South Alabama Falls To Troy In Season Finale 29-0
South Alabama dropped their third consecutive ‘Battle For The Belt’ to Troy 29-0. The Jaguars (4-7, 3-5 Sun Belt Conference) was stymied in the first half, particularly in the second quarter, by the Trojans (5-5, 3-3 SBC).
In the end the “battle” felt more like a flailing or a flogging depending on which side you were on.
Despite coming into the game missing a few players and with a few players banged up, the Jags expected to compete in the game. Missing linebacker Christian Bell, tight end Brandon Crum, and wide receiver Kawaan Baker the Jags were missing some key contributors. But they also had player banged up such as Riley Cole, Desmond Trotter, and backup quarterback Tanner McGee.
It was the first time in program history that the Jags have been held scoreless at home, in either Ladd-Peebles Stadium and in the first season at Hancock Whitney stadium. It’s also the first time in the series that a school has won three consecutive games.
It is only the second time in school history that the Jags have been shut out in a game. The only other time was a 52-0 loss at Georgia Southern that effectively ended Joey Jones’ tenure at head coach.
The first points of the game were not scored until there was 6:02 left in the opening quarter. Troy had converted all five 3rd down attempts prior to the failing to convert on 3rd and goal at the Jaguar 1 yard line. The Trojans settled for a 22 yard field goal for the early 3-0 lead.
It was the second quarter where the Trojans did their most damage and pretty much put the game away.
The Jags opened the second quarter with a punt and Troy converted both 3rd down attempts on the drive and finished the touchdown drive with a 15 yard pass from Gunnar Watson to Khalil McClain to grow their lead to 10-0 with 11:06 left in the second quarter.
After connecting with Jalen Wayne for 11 yards on 3rd down, Trotter would get sacked and fumble the ball which Troy would recover at the Jaguar 28 yard line. Three plays later the Trojans would score again on a 15 yard pass from Watson to Kaylon Geiger with 9:26 left in the first half.
South Alabama drove down to the Troy 37 before facing 4th and 5, instead of letting Diego Gujardo try to match this career long head coach Steve Campbell opted to leave the offense on the field down three scores. Trotter threw low and behind his intended receiver and TJ Harris picked him of on a diving catch to take over at the Troy 32.
Continuing to use their very up-tempo offense, the Trojans marched right down the field gashing the defense. On the eighth and final play of the drive, Watson found Tray Eafford for a 21 yard touchdown pass to go up 24-0 with 3:56 left in first half.
After starting at their own 35 yard line from a kickoff out of bounds, the Jags drove down to the Trojans 36 yard line. Facing 4th and 9, Trotter would hold onto the ball too long and get sacked to turn the ball over on downs at the Troy 44 with only 31 seconds left until halftime.
Yet Troy was still not done.
Watson connected on two quick passes for 12 and 11 yards before calling time out at the Jaguar 33 yard line with 15 seconds left in the half. Then Watson connected with Vidal again but for only 6 yards forcing the Trojans to use their final time out with 10 seconds left. Troy head coach Chip Lindsey opted to kick to try for the points with a 44 yard field goal. Coach Campbell called a time out just prior to the snap, but Evan Legassey went ahead and kicked it, missing it wide right. The following snap he would split the uprights to go up 27-0 with 8 seconds left.
When the teams finally headed to the locker room, Troy had put up 24 points in the quarter.
The second half was mostly just running the clock out for Troy. South Alabama moved the ball better but never could hit paydirt.
The Jags Devin Rockette blocked the only scoring attempt in the second half by the Trojans. However Troy also blocked Jack Brooks punt attempt a short time later. The ball went out of the back of the end zone for the only points in the second half, a safety, for the final score of 29-0.
Desmond Trotter went 15 of 28 for 144 yards and an interception. Freshman Eli Gainey lead the final possession and went 6 of 9 for 38 yards. Redshirt freshman Tanner McGee, who finished out last weeks win was unavailable to play due to a shoulder injury.
Caullin Lacy led the Jaguar rushers, I wouldn’t call it an attack, with 38 yards on four carries. Jared Wilson added 33 on eight carries. Carlos Davis was held to a single yard on four carries.
Jalen Tolbert caught 5 passes for 92 yards and because the first Jaguar to break 1,000 receiving yards in a season, ending the year with 1,085 yards. Jalen Wayne caught four passes for 32 yards.
Jaguar linebacker Riley Cole recorded 10 total tackles in his final game as a Jaguar. In a pre-game ceremony to honor seniors on Senior Day, he was surprised with his official invitation to the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl. Cole will get to play at Hancock Whitney Stadium once more on January 30.
Gunnar Watson went 34 of 41 for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Kaylon Geiger caught seven passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. Former Blound standout Reggie Todd caught six for 49 yards. Kimani Vidal caught five passes for 29 yards.
Vidal led all rushers with 76 yards on 22 attempts.
Linebacker Carlton Martial, a fellow Mobile native and McGill-Toolen standout, recorded a game-high 14 tackles.
The Trojans won every statistically category. Total yards: 414 to 239. Passing yards: 297 to 182. Rushing Yards: 117 to 57. First downs: 25 to 17. Third down conversions: 10 of 15 to 5 of 15. Sacks: Troy had 5, Jags recorded one sack. Turnovers: Troy recovered two turnovers, the Jags came away with just one. Time of possession: 31:47 to 28:13.
“It got away from us in the second quarter,” head coach Steve Campbell said. “They got on a little run and we had a hard time stopping them. We didn’t generate what we needed to offensively at all.”
“I’m very disappointed in the way it wound up,” Campbell said about ending the season with a loss. “I thought we had gotten over a little bit of a hump, but we didn’t play very well at all today. We didn’t play the way that we needed to, to finish up. We had a chance to finish strong. But I give Troy a ton of respect, they are a good football team. I thought we practiced well this week and the guys worked hard though a bunch of stuff. I thought we would come out and play better than we did today, and we didn’t.”
“It’s an ongoing problem, but it can be either side of the ball,” Jalen Tolbert said. “We should be able to pick each other up when one side is playing off, and today neither side was able to pick it up. Offense nor defense was doing good, it was just a poor performance by us today so we have to get that fixed.”
With the regular season over and the program shifting into post-season mode, there will be talks about the staff.
Through three seasons the Jags are 9-26 under Campbell.
After a 3-2 start the Jags limped to a 1-5 finish. The programs four wins this season came against teams with a cumulative 8-34 record.
Finally Campbell is now 0-3 against Troy which is one of South Alabama’s most competitive recruiting foe in the area. In those three losses, the Trojans have outscored the Jags 104-30 with the closest margin of defeat coming in 2018 in a 38-17 loss.
Campbell has one more season left in his 4 year contract with a buyout of $350,000. Campbell and Athletics Directory Joel Erdmann will be meeting in the coming days, as he always do with coaches at the conclusion of their seasons.
South Alabama Defeats Louisiana-Monroe 38-14 To Stay Unbeaten In Conference Play
The South Alabama Jaguars won its second consecutive Sun Belt Conference game in impressive fashion by a score of 38-14.
Desmond Trotter threw three touchdowns and ran for another. Kawaan Baker caught all three touchdown passes by Trotter as the Jags improve to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in SBC play.
This is the first time the Jags have ever started Sun Belt play 2-0 in program history and the first time to have a winning record since 2016.
Louisiana-Monroe fall to 0-6 on the season, 0-3 in conference play.
The Jags first offensive possession was a three-and-out and punted after only 1:09 off the clock.
Louisiana-Monroe then drove down to the Jaguar 14 yard line when quarterback Colby Suits threw a ball that went off his receivers fingertips but was caught by Devin Rockette who then returned it 95 yards for the games opening touchdown, putting the Jags up 7-0 with 10:07 left in the opening quarter.
After a Warhawk punt, the Jags drove the ball down to the ULM 31 yard line before the drive stalled. Diego Guajardo split the uprights from 50-yards out to extend the Jaguar lead to 10-0 with 3:01 left in the opening quarter.
But the Jags weren’t done in the first quarter.
After forcing another three-and-out the Jags took possession at their own 15 after the punt. On the second play, Trotter connected with Kawaan Baker down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown to go ahead 17-0 with :51 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Warhawks were driving again near the middle of the second quarter, but when the drive stalled at the Jaguar 31 yard line, they went for the 4th and short but came up short, turning the ball over on downs.
Chance Lovertich entered the game at quarterback and quickly drove the Jaguars down to the Warhawk 18 yard line, but was intercepted with 7:29 left in the half.
ULM then drove down the field and running back Josh Johnson scored on a 2-yard run. However the extra point attempt would sail wide right of the goal post to keep the score at 17-6.
Facing 4th and 5 with :02 left in the half, head coach Steve Campbell kept his offense on the field. Lovertich pulled the ball down and ran to the 24 before being brought down to end the half.
The Warhawks opened the second half by moving the ball down the field quickly. However the Jaguar defense finally stood their ground at their 7 yard line. Coach Viator opted for a 28 yard field goal attempt, but it too went wide right.
South Alabama, led by Desmond Trotter, marched the team down the field and was capped off by Trotter’s 5 yard touchdown run to make the score 24-6 with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
ULM attempted another 4th down conversion, but a bad snap gave the Jags the ball near midfield. Again the Jags drove the ball down the field and connected with Kawaan Baker for a 16 yard touchdown to go up 31-6.
The Warhawks got on the scoreboard one more time when Suits connected with Jordan Carroll for a 4 yard touchdown. They opted for the 2-point conversion after the two missed kicks and converted to make the score 31-14 with 12:26 left in the game.
The South Alabama offense then put together a 16 play, 71 yard drive that took 10:46 off the clock and ended with a one-handed circus catch by Kawaan Baker when he caught the ball one-handed and managing to get a foot down inbounds.
Carlos Davis led the Jaguar rushers with 17 carries for 58 yards.
Trotter went 8-of-12 for 184 yards, three touchdowns and was sacked three times. Lovertich went 3-of-5 for 62 yards, an interception and was sacked once.
Baker caught 6 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns. Tolbert caught 2 passes for 68 yards.
Josh Johnson carried the ball 15 times for 49 yards to lead the Warhawks.
Suits went 22-of-33 for 282 yards, a touchdown and was sacked three times.
Josh Pederson caught 4 passes for 65 yards. Jahquan Bloomfield caught three for 69 yards. Tyler Lamm also caught three for 22 yards. Seven other players caught passes.
Keith Gallmon led the Jags with seven tackles, all solo, with one tackle for loss. Riley Cole, Jamie Sheriff and Shawn Jennings all recorded sacks.
“I’m very pleased with the way the guys plays tonight,” coach Campbell said after the game. “It wasn’t about (coaches) making a call, the guys went out and made plays. That’s what it takes.”
“That was fun to watch,” Campbell said. “We were down a couple of offensive linemen, but some young guys like Trey Simpson, Braden Moody, and Tyler Jernigan stepped up and got the job done. To see those guys put together a 10-minute, 16-play drive; I’m really proud of them.”
Devin Rockette spoke after the game, talking about his interception return early in the game. “For that type of momentum to come out to start the game, I think that was a big part in the game. But I’m real proud of the team. We practiced hard this week at practice… We were in zone coverage and I saw a receiver sit down in front of me and saw the quarterback throw it so I just sat down and waiting for a tipped ball, and it was tipped, and then I didn’t see nothing but green.”
South Alabama gained 415 yards of total offense, 169 yards rushing and 246 yards passing. They converted 8-of-14 3rd down attempts in the game and was a perfect 3-for-3 on 4th down attempts.
ULM gained 380 yards of total offense, 98 yards rushing and 282 yards passing. They only converted 3-of-10 of their 3rd down attempts and only converted 1-of-3 4th down attempts.
South Alabama has a short preparation this week as they travel to Statesboro, Georgia to take on Georgia Southern on Thursday night. The game will air on ESPN with a 6:30pm kickoff.
Preview: Louisiana-Monroe At South Alabama
Kickoff: 6:00 pm, October 24
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL.
Television: ESPN+
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5 FM, 96.1 FM The Rocket, iHeartRadio app
The South Alabama Jaguars (2-2, 1-0 SBC) are flying high, though the mascot is a ground animal.
The Jags were able to rebound from their 42-10 home loss at the hands of UAB to break their two-game losing skid and open up conference play with a win. The 23 days between games was caused by a postponement of their annual rivalry game with Troy due to Covid-19.
Against Texas State (1-5, 1-2 SBC) they only trailed once early in the game and either led or was tied the remainder of the way.
Next up for the Jags are the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (0-5, 0-2 SBC).
The Warhawks enter the game after a 40-7 obliteration at the hands of Liberty on October 10. They worked themselves into a huge hole with special teams play (or lack thereof).
The Warhawks punt team allowed three touchdowns. The first came on a dropped snap in the end zone that Liberty recovered. Then they had a punt blocked for a touchdown along with a punt returned for a touchdown.
That doesn’t include a long punt return that set up another score for Liberty. That’s 27 points allowed because of their punt team (one PAT was missed).
Meanwhile South Alabama finally started to outdistance Texas State midway through the fourth quarter when they broke a 20-all tie with a touchdown pass to Kawaan Baker. Then iced the game with 1:09 left on a 44-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo.
ULM Offense
The Warhawks are primarily a passing team. They average 236 yards per game through the air. Their rushing game is very anemic with only 56.2 yards per game on average. Which is 292.2 yards of total offense per game.
That translates to a scoring average of 13.4 points per game and 15 first downs.
Quarterback Colby Suits may not run the offense as well as Caleb Evans did previously, but he has a strong arm. If Suits can get some success, he is known to go on some really hot streams and really toss the ball around the field.
ULM Defense
The Warhawk defense is allowing 429.4 total yards per game. Their biggest weakness has been their rush defense, they allow 262.2 yards per game on the ground compared to their 167.2 yards per game allowed through the air.
But they may return three defensive lineman who have missed the last three games due to injury. That would help out a defense that is already good.
ULM Special Teams
Well, as we mentioned previously, their punt team has been disastrous. Allowing three touchdowns to Liberty and a long punt return to set up a fourth score.
Georgia Southern also blocked two more punt attempts in the previous game.
True freshman Daniel Sparks has had to step in to handle punting duties for an injured Jared Porter. Warhawk head coach Matt Viator told the News Star that “he’s devoted more practice time to punting than at any time in his career.”
There is a chance that Porter could return for this game, which would further help the Warhawk team.
How the Jags Match Up
The Jaguars average 403 yards of total offense, 276.2 passing and 126.8 yards rushing per game. They also average 24 points and 21.5 first downs per game.
Defensively they allow 415 total yards, 271 yards passing and 144 yard rushing per game and they allow 27.5 points per game.
Texas State sat back and did not allow the Jags to go deep on them with fairly good success. It really wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Jags really started to take control of the game. After their final go-ahead score, the Jags defense came out strong and denied Texas State another chance to tie the game.
Keys to the Game
Rushing
When the Jags can run the ball, the offense works much better. They keep the defense honest and open up passing and play action.
Carlos Davis set a new South Alabama single game record with 32 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown to lead the Jaguars rushing attack. That was his second-consecutive 100 yard rushing game too.
Look for Davis to get plenty of work again against the Warhawks while mixing in the other backs as well.
Offensive Line
The offensive line played better against Texas State, but now can they keep doing that consistently?
Hadon Merchant cost his team a touchdown early in the game against Texas State with a penalty. Though they still came away with a field goal, it’s not what you want to see out of a veteran lineman returning after missing several games due to injury.
Pass Defense
The Warhawks are a passing team. Be it by necessity or lack of talent to get their rushing game going, they are going to throw the ball.
The Jaguar secondary was hit hard by UAB with deep throws. If the Warhawks manage to exploit the secondary, it could cause problems for the Jags in the game.
Prediction
Before the beat-down in Lynchburg, the Warhawks played perennial Sun Belt Power Georgia Southern tough in Louisiana.
Prior to that they had to deal with players missing game time due to Covid. So the ULM team that comes into Hancock Whitney Stadium may not be the same team that many have seen earlier in the season.
With a week to regroup and prepare, they could be ready to play the Jags tough.
With a 14.5 point spread, I think the Jags will win the game outright but I don’t think they will cover. I think ULM may be able to eek out and cover the spread themselves.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Downs Texas State For First Conference Win, 30-20
The third time really IS the charm.
After 23 days between games, the Jags (2-2, 1-0 Sun Belt Conference) finally returned to the gridiron and pulled out a 30-20 win over Texas State (1-5, 1-2 SBC) for their first-ever win at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Carlos Davis had a career day with 32 rushes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Desmond Trotter returned from his illness and shoulder injury by going 18-of-22 for 187 yards, a touchdown and two sacks to help lead the Jaguars over the Bobcats on homecoming.
Trotter broke the tie midway through the fourth quarter when he found Kawaan Baker on an eight yard touchdown pass. Then led the offense on a time consuming drive late in the game to ice it with a 44-yard Diego Guajardo field goal.
Riley Cole led all players with 15 tackles, 10 of them solo, and 1.5 tackles for loss. Jeremiah Littles got the only sack by a Jaguar.
The Jaguars converted 10-of-18 3rd down attempts while holding the Bobcats to 4-of-13 on 3rd down.
After winning the toss and electing to receive, the Bobcats marched down the field to the USA 35 yard line. However the Jaguar defense forced an incomplete pass on their 4th down attempt to take over the ball on downs.
The Jags then proceeded to march down the field with Carlos Davis running down to the 1 yard line. However Hadon Merchant was flagged for a personal foul which set the Jags back 15 yards to the 16 yard line. USA had to settle for a 33 yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Texas State then responded with touchdown drive of their own. The Bobcat kicker Seth Keller then hooked the PAT left however Davyn Flenord was flagged for being offsides. The retry was good to put the Bobcats ahead 7-3 with 4:07 left in the first quarter.
It would turn out to be their only lead in the game.
With the scored tied at 10-10, South Alabama started their final drive of the opening half with 4:48 left. Behind Chance Lovertich at quarterback, the Jags drove down the field aided by some Texas State penalties. The Jags had two scores taken off the scoreboard before the third attempt finally stuck on a 1 yard touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert with :12 left on the clock to take a 17-10 lead into the halftime locker room.
The Jaguar offense came out in the second half completely flat with three consecutive three-and-outs.
The Jags would finally get the offense back in gear when the return of Trotter to the field and add a field goal to break the 17-17 tie early in fourth quarter.
USA would take the lead for good with 7:10 left behind the pounding of Carlos Davis and capped off by an 8 yard touchdown pass from Trotter to Kawaan Baker. Then Diego Guajardo would ice the game with 1:09 left in the game with a 44 yard field goal.
Chance Lovertich went 7-of-12 for 66 yards and a touchdown in his short stint at quarterback.
Jalen Tolbert led all receivers with 9 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Baker caught 5 passes for 43 yards and the one touchdown.
Riley Cole had a career day with 15 total tackles, 10 of the solo with 1.5 tackles for loss. The next closest was Nick Mobley with 7 total tackles. Jeremiah Littles was the only Jag to record a sack.
Brady McBride went 28-of-40 for 260 yards and a touchdown for the Bobcats.
Jackson Lanam caught 5 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. Marcell Barbee also caught 5 passes for another 45 yards. Eight other Bobcats caught passes in the game.
Jahmyl Jeter led the bobcat rushing attack with 5 carries and 31 yards. Brock Struges carried it 8 times for 30 yards and the only rushing touchdown.
The Jaguar offensive line allowed two sacks nine tackles for loss in the game.
USA put up 385 total yards of offense, 132 on the ground and 253 through the air. Texas State gained 348 total yards, only 88 on the ground and 260 through the air.
“It’s huge for a lot of different reasons,” Campbell said about the win after the game. “It’s the first win in Hancock Whitney, but also we needed to get a win and get back going again. I thought we started the season off hot, but we definitely cooled off for a little while. … The biggest deal for us, in our half of the conference, we’re not looking up at anybody. We can only do what we can do. We’ve played one (conference game) and we won it. Now we just have to take care of business.”
“Getting this win was huge,” Trotter said. “Coming off of that layoff, everyone was fresh. This was a huge win going into conference (play), now we’re just looking toward next week.”
South Alabama will host Louisiana-Monroe (0-5) on Saturday, October 24 for a 6pm kickoff.
South Alabama Without Answers In 42-10 Loss To UAB
The South Alabama Jaguars (1-2) just did not have an answer for the UAB Blazers (2-1) as they fall in their second game in Hancock Whitney Stadium 42-10.
The redshirt freshman Bryson Lucero, in his first start as a Blazer, opened the game with a 56-yard bomb to Austin Watkins Jr on the first offensive play from scrimmage and set the tone for how the next four quarters of football was going to be played. Three Spencer Brown rushes later and UAB Blazer would put the first points on the scoreboard.
The next Blazer possession would showcase Brown’s running ability with seven total runs and the last five for his second touchdown of the game to go up 14-0 with 5:26 left in the opening quarter.
South Alabama opened the 2nd quarter facing a 3rd and 7 at their own 33 but Chance Lovertich would finally get the Jaguar offense in gear with a 29 yard completion to Jalen Wayne followed two plays later with a 38 yard completion to Jalen Tolbert for a touchdown. On the play, Antonio Moultrie would be flagged for a hit to the head and disqualified from the game. With the point-after, the Jags halved the Blazer lead to 14-7.
With the 15-yard penalty assessed on the kickoff, Diego Guajardo would tee up the ball on the 50 yard line. A sneaky onsides kick would be recovered by Devin Voisin and the Jags were back in business again on the UAB 43 yard line.
Lovertich connected with Kawaan Baker for 14 yards and a first down, but a roughing the passer penalty added an addition 14 yards to the 13 yard line. However the Blazer rush defense shut down the Jags with back-to-back runs for no gain. Guajardo would put through a 31 yard field goal to cut the Blazer lead to 14-10.
From there, it was all Blazers.
UAB responded on their next possession with Lucero finding Watkins Jr for another 39 yards on 3rd and 10 to extend the drive. Spencer Brown capped off the drive with a 20 yard touchdown run.
The Blazers would add another touchdown with 3:20 left in the half and would take a 28-10 advantage to the locker room at halftime. After Guajardo missed a field goal wide right, Lucero would toss up another deep pass this time to Myron Mitchell for 52 yards then he would connect with Trea Shropshire for the score.
UAB wouldn’t score again until about midway through the fourth quarter.
On the Blazers final scoring drive, true freshman Dewayne McBride gashed the Jaguar defense for 53 yards on 5 carries to carry UAB into the end zone.
Chance Lovertich went 14-of-29 for 168 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his first start.
Kawaan Baker led the Jags with five catches for 35 yards. Jalen Tolbert caught three passes for 59 yards and a score.
Carlos Davis led the rushing attack for the Jags with 105 yards on 17 carries.
Nick Mobley led the defense with 9 total tackles, 4 solo. Riley Cole was the only Jag to record a sack, with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Bryson Lucero went 18-of-28 for 319 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate start as a redshirt freshman.
Watkins Jr led the way with seven catches for 183 yards and a touchdown. Myron Mitchell added three catches for 77 yards. Trea Shropsire caught two passes for 8 yards and the other touchdown.
Spencer Brown carried the ball 20 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns, and set the new career touchdown record for a running back in the process.
McBride carried the ball 8 times for 64 yards and a touchdown.
In all, the Jaguar offense was outgained 509 to 315 yards and out-rushed 319 to 168.
The Jaguars cleaned up their act some with only two penalties for 30 yards in the game. The Blazers were flagged 11 times for 122 yards and had two players ejected in the game.
Head coach Bill Clark threw some shade at coach Campbell and the Jags leading up to the game. “Their coach said that they are going to be ready for us,” Clark said. “I heard him say that last year.”
However Clark and his Blazers backed up their talk with play on the field, even if the penalties and ejections marred it somewhat.
South Alabama was on the losing end of the time-of-possession 25:00 to 35:00. In addition the Jags only convert 3-of-12 on 3rd down. While the Blazers converted 10-of-16 3rd down attempts, it sure seemed like much more than that.
“It’s very disappointing,” Campbell said after the game. “I thought we would play better than that. We had a hard time getting off the field early defensively, and offensively had trouble moving the ball there for a while. In the second half, we couldn’t generate any offense. It’s just disappointing.”
“We didn’t coach well, we didn’t play well,” Campbell said. “We played better than that the first two weeks, but we didn’t play well tonight.”
“This is indicative of how we practices the last two weeks,” UAB head coach Bill Clark said. “Our guys were on a mission to come back and play who we are. Proud of our guys, that was a team effort.”
South Alabama has a lot to work on over the next week to prepare for in-state rival Troy to open Sun Belt Conference play. Troy will travel to #18 BYU on Saturday for a 9:15pm CDT kickoff before returning home to begin their preparation for the Jags.
The Jags and the Trojans will kick off at 7:00 pm CDT on Saturday, November 3 at Hancock Whitney Stadium and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
South Alabama Breaks Road Streak With 32-21 Upset Over Southern Miss
September 3rd is a good date in South Alabama football history.
10 years ago to the day was the announcement of the home-and-home series against Southern Miss. Four years ago was the biggest win in program history against Mississippi State.
Now they can add the upset of Southern Miss to that list.
South Alabama entered the game as a two-score underdog with a nation-leading 15-game road losing streak. They had not won a season-opening game since that defeat of Mississippi State in 2016.
Both of those streaks ended in Hattiesburg.
The Jags struck early, on the third offensive play to be exact. Desmond Trotter connected with Jalen Tolbert on the right sideline. Tolbert made two guys miss and he took it 73 yards for the score. However a bad snap on the point after attempt led to an incomplete pass and left the Jags with a six point advantage.
Southern Miss would score 10 unanswered points in the second quarter, with a field goal in the waning seconds of the opening half to make it a 13-10 game at the half.
Near the end of the half the officiating crew made a good call when Frank Gore Jr. had his momentum stopped but seemingly lateraled the ball back to Abraham who took it into the end zone. However the play was ruled dead much to the dismay of the Golden Eagles.
Part of the confusion was due to the new “electronic” whistles being used this season. They are not nearly as loud as conventional whistles.
South Alabama picked right back up in the second half by forcing a three-and-out to start then navigating a 10-play 56-yard scoring drive. Trotter found Tolbert on a key 3rd & 8 play for a 31 yard touchdown making it 20-10.
Trotter and the Jags may have been huge benefit of a huge call on the play before the touchdown pass though. Trotter was bottled up by the defense and he was trying to throw it but it appeared to go backwards. USM was quick to cover it. The call was upheld and is now history.
A 52 yard touchdown pass and run from Trotter to Kawaan Baker all but put the game away early in the fourth quarter. Yet another missed kick happened as the left footed Diego Guajardo pushed it wide left a second time.
The Jags held a 29-13 lead at the time.
Southern Miss wouldn’t go quietly though. They scored a touchdown with 5:42 left in the game then followed it up with a 2-point conversion cutting the lead to one score.
The Southern Miss defense just could not stop the Jags offense. Meanwhile the Jaguar defense would consistently get enough pressure on Abraham to keep him from getting comfortable in the pocket.
Carlos Davis reeled off a big 40 yard run which led to a field goal to ice the game but not without a little worry at the end.
The Golden Eagles got all the way down to the Jaguar 1 yard line at one point, but the defense held strong and refused to let them score again.
Desmond Trotter went 16 of 27 for 299 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Carlos Davis led the Jaguar rushing attack with 85 yards on 15 carries. Trotter added 41 on nine carries.
Jalen Tolbert picked up where he left off against Arkansas State to end the 2019 season. Tolbert hauled in 6 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Wayne also caught 6 for 101 yards. Kawaan Baker caught 4 for 82 yards, with the 52 yard touchdown.
Nick Mobley led the Jaguar defense with 15 total tackles. Riley Cole and Keith Gallmon added 12 each.
Jack Abraham went 22 of 32 for 314 yards and two touchdowns.
Frank Gore Jr. rushed for 32 yards on 12 carries. to lead the USM rush attack.
Tim Jones caught 6 passes for 139 yards.
South Alabama put up 526 yards of offense with 363 of them through the air and 163 on the ground. Meanwhile USM gained 409 yards total, 314 through the air and only 95 on the ground.
This was a very good win for South Alabama. A much needed win too.
The Jags lost the turnover battle 2-0 and had three special teams mishaps. Both will need to be cleaned up.
Notably they were only penalized four times for 38 yards and had zero punts, which is a first in program history.
South Alabama will host Tulane on Saturday, September 12 in the debut of Hancock Whitney Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm with tv coverage on ESPN2.
South Alabama Closes Out Regular Season And Ladd-Peebles Stadium Against Arkansas State
South Alabama will close out one era in Jaguar football on Friday when the scoreboard clock finally hits :00.
The Jags program began there in 2009 with their historic win over Hargrave Military Academy. They won their first 19 games played in the stadium. They didn’t lose their first home game until the final game of the 2011 season to Cal Poly.
With Hancock Whitney Stadium taking shape on campus and on target to be ready for the Jags first home game of the 2020 season, a new era of South Alabama football will begin. As much negativity that has been directed at Ladd-Peebles stadium since 2009, without the stadium it’s unknown if the football program would have started when it did. The current price tag on “The ‘cock” is $75 million and it wasn’t until 2019 for the school to put together the plan to fund it. If they had to build a stadium to start football in, would we have FBS football today? Would we be the fastest program to go from inception to playing in a bowl game in modern football history?
With the rich Jaguar history in the stadium like the first win, the first win against an FBS team (Florida International), clinching their first bowl berth (Texas State), and defeating their first ranked opponent (San Diego State) it will be a little bittersweet bidding goodbye to Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
As strong as the Jags started when playing in the stadium, the team has struggled over the last couple of season. Amassing a 4-19 record so far over the last two seasons including a program-record nine-game losing streak this season.
The team would like to do nothing more than to close out the Ladd-Peebles era the way the team started it: with a win.
Their opportunity will come against a perineal power in the Sun Belt Conference. Arkansas State has reached bowl-eligible status for their ninth consecutive season despite a few years of one-and-done coaches. Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn, and Bryan Harsin all spent one season with the Red Wolves and getting to a bowl game before departing for another job. Blake Anderson is in his 6th season as the Red Wolves head coach and earning a bowl bid in each of his previous 5 seasons but only winning one of them so far (2016 against UCF).
But this season is much different for Anderson.
If you’re a religious viewer of ESPN College Gameday, you probably watched the segment about Anderson, his team, and the loss of his wife to cancer. If you didn’t see it, I highly recommend watching it.
So to say the Red Wolves are also motivated would be an understatement.
The Red Wolves enter the game with a 7-4 overall record (5-2 in conference play). They have played some wild games too. A 50-43 shootout against Troy and 48-41 one against ULM, a nail-biting 28-27 win over Coastal Carolina, and holding on to a 38-33 win over Georgia Southern. But they’ve had a 55-0 spanking at national power Georgia, and a 52-38 loss to Georgia State.
But in each of their games they have played fearlessly and confidently. They rank second in the conference in passing offense with over 300 yards per game. Omar Bayless leads the country in receiving yards and touchdowns (1,375 and 15) with 85 catches. They average 34 points per game and over 430 yards of total offense per game.
But their defense ranks 9th (out of 10) in Total Defense by allowing 480 yards per game. And staying consistent, they are also 9th in both passing and rushing defense. However, their red zone defense is 2nd in the conference (behind Louisiana-Lafayette) with 78%.
The Jags are dead last in scoring offense (edging out Texas State) with a mere 17 points per game average. They are also last in total offense with 315.3 yards per game average and last place in 3rd down conversions at 30.5%. Finally they are -5 in turnover margin, placing them 9th among Sun Belt teams.
While you can taut their 4th place scoring defense, they still allow 30.7 points per game. Their defensive stats are roughly middle of the pack across the board.
The Jags had played spirited football over the previous two weeks before the loss at Georgia State on Saturday. A missed field goal at Texas State then the inability to get defensive stops against Louisiana-Lafayette late in the game both ended in losses but with scores of 28 and 27 points respectively. But seemingly regressed against Georgia State, as they only managed 3 points prior to two garbage time touchdowns against defensive reserves.
South Alabama will look to get back on track with behind Desmond Trotter at quarterback running the RPO scheme with Tra Minter and Carlos Davis powering the running game.
The Jaguar defense will have to clamp down on Bayless and the rest of the Red Wolves passing game, which is their bread and butter. With a secondary that is expected to be without Jalen Thompson and has allowed a number of 3rd and long conversions all season long, that will be a tall order.
Arkansas State enters the game as an 11 point favorite. Last week I thought the Jags would win outright against Georgia State. I was quite positive. This week I feel very pessimistic. I feel Arkansas State is going to win and cover to close out South Alabama’s history at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Prove me wrong Jags!
The Jags (1-10, 0-7 SBC) and the Red Wolves are scheduled to kick off at 4pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Friday, November 29th. Pregame radio coverage starts at 2pm on 99.5 FM The Jag and 96.1 FM both locally in Mobile as well as world wide on iHeartMedia app. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
South Alabama Falls To Georgia State 28-15, 9th Straight Loss Of Season
The South Alabama football extended it’s school-record losing streak to nine consecutive games and 15 consecutive road games, 28-15 at Georgia State.
After spirited games over the last two weeks, the game started in South Alabama’s favor with a three-and-out on the defense’s opening drive and the offense drove down for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
But that was all of the highlights for the Jags until the game was well in the bag for Georgia State.
The Panthers would score 28 consecutive points with their final score coming with 14:13 left in the game.
Georgia State quarterback Dan Ellington played on a torn ACL in his right knee and still went 21 of 27 for 208 yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers improved to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Jags did score two touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game, basically trash time against the reserves. Desmond Trotter connected with Jalen Wayne for a 20 yard touchdown with 5:56 left in the game then he found Jalen Tolbert on a 52 yard score with :49 left in the game.
Again the Jags had problems in special teams play when Diego Guajardo started his approach early on a PAT, then a poor snap and a poor kick that was ruled a blocked kick because it technically hit a Panther.
Defensively the Jags allowed several third-and-longs to be converted. Offensively they gave the ball away with a fumble and an interception in addition to two failed 4th down attempts.
“I told them I was disappointed,” head coach Steve Campbell said in the post game press conference when asked what he told the team in the locker toom after the game. “I thought that we took a step backwards today. The last two weeks, I’ve felt we had chances to win the game against Louisiana and Texas State, and I thought if we made improvements like we had the last two games, that we would win the game. We didn’t do that though.”
Tra Minter overtook Xavier Johnson at the programs all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 4,210 with one game left in his career. He rushed 18 times for 70 yards, caught two passes for 2 yards, and had one kickoff return for 55 yards.
After going over 100 yard rushing last week, Carlos Davis had 5 carries and 10 yards.
Desmond Trotter went 12 of 25 throwing for 218 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He also ran the ball 14 times for 37 yards and was sacked twice.
Kawaan Baker led the Jags with 3 catches for 56 yards. Tight end Brandon Crum also caught 3 passes for 51 yards. Jalen Tolbert caught two passes for 74 yards including a touchdown.
Tra Barnett rushed 23 times for 128 yards and a touchdown for Georgia State. Roger Carter caught 7 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. McCoy also caught 7 passes for 53 yards. Devin Gentry caught 4 passes for 27 yards and a touchdown.
The Jags will play Arkansas State on Friday, November 29 in what is set to be the final home game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. They kickoff at 4pm.
South Alabama Drops Heartbreaker At Texas State 30-28
South Alabama played a spirited game behind Desmond Trotter’s first career start against Texas State, but the potential game-winning field goal attempt would slip just outside the left upright by the slimmest of margins sending the Jaguars home with their seventh consecutive loss of the season.
The Jags opened the game with a mental mistake when Tra Minter ran up to field the kickoff near the sideline at the 5 yard line, but his momentum took him out of bounds. After only managing three yards, the Jags punted giving Texas State great field position at the midfield stripe.
The Jaguar defense bent but did not break as the Bobcats scored first with a field goal.
Later in the first quarter, after the Jaguar defense held on a three-and-out, the Jaguar offense started at their own 23 yard line and behind Carlos Davis and Tra Minter the Jags drove 77 yards in nine plays for a touchdown making it 7-3.
Texas State would get a field goal early in the second quarter to shrink the Jags lead to 7-6. Later in the quarter, the Bobcats would put together a 92 yard, 8 play drive to take a 13-7 lead aided by a face mask penalty on 3rd & 6 deep in Bobcat territory. Three plays later Tyler Vitt connected with Javen Banks for a 40 yard touchdown.
The Jags answered right back with a drive of their own that started with an 8 yard run by Carlos Davis and highlighted by an amazing one-handed catch down the right sideline by Tre’Veon Hamilton for 33 yards. Trotter would find Davyn Flenord on a seam route for a 22 yard touchdown pass to take a 14-13 lead that would hold up going into the locker room at halftime.
Texas State would take the opening possession of the second half to the end zone on a 75 yard, 6 play drive. The scoring play was on a play action pass when Vitt connected with Graham for a 38 yard touchdown making the score 20-14 with only 2:36 off the clock.
USA would answer back on the ensuing possession. Trotter would open the drive with a 12 yard slant pass to Jalen Tolbert to get the offense in gear. Trotter would find Jalen Wayne for an 8 yard touchdown. After a roughing the kicker and an offsides penalty, Frankie Onate would finally put the kick through the uprights and make the score 21-20.
Not to be outdone, the Bobcats would take their next possession of the ball and drive back down for a touchdown, capped off by an 17 yard slant pass to Graham making it 27-21 for the Bobcats.
After a three and out, Texas State opened their drive with a 40 yard pass from Vitt to Hutch White, but the Jaguar defense stiffened and forced a 44 yard field goal attempt that hit the right upright no good.
The Jags took over possession at their own 28 and pieced togehter a 73 yard, 12 play drive using 5:40 off the clock and culminating in a 6 yard touchdown run by Tra Minter. The Jags then held a 28-27 lead with 9:44 left in the game.
Texas State take the kickoff from the 5 yard line and return it 60 yards to the Jaguar 35 yard line. After only managing 21 yards on 7 plays, they settle for a 41 yard field goal to take a 30-27 lead over the Jags.
USA got the ball back and quickly was facing 4th & 1, but the run by Tra Minter went nowhere and gave the ball back to Texas State at the USA 33.
The Jags were looking to hold them to a field goal at worst to keep it a one score game. Facing 4th & 12 after a four yard loss on third down, Head coach Jake Spivital decided to punt the ball and try to make the Jags drive a long field to get into a game-winning field goal position.
However the snap to the punter was bobbled and the Jags recovered at the Bobcat 30 yard line setting up the Jags in excellent position to run the clock down and win the game with a field goal.
But as Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast…” the Jags set up for a 28 yard field goal and Frankie Onate’s kick just stayed left of the upright and missed.
Redshirt freshman Desmond Trotter finished 13 of 17 for 164 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start. Kawaan Baker led the receiving corps with four catches for 34 yards.
Tra Minter led the team rushing with 21 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. Carlos Davis added 63 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Trotter carried the ball 12 times for 34 yards as well.
Tyler Vitter wen 23 for 33 for 373 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Vitt led the Bobcats rushing with 42 yards on 11 carries. Anthony Taylor carried 11 times for 27 yards.
Hutch White led all receivers with 10 catches for 165 yards. Javen Banks had 4 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Hill also had four catches for 61 yards. Graham had two catches for 55 yards and both were touchdowns.
South Alabama will host Louisiana-Lafayette at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 4pm.