Preview: South Alabama Travels To Louisiana-Lafayette For West Division Showdown
Kickoff: Saturday, November 16, 6pm
Venue: Cajun Field, Lafayette, LA
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
The South Alabama Jaguars are back on the road this weekend for the first road game in over a month. They travel to Lafayette, LA to take on the West Division leading Ragin’ Cajuns for a very pivotal game as the end of the regular season is quickly approaching.
The Jags (4-5, 3-2 Sun Belt Conference) all but had their hopes to represent the west in the conference title game dashed two weeks ago. Georgia Southern took advantage of two opportunities given to them and seized control of the game for a 34-30 defeat of USA on November 2nd. A game the Jags should have won.
The Cajuns (8-1, 5-0) may be playing some of their best football of the season right now. They enter the game coming off of a 55-19 blowout of Arkansas State at Cajun Field last Saturday.
This is an opportunity for the Jags to earn a season-defining win and creep one game closer to bowl eligibility. They’ve already let two conference wins slip from their grasp this season. They held the lead against both Arkansas State and Georgia Southern when they held the lead late in the game. They cannot afford to let any more slip away as their path to earn bowl eligibility is narrowing by the week.
The Cajuns have a history of winning and their home stadium is a difficult place to play. Head coach Major Applewhite and the Jags have their work cut out for them this week. Hopefully coming into the game after an off week will work to their advantage.
Let’s dig into the opponent some along with the season stats to this point.
Louisiana-Lafayette
The Cajuns are under the direction of Michael Desormeaux, who is in his third season as head coach of the program. He was a former record-setting quarterback for Louisiana-Lafayette.
In both seasons as head coach, he’s led ULL to its fifth and sixth-consecutive bowl games, which is a school record. He has a career head coaching record of 21-15 (11-9 SBC) including his win in the 2021 New Orleans Bowl as interim head coach. However, he has lost both bowl games he’s coached since then.
He was named the head coach after joining the staff in 2016 and helped the program win four consecutive SBC West Division titles (2018-2021) and won its first outright SBC Championship in program history in 2021 when he was serving a Co-Offensive coordinator. His offense ranked 3rd in the Sun Belt in both scoring offense and total offense during the 2021 13-win season.
Desormeaux was the only member that Billy Napier retained from the previous staff when he was hired.
Offense
Ben Wooldridge is 177-of-258 (68.6%) for 2,301 yards with 17 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Chandler Fields is 10-of-12 (83.3%) for 97 yards on the season in three games.
The Cajuns spread the ball around pretty equally. They have five players with 21 or more pass receptions and over 200 yards receiving on the season.
Terrance Carter has 558 yards on 36 catches (both lead the team) with four touchdowns. Lance LeGrendre has 515 yards on 27 catches with four touchdowns. Harvey Broussard has 271 yards on 18 catches for three touchdowns.
Similarly, the offensive backfield spreads the ball around a lot too. They have three running backs with over 400 yards rushing and over 50 carries each. Bill Davis leads the backfield with 585 yards on 98 carries with 5 touchdowns. Zylan Perry has 463 yards on 73 carries with two touchdowns. Dre’lyn Washington has 412 yards on 56 carries with 5 touchdowns. Ben Wooldridge has 190 yards on 56 carries with 5 touchdowns.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 32.2 |
| Total Offense | 392.4 |
| Passing Offense | 216.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 175.7 |
| Time of Possession | 29:06 |
| Penalty Yards | 48.6 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 68 of 167 (41%) |
| 4th Downs | 11 of 20 (55%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 42 of 52 (81%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 30 of 52 (58%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 79 – 632 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 27 – 12 |
Defense
KC Ossai leads the team with 76 total stops, 41 solo, with two tackles for loss, three pass breakups and 0.5 sacks. Carmycah Glass has 51 total stops, 30 solo, with 3.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks.
Cameron Whitfield leads the team with five sacks and six TFLs.
Tyrone Lewis and Tyree Skipper are both tied for the team lead with four interceptions each.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 28.6 |
| Total Offense | 385.8 |
| Passing Offense | 215 |
| Rushing Offense | 170.8 |
| Time of Possession | 30:51 |
| Penalty Yards | 48.9 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 89 of 200 (45%) |
| 4th Downs | 23 of 31 (74%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 48 of 58 (83%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 37 of 58 (64%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 70 – 636 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 16 – 9 |
Special Teams
Nathan Torney is averaging 39.6 yards per punt with 10 fair catches, 5 downed inside the 20 and a long of 54 yards.
Kenneth Almendares is 19-of-21 placekicking (90.5%) with his only misses coming from 50+ yards. He does have a season long of 53 yards to his credit.
Jacob Bernard returns most puts for the Cajuns and he is averaging 5.8 yards per return. His longest was 32 yards.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags currently sit 1st in the conference in scoring offense, 2nd in the Sun Belt Conference in rushing offense while 2nd in the conference in total offense and time of possession. Nationally the Jags are 15th in rushing offense, 21st in scoring offense, 14th in total offense, 35th in time of possession. But they are also 2nd nationally in Passes Had Intercepted (2), 5th Turnovers Lost (6), and 5th in Punt Returns (17.5).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 35.2 |
| Total Offense | 457.1 |
| Passing Offense | 266.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 190.3 |
| Time of Possession | 32:29 |
| Penalty Yards | 44.4 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 54 of 108 (50%) |
| 4th Downs | 7 of 12 (58.3%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 40 of 43 (93%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 27 of 43 (62.8%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 51 – 400 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 3 – 0 |
Gio Lopez is 150-of-230 (65.2%) for 1,889 yards with 14 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. Bishop Davenport is 28-of-48 (58.3%) for 293 yards with 1 touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett continues to distance himself from the remainder of the receivers. He has 62 catches for 769 yards and 7 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 27 catches for 326 yards. Jeremiah Webb has 333 yards on 20 catches with two touchdowns.
Fluff Bothwell barely holds the team lead in rushing yards with 611 on 91 carries while leading the team with 10 rushing touchdowns. He also ranks 1st in the conference with his 10 touchdowns and 10th nationally in rush yards per carry (6.77). Kentrel Bullock has 606 yards on 102 carries with 5 touchdowns. Lopez has rushed for 393 yards on 62 carries with 4 touchdowns.
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 | 21.8 |
| Total Offense | 335.4 |
| Passing Offense | 173 |
| Rushing Offense | 162.4 |
| Time of Possession | 27:31 |
| Penalty Yards | 44.8 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 51 of 111 (46%) |
| 4th Downs | 8 of 9 (88.9%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 25 of 25 (100%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 18 of 25 (72%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 44 – 403 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick paces the defense with 68 total stops, 28 solo, with one sack and 5 TFLs. Jordan Scruggs is next on the team with 49 total stops, 23 solo, with 3 TFLs and an interception.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with 3 interceptions. Courtney McBride Jr leads the team with 4 sacks and 6.5 TFLs.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen is averaging 41.7 yards per punt with 13 fair catches, 13 downed inside the 20-yard line, two touchbacks and 2 50+ kicks and a long of 67 yards.
Laith Marjan is 14-of-15 (93.3%) with his only miss coming from 50+ yards out. He has a season long of 49 yards.
Pritchett is averaging 17.5 yards per punt return with one touchdown on the year.
Braylon McReynolds, after re-emerging for the Jags, showed up on kickoff returns and is averaging 25.3 yards per return over his three kick returns. Unfortunately, he fumbled in his second return attempt that gave Georgia Southern a big boost of momentum to get back into the game.
Keys to the Game
Don’t beat yourself
The Jags were mired with 13 penalties for 99 yards, with 10 of them coming from the offense. Six were false starts, three holding and one offensive pass interference. This was at home too, not on the road in a loud stadium in hostile environment.
While the officiating in the game, and the conference, is something that can easily be debated (look for more about this soon). You still have to play very disciplined football and you just cannot set your team back like that so many times.
That has to be cleaned up to compete against the Cajuns.
Turnovers
One key turnover very early in the fourth quarter solidly swung the momentum into Georgia Southern’s favor. After the Jags had taken a commanding 30-14 lead, but had just given up a touchdown after miscommunication on the kickoff gave the Eagles a short field. On the kickoff, Braylon McReynolds took the kickoff at the 3-yard line but fumbled the ball on the return giving the Eagles the ball at the Jaguars 21-yard line. Just a couple plays later they had cut the lead to a mere 3 points.
The Jags have a +7-turnover margin on the season while the Cajuns have a +8-turnover margin. The Cajuns have 9 interceptions while the Jags have 11 takeaways by interception. Since both teams protect the ball very well, but generate takeaways, if either team can force one it could prove to be big storyline in this game.
The Jags rank 2nd in the nation with only 2 interceptions thrown on the season.
Stretching the Defense
The Jags and Gio Lopez have not been very accurate taking deep shots downfield. From memory, it has seemed that Lopez has been overthrowing his receivers lately. It could be from his limited reps in practice due to his lingering turf toe injury. Hopefully with some extra rest his toe will be in better shape going into the game against the Cajuns and have allowed him more practice reps during game week.
If he can stretch the field on some deep passes, it will further open up running lanes and play action passes.
Prediction
After being favored over the last few games, the Jags now find themselves the underdog on the road. The Cajuns are a 7-point favorite to win.
The Cajuns lead the series 9-3 and have a 5-1 record at home. This game could have a lot of fireworks as these two teams are two of the top offenses in the conference. The Cajuns just edge out the Jags in total offense 457.1 to 455.1.
I don’t have the best feeling about this after watching what the Cajuns did last week against Arkansas State and the week before against Texas State. It really depends which Jaguar team gets off the bus for the game.
I think with an extra week to prepare, I think the Jags cover but Cajuns pull out the win.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Falls At Home To Georgia Southern 34-30
South Alabama had a nightmare of a fourth quarter. They allowed 20 points in the final stanza to fall 34-30 to Georgia Southern and continuing “the streak” of winning and losing in pairs.
“We have to play better,” said head coach Major Applewhite. “We were our own worst enemy. … We just did not play clean enough in the fourth quarter. Give them credit for coming back and winning the ball game, but we certainly made it a little bit easier.”
The Jags (4-5, 3-2 Sun Belt Conference) scored 27-unanswered points after the Eagles (6-3, 4-1 SBC) took a 14-3 lead around midway through the second quarter. South Alabama got a touchdown to answer when Fluff Bothwell took it in from 1-yard out. Laith Marjan added a field goal with just 7 seconds left in the half for a 14-13 deficit going into the locker room.
The opening drive of the second half was going well until the Jags got into the red zone. DJ Thomas-Jones caught a pass and was forced out of bounds at the 1-yard line, but Devin Voisin drew a flag for an offensive pass interference. This was followed by a flag for holding on Kenton Jerido. On 3rd and goal at the 25. Gio Lopez found Jamaal Pritchett but he could only manage 19 yards and head coach Major Applewhite settled for a 24-yard field goal by Laith Marjan to take a 15-14 lead.
The next South Alabama possession moved well again…until the Jags got into the red zone again. Jeremiah Webb was flagged for a false start on first down. But Full Bothwell was not going to be denied. He covered the 22 yards for his second touchdown of the game and his 10th of the season, to give the Jags a 23-14 lead at the 5:08 mark of the third quarter.
After a turnover on downs near midfield, the Jaguar offense moved the ball down the field quickly. Lopez connected with Devin Voisin at the 6-yard line, he advanced up to the field to the 3-yard line when he was hit and fumbled the ball forward into the end zone. Thankfully Pritchett was aware and fell onto the ball in the endzone for a touchdown to give the Jags a 30-14 lead with seconds left in the third quarter.
A sky kick on the kickoff was returned 25-yards by the up-man to the Jags 46-yard line. Starting the fourth quarter facing 2nd and 9, the Eagles decided to throw deep and quarterback JC French found Josh Dallas behind the defense for a 45-yard touchdown.
“We had a miscommunication on special teams,” Applewhite said about the kick. “It took the air out of the stadium when we gave them great field position and those are the type of things we can’t do down the stretch as a ball club and expect to win games.”
Braylon McReynolds returned the ensuing kickoff 18 yards before the refs ruled a fumble was recovered by Georgia Southern. The video replay seemed to show a Jag player falling on the ball cleanly then an Eagle jumped on and wrestled the ball away. But two plays later Georgia Southern was back on the board with another touchdown, cutting the Jags lead to 30-27 with only 50 seconds off the clock in the final quarter.
The next Jags possession started with yet another false start leading to the offense going three-and-out.
Georgia Southern was aided again by the guys in striped shirts when Reggie Neely, who was lowering his body for a tackle, was ruled to be targeting because the ball carrier lowered his head which led to a helmet to helmet hit.
(As an aside, when a defender lowers his body for a tackle and the ball carrier lowers his head for a hit, it should not be flagged as a targeting penalty.)
A few plays later quarterback Dexter Williams threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dalen Cobb to give the Eagles the final margin of 34-30.
The Jags following possession started with yet another holding penalty to get the behind the down and distance schedule. Gio Lopez threw deep right intended for Jeremiah Webb, who seemed to be cutting in and had to re-adjust to Lopez’s pass going to the outside, but the Eagles intercepted it at the Georgia Southern 34.
Bishop Davenport came in for Lopez after he went into the trainers’ tent after the interception for what seems to have been a concussion check. On 3rd and 6 at the Eagles 16, Davenport took a sack for a loss of 7-yards. On 4th & 13 the Eagles sent the house on a blitz. Davenport attempted to spin and move up in the pocket but was taken down for a 9-yard loss.
“It’s a tough situation,” Applewhite explained. “I mean, their ears are pinned back, they know exactly what the situation is and it’s not an ideal spot for Bishop. But we’ve got to somehow, some way, get the ball out.”
With all three timeouts left, the Jags just needed a defensive stop, but a flag for defensive delay of game all but sealed the game when the Eagles were able to gain just enough to convert a first down on 2nd & 4.
Stats
South Alabama
Gio Lopez finished the game 22-of-30 for 257 yards with a touchdown and an interception, only his second on the season. Bishop Davenport was 1-for-2 for 17 yards in relief.
Jamaal Pritchett led all receivers with 12 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown (on the Voisin fumble). Voisin finished with 5 catches for 66 yards.
Kentrel Bullock led all rushers with 101 yards on 17 carries. Lopez added 43 yards on 7 carries. Bothwell had just 31 yards on 6 carries with two touchdowns.
Georgia Southern
JC French was 22-for-27 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Dexter Williams III was 3-of-5 for 33 yards and a touchdown.
OJ Arnold had 6 catches for 42 yards. Josh Dallas had 5 catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Dalen Cobb had 5 catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.
| Stat | South Alabama | Georgia Southern |
| Total Yards | 458 | 337 |
| Passing Yards | 274 | 231 |
| Rushing Yards | 184 | 106 |
| Penalties | 13 – 99 | 5 – 41 |
| 3rd downs | 5-of-12 | 7-of-16 |
| 4th downs | 1-of-2 | 3-of-4 |
| Time of possession | 28:08 | 31:52 |
| Turnovers | 2 (7) | 0 (0) |
Next
The Jags have a bye week before hitting the road for Lafayette, Louisiana to face the first-place Ragin’ Cajuns on Saturday, November 16.
South Alabama needs to find two wins over the final three games of the season in order to get to their third-consecutive bowl game.
Preview: Battle For The Belt 2024
Kickoff: Tuesday, October 15, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN2
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Fluff Bothwell
Battle for the Belt.
The yearly renewal of the in-state rivalry between South Alabama and Troy has been fairly one sided over the last few years but the animosity between the two remains as heated as ever. Troy has won the last six meetings between the two, including a 28-10 victory last season that saw Gio Lopez get his first career start as a true freshman.
The Jags (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) and the Trojans (1-5, 0-2 SBC) both enter the game with something to prove and two-game losing streaks each. The Jags dropped a lopsided game at LSU then just over a week ago they lost a heart breaker at Arkansas State on a field goal with under a minute to go. Troy fell to Louisiana-Monroe and Texas State at home and see their path to a bowl game shrinking.
Both teams enter with a sense of urgency on top of the drive of playing in a rivalry game.
South Alabama hasn’t defeated Troy since the 19-8 defensive battle at Troy in 2017. Six consecutive losses. Steve Campbell went 0-3 and Kane Wommack went 0-3 in their coaching careers in the Battle for the Belt. Now head coach Major Applewhite gets to see how we fares in the rivalry.
The Jag seniors have never held the belt after a win while the Troy seniors have never had it leave their possession.
With two new head coaches, what does the 2024 renewals have in store for us?
Troy
The Trojans are led by first-year head coach Gerad Parker. He was selected to fill the position left vacant when Jon Sumrall left to take the head job at Tulane. He posting a 23-4 record overall and 16-2 in conference play during his time at Troy.
Parker previously served as offensive coordinator at Notre Dame for the 2023 season, where the Fighting Irish ranked 8th national averaging 39.1 points per game, 12th nationally in passing efficiency, and 29th in total offense. The Irish finished with a 9-3 record.
The 2022 season he was the tight ends coach at Notre Dame. Previous to Notre Dame, Parker served as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia for 2020-2021. Before that he had stops at Penn State, Duke, Purdue, Marshall, and UT Martin. He served as interim head coach for six games at Purdue in 2016.
The Trojans entered the season with only 11 seniors and only returned a few starters.
Offense
The offense is led by Sean Reagan who returns to Troy for his 11th season overall as a coach. He returns after a 5-year stint at West Virginia under former Troy head coach Neal Brown. Prior to his first stint at Troy, he served as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech.
In 2018 he was Co-offensive coordinator before leaving with Brown for West Virginia. He worked in varying capacities until he was named passing game coordinator for the 2023 season.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 20.7 |
| Total Offense | 334.2 |
| Passing Offense | 202.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 131.8 |
| Time of Possession | 28:32 |
| Penalty Yards | 69 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 38-of-79 (48.1%) |
| 4th Downs | 3-of-7 (42.9%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 13 of 13 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 8 of 13 |
| Penalties – Yards | 44 – 414 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Goose Crowder is the Trojans starting quarterback but he’s missed time due to injury, including their previous game against Louisiana-Monroe. He is 43 of 62 (69.4%) for 543 yards and 5 touchdowns in five games played. Tucker Kilcrease, who started last week against the Warhawks, is 26 of 44 (59.1%) for 383 yards and three touchdowns. Matthew Caldwell has seen action in four games and is 27 of 45 (60%) for 288 yards with a touchdown and an interception but he too was injured.
Devonte Ross leads the Trojans with 31 catches for 556 yards and 7 touchdowns. Peyton Higgins has 20 catches for 187 yards. Zeriah Beason has 13 catches for 172 yards.
Damien Taylor leads the Trojan rushing attack with 399 yards on 68 carries with 2 touchdowns. Gerald Green has 201 yards on 47 carries with a touchdown. Kilcrease is third on the team with 118 yards on 34 carries.
Defense
The defense is under the direction of Dontae Wright, who also comes to Troy from West Virginia where he coached safeties from 2020-23. Before WVU he coaches safeties at Western Michigan 2018-19.
He previously served as defensive coordinator at Tennessee Tech in 2017 and at Morehead State in 2015.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 27.8 |
| Total Offense | 380.7 |
| Passing Offense | 198.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 181.8 |
| Time of Possession | 31:28 |
| Penalty Yards | 54.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 30-of-70 (42.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-6 (33.3%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 19 of 21 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13 of 21 |
| Penalties – Yards | 35 – 326 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 4 – 1 |
Jordan Stringer (Jr LB) leads the team with 43 total stops, 20 solo, with 3 TFL’s, a sack and an interception. Justin Powe (Sr S) has 37 total stops, 23 solo, with a TFL and an interception.
Phillip Lee leads the team with 5 TFL’s. Six different players have one sack each as well as three different players have one interception each.
Special Teams
Robert Cole is averaging 40.4 yards per punt with 12 fair catches, 3 downed inside the 20, a touchback and a long of 59 yards.
Scott Taylor Renfroe is 7 of 8 on field goal attempts with a long of 49 yards and is also 13 of 14 on extra point attempts.
Ross leads the Trojans with an average of 36 yards per return across his 3 punt returns, with one returned for a touchdown.
South Alabama
The Jaguar offense and defense played out of character last time out against Arkansas State. The offense couldn’t move the ball consistently or well enough to score for most of the game. The defense, who played poorly over the first two games and LSU, played great holding the Red Wolves to only 18 points. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a stop when it mattered most though. Arkansas State marched right down the field on their final drive to set up the game winning field goal.
But what plagued the Jags the most last week were penalties. When you are penalized 11 times for a total of 100 yards, it’s hard to win a game.
While South Alabama has a very favorable turnover margin (+6), their only turnover last week was an interception at a terrible time. The interception thrown by Gio Lopez was the first interception thrown on the season by any Jaguar quarterback. They have fumbled six times but only lost the ball twice. Meanwhile the defense has recovered three fumbles and picked off opposing quarterbacks six times.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.5 |
| Total Offense | 466.2 |
| Passing Offense | 263.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 202.5 |
| Time of Possession | 31:16 |
| Penalty Yards | 65.7 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 31 of 74 (41.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 10 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 24 of 28 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 19 of 28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 48 – 394 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 2 |
Gio Lopez is 94 of 149 (63.1%) for 1,306 yards, 12 touchdowns and one interception in five games. Bishop Davenport is 27 of 46 (58.7%) for 276 yards and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the receiving corps by a wide margin, he has almost 3x the catches as the next receiver on the team. He has 36 catches for 531 yards and 6 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 18 catches for 221 yards. Jeremiah Webb has 12 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Eager has 6 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Fluff Bothwell leads the Jags with 408 rushing yards on 56 carries with 6 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 326 yards on 52 carries with 3 touchdowns. Lopez has 258 yards on 41 carries with 2 touchdowns.
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 27.2 |
| Total Offense | 442.3 |
| Passing Offense | 310.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 132 |
| Time of Possession | 28:44 |
| Penalty Yards | 55.7 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 32 of 79 (40.5%) |
| 4th Downs | 2 of 5 (40%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 19 of 24 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 12 of 24 |
| Penalties – Yards | 31 – 283 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick paces the team with 50 total stops, 20 solo, with 4 Tackles for Loss, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next in line with 30 total stops, 13 solo, with 2.5 TFL’s, and interception and a pass breakup.
Courtney McBride Jr and Tyler Thomas shared the lead with 2 sacks each.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with two interceptions. Scruggs, Amarion Fortenberry, Lardarius Webb Jr., and Chrystyile Caldwell have one pick each.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen continues to be the team’s punter with an average of 41.2 yards per attempt across his 20 punts with 11 downed inside the 20 and 8 fair catches.
Laith Marjan is 7-of-8 on field goal attempts this season with a long of 49 yards and his only miss was from about 52 yards and has made 19 of his 20 extra point attempts.
Pritchett is averaging 24.5 yards per punt return including a 62-yard touchdown return against Northwestern Louisiana.
Keys to the Game
Injuries
The Jag offensive line dictate how the offense goes. Reed Buys missed about half or more of the Arkansas State game and the offense floundered outside of the two touchdown drives. It’s affected both the running and passing game.
It seemed fairly obvious that Gio Lopez was being affected by the turf toe some. He was moving around differently and was off on his deep throws.
With the additional time since the last game hopefully the Jags have been able to get a little rest and treatment so they can get back to closer to full strength again.
Quarterback Pressure
The defense was able to get plenty of pressure on App State’s quarterback but couldn’t generate much against LSU or Arkansas State. On the final drive by the Red Wolves they just couldn’t generate anything, and they got picked apart with the cushion they gave the receivers.
Troy has had plenty of injuries but the quarterback position has been affected a lot this season. In six games they have had to start three different signal callers due to injury. But no matter who is starting behind center, the Jags have to generate pressure.
Penalties
The Jags can’t beat themselves with penalties. They were flagged several times offensively for various infractions last game. Offensive penalties hurt you in two key ways: they put you behind the sticks and they rob you of momentum. The Jags had it 2nd and 10 at the ASU 11 yard line late in the game. They were then flagged for a false start and a hold over the next three plays which made it 3rd and 25 at the 26-yard line. Fortunately, Lopez was able to find Pritchett for a touchdown on the next play, but they didn’t make it any easier on themselves with those two penalties.
Cleaning up those penalties will be key this week. Also making sure they stay disciplined mentally heading into a rivalry game should be a focus for the players and coaches. They can’t allow themselves to lose focus and get drawn into committing penalties if they encounter any adversity or jawing back and forth.
Prediction
It’s dangerous to play a rival when they’re licking their wounds with their backs against the wall.
While Troy’s record is bad, South Alabama’s record isn’t much better. Both teams need a win if they want to get bowl eligible and they both are seeing the number of games remaining dwindling. Both teams could easily have two more wins than their current records reflect.
But if South Alabama plays up to their capabilities, they can beat anyone left of their schedule. It just depends which team shows up at Hancock Whitney Stadium Tuesday night.
It’s times to bring the belt back to Mobile.
The Jags are a 13.5-point favorite in the game. I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they cover. Jags win a close game to get the belt back against a Troy team that’ll pull out all the stops.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Travels To Arkansas State In West Division Showdown
Kickoff: Saturday, October 6, 6pm
Venue: Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro, AR
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
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 went to LSU last Saturday and was in the game for about three plays. Well, technically it was about nine plays, but it only took LSU three offensive snaps to really show where the game was going. On those three plays they gained 158 yards and put two touchdowns on the scoreboard.
The Jags (2-3, 1-0 Sun Belt) could never really mount a comeback after that as LSU (4-1) showed they had the bigger, stronger, faster team on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
The Jaguar offense protected the ball very well, the defense generated two turnovers to further bolster their turnover margin on the season to +7 after picking off Garrett Nussmeier twice in the contest. Neither Gio Lopez nor Bishop Davenport have thrown an interception this season, which makes the Jags one of only five schools who haven’t had a pass intercepted yet on the season.
Now that the Jags have concluded their non-conference slate, the focus is now on the remaining seven games that are all conference contests. Next up in Arkansas State (2-2, 0-0).
Arkansas State
The Red Wolves are led by fourth-year head coach Butch Jones. He holds a 13-28 record at ASU with a 6-18 conference record since taking over the program. The win total has improved each season under his leadership and led them to the Camellia Bowl last season (loss to Northern Illinois 21-19).
Over his 14 seasons as a head coach, Jones is 97-82 with previous stops at Central Michigan (2007-2009), Cincinnati (2010-2012), and Tennessee (2013-2017). He served as an offensive analyst and special assistant to the head coach at Alabama from 2018-2020.
Last season the Jags earned a hard-fought victory over the Red Wolves in Mobile when they needed to win two of the last three in order to get bowl eligible.
Arkansas State (2-2, 0-0 SBC) opened the season with a pair of close wins over FCS Central Arkansas and Tulsa but have lost their last two matchups at #16 Michigan (28-18) and at Iowa State (52-7).
So far this season the Red Wolves have a turnover margin of -2. They have given the ball away on 5 interceptions and lost four fumbles while the defense has taken the ball away from opponents six times by interception and only recovered one fumble.
Offense
The Red Wolves offense is under the direction of Keith Heckendorf in his sixth season at the position. He held the position for the two years before Jones took over. Under his guidance, the Red Wolves offense has put up lots of numbers through the air. True freshman Jaylen Raynor was the first true-freshman quarterback to be named SBC Freshman of the Year since 2007 and only the second in conference history. He finished with 2,543 yards passing with 17 touchdowns along with 380 yards rushing and five more touchdowns.
Raynor is 69-of-128 for 780 yards with 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions passing and is leading the rushing attack with 143 yards on 44 carries with 2 touchdowns. Timmy McClain is 11-of-18 for 132 yards and three touchdowns in limited action, mostly when Raynor was benched against Iowa State.
Corey Rucker leads the receiving corps with 265 yards on 17 catches with 2 touchdowns. Courtney Jackson has 150 yards on 14 catches. Reagan Ealy has 140 yards on 11 catches.
Behind Raynor is Zak Wallace who has 134 yards on 40 carries with 2 touchdowns. Freshman Devin Spencer has 80 yards on 16 carries in three games. Junior Ja’Quez Cross has 61 yards on 21 carries.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 21.8 |
| Total Offense | 328.8 |
| Passing Offense | 228 |
| Rushing Offense | 100.8 |
| Time of Possession | 29:28 |
| Penalty Yards | 53 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 31-of-71 (43.7%) |
| 4th Downs | 3-of-5 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 8-of-9 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 6-of-9 |
| Penalties – Yards | 21 – 212 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 4 |
Coming off a bye week, the Red Wolves have a pair of offensive linemen who are trending towards returning to the lineup. Coming into the season Arkansas State expected to have a better running game but it has yet to appear.
Will they debut a more improved run game when the Jaguars come to town?
Defense
Defensive coordinator Rob Harley is in his fourth season as the defensive play caller for the Red Wolves. Statistically the defense had improved along with the results in the win-loss column. Their red zone defense improved by 82 spots in the national rankings as well as ranking 20th in the nation with an average of 6.8 Tackles for Loss per game.
Marvin Ham (R-Sr LB) and Justin Parks (Sr-Safety) pace the defense with 31 total stops each. Ham has 10 solo with a quarterback hurry, 2.5 TFL’s and .5 sacks. Parks has 15 solo, 1.5 TFL’s, a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Trevian Thomas is third on the team with 29 stops, 16 solo.
Thomas and Dontay Joyner are team co-leaders with 2 interceptions each. Two other defenders have one interception each.
Jayden Jones leads the team with 4 TFLs and 2 sacks.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 33.8 |
| Total Offense | 429.8 |
| Passing Offense | 195.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 234 |
| Time of Possession | 30:31 |
| Penalty Yards | 50.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 24-of-49 (49%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-2 (100%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 15-of-15 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13-of-15 |
| Penalties – Yards | 26 – 201 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 3 – 1 |
The Red Wolves defense also has a few players that have been out due to injuries. Unlike their offensive counterparts, their return seems to be less certain. Massachusetts transfer senior cornerback Jordan Mahoney and senior Texas A&M transfer defensive lineman Micaiah Overton are two key pieces the Red Wolves hope to return.
ASU has been susceptible to big, pass-catching tight ends. Could this be a game where Coach Applewhite and offensive coordinator Rob Ezell lean more on DJ Thomas-Jones?
Special Teams
Ryan Heicher is averaging 44.2 yards per punt attempt with 10 fair catches, 7 downed inside the 20, 4 kicks of 50+ yards and a long of 56 over his 20 kicks.
Clune Van Andel is 3-of-6 on his field goal attempts with a long of 44 yards and only 1-of-4 from 30+ yards out.
Courtney Jackson is averaging 17.5 yards per punt return over his 8 returns including one for a 77-yard touchdown.
South Alabama
The Jaguars record-setting run over the last two games came back to earth against LSU. While the Jags looked great against App State, a fellow Sun Belt program, they didn’t match up very well against one of the upper programs in the SEC.
The second half was a bit different, with the Jags scoring their only touchdown while holding LSU to only one touchdown.
This week will be more telling as the Jags return to conference play.
Offense
South Alabama couldn’t establish a running game and the LSU defense was able to routinely get pressure on Lopez and Davenport. The offensive line was outplayed at the line of scrimmage, but still look to be a really good group that have been improving week after week.
Lopez is 73-of-114 (64%) for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air. Bishop Davenport is 27-of-45 (60%) for 276 yards and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett, despite leaving the game early against LSU, still leads the team with 29 catches for 394 yards and 4 touchdowns. Devin Voisin is next on the team with 17 catches for 207 yards.
Anthony Eager has 114 yards on 5 catches with two touchdowns. He scored the only touchdown against LSU as he stepped up when Pritchett was unavailable.
Tight end DJ Thomas-Jones adds 60 yards on only 7 catches with 3 touchdowns.
True freshman Fluff Bothwell leads the team with 376 yards on 47 carries with 6 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 260 yards on 39 carries with 3 touchdowns. Lopez in third on the team with 204 yards on 31 carries with 2 touchdowns.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 40.6 |
| Total Offense | 468.8 |
| Passing Offense | 258 |
| Rushing Offense | 210.8 |
| Time of Possession | 31:19 |
| Penalty Yards | 58.8 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 25-of-61 (41%) |
| 4th Downs | 5-of-8 (62.5%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 23-of-25 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 18-of-25 |
| Penalties – Yards | 37 – 294 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 5 – 2 |
Defense
Blayne Myrick continues to lead the defense with 37 total stops, 12 solo, with 2 pass breakups, a TFL and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next with 25 total stops, 10 solo, with 1.5 TFL’s, a pass breakup and an interception.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with 2 interceptions and has 24 total stops, 16 solo. Scruggs, Amarion Fortenberry, Lardarius Webb Jr and Caldwell Chrystyile each have an interception.
Four Jags all share the lead with one sack each.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 29 |
| Total Offense | 448.6 |
| Passing Offense | 303.4 |
| Rushing Offense | 145.2 |
| Time of Possession | 28:41 |
| Penalty Yards | 56.6 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 27-of-64 (42.2%) |
| 4th Downs | 1-of-4 (25%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 14-of-19 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 11-of-19 |
| Penalties – Yards | 31 – 283 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 5 – 3 |
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen handled all of the punting duties against LSU and is averaging 41 yards per kick with 7 downed inside the 20, 6 fair catches and 1 punt of 50 yards is his longest.
Laith Marjan is 6-of-7 on the season with a season long of 49 yards last week against LSU.
Jamaal Pritchett is averaging 28 yards per punt return over his 7 returns including one touchdown return of 62 yards.
Keys to the Game
Quarterback Pressure
In the two games prior to LSU the Jags defense generated more pressure on the quarterback and forced bad passes and even some interceptions. They didn’t allow the quarterback to hang in the pocket and wait for a receiver to get open to pick the defense apart.
Even the week before against Ohio, while they didn’t generate a lot of qb pressure, they started to generate some and it showed both on the scoreboard and on the stat sheet. Though they didn’t manage a win, they played well enough to win.
Against LSU the Jags only managed to get the slightest pressure on the qb and even then, they managed force a couple of incompletions and two interceptions.
Arkansas State is so predominantly a passing team that getting pressure on Raynor will be key to disrupt their game script and prevent them from running up-tempo to take advantage of matchups. Plus Raynor already has five interceptions on the season, the Jags could add to their interception column.
Establishing the Run
When the Jags can run the ball, their offense runs much more efficiently. The Red Wolves allow an average of almost 200 yards rushing per game. With Bullock, Bothwell, PJ Martin, and Braylon McReynolds, who we haven’t seen in a few games, South Alabama has a strong rotation of backs to keep fresh legs in the game and pound on the ASU defense.
Explosive Plays
Explosive plays have caused havoc against the South Alabama defense. In almost every game the defense has allowed an explosive play for a touchdown. Even against Northwestern State they gave up a 74-yard touchdown catch and run for the Demon’s only touchdown of the game.
Last week explosive plays doomed them from the start with a 71-yard touchdown pass and run on the first snap of the game. Then LSU’s second offensive snap they rush for 86 yards before being stopped at the 1-yard line (they scored on the very next play).
Prediction
South Alabama is a 2.5-point favorite against Arkansas State in Jonesboro. Only recently have the Jags found any success on the road in Arkansas. The Jags have won the previous two meetings in Jonesboro, however they were 0-for-4 at Centennial Bank Stadium prior to that. They’ve also won the five meetings overall between the two programs.
Arkansas State is not an easy place to play, or even to get to really. Which may be a reason why it’s a tough location to play.
While this isn’t the same Arkansas State team that the Jags have faced in Jonesboro that previous two match-ups there, they have improved somewhat.
Injury wise, the Jags are trending well this week. Jamaal Pritchett left the LSU game late in the first quarter and was in the concussion protocol returned to practice on Wednesday in a limited capacity. Cornerback Reggie Neely (ankle in the season opener) and safety Trent Singleton (R-So) transfer from Mississippi State (foot injury in preseason camp) are both expected to be available to play. Gio Lopez was pulled from the game in the fourth quarter after a sack, Applewhite explained that he got up “gimpy” so they took him out as a precaution.
I think the Jags win and cover. They have a lot to play for this season and they won’t let last week define their season.
Go Jags!
Jaguars Dominate App State 48-14 In Big Conference Opening Road Win
South Alabama picked up right where they left off last week in their 48-14 win. But this week it was against an Appalachian State football team in a sold-out Kidd Brewer Stadium that was the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference championship instead of an FCS program.
It was the first win against Appalachian State since 2014 and breaks a 4-game losing skid against them.
The Jags (2-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) took the opening possession right down the field to establish their dominance. Gio Lopez took the second snap of the game and slashed the Mountaineer defense for 50 yards. Then a couple plays later he connected with DJ Thomas-Jones over the middle for a 10-yard touchdown.
One of the questions entering the game was answered quickly.
The Jag defense allowed one first down and forced App State to punt on their opening possession. Jamaal Pritchett’s 21-yard punt return gave the offense the ball near midfield. But it was Fluff Bothwell’s turn to make some fireworks. He had runs of 20, 7, and then the final 22 yards on three-consecutive carries to make it 14-0 in the first quarter.
The Mountaineers thought they had pinned the Jags back at their 5-yard line early in the 2nd quarter. A flag for a hold set them back to the 3-yard line, but the Jags were not going to be deterred. A steady mix of Lopez and Bothwell moved the ball down the field. Kentrel Bullock gave Bothwell a rest but didn’t let the running production fall off. Lopez covered the final 31 yards on his own to put the Jags up 21-0.
It was probably the Jags best drive of the game. They ran 13 plays and burned over half of the quarter off the clock.
When it looked like App State was going to put points on the board, Jordan Scruggs intercepted the pass in the end zone and was off to the races. It took a horse collar tackle to bring him down from behind at the 5-yard line to save a touchdown. Kentrel Bullock got to benefit from the tackle and penalty to get a 2-yard touchdown for a 28-0 lead.
The Mountaineers ended the shutout with a hail Mary touchdown as time expired for a halftime score of 28-7.
The Jaguar defense got a turnover on downs near midfield and the offense only needed three plays to get back on the scoreboard. Two passes to Jamaal Pritchett with a Bullock run in between and the Jags were up 34-7 after Laith Marjan saw his PAT go off the left upright no good.
Bothwell added another touchdown in the third quarter showing his excellent balance and ability to stay on his feet to put the Jags up 41-7.
Bishop Davenport took over at quarterback in the fourth quarter and led a scoring drive of his own. Davenport and Iverson Celestine kept the ball on the ground the entire drive for a 9 play, 55-yard drive using up six minutes.
App State added a trash-time score against the second- and third-string defense with 52 seconds left in the game.
“I think everybody on our team knew they were capable of this, but to be able to come do it on the road against a quality opponent – a traditionally really good program, kind of the standard bearer for our conference along with a couple of other schools – there’s a lot of excitement in our locker room,” head coach Major Applewhite explained. “There is a lot of time left in the season, but it’s great that we all came tonight and had this type of win.”
Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | App State |
| Total Yards | 474 | 385 |
| Passing Yards | 154 | 266 |
| Rushing Yards | 320 | 119 |
| Penalties – Yards | 9 – 69 | 6 – 47 |
| 1st downs | 26 | 23 |
| 3rd downs | 6-of-10 | 4-of-13 |
| Avg Yards per Play | 7.1 | 5.7 |
| Red Zone | 5-of-5 | 1-of-4 |
| Time of Possession | 34:12 | 25:48 |
| Turnovers (points off) | 1 (0) | 2 (7) |
The 320 yards rushing is the 4th most in program history against Division I teams.
South Alabama
Gio Lopez was 16-of-24 passing for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air. He added 105 yards rushing on 7 carries with another touchdown.
“It means a lot, going into somebody else’s house and not just winning, but executing all game,” Lopez said. “It was a good team win for our first road win of the season.”
Fluff Bothwell led all rushers with 116 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns. Bullock added 46 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett led the Jags receivers with 68 yards on 6 catches with a touchdown. Jeremiah Webb added 38 yards on 4 catches. Devin Voisin, wearing the #5 jersey, had 22 yards on three catches. DJ Thomas-Jones had one catch for a 10-yard touchdown.
Blayne Myrick led the Jags with 9 total stops, 2 solo, with .5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Courtney McBride Jr had the only sack of the game for USA.
Jordan Scruggs had the only Jaguar take-away in the game. “We were in a zone, where I have to play in between the Number 1 and Number 2 receiver,” he explained. “I just read the quarterback’s eyes and made a play. I tried to score, but I got too tired and he caught me.”
App State
Joey Aguilar was held to 21-for-40 passing with 266 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Maquel Haywood rushed for 47 yards on 7 attempts with a touchdown. Kanye Roberts had 38 yards on 8 carries.
Kaedin Robinson led with 85 yards receiving on 6 catches. Christian Horn had 47 yards on 4 catches. Dalton Stroman had 2 catches for 60 yards, including the hail Mary reception at the end of the half to put the first points on the board for App State. Six Jaguars combined for 9 quarterback hurries.
Jordan Scruggs got his first interception of the season and returned it 96 yards before he was taken down from behind.
Next
The Jags will travel to Baton Rouge, LA to take on a nationally ranked LSU squad for a 6:45 kickoff on the SEC Network on Saturday, September 28. This will be the second game of three-consecutive road games for the Jags.
Preview: Jags Host Northwestern State For Thursday Night Showdown
Kickoff: Thursday, September 12th, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Blayne Myrick
South Alabama has to put the results of the previous game behind them quickly. They have two fewer days to prepare for this week’s opponent than a normal week of preparation.
The Jags (0-2) are looking to get their first win of the season when they host the Demons (0-2) from the Football Championship Subdivision. Both teams enter the contest winless but with a lot of football left to play this season.
Looking at the Jags remaining schedule, you can’t help but get the feeling that this is a ‘must win.’
The next three games, all on the road, are against pre-season conference favorite App State, perennial SEC power LSU, and at an improving Arkansas State. The Jags could already be looking at a very tough proposition to go bowling for their third consecutive season.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Jags have to focus on going 1-0 this week.
Northwestern State
Blaine McCorkle is in his first season as the head football coach for the Northwester State Demons. His previous position was head coach at Division III Belhaven University for the last six seasons. He built that program into winning a conference title and saw their first Division III playoff berth. They finished 2023 with a 9-2 record which capped off a three-season run where he led his team to a 24-7 record. In his first three seasons at the helm, they only won seven games, including a 3-2 record in the pandemic-affected 2021 spring season. But that was good enough for the programs first winning record since 2012.
The Blazers had not won more than 3 games in a season since 2013.
The Demons cancelled the remaining games of the 2023 season after a death on their team then their head coach resigned in the wake of it all.
Offense
JT Fayard leads the Demond offense going 17-of-45 (37.8%) for 232 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Quaterius Hawkins has appeared in one game going 4-of-5 (80%) for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Myles Kitt-Denton leads the receivers with 115 yards on four catches with two touchdowns. Twon Kines, Amaaz Eugene and Kareame Cotton have three catches each for 41, 38, and 31 yards respectively.
Kennieth Lacy leads the rushing attack with 142 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Zay Davis is next with 74 yards on 19 carries. Chance Newman, listed as a TE/QB from Daphne High School, has 31 yards on 6 carries with the only other touchdown in the rushing category.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 29.5 |
| Total Offense | 250.5 |
| Passing Offense | 144.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 106 |
| Time of Possession | 25:30 |
| Penalty Yards | 48 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 5-of-25 (25%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-2 (100%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 3-of-4 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 2-of-4 |
| Penalties – Yards | 12 – 96 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 2 – 0 |
Defense
Blake Gotcher leads the team with 34 total stops, 12 solo, with the only two sacks the defense has recorded, and a forced fumble from his linebacker position. Ara Rauls III, Cadillac Rhone, and Christian Williams are all tied with 12 total stops each. Rauls has 6 solo, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup as a safety. Rhone also has 5 solo, .5 tackles for loss, with an interception from his linebacker position. Williams has 6 solo and 1 TFL.
Emanuel Brown is the only other Demon with an interception.
| Stat | Average Allowed per Game |
| Points | 49.5 |
| Total Offense | 543 |
| Passing Offense | 289.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 253.5 |
| Time of Possession | 34:12 |
| Penalty Yards | 84.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 19-of-33 (57.6%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-3 (66.7%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 8 – 9 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 6 – 9 |
| Penalties – Yards | 17 – 169 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 3 – 2 |
Special Teams
Reed Honshtein pulls double duty as the punter and placekicker. He is averaging 39.2 yards per punt, a long of 51, three punts of 50+ yards, with 7 fair catches, and five downed inside the 20.
He has made the only field goal he’s attempted on the season from 38 yards.
South Alabama
It’s been a rocky start to the season and head coach Major Applewhite’s tenure unfortunately. South Alabama could have won either game so far this season. In the season opener against North Texas the Jags held a lead at halftime but a disastrous third quarter shifted all the momentum their way and propelled the Mean Green towards the win.
Though Jags were still in the game with an opportunity to cut the lead to a single score late in the fourth quarter. However, an overturned turnover and a field goal put the final touches on the Jags loss.
Last week’s trip to Ohio saw the Jags defense play better, but both sides of the ball couldn’t get out of their own way and came up on the short side of the 27-20 score.
Unforced mistakes hurt them in all phases of the game. Without Gio Lopez at quarterback the offense was a bit out of sync and they didn’t call any passes downfield for whatever reason. Even the usually sure-handed Jamaal Pritchett fumbled a punt allowing Ohio to steal a possession and score. While defensively they played better overall, they just couldn’t get off the field on a couple of drives in the second half and Ohio just melted the clock.
This week is one of those weeks where you should get a win. But you still have to prepare because nothing is a given in college athletics.
Offense
Gio Lopez started game one and went 26-of-49 (53%) for 432 yards, with three touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards and another touchdown. However, we later found out that he suffered a turf toe injury and the coaches sat him out for game two.
Bishop Davenport got the nod last week and went 23-of-37 (62%) for 226 yards and a touchdown. He only accumulated 5 yards rushing after sack yardage was subtracted.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the team in catches (18), yards (264), and receiving touchdowns (2) for the Jags. Devin Voisin is the only other receiver with double-digit catches (10) and over 100 yards receiving (137). Shamar Sandgren and Anthony Eager both have one receiving touchdown each.
True freshman Fluff Bothwell leads the Jags rushing with 100 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Lopez’s 62 yards, 13 carries and a touchdown are all second place in the rushing category. Kentrel Bullock has 51 yards on 11 carries. Braylon McReynolds has 27 yards on 8 carries against North Texas, he was held out of last week’s game at Ohio.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 29 |
| Total Offense | 458.5 |
| Passing Offense | 329 |
| Rushing Offense | 129.5 |
| Time of Possession | 29:06 |
| Penalty Yards | 65 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 11-of-29 (37.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 3-of-4 (75%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 9 – 9 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 5 – 9 |
| Penalties – Yards | 16 – 130 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 2 – 1 |
Defense
Redshirt Sophomore Blayne Myrick leads the defense with 22 total stops, 9 solo, with .5 Tackles for Loss, and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next on the team with 16 total stops, 6 solo, with .5 TFL’s and a pass breakup.
The Jags defense has only managed two sacks through two games. Jordan Norman and Tyler Thomas each have one, Thomas’ was a strip sack that resulted in a fumble. Carlos Johnson Jr got the only fumble recovery.
Both Ricky Fletcher and Reggie Neely missed last weeks game with injuries. Currently they are both considered questionable going into this game and will likely be a game-time decision.
| Stat | Average Allowed per Game |
| Points | 39.5 |
| Total Offense | 477 |
| Passing Offense | 325 |
| Rushing Offense | 152 |
| Time of Possession | 30:54 |
| Penalty Yards | 68 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 14-of-27 (51.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 1-of-2 (50%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 8 – 9 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 6 – 9 |
| Penalties – Yards | 14 – 136 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 2 – 1 |
Special Teams
Jack Martin had an average of 44 yards over his two punts against North Texas. Last week Aleksi Pulkkinen handled the punting duties and average 38.3 yards across his seven punts, with four downed inside the 20 and two fair catches.
Laith Marjan is a perfect 4-for-4 on the season with a long of 39 yards.
Keys to the Game
3rd Downs
I want to see the Jags to play better on third down.
Defensively, the Jags must get off the field. Currently opponents are converting almost 52% of their 3rd down attempts. The Jags best defensive effort saw Ohio convert 40% of their 3rd down attempts. Obviously, this has to improve. How do you improve on it? Cause havoc. The Jags need to get into the backfield more, pressuring the quarterback, and ideally causing turnovers.
The Jags only have two sacks and seven TFL’s on the season so far. They defensive front, particularly the young linebackers (six freshmen in the group) need to help generate pressure and cause havoc.
Offensively the Jags are converting just under 38% of their 3rd down attempts. They converted 67% of their attempts against North Texas as they put up 38 points. Last week they only converted 33% of their attempts and only put 20 points on the scoreboard. That was a big drop-off. Was it due to Gio Lopez being out? Quite possibly.
How do you improve on it regardless who’s taking snaps? Staying ahead of schedule, limiting negative plays, and cleaning up the penalties. Lopez adds another dimension to the offense with his speed and ability to run which forces the defense to have to account for him running. Davenport will have to push the ball downfield more to stretch the defense and make them have to account for the deep pass.
Special Teams
Two game and special teams’ mishaps have turned into two touchdowns for the opponents. Teams who are able to score a touchdown on special teams have a high statistical likelihood to win the game.
South Alabama can attest to the validity of that stat this season.
So far this season the Jags are winless when they either allow a special teams touchdown or a turnover on special teams that leads to a touchdown.
In addition, the kickoff returners have really given the offense some poor field position to start. Some kickoff returns have not even gotten across the 20-yard line. Maybe a few more fair catches should be called and give the offense an opportunity to start at the 25 instead.
Let’s have a solid showing in all phases of special teams. Punting, punt fielding, placekicking, kickoff coverage, and kickoff returning.
Stay Healthy
It looked like the Jags were healthy coming out of the first game, but it wasn’t until the Ohio game did, we find out that Gio was unlikely to play and Braylon McReynolds was going out.
Coach Applewhite said that his “hope is” to have Lopez on the field for the Jags. He also said that McReynolds should be ready to play as well.
With the weather expected leading up to, and potentially during the game, if the additional rest for those players will have them better prepared for the remaining schedule and the Jags can win without them, I would be supportive of having them rest one more week.
Prediction
The Jags are a 37.5-point favorite against an FCS school. This shouldn’t be a problem for South Alabama. But they cannot be caught looking ahead to next week and overlooking the Demons. They need to handle business early then they can turn their focus to the next game.
Not to disparage the opponent, but the Jags are more talented and deeper than the Demons. But they should be as a FBS program vs an FCS program. But that is not always the case. This is not one of those cases.
I think the Jags will win but I’m not sure they will cover. Why? It may be a very wet and sloppy game.
Heavy rains are supposed to move through the area due to hurricane Francine. Weather models show the rain potentially being over before kickoff, but with tropical systems feeder bands could linger and bring rain during the game.
Wind could also be a factor with an unstable atmosphere.
But ultimately, I think the coaches will look to get more players into the game for experience so the 37.5-point spread may be a bit much.
Jags win but don’t cover the spread.
Go Jags!
Jags Fall To Ohio 27-20, Drop To 0-2 On Season
South Alabama simply were their own worst enemy in Athens on Saturday. The Jags (0-2) couldn’t get a stop late and had too many penalties as they fall short 27-20 to Ohio University (1-1).
The Jags fell behind 10-0 near midway in the second quarter. The second score, a touchdown, was set up by a fumbled punt by Jamaal Pritchett at the Jags own 18 yard line. The defense stiffened up after Aleki Pulkkinen was able to flip the field with a 47 yard punt that was fair caught at the Bobcat 9 yard line. After forcing a 3-and-out, the Jags offense was in business on their 36.
Davenport opened the drive with a pair of passes, but the offense wasn’t able to do anything more and had to settle for a 28 yard field goal by Laith Marjan.
Another defensive three-and-out and a poor punt by Ohio gave the Jags a short field. The drive turned into the Fluff Bothwell show. He carried the ball four straight plays for 37 total yards, the final 8 put him in the end zone to make it a tie game with 1:25 left in the half.
But that was too much time for the Bobcats.
Ohio went to the air behind Parker Navarro and quickly scored in only 49 seconds. The touchdown play being a 33 yard pass to Chase Hendricks down the right side to take a 17-10 lead into halftime.
The opening drive of the second half was very reminiscent of the second half against North Texas. The Jag defense couldn’t get off the field as the Bobcats methodically drove 76 yards in 11 plays using 6:14 off the clock to go up two scores.
But unlike last week, South Alabama immediately responded.
The Jags converted two 3rd downs and a 4th down. On the first 3rd down Davenport rolled to his right, saw an opening and took off to convert. A few plays later facing 3rd and 21, Davenport connected with Devin Voisin to get 18 yards and set up 4th & 3. On fourth down, Davenport went to Fluff Bothwell. Bothwell caught the ball just as he was hit by a defender, shook him off and ran for a few more yards and the first down. Then on 3rd & 2 at the Bobcat 26, Davenport went back to Voisin for 17 on the right side of the field for a first and goal. Davenport then hooked up with Pritchett for a touchdown pass over the middle of the field to cut the lead to 24-17.
South Alabama immediately got the ball back after Tyler Thomas got a strip sack on Navarro with Carlos Johnson Jr recovering at the Ohio 41 late in the 3rd quarter. The Jags were unable to get into the end zone and settled for a 38-yard field goal by Marjan.
The Jag got the ball back after the defense forced and three-and-out. But Ohio shut down the offense, got the ball back after a punt, and then they just drained almost eight minutes off the clock. A 14 play, 78 yard drive eating up 7:53 ended in a field goal with just 3:16 left.
Head coach Major Applewhite decided to punt the ball back with a little over two minutes left with all three time outs left hoping to get a stop.
But they couldn’t find that stop.
Stats
| South Alabama | Ohio | |
| Total Yards | 336 | 404 |
| Passing Yards | 227 | 204 |
| Rushing Yards | 109 | 200 |
| 1st Downs | 18 | 20 |
| 3rd Downs | 5-of-16 | 6-of-15 |
| 4th Downs | 1-for-1 | 1-for-1 |
| Time of Possession | 27:43 | 32:17 |
| Turnovers (Points Off) | 1 (0) | 1 (3) |
South Alabama
Davenport was an efficient 24-of-38 for 227 yards with a touchdown in his first start for the Jags. He had one pass that was intercepted, however a defensive roughing the passer negated the turnover.
Pritchett led the Jags receivers with 8 catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Voisin led the Jag receivers with 77 yards on his 5 catches. Sandgren added 35 yards on three catches and PJ Martin added 26 yards on a pair of catches. DJ Thomas-Jones was held to only one catch for 2 yards.
Fluff Bothwell led the Jags rushing attack with 70 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown. Kentrel Bullock added 28 yards on six carries. Davenport had 12 yards on 10 attempts.
Blayne Myrick led the defense with 10 total stops, 6 solo, with a forced fumble and .5 tackles for loss. Jordan Scruggs, with a broken thumb, had 7 total stops, 3 solo, with .5 TFLs. Wesley Miller had two TFL’s. Tyler Thomas had a sack.
Ohio University
Parker Navarro went 20-for-28 with 204 yards and a touchdown. His favorite receiver was Coleman Owen with 5 catches for 33 yards. Chase Hendricks led the Bobcats with 65 yards on 4 catches with a touchdown.
Anthony Tyus III led the Bobcat rushing game with 74 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. Rickey Hunt Jr was right on his heels with 73 yards on just 3 carries and Navarro added 62 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown.
The bobcat defense got one sack, three quarterback hurries, and 5 tackles for loss.
“It was disappointing,” said coach Applewhite. “There were mistakes in the game, but in terms of the way they played, I was proud of the way they competed.”
After getting the ball with 3:15 left in the game and down one score, the Jags shot themselves in the foot. A holding penalty and a false start ended the drive before it could even get started and the defense was unable to get the ball back.
“When we get it down to a four-point game, get the ball at the 50-yard line, we go three and out, then it’s a seven-point game,” Applewhite said. “We get the ball back again, a chance to go tie it and we back up eight yards. So, just some untimely execution on each side of the ball in terms of what we need to do to play complimentary football.”
“We’re maturing as a ball club in terms of poise and composure in these late, fourth quarter games,” Applewhite observed. “But we didn’t make plays.”
Gio Lopez was held out of the game due to a turf toe injury suffered in the Jags loss to North Texas last week. Despite the injury, he set a program record with 432 passing yards and 496 total offensive yards.
Redshirt sophomore Bishop Davenport, a transfer from Utah State prior to the 2023 season, played a very poised game.
“I’m proud of the way he competed, proud of the way he played, proud of the opportunities he gave the offense,” Applewhite said.
There were a few Jaguars who missed the game, one of which was Braylon McReynolds, who was a game-time decision and didn’t see action.
“I expect no matter what the position is, if there’s a backup that comes in, I expect them to come in and perform because they’re here and they’re great players and they work their tail off,” Applewhite said.
Next
South Alabama will return home to face Northwestern State, an FCS school, on a short week. The Jags and the Demons are scheduled to kickoff at 6:30pm on Thursday, September 12 at Hancock Whitney Stadium on ESPN+.