IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl Preview: South Alabama vs Western Michigan
Kickoff: Saturday, December 14, 2024
Venue: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, 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
South Alabama is playing in their third-consecutive bowl game just one season after earning their first-ever bowl win in the 68 Ventures Bowl in 2023. This game will cap off head coach Major Applewhite’s first at the helm of the program and could mark the first head coach to win a bowl game in their debut at South Alabama.
It also marks a return for the Jaguar program. They return to the site of their first-ever bowl game ten-years removed. The Jags, then still under the direction of Joey Jones, played in the first-ever Cameillia Bowl in 2014.
The Jaguars knew about their selection a little early, the official bowl selection show was just on Saturday, December 8th which would have been less than a week before the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl. Early last week the teams accepted their invites so preparations by both teams could begin in earnest for the kickoff of the bowl season.
USA enters the game 6-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play. Their season finale against Texas State didn’t turn out the way they wanted. They came out on the losing side of a 45-38 score after committing three turnovers and eight penalties at home.
Western Michigan (6-6, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) got a 26-18 win over Eastern Michigan in their season finale to earn bowl eligibility and to snap a three-game losing streak.
Let’s compare the stats between the two teams.
Offensive Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Western Michigan |
| Points | 34.8 | 29.4 |
| Total Offense | 433.8 | 374.4 |
| Passing Offense | 240.8 | 186.1 |
| Rushing Offense | 193 | 188.3 |
| Interceptions | 5 | 8 |
| Time of Possession | 29:33 | 29:21 |
| Penalty Yards per game | 71 | 39.1 |
| 3rd Downs | 58 – 146 (39.7%) | 51 – 147 (34.7%) |
| 4th Downs | 11 – 17 (64.7%) | 18 – 30 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 46 – 53 (86.8%) | 34 – 38 (89.5%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 34 – 53 (64.2%) | 28 – 38 (73.7%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 99 – 852 | 48 – 469 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 11 – 6 | 11 – 4 |
| Total Turnovers | 11 | 12 |
Defensive Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Western Michigan |
| Points | 25.3 | 31.4 |
| Total Offense | 397.8 | 404.9 |
| Passing Offense | 253.3 | 218.6 |
| Rushing Offense | 144.6 | 186.3 |
| Interceptions | 15 | 7 |
| Time of Possession | 30:27 | 29:48 |
| Penalty Yards per game | 49.1 | 35.7 |
| 3rd Downs | 66 – 172 (38.4%) | 68 – 157 (43.3%) |
| 4th Downs | 12 – 24 (50%) | 11 – 14 (78.6%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 35 – 44 (79.5%) | 40 – 43 (93%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 21 – 44 (47.7%) | 30 – 43 (69.8%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 64 – 589 | 52 – 428 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 11 – 4 | 23 – 13 |
| Total Turnovers | 19 | 20 |
Western Michigan
The Broncos are back in a bowl game for the first time since 2021 and the first under head coach Lance Taylor. Taylor is fairly well known in southern Alabama and to some in the state of Alabama. He’s a native of Mt. Vernon, went to high school at Citronelle, and was a walk-on at the University of Alabama from 1999-2003 where he played in 38 consecutive games and served as specials teams captain for then head coach Mike Shula.
After a short stint in the Arena Football League, Taylor began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama from 2007-08. He then coached receivers at App State in 2009. Then spent 2010-2012 with the New York Jets as an offensive quality control coach and assistant tight ends coach.
He made two stops at the Carolina Panthers with a stint at Stanford in between. While at Stanford he coached running backs such as Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey and recruited another runner-up in Bryce Love. He then spent three seasons at Notre Dame coaching running backs and run game coordinator. Finally, he served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Louisville before landing the head job at Western Michigan.
Offense
Hayden Wolff is 191 of 285 (67%) for 2,212 yards with 17 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.
His most prolific receiver, tight end Blake Bosma, caught 37 passes for 403 yards with 6 touchdowns. However, he entered the transfer portal and does not look like he will be playing. Chris Toudle is the next tight end on the receiving list with just 8 catches for 91 yards in 7 games with a touchdown.
Kenneth Womack is next up with 34 catches in nine games, with 456 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Sambucci has 31 catches in 10 games with 376 yards and two touchdowns.
Zahir Abdus-Salaam has 28 catches for 227 yards and a touchdown.
Jaden Nixon leads the rushing attack with 876 yards on 132 carries with 12 touchdowns. Jalen Buckley has 657 yards on 120 carries with 8 touchdowns in 9 games played. Abdus-Salaam has 567 yards on 104 carries with three touchdowns. Broc Lowry has 123 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns in 10 games played.
Defense
Donald Willis leads the defense with 99 total stops, 58 solo, with a sack and six tackles for loss from his linebacker position. Tate Hallock is second on the team with 78 total stops, 47 solo, with a team-leading four interceptions and 5 tackles for loss from his safety position.
Isaiah Green leads the team with three sacks. Mason Nelson is behind him with two sacks and nine other players each have one sack each.
Special Teams
Ryan Millmore is averaging 40.3 yards per punt with 21 fair catches, 21 downed inside the 20-yard line, 7 kicks of 50+ yards and a long of 60 on the season.
Luka Zurak is 10 of 12 on the season placekicking with a long of 45 yards. His misses were from 40+ yards and one of 50+ yards.
South Alabama
Offense
Gio Lopez is 205 for 311 (65.9%) for 2,557 yards with 18 touchdowns to 5 interceptions in 11 games played while adding 465 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns. His availability for the game is unknown after suffering an injury against Texas State that forced him out of the game.
Bishop Davenport is 33 for 55 (60%) for 333 yards and a touchdown on the season passing and added 76 yards rushing.
Jamaal Pritchett finished the regular season with 91 catches for 1,126 yards with 9 touchdowns.
Jeremiah Webb had 467 yards on 30 catches with three touchdowns. Devin Voisin had 31 catches for 365 yards. DJ Thomas-Jones had 22 catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns.
Fluff Bothwell ended the season as the Jags leading rusher with 834 yards on 112 attempts with 13 touchdowns. However, it is uncertain if he will play as he announced he was entering the transfer portal.
Kentrel Bullock was the next leading rusher with 702 yards on 135 carries with six touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds rushed for 113 yards on 19 carries in 8 games with a touchdown.
Defense
Blayne Myrick finished the regular season with 92 total stops, 41 solo, with two sacks and 7 TFLs and an interception.
Jaden Voisin is second on the team with 74 total stops, 38 solo, with 2.5 TFLs and a team leading 5 interceptions.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 40.5 yards per punt with 21 fair catches, 16 downed inside the 20, two touchbacks and two kicks of 50+ yards with his longest being 67 yards.
Laith Marjan is 16 of 17 placekicking on the season with his only miss coming from 50+ yards. He has a long of 49 on the season. It’s uncertain if he will play as he has also announced he is entering the transfer portal.
If Marjan does not play, it will either be Davis Little (true freshman) or Hamilton DiBoyan (redshirt freshman) handling the placekicking duties.
Keys to the Game
Don’t beat yourself with penalties
Against Texas State the Jags had eight penalties but many of them came at inopportune times. South Alabama finished the regular season tied for 127th in fewest penalties, only four schools were flagged more than the Jags. They also finished 124th with fewest penalty yards.
So many penalties have disrupted offensive drives and put the offense behind the chains which led to the ball going over to the other team one way or another.
Turnovers
Both teams are +8 in turnover margin, both teams are better at taking the ball away from their opponents than giving the ball away. However, both teams have gotten there in different ways. The Jags have done it more through intercepting the ball while Western Michigan has gotten there by generating fumbles. The Broncos have forced 23 fumbles and recovered 13 of them.
Three turnovers coupled with the eight penalties was just too much for South Alabama to overcome against Texas State.
Fundamentals
Often times bowl games are kinda sloppy because teams have had a lot of time off from the end of the season until the bowl game without game action. So you tend to see more unforced errors, missed tackles, and the such. Both teams enter just two weeks since their last action and should be ready to go, like both teams just had a bye week.
Prediction
Bowl games in this day in age with Name, Image and Likeness and the Transfer Portal is very hard to predict. We may not know until the day of the game who may or may not play for either team. We already see that a key offensive and defensive player for the Jags have opted to go into the portal. Meanwhile the Broncos have a laundry list of players in the portal, including some key players on both sides of the ball as well.
Setting aside the uncertainty of NIL and transfer portal, I believe South Alabama has a more talented roster from top to bottom, however inconsistent they can be from game to game.
The spread opened with South Alabama as the favorite by 10.5-points and is down to 7.5-points depending on where you look. Some of the factors are Fluff Bothwell and Jordan Scruggs opting for the portal and Gio Lopez’s injury against Texas State. While by all accounts Bishop Davenport is a very capable quarterback who really hasn’t been used to his full potential on gameday, we have only really seen him in limited duty even when he started against Ohio in week 2.
I think the Jags cover the 7.5-points and goes into the postseason with momentum for 2025.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Looking To Get Bowl Eligible On The Road At Southern Miss
Kickoff: Saturday, November 23, 2pm
Venue: M. M. Malone Stadium, Hattiesburg, MS
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
South Alabama went into Lafayette and did what no other Sun Belt team has been able to do this season: defeat the Cajuns. The once blemish free conference record for the Cajuns now has a chip in it and the Jags hopes for West Division title, like the Undertaker, has risen from the coffin yet to be completely dead and buried for the season.
The Jags (5-5, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) now just needs one more win to get bowl eligible in head coach Major Applewhite’s first season at the helm and for the third consecutive season.
They travel to Hattiesburg to take on the ailing Southern Miss Golden Eagles (1-9, 0-6 SBC). They enter on an eight-game skid and only managing 3 points in each of their last two games (37-3 vs Marshall and 58-3 vs Texas State). Their only win of the season has come against FCS Southeastern Louisiana 35-10.
What are the Jags facing when they get to “The Rock,” let’s dig into the opponent some along with the season stats to this point.
Southern Miss
Head coach Will Hall was dismissed the day after the Golden Eagles lost at home to Arkansas State 44-28 and a 14-30 record overall in Hattiesburg. Since his dismissal, USM has only managed to put 21 total points on the scoreboard across their last three games.
Reed Stringer is serving at the interim head coach. Before being tapped for the interim position he was in his fourth season as the assistant head coach and general manager. He was in his seventh year overall with the Golden Eagle program. He joined the program in 2018 with coach Jay Hopson as an offensive quality control coach. He took over coaching tight ends in 2019 and made it through the chaotic 2020 season when Hopson stepped down and the Golden Eagles had three coaches. He remained on staff when Hall was hired.
Previously he spent seven seasons as an assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach at Louisiana-Lafayette.
Southern Miss will honor just two seniors for their senior day on Saturday so they don’t really have that much upper level experience it seems.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 14.9 |
| Total Offense | 281 |
| Passing Offense | 170.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 110.7 |
| Time of Possession | 26:09 |
| Penalty Yards | 51.9 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 29 of 124 (23.4%) |
| 4th Downs | 11 of 23 (47.8%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 18 of 25 (72%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 14 of 25 (56%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 64 – 519 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 15 – 12 |
Ethan Crawford leads USM with pass attempts, he is 50 of 120 (41.7%) for 849 yards with no touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Tate Rodemaker leads the team with completions, going 65 of 107 (60.8%) for 643 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.
Larry Simmons leads the receiving corps with 318 yards on 20 catches. Tiaquelin Mims has a team leading 25 catches for 287 yards. They have four other receivers with between 10 and 13 catches each. Kyirin Heath leads the group with 2 touchdown catches.
Rodrigues “Dreke” Clark is the leading rusher with 468 yards on 104 carries with a touchdown. Kenyon Clay has 320 yards on 61 attempts with six touchdowns. Ethan Crawford has 211 yards on 97 carries and three touchdowns.
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.6 |
| Total Offense | 455.7 |
| Passing Offense | 221.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 233.9 |
| Time of Possession | 32:21 |
| Penalty Yards | 40.1 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 54 of 132 (40.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 12 of 17 (70.6%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 41 of 46 (89.1%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 28 of 46 (60.9%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 63 – 541 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Tre’ Pinkney leads USM with 67 total stops, 33 solo, with 3.5 tackles for loss and .5 sacks. Chris Jones is next on the team with 46 total stops, 25 solo, with 2.5 TFLs and one sack with an interception. Dylan Lawrence leads the team with a pair of interceptions. Jalil Clemons and Ryan Johnson co-lead the team with three sacks.
Special Teams
Bryce Lofton is averaging 44.96 yards per punt with 18 fair catches, 14 downed inside the 20, 14 punts of 50+ yards with a long of 57.
Connor Gibbs is 8 of 8 on field goal attempts with his longest of the season being from 54 yards out. Andrew Stein has attempted three field goals and has yet to put up between the uprights.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags currently sit 3rd in the conference in scoring offense, rushing offense, total offense, and time of possession. Nationally the Jags are 25th in rushing offense and scoring offense, 23rd in total offense, 45th in time of possession. But they are also 3rd nationally in Passes Had Intercepted (3), 13th Turnovers Lost (8), and 6th in Punt Returns (17.5).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 34.4 |
| Total Offense | 444.9 |
| Passing Offense | 246.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 198.2 |
| Time of Possession | 30:53 |
| Penalty Yards | 72.4 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 52 of 125 (41.6%) |
| 4th Downs | 8 of 14 (57.1%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 41 of 48 (85.4%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 30 of 48 (62.5%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 84 – 724 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 10-5 |
Gio Lopez ranks 17th nationally in total offense, 24th in yards per pass attempt, 25th in completion percentage and passing efficiency. He is 174 of 265 (65.9%) with 2,174 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the team in catches with 73, receiving yards 939, and touchdowns with seven. he ranks 7th nationally in receptions per game, 8th nationally in Receiving Yards and Receiving Yards per game, 28th in Receiving Touchdowns, and 33rd in All-Purpose yards.
Jeremiah Webb is next on the list with 364 yards on 24 catches with two touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 332 yards on 29-8 catches. Devin Voisin has 332 yards on 28 catches. Shemar Sandgren has 176 yards on 16 catches with a touchdown.
Fluff Bothwell leads the team in rushing yards with 649 on 100 carries with a team-leading 10 touchdowns. He ranks 30th nationally in rushing touchdowns and 41st in total touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock is right on his heels with 630 yards on 111 carries with six touchdowns. Gio Lopez is running fourth on the team with 427 yards on 70 carries and six touchdowns.
Kentrel Bullock ranks 42nd nationally in rush yards per carry.
Defense
The Jags defense stacks up pretty good in the several categories in the conference. They are 2nd in Rush Defense, 4th in 3rd down defense and red zone defense, 5th in scoring defense and 6th in 1st down defense and 4th down defense, and 7th in total defense.
Nationally the defense ranks 19th in passes intercepted (12), 34th in turnovers gained (16), 40th in Punt Return Defense (5.38), and 44th in rushing defense (127.6).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 24.5 |
| Total Offense | 393.8 |
| Passing Offense | 265.4 |
| Rushing Offense | 128.4 |
| Time of Possession | 29:07 |
| Penalty Yards | 48.4 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 50 of 136 (36.8%) |
| 4th Downs | 10-20 (50%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 28 of 34 (82.4%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 16 of 14 (47.1%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 53 – 484 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 10 – 4 |
Blayne Myrick leads the team with 75 total stops, 33 solo with 6 TFLs and a sack. Jordan Scruggs is next with 53 total stops, 26 solo, with 3 TFLs and an interception.
Jaden Voisin, who broke the record for career interceptions as a Jaguar last week, now ranks 7th nationally in total interceptions on the season with 52 total stops, 30 solo.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen is averaging 41.3 yards per punt with 14 fair catches, 14 downed inside the 20, two touchbacks and two kicks of 50+ yards.
Laith Marjan is 15 of 16 placekicking on the season (93.75%) with his only miss coming from over 50 yards.
Keys to the Game
Don’t beat yourself
After playing a very disciplined first half, the Jags got a little too complacent in the second half and the offensive penalties creeped back in a little. Not necessarily the cause of all of the second half offensive woes, but they definitely didn’t help the cause. Just play more like the first-half team, not the second half team.
Play a complete game
It’s been a while since the Jags have really played a complete game. You have to go all the way back to the App State game for that. While they did end up winning big over ULM, they really didn’t play a complete game. The first half of that game wasn’t their best first half of football, by any means.
The last two weeks have seen the Jags play good first halves, but falter in the second half. They lost one against Georgia Southern but they held on to win last week against the Cajuns.
With just two games to go and a potential bowl game, now is the time to put everything together and get two big wins and hope for some help to get to the conference championship game.
Solid Special Teams
The special teams have had some problems over the last couple of weeks too. Miscommunication, turnovers, etc. Don’t give the other team an opportunity to seize momentum with a big play on special teams.
Prediction
The Jags roll into the game as a 22.5-point favorite over the Golden Eagles. The Southern Miss fanbase may just be ready for the season to be over and done with. They wouldn’t mind getting a couple of wins to end the season, but are they able to regroup at this point and execute at a high enough level to win.
Meanwhile my ability to predict what this team can and will do continues to be beyond my grasp. The only consistency is that I cannot consistently prognosticate which Jaguar team will show up to play. I’ll go ahead and apologize if my prediction does not pan out. But I think the Jags will cover the 22.5 point spread and earn bowl eligibility this week running their all-time record against the Golden Eagles to 5-0.
Go Jags!
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!
Preview: South Alabama vs Georgia Southern
Kickoff: Saturday, November 2, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: TBA
South Alabama enters this week’s game with an even record overall and looks to both break some bad patterns and continue some good patterns when they host Georgia Southern on Saturday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The Jags (4-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) comes in after winning their last two match-ups on the season, both at home. This will be the third and final game of a three-game home stand by the Jags. They also have a two-game streak going against Georgia Southern (5-3, 3-1 SBC).
They are also the only two wins the Jags have had in nine meetings between the two programs.
We also alluded to breaking a streak. Dating back to the 2023 season the Jags have had a curious pattern going. They tend to win and lose in pairs. It’s not a perfect pattern, it was technically broken by the win in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Or was it just interrupted?
Head Coach Major Applewhite can have a testy side to him. Last week when a reporter brought up that his team was 3-0 in weeknight games but 0-4 in Saturday games, he didn’t seem very…entertaining of that question. This week the same reporter asked about “the pattern” as I have referred to it.
“This is about as much prosperity as we can handle,” Applewhite joked. “So, everybody brace themselves it’s time to go win three in a row.”
It’s good to see both sides of coach Applewhite, throwing some shade and also tossing out a laugh.
The Eagles come to Mobile tied for first place in the Sun Belt East Division and looking to keep it that way. But they are tied with Old Dominion who holds the tiebreaker based on their 47-19 head-to-head loss on Thursday, October 17. They will have a slight advantage over the Jags since they will be coming in with a couple extra days to prepare.
But enough of that, let’s take a look at some of the team stats.
Georgia Southern
Clay Helton is in his third season at the helm in Statesboro. He’s led the Eagles to back-to-back 6-7 seasons with losses in the Camellia Bowl (2022) and the Myrtle Beach Bowl (2023). He came to Georgia Southern after spending 11 years at USC in all. He started as the quarterbacks coach under Lane Kiffin then was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013. He served at interim head coach when the previous interim head coach, Ed Orgeron, resigned following the hiring of Steve Sarkisian. In the 2015 season he served as the interim head coach again when Sarkisian took a leave of absence. USC then they promoted him to the head coach.
Helton went 46-24 over his time as head coach at USC and notably with a win in the 2017 Rose Bowl over Penn State.
Fans in Statesboro are getting a little itchy to get back to their winning way more like they had previously. Everything was looking up and up until their upset loss to Old Dominion.
Offense
Ryan Aplin has helped Helton transform Georgia State into a passing team. After setting just about every passing record for the Eagles in 2022, the 2023 season saw the Eagles finish in the top 20 nationally in passing yards per game with many of the records previously set falling again.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 28.6 |
| Total Offense | 379.1 |
| Passing Offense | 252.1 |
| Rushing Offense | 127 |
| Time of Possession | 30:24 |
| Penalty Yards | 47.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 50 of 112 (44.6%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 9 (66.7%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 25 of 27 (92.6%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 22 of 27 (81.5%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 45 – 380 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 16 – 7 |
JC French is 169 of 265 (63.8%) for 1,790 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He is also the fourth leading rusher on the team with 138 yards on 68 attempts with one touchdown.
Dalen Cobb leads the team in catches with 37 for 434 yards and three touchdowns. Derwin Burgess Jr leads the team in receiving yards with 440 on 35 catches with three touchdowns as well.
Josh Dallas has 25 catches for 325 yards and a pair of touchdowns. LV Bunkley-Shelton has 20 catches for 216 yards. Tyler Fromm has 18 catches for 211 yards and two touchdowns as the final pass catcher with over 100 yards receiving for the season.
Jalen White leads the ground game with 393 yards on 92 carries with seven touchdowns. OJ Arnold has 253 yards on 43 carries with three touchdowns. David Mbadinga adds 145 yards on 35 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
Defense
Brandon Bailey is in his second season as defensive coordinator for Georgia Southern. In 2023 the Eagles finished top 30 nationally in passes intercepted, defensive touchdowns and tackles for loss.
In 2022 he was the youngest defensive coordinator in FBS while at the University of Buffalo. His defense finished 7th nationally with 28 turnovers, 7th nationally in interceptions with 13, and 2nd nationally with 15 forced fumbles. They were 4th in the MAC in scoring.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 30.5 |
| Total Offense | 457.6 |
| Passing Offense | 272.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 185.1 |
| Time of Possession | 29:36 |
| Penalty Yards | 83.9 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 51 of 110 (46.4%) |
| 4th Downs | 5 of 13 (38.5%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 24 of 26 (92.3%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 19 of 26 (73.1%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 69 – 671 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Marques Watson-Trent (r-Sr LB) far and away leads the team with 77 stops, 34 solo. He also leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss and is in a three-way tie for second on the team with 1.5 sacks. He is a big disrupter too with four forced fumbles, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
Marc Stampley II (Jr DB) leads the team in sacks (2) and pass breakups (7), and is tied for the team lead in interceptions (2).
Special Teams
Alex Smith is averaging 43 yards per punt attempt with 20 fair catches, 15 downed inside the 20, 5 punts of over 50 yards, and a long of 63 yards.
Gavin Stewart is 7 of 9 placekicking for the Eagles with a long of 53 yards. He is 24 of 26 on extra point attempts.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags currently sit 1st in the Sun Belt Conference in rushing offense and scoring offense while 2nd in the conference in total offense and time of possession. Nationally the Jags are 14th in rushing offense, 22nd in scoring offense, 19th in total offense, 29th in time of possession. But they are also 2nd nationally in Passes Had Intercepted (1), Turnovers Lost (4), and 3rd in Punt Returns (21.5).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.3 |
| Total Offense | 454.8 |
| Passing Offense | 238.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 216.3 |
| Time of Possession | 31:41 |
| Penalty Yards | 70.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 43 of 102 (42.2%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 10 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 32 of 38 (84.2%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 24 of 38 (63.2%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 63 – 564 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 7 – 3 |
After a predominantly ground game last week Gio Lopez is 128 of 200 (64%) for 1,632 yards, 13 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Behind his career-high 11 catches last week, Jamaal Pritchett has 50 receptions for 662 yards and 6 touchdowns for the season. Second place on the team in receptions is Devin Voisin with 22 for 260 yards. Jeremiah Webb is third on the team in receptions with 17 but second on the team in reception yardage with 276 and a pair of touchdowns. DJ Thomas-Jones is second on the team in touchdown receptions with 3.
Fluff Bothwell continues to lead the Jags rushing attack with 580 yards on 85 carries with 8 touchdowns as a true freshman. His average of 6.88 yards per carry is 9th in the nation while his rushing touchdowns is 28th, but 1st among true freshmen.
Kentrel Bullock is not too far behind him with 505 yards on 85 carries with 5 touchdowns. Lopez is third on the team with 350 yards on 55 carries with 4 touchdowns. His 5.93 yards per carry ranks 38th nationally.
Defense
The Jags defense stacks up pretty good in the several categories in the conference. They are 2nd in Rush Defense, 3rd in 3rd down defense and red zone defense, 4th in scoring defense and 1st down defense, 6th in 4th down defense, and 7th in total defense.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 23.6 |
| Total Offense | 401.7 |
| Passing Offense | 268.4 |
| Rushing Offense | 133.3 |
| Time of Possession | 28:19 |
| Penalty Yards | 47.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 39 of 107 (36.5%) |
| 4th Downs | 4 of 11 (36.4%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 22 of 28 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13 of 28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 42 – 378 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick continues to pace the team with 58 total stops, 23 solo. He also has a sack, 5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble to his resume. Jordan Scruggs is second on the team with 41 total stops, 19 solo, with an interception and a pass breakup.
Courtney McBride leads the team with 3 sacks. Tyler Thomas is next with 2 sacks.
Jaden Voisin’s three interceptions leads the team and is 14th nationally.
Wesley Miller’s interception against ULM ties him with Lardarius Webb for second on the team with two each.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 41.9 yards per punt with 13 downed inside the 20, 12 fair catches, 2 touchbacks, two kicks of 50+ yards and a season long of 67 yards.
Laith Marjan is 11 of 12 (91.7%) in field goals for the season, his only miss was from 52 yards. His season long is 49 yards. He is now officially 26 of 28 on extra points, but that counts as a miss against ULM was due to a poor snap and hold.
Jamaal Pritchett is still averaging 21.9 yards per punt return with the 1 touchdown on the season.
Keys to the Game
Turnovers
Georgia Southern’s defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey prioritizes defensive turnovers. They’ve forced seven interceptions but have only recovered three fumbles of the eight fumbles by opponents. On the other hand, the Eagles offense has turned the ball over 13 times (6 INT, 7 fumbles). Astonishingly, the Eagles have put the ball on the ground 16 times. So overall the Eagles are -3 in turnover margin.
South Alabama is very protective of the ball with only 4 offensive turnovers (3 fumbles, 1 INT). Defensively the Jags are pretty good at generating takeaways with 14 overall (11 INT, 3 fumbles) for a turnover margin of +11.
If past patterns continue, the Jags may have some opportunities to force some turnovers.
RTDB
The Jags found their offensive identity again last week: Run the damn ball.
In three of their four wins this season, the Jags have rushed for 300+ yards. The second half against ULM the Jags fully committed to the run and they ran all over the Warhawks.
The running back trio of Bothwell, Bullock and McReynolds were able to shoulder the run load and Gio only had to give the ball off. On passes, he stayed in the pocket more and didn’t move out immediately when he felt some pressure. Hopefully that was planned and not a change due to his lingering turf toe injury from week 1.
Getting the running backs rolling is a huge advantage for the Jags.
Pass Rush
Georgia Southern is predominantly a passing offense. Historically this has given the Jags problems. Generating a pass rush has been problematic in those instances. If they can get to the quarterback and make him uncomfortable, they can disrupt what they do and maybe force some more interceptions out of their quarterback.
Prediction
South Alabama is in the thick of the Sun Belt Conference West race. They have a chance to make another statement with a win. ULM entered with a darling storyline and the Jags were able to make a statement last week. Now they have a chance to knock off one of the eastern division leaders.
But it would also be nice to break “the pattern” and continue the current streak against the Eagles.
The Jags enter the match-up as a 6.5-point favorite. Once again, I have a feeling that the line is too high for whatever reason. I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they’ll cover. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here, I’m completely open to them proving me wrong.
Go Jags!
Jags Dominate Second Half, Cruise To 46-17 Win Over ULM
South Alabama needed to find their offensive identity, it may have taken some time, but they found themselves in the second half as the Jags rolled to a 46-17 win.
The Jags (4-4, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) shut out Louisiana-Monroe (5-2, 3-1 SBC) in the second half while putting up 34 points on the scoreboard. They went into the locker room after giving up a field goal as time expired with a 17-12 deficit. But the Jags that went into the locker room were not the same guys who came out in the second half.
South Alabama came out just dominated the second half from kickoff to final whistle. They outgained the Warhawks 316 to 108 after halftime, almost all of it on the ground. In all they put up 355 yards rushing in the game with four different players with rushing touchdowns.
When asked about what he said to the team at halftime, head coach Major Applewhite said he “didn’t say anything special. I told our guys if we play the hardest the longest, we will win the football game. It’s a possession game and everyone in the locker room knew that it was going to be like this. If we go down and score on offense to start the half we’ll take the lead, if we don’t go down and score it’ll be a two-possession game.”
They scored on all three of their 3rd quarter possessions then demoralized them with an 11-play, 93-yard drive in the fourth quarter.
“It was just our preparation,” running back Kentrel Bullock said. “That’s what we worked on the majority of the week. We prepared to run the ball and we executed pretty well.”
After taking the opening kickoff of the second half, the Jags marched right down the field. Fluff Bothwell carried the ball on the final four snaps and covered the final 39 yards for this first touchdown of the game. It gave the Jags the lead for good and the way the offense did it, they made a resounding statement.
On ULM’s first snap of the second half, Bubba Thomas tipped the pass near the line and Wesley Miller came away with the interception putting the offense back in business at the Warhawk 28.
After a pair of penalties for a false start and an ineligible player downfield, the Jags were facing 1st and goal at the 13. But that was no problem. Kentrel Bullock found a huge hole on the right side of the line and scored. A bad snap led to a failed extra point leaving the Jags up 25-17.
A three and out punt by the defense put the Jaguar offense in business at their own 40-yard line about midway through the third quarter. Eight of the nine snaps were all run plays starting with Braylon McReynolds, then a run by Bothwell, but Gio Lopez would finish out the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run for a 32-17 advantage.
South Alabama’s defense refused to let the Warhawks get into the end zone. On a 4th and goal at the 7, the Jags stayed tight in their coverage and forced the Warhawk quarterback to throw it through the back of the end zone.
Once again, the offense only threw one pass on the next drive. But they didn’t need to throw either. Kentrel Bullock started the drive but it was Full Bothwell who pounded the Warhawk defense into submission with six consecutive runs covering the final 55-yards for his second touchdown of the game and a 37-17 advantage.
The defense got the ball back after a failed 4th down attempt. It only took two plays by Braylon McReynolds to put the Jags on the scoreboard once more, capped off by a 24-yard run into the end zone.
The Warhawks threatened to end the second half shutout but true freshman Ty Goodwill came away with the interception in the end zone to let Lopez kneel it twice for the win.
“I thought he [offensive coordinator Rob Ezell] did a great job of using them [running backs] the right way,” head coach Major Applewhite explained. “Our tailbacks were doing a great job running the ball, along with the offensive line. The tempo was giving them [ULM] problems. They weren’t getting hands on the ground, they weren’t coming off the ball. So we were able to get a little bit more of a push than normal and our backs were finding creases and running hard.”
The first half was a different story.
On the first drive the Jags called a more balanced game with a mix of passes and runs, but it was the run game that found the most traction on the first drive. Kentrel Bullock had runs of 14 and 22 before punching it into the endzone on a hard 4 yard run for a 7-0 lead.
Outside of that, the Jags really didn’t put together another a good drive in the first quarter. They did manage a short drive for a 48-yard Laith Marjan field goal.
Stats
| South Alabama | Louisiana-Monroe | |
| Total Yards | 523 | 387 |
| Passing Yards | 168 | 149 |
| Rushing Yards | 355 | 238 |
| 3rd Downs | 7 of 13 | 3 of 15 |
| 4th Downs | 0 of 0 | 2 of 4 |
| Penalties – Yards | 6 – 70 | 2 – 20 |
| Turnovers (points) | 2 (6) | 1 (0) |
South Alabama
Gio Lopez was 18-of-30 (60%) for 168 yards passing and added 25 yards rushing on 3 carries with a touchdown.
Kentrel Bullock led all rushers with 141 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns. Full Bothwell had 119 yards on 17 carries for two touchdowns as well. Braylon McReynolds, in his first action in several games, had 73 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett set a new career mark with 11 catches in a game for 89 yards. Devin Voisin had 36 yards on three catches.
Dalton Hughes and Blayne Myrick both led the team with 7 total stops each, Hughes with two solo and Myrick with three solo. One of Myrick’s stops was a sack. Hughes and Carlos Johnson Jr combined for a sack too.
Louisiana-Monroe
Aidan Armenta went 11 of 23 (47.8%) for 149 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Javon Campbell had 77 yards on two catches. Davon Wells had 60 yards on two catches with a touchdown.
Ahmad Hardy rushed for 104 yards on 20 carries. Hunter Herring, the other quarterback, had 72 yards on 4 carries with a touchdown.
Next
South Alabama will host Georgia Southern on Saturday, November 2nd for a 6:30pm kickoff for Military Appreciation Day and the final Saturday home game this season at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game will air on ESPNU.
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!
Preview: Jags Open Conference Play At App State On National TV
Kickoff: Thursday, September 19th, 6:30pm
Venue: Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, NC
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: Devin Voisin
South Alabama earned their first win of the season and under new head coach Major Applewhite in record breaking fashion last Thursday night. The Jags (1-2) scored in all three phases of the game while setting a new single-game scoring record for the program as well as the Sun Belt Conference. It was also the highest scoring college football game since 1991, even with the fourth quarter shortened to only six minutes.
This week the Jags have an entirely new challenge when they travel to Boone, NC to take on Appalachian State (2-1) in the conference opening game for both programs.
App State
Head coach Shawn Clark is in his fifth season as head coach of the Mountaineers. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach for two seasons under Scott Satterfield before Satterfield left for Louisville after the 2018 season. Clark was retained by newly hired head coach Eliah Drinkwitz. But Drinkwitz would be a one-and-done as he was hired away after a 12-1 season, including a win over Power-5 North Carolina and winning the SBC Championship game, the fourth-consecutive for the Mountaineers at the time.
Clark was promoted and made his debut in the 2019 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl with a 31-17 win over UAB. Since becoming the head coach, he has a 37-19 record with the Mountaineers overall and 22-10 in conference play.
Clark can also boast three consecutive seasons with a win over ranked opponents: 2021 vs #14 Coastal Carolina, 2022 vs #6 Texas A&M, and 2023 vs #18 James Madison.
Last season they were 9-5 overall, 6-2 in conference play, and represented the East Division in the SBC Championship Game, though they finished 2nd in the division because newcomer James Madison was ineligible due to FBS transition rules.
Before coaching at App State, Clark served as offensive line coach for Kent State, Purdue, and Eastern Kentucky.
Offense
The Mountaineers base offense is a Pro-Tempo scheme. It has pro-style concepts with a tempo base. They will dial up and down their tempo based on their success. If they hit a big play, they will go with tempo in order to prevent the defense from substituting. They will also turn down the tempo and play methodically during some parts of the game. It’s similar to what Drinkwitz ran while in Boone.
Joey Aguilar is 72-of-124 (58.1%) for 964 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season at quarterback. He was selected as the preseason Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Kaedin Robinson leads the receiver corps with 18 catches for 290 yards but no touchdowns. Makai Jackson isn’t far behind with 14 catches but with 164 yards and two touchdowns. Christian Horn has 11 catches for 244 yards and a touchdown. Horn also has the longest reception with 83 yards. Eli Wilson rounds out the receivers with double-digit catches with 10 for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Anderson Castle leads the Mountaineers rushing attack with 148 yards on 33 carries with a touchdown, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Makai Jackson has 71 yards on three carries with a touchdown. Kanye Roberts has 63 yards on 19 carries, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. Ahmani Marshall has 49 yards on 14 carries, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Aguilar is next in line with 44 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 26.3 |
| Total Offense | 456 |
| Passing Offense | 321.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 134.7 |
| Time of Possession | 31:57 |
| Penalty Yards | 64.7 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 16-of-39 (41%) |
| 4th Downs | 1-of-2 (50%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 10-of-12 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 5-of-12 |
| Penalties – Yards | 18 – 194 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 3 – 2 |
Defense
The defense is listed as a 3-4 base but tends to run more 3-3-5 and relying more on their Star safety. The Star position can be explained like a hybrid linebacker-safety position.
Linebacker Caden Sullivan (R-Jr) leads the team with 20 total stops, 9 solo, with a quarterback hurry. Safety Ronald Clarke is next on the team with 18 total stops, 9 solo.
Outside linebacker Thomas Davis leads the team with 1.5 sacks ahead of five other players each with one sack each.
Senior cornerback Seth Robertson has the only interception on the defense.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 31.7 |
| Total Offense | 447 |
| Passing Offense | 269.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 177.7 |
| Time of Possession | 27:35 |
| Penalty Yards | 64 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 14-of-38 (37%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-6 (33%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 7-of-8 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 4-of-8 |
| Penalties – Yards | 21 – 192 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 5 – 2 |
Special Teams
Mitchell Lake handled the punting duties through the first two games with an average of 38.2 yards per kick, three fair catches, two downed inside the 20 and a long of 61 yards. Connor Maynard handled the punting duties in their latest game with an average of 44.8 yards per kick, two touchbacks, one downed inside the 20 and a long of 50.
Michael Hughes is a perfect 5-of-5 on the season with a long of 36 yards. He is also a perfect 8-of-8 on extra points.
South Alabama
After starting the season with two losses, the Jags took the opportunity to have a get-right game against FCS Northwester State last Thursday. The game was moved back to Thursday to allow for a full week of preparation for this game after it was picked up by ESPN for national broadcast.
Offense
Gio Lopez started against Northwestern State after missing the previous game with a turf toe injury. On the season he is 41-of-68 (60.3%) for 689 yards and seven touchdowns. Bishop Davenport is 23-of-37 (62.2%) for 228 yards and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the receivers with 20 catches for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 13 catches for 184 yards. DJ Thomas-Jones has two touchdowns on 5 catches for 42 yards. Shamar Sandgren, Jeremiah Webb, and Anthony Eager each have one touchdown catch each on the season.
Fluff Bothwell in his first career 100-yard rushing game continues to lead the Jaguars rushing attack with 243 yards on 23 carries, averaging 10.6 yards per carry, with four touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock, also coming off a 100-yard rushing game himself, has 157 yards on 19 carries, averaging 8.3 yards per carry, with two touchdowns. PJ Martin, Gio Lopez, and Jarvis Durr all have one rushing touchdown each.
Pritchett also leads the team in all-purpose yards with 416 thanks to his punt return yardage of 129 yards added in. He also has a 62-punt return touchdown.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 48.3 |
| Total Offense | 514.7 |
| Passing Offense | 305.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 209 |
| Time of Possession | 30:28 |
| Penalty Yards | 63.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 15-of-36 (42%) |
| 4th Downs | 3-of-4 (66.7%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 18-of-19 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13-of-19 |
| Penalties – Yards | 23 – 190 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 4 – 1 |
Defense
Blayne Myrick continues to lead the defense with 25 total stops, 9 solo, with .5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs has 17 total stops, 7 solo, with 1.5 TFLs and a pass breakup. Jaden Voisin has 16 total stops, 10 solo, with an interception.
Amarion Fortenberry and Chrystyile Caldwell each have one interception on the season.
Jordan Norman, Maurice Strong Jr, and Tyler Thomas all have one sack each.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 29.7 |
| Total Offense | 394.3 |
| Passing Offense | 273.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 120.7 |
| Time of Possession | 29:32 |
| Penalty Yards | 65 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 17-of-42 (40%) |
| 4th Downs | 1-of-2 (50%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 9-of-10 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 6-of-10 |
| Penalties – Yards | 22 – 195 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 4 – 2 |
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen has served as the punter the last two games with an average of 37.6 yards per kick with four downed inside the 20 and two fair catches. Jack Martin averages 44 yards per kick on two punts.
Laith Marjan is 5-of-6 on the season with a long of 39 yards. He is also a perfect 12-of-12 on extra point attempts.
Keys to the Game
Pass Defense
The Mountaineers have a prolific pass offense, and it all starts with quarterback Joey Aguilar.
Aguilar was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week after throwing for 424 yards and two touchdowns in their come-from-behind 21-19 win over East Carolina.
Despite all of their yards, they aren’t putting up the points that one would expect looking at the stats sheet.
The Jags secondary hasn’t been the best in coverage this season and the defense has struggled to get pressure on the quarterback in the first two games of the season. They also allowed a 75-yard touchdown pass in the first half to Northwestern State in the 87-10 blowout.
If the Jags want to win, they have to generate pressure on Aguilar and tighten their coverage on the receivers.
Special Teams
In both losses, the Jags had miscues on special teams. Against North Texas a punt went off one of the blockers for the punter after a bad snap, that was recovered for a touchdown. A muffed punt by Pritchett gave Ohio a short field, which they turned into points as well.
Pritchett made amends for his special teams play with a punt return touchdown in the big win.
Solid special teams play may not win the game, but poor special teams play sure can lose a game.
Offensive Line
What can be said here that we haven’t already said before? Games are won on the line. Pass protection and run blocking are the fundamentals for an offense to function.
The Jags were able to get some good in-game reps for lots of players last week. Hopefully it builds confidence in the starters as well as depth on the bench.
They’ll be tested by the Mountaineers.
Prediction
South Alabama enters probably their toughest three-game stretch of football this season. With all three being road contests too.
But the goal this week is do what they need to do to go 1-0. The other games have to wait.
The Mountaineers are 7.5-point favorite at home. South Alabama took the first matchup between the two schools back in 2014 but have lost each of the four subsequent meetings, including a 31-7 loss in 2021.
The game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN and it will be the only college football game available on Thursday night. This is a huge opportunity for the program to shine and playing a good, exciting game will go a long way to further the Jaguar brand of football.
If the Jags are healthy, and they look to mostly be back healthy, they can score points. With over a 60% chance of rain and thundershowers Thursday evening, that could favor the Jags running game with Bothwell, Bullock, Braylon McReynolds, PJ Martin, and Jarvis Durr.
I think the Jags cover but fall in a very close game.
Go 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!
Preview: South Alabama Travels To Ohio University For First Road Test Of Season
Kickoff: Saturday, September 7th, 6:00pm
Venue: Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium, Athens, OH
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: Not announced yet (Last week Christopher Wallace Jr.)
South Alabama (0-1) came up on the short side of the scoreboard against North Texas. The 52-38 decision spoiled head coach Major Applewhite’s debut as the top Jaguar and their home opener. The Jags held a 19-14 lead at halftime but allowed four touchdowns in the third quarter as the Mean Green seized control of the game behind an up-tempo, big-play offense. They were also aided by a mishap in special teams that led to one of the scores.
Let’s start with the good things we saw.
Gio Lopez had a record-setting performance further showing why he was so hyped inside the program all last season. Lopez and his skill guys pretty much picked up right where they left off from the 68 Ventures Bowl. Jamaal Pritchett has elevated his game and has become the next playmaking wide receiver for the Jaguar offense. Devin Voisin was second on the team receiving and in targets in his first game back after missing almost all of 2023 with a knee injury. Braylon McReynolds, Kentrel Bullock and Fluff Bothwell are going to be a fun running back trio.
This could be the most productive offense in South Alabama history. They may need it with the way the defense played though.
Speaking of defense, the line played pretty well. They kept the UNT running game bottled up and only allowed them 104 yards and an average of 3.1 yards per attempt.
What we didn’t like.
The offensive line played better than expected but they still have a lot of work to put in. This week of practice will show us a lot about what this group can do.
While the defensive line was great against the run, they couldn’t generate any pressure on the quarterback. That allowed North Texas to pick apart the secondary for 446 yards and three touchdowns.
Going into the season, the linebackers were an area of concern.
They played decently considering the concerns but they, too, have a lot of work to put in and this week of practice will give us some insight at their ability to improve this season. Blayne Myrick had his name called a few times from his linebacker position. Most notably when the Jags turned away the Mean Green on a goal line stand.
Similar to last season’s opening game, the secondary had trouble in coverage. Hopefully the similarities to last season doesn’t stop there. Last season the secondary made a big adjustment after the first game and played much better.
It’s a cat fight!
We’ll see which cat comes out on top in a match between Jaguars and Bobcats.
The Bobcats (0-1) enter the game coming off of a season-opening loss of their own. They also had an early lead in the game but was unable to keep up with Syracuse, falling 38-22 on the road.
Ohio head coach Tim Albin is in his fourth season at the helm in Athens, OH. He was promoted to the position on July 15, 2021 after joining the program as the offensive coordinator in 2005 with former head coach Frank Solich. Previously Albin and Solich coached together at Nebraska.
The Bobcats defeated Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl to earn their second consecutive 10-win season, a first for the program. The bowl win was also the fifth-consecutive for the program.
Ohio University
Offense
| Stat | Stat total |
| Passing Completions – Attempts – Interceptions | 18-30-1 |
| Points | 22 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 436 |
| Passing Yards | 181 |
| Rushing Yards | 255 |
| Time of Possession | 31:28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 1 – 5 |
| 3rd Downs | 2 of 11 |
| 4th Downs | 1 of 2 |
| Red Zone Scores – Chances | 4 – 5 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 1 – 0 |
Quarterback Parker Navarro was 18-of-30 for 181 yards, one interception and sacked four times.
Coleman Owen led the receivers with 10 catches for 137 yards. Chase Hendricks had 3 for 27 yards. Four other receivers caught passes in the game with minimal yards.
Anthony Tyus III led the team with 203 yards rushing on 16 attempts with two touchdowns. Navarro added 33 yards on 16 carries of his own.
Defense
| Stat | Stat total |
| Passing Completions – Attempts – Interceptions | 27-40-1 |
| Points | 38 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 480 |
| Passing Yards | 354 |
| Rushing Yards | 126 |
| Time of Possession | 28:32 |
| Penalties – Yards | 6 – 47 |
| 3rd Downs | 9 of 15 |
| 4th Downs | 1 of 1 |
| Red Zone Scores – Chances | 5 – 5 |
| Fumbles – Recovered | 0 – 0 |
Austin Brawley led the team with 12 total stops, 9 solo, from the safety position. Blake Leake was next with seven total stops, three of them solo. Two players have one tackle for loss each, Bradley Weaver’s TFL was the teams only sack.
Pearson Tank is the only Bobcat on the season with an interception through the first game.
Special Teams
Punter Jack Wilson logged three kicks with an average of 45.3 yards per kick, a long of 50, and one downed inside the 20. Gianni Spetic went 3-for-3 on field goal attempt in the opening game with a long of 43, and made the one point after attempt.
South Alabama
Offense
| Stat | Stat total |
| Passing Completions – Attempts – Interceptions | 26-49-0 |
| Points | 38 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 582 |
| Passing Yards | 432 |
| Rushing Yards | 150 |
| Time of Possession | 30:28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 9-80 |
| 3rd Downs | 6 of 14 |
| 4th Downs | 2 of -3 |
| Red Zone Scores – Chances | 5 of 5 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 0 – 0 |
Gio Lopez was 26-of-49 for 432 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener. His longest pass completion was for 52 yards but he was sacked twice. He added 62 yards on the ground, leading the Jaguar rushing attack. His 494 all-purpose yards put him in the national lead. It should have propelled him to the Offensive Player of the Week honors for the Sun Belt, however that honor went to another player in an odd choice.
Jamaal Pritchett caught 10 of his 15 targets for 197 yards and a touchdown. Devin Voisin added 5 catches on 8 targets for 60 yards. Shamar Sandgren caught 3 passes for 37 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Eager had one catch for a 23-yard touchdown.
Fluff Bothwell was the leading rusher from the running back position with 30 yards on 6 carries with a touchdown.
Defense
| Stat | Stat total |
| Passing Completions – Attempts – Interceptions | 33-42-0 |
| Points | 52 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 550 |
| Passing Yards | 446 |
| Rushing Yards | 104 |
| Time of Possession | 29:32 |
| Penalties – Yards | 6-50 |
| 3rd Downs | 8-of-12 |
| 4th Downs | 0-of-1 |
| Red Zone Scores – Chances | 5-of-6 |
| Fumbles – Recovered | 0 – 0 |
Blayne Myrick led the team with 12 total stops, 3 solo. Jordan Scruggs was next with nine total stops, three solo as well, with a pass breakup. Maurice Strong Jr and Carlos Johnson Jr both had ½ tackle for loss in the game.
Special Teams
Jack Martin had two recorded punts in the game with an average of 44 yards per kick. However, he did have a bad snap that he dropped, then when he tried to pick it up and kick it, the ball ricocheted off of one of his blockers that led to a defensive touchdown.
Laith Marjan made both of this field goal attempts, the longest was from 39 yards out, as well as both of his point after attempts.
Keys to the Game
Defense
The defense, as a whole, needs to make a big improvement going into game two.
Point: While the rush defense looked good on paper against North Texas, how much of that was due UNT’s success through the air and not needing to run the ball?
Counter Point: The Mean Green had 34 rushing attempts for only 104 yards, an average of 3.1 yards per attempt, and the longest run was 13 yards. Did the Jags just take away the run and force a passing team to throw the ball more?
I would like to see them get more pressure on the quarterback. They need to play better in coverage (seriously, how many times have we been burned by inside slants over the last several seasons?!). I hope the linebackers get coached up some more because they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders.
Offensive Line
I feel the offensive line played decently well overall, but they played at their best in the first half. Gio’s speed and escapability allows him to get out of the pocket and extend plays. What would have been sacks with Carter Bradley at quarterback are now running throws or scrambles for yardage.
I think they’ll improve. They’ll need to as the schedule gets increasingly difficult. With only two returning starters in the group, including a new center, it was a given that the offensive line may need some time to settle in.
Speaking of center, I lost count how many times I saw high snaps that Gio had to really reach to catch. I hope that’s just some first-game jitters
Health
I think the team came out pretty healthy from the game. The only player that appeared to get banged up was Gio Lopez. There were several runs and scrambles where he took the hit instead of sliding.
At one point he had a visible limp after some tackles. Afterwards he had some deep throws that came up a little short. He may have just put too much air underneath his throws, but you can’t help to wonder if he was having problems setting and throwing off of his plant foot.
Lopez also took a hit to the ribs and stayed down for a moment in the second half of the game.
Gio is definitely one of the linchpins in the Jaguars offense, he needs to stay healthy because there’s a lot of football left to be played this season.
Prediction
South Alabama will be tested in their first road game of the season in Ohio. While the sample size is only one game for each program, it looks like the offensive and defensive strengths for the Jags match up well against Ohio University.
The Bobcats is a predominately running team, they had 255 yards on the ground against Syracuse on the road. The Jags defense only allowed 104 yards to UNT. I don’t expect that kind of performance against Ohio, I think the Bobcats are going to get theirs. But can the defense get some stops? Can they get some pressure in the backfield? Can they cause more chaos?
The Jags roll into Ohio a 2.5-point favorite over the Bobcats.
I think this is a chance for coach Applewhite and gang to show that they’ve corrected some of the issues from the first game. But they also aren’t facing such a high-powered, fast-tempo offense this week.
I think the Jags win and cover.
Go Jags!
Jags Falter In Second Half Losing 52-38 In Applewhite’s First Game
Head coach Major Applewhite’s first game was a tale of two halves. The first half saw the Jags (0-1) start off a little rocky but fought back and then held strong on a 4th and goal with seconds to go until halftime. They took a 19-14 lead into the locker-room but the second half would be all Mean Green (1-0) unfortunately leading to a 52-38 loss.
The Jags rolled up 582 yards of total offense in the game. But the defense allowed 550, a stark difference for the most part from the Kane Wommack/Corey Batoon Swarm D performances over the previous three seasons. Chandler Morris accounted for five total scores, three passing and two more rushing.
Gio Lopez accounted for four scores himself, three passing and one rushing. He threw for 432 yards and rushed for 62 yards, setting single-game records for passing yards and total offense.
North Texas took the opening drive 79 yards in 15 plays for a game-opening touchdown drive. The Jags defense only allowed one score over the next three possessions, including a goal-line stand near the end of the half.
The second half was much different.
The Mean Green scored touchdown on four straight possessions in the second half. After the Jaguar offense went three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half, UNT only needed three plays to drive 66 yards and retaking the lead.
After another three-and-out and an 18 yard punt return, the Mean Green scored again on a 5 play, 50 yard drive.
South Alabama tried to get back into the game after Gio Lopez connected with Jamaal Pritchett for a 26 yard touchdown to make it a 28-26 game. However, once again UNT strikes quickly with a 4 play, 69 yard drive to make it 35-26.
Then disaster struck on special teams.
After a third, 3-and-out Jack Martin dropped the snap. He picked it up and attempted to kick it, but the ball hit off his own player and bounced into the end zone to be recovered for a touchdown.
The Jags mounted a responding drive capped off by a 21 yard touchdown pass by Gio Lopez to Shamar Sandgren However the 2-point conversion failed and the Jags were down 42-32 with 13:31 left in the game.
Coach Windham’s defense just couldn’t muster a stop on the next drive and North Texas scored their final touchdown on a 10-play drive spanning 76 yards and eating 4:57 off the clock.
Once again the Jags offense drove down and scored thanks to a 23 yard touchdown pass from Lopez to Anthony Eager. Another failed 2-point conversion left the Jags trailing 49-38 with 4:39 left in the game.
With an opportunity to get the ball back, Jags defender Amarion Fortenberry sniffed out a perimeter pass to the far sideline and broke on the ball. Damon Ward Jr caught the pass and made a step before Fortenberry knocked the ball loose. The Jags recovered, but the officials reviewed and overturned the play that looked clearly like a catch and fumble. (But this seems to be very much the par for the course for the Jags at home)
North Texas added a 30 yard field goal to close out the scoring.
“I’m just disappointed in how we came out in the second half,” head coach Major Applewhite said. “We had two three-and-outs and it slowed us down. After that, we had a big drive to get a touchdown, but then we dropped a snap and gave them seven points on special teams. We also had some personal fouls that extended some drives. We just lost our bearings to start the third quarter and against a team that continues to put up points like that. When they’re hot, it’s difficult to recover from.”
“We left some plays on the field,” Lopez said after the game. “We had a lot of yards, but there’s more points out there we need to score.”
“We had bad eyes,” Jaden Voisin said. “We just did not execute at all. Tackling was a struggle; we’ve got to work on that. Getting to the quarterback; I mean, if the quarterback’s comfy back there, it’s not going to help anybody.”
“Any time our offense is at 38 points, we should win the game,” Voisin continued. “I’m not saying we (defense) lost the game, but we lost the game.”
Stats
| South Alabama | North Texas | |
| Total Yards | 582 | 550 |
| Passing Yards | 432 | 446 |
| Rushing Yards | 150 | 104 |
| 1st downs | 29 | 28 |
| 3rd downs | 6-of-14 | 8-of-12 |
| 4th downs | 0-of-1 | 2-of-3 |
| Time of Possession | 30:28 | 29:32 |
South Alabama
Gio Lopez finished 26-for-49 for 432 yards and three touchdowns. Lopez also led the rushing attack with 62 yards on 13 attempts with another touchdown.
True freshman Fluff Bothwell carried the ball six times for 30 yards and a touchdown. Kentrel Bullock had 28 yards on five carries. Braylon McReynolds added 27 yards on eight carries.
Jamall Pritchett led the Jags receivers with 197 yards on 10 catches with a touchdown. Devin Voisin added 5 catches for 60 yards. Jeremiah Webb caught three passes for 63 yards. Shamar Sandgren caught 3 for 37 yards with a touchdown.
Blayne Myrick led the defense with 12 stops, three solo. Jordan Scruggs has nine stops, also with three solo and a pass break-up. Wy’Kevious Thomas had 7 stops. Jaden Voisin has 6 total stops, five solo. Courtne McBride was the only Jag defender to get a quarterback hurry.
North Texas
Chandler Morris finished 32-for-41 for 415 yards and three touchdowns through the air and added 17 yards on 5 attempts with two touchdowns on the ground.
Ikaika Ragsdale led the Mean Green with 45 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown. Damashja Harris added 29 yards on six carries.
Damon Ward Jr led all receivers with 12 catches and 230 yards for two touchdowns. DT Sheffield added 7 catches for 74 yards. Jeremiah Aaron had 55 yards on three catches. In all ten receivers combined for the 33 pass receptions.
Jayden Hill led the Mean Green with nine stops, two solo. Roderick Brown collected a pair of sacks. Terrell Dawkins had a pair of quarterback hurries.
Next
South Alabama will travel to Ohio University to take on the Bobcats in Athens, Ohio. Ohio dropped their season opener 38-22 at Syracuse.
The Jags will have some work to do on defense over the upcoming week. While Chandler Morris is a really good quarterback, the Jags just couldn’t get any pressure on him though they were able to limit their ability to run the ball. Pressure on the quarterback and coverage in the secondary needs urgent attention.
The Jags and Bobcats kickoff at 5pm on Saturday, September 7 at Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.
