pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV: ESPNU
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5FM, 96.1 The Rocket, iHeartRadio
The struggling South Alabama Jaguars (3-5, 2-3 Sun Belt Conference) are finally returning home to host a game after a three-game road trip. Next up on the schedule are the Georgia State Panthers (3-4, 2-4 SBC).
The Panthers have also been struggling but enter the game after hard-fought 17-13 loss to Appalachian State last week in Boone, NC. The Panthers had a great opportunity to upset the Mountaineers, leading 10-3 at halftime and had only allowed 89 yards. App State’s starting quarterback was injured late in the game, but their backup led the Mountaineers on a game-winning drive.
On the other hand, the Jags were soundly defeated by Louisiana-Lafayette 38-10 last week. Carlos Davis was limited to six carries for 18 yards. The offense was held to only 145 yards passing with Desmond Trotter being sacked three times with an interception.
The final three games of the season will determine the how we will look back on this odd year that is 2020. Three of the first five games came against the worst teams on the Jaguars schedule (Southern Miss, Texas State, ULM) which are a combined 3-21 and the Jags won all three of those games.
The last three games, all on the road, have been against three of the best teams in the Sun Belt Conference and all have been loses unfortunately.
Head coach Steve Campbell and his staff are searching for ways to put points on the board. The offense has regressed and has only scored an anemic 33 points in the last three games combined. Desmond Trotter has seen almost all of the snaps lately after he and JuCo transfer Chance Lovertich were essentially playing in a rotating time shares early in the season.
However, reports this week have seemingly been confirmed with the announcement that Lovertich would not be “out indefinitely” and that it was not related to Covid-19 in an al.com report. Rumors were circulating that he had ‘opted out’ of the remainder of the season, but has not officially left the program nor has entered his name into the transfer portal. However article noted that Lovertich “has not been present at practice the last two days,” when the report was published on Wednesday. Campbell was also quoted by al.com as saying “I doubt we will see him again this year,” after the Jaguars practice on Wednesday.
His status and future with the team continues to be unclear.
Red shirt sophomore wide receiver Mo Edwards Jr entered the transfer portal, he had made appearances in four of the Jags first five games this season but did not record any pass catches.
Georgia State Offense
The Panthers are a run-first team. They average 205.1 yards rushing, 191.4 yards passing, and 396.6 total yards per game this season while scoring an average of 33.3 points per game.
Destin Coates leads the Panthers on the ground with 581 yards on 126 carries with five touchdowns. Tucker Gregg has 347 yards on 51 carries with three touchdowns. Quarterback Cornelius Brown IV has rushed for 231 yards on 72 carries with five touchdowns.
Speaking of quarterback, Brown has gone 115 of 207 for 1,340 yards, 13 touchdowns and 5 interceptions on the season. He does a good job of spreading the ball around. His leading receiver is Sam Pinckney with 29 catches for 451 yards and six touchdowns. Next in line is Cornelius McCoy with 19 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Roger Carter has 15 catches for 179 yards and four touchdowns.
The Jaguars have given up big yardage lately to the run. But it depends on which Georgia State team shows up. The Panther offense didn’t look like they came out of the locker room against Coastal Carolina when they lost 51-0 and only had 106 yards of total offense.
Georgia State Defense
Again, it depends on which team shows up on game day. They were sliced and diced by Coastal Carolina’s offense, but turned around and held Appalachian State to just 13 points and 310 yards of offense.
On the season they are allowing 122 yards rushing, 324.4 yards passing, and 446.4 total yards per game. They also allow an average of 36.9 points per game.
Their leading tackler Antavious Lane has 50 total tackles, 38 of them solo, from the safety position. He adds three interceptions, six pass breakups and a forced fumble. Right on his heels is Blake Carroll with 49 total tackles, 36 solo, from the inside linebacker position with four pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
If USA is going to have a chance to get their offense back in gear and put some points on the board, Georiga State seems to be the team to do it against on paper.
Keys to the Game
Offense
Granted, this one is very broad. But when your offense has played this poorly over the last three or four games, improvement in just one key area on the offensive side of the ball is not going to make much of a difference.
Starting with the offensive line, they will be without Jacob Shoemaker and Connor Estes for the second-consecutive game due to covid and contact tracing. Desmond Trotter has been sacked 13 times in the last three games, the vertical passing game has been non-existent, and running game has been inconsistent. Hopefully the players and staff have worked on figuring out a scheme to help the offensive line play more effective this week.
The offense has not been converting 3rd downs attempts well. They have had trouble getting into the end zone. Play calling has been predictable.
All in all, the offense has to do something. It may take another pick-six by the defense to get the offense going. But at some point they have to figure something out on their own.
Red zone touchdowns
As mentioned before, the Jags offense has been in the red zone a number of times recently but only came away with field goals when they even got points. Over the last two games they have scored one touchdown in six red zone attempts and they’ve added three field goals in that same stretch.
One of those times they came away empty handed, the line of scrimmage was around the 1 yard line and Kawaan Baker lined up in the wild cat and five yards deep, but was stopped short of the goal line in an obvious play call.
They need to convert more of those red zone trips into touchdowns if they really want to contend in games and have a chance to win.
Stay healthy
Thankfully Covid has not caused a another cancellation or postponement in the program, however losing two starting offensive linemen for two games is not good.
Add in that Lovertich will not be available for this game and probably the remainder of the season. That leaves true freshman Eli Gainey as the second string quarterback if anything happens to Trotter.
Prediction
Georgia State is a 3 point favorite over the Jags at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The Panthers played well their last two games with a win over ULM and a near upset of App State. The Jags have lost their last three since their win over ULM themselves.
With the offensive line woes, missing players and general down trend in the team I think Georgia State will win outright. Will the Jags cover the 3 point spread? I think so, simply by being a home and not traveling.
Go Jags!
South Alabama End Touchdown Drought, But Not Enough Against Louisiana 38-10
South Alabama (3-5, 2-3 Sun Belt Conference) was never really in the game against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (7-1, 5-1 SBC) and fall 38-10 in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Jags entered the game missing a few players due to Covid testing and contact tracing. Jacob Shoemaker and Connor Estes, both starting offensive linemen had to miss the game and may also have to miss the Jags next game against Georgia State as well.
The Cajun’s scored on their first possession. They did the heavy lifting with seven straight runs to start the drive, followed by an incomplete pass before quarterback Levi Lewis connected with Errol Rogers for a 5 yard touchdown.
After a 3-and-out, the Cajuns return the Jaguar punt 38 yards to the Jags 26 yard line. Three plays later Chris Smith scampers into the end zone from 22 yards out to go up 14-0 with 8:19 left in the opening quarter.
Jags finally get some offense going. They start out with five consecutive runs before Trotter started throwing, including a 12 pass to Kawaan Baker on a 3rd and 9 to keep the drive alive.
USA got all the way down to the 7 yard line before they ground to a halt. Head coach Steve Campbell opted to take the 26 yard field goal to make it 14-3.
The Cajuns would put together an 11 play, 75 yard drive early in second quarter ending with a side arm pass from Levi Lewis as he was rolling to the left to Errol Rogers for a 3 yard touchdown to go up 21-3.
Finally the Jags would end their touchdown drought with a 10 play, 75 yard drive of their own spanning 3:50. The drive started with a pass interference penalty on the first play and ended with a 7 yard touchdown pass from Desmond Trotter to Kawaan Baker.
The Cajuns would answer right back with a drive of their own.
Facing 3rd and 10 at their own 22, Lewis would find Kyren Lacy for 17 yards to extend their drive. Then Chris Smith would break loose up the gut of the Jaguar defense with a 47 yard run to the Jaguar 14. Two plays later Elijah Mitchell would take it in from 5 yards out for a 28-10 advantage.
Louisiana threatened to score again before halftime but a bobbled pass was intercepted by Nick Mobley to end the threat.
The second half was all Cajuns.
South Alabama needed touchdowns and came away empty. The only real scoring threat was on their first possession of the second half. They drove down to the 16 yard line but the 4th down pass to Baker went for six yards when they needed seven.
South Alabama was outgained 506 to 268 in the game. The Cajuns threw for 252 yards and rushed for 254 yards while going 6 of 13 on 3rd down. The Jags threw for 145 yards and rushed for 123 yards and went 6 of 18 on 3rd down.
Desmond Trotter went 15-of-28 for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chance Lovertich went 3-of-8 for 12 yards.
Kawaan Baker led the Jags with six catches for 43 yards and the only touchdown. Jalen Tolbert and Cade Sutherland both caught 5 passes for 64 and 37 yards respectively.
Terrion Avery led the Jags rushing attack with 14 carries for 62 yards. Carlos Davis only carried the ball 6 times for 18 yards.
Cajun quarterback Levi Lewis went 21-of-31 for 253 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception.
Peter LeBlanc led the Cajuns with 5 catches for 34 yards. Neal Johnson caught 3 for 40 yards. Three others caught three passes each and seven players caught one pass each.
Chris Smith led all rushers with 99 yards on 7 carries and a touchdown. Trey Ragas added 78 yards on 10 carries. Elijah Mitchell had 61 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.
“I thought we would play better,” head coach Steve Campbell said in his post-game radio interview. “They played a lot better than we did. We had some opportunities to make plays and didn’t do it. Offensively, we didn’t stay on the field as much as we needed to, and defensively we had a hard time getting off the field.”
“We just didn’t play well,” he said.
“We just have to take each game one at a time,” Campbell said in his post-game remarks. “We have to practice well, but we practiced great this past week. For what all these guys have been through, then came out and practiced their butts off Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We had some issues Wednesday and they overcame them and bounced back. I don’t feel that we blinked or backed down today. We need to find a way to have a good week of practice and take that and apply it on Saturday, so that we can find a way to beat a very good Georgia State team.”
When talking about the offense’s struggle he said, “Obviously we have not come up with the answer yet. We need to keep searching and find that answer and put the ball in the end zone.”
The Jags will return home to Hancock-Whitney Stadium after playing the last three contests on the road. South Alabama and Georgia State will kick off at 3pm on ESPNU on Saturday, November 21.