Jaguars Fall To UCLA 32-31 On Walk-Off Field Goal
South Alabama (2-1) botches a trick field goal play that led to UCLA (3-0) kicking a walk-off 24 yard field goal as time expired to fall 32-31 in Pasadena.
With about three minutes left in the game, the Jags faced 4th & 2 at the Bruins 22 yard line. USA sent the field goal unit onto the field with 3rd string quarterback Tanner McGee as the holder. They then shifted into an offensive formation with McGee at quarterback, unfortunately he couldn’t find anyone open before he was sacked for an 11 yard loss.
UCLA took over at the 33 yard line and proceeded to drive down the field bleeding the Jags of their final two time outs. With the ball sitting at the Jags 6 yard line with two seconds left, Nicholas Barr-Mira put the ball through the uprights as time expired for the win.
Quarterback Carter Bradley got off to a shaky start after throwing an interception on his second pass attempt of the game. The pass was returned 10 yards to the Jags 21 yard line. The defense would not yield and the Bruins had to settle for a 28 yard field goal to go up 3-0 at the 12:18 mark of the first quarter.
The Jags offense responded with a 10 play, 75 yard drive to take the lead. La’Damian Webb’s 47 yard run on 3rd & 8 set up Marco Lee for a 1 yard touchdown run to go up 7-3.
The Bruins and Jaguars traded field goals from 49 and 38 yards respectively on the next two possessions for a 10-6 advantage for South Alabama.
UCLA moved the ball down the field and appeared to score on a pass to Zach Carbonnet, but after review he was marked down at the one foot line. The Jags defense took advantage. The handoff from Dorian Thompson-Robinson wasn’t clean, CJ Rias was able to knock the ball loose and Zeke Chapman covered it up in the end zone to thwart the Bruins.
The offense took full advantage too. A false start at the 4 didn’t matter to Webb either, he took it in from 9 yards out to put the Jags up 17-6 at the 5:54 mark of the 2nd quarter.
It didn’t take long for UCLA to answer either, just six plays. A pass completion for 34 yards followed by a 25 yard run by Keegan Jones put them at the Jags 9 yard line. Then two plays later Thompson-Robinson found Jake Bobo for a 9 yard touchdown pass making it 17-13 at halftime.
UCLA made adjustments and came out strong in the second half.
The Bruins quickly marched down the field aided by a roughing the passer call on Jamie Sheriff. Thompson-Robinson capped it off with an 11 yard touchdown pass to Kam Brown to retake the lead 17-20 at the 13:22 mark of the 3rd quarter.
La’Damian Webb suffered his first fumble of the season when he was stretching for extra yards. While the replay looked like the Jags may keep possession, the officials saw it differently. They upheld the fumble but saw that the defender was on his knee when he recovered the ball which negated the touchdown return.
UCLA converted the turnover into a 28 yard field goal. The Jags had them stopped near mid field however Ricky Fletcher was flagged for defensive holding on a 3rd & 8 incomplete pass to give the Bruins new life.
Again South Alabama responded.
Marco Lee got his second touchdown of the game on a 1 yard run. But it was Caullin Lacy who set it up with a 37 yard reception to put USA in the red zone. The score gave USA a 24-23 lead at the 1:37 mark of the 3rd quarter.
UCLA’s ensuing possession started at their own 30. A fumble that a few players tried to scoop-and-score kept advancing the ball until Ed Smith finally covered it at the Bruins 6 yard line.
Caullin Lacy stretched out and had a fantastic aerobatic 4-yard touchdown catch to put the Jags up 31-23 at the :57 mark of the 3rd quarter.
The Bruins gashed the Jags as the defense struggled to pressure or contain Thompson-Robinson or stop the run. Thompson-Robinson set up a 4th & 4 at the Jags 8 yard line with a 5 yard run. Chip Kelly opted to go for it and it paid off with Thompson-Robinson connecting with Logan Loya for a touchdown. A failed 2-point conversion left the Lags in the lead 31-29 with 12:25 left in the game.
After a punt by both teams, the Jags had an opportunity to milk time off the clock.
A methodical 11 play drive stalled at the UCLA 22. Facing 4th and 2, coach Wommack sent on the field goal unit. However, instead of Jack Brooks as the holder, they sent in Tanner McGee. After lining up in field goal formation, they shifted into a normal offensive formation. It did not catch the Bruins off guard, McGee was pressured and sacked for an 11 yard loss as tried to move and find someone open to throw to.
UCLA took over possession with 2:52 left in the game with the Jags defense missing some key players.
Again the Jags just couldn’t muster any pass rush on Thompson-Robinson as they positioned themselves for the game winning field goal as time expired.
“We made some plays in big moments, but we were also an inconsistent football team today,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. When you go into big stadiums and have opportunities, you have to take care of the ball offensively and not shoot yourself in the foot from an execution standpoint… We have to step up on third downs. You have a fourth down in the red zone, you have to get off the field, [if you do] it changes the outcome of the game.”
“They adjusted well to it,” Wommack said about the failed fake field goal late in the game. “We thought we had them right there with the fake field goal. Would have been nice to get that one and iced the game. But we didn’t put ourselves in position in the plays prior to that moment to pull away…”
Wommack wasn’t wrong, they had a tight end in favorable coverage against a linebacker and coming open free on the left side. However the rush on McGee got to him before the tight end could get the separation he needed to throw it.
When asked about execution and responding when they needed to, he said “I thought so…our guys competed the entire game. It was just the execution. Physically we did some things on some plays, ran the football, it was just a couple of plays.”
“I told the guys they were going to have an opportunity to respond to this game and that is what we have to do against Louisiana Tech at home,” coach Wommack said.
Stats
South Alabama
The Jags had 399 yards of total offense, 237 passing and 162 rushing.
USA had 22 first downs while running 70 offensive plays. They held the time of possession advantage 32:57 to 27:03.
The Jags converted 9-of-14 3rd down attempts but was 0-for-1 on 4th down attempts. They scored on all 5 trips into the red zone, only one of them was a field goal.
La’Damian Webb finally got his 100 yard rushing game. He carried the ball 16 times for 124 yards and a touchdown. Terrion Avery added 29 yards on five carries. Marco Lee had two touchdowns on 4 carries for 6 yards.
Carter Bradley was 26-of-36 for 237 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Jalen Wayne finished with 7 catches for 76 yards. Devin Voisin caught seven passes for 64 yards. Webb caught all six of his targets for 42 yards. Lacy also caught all four of his targets for 49 yards and the only receiving touchdown.
Jalen Jordan led the defense with 7 stops, five solo. James Miller recorded the only tackle for loss in the game.
UCLA
The Bruins put up 407 total yards of offense, 263 through the air and 144 on the ground.
They had 23 first down while running 67 offensive plays.
The Jags defense held the Bruins to 7-of-13 on 3rd down attempts and allowed them to convert their only 4th down attempt in the game. They scored six of their 7 trips into the red zone, but only three of them were touchdowns.
Zach Charbonnet was held to 78 rushing yards on 13 carries. Keegan Jones added 65 yards on 14 carries. Thompson-Robinson had 27 yards on 7 carries.
Thompson-Robinson went 20-of-30 for 263 yards and three touchdowns.
Jake Bobo caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Charbonnet caught three passes for 51 yards. Logan Loya and Kam Brown both caught touchdown passes.
Darius Muassau led all defenders with 10 tackles, five solo. Carl Jones Jr had the only sack in the game for either team and the only tackle for loss for the Bruins. JonJon Vaughns had a pass breakup and the only interception of the game.
Who’s Up Next
The Jags return back home for their final non-conference game of the season against Louisiana Tech.
South Alabama has a week of events scheduled culminating with Jo Bonner’s inauguration as University President on Friday ahead of the Jags game against Bulldogs.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm on Saturday, September 24 at Hancock-Whitney Stadium. The game will be streamed online on ESPN+ and radio coverage on the Jaguar Radio Network including iHeartMedia app, and 99.5 fm in Mobile.
Preview: South Alabama Travels To Pasadena To Face UCLA
Kickoff: Saturday, September 17, 1PM Central
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA
TV/Streaming: PAC12 Network
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey: James Jackson (wearing #50 due to position jersey number rules)
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
South Alabama is 2-0 to start the season for the second consecutive year. It also makes the second time since 2011 they’ve started the season undefeated to start the season.
The Jaguars completely dominated the first half against Central Michigan. Just looking at the 38-24 final score, it may not show how dominant the Jags actually were in the game.
They won the game on physicality and they beat them at their own game.
The offensive line probably made the most improvement from game one to game two. Coach Kane Wommack and his staff have played a number of offensive linemen over the first two games. They’re not only gaining game-time reps, they are building depth and experience with those players.
Pair that more talented and experienced offensive line with the running backs that Coach Wommack and his staff have assembled and you have a recipe for winning. Look at where the South Alabama program ranks nationally in time of possession and you can see the direct effects of that. They are second in the nation with an average time of possession of 37:00 per game. You don’t get that kind of time of possession without good offensive line play, efficient running back play, and staying on schedule offensively.
Next up is a trip to the west coast, Los Angeles to be exact, to square off against the UCLA Bruins in the famed Rose Bowl.
UCLA
Chip Kelly is in his fifth season at the helm of the UCLA football program. In that time he has a 20-25 record. His first season started off with five consecutive losses before finishing with a 3-9 record. Then a 4-8 record in 2019, a 3-4 record in the covid shortened 2020 season, then finally an 8-4 record last year however their appearance in the Holiday Bowl would not come to pass as the game was canceled just hours before the game due to Covid protocols within the UCLA program.
Kelly is most notably remembered for this four year stint as Oregon’s head coach from 2009-2012, he went 46-7 during that stretch with an appearance in a BCS bowl game each season, but a loss in the BCS National Championship Game to Auburn in 2011. He was hired as head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL for three seasons (26-21 overall record) and then one season as the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers (2-14).
He is known for his prolific offenses utilizing the hurry up, no huddle with the zone-read option. He was one of the pioneers of this style of offense in FBS football. At it’s core this type of offense uses “zone” blocking up front with the quarterback giving or keeping the ball based on his “read” of the defensive end.
The trouble this offense presented way having to spend most of your defensive game plan on staying ready to stop two plays in one, because they can be used at any point during the game and you have to be prepared at all times. Spending all that time on that scheming would limit the capabilities of putting in pressure plays, which led to very vanilla defenses. When the defenses were too vanilla, they knew where the defenders were going to be and it made the rest of their playbook very dangerous.
What the Chip Kelly offense basically boiled down to was an innovative scheme utilizing speed, both player speed and pace of play, to take advantage of opponents’ mistakes and wear them out.
Now with that long exposition about Kelly over with, we can actually get to UCLA talk.
The Bruins have opened the season with two non-conference games so far. Both have not provided much opposition to them. They have a 45-17 win over Bowling Green and 45-7 win over Alabama State to their credit.
Offense
Through two games the Bruins have rolled up quite a bit of stats on the stats sheet. They have 1,111 total yards of offense, 622 passing yards and 489 rushing yards. They are averaging 555.5 total yards of offense, 311 passing yards and 244.5 rushing yards per game. They have only turned the ball over three times, two interceptions and a lost fumble.
They are converting 50% of their 3rd down attempts (14-of-28) and 66% of their 4th down attempts (2-of-3). They are scoring 83% of the time in the red zone (10-of-12) and are scoring a touchdown 67% of the time (8-of-12).
The Bruins leading passer is Dorian Thompson-Robinson, he is 41-of-54 for 399 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on the season. Ethan Garbers came in against Alabama State when Dorian exited with an injury. On the season Garbers is 17-of-22 for 223 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Allen Kazmeir is the leading receiver with 14 catches, 115 yards and a touchdown. Keegan Jones and Jake Bobo have very similar numbers, both have six catches for 87 and 79 yards respectively but Jones has a touchdown on his resume. There are five other receivers with at least four catches on the season.
Zach Charbonnet leads the ground game with 111 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown, however there’s some mystery around him as he did not play against Alabama State for undisclosed reasons.
Dorian is next with 87 rushing yards on 7 carries with two touchdowns. Garbers only has 7 rushing yards on two carries but both went for touchdowns. Three other backs have touchdowns on the season as well, including Keegan Jones.
After the game, Kelly was very coy about giving any updates on the status of Dorian and Charbonnet. When asked he simply said, “unavailable” in response. He was almost as secretive when asked if Charbonnet would be available to play this Saturday.
In Charbonnet’s absence, true freshman T.J. Harden led them with 56 yards and a touchdown on seven carries against Alabama State.
Defense
The Bruins defense is only allowing 236 total offensive yards, 174 passing yards and 62 rushing yards on average through their first two games under their new defensive coordinator. They have generated four turnovers on the season, two interceptions and recovered two fumbles while forcing five total fumbles.
Opponents are 1-of-2 when in the red zone, and none have been touchdowns.
Kenny Churchwell III leads the team with 10 total tackles, eight of them solo, with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. However Churchwell will have to sit out the first half against the Jags due to a targeting penalty last week. Coach Kelly appealed it but he was denied.
Grayson Murphy and Laiatu Latu both lead the team with two sacks each.
The Hornets found success against the Bruins secondary in the first half. They had open receivers to throw to as they put up 177 yards of offense by the midway mark of the second quarter. That was more offense than Bowling Green managed the entire game the week before.
The Bruins tightened up in the second half with two interceptions and only allowing 46 passing yards after halftime.
Special Teams
UCLA opened the season on very shaky ground in the special teams department. A blocked punt returned for a touchdown to open the scoring. A muffed punt at their 11 yard line led to a chip shot field goal. Kickers missed two of their three field goal attempts.
Nicholas Barr-Mira has punted three times with an average of 33.7 yards per punt, two fair catches and one downed inside the 20. Chase Barry has one punt to his record for 39 yards.
Barr-Mira is 2-of-4 on the season on field goals. His longest is 24 yards.
South Alabama
The Jags came home with another road win against a MAC team to begin the season. Last year they needed a last minute field goal, this time they dominated their opponent from early on.
Road wins have been rare over the last several years. Particularly so when air travel was involved. Since joining as a FBS team the Jags are a mere 10-40 in road games.
The Jags will get another chance at a road win after flying across the country this weekend. This time against a Power 5 opponent.
What stood out about the Jags against Central Michigan was their physicality. They were the more physical team on the field, which says a lot because CMU is known as a very physical team.
Offense
The offensive line got after the Chippewas from the start. They opened running lanes for La’Damian Webb and pass protected well for Carter Bradley the whole game.
The Jags offense is now averaging 505 total yards of offense, 343 passing yards and 162 rushing yards per game through the first two games of the 2022 season.
La’Damian Webb has yet to crack 100 yards in a game, but he has been oh so very close. He’s averaging 94.5 yards per game. He has 38 carries for 189 yards and four touchdowns. One of those was a 30 yarder against the Chippewas last weekend where he was barely touched at the line of scrimmage.
Webb is that typical running back where he seems to never lets the defenders hit his square, they always seem to have to try to bring him down from an angle.
Terrion Avery has added 53 yards on 16 carries as his backup.
Bradley is 43-of-67 for 614 yards and six touchdowns. However he threw his first interception of the season on an under thrown pass in the third quarter.
Jalen Wayne continues his march up the Jaguar history books in career receptions (6th) and receiving yards (6th). He has 13 catches on the season for 196 yards and three touchdowns. Ten of those receptions came against Central Michigan.
Caullin Lacy has 169 receiving yards on 11 catches. Devin Voisin has six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. True freshman Braylon McReynolds has five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.
The Jags offense will have to keep up their pace against the Bruins. The Jags enter with the 32nd ranked scoring offense in FBS (43 points per game) but the Bruins are 17th (45 ppg).
Defense
Speaking of rankings, the Jaguar defense ranks 17th in total defense, 38th in scoring defense, 14th in rushing defense, 20th in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, 43rd in 1st down defense in the nation.
The defense is allowing an average of 251.5 total yards of offense, 181.5 passing yards and 70 rushing yards per game. Opposing running backs are rushing for only 2.6 yards per carry on average.
Opponents have only converted 7-of-28 of their 3rd down attempts (25%) and only 1-of-6 of their 4th down attempts.
Quentin Wilfawn’s name has been call quite often this season. He leads the team with 15 total tackles, 11 of them solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss and a qb hurry. Jaden Voisin is the only other Jag with double digit tackles at 11 with five of them solo with two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
AJ DeShazor is the only Jag with an interception so far on the season. James Miller, Wy’Kevious Thomas, and CJ Rias are the only Jags with sacks on the season, they each have one.
Special Teams
Jack Brooks continues to show why he’s on the Ray Guy watch list, he is averaging 42.8 yards per punt with one fair catch, two kicks of over 50 yards and five of his 11 punts have been downed inside the opponents 20.
Diego Guajardo is a perfect 3-for-3 on the season with a long of 48 yards in the field goal department. He has missed on one of his extra point attempts, this past Saturday he had one bang against the right upright, then hit the left upright before bouncing back into the field of play.
Caullin Lacy has 5 punt returns for 56 yards, an average of 11.2 yards per punt return, his longest was 38 yards against Nicholls to open the season.
The only notable change in the depth chart for this week is that Omni Wells has moved to the kick returner over McReynolds. However McReynolds continues to be the backup for both kick and punt return specialists.
Keys to the Game
Offensive Line Play
The Jags offensive line has played well. The first two weeks of the season they have been physical and controlled the line of scrimmage. They’ve been the driving force to allow the offense to roll up over 500 yards of offense the first two games of the season.
This week is another step up in competition.
UCLA is a Power 5 school in the PAC 12. Across their four man defensive front, they average 281.75 lbs per player. While the Jaguar offensive line is bigger on average across the line, their advantage is less than it was last week against Central Michigan.
If they play like they have been the last two week, the Jags offense will have a chance to match the prolific scoring that UCLA has put up the first two weeks of the season.
Sound Defense
When we discussed UCLA and Chip Kelly’s offense, we laid out how his offensive scheme takes advantage of the defense. While from 2009-2012 when he was at Oregon, it was new and caught lots of teams off guard. Now that the same scheme he helped pioneer at Oregon is in more widespread by lots of teams nationwide, defenses are more prepared for it in general.
But even then, Kelly isn’t using the same scheme he ran at Oregon either. He’s not running the all-gas, no brake style. He will utilize the hurry up, no huddle at opportune times but it’s not their over arching style.
What UCLA has going for them is their clout to recruit bigger and better talent. But as we saw last week across the college football landscape, the big teams don’t always win against those Group of 5 guys. Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Nebraska all fell to Sun Belt teams last weekend.
Either way, the Jags defense needs to stick to their fundamentals and not fall for “eye candy”. If the defense plays fundamentally sound and gives the offense a ball with good field position and generates some turnovers, the Jags have a chance.
Penalties & Turnovers
With an average of 90 yards per game of penalty yards, the Jags really need to clean that up to play with a Power 5 school. Especially when those penalties set you back on offense or extend opponents drives on defense.
Both sides of the ball want to stay ahead of the down and distance.
I don’t want to jinx the team. Through two games the offense has only turned the ball over once. But what I’d like to see is the defense generating some more turnovers. Last season we generated 15 interceptions and recovered 10 fumbles. This week would be a very opportune time to start that trend again.
Prediction
It’s going to be a bit more difficult for South Alabama to sneak up on UCLA after the shockwaves sent out last weekend by fellow Sun Belt Conference members. Big shout outs to Appalachian State, Marshall, and Georgia Southern.
The Jags will still treat it as a business trip and UCLA may be more focused in than what they could have been. But maybe they’ll think its just round two against Alabama State and that will catch them off guard.
The spread has been steady all week favoring the Bruins by 15.5 points with an over/under of 60.5 points. I actually like what Odds Shark has, they believe the game will be under and the Jags will cover. They predict a 29-26 Bruins win.
I’ll also take the Jags to cover the spread but I feel the Bruins are going to pull this one out much to my disdain, 28-24.
USA is holding a free game watch party at the Mitchell Center with concessions available from 12pm – 6pm. Also the Alumni are having a watch party at Nexus Cinema Dining, tickets are required for that one.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Dominates First Half, Cruises To 38-24 Win Over Central Michigan
What a difference having a running game can make.
La’Damian Webb carried the ball 20 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Jags rushing attack. The Jags put rushed for 148 yards in their 38-24 win over Central Michigan in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
South Alabama struck paydirt first in the matchup when Carter Bradley connected with DJ Thomas-Jones for a 16 yard touchdown, his first as a Jaguar. However Diego Guajardo’s extra point kick hit off the top of the right upright, bounces over and off of the left upright and careened back into play. But it was Bradley finding Caullin Lacy for a 40 yard pass that really got the Jags going. USA led 6-0 at the 8:51 mark.
Central Michigan would take their only lead of the game when Lew Nichols ran the ball in for a 5 yard touchdown at the 5:08 mark of the first quarter.
The Jags regained the lead when La’Damian Webb punched the ball in from 3 yards out. Guajardo converted to make it 13-7 with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Irone Jackson brought the ball out of the end zone and Ke’Shun Brown knocked the ball loose and Trey Kiser recovered it at the Chippewas 22 yard line. On 3rd & 10 Bradley hooked up with Devin Voisin for a 22 yard touchdown, the first of his career. That put the Jags up 20-7 at the 1:05 mark of the first quarter.
The first quarter ended with a failed 4th down conversion by Central Michigan giving South Alabama the ball at the 50. Webb took a touch pass 26 yards to get the offense in gear. Bradley hooked up with Jalen Wayne for a 10 yard touchdown. Head coach Kane Wommack opted to go for the two-point conversion. Bradley found Voisin open for the conversion to go up 28-7 at the 12:14 mark of the 2nd quarter.
Both teams would add field goals before halftime. South Alabama’s Guajardo connected on a 38 yard kick with 5:47 left. Central Michigan added a 48 yard kick with 1:21 left to snap the Jags 25 point unanswered run.
No one scored in the third quarter. It felt like Central Michigan played better but it was because the Jags had handled them so thoroughly in the first half. The stats were almost dead even in the quarter, but Bradley under-threw a pass for his first interception of the season.
The Jags added to their lead with their first possession of the fourth quarter when La’Damian Webb broke free for a 30 yard touchdown off right tackle. Only one Chippewa even laid a hand on him. That put the Jags up 38-10 with 10:53 left in the game.
Some thought the game was over at that point, but you cannot sleep on Central Michigan.
The Chippewas answered back with a touchdown drive capped off by a 12 yard touchdown run by Marion Lukes. The Chippewas lined up for a 2-point conversion and was flagged for delay of game. They kept the offense on the field from the 8 yard line but failed to convert leaving the score 38-16 with 8:43 left in the game. The Jags successfully recovered the onside kick.
The Jags went three-and-out to give the ball back to Central Michigan with 6:39 left. The Jags had them 4th & 1 at the Jaguar 47 but Myles Bailey found a hole on the left side of the defense for 10 yards to keep the drive alive. A couple of plays later Daniel Richardson connected with Joel Wilson for a 21 yard touchdown. The Chippewas converted the 2-point attempt to cut the Jags lead to 38-24 with 4:30 left in the game.
CMU attempted another onside kick but this time the ball went out of bounds at the Jags 49 yard line.
Caullin Lacy took a pair of touch passes for 18 and 19 yards respectively to convert first downs and allow the Jags to simply run out the clock.
Team Stats
In addition to winning on the scoreboard, the Jags had a good win on the stat sheet too.
They out-gained the Chippewas 502 to 338 in total yardage, through the air 354 to 257, and on the ground 148 to 81. Both teams had a turnover in the game, CMU fumbled on a kickoff return and Bradley threw an interception.
South Alabama dominated the time of possession 38:00 to 22:00.
USA’s 3rd down efficiency improved with an 8-for-17 outing for a 47% conversion rate. CMU only converted 5-of-15 against the Jaguar defense.
The Jags were plagued with penalties again. They were flagged nine times for 100 yards. Central Michigan had eight for 85 yards themselves.
Individual Stats
Carter Bradley finished 26-of-42 for 354 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. He also gained 35 yards running the ball but after subtracting sack yardage he finished with only 8 net yards.
Jalen Wayne caught 10 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Lacy added 5 catches for 97 yards. Devin Voisin caught 4 for 56 yards and a touchdown. DJ Thomas-Jones added three for 38 yards and a touchdown. In all seven Jaguars caught passes in the game.
Webb led the running back contingent with 91 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. Avery added 30 yards on 11 carries. Marcos Lee had 16 yards on five carries.
Daniel Richardson finished 23-of-47 for 257 yards and a touchdown.
Joel Wilson led the Chippewas receiving with seven catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Seven players in total caught at least one pass.
Marion Lukes led the Chippewa backfield with 36 yards on three carries with a touchdown. Bailey added 24 yards on four carries. Lew Nichols, the 2021 rushing leader, carried the ball 15 times for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Jalen Wayne passed Shavarez Smith for 6th on the all-time receptions list with 107 for his career. Also his 97 receiving yards moves him into 6th place in the career receiving yards list as well, which moves his past Gerald Everett, Bryant Lavender, and Josh Magee.
Next
The Jags will travel to the west coast to play UCLA in the historic Rose Bowl Stadium on Saturday, September 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 1pm Central time. The game can be seen on the PAC12 Network.
Preview: South Alabama Host Nicholls State In Season Opener
Kickoff: Friday September 3, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium – Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey: Keith Gallmon
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
Game one of the 2022 season is finally here. The time has come for me to dust off my notepad and get back to writing again. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write, or that I didn’t have ideas, but it’s just been a busy off-season for this member of the Thunderjags crew. So kick back and read through this rather lengthy preview. Because not only do I preview Nicholls State (I know they prefer to drop the “State” from their preferred reference, but that’s the name of your school), but basically introduce you to the fresh new faces that help to comprise the 2022 Jaguar football team. In an age where it’s encouraged to include a few photos, maybe a couple videos, an instagram reel or two, and the obligatory tiktok video, you the faithful Thunderjags reader will be treated to almost three thousand words of South Alabama football.
The Season Is Here
After a spirited 2021 season under first year head coach Kane Wommack, the Jaguar fans are looking forward to what the 2022 season has to offer. Last year was a marked improvement over the last few seasons.
It’s hard to point to last season and say there were disappointments.
The team improved their record to 5-7, the most by a South Alabama team since 2016. They had several opportunities throughout the season to win games but just came up on the short end of the scoreboard. A missed field goal in the waning minutes of the Ragin’ Cajun game. A four-overtime loss at Texas State. Then an overtime loss to Coastal Carolina in the season finale. The Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State games were decided by two points each. A seven point loss to Troy, which also an illegal hit on Jake Bentley that injured him and the team for the rest of the season, then a six point loss to Coastal Carolina (where Bentley returned but clearly wasn’t fully healthy) demonstrates how the Jags have closed the gap against some of the Sun Belt Conference foes.
I guess the feeling of having bowl eligibility within your control and not being able to grasp it can be a little disappointing, even if nagging injuries contributed to it. But the returning Jaguars have instead channeled that into motivation.
“Our best days are ahead of us,” is one mantra you will hear Coach Wommack say from time to time.
Season two of Coach Wommack’s tenure will start to display results on Saturday. The 2022 season really got into full gear after the final whistle of the Coastal Carolina game in 2021. He and his staff have put lots of hard work into what the program will be in 2022 and the next few years through recruiting, spring practice and preseason camp.
The staff had some great talent leave the program through graduation. A few of the most notable departures from the 2021 team are Jalen Tolbert, Jake Bentley, Tre Young, Devin Rockette, Chris Henderson, Kareem Walker, Jamal Brooks, Shawn Jennings, Christian Bell, and Ja’Chai Baker. The Jaguar staff brought in new faces to help fill those positions and to further bolster the roster in positions of need.
A mixture of true freshmen, junior college transfers, and players from the transfer portal joined the program this year. Carter Bradley, who was named the starting quarterback, transferred from Toledo.
DaMarcus Thomas (tight end), Jalen Jordan (cornerback), and Jamar Richardson (wide receiver) all transferred in from Ole Miss. Dontae Lucas, an offensive lineman, transferred from Florida State and will also start. James Miller, an inside linebacker, rejoins coach Wommack from Indiana to play for him again as a starter. Marvin Martin, a safety, transferred in from Kansas State and will start in place of the injured Keith Gallmon who was lost for the season due to a torn pectoral muscle requiring surgery. PJ Dixon, offensive lineman, from Jacksonville State will start. They also added Jacob Meeks, a placekicker, from Texas Tech.
The running back position has had an almost complete makeover. Terrion Avery and Bryan Hill are the only returners in the Jaguar backfield. They added La’Damian Webb from Jones (Miss.) College, Omni Wells from Mississippi State, and Marco Lee from Virginia Tech.
There were some surprises when the two-deep roster was released for the first game of the season. Webb will start at running back, Jalen Jordan will start over CJ Thompson, though Thompson took the majority of reps throughout the spring and preseason camp with the first-string. Former walk-on Reggie Smith will start at right guard with Anterrious Gray, who started at the same position last season, being listed as second-string at left guard. Diego Guajardo remains the starting placekicker, however Jacob Meeks will handle kickoff duties.
Nicholls
Nicholls State is an FCS team that the Jags have hosted three times previously, all Jaguar victories. However, the last time they visited Mobile they took USA to overtime before the home team could prevail 41-40.
The Colonels finished the 2021 season with a 6-5 record overall and a 5-3 record in conference play. They earned a 45-42 win over #15 ranked Southeastern Louisiana to cap off the season. Also, earlier in the season, they put some pressure on Louisiana-Lafayette however the Ragin’ Cajuns were able to eek out a 27-24 win.
Head coach Tim Rebowe has lead the Colonels to five consecutive winning seasons, which is a first in program history. They also made three consecutive appearances in the FCS playoffs from 2017-2019. In 2018, the led the Colonels to their fourth FBS win, and their first over a power 5 team, when they defeated Kansas.
Offense
Nicholls State returns one of their more explosive players this year. Julien Gums was named to the Stats Perform FCS Walter Payton Watch List for his senior season. Over his career he has rushed for over 2,500 yards and 32 touchdowns. His 2021 season was cut short due to an injury in their second game. But he opened the season with a 139 yard, 19 carry performance against North Alabama, then had 105 yards on just six carries in the first quarter against Houston Baptist before his season ended unexpectedly. He is 1023 yards short of breaking the all-time rushing record and 3 touchdowns to break the all-time record for rushing touchdowns for the Colonels.
Colin Guggenheim also returns to the Colonels backfield. He rushed for 930 yards on 145 carries, to average 6.4 yards per carry, with 10 touchdowns. He finished the season with five consecutive 100-yard rushing performances while setting the schools single-season rushing record with 103.3 yards per game average. That includes three games where he had no carries, one single carry, and one game with only seven carries.
Offensively the Colonels had five players selected to the first-team All-Southland Conference preseason team, Guggenheim, tight end Lee Negrotto, receiver K.J. Franklin, center Evan Roussel, and placekicker Gavin Lesseigne. They also had two players named to the second team, quarterback Kohen Granier and offensive tackle Mark Barthelemy.
Franklin, a 5’9” junior receiver, enters the 2022 season 10th on the all-time receiving yardage list with 1,277 on 96 catches. He was the starting slot receiver and the primary punt returner.
Negrotto, a 6’3” 225lb sophomore tight end, finished his freshman season as a second-team member of the All-Southland Conference team. He was the primary receiving tight end and finished fourth on the team with 235 yards on 20 catches and had at least one catch in nine games in the fall.
Lasseigne, a junior placekicker, enters the season 12th on the all-time scoring list and is five extra points away from setting the all-time record. He also finished the 2021 season on the All-Southland Conference Second-Team after ranking 4th in the conference in scoring and leading the league with 11 field goals on 13 attempts. He make all three attempts in the season finale, including a career long 45-yarder in the win. He was also 46-of-47 for PATs on the season.
Granier, a senior, served as backup quarterback before starting the final two games of the 2021 season, but played in a total of eight games. He was 46-of-84 for 616 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. With Franklin, he has two other pass catchers returning who have caught 15 or more passes last season.
The Colonels averaged 33.4 points, 493.2 yards of total offense, 246.5 passing yards, and 246.7 rushing yards last season.
Defense
The Colonel defense only had one preseason All-Southland Conference first-team selection in defensive lineman Perry Ganci. Linebacker Hayden Shaheen and defensive back Jordan Jackson were second-team selections.
Ganci, a 6’2” 260lb junior, finished his sophomore season fifth in the conference with 9.5 tackles for loss and tying for fourth in sacks with 6. For the season he had 34 total tackles, 24 solo, with a season high of seven against North Alabama with 3 TFL’s and 2 sacks. He was named to the All-Southland First Team, All-Louisiana Second Team, and Southland All-Academic teams.
Shaheen, a 6’ 215lb sophomore, started all 11 games last season and finished second on the team with 56 total tackles, 36 solo, and 6.5 for loss (13th in the conference), with a fumble recovery and an interception. He finished the season with selections to the All-Southland Second Team, and Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-America Third Team.
Jackson, a 5’10” 170lb junior, played in all 11 games last season with 25 tackles (23 solo) with a career high five against Southeastern. He had two pass breakups and one interception, that he returned for a 44 yard touchdown.
The defensive unit allowed an average of 28.6 points, 385.9 total offensive yards, 246.4 passing yards and 139.5 rushing yards per game last season.
Special Teams
As mentioned previously, Lasseigne was 11-of-13 on field goals and 46-of-47 on PATs last season. Though his career longest kick is 45 yards, he was 3-for-3 from 40-49 yards out and 2-for-2 from 30-39 yards out.
Punter Craig Walker, a junior, averaged 38.1 yards per punt. In his 33 kicks last season he had 14 fair catches, 10 downed inside the 20 and one kick of 50+ yards.
Walker handled 67 of the 70 kickoffs with 15 touchbacks but he also had 5 kicks go out of bounds. Lasseigne appears to only handle onsides kicks.
USA
Offense
Beginning with the offensive line, the Jags have lots of new faces slated to start for the Jags, with three of the five listed at over 300lbs. James Jackson, who started 7 of the eight games he appeared is back at center. Trey Simpson, who started all 12 games last season in multiple positions on the offensive line, is listed as the 2nd string center.
Antawn Lewis, who started in all 11 games he appeared in, is slated to start at right tackle with Josh McCulloch, who started in one game and appeared in four, as his backup.
PJ Mixon (left tackle, Jacksonville State), Dontae Lucas (left guard and Florida State) are all newcomers to the program. Reggie Smith (right guard, walk-on) only previously saw action on field goal and PATs in 2020 and played in three games on the offensive line in 2021.
Anterrious Gray played in 11 contests, starting 10 of them last year, is listed as the second-string left guard. True freshman Adrien Strickland is listed as the second-string left tackle to start the season.
Moving out from the offensive line, the Jags have two sets of tight ends listed. Lincoln Sefcik is listed as one starter with DJ Thomas-Jones as his backup. They tend to be more of the big, pass catching type of tight ends the Jags have had success with over the years. Brandon Crum is listed as the starter with Jacob Hopper as his backup on the other list. They tend to be more of the blocking type of tight ends that came to be part of the offense over the Campbell era.
Sefcik earned third-team all-Sun Belt Conference, second-team all-league by Pro Football Network, and third-team all-conference by Phil Steele, and honorable mention all-SBC from Pro Football Focus last season. He caught 32 passes for 218 yards and five touchdowns to lead his position group in all three categories. He ranked in the top 10 in the conference in total touchdown catches by a tight end and had the most since Gerald Everett’s eight in 2015.
Crum caught nine passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. He saw action in 10 games, with four consecutive starts in October. He posted a career high three catches and 31 yards against Arkansas State with his lone touchdown.
The starting receiver are Jalen Wayne at the X and Devin Voisin at the Z receiver positions and Caullin Lacy at the H, or as some will call the slot receiver. Wayne was honored with a number of accolades in 2021, honorable mention all-Sun Belt Conference selection, second-team all-SBC from Pro Football Network, fourth-team all-conference by Phil Steele Publications. Last season he had 53 catches for 630 yards and two touchdowns. The sixth-year “super senior” will look to make his name as the Jags #1 receiver this season. Voisin played in four games last season but did not record a catch. Lacy played in 11 games last season, he started six of them including the first two games of the season, he caught 41 passes for 291 yards and added 26 yards rushing on 10 carries.
La’Damian Webb beat out Terrion Avery as the starting running back on the depth chart. Webb had been healing some injuries in the spring and preseason camp but looks to be ready to go now. Webb rushed 221 times for 1,399 yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged over six yards per carry and just under 140 yards per game and just over six yards per carry.
Carter Bradley was named the starting quarterback over Desmond Trotter. Bradley spent the previous four seasons with the Toledo Rockets. In 2021 he played in eight games as they posted a 7-5 record. He went 77-of-130 for 972 yards and four touchdowns. He went 18-of-28 for 221 yards and a touchdown against #7 Notre Dame in a three point loss.
The Jaguar offense only averaged 24.9 points per game last season, something the staff look to improve upon this season. In doing so they averaged 367.4 total yards, 256 passing yards, and 111.4 rushing yards per game.
Defense
Similarly, the Jaguar defense returns several from last year.
Starting up front, Jamie Sheriff is back from injury and starting at Bandit end with Brock Higdon as his backup. Nose guard Wy’kevious Thomas , who started all 12 games last year, is also back as a starter with Brock Higdon as his backup. Charles Coleman, who started nine of the 12 games last season, is set to start at defensive tackle this season with Ed Smith listed as his backup.
At Wolf linebacker CJ Rias is starting with DK Bonhomme or Lamondre Brooks listed as backups. Rias played in 11 games last season. Transfer James Miller is starting at Mike linebacker with Ke’Shun Brown listed as backup. Quentin Wilfawn is starting at Stinger linebacker with Trey Kiser listed as backup.
Husky (nickel) safety is Yam Banks with Tremel States-Jones listed as backup. Jamar Richardson is starting field corner with Ricky Fletcher as backup. Darrell Luter is the starting Boundary corner with Marquise Robinson as his backup. Transfer Jalen Jordan is starting at Rover with CJ Thompson as his backup. Transfer Marvin Martin is starting at Free safety in place of the injured Keith Gallmon, with Jaden Voisin listed as backup.
The defense allowed an average of 26.4 points per game, which included the 60 points that Tennessee put up on the Jags in Knoxville. That breaks down to 354.7 total yards, 208.4 passing yards, and 146.3 rushing yards per game on average.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo and Jack Brooks return at the starting placekicker and punter. Transfer Jacob Meeks will handle kickoff duties over Diego this year.
Caullin Lacy and true freshman Braylon McReynolds are listed as the kick returners for the Jags.
Keys to the game
Control the game
The Jags need to come out and take control of the game from the opening kickoff until the final whistle. They need to prove that they are an FBS team playing against an FCS team.
The Colonels under coach Rebowe have played FBS teams very tough. They defeated Kansas a few years ago, they put a scare into Louisiana-Lafayette and defeated #15 Southeastern Louisiana in the season finale.
Stop the Run
Nicholls State have two talented running backs on their roster and they will look to use them. It’ll be up to the defensive front to keep them contained. Their offense is very balanced, but if they can take away two of their big playmakers at running back then the Jags can upset their offensive balance and get them off their rhythm.
Establish the Run
Last season the Jags did not particularly run the ball well. With an average of 111.4 yards per game over the season, it’s pretty obvious. With a new running back room, the Jags intend to change that. Nicholls will be a good test to see how well they do behind a rebuilt offensive line.
Prediction
Nicholls State is a good FCS team that South Alabama should defeat. Should. But the last two meetings between the two schools have been much closer than anticipated and for comfort. Going to overtime in 2016 and needing to stop a game-winning two-point conversion attempt twice was anything but comfortable.
They have risen to the occasion when facing FBS and strong FCS opponents. They would like nothing else but to start the 2022 season with an upset win over an FBS team. Let them get that next Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe if they want it so bad.
I think the Jags will play this game close to their vest and try not to show a lot on film for Central Michigan and UCLA to see in preparation.
Vegas Insider has South Alabama favored by 10 points. I think the final score will be a little closer. I’m thinking 34-27.
If you made it all the way through, I hope you enjoyed this read. I’ll make sure to be more concise going forward. You can blame my editor.
Go Jags!