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: West Division Showdown Against ULM
Kickoff: Saturday, October 26, 4pm
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: TBA
Homecoming is a special tradition that dates back to the early 20th century. A number of schools claim they started the tradition as early at 1909, but a few sources have given the honor to the University of Missouri in 1911 when they faced Kansas and encouraged alumni to attend.
What does this have to do with South Alabama? Nothing really, other than this is homecoming week for the Jags.
Schools have started scheduling “easy” games for homecoming if they have the ability. With Sun Belt schools, they are…encouraged… to schedule all of their non-conference games in the first four weeks of the season. With schools who adhere to that scheduling “suggestion” that leaves scheduling your homecoming game against a conference foe.
That’s where we are now.
South Alabama (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) will host their annual homecoming game this Saturday with the ULM Warhawks (5-1, 3-0 SBC).
Yes, you read that right! A Saturday game at Hancock Whitney Stadium! The Jags last played a Saturday home game in the season opener on August 31st.
Scheduling a conference opponent as your homecoming foe can be bulletin board material. Which ULM head coach Bryant Vincent has already alluded to this in his weekly press conference. They also enter the game after a full bye week, they last played on October 12th.
The Warhawks are out to a 5-1 start on the season for the first time ever as a FBS team and the first since 1987 when they played in Division I-AA (now known as FCS). Their 3-0 start in conference play is their first since 2017.
ULM has made a very quick turnaround since the hiring of Vincent. They were picked to finish last in the conference in the SBC Preseason poll but are currently tied atop the SBC West Division standings with Louisiana-Lafayette. Two of their three conference wins have been against teams that aren’t very good. Troy, which we previewed last week, has been plagued by injuries, loss of talent, and a coaching change. Last time out they defeated a downtrodden and dejected Southern Miss team who just fired their head coach after their latest loss. But in between those two games they defeated a James Madison team that has also seen a coaching change after last season’s magical run.
USA enters the game after a long rest from their Tuesday night win over Troy. The 25-9 victory broke a six-game losing streak to the in-state rival and hopefully propels them toward a strong finish down the stretch. They need at least three wins in their final five games to get bowl eligible for the third consecutive season, which would be another milestone for the rather young program.
South Alabama has an opportunity to knock off one of the top teams in the conference and the western division. While the Jags don’t completely control their destiny after the loss to Arkansas State, they have the remainder of the western division on their schedule to round out the season. If they win out, they still need a little help with Arkansas State.
But for that scenario to play out, they need to win on Saturday.
Louisiana-Monroe
Bryant Vincent was named the head coach in December of 2023 after ULM had only won 10 games in the previous three seasons under Tery Bowden.
Vincent has the Warhawks sitting at 5-1 and just one game away from bowl eligibility, which would be the first time since the 2018 season the Warhawks has won six games in a season.
Vincent was the offensive coordinator at the University of New Mexico for the 2023 season. He helped lead the Lobos to a top-20 ranking in red zone offense and rushing offense.
Prior to New Mexico, he was at UAB from 2018 to 2022 where he served as the offensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2022 when Bill Clark retired due to health reasons. He led the Blazers to a 7-6 record and a win the 2022 Bahamas Bowl. UAB’s offense averaged 30.1 points per game and 438.2 yards per game, which was in the top 35 of the nation. Also, during his tenure at UAB the Blazers set a FBS-program record for wins in a season (11-3), as they went 48-27 overall in his six seasons there. In the 2018 season alone the offense set new records for total points (418), total touchdowns (53), rushing touchdowns (32), total yards (5,680), and rushing yards (2,818).
Prior to UAB, Vincent was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Alabama. He helped lead the Jags to the 2016 Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl and record setting quarterback Dallas Davis, who at the time, threw for a school record 2,706 yards.
Before USA for the second time, he was hired at UAB as the offensive coordinator for a season in 2014 before the program was shut down. Before that he was at USA as tight ends coach in 2011 and then quarterbacks in 2012.
He was an accomplished high school football coach before jumping ranks to the college game. He was the 5A coach of the year at Greenville in 2006 and then went 39-13 at Spanish Fort High School from 2007-2010 winning a state title in his final season with the Toros.
Offense
In the press release announcing the finalization of Vincent’s staff it had Jamaal Fobbs as offensive coordinator, whoever it’s not on his official title. Before ULM he was assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Mile College. Before that he spent six seasons as the running backs coach for Tulane.
His experience building Tulane’s rushing attack into the top rush game in the AAC in 2020 with an average of 217.1 yards per game and 32 touchdowns (2nd nationally).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 22.8 |
| Total Offense | 279.8 |
| Passing Offense | 123.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 156.3 |
| Time of Possession | 31:23 |
| Penalty Yards | 56.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 29 of 80 (36.3%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 8 (75%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 14 of 14 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 8 of 14 |
| Penalties – Yards | 47 – 339 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 3 – 1 |
Aidan Armenta is the Warhawks leading passer going 37 of 62 (59.7%) for 481 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. General Booty is 28 of 53 (52.8%) for 241 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Jake Godfrey is the teams leading receiver by yardage with 191 on 13 catches with a touchdown. Davon Wells is the teams leading pass catcher with 16 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown. Three other receivers each have caught one touchdown each.
Ahmad Hardy leads the team rushing with 500 yards on 99 carries with 6 touchdowns. James Jones has 172 yards on 43 carries with a touchdown.
Defense
Earnest Hill came to ULM from UAB after two seasons at UAB as the Stars/Nickels coach. Before UAB he was the running backs coach at South Alabama during the 2021 season.
Prior to USA he was head coach at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School where he went 40-8 overall with a state championship game appearance in his first season at the helm.
Through the first half of the season the defense has played very strong. If you take out the 51-3 loss to #1 Texas, the Warhawks are allowing an average of 13.8 points per game and will be an interesting matchup against the South Alabama offense.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 20 |
| Total Offense | 341.3 |
| Passing Offense | 189.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 151.5 |
| Time of Possession | 28:37 |
| Penalty Yards | 66.2 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 30 of 79 (38%) |
| 4th Downs | 4 of 15 (26.7%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 16 of 17 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 10 of 17 |
| Penalties – Yards | 56 – 397 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 4 |
Carl Glass Jr leads the team in stops with 48, 20 solo, with a half sack, two quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble. Wydett Williams Jr leads the team in interceptions with 3 but is also second on the team with 47 total stops, 20 solo, with a sack, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Billy Pullen leads the team with 4 sacks. Tristan Shorter is right behind him with 3 sacks.
Kevontay Wells leads the Warhawks with 7.5 tackles for loss with Pullen in line behind him with 5.5 TFLs.
Special Teams
Makenzie Ryan is averaging 39.6 yards per punt on his 31 kicks, with 15 downed inside the 20, nine fair catches, 3 touchbacks and 2 kicks of 50+ with his longest going 59 yards.
Max Larson is 8-of-10 on field goals with both of his misses coming from 40+ yards via blocks. His season long is 47 yards. He is also 14-of-15 on extra point attempts.
Davon Wells is averaging 7.4 yards per punt return across his 5 returns.
South Alabama
Thankfully the Jags had a long rest after the last game to prepare for this week. It also allowed them extra time to let the emotional high to wear off from the rivalry game win over Troy. Also to allow some extra time for players to heal from a very physical game.
While the defense played very good against Troy, the offense struggled against what is still a very strong defensive unit for the Trojans. The offensive line and the Troy defensive front were battling hard every down and made the Jags earn every yard they gained.
Defensively the Jags held the Trojans under 100 yards of total offense until late in the third quarter.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 34.9 |
| Total Offense | 445 |
| Passing Offense | 248.6 |
| Rushing Offense | 196.4 |
| Time of Possession | 31:56 |
| Penalty Yards | 70.6 |
Gio Lopez is 110-for-170 (64.7%) for 1,464 yards, 13 touchdowns and 1 interception in the six games he’s played this season.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the team with 39 catches for 573 yards and 6 touchdowns. Jeremiah Webb is coming up the list and is second on the team in receiving yards with 253 on 15 catches with 2 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 224 yards on 19 catches.
Fluff Bothwell leads the team with 461 yards on 68 carries with 6 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 364 yards on 67 carries with three touchdowns. Gio is third on the team with 325 yards on 52 carries with three touchdowns.
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 36 of 89 (40.5%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 10 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 27 of 32 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 19 of 32 |
| Penalties – Yards | 57 – 494 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 2 |
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 24.6 |
| Total Offense | 403.7 |
| Passing Offense | 285.4 |
| Rushing Offense | 118.3 |
| Time of Possession | 28:04 |
| Penalty Yards | 52.6 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 36 of 92 (39.1%) |
| 4th Downs | 2 of 7 (28.6%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 21 of 26 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 12 of 26 |
| Penalties – Yards | 40 – 368 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 7 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick leads the defense with 51 total tops, 20 solo, with 4 TFLs, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next with 36 total stops, 17 solo, with 2.5 TFLs, an interception and a pass breakup.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with three interceptions, and is tied for the career record at South Alabama. Lardarius Webb Jr has two interceptions. Scruggs and three other players have one interception each.
Courtney McBride Jr leads the team with 3 sacks. Tyler Thomas has two sacks.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen is averaging 40.5 yards per kick across his 24 punts with 11 downed inside the 20, 10 fair caught and 1 kick of 50 yards.
Laith Marjan is 10-of-11 on the season with the only miss coming from a 52-yard attempt. His longest made attempt was from 49 yards. He is also 21-of-22 on extra point attempts.
Keys to the Game
Offensive Identity
The Jags offense needs to find its identity again. After putting up 135 points in the two games against Northwestern State and Appalachian State, the Jags are averaging only 17 points per game over their last three. Or if you want to toss aside the LSU game, the Jags are averaging 20.5 points per game over their last two outings against Sun Belt opponents.
Either way you stack it, their offense isn’t running with the same effectiveness as it did over the first few games of the season. Some of it can be blamed on injuries. Reed Buys, arguably the best offensive lineman, has missed some playing time. Gio Lopez suffered a turf toe injury in the season opener and sat out the second game. But that injury will continue to plague him the rest of the season until he can rest it for an extended amount of time.
The Warhawks defense has been a scrappy, stingy bunch and they will do whatever they can to disrupt the Jags offense and keep them off the scoreboard. So, they need to find what their identity going forward is going to be and quick.
Penalties
The Jags had 100 yards assessed in penalty yardage against the Trojans. There were only nine flags on them too. That’s a lot of yardage to give back. That’s over half of the Trojans offensive yardage total for the game in just penalties for the Jags.
The worst were the offensive procedure penalties that kept putting the Jags behind the down and distance schedule.
Cleaning up these issues with recurring procedure penalties need to be a high priority.
Stopping the Run
This is a strength of the Jags defense, but ULM’s offense is predicated on the run game. If they have problems stopping the run, it could be a long night for South Alabama.
But the linebacker corps, which was already thin, lost one of their most experienced players for the season last week. Gavin Forsha suffered a knee injury against Troy and sounds like he is out for the season.
How will this affect the defense? We’ll soon see.
Prediction
The Jags entered at a 7.5-point favorite and it’s been shown that my predictions against the spread with USA has not been the best. But let’s do this again.
ULM seems to be playing well but if you look closer at their schedule so far, you really don’t get a sense of the team. The Texas game went about as expected honestly. The overall record of their opponents so far is 17-24 with three opponents with only one win on their resumes and all three of them being wins over FCS programs.
The win over UAB was more satisfactory in a revenge storyline, but you cannot count it as a quality win when their record is 1-6 with their only win over FCS Alcorn State.
The quality win of the season so far is James Madison (5-2), who’s only other loss is Georgia Southern.
Similar to the last two wins, the Jags need to jump on the Warhawks early and force ULM to play from behind. Their offense really doesn’t lend itself to play from multi-score deficit. Their identity on offense is to run the ball and chew the clock. Coaches on both sides have been saying that possessions will be at a premium in the game.
So, a bonus Key to the Game will be turnovers. Both teams are good at forcing turnovers. The Jags are +9 for the season and ULM is +4. If possessions are at a premium as the coaches alluded to, a turnover that leads to points would be a huge advantage to the benefiting team.
I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they cover the 7.5.
Go Jags!
Jags Win The Battle For The Belt, 25-9
Major Applewhite did what his two predecessors could not: defeat Troy and get the Belt back. Tonight, his team did just that behind a stifling defense and three turnovers at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
“I’m just very excited for our players, for our campus, for our city,” coach Applewhite said. “This is a big game, a rivalry game, that we haven’t been as competitive in, in years past. To see our staff, our players and our fans pull together, it was awesome.”
“I’m so happy for our seniors, and so proud of them, to get the Belt back this year,” Applewhite said.
South Alabama (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) earned their first win over the Trojans (1-6, 0-3) in the last seven tries dating back to 2017. It was also the first win over them in Mobile since the Jags faced them at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in 2014, the first-ever game officially dubbed the “Battle for the Belt.” It also marks the first win over Troy on-campus.
The Jaguar defense held the Trojans to under 100 yards until very late in the fourth quarter. They would have kept them out of the end zone had it not been for a very puzzling call by the officials deep in the fourth quarter. On a deep pass to the near sideline an official “inadvertently” whistled the play dead. After the officials convened, they allowed the catch and run to stand as well as a penalty for roughing the passer to move them into the red zone.
Tucker Kilcrease started the game for the Trojans, but was pulled after an interception and a flubbed snap that led to a safety. Matthew Caldwell came in and led the Trojans to most of their success in the game.
After a couple possessions by each team with very little success, the Jags finally got in gear when the defense forced and incompletion on a 4th and 2 at the Jags 49. From there Gio Lopez led the offense down to the 17-yard line before the offense shot themselves in the foot with a holding penalty. Coach Applewhite settled for a 36-yard field goal to go up 3-0 late in the first quarter.
South Alabama broke the game open in the second quarter.
Kilcrease was picked off by Jaden Voisin at the Trojans own 22-yard line. Two plays later Lopez connected with Jeremiah Webb for a 24-yard touchdown to put the Jags up 10-0.
One the subsequent kickoff, Devonte Ross chose to return the kick from the goal line and was cut down at the 10-yard line. Kilcrease dumped the ball all to Mojo Dortch at the 6-yard line on the right side of the field. As he was going towards the sideline with several Jags bearing down on him, he retreated towards the end zone trying to reverse the field but would be brought down by Voisin at the 1-yard line. After Kilcrease ducked in behind his line and pushed forward for 4 yards, the ball would be snapped over his head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety and a 12-0 lead midway through the quarter.
After the Jags got the ball back on the free kick, it didn’t take long for the offense to get back on the board. On the 5th play of the drive, facing 4th & 2 Lopez would call his own number and, with the defense selling out for the run, once he broke through the line of scrimmage, he was off to the races for a 49-yard touchdown run for a 19-0 lead with 4:34 left in the opening half.
Troy then put together their best drive of the game at that point behind Matthew Caldwell coming in at quarterback. It led to the Trojans settling for a 36-yard field goal with only 18 seconds left in the half.
Troy got the ball to start the second half but the Jags forced a turnover on downs. Lopez connected with Javon Ivory for 57 yards to get into the Trojan red zone, but they couldn’t punch it in and had to settle for the first of two 42-yard field goals by Laith Marjan.
Late in the third quarter, Lardarius Webb picked off a deep pass at the Jags 6-yard line and returned it 72 yards to the Troy 22. But after a sack on Lopez, the Jags couldn’t get into the end zone again. Marjan added his second 42-yard field goal to make it 25-3.
Stats
| South Alabama | Troy | |
| Total Yards | 318 | 172 |
| Passing Yards | 158 | 136 |
| Rushing Yards | 160 | 36 |
| 3rd downs | 4-of-13 (30.8%) | 5-of-15 (33.3%) |
| 4th Downs | 0-of-2 | 0-of-0 |
| Penalties – Yards | 9 – 100 | 3 – 34 |
South Alabama
Gio Lopez finished 16-of-21 (76%) for 158 yards and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett led the Jags with 42 yards receiving on 3 catches. Jeremiah Wedd also had 3 catches but for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Lopez finished at the Jags leading rusher with 67 yards on 11 carried with the other Jag touchdown. Fluff Bothwell, wearing the honorary #5 jersey, finished with 53 yards on 12 carries. Kentrel Bullock had 38 yards on 15 carries.
Jordan Scruggs led the Jags with 6 total tackles, 4 solo.
Dalton Hughes and Courtney McBride Jr each had a sack as well as Jayln Durgan and Aakil Washington both had ½ a sack.
Jaden Voisin, Lardarius Webb jr, and Wesley Miller each had an interception in the game, Jaden’s 3rd pick of the season and Webb Jr’s second of the season.
Troy
Starting quarterback Tucker Kilcrease went 2-of-6 for -6 yards and an interception. Matthew Coldwell went 17-of-30 (57%) for 142 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Devonte Ross led the Trojans receivers with 70 yards on 7 catches with a touchdown. Peyton Higgins had 21 yards on 4 catches.
Damien Taylor led the Trojans rushing with 23 yards on 6 carries. Gerald Green had 14 yards on 6 attempts.
Jordan Stringer led the Trojans with 11 total stops, 5 solo, with 2 TFL’s. Brendan has 10 total stops, 5 solo with 4. 5 tackles for loss.
“We were sputtering so much offensively the whole night,” Applewhite observed. “For the defense to do what they did, it’s a testament to how they’ve continued to improve throughout the year.”
There’s two, maybe three, guys on that side that have played a lot of football,” Applewhite continued. “But you’ve seen steadily game-after-game, guys getting better, more confident.”
“I’m just very proud of these guys,” Applewhite finished.
Next
The Jags will have a long break, 11 days to be exact, before they host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, October 26 for a 4pm kickoff at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Preview: Battle For The Belt 2024
Kickoff: Tuesday, October 15, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN2
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Fluff Bothwell
Battle for the Belt.
The yearly renewal of the in-state rivalry between South Alabama and Troy has been fairly one sided over the last few years but the animosity between the two remains as heated as ever. Troy has won the last six meetings between the two, including a 28-10 victory last season that saw Gio Lopez get his first career start as a true freshman.
The Jags (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) and the Trojans (1-5, 0-2 SBC) both enter the game with something to prove and two-game losing streaks each. The Jags dropped a lopsided game at LSU then just over a week ago they lost a heart breaker at Arkansas State on a field goal with under a minute to go. Troy fell to Louisiana-Monroe and Texas State at home and see their path to a bowl game shrinking.
Both teams enter with a sense of urgency on top of the drive of playing in a rivalry game.
South Alabama hasn’t defeated Troy since the 19-8 defensive battle at Troy in 2017. Six consecutive losses. Steve Campbell went 0-3 and Kane Wommack went 0-3 in their coaching careers in the Battle for the Belt. Now head coach Major Applewhite gets to see how we fares in the rivalry.
The Jag seniors have never held the belt after a win while the Troy seniors have never had it leave their possession.
With two new head coaches, what does the 2024 renewals have in store for us?
Troy
The Trojans are led by first-year head coach Gerad Parker. He was selected to fill the position left vacant when Jon Sumrall left to take the head job at Tulane. He posting a 23-4 record overall and 16-2 in conference play during his time at Troy.
Parker previously served as offensive coordinator at Notre Dame for the 2023 season, where the Fighting Irish ranked 8th national averaging 39.1 points per game, 12th nationally in passing efficiency, and 29th in total offense. The Irish finished with a 9-3 record.
The 2022 season he was the tight ends coach at Notre Dame. Previous to Notre Dame, Parker served as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia for 2020-2021. Before that he had stops at Penn State, Duke, Purdue, Marshall, and UT Martin. He served as interim head coach for six games at Purdue in 2016.
The Trojans entered the season with only 11 seniors and only returned a few starters.
Offense
The offense is led by Sean Reagan who returns to Troy for his 11th season overall as a coach. He returns after a 5-year stint at West Virginia under former Troy head coach Neal Brown. Prior to his first stint at Troy, he served as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech.
In 2018 he was Co-offensive coordinator before leaving with Brown for West Virginia. He worked in varying capacities until he was named passing game coordinator for the 2023 season.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 20.7 |
| Total Offense | 334.2 |
| Passing Offense | 202.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 131.8 |
| Time of Possession | 28:32 |
| Penalty Yards | 69 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 38-of-79 (48.1%) |
| 4th Downs | 3-of-7 (42.9%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 13 of 13 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 8 of 13 |
| Penalties – Yards | 44 – 414 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Goose Crowder is the Trojans starting quarterback but he’s missed time due to injury, including their previous game against Louisiana-Monroe. He is 43 of 62 (69.4%) for 543 yards and 5 touchdowns in five games played. Tucker Kilcrease, who started last week against the Warhawks, is 26 of 44 (59.1%) for 383 yards and three touchdowns. Matthew Caldwell has seen action in four games and is 27 of 45 (60%) for 288 yards with a touchdown and an interception but he too was injured.
Devonte Ross leads the Trojans with 31 catches for 556 yards and 7 touchdowns. Peyton Higgins has 20 catches for 187 yards. Zeriah Beason has 13 catches for 172 yards.
Damien Taylor leads the Trojan rushing attack with 399 yards on 68 carries with 2 touchdowns. Gerald Green has 201 yards on 47 carries with a touchdown. Kilcrease is third on the team with 118 yards on 34 carries.
Defense
The defense is under the direction of Dontae Wright, who also comes to Troy from West Virginia where he coached safeties from 2020-23. Before WVU he coaches safeties at Western Michigan 2018-19.
He previously served as defensive coordinator at Tennessee Tech in 2017 and at Morehead State in 2015.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 27.8 |
| Total Offense | 380.7 |
| Passing Offense | 198.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 181.8 |
| Time of Possession | 31:28 |
| Penalty Yards | 54.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 30-of-70 (42.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-6 (33.3%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 19 of 21 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13 of 21 |
| Penalties – Yards | 35 – 326 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 4 – 1 |
Jordan Stringer (Jr LB) leads the team with 43 total stops, 20 solo, with 3 TFL’s, a sack and an interception. Justin Powe (Sr S) has 37 total stops, 23 solo, with a TFL and an interception.
Phillip Lee leads the team with 5 TFL’s. Six different players have one sack each as well as three different players have one interception each.
Special Teams
Robert Cole is averaging 40.4 yards per punt with 12 fair catches, 3 downed inside the 20, a touchback and a long of 59 yards.
Scott Taylor Renfroe is 7 of 8 on field goal attempts with a long of 49 yards and is also 13 of 14 on extra point attempts.
Ross leads the Trojans with an average of 36 yards per return across his 3 punt returns, with one returned for a touchdown.
South Alabama
The Jaguar offense and defense played out of character last time out against Arkansas State. The offense couldn’t move the ball consistently or well enough to score for most of the game. The defense, who played poorly over the first two games and LSU, played great holding the Red Wolves to only 18 points. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a stop when it mattered most though. Arkansas State marched right down the field on their final drive to set up the game winning field goal.
But what plagued the Jags the most last week were penalties. When you are penalized 11 times for a total of 100 yards, it’s hard to win a game.
While South Alabama has a very favorable turnover margin (+6), their only turnover last week was an interception at a terrible time. The interception thrown by Gio Lopez was the first interception thrown on the season by any Jaguar quarterback. They have fumbled six times but only lost the ball twice. Meanwhile the defense has recovered three fumbles and picked off opposing quarterbacks six times.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.5 |
| Total Offense | 466.2 |
| Passing Offense | 263.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 202.5 |
| Time of Possession | 31:16 |
| Penalty Yards | 65.7 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 31 of 74 (41.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 10 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 24 of 28 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 19 of 28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 48 – 394 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 2 |
Gio Lopez is 94 of 149 (63.1%) for 1,306 yards, 12 touchdowns and one interception in five games. Bishop Davenport is 27 of 46 (58.7%) for 276 yards and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the receiving corps by a wide margin, he has almost 3x the catches as the next receiver on the team. He has 36 catches for 531 yards and 6 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 18 catches for 221 yards. Jeremiah Webb has 12 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Eager has 6 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Fluff Bothwell leads the Jags with 408 rushing yards on 56 carries with 6 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 326 yards on 52 carries with 3 touchdowns. Lopez has 258 yards on 41 carries with 2 touchdowns.
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 27.2 |
| Total Offense | 442.3 |
| Passing Offense | 310.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 132 |
| Time of Possession | 28:44 |
| Penalty Yards | 55.7 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 32 of 79 (40.5%) |
| 4th Downs | 2 of 5 (40%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 19 of 24 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 12 of 24 |
| Penalties – Yards | 31 – 283 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick paces the team with 50 total stops, 20 solo, with 4 Tackles for Loss, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next in line with 30 total stops, 13 solo, with 2.5 TFL’s, and interception and a pass breakup.
Courtney McBride Jr and Tyler Thomas shared the lead with 2 sacks each.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with two interceptions. Scruggs, Amarion Fortenberry, Lardarius Webb Jr., and Chrystyile Caldwell have one pick each.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen continues to be the team’s punter with an average of 41.2 yards per attempt across his 20 punts with 11 downed inside the 20 and 8 fair catches.
Laith Marjan is 7-of-8 on field goal attempts this season with a long of 49 yards and his only miss was from about 52 yards and has made 19 of his 20 extra point attempts.
Pritchett is averaging 24.5 yards per punt return including a 62-yard touchdown return against Northwestern Louisiana.
Keys to the Game
Injuries
The Jag offensive line dictate how the offense goes. Reed Buys missed about half or more of the Arkansas State game and the offense floundered outside of the two touchdown drives. It’s affected both the running and passing game.
It seemed fairly obvious that Gio Lopez was being affected by the turf toe some. He was moving around differently and was off on his deep throws.
With the additional time since the last game hopefully the Jags have been able to get a little rest and treatment so they can get back to closer to full strength again.
Quarterback Pressure
The defense was able to get plenty of pressure on App State’s quarterback but couldn’t generate much against LSU or Arkansas State. On the final drive by the Red Wolves they just couldn’t generate anything, and they got picked apart with the cushion they gave the receivers.
Troy has had plenty of injuries but the quarterback position has been affected a lot this season. In six games they have had to start three different signal callers due to injury. But no matter who is starting behind center, the Jags have to generate pressure.
Penalties
The Jags can’t beat themselves with penalties. They were flagged several times offensively for various infractions last game. Offensive penalties hurt you in two key ways: they put you behind the sticks and they rob you of momentum. The Jags had it 2nd and 10 at the ASU 11 yard line late in the game. They were then flagged for a false start and a hold over the next three plays which made it 3rd and 25 at the 26-yard line. Fortunately, Lopez was able to find Pritchett for a touchdown on the next play, but they didn’t make it any easier on themselves with those two penalties.
Cleaning up those penalties will be key this week. Also making sure they stay disciplined mentally heading into a rivalry game should be a focus for the players and coaches. They can’t allow themselves to lose focus and get drawn into committing penalties if they encounter any adversity or jawing back and forth.
Prediction
It’s dangerous to play a rival when they’re licking their wounds with their backs against the wall.
While Troy’s record is bad, South Alabama’s record isn’t much better. Both teams need a win if they want to get bowl eligible and they both are seeing the number of games remaining dwindling. Both teams could easily have two more wins than their current records reflect.
But if South Alabama plays up to their capabilities, they can beat anyone left of their schedule. It just depends which team shows up at Hancock Whitney Stadium Tuesday night.
It’s times to bring the belt back to Mobile.
The Jags are a 13.5-point favorite in the game. I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they cover. Jags win a close game to get the belt back against a Troy team that’ll pull out all the stops.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Falls 18-16 At Arkansas State On Late Field Goal
South Alabama fell to Arkansas State on a late field goal at Arkansas State 18-16 in a mistake-riddle game. The Jags had retaken the lead with 1:49 left but was unable to stop the Red Wolves when it mattered the most.
The Jags (2-4, 1-1 SBC) couldn’t get out of their own way, committing 11 penalties for 100 penalty yards. Lopez was picked off inside the 10-yard line in the second quarter ending a promising drive. They were also stopped short on a 4th and 2 play from the Red Wolves 20-yard line.
South Alabama took their first lead of the game with 1:09 left in the third quarter when Gio Lopez and Jamaal Pritchett hooked up for a 75-yard touchdown. The score was the first touchdown of the game and gave the Jags a 10-9.
The Red Wolves (3-2, 1-0 SBC) drove down the field on a 10 play, 58-yard drive to regain the lead when Jaylen Raynor connected with Tyler Little for a 5-yard touchdown. The 2-point attempt failed leaving the Jags trailing 15-10 with 5:58 left.
South Alabama started driving and got down to the Red Wolves 11-yard line before penalties set them back. After flags for a false start and holding the Jags were facing 3rd and 25 at the ASU 26-yard line. Gio Lopez rolled out and tossed the ball into the end zone with Jamaal Pritchett coming down with it to retake the lead. The ensuing 2-point conversion failed with Jeremiah Webb couldn’t haul in Lopez’s pass.
Arkansas State started their drive at their own 23 with 1:45 left on the clock.
The Jaguar defense allowed three consecutive pass completions on the same offensive play to quickly move out near mid field. It was like the defense had set a line in the sand that the Red Wolves were not going to complete a pass down the field but they would allow anything that gained 7 to 11 yards with little contention.
The defense finally tightened up, but it was too little too late.
Clune Van Andel made the 34-yard field goal with only 10 seconds left in the game to go up 18-16.
After a 14-yard pass completion to Devin Voisin, the Jags had one last show but the pass intended for Pritchett was broken up at the Arkansas State 27 to end the game.
“It was a difficult one to lose,” head coach Major Applewhite said after the game. “There were so many opportunities early – turnovers in the red area, tons of penalties on offense – It finally got us and I’m just really disappointed from that standpoint.”
“I’m very proud of our defense, the way they played the entire ball game,” Applewhite said. “I know we gave up the field goal to lose the football game, but they kept us in the ball game, and I’m proud of the way were are improving on that side of the ball.”
The first half was a defensive struggle as the Jaguar offense started slow but the defense kept forcing stops and leaving Arkansas State having to settle for field goals. When the first half ended the Jags trailed 6-3.
Stats
| South Alabama | Arkansas State | |
| Total Yards | 453 | 411 |
| Passing Yards | 292 | 345 |
| Rushing Yards | 161 | 66 |
| 3rd Downs | 6 of 13 | 5 of 15 |
| 4th Downs | 1 of 2 | 1 of 1 |
| Penalties – Yards | 11 – 100 | 6 – 51 |
South Alabama
Gio Lopez was 21 of 35 for 292 yards with 2 touchdowns and his first interception of the season.
Jamaal Pritchett led the Jags with 7 catches for 137 yards and both of the Jags touchdowns. Kentrell Bullock added 41 yards on 3 catches, Jeremiah Webb had 38 yards on one catch.
Kentrel Bullock led the Jags running game with 66 yards on 13 carries. Lopez added 54 yards on 10 carries. Fluff Bothwell was held to only 32 yards on 9 carries.
Blayne Myrick led the Jags with 13 stops, 8 solo, and led the team with 3 tackles for loss. Courtney McBride Jr and Tyler Thomas both had a sack in the game.
Laith Marjan only field goal attempt was good from 42 yards out.
Arkansas State
Jalen Raynor was 30 of 39 for 345 yards and a touchdown
Corey Rucker led all receivers with 8 catches for 172 yards. Ja’Quez Cross had 6 catches for 38 yards.
Zak Wallace led ASU with 30 yards on 11 carries. Cross added 29 yards on 7 carries.
Clune Van Andel connected on all four attempts, including the final attempt from 34 yards out. The first three kicks were good from 20, 21 and 25 yards out.
Next
South Alabama will finally return home after traveling the last three weeks on the road. They’ll have a couple extra days to prepare to host in-state rival Troy the Battle for the Belt on Tuesday, October 15 at 6:30pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
South Alabama have lost their last 6 to Troy but look to bring the Belt back to Mobile.
Preview: South Alabama Visits #14 LSU For Nighttime Showdown In Death Valley
Kickoff: Saturday, September 28, 6:45pm
Venue: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
TV/Streaming: SEC Network
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 travels to Baton Rouge to play in one of the toughest environments in college football: Tiger Stadium. The Jags (2-2) are in the second game of a three-game road swing after their 48-14 dismantling of Appalachian State on Thursday, September 19th in Boone, NC. The #14 ranked LSU Tigers are looking to handle business and get to their bye week to rest and heal up.
The Jags are considered one of the hottest teams in the nation right now. Over the last two weeks they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 135-24. Head coach Major Applewhite and offensive coordinator Rob Ezell have been making all the right calls offensively and defensive coordinator Will Windham has been doing the same on the opposite side of the ball.
Meanwhile LSU (3-1) enters the game in the second game of a three-game homestand by welcoming USA. Last week the Tigers held UCLA scoreless in the second half to pull away for a 34-17 win after taking a 17-all tie into halftime. The Tigers opened the season with a narrow loss to USC in the Vegas Kickoff Classic then followed with a closer-than-expected game against Nicholls (44-21) and a narrow victory on the road at South Carolina (36-33).
This will be the highest ranked opponent the Jags have faced since they took the field against #10 ranked Oklahoma State in 2017 and the first ranked opponent since playing #25 Louisiana-Lafayette in 2020.
LSU
LSU is led by third-year head coach Brian Kelly, who LSU hired away from Notre Dame after 12 seasons as the head guy there. He was 92-40 with the Fighting Irish after vacating 22 wins in the 2012 and 2013 seasons due to academic misconduct. He also had a record of 4-6 in bowl games after a vacated win in the 2013 Pinstripe bowl.
So far Kelly is 23-8 and 13-4 in SEC games at LSU. His career record is 286-104-2 in his 34th year as a head football coach.
Before Notre Dame, he spent 13 seasons at Grand Valley State (118-35-2 from 1991-2003), three seasons at Central Michigan (19-16 from 2004-2006), and four seasons at Cincinnati (34-6 from 2006-2009).
Getting into the stats, the Tigers have been able to generate six turnovers defensively and have forced nine fumbles overall. They have a +3-turnover margin through the first four games of the season.
Offense
Garrett Nussmeier is the Tigers’ starting quarterback going 113-of-160 (70.6%) with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions on the season.
Mason Taylor is the leading pass catcher on the team with 25 receptions for 237 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Anderson leads the team in receiving yards with 298 on 21 catches with a touchdown. Kyren Lacy is the teams leading scoring receiver with 5 touchdowns on 20 catches with 245 yards. CJ Daniels adds 199 yards on 17 catches while Zavion Thomas rounds out the double-digit receptions with 10 catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tigers have two 100-yard rushers on the season. Josh Williams has 134 yards on 36 carries with two touchdowns while averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Caden Durham has 116 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
Keleb Jackson has 95 yards on 26 carries while John Emery Jr has 61 yards on 10 carries.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 33.5 |
| Total Offense | 418.5 |
| Passing Offense | 239.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 119 |
| Time of Possession | 27:54 |
| Penalty Yards | 83.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 25-of-51 (49%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-5 (40%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 17-of-20 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13-of-20 |
| Penalties – Yards | 31 – 237 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 1 – 1 |
Defense
Whit Weeks leads the defense with 30 total stops, 17 solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss. Greg Penn III is second on the team with 24 stops, 10 solo, with 1 TFL and a forced fumble.
As a team the Tigers have 12 sacks with Bradyn Swinson leading the team with 5 for a loss of 45 yards with two quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. Sai’vion Jones is right behind him with 4 sacks (19 yards) with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
The defense only has two pass interceptions. Zy Alexander and Jardin Gilbert each have one pick each.
However, the Tigers have lost Harld Perkins Jr for the season due to an ACL tear. While he hasn’t put up flashy numbers, he has been a player offenses have had to account for every play. Could that be a factor in this game?
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 24.5 |
| Total Offense | 358.8 |
| Passing Offense | 321.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 134.7 |
| Time of Possession | 31:57 |
| Penalty Yards | 64.7 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 17-of-46 (37%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-6 (33%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 11-of-12 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 8-of-12 |
| Penalties – Yards | 36 – 333 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 9 – 4 |
Special Teams
Peyton Todd has handled the majority of the punting duties with an average of 40.7 yards per kick, five fair catches and two downed inside the 20. Blake Ochsendorf is averaging 37.7 yards per attempts with one fair catch and all three of his attempts downed inside the 20.
Damian Ramos is 5-of-6 on field goals this season with a long of 45.
South Alabama
After a pair of losses to begin the season, the Jags have gelled as a team and found their footing in their last two games. The offensive line, who lost a few players in summer camp for various reasons, have improved leaps and bounds over the first four games. They controlled the line of scrimmage against Appalachian State. They’ll face their toughest test yet when they take on LSU Saturday night.
Similarly, the defense has matured a lot over the first four weeks. After only returning two starters, the Jags started the season with a bit of a learning curve experience wise. They’ve improved each and every week. Over the first two weeks the defensive front couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback, then last week they were harassing Joey Aguilar on pretty much every play.
The Jags have a +5-turnover margin on the season with only two fumbles lost while the defense has a total of 7 take-aways (4 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries).
Offense
The offense starts with Gio Lopez, who showed that his turf toe injury is not bothering him anymore. He is 57-of-92 (62%) with nine touchdowns and no interceptions on the season.
Jamaal Pritchett continues to lead the receiving corps in receptions (26), yards (354), and touchdowns (4). Devin Voisin has 16 catches for 206 yards on the season. Jeremiah Webb adds 10 catches for 185 yards with a touchdown. DJ Thomas-Jones has 6 catches for 52 yards with three of them being touchdown receptions.
True freshman Fluff Bothwell has emerged as the Jags leading back with 359 yards on 37 carries with six touchdowns through four games. Kentrel Bullock has 204 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns.
Both Bothwell and Bullock have recorded 100-yard games the last two games.
Gio Lopez is third on the team with 171 yards on 21 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 48.3 |
| Total Offense | 502.8 |
| Passing Offense | 267.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 235.5 |
| Time of Possession | 31:24 |
| Penalty Yards | 64.8 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 21-of-47 (44.7%) |
| 4th Downs | 4-of-5 (80%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 23-of-24 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 18-of-24 |
| Penalties – Yards | 32 – 259 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 4 – 2 |
Defense
Blayne Myrick continues to pace the defense with 34 total stops, 11 solo, with two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs and Jaden Voisin are next with 21 stops each, Voisin with 13 solo while Scruggs has 9 solo and 1.5 Tackles for loss.
The Jags defense has intercepted four passes on the season, Scruggs earned the Sun Belt Player of the Week honor with his 96-yard interception return, it would have been a 100-yard touchdown return however an App State defender pulled him down from behind with a horse collar tackle. Voisin, Amarion Fortenberry, and Chrystyile Caldwell each have one interception each.
Defensively the Jags only have four sacks on the season. Jordan Norman, Maurice Strong Jr, Courtney McBride Jr, and Tyler Thomas have collected one sack each.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 25.8 |
| Total Offense | 394 |
| Passing Offense | 271.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 122.3 |
| Time of Possession | 28:36 |
| Penalty Yards | 60.8 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 21-of-55 (38%) |
| 4th Downs | 1-of-4 (25%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 10-of-14 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 7-of-14 |
| Penalties – Yards | 27 – 243 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 5 – 3 |
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen has handled most of the punting duties, he’s averaging 38 yards per kick across his nine punts with five downed inside the 20-yard line and three fair catches. Jack Martin is averaging 45 yards per kick across his three punts with one touchback.
Laith Marjan is 5-of-6 on field goals this season with a long of 39. His only miss came from over 50 yards. He’s only missed one of this 18 extra point attempts, his first attempt after halftime last week went off the left upright.
Pritchett is averaging 28 yards per return in seven punt return opportunities with one 62-yard touchdown return.
Keys to the Game
Communication
When playing in big games on the road in a hostile environment, communication is at a premium. Death Valley at night is notoriously loud with Tiger Stadium actually registering on the seismograph a couple of times in big games. When the game is on the line, the Tiger fans can get loud and raucous.
But South Alabama just played in front of a loud crowd in Boone, NC. Are they the same? No, but the team knows what to expect and they can be prepared.
With the new in-helmet communications from the sideline, getting the play onto the field is a bit easier but any pre-snap adjustments still need to be communicated. Hopefully they can stay on the same page in all phases of the game because LSU will take advantage of any miscue.
Fundamentals
Defensively the Tigers have taken the ball away from opponents six times in four games. But they have forced 9 fumbles through those same four games. But the Jags have been very surehanded on the season with only two turnovers, one of them on a muffed punt. Continuing to keep possession of the ball will be big fundamentally.
Tackling will be a big factor. The Jags cannot let LSU run through arm tackles and pick up additional yards after contact. In the first two games the Jags had problems tackling but in the last two games have been more fundamentally sound.
The offense needs to stay on schedule because the LSU defense is blitz happy on 3rd down.
“A little Magic”
Something unexpected needs to go South Alabama’s way.
South Carolina had a pick-six that would have given them the lead late, but it was called back in a poor flag on what should have been a good play (that’s a discussion for another day).
LSU hasn’t looked the best this season and struggled against Nicholls. The Tigers narrowly led 23-21 early in the third quarter before finally pulled away from the FCS program.
If the Jags can get an unexpected play or two to go their way at an opportune time it will quiet the crowd and energize the Jaguars. A little voodoo magic if you will.
Prediction
LSU opens as a 21.5-point favorite over the Jags across most of the betting odds websites.
The Tigers are thought to have better players top-to-bottom because they are an SEC program. They should, shouldn’t they?
Perhaps the Jags can catch the Tigers asleep and looking ahead to having a week off to prepare for Ole Miss. But having a week off after the Jags will perhaps keep the Tigers focused enough for a little G5 Sun Belt team from Mobile.
As much as I want to pick the Jags to win or even to cover the spread, my head tells me that the Tigers in Tiger Stadium is a very tough draw. Then play it at night after the Tiger fans have had all day to marinade and it’s a very tough draw.
I think LSU wins and covers at home but maybe the score to cover comes late so it looks like a better win than it actually was. But I would LOVE to have South Alabama prove me wrong. They’ve been doing it all season so far, why not another week…
Go Jags!