Preview: South Alabama vs Georgia Southern
Kickoff: Saturday, November 2, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: TBA
South Alabama enters this week’s game with an even record overall and looks to both break some bad patterns and continue some good patterns when they host Georgia Southern on Saturday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The Jags (4-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) comes in after winning their last two match-ups on the season, both at home. This will be the third and final game of a three-game home stand by the Jags. They also have a two-game streak going against Georgia Southern (5-3, 3-1 SBC).
They are also the only two wins the Jags have had in nine meetings between the two programs.
We also alluded to breaking a streak. Dating back to the 2023 season the Jags have had a curious pattern going. They tend to win and lose in pairs. It’s not a perfect pattern, it was technically broken by the win in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Or was it just interrupted?
Head Coach Major Applewhite can have a testy side to him. Last week when a reporter brought up that his team was 3-0 in weeknight games but 0-4 in Saturday games, he didn’t seem very…entertaining of that question. This week the same reporter asked about “the pattern” as I have referred to it.
“This is about as much prosperity as we can handle,” Applewhite joked. “So, everybody brace themselves it’s time to go win three in a row.”
It’s good to see both sides of coach Applewhite, throwing some shade and also tossing out a laugh.
The Eagles come to Mobile tied for first place in the Sun Belt East Division and looking to keep it that way. But they are tied with Old Dominion who holds the tiebreaker based on their 47-19 head-to-head loss on Thursday, October 17. They will have a slight advantage over the Jags since they will be coming in with a couple extra days to prepare.
But enough of that, let’s take a look at some of the team stats.
Georgia Southern
Clay Helton is in his third season at the helm in Statesboro. He’s led the Eagles to back-to-back 6-7 seasons with losses in the Camellia Bowl (2022) and the Myrtle Beach Bowl (2023). He came to Georgia Southern after spending 11 years at USC in all. He started as the quarterbacks coach under Lane Kiffin then was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013. He served at interim head coach when the previous interim head coach, Ed Orgeron, resigned following the hiring of Steve Sarkisian. In the 2015 season he served as the interim head coach again when Sarkisian took a leave of absence. USC then they promoted him to the head coach.
Helton went 46-24 over his time as head coach at USC and notably with a win in the 2017 Rose Bowl over Penn State.
Fans in Statesboro are getting a little itchy to get back to their winning way more like they had previously. Everything was looking up and up until their upset loss to Old Dominion.
Offense
Ryan Aplin has helped Helton transform Georgia State into a passing team. After setting just about every passing record for the Eagles in 2022, the 2023 season saw the Eagles finish in the top 20 nationally in passing yards per game with many of the records previously set falling again.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 28.6 |
| Total Offense | 379.1 |
| Passing Offense | 252.1 |
| Rushing Offense | 127 |
| Time of Possession | 30:24 |
| Penalty Yards | 47.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 50 of 112 (44.6%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 9 (66.7%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 25 of 27 (92.6%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 22 of 27 (81.5%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 45 – 380 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 16 – 7 |
JC French is 169 of 265 (63.8%) for 1,790 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He is also the fourth leading rusher on the team with 138 yards on 68 attempts with one touchdown.
Dalen Cobb leads the team in catches with 37 for 434 yards and three touchdowns. Derwin Burgess Jr leads the team in receiving yards with 440 on 35 catches with three touchdowns as well.
Josh Dallas has 25 catches for 325 yards and a pair of touchdowns. LV Bunkley-Shelton has 20 catches for 216 yards. Tyler Fromm has 18 catches for 211 yards and two touchdowns as the final pass catcher with over 100 yards receiving for the season.
Jalen White leads the ground game with 393 yards on 92 carries with seven touchdowns. OJ Arnold has 253 yards on 43 carries with three touchdowns. David Mbadinga adds 145 yards on 35 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
Defense
Brandon Bailey is in his second season as defensive coordinator for Georgia Southern. In 2023 the Eagles finished top 30 nationally in passes intercepted, defensive touchdowns and tackles for loss.
In 2022 he was the youngest defensive coordinator in FBS while at the University of Buffalo. His defense finished 7th nationally with 28 turnovers, 7th nationally in interceptions with 13, and 2nd nationally with 15 forced fumbles. They were 4th in the MAC in scoring.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 30.5 |
| Total Offense | 457.6 |
| Passing Offense | 272.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 185.1 |
| Time of Possession | 29:36 |
| Penalty Yards | 83.9 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 51 of 110 (46.4%) |
| 4th Downs | 5 of 13 (38.5%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 24 of 26 (92.3%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 19 of 26 (73.1%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 69 – 671 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Marques Watson-Trent (r-Sr LB) far and away leads the team with 77 stops, 34 solo. He also leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss and is in a three-way tie for second on the team with 1.5 sacks. He is a big disrupter too with four forced fumbles, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
Marc Stampley II (Jr DB) leads the team in sacks (2) and pass breakups (7), and is tied for the team lead in interceptions (2).
Special Teams
Alex Smith is averaging 43 yards per punt attempt with 20 fair catches, 15 downed inside the 20, 5 punts of over 50 yards, and a long of 63 yards.
Gavin Stewart is 7 of 9 placekicking for the Eagles with a long of 53 yards. He is 24 of 26 on extra point attempts.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags currently sit 1st in the Sun Belt Conference in rushing offense and scoring offense while 2nd in the conference in total offense and time of possession. Nationally the Jags are 14th in rushing offense, 22nd in scoring offense, 19th in total offense, 29th in time of possession. But they are also 2nd nationally in Passes Had Intercepted (1), Turnovers Lost (4), and 3rd in Punt Returns (21.5).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.3 |
| Total Offense | 454.8 |
| Passing Offense | 238.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 216.3 |
| Time of Possession | 31:41 |
| Penalty Yards | 70.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 43 of 102 (42.2%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 10 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 32 of 38 (84.2%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 24 of 38 (63.2%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 63 – 564 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 7 – 3 |
After a predominantly ground game last week Gio Lopez is 128 of 200 (64%) for 1,632 yards, 13 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Behind his career-high 11 catches last week, Jamaal Pritchett has 50 receptions for 662 yards and 6 touchdowns for the season. Second place on the team in receptions is Devin Voisin with 22 for 260 yards. Jeremiah Webb is third on the team in receptions with 17 but second on the team in reception yardage with 276 and a pair of touchdowns. DJ Thomas-Jones is second on the team in touchdown receptions with 3.
Fluff Bothwell continues to lead the Jags rushing attack with 580 yards on 85 carries with 8 touchdowns as a true freshman. His average of 6.88 yards per carry is 9th in the nation while his rushing touchdowns is 28th, but 1st among true freshmen.
Kentrel Bullock is not too far behind him with 505 yards on 85 carries with 5 touchdowns. Lopez is third on the team with 350 yards on 55 carries with 4 touchdowns. His 5.93 yards per carry ranks 38th nationally.
Defense
The Jags defense stacks up pretty good in the several categories in the conference. They are 2nd in Rush Defense, 3rd in 3rd down defense and red zone defense, 4th in scoring defense and 1st down defense, 6th in 4th down defense, and 7th in total defense.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 23.6 |
| Total Offense | 401.7 |
| Passing Offense | 268.4 |
| Rushing Offense | 133.3 |
| Time of Possession | 28:19 |
| Penalty Yards | 47.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 39 of 107 (36.5%) |
| 4th Downs | 4 of 11 (36.4%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 22 of 28 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13 of 28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 42 – 378 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick continues to pace the team with 58 total stops, 23 solo. He also has a sack, 5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble to his resume. Jordan Scruggs is second on the team with 41 total stops, 19 solo, with an interception and a pass breakup.
Courtney McBride leads the team with 3 sacks. Tyler Thomas is next with 2 sacks.
Jaden Voisin’s three interceptions leads the team and is 14th nationally.
Wesley Miller’s interception against ULM ties him with Lardarius Webb for second on the team with two each.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 41.9 yards per punt with 13 downed inside the 20, 12 fair catches, 2 touchbacks, two kicks of 50+ yards and a season long of 67 yards.
Laith Marjan is 11 of 12 (91.7%) in field goals for the season, his only miss was from 52 yards. His season long is 49 yards. He is now officially 26 of 28 on extra points, but that counts as a miss against ULM was due to a poor snap and hold.
Jamaal Pritchett is still averaging 21.9 yards per punt return with the 1 touchdown on the season.
Keys to the Game
Turnovers
Georgia Southern’s defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey prioritizes defensive turnovers. They’ve forced seven interceptions but have only recovered three fumbles of the eight fumbles by opponents. On the other hand, the Eagles offense has turned the ball over 13 times (6 INT, 7 fumbles). Astonishingly, the Eagles have put the ball on the ground 16 times. So overall the Eagles are -3 in turnover margin.
South Alabama is very protective of the ball with only 4 offensive turnovers (3 fumbles, 1 INT). Defensively the Jags are pretty good at generating takeaways with 14 overall (11 INT, 3 fumbles) for a turnover margin of +11.
If past patterns continue, the Jags may have some opportunities to force some turnovers.
RTDB
The Jags found their offensive identity again last week: Run the damn ball.
In three of their four wins this season, the Jags have rushed for 300+ yards. The second half against ULM the Jags fully committed to the run and they ran all over the Warhawks.
The running back trio of Bothwell, Bullock and McReynolds were able to shoulder the run load and Gio only had to give the ball off. On passes, he stayed in the pocket more and didn’t move out immediately when he felt some pressure. Hopefully that was planned and not a change due to his lingering turf toe injury from week 1.
Getting the running backs rolling is a huge advantage for the Jags.
Pass Rush
Georgia Southern is predominantly a passing offense. Historically this has given the Jags problems. Generating a pass rush has been problematic in those instances. If they can get to the quarterback and make him uncomfortable, they can disrupt what they do and maybe force some more interceptions out of their quarterback.
Prediction
South Alabama is in the thick of the Sun Belt Conference West race. They have a chance to make another statement with a win. ULM entered with a darling storyline and the Jags were able to make a statement last week. Now they have a chance to knock off one of the eastern division leaders.
But it would also be nice to break “the pattern” and continue the current streak against the Eagles.
The Jags enter the match-up as a 6.5-point favorite. Once again, I have a feeling that the line is too high for whatever reason. I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they’ll cover. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here, I’m completely open to them proving me wrong.
Go Jags!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Breaking: Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament CANCELLED
After further discussion with the Presidents and Chancellors and Directors of Athletics and mounting concerns surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Sun Belt Conference has decided to cancel the remaining games of the 2020 Sun Belt Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships scheduled for March 14-15 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
sunbeltsports.org
This announcement came on the heels of the Southeastern Conference announcing the cancellation of their conference tournament that was being held in Nashville.
It is currently unknown what the NCAA will ultimately decide concerning the NCAA Tournament. They stated yesterday it would continue on however only essential staff, media, etc would be able to attend. Now that statement is in question.
USA At UAB: The Battle of I65
South Alabama (1-2) will hit I65 and travel up to Birmingham to face off with UAB (2-0) for the first time in program history. These two schools had a home-and-home scheduled previously, but was cancelled when UAB abruptly shut down their football program in 2014.
UAB has since restarted their program and have found new success on the gridiron.
If this becomes a regular matchup (which I hope for) I think this would be great for both programs. The (real) Battle of I65.
If you’ve been around the Jaguar football program since it’s inception, the name Bill Clark should be familiar with you. Coach Clark was the defensive coordinator under coach Joey Jones from 2009 – 2013 when he left for a head coaching opportunity at Jacksonville State.
In all, there are 25 players and coaches with ties to the Mobile area that are a part of the UAB program. Former assistant coaches Bryant Vincent and Richard Owens are both on Clark’s staff. Quarterback Tyler Johnston was a standout player for Spanish Fort before signing with UAB.
Since UAB restarted their program in 2017 they are an undefeated 13-0 at home. Including a 13-3 record in 2018 with a bowl win over Northern Illinois in the Boca Raton Bowl.
The Jags come into the game after a 42-6 trouncing by Memphis in Mobile when Tra Minter, the Jags leading all-purpose yardage leader, was forced out of the game with a concussion early in the game. They also made ESPN and other lists for the botched PAT that was returned by Memphis for 2-points after the Jags only score of the game.
Here’s the PAT just in case you need a reminder.
I present to you: the worst PAT attempt in college football history courtesy of South Alabama. pic.twitter.com/myXZpsA6m1
— Eagle-Eyed Social Media User Dan Why-Ner (@DanWeiner) September 14, 2019
The USA coaches pulled Cephus Johnson in the third quarter against Memphis, but head coach Steve Campbell said that he will continue to be the guy behind center for the Jags. Cephus, on the bright side, has thrown for 393 yards and three touchdowns but on the down side he has thrown four interceptions, committed three fumbles and has only completed 53% of his passes. It’s unknown if Johnson may be on a “short leash” and could be pulled in favor of Tylan Morton or Desmond Trotter.
The Blazers have a 1-2 punch at running back with Spencer Brown and Jonathan Haden. They are licking their chops after watching USA allowing over 300 yards to Memphis last weekend. However the Blazer offensive line has not performed as well run blocking as they have pass blocking. They will probably test the Jaguar rush defense to see if they can get some early success because the Jaguar secondary has covered well with an interception in each of the Jags first three games and only allowing Memphis to throw for more than 200 yards.
The Jaguar offensive line has helped the Jags average over 199 yards per game, with the help of the big game against Jackson State. But the Jags pass protection has not been the best so far this season as they have allowed six sacks so far. They will be facing a Blazer defense that are sack-hungry and will be looking to put pressure on Johnson to try to force him into some bad decisions and to try to cause some fumbles.
The Blazer defense has held their first two opponents to 7-of-31 on 3rd down conversions, tallied 20 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks while holding them to an average of 89.5 yards per game rushing, but those two opponents have been Alabama State and Akron.
When your leading receiver is your running back, that says a lot about your receiver corps. Minter leads the team in receptions (9 for 80 yards) as well as rushing yards (242). Kawaan Baker is right behind him with one fewer catch (8) but has 184 yards receiving and two touchdowns. But when your two quarterbacks combine to have 6 interceptions only completing 50% of their passes, to say the Jags passing game is struggling is an understatement.
Meanwhile the Blazers have looked very good early with two players in the top eight of Conference USA in receiving yardage.
An additional factor is injuries. The Jags got pretty banged up against Memphis. Minter is expected to play as he was sighted at practice. However Riley Cole (undisclosed) and Roy Yancey (ankle) have also been dealing with injuries but have been practicing, so it sounds like they will play but will those injuries affect their effectiveness?
Officially Cole, Yancey, and Jalen Wayne are all probable to play. Minter was last listed as questionable. Tyree Turner and Patrick Rosette have been listed as doubtful. Max Charite and Shawn Jennings have been ruled out for the game. Meanwhile UAB only has one player listed as being out for the season.
The Blazers are an 11 point favorite in the game with an over/under of 48 points. But the Jags will have Minter back as he has reportedly cleared the concussion protocol and practiced with the team on Wednesday.
While I don’t feel good calling for the Jags to win out-right (as much as I’d love for it to happen). The Blazers have put up impressive numbers against two opponents that they should have a clear advantage against. Meanwhile the Jags gave Nebraska a scare before facing a possibly the best Group of Five team in Memphis.
I’ll be a homer and take the Jags to cover but I think UAB may run their home record to 14-0 since “The Return”.
The Jags and the Blazers are scheduled for a 2:30pm kickoff from Legion Field in Birmingham. The game can be viewed on the NFL Network.
Go Jags.
USA Hosts FCS Jackson State In Home Opener
South Alabama opens their home slate against FCS Jackson State, the final season playing in Ladd-Peebles as their home stadium.
The Jags come off of an inspring effort against then #24 Nebraska in Lincoln, falling short of their upset bid, 35-21. They will find themselves on the other side of the coin, they don’t want to be upset by Jackson State, who is coming off of a 36-15 road loss to Bethune Cookman in the 2019 MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
Jackson State played three quarterbacks in their first game, but head coach John Hendrick announced that Derrick Ponder will be the starter going forward. He finished 8-of-21 for 130 yards, but had a fumble in the fourth quarter when the Tigers were moving the ball.
Despite the loss and rotating quarterbacks, they ran up over 500 yards of total offense, 233 of them came on the ground in a three-headed rushing attack. Coach Hendrick challenged his offense to execute better, with all those yards they had ample opportunity to score.
The Jags won most of the statistical categories against the Cornhuskers, but the game is won or lost with the points put on the board.
The Jags settled in with Cephus Johnson taking snaps with 231 passing yards and two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions and two fumbles, one for a touchdown in the endzone.
The Jaguar defense held the Huskers to 276 yards of total offense and only 98 yards rushing.
The Jags has more talent across the board than the Tigers. The offense needs to continue to get Cephus confortable early with short, high-percentage passes and RPO’s. The JSU defense will look to disguise coverages and try to force Cephus into making mistakes.
The two fumbles by Cephus last week all came from his backside, where he never seemed to feel the pressure. Look for JSU to try to bring pressure to see if they can recreate that pressure and try to get some turnovers.
The Jags will look to better their protection from last week and getting more players involved to build depth as they prepare for Memphis next week and the fast approaching conference schedule. USA controlled the line of scrimmage pretty well against Nebraska, this week they look to get those rushing yards that eluded them last week. The rushing attack will feature Tra Minter but with Jalin Buie out for the season with a knee injury, the coaches will look to get more touches to the other guys to build depth at a position that has been pretty thin the last couple of seasons.
The Jags are a 27.5 point favorite. With their talent anything would probably be a disappointment. I think the Jags cover as they look to further forget the frustrations from last season.
Happy New Year Jag Nation!
As the book closes on 2017 and we open the book on 2018, we at Thunderjags wish you a great New Year! Go Jags!
Jags Defeat NMSU 35-28 And Earn Second Bowl Birth
Xavier Johnson, a junior, rushed 21 times for 154 yards and three touchdowns to have 250 all-purpose yards. | Photo Credit: Bobby McDuffie from the 2015 season usajaguars.com
The Jaguars now get to play the waiting game.
With the 35-28 win over New Mexico State, the Jags are assured a bowl birth, unlike three seasons ago when the Jags were bowl eligible and on the outside looking in for a bowl (which they wouldn’t get). This season they are assured they are getting a bowl as bowl tie-ins are chaotic to say the least.
As of writing this, ESPN projects the Jags to play Air Force in the Arizona Bowl on December 30. However, that is only speculation at this point. Until the bowl match-ups are announced, the Jags could be going just about anywhere.
Everyone should be proud of what South Alabama has accomplished by earning this bowl birth. They overcame numerous injuries (10 starters among others) to get here. No other has gone to two bowl games in their first four FBS seasons.
Now, for the game itself.
South Alabama found themselves trailing New Mexico State in the fourth quarter but were not going to fall short of bowl eligibility for a second consecutive season.
A run of 21 unanswered points started with Dallas Davis connecting with senior Josh Magee for a 76 yard, game-tying touchdown. But if you ask head coach Joey Jones or quarterback Dallas Davis, the play of the game may have come on the next Jaguar possession. Davis dropped back to pass and had the pocket collapsing around him. Davis found an opening sprinted for it, then Magee made a key block on the outside which allowed Davis to get the first down and extend the drive.
The Jaguars opened the scoring on their second possession when, on the second play, Davis handed off to Xavier Johnson and he found an opening and took the ball 51 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.
The Aggies would answer in the second quarter after a quarterback change. Conner Cramer would find an opening and scamper 50 yards, then on the next play he would give it to running back Larry Rose who took it 30 yards to the end zone and just like that it was a tie game all over again.
The Aggies were close in on another score after Rose ran for 51 yards but was tripped up at the 7 yard line by Neiko Robinson on the biggest play of the first half. Two plays later Neiko would force a fumble at the Jaguar 6 yard line which Quinton Dent recovered and allow the Jags to run the time out in the half after trying to make an attempt at a couple big plays to get some points on the board before halftime.
The Aggies began the second half with the ball but Devon Earl picked off Cramer at the Jaguar 26 and returned it 23 yards to the 49, but an Aggie penalty placed the ball at the Aggie 34. Then a heavy dose of Xavier and Dami with Magee completion and a Davis first down run, would put the Jags on top 14-7.
The Aggies would tie it up and take the lead early in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing kickoff a trio of offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties were called then Davis found Magee for the tying touchdown.
After forcing a three and out, the Jags demonstrated their ground game dominance with another steady dose of Xavier and Dami but a key run by Davis for 29 yards on 2nd and 18 kept the drive alive and eventually into the end zone to retake the lead.
On the next Jaguar possession, Davis to Gerald Everett got the possession started with a 24 yard hookup, then it would be capped off by Xavier finding a hole in the middle of the Aggie defense, getting tripped, recovering and taking it to the house for a 35-21 lead with 2:28 left in the game.
The Aggies would add one more score to make in interesting but the Jags hands team handled the onsides kick perfectly to seal the game.
The Jags ended the game with 521 yards of total offense, 282 on the ground and 239 through the air. The Aggies finished with 463 total yards, 353 of it through the air.
Xavier Johnson finished with 154 yards rushing on 21 attempts and three touchdowns. Dallas Davis added 82 yards on 11 carries and Dami Ayoola had 64 on 14 carries with a touchdown.
Davis was 16-of-28 passing with two interceptions and a touchdown. Magee had 135 yards on four catches and a touchdown. Everett caught six passes for 69 yards. Kevin Kutchera caught three for 21 yards and Grant Powell, Mseiah Francis and Xavier all caught one pass each.
Of Brandon McKee’s four punts, three of them were downed inside the 20.
For the Aggies, Larry Rose III was their leading rusher with 170 yards and two touchdowns while Conner Cramer added 110 yards and a touchdown.
Cramer went 7-of-15 for a 95 yards, a touchdown and an interception while Tyler Rogers, who started the game, finished 4-of-10 for 15 yards and an interception. Jonathan Boone was the top Aggie receiver with two catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.
See you at the bowl game!
Also apologies for missing reviews on the last couple of games but life got busy and this is currently one of my several side-gigs.
Go Jags!
28 USA Student-Athletes Received Degrees on Saturday
At the Annual Fall Graduation ceremony held at the Mitchell Center, a total of 28 current and former student-athletes from eight USA sports programs received their undergraduate degrees on Saturday.
Among the group was a dozen USA football student-athletes who will play in the Jaguars first-ever bowl game just one week removed from graduation. The group also included five who were on the soccer team when they earned the programs first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2013. The group includes an all-league selection from the 2013 baseball team that also participated in the NCAA Tournament.
Morgan Motes and Tatum Perry were both in 20 or more matches as seniors during the 2013 season as their team finished 14-6-3 after their initial national postseason contest. Carlaine Myers, Tina Schaar and Linsey Snavely also contributed that season.
Earlier in 2013, Matt Bell was a second-team All-SBC selection after the Jags posted a 43-20 record and earning a second seed at the NCAA Starkville Regional.
Terrell Brigham and Ucambre Williams were both selected to the second-team All-SBC this week with Melvin Meggs earning an honorable mention selection after helping the Jaguars to a 5-3 conference record and six wins overall. Along with current teammates Drew Dearman, Brandon Bridge, Shane Doty, Trey Fetner, Qudarius Ford, Anthony Harris, Kendall Houston, Ridge James and Nathan Sassaman will all be on the field on Saturday, December 20 to face Bowling Green in the inaugural Raycom Camellia Bowl. Jay Jones, who suffered a season-ending injury in October and was the team’s leading rusher at the time, also graduated.
Other All-Conference honorees who earned their degrees following the fall semester includes Tyler Agee, Meghan Dunn and Sayann Vaezzadeh.
Former student-athletes Brandon Hallford, Jennifer Johnson, Anna Lasher, Natalie Parsons, Devin Robinson and Corey Waldon all received degrees as well.
For those who also earned their degrees, both as student-athletes and were not listed or as fans, Jaguar Nation congratulates you and also thanks you for representing the University of South Alabama in every capacity. It takes a large group of people to make up the University community and South Alabama has the best!
Go Jags!
South Alabama Bowl Bound! Press conference called for tomorrow at 1pm
South Alabama director of athletics announced that the school will hold a press conference tomorrow at 1pm “pertaining to the football program”. But according to numerous Jaguar players posting on Twitter, they will be playing in their first bowl game in program history.
The press conference will be held in the John Counts Room in the Mitchell Center and will be open to the public.
Go Jags!
**UPDATE: South Alabama will be playing in the first-annual Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, AL on December 20th with kickoff scheduled for 8:15 CST.
Jags Pick Up Pair of Wins, Claims SBC Regular Season Title
The South Alabama soccer team had a very successful road trip through Arkansas over the weekend.
On Friday afternoon the Jaguars used four goals from four different players to defeated Arkansas State 4-1 to clinch the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship.
They overcame an early 1-0 deficit after six minutes with a quick doublestrike from freshman Danielle Henley and Steffi Hardy. Henley’s goal game in the 20th minute of play and went in off the goalkeeper. Hardy’s goal came on a free kick from 20 yards out in the 22nd minute.
After halftime, the Jags added two more insurance goals. Charde Hannah converted a pass from Chelsea Followwell in the 81st minute. Then freshman Rio Hardy completed the scoring at the 89:13 mark on a breakaway.
Sarah Hay made eight stops in the victory.
On Sunday, the Jags finished out their regular season schedule and extended their unbeaten streak to 15 matches with a 2-1 win over Arkansas State.
Nini Rabsatt-Smith started the scoring when she took a bad back pass to the goalkeeper and put it in the net at the 6:22 mark.
The Trojans tied the match in the 34th minute of play.
Freshman Rio Hardy broke the tie just over four minutes after the equalizing goal. Freshman Charde Hannah had a shot on goal but was saved by the UALR goalkeeper. The rebound went to Hardy who headed it into the net for the game winner.
Sarah Hay made five saves in the net for the Jags and allowed only one goal.
Next up for the Jaguars is the Sun Belt Tournament beginning November 5. The tournament will be hosted on the South Alabama campus at The Cage. The Jags will open play with a rematch against Arkansas-Little Rock at 7pm on November 5.