A Cat Fight: Jags vs Tigers
South Alabama (1-1) exploded for a school record 413 yards rushing last week against Jackson State. Though it was against a FCS school, that amount of rushing yards is still quite a feat.
The Jags welcomes a more formidable opponent to Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the Memphis Tigers (2-0).
This one should be a cat fight from the beginning.
A year ago in Memphis, the Jags were only down by four points 31-27 late in the third quarter before the Tigers pulled away for a 52-35 victory. However UM got a big shot in the arm to start the 2019 season by knocking off Ole Miss 15-10 at home. They followed that up with a 55-24 win over FCS Southern University.
The Tigers quarterback Brady White may be one of the best quarterbacks the Jags will see this season. Against Southern, he went 17-of-21 for 337 yards and two touchdowns in only three quarters of work. Against Ole Miss he went 23-of-31 for 172 yards. That’s a 77% completion clip through the first two games.
While the Tigers will with without their starting running back Patrick Taylor, they have a freshmen in Kenneth Gainwell who started his first game last week and rushed for 85 yards. Also gone is Darrell Henderson, who went for 188 yards and two touchdowns in last years game as he left school early for the NFL draft (LA Rams).
The Jags will look to keep a Memphis streak alive, for each of the last three seasons the Tigers have dropped their first road game of the season. In 2016 it was Ole Miss, in 2017 it was UCF and last year it was Navy.
Can USA make it four in a row?
The Jags defense is currently ranked 24th nationally in passing yards allowed. Additionally their rushing defense has been playing pretty well so far and are looking to atone for their performance a year ago.
Tra Minter will be a focus for the Memphis defense. He averages 216.5 all-purpose yards per game, which is third in the nation. He was the majority of the Jags offense last week against JSU. The Tigers have yet to allow a 100 yard rusher this year, but Minter will be their biggest test yet.
Now with a clear #2 back behind Minter in Jared Wilson, the Jags have what looks like a nice 1-2 punch with a change of pace.
Concerning things from last week was the continued turnover problem with Cephus Johnson. Granted it was only his third start but with six total turnovers in two games, four interceptions and two fumbles, including two that resulted in defensive touchdowns and two other that occurred in the opponents red zone, protecting the ball will have to be a premium.
Johnson has been exploited because he had locked into a receiver early allowing the defenders to read his eyes. But the two fumbles came from backside pressure that he never felt.
The other concerning thing from last week was discipline. When they traveled to Nebraska, the Jags were very disciplined and commit few penalties. But at home against JSU, the Jags were flagged 11 times for 101 yards and had three players ejected for targeting, including two on back-to-back plays. Fortunately it was an FCS opponent and didn’t really hurt them against an over-matched opponent. But against another FBS school, it could very well cost them the game, especially if it were to be Riley Cole again.
Injuries:
Jags will be without WR Jalen Wayne, LB Kade Koler and LB Patrick Rosette. RB Jalin Buie is out for the season with a knee injury. Defensive lineman Tyree Turner is questionable for the game.
Memphis will be without RB Patrick Taylor and DB Chis Claybrooks. DL O’Bryan Goodson is questionable.
Line:
Memphis is favored by 19 points. I think the Jags have be good opportunity to keep this game close into the fourth quarter and sneak out a win. I’ll take the under in this game.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPNU and can the radio broadcast can be heard on 99.5FM The Jag locally in Mobile and through the iHeartRadio app online.
A Long Goodbye To Ladd-Peebles Stadium
We haven’t posted any updates about Hancock Whitney Stadium since it they began construction, but we’re changing that today.
Saturday afternoon the Jags held their final season opener at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. A stadium that has had it’s ups and downs over the years.
Many fans are quick to voice their displeasure with Ladd. Yes it’s old, the concessions are basically high school fare, and many are scared to venture into the parking lot because of the surrounding neighborhood.
However, if it wasn’t for Ladd-Peebles Stadium I don’t know if South Alabama football would have began when it did. USA did not have any facilities for football. The club football team played at the track across from the Mitchell Center with bleacher seating for maybe a couple hundred fans. A sunken bowl that could have been turned into a small football stadium along the lines of my high school.
USA was able to start by building a new football field house and a practice facility without having to build a stadium until 10+ years into football.
But now we have Hancock Whitney Stadium taking shape in front of the Jaguars Football Field House where the former intramural fields were placed.
The ‘Cock will be the home of Jaguar football and it’s rising fast. What was once only dream and a goal, is finally coming to fruition. A brand new, state of the art 25,000 seat stadium on the campus of South Alabama.
No more will the neighborhood around Ladd intimidate fans from coming out to a game. No more parking in people’s yards and hoping that nothing happens to your car while you’re cheering on the Jags. No more parking at the mall and taking a shuttle through the same neighborhood and being dropped off near Williamson High School. Also no more poor concessions, poor sound system, rental video boards, metal rattling on big 3rd downs, and lack luster student attendance.
Okay, that last one may still happen. Even Alabama has problems getting students to show up and stay the entire game. Not anything against the students, sometimes its more about the party than the game.
And some may miss the metal rattling underfoot because now the fans will have to make noise by yelling and not by stomping their feet.
Probably the low point of Ladd was when Mississippi State visited on a very hot day with a packed stadium leading to attendees having problems getting water. Some stations ran out completely, some stations did not have cool water. USA took the brunt of the criticism at first but it was the group running concessions at Ladd that failed everyone. After that, USA began allowing attendees to bring in up to two bottles of water per person in a soft-sided cooler.
That was eventually stopped but was in affect for Jackson State and will be allowed once again for the 2:30pm match-up against Memphis on Saturday, September 14.
Lets take a moment to look at the highlights from Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Of course the Jags first ever football game against Hargrave Military Academy and their first ever score when Myles Gibbon hit Courtney “Quick Six” Smith for a 60 yard touchdown down the near sideline. Also the Jags first win over a ranked opponent when they downed San Diego State 42-24.
In 2020, we will welcome The ‘Cock into the family with The Mitch, The Stank, The Cage, and Jaguar Field. We still need a better name for Jaguar Field that falls in line with the others facilities.
The ‘Cock is rising on campus.
Go Jags!
Jags Set School Record Rushing In 37-14 Win Over Jackson State
As many strides the South Alabama football team and coaches made last week in their narrow defeat in Lincoln, Nebraska to the Cornhusker, they stepped backwards almost as much.
Plagued by mistakes in all phases of the game, the Jags (1-1) did figure out that they could lean on the running game after they wore down FCS Jackson State (0-2) defense.
The Jags put up a school-record 413 yard rushing on 60 carries as they ground out a 37-14 win over the Jackson State Tigers. Tra Minter led the attack with 189 yards and two touchdowns on just 16 carries, though one of them was a 49 yard touchdown on a backwards pass that counted as a rushing attempt. Freshman Jared Wilson carried 12 times for 95 yards showing his raw power on a number of attempts.
The Jags mistakes started early when on back-to-back plays the Jags lost Riley Cole and Rocelle McWilliams on targeting penalties. Luckily they occurred in the first half thus they will be able to play against Memphis next week. The loss of those two next week would have been devastating. But then they lost a third player to targeting in the second half and will miss playing time against Memphis.
The offense had three turnovers, two of them were red zone interceptions and the other was a fumble at the 1 yard line.
After playing very disciplined against the Cornhuskers, the Jags were penalized 11 times for 101 yards. A flashback to last season.
The Tigers looked to score on the games first possession, but their special teams woes continued as their field goal attempt sailed wide right.
The Jags made it 7-0 when Cephus Johnson carried it two yards into the end zone with 8:31 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers tied the game with 3:26 left in the opening quarter when Derrik Ponder connected with Warren Newman.
Just two plays later Johnson found Minter on a behind-the-line swing pass which he took 49 yards. However a high snap fouled up the extra point attempt leaving the Jags lead at 13-7.
It was starting to look like Jackson State was going to be able to make it to halftime only down by six points, but Jags drove 90 yards in 8 plays in only 1:48 highlighted by a 36 yard run by Minter and capped off by a 3 yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Kawaan Baker. Head coach Steve Campbell called for a two-point attempt but Johnson’s pass fell incomplete leaving the Jags lead at 19-7 at halftime.
USA came out in the second half with a focus on running the ball and stopping the Tigers running attack.
And they did, holding JSU to only 40 yards after halftime: 20 yards rushing and 20 yards passing.
With all the problems passing, the Jags ran the ball 60 times of their 79 offensive snaps.
Keshawn Harper ran 10 time for JSU gaining 75 yards on the ground. With Tyson Alexander added 44 yards on four carries and Jordan Johnson added another 39 yards on nine carries as the JSU Tigers rushed for 142 yards on the Jags.
Derrick Ponder went 15-of-26 for 123 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Nine Jags carried the ball to combine for 413 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including Tylan Morton’s first touchdown as a Jag.
Johnson went 11-of-18 for 120 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown. Tylan Morton completed his only passing attempt for 5 yards.
Seven Jaguars caught passes with Minter leading the way with 33 yards on four catches. Kawaan Baker added 41 yards on two catches and the only receiving touchdown of the game.
As mentioned, the Jags rushed for 413 yards as they rolled up 538 yards of total offense against Jackson State with 29 first downs and going 10-of-15 on 3rd downs.
The Jaguar defense tightened up eventually and only allowed 265 total yards to the Tigers, 142 of them on the ground. They also held the Tigers to a mere 1-of-9 on 3rd down.
After the game, coach Campbell was proud for getting a win but noted they made “some youthful and immature mistakes” that need correcting. He also mentioned that they worked hard on penalties and targeting fouls. He mentioned they did well last week but they regressed this week.
Typically you’d like to make your biggest improvement between week 1 and week 2,” Coach Campbell said. “But honestly I can’t say that we did that.”
Campbell noted that the Jags hurt themselves with turnovers against Nebraska. “We would have won the game if we hadn’t turned the ball over, so this week after turning it over twice in the air we didn’t want to do it again this week.”
Jalen Thompson’s interception broke the school career record. “It was one of the goals I set coming out of high school,” Thompson said. “It’s been a journey, a roller coaster so that interception was for my mom and my family because they sacrificed a lot. Over the last four years, it’s been a journey and getting that interception meant the world to me.”
Jackson State head coach John Hendrick noted that they did not play with with a few of their key starters so as not to expose them to injury against the Jags. But he saw that his team has a good offense that can move the ball and a defense that can stop people.
While the Jags are now 1-1 on the season, they have a lot of work to put in this week in preparation for Memphis, who upset Ole Miss in the first week of the season 15-10.
The Jags will host Memphis on Saturday, September 14 with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 pm and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
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.
Jags Fall At #24 Nebraska 35-21
South Alabama traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska with upset on their mind and they put a decent scare into the #24 ranked Cornhuskers and Coach Scott Frost.
The Jags took the Cornhuskers to halftime trailing by one score at 14-7 after Jalen Thompson was able to partially block a late field goal attempt by Nebraska. But the Jags focus on the “middle eight” didn’t go exactly as they wanted. On a 3rd and 8 play, starting quarterback Cephus Johnson was locked into his receiver allowing Eric Lee Jr. to jump the route for a 58 yard pick six at the 13:11 mark.
The Jags would get the ball right back but would go three-and-out. The Jack Brooks punt would sail 49 yards to JD Spielman, who elluded the first tackler and then ran it back 76 yards for the second score in under two minutes.
USA attempted didn’t give up, they would answer with two touchdowns in third quarter themselves. The first was set up by a JD Speilman muffed punt where the Jags covered it at the Husker 13 yard line. Four plays later Johnson would find Davyn Flenord on a tunnel screen for a 9 yard touchdown.
The second score was set up by an interception by AJ DeShazor at the Jag 24 yard line. USA got into the red zone thanks to a nice wheel route by Tra Minter down the left sideline then drive was capped off by a 13 yard touchdown reception by Khameron Taylor.
The scoring was capped off on the first play of the fourth quarter where Cephus would be hit from his backside and having the ball jarred loose where Alex Davis would cover it up in the end zone with 14:53 left in the game.
From there, the Jags had a great opportunity to cut the lead back to one score after Dedrick Mills fumbled the ball which Devin Rockette recovered at the Nebraska 49 yard line.
After driving down to the 12 yard line, Johnson was looking for Kawaan baker around the two yard line, but ball was delivered behind him, Baker got his had on the ball tipping it up where Cam Taylor could pick it off and returned it 48 yards to the mid field stripe.
The Jags won the battle on the statistics sheet if you ignore the score. They had more total yards (314 – 276), passing yards (231 – 178), first downs (19 – 15), total plays (79 – 66), time of possession (34:13 – 25:47) while Nebraska out-gained the Jags on the ground (98 – 83).
Cephus Johnson went 19-of-34 for 231 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and he was sacked four times. Tylan Morton came in for play and threw an interception when Cephus had to come out due to losing his helmet on a play.
Receiving Kawaan Baker led the way with 59 yards on four catches, Cade Sutherland gained 53 on four catches and Tra Minter gained 47 on five catches.
On the ground, Minter led the way with 37 yards on 10 carries. Baker added 27 yards on five carries and Cephus had a net of 9 yards on 18 carries with the lone rushing touchdown.
The Jags defense held Adrian Martinez to 13-for-22 passing for 178 yards and two touchdowns and one interception.
Rushing Dedrick Mills led the way with 45 yards on 15 carries. Washington added 39 yards on 6 carries after sitting out the first half. Martinez was held to 6 yards on 13 carries, with a big loss on a snap over his head though.
Receiving the Huskers Jack Stoll had three catches for 66 yards, Robinson added 33 yards on three catches and JD Spielman added 36 yards on two catches.
The Jags will open their home schedule with Jackson State on Saturday, September 7 with kickoff scheduled for 6pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Jags Face Nebraska In 11am Kick
Here we are, ready for the 2019 season to finally begin. While Thunderjags has been quiet, we are still here. This year has been very busy with off the field family business. Without any further ado, let’s preview game number one.
The Jags coming off a 3-9 record for the 2018 campaign opens in Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the #24 Cornhuskers.
The Huskers enter the third season under head coach Scott Frost after back-to-back 4 win seasons. Despite that, they are getting lots of early hype being ranked #24 in the nation to start the season.
South Alabama lost a lot from last season, but not all of it from graduation. Several players transferred out to other programs. They lost Jordan McCray and Malik Stanley to the transfer portal. Kawaan Baker is by far the leading receiver returning with 33 catches and four touchdowns. While the four returning receivers combine for a total of 10 catches. They do return six squad members from last season, a mixture of redshirts and others who didn’t see any gametime then added seven true freshmen and a senior transfer.
The linebacking corps will look to fill Bull Barge’s big shoes as they return one letterwinner from last season with one sack. They also return three redshirt freshmen and two previous squad members.
The offensive line returns four starters from last year, three of them started all 12 games. But the squad had problems knocking people off the ball, but hopefully an offseason of study and strengthening will pay dividends.
Punter Corliss Waitman decided to transfer to Mississippi State to spend what looks like his final college football season reunited with former Jag head coach Joey Jones. Frankie Onate looks to step up and fill Gavin Patterson’s shoes as placekicker.
Always one of the most talked about positions is quarterback. Evan Orth and Cole Garvin graduated. Orth started eight games, Garvin started three, and 2019 starting signal caller Cephus Johnson started one. While Johnson only threw 19 passes last year, he completed seven of them for three touchdowns and only one interception.
Though head coach Steve Campbell brought in the top ranked JUCO dual-threat quarterback in Tylan Morton, Johnson beat him out for the starting job.
As mentioned before, Johnson will be breaking in a lot of new receivers with one veteran leading the way in Baker.
The tight end position should see more work in 2019. They only accounted for one touchdown last season against Memphis.
The running back position returns two letterwinners. Tra Minter leads the way as a 2nd team All-America all-purpose back by the Sporting News and preseason watch list for the Doak Walker and Paul Hornung Awards. Minter was the only returning back to have carried the ball 10 times or more in a game in 2018. Actually, Jalin Buie hasn’t carried the ball in a game since September 16, 2017.
Though the Jags return four redshirt freshmen and a JUCO transfer to help give depth. Tony Brown and John Tank Miller are two names to keep up with this season as they have been mentioned many times over the last year and in the offseason.
Nebraska’s defense is big up front. The Jags offensive line will have their hands full with the size and speed of the Cornhuskers. Coach Edenfield will look to find mismatches and try to exploit them with misdirection and try to use some of their speed against them.
Additionally the Husker corners are pretty good. Opponents struggled completing outside passes down the field.
Offensively Nebraska has a very good quarterback, possibly one of the best in the nation, in Taylor Martinez. He can throw well and he’s very good and running the ball. The Jags defense will have to play very disciplined football. Everyone is going to make mistakes, especially in the first game of the season. Season openers are won and lost by those mistakes. In order to have a chance to win, the Jags have to minimize their mistakes against what looks to be a very potent offensive attack for the Huskers this season.
The Jags have a win over a top 25 team, they’ve defeated a Power 5 SEC team. This is their second time facing Nebraska in Lincoln. The team is ready to start the 2019 season after the lackluster 2018 record. Maybe the chances of a Jaguar win is a little more favorable than the odds that Doctor Strange gave in Avengers: Infinity War. But it takes precision, focus, and near perfect play.
While I’d love to recreate the Mississippi State win, I’m not confident I’ll see it today. We have 11 games after this one and we need to stay healthy but also get some game experience for lots of new players.
USA is a 36 point underdog according to the Las Vegas oddsmakers. I think the Jags will keep it closer than that on the road but the outright win is slim but would be extremely exciting.
National Signing Day 2019
As National Signing Day 2019 has finally arrived, the National Letter of Intents have come and head football coach Steve Campbell’s class has been announced. The Jags announced 26 new additions for the coming season, 10 of them junior college transfers, 15 high school student athletes, and one grey shirt.
Coach Campbell talked about the size and speed of the student-athletes that they signed this year. Not only did they have some holes to fill due to graduation, but also backfilling transfers. Punter Corliss Waitman, wide receiver Jordan McCray and David Gardner, offensive linemen Ryan Alexander, Rowan Godwin and Ben Becker, along with tight end Masseiah Francis are among nine Jags that entered into the transfer portal.
Here’s the full rundown:
- Tanner McGee is the lone grayshirt, he’s a 6’4″ 200lb quarterback from Randleman, NC who is a dual threat. He set a school record with 3,604 yards of total offense and 41 scores and was named the Randolph County Player of the Year his senior year.
- Conner Estes from Mississippi Gulf Coast CC is listed as a 6’5″ 325 lb right tackle. He originally signed with Louisiana Tech out of high school.
- Gi’Narious Johnson is from Pearl River CC and listed as a 6′ 285 lb defensive lineman. He is a two-time state weightlifting champion so he is strong.
- Kelvin Johnson from Independence (Kansas) CC is listed as a 6′ 210 lb linebacker. He was ranked the #4 JUCO linebacker in the nation. He has speed and will help fill Bull Barge’s shoes.
- Tyler Morton from HInds (MS) CC is a 6’4″ 205 lb quarterback. He was the top ranked dual-threat quarterback in JUCO and could very well be the starting quarterback week one of 2019.
- Devin Rockette from Northwest Mississippi CC is a 5’10” 175 lb cornerback that originally signed with USA but had to go the JUCO route. He got back on campus in January and is probably the current fastest player on the team.
- Patrick Rosette from Northeast Oklahoma A&M is a 6’1″ 190 lb rover/outside linebacker. He originally signed with Houston out of high school.
- Jacob Shoemaker from Mississippi Gulf Coast CC is a 6’4″ 340 lb offensive lineman. He was a second-team all-Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges South Division last year.
- Jamel Thomas from Itawamba (MS) CC is a 6’1″ 175 lb. He led the NJCAA in yards receiving per game as he caught 59 passes for 934 yards and eight touchdowns.
- Nick Thompson from Holmes (MS) CC is a 6’4″ 275 lb tackle out of high school who will play tight end for coach Campbell to cause mismatches.
- Tre Young from East Central CC is a 5’11” 170 lb safety from McGill-Toolen. He was also recruited by Troy.
- Damean Bivins from Pace HS is a 6′ 235 lb running back with great size and speed. He was named the 6A Florida PLayer of the Year. He recorded 2,273 yards and 32 scores his senior year.
- Brandon Crum from Auburn (AL) HS is a 6’3″ 270 lb tight end. He is big and physical and will also cause mismatches.
- Brentt Cunningham from West Point (MS) HS is a 6’1″ 185 lb outside linebacker. He was part of the team that won three-consecutive state championships and was the captain of the defense with good speed.
- Dallas Gamble from Booneville (MS) HSis a 6′ 170 lb running back turned defensive back. He has the speed and instincts to play offense but will use his talents on defense for the Jags.
- John Gill from Pine Forest (FL) HS is a 6’4″ 310 lb offensive lineman. He was recruited by Maryland and Illinois.
- Jack Green from Brandon (MS) HS is a 6′ 265 lb offensive lineman. He starting coming to USA football camp when he was a young kid and will now play for the Jags.
- Brock Higdon from Pelham (AL) HSis a 6’7″ 215 lb defensive end. He is tall with good speed. He was also being recruited by Western Kentucky.
- Noah Karwacki from Vista PEAK (CO) Prep School is a 6’2″ 190 lb placekicker. He has a huge leg that put kickoffs through the end zone and onto the track. He also averaged 50.1 yards per punt.
- Ryan Melton from West Point (MS) HS is a 6′ 180 lb cornerback. He had 46 stops, 3 INTs in his senior year as 5A state champs.
- Bryson Nelson from Crestview (FL) HS is a 372 lb offensive lineman. He is huge. I mean huge.
- AJ Phillips from Chickasaw (AL) HS is a 5’11” 225 lb running back turned linebacker with speed and another player with offensive tendencies that will play defense.
- Dajon Richard from Patterson (LA) HS is a 5’10” 170 lb wide receiver. He’s put up 4.3 30-yard dash times. He’ll be a slot receiver and will be an option at kick and punt returns and will be used in some of the speed sweep plays.
- Wykevious Thomas from Riverdale (GA) HS is a 6’4″ 330 lb defensive lineman known for his size. He recorded 48 stops with 13 tackles for loss his senior season.
- Devin Voisin from Crestview (FL) HS is a 6′ 180 lb wide receiver who may also get some time returning kicks.
- Jaden Voisin, Devin’s twin brother, also from Crestview (FL) HS is a 6′ 185 lb safety. He posted over 700 yards receiving and recorded nine interceptions. Devin and Jaden will join their older brother who signed with USA and redshirted last year.
Jags Send Senior Out On Top With 31-28 Win Over Coastal Carolina
Head coach Steve Campbell talking with the Jaguar offensive line between possessions early in the game against Coastal Carolina.
South Alabama took advantage of their final game of the season and a beat-up and bruised Coastal Carolina team to send 19 seniors out with one final 31-28 win.
Coastal Carolina (5-7, 2-6) came into the game looking for a win to get bowl eligible in their second season playing a Sun Belt schedule. Meanwhile the Jags (3-9, 2-6 SBC) only had pride and the program’s seniors to play for in their final game of the season.
The Chanticleers entered on a three game skid and plagued by injuries which only got worse during the game with more injuries occurring during the course of play.
The Jags jumped out early with a 32-yard field goal on their opening drive. Then a 45-yard touchdown pass from Cole Garvin to Jamarius Way on the first play after recovering a Coastal Carolina fumble to take a 10-0 lead.
The Jags kept it up in the second quarter with a one-play 73-yard drive when Evan Orth came in and lofted a throw over the Coastal defender to let Jamarius Way to out run the defense to the end zone for a 17-0 lead.
Coastal Carolina finally got on the board on their next possession, capped off by a 31-yard touchdown when Bryce Carpenter came in for an injured Kilton Anderson and found Isaiah Likely for the touchdown.
The Jags answered right back with a 13-play, 75 yard drive capped off by Kawaan Baker’s 6 yard touchdown run. Which let the Jags take a 24-7 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The second half was a different story, the Chanticleers opened the second half throwing the ball and systematically driving down the field for a touchdown.
USA got their only points of the second half two possessions later when they drove 51 yards in 10 plays and 4:22. Garvin connected with Way for a 7 yard touchdown making the score 31-14.
Coastal wasn’t ready to give up though and proceeded to drive 65 yards to get within 10 points again at 31-21.
The Jags offense went cold midway through the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-and-outs but the Jags defense held their own and forcing an incomplete pass on a 4th down conversion attempt with 3:17 left in the game.
The Jags then went into their ground control offense to bleed the clock. After Tra Minter broke the single-game rushing record, he then broke free for a 20 yard gain but the Chanticleers forced a fumble and recovered it at their own 20.
Coastal proceeded to pass the ball down the field aided by a illegal use of hands penalty before Anderson found Malcolm Williams for a 16 yard touchdown cutting the Jags lead to only three points 31-28 with only 34 seconds left in the game.
Coastal Carolina attempted an onside kick, but it never took the high bounce as wanted and Jahmmir Taylor was able to cover it up preserving the Jags win.
The Jaguar offense rolled up an impressive 533 yards of total offense and 331 yards on the ground. Tra Minter ran 24 times for 203 yards, breaking Kendall Houston’s record of 173 rushing yards against Troy.
Deonta Moore ran nine times for 72 yards. Baker rushed seven times for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Cole Garvin went 7-of-9 for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Evan Orth went 3-of-4 for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Jamarius Way caught six passes for 141 and all three receiving touchdowns. Minter caught two passes for 49 yards and Jordan McCray added 12 yards on two receptions.
The Jaguar defense allowed 385 yards, holding the Chanticleers to only 92 rushing yards. They commited their first penalty in two games against USA and ended the game with four for 40 yards.
Anderson went 20-for-32 for 262 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Williams caught seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown to lead the Coastal receivers.
CJ Marable ran 10 times for 40 yards while Alex James rushed for 32 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns. Anderson had 11 carries for 20 yards after sack yardage.
“I was glad our seniors could go out with a win in their last game at Ladd[-Peebles Stadium],” head coach Steve Campbell said. “Those guys really stepped up and played big in a big way.”
“After the Louisiana-Monroe game, we looked and saw that we really didn’t have a personality offensively,” Campbell continued. “We were running a little of this and a little of that; we really hadn’t established a personality. Before last week, we said we were going to run the football, be a play-action team and try to create some explosive plays with some man-to-man coverages. We were able to do that.”
“It makes it that much more special, to end with a win on this field” said senior linebacker Bull Barge after the game. “That’s what you work hard for, to go out on top at your own place. It just feels good knowing you’re going out on top after a long season.”
“It definitely gave us a spark,” said junior Tra Minter on a win to end the season. “All we wanted to do was send these seniors out with a bang and give them something to look back on. For next year, it just gave us a spark and some confidence for next season.”
The coaches will now put all their focus on recruiting with an early signing period on December 19-21 and the regular signing day on February 6, 2019.
Inside the Numbers:
South Alabama Host Coastal Carolina For Season Finale
South Alabama (2-9, 1-6 Conference) is set to play their final home game of the season which is also their final game of the season as a whole on Friday with kickoff scheduled for 2pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Jags will welcome a 5-6 Coastal Carolina team that are looking to get bowl-eligible (5-6, 2-5 Conference). This makes the third consecutive team looking to earn their sixth win against the Jaguars.
Head coach Steve Campbell is balancing getting playing time for the younger players with trying to win the remaining game and letting the seniors get playing time on Senior Day.
Senior Evan Orth, who started eight of 11 games so far this season injured his shoulder a couple weeks ago and has missed the last two game due to it. Cole Garvin, also a senior, started the first game of the season and played a complete game last week against Louisiana-Lafayette after missing most of the season due to a team rules violation when he was arrested for public intoxication.
Redshirt freshman Cephus Johnson started against Louisiana-Monroe two weeks ago, but split time with Garvin.
The Chanticleers, who joined the Sun Belt Conference last season, come into Mobile as a the favorite by anywhere from 2.5 to 6.5 points but in the midst of a three-game losing streak after facing Appalachian State, Arkansas State, and Georgia Southern.
South Alabama will be bidding goodbye to 19 seniors, some of the most accomplished players in program history to date. Among them, Jamarious Way who is in the top 10 in pretty much every USA career and single-season receiving category, Corliss Waitman who has the best punting average in program history, and Gavin Patterson who is the second-leading scorer in program history.
The Chanticleers join Appalachian State and Georgia Southern who were long-time FCS powerhouses who have joined the Sun Belt and have found success early. With just one win between them and bowl eligibility in their second season, they should be motivated and ready to play.
Meanwhile the Jags don’t have a post-season to play for, they only have pride. The Jags can play spoiler while heading into the off-season on a positive note.
The Chanticleers average 208.4 yards rushing per game and 170.5 yards passing per game. Meanwhile the Jags are averaging 135.7 yards rushing and 203.4 yards passing per game. But the Jags defense has been very susceptible to big plays, long runs and passes many of them for touchdowns have plagued them all season.
The Jags covered the spread last week, I think they’ll do it again but I’m not sure if they win. It’s more of toss-up and I think the more motivated team will win.
Inside the Numbers:
Jags Come Up Short in Lafayette 48-38
The Jags came up on the short end of a 48-38 shoot out with Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night. Though they have fallen to 2-9 and 1-6 in Sun Belt Conference play on the season, but they showed signs of life, which they had not shown much of over the past few games.
It looked like the Jags were on the verge of being in another blowout loss after the Ragin’ Cajuns broke out with a 54 kickoff return followed by a 44 yard touchdown pass to break a 10-10 tie with 4:38 remaining before halftime. Then they caught the Jags off guard with an onside kick, which they recovered and took 2:16 to drive 54 yards in five plays to add a second touchdown with 2:04 left until halftime.
This had been the point in previous weeks when the opponent took over the game but the Jags drove 75 yards in 13 plays and 1:53 to cut the Cajun lead to 24-17 at halftime.
USA opened the second half by receiving the kick off and driving 65 yards in nine plays to tie the game at 24-each with 10:51 left in the third quarter.
But the Cajuns responded with by scoring 17 points to regain control of the game. It started with a 45 yard touchdown run by Elijah Mitchell on the third offensive play. Then two Jag fumbles book ended a Cajun interception lead to a 41 yard field goal and a 34-24 Cajun lead at that point.
Another good special teams return, this time a 24 yard punt return, kick started a 70 yard, nine play touchdown drive to take a 41-24 lead at the end of third quarter.
The Jags could only get within 10 points in the final quarter with the Cajuns responding to the Jags touchdown midway through the quarter. But the Jags drove back down once more to with just :15 left in the game on a 50 yard touchdown pass from Cole Garvin to Kawaan Baker. The Jags attempted to recover an onside kick to try to make the game even more interesting but it was not to be.
South Alabama led the Cajuns in just about every statistical column you can find except for points. The Jags out gained the Cajuns 477 to 407, out rushed the Cajuns 223 to 210 and out passed them 254 to 197 yards. The Jags ground out 27 first downs to 17. They had 85 offensive plays to the Cajuns 52, they dominated time of possession 35:59 to 24:01, converted 11-of-19 3rd downs, converted a perfect 5-of-5 on 4th down, and they scored all five times they were in the red zone.
The Jags had more penalties with nine flags for 61 yards while the Cajuns had six flags for 66 yards. The Jags lost the turnover battle with 3 to the Cajuns lone interception, but the difference in the game was that Cajuns cashed in on those turnover for 10 points.
Cole Garvin, who started for the first time since the Oklahoma State game, went 18-for-28 for 254 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Eight Jaguars caught passes with Jamarius Way leading the way with six receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. Kawaan Baker caught four passes for 80 yards and the other touchdown.
Seven Jags carried the ball in the game, Tra Minter again was the leading rusher with 87 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown. Garvin gained 50 yards on 12 attempts. Baker added two rushing touchdowns to his receiving touchdown with 44 yards on the ground on seven carries.
Andre Nunez went 12-for-18 for 153 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Ja’Marcus Bradley and Jalen Williams both caught three passes each with the former gaining 62 yards and three touchdowns while the latter had 38 yards.
Elijah Mitchell rushed for 105 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns. Trey Ragas and Raymond Calais were both kept in check with the former rushing for 53 yards on 10 carries while the latter rushed for 34 yards on seven carries.
“I was proud of the guys and the way they fought,” head coach Steve Campbell said. “Obviously, we are disappointed when you get beat. We put ourselves in a hole right off the bat and went down 10-0, but the guys fought back and tied it back up twice. The last two weeks, we had started off well and didn’t finish the half.”
“Defensively, I didn’t like the way we finished the first half,” he continued. “We gave up two touchdowns right before halftime right after we had tied it up at 10-10. Offensively, I liked how we finished the first half, we were able to get some points on the board. We came back and tied it back up to start the second half after we had challenged the offense to start the second half fast.”
South Alabama will wrap up the 2018 season on Friday, November 23 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium when they host Coastal Carolina for their first-ever meeting. Kickoff is set for 2pm with the game being broadcast on ESPN+ (requires a subscription).
Inside the Numbers: