South Alabama Snaps Two-Game Skid, Gets First Ever Win Over Georgia Southern 41-14
South Alabama finally got the monkey off their back, defeating Georgia Southern and also breaking a two-game losing streak in an impressive rout, 41-14.
The Jags (4-2, 1-2 SBC) took control from the opening possession and never really let the Georgia Southern Eagles (2-5, 1-3 SBC) take flight. They took the opening kickoff and drove 84 yards in 10 plays to put up the opening score. Jake Bentley capped the drive off with a 12 yard run.
In each of the previous five games, the Jags first possession has been a three-and-out. So not only getting their first 1st down on an opening possession, but scoring a touchdown were both firsts for the 2021 team.
The Jags added to their lead with a 42-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo with 2:03 left in the opening quarter.
The defense forced a punt with little over a minute left in the opening quarter. Only a minute into the second quarter the Jags were back on the board with Jake Bentley’s second rushing touchdown of the game, this time from six yards out.
On the ensuing possession the Eagles were quickly facing a 3rd and 6 from their own 29 when CJ Rias picked off the pass at the Georgia Southern 40 yard line. Then the first offensive play Bentley connected with Jalen Tolbert down the near sideline for a 40 yard touchdown to go up 24-0 with 12:29 left in the second quarter.
South Alabama’s defense forced another punt after being aided by a holding penalty. All the offense needed was three plays to go 70 yards with a 5 yard touchdown pass by Bentley to Jalen Wayne to put the Jags ahead 31-0 with 9:08 left until hafltime.
Georgia Southern finally got on the board on a 15 play, 75 yard drive. The Eagles opted for the 2-point conversion, which they got, to cut the Jags lead to 31-8 with 2:00 left until halftime.
GSU opened the second half with a 10 play, 48 yard drive culminating in a 44 yard field goal to put the score at 31-11 with 10:22 left in the third quarter.
A 58 yard run by Bryan Hill set up Bentley’s second touchdown pass of the game. Bentley connected with Lincoln Sefcik for his second touchdown of the season. It gave the Jags a 38-11 advantage with 3:41 left in the third quarter and ending the 11-unanswered point streak by the Eagles.
The fourth quarter began with a 34 yard field goal on the second snap of the quarter. It would end up being Georgia Southerns final points of the game.
The Jags tried to answer on the next possession however Diego’s 43 yard field goal flew wide right.
The next Jaguar possession Diego got another opportunity to put one between the uprights, which he did from 31 yards out to set the final score.
Jake Bentley is the first Jaguar to account for five touchdowns in a game. He ran for two and threw for three more in the game. He is also the first Jaguar quarterback to throw for over 300 yards in a game since Evan Orth did in 2018.
Bentley finished with 389 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-31 passing. He also ran six times for 8 yards after sack yardage was subtracted.
Desmond Trotter was 1-of-2 for 16 yards at the end of the game.
Bryan Hill led all rushers with 65 yards on eight carries. Terrion Avery carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards.
Jalen Tolbert broke the record with the most 100-yard receiving games in Jaguar history. He caught 11 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown after being targeted 18 times in the game.
Jalen Wayne added 117 yards on 7 receptions with a touchdown.
Justin Tomlin went 5-of-13 passing for 49 yards and an interception. Cam Ransom went 2-of-12 for 63 yards.
Logan Wright led the Eagles backfield with 60 yards on 14 carries. Ransom added 23 yards on 10 carries.
Amare Jones led the Eagles receiving corps with 90 yards on four receptions. Emil Smith caught two passes for 20 yards. Beau Johnson caught 1 pass for 2 yards.
South Alabama rolled up 545 yards of total offense to Georgia Southern’s 233. The Jags threw for 405 yards to GSU’s 112 and the Jags out rushed the Eagles 140-121.
Offensively the Jags converted 7-of-12 3rd down attempts to GSU’s 9-of-21. USA was 5-of-6 in red zone scoring, the one trip without a score was at the end of the game when they allowed time to expire.
South Alabama’s CJ Rias collected the only turnover of the game with an interception. GSU put the ball on the ground once in the game but were able to recover it.
The Jags scored on five of its first six possession while the defense forced three-an-outs on four of Georgia Southern’s first five possessions. The other was Rias’s interception.
“It just felt free,” Bentley said. “The game plan going in was to be aggressive. We consistently did that all night, up-front, on the perimeter, we just really attacked all night. It felt really good as an offense to really get rolling and put up some points.”
“You think of how we’ve opened games and how we’ve opened drives, to take the ball and score the first drive of the game, and the defense continue to get three-and-outs,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. “They made some adjustments on their side and got some momentum, and we adjusted right back and took it away from them. That, to me, is awesome against a very proud program. But this program has been waiting to beat that team for a very long time and we got it done tonight.”
“You have to be able to build off momentum,” Wommack said. “A team that’s never had those situations.”
“The guys in that locker room have never responded to adversity and found ways to win.” Wommack continued. “And that’s what this group is doing right now.”
Speaking of adversity, the Jags had a long list of injured players sitting out the game. Center James Jackson (knee), wide receiver Caullin Lacy (ankle), linebacker Shawn Jennings (ankle) and tight end Trent Tyre (undisclosed) all missed the game due to injuries suffered in the last week.
Running back Kareem Walker (quad) missed his third consecutive game with his nagging injury.
Tight end Lincoln Sefcik, running back Terrion Avery, left tackle Ja’Chai Baker, and linebackers Chris Henderson and Ke’Shun Brown all missed some practice time this week after suffering injuries against Texas State last weekend.
Next Game
South Alabama has a couple extra days to rest and prepare for their trip to Monroe, Louisiana to take on the ULM Warhawks. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm on Saturday, October 23.
Jags Send Senior Out On Top With 31-28 Win Over Coastal Carolina
Head coach Steve Campbell talking with the Jaguar offensive line between possessions early in the game against Coastal Carolina.
South Alabama took advantage of their final game of the season and a beat-up and bruised Coastal Carolina team to send 19 seniors out with one final 31-28 win.
Coastal Carolina (5-7, 2-6) came into the game looking for a win to get bowl eligible in their second season playing a Sun Belt schedule. Meanwhile the Jags (3-9, 2-6 SBC) only had pride and the program’s seniors to play for in their final game of the season.
The Chanticleers entered on a three game skid and plagued by injuries which only got worse during the game with more injuries occurring during the course of play.
The Jags jumped out early with a 32-yard field goal on their opening drive. Then a 45-yard touchdown pass from Cole Garvin to Jamarius Way on the first play after recovering a Coastal Carolina fumble to take a 10-0 lead.
The Jags kept it up in the second quarter with a one-play 73-yard drive when Evan Orth came in and lofted a throw over the Coastal defender to let Jamarius Way to out run the defense to the end zone for a 17-0 lead.
Coastal Carolina finally got on the board on their next possession, capped off by a 31-yard touchdown when Bryce Carpenter came in for an injured Kilton Anderson and found Isaiah Likely for the touchdown.
The Jags answered right back with a 13-play, 75 yard drive capped off by Kawaan Baker’s 6 yard touchdown run. Which let the Jags take a 24-7 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The second half was a different story, the Chanticleers opened the second half throwing the ball and systematically driving down the field for a touchdown.
USA got their only points of the second half two possessions later when they drove 51 yards in 10 plays and 4:22. Garvin connected with Way for a 7 yard touchdown making the score 31-14.
Coastal wasn’t ready to give up though and proceeded to drive 65 yards to get within 10 points again at 31-21.
The Jags offense went cold midway through the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-and-outs but the Jags defense held their own and forcing an incomplete pass on a 4th down conversion attempt with 3:17 left in the game.
The Jags then went into their ground control offense to bleed the clock. After Tra Minter broke the single-game rushing record, he then broke free for a 20 yard gain but the Chanticleers forced a fumble and recovered it at their own 20.
Coastal proceeded to pass the ball down the field aided by a illegal use of hands penalty before Anderson found Malcolm Williams for a 16 yard touchdown cutting the Jags lead to only three points 31-28 with only 34 seconds left in the game.
Coastal Carolina attempted an onside kick, but it never took the high bounce as wanted and Jahmmir Taylor was able to cover it up preserving the Jags win.
The Jaguar offense rolled up an impressive 533 yards of total offense and 331 yards on the ground. Tra Minter ran 24 times for 203 yards, breaking Kendall Houston’s record of 173 rushing yards against Troy.
Deonta Moore ran nine times for 72 yards. Baker rushed seven times for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Cole Garvin went 7-of-9 for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Evan Orth went 3-of-4 for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Jamarius Way caught six passes for 141 and all three receiving touchdowns. Minter caught two passes for 49 yards and Jordan McCray added 12 yards on two receptions.
The Jaguar defense allowed 385 yards, holding the Chanticleers to only 92 rushing yards. They commited their first penalty in two games against USA and ended the game with four for 40 yards.
Anderson went 20-for-32 for 262 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Williams caught seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown to lead the Coastal receivers.
CJ Marable ran 10 times for 40 yards while Alex James rushed for 32 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns. Anderson had 11 carries for 20 yards after sack yardage.
“I was glad our seniors could go out with a win in their last game at Ladd[-Peebles Stadium],” head coach Steve Campbell said. “Those guys really stepped up and played big in a big way.”
“After the Louisiana-Monroe game, we looked and saw that we really didn’t have a personality offensively,” Campbell continued. “We were running a little of this and a little of that; we really hadn’t established a personality. Before last week, we said we were going to run the football, be a play-action team and try to create some explosive plays with some man-to-man coverages. We were able to do that.”
“It makes it that much more special, to end with a win on this field” said senior linebacker Bull Barge after the game. “That’s what you work hard for, to go out on top at your own place. It just feels good knowing you’re going out on top after a long season.”
“It definitely gave us a spark,” said junior Tra Minter on a win to end the season. “All we wanted to do was send these seniors out with a bang and give them something to look back on. For next year, it just gave us a spark and some confidence for next season.”
The coaches will now put all their focus on recruiting with an early signing period on December 19-21 and the regular signing day on February 6, 2019.
Inside the Numbers:
South Alabama Host Coastal Carolina For Season Finale
South Alabama (2-9, 1-6 Conference) is set to play their final home game of the season which is also their final game of the season as a whole on Friday with kickoff scheduled for 2pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Jags will welcome a 5-6 Coastal Carolina team that are looking to get bowl-eligible (5-6, 2-5 Conference). This makes the third consecutive team looking to earn their sixth win against the Jaguars.
Head coach Steve Campbell is balancing getting playing time for the younger players with trying to win the remaining game and letting the seniors get playing time on Senior Day.
Senior Evan Orth, who started eight of 11 games so far this season injured his shoulder a couple weeks ago and has missed the last two game due to it. Cole Garvin, also a senior, started the first game of the season and played a complete game last week against Louisiana-Lafayette after missing most of the season due to a team rules violation when he was arrested for public intoxication.
Redshirt freshman Cephus Johnson started against Louisiana-Monroe two weeks ago, but split time with Garvin.
The Chanticleers, who joined the Sun Belt Conference last season, come into Mobile as a the favorite by anywhere from 2.5 to 6.5 points but in the midst of a three-game losing streak after facing Appalachian State, Arkansas State, and Georgia Southern.
South Alabama will be bidding goodbye to 19 seniors, some of the most accomplished players in program history to date. Among them, Jamarious Way who is in the top 10 in pretty much every USA career and single-season receiving category, Corliss Waitman who has the best punting average in program history, and Gavin Patterson who is the second-leading scorer in program history.
The Chanticleers join Appalachian State and Georgia Southern who were long-time FCS powerhouses who have joined the Sun Belt and have found success early. With just one win between them and bowl eligibility in their second season, they should be motivated and ready to play.
Meanwhile the Jags don’t have a post-season to play for, they only have pride. The Jags can play spoiler while heading into the off-season on a positive note.
The Chanticleers average 208.4 yards rushing per game and 170.5 yards passing per game. Meanwhile the Jags are averaging 135.7 yards rushing and 203.4 yards passing per game. But the Jags defense has been very susceptible to big plays, long runs and passes many of them for touchdowns have plagued them all season.
The Jags covered the spread last week, I think they’ll do it again but I’m not sure if they win. It’s more of toss-up and I think the more motivated team will win.
Inside the Numbers:
Louisiana-Monroe Spoils South Alabama’s Homecoming 38-10
Louisiana-Monroe breaks the Jags homecoming win streak at 9 after defeating USA 38-10 on Saturday, November 10, 2018.
South Alabama’s unbeaten streak in homecoming games came to an end at 9 as Louisiana-Monroe defeated the Jags 38-10.
The Jags (2-8, 1-5 SBC) started the game well, but could not muster much after the first quarter as Louisiana-Monroe (6-4, 4-2 SBC) scored 28 unanswered points after the Jags had tied the game.
ULM rolled up 551 yards of total offense, 376 of them through the air. The Jags could only muster 218 yards of total offense, with 129 of them coming through the air and a mere 89 yards rushing.
ULM’s Caleb Evans was 27-of-32 for 367 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was D’Marius Gillespie who caught all 7 passes thrown his way for 159 yards and a touchdown. Markis McCray had 5 catches for 41 yards. In total, 11 receivers caught passes with Jonathan Hodoh the other receiver catching a touchdown on his only catch.
Marcus Green led the Warhawks with 68 rushing yards on only two carries with a touchdown. Evans had 12 carries for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
Cephus Johnson started the game and finished 1-for-4 for 34 yards and a touchdown. Cole Garvin played the second and third quarters and went 13-for-19 for 95 yards.
Three Jags caught three passes each with Jordan McCray leading the trio with 45 yards and a touchdown.
Tra Minter led the rushing attach with 12 attempts for 61 yards. Johnson was next in line with 9 carries for 23 yards.
ULM was penalized only once for 15 yards while the Jags were flagged 5 times for 36 yards.
After being forced to punt on their opening possession, the Jags got the ball right back when Marcus Green muffed the punt and DJ Daniels recovered at the ULM 34 yard line. On the very next play Johnson threw a 34 yard touchdown pass to McCray lifting the Jags to a 7-0 lead. ULM would score the next 10 points to take a 10-7 lead into the second quarter.
USA couldn’t put the ball in the end zone early in the second quarter and settled for a 31 yard field goal by Gavin Patterson to tie the game.
The Warhawks took control of the game when they scored 14 points in the final 6:24 of the half. The Jags lined up for a 38 yard field goal attempt with 2:01 left in the first half, but the Warhawks blocked the attempt and would score with just :22 left.
ULM put a bow on it after they forced a three-and-out on the Jags first possession of the second half. Then the Warhawks only needed three plays to put another touchdown on the board with 12:34 left in the third quarter.
ULM would score on their next possession as well to get the final score of 38-10.
“I’m disappointed in the outcome of the game,” head coach Steve Campbell said after the game. “I thought the kids fought hard and that we did some good things in the first half. We had talked about starting faster and I thought we did. I hated that we gave up the touchdown right before the half with 22 seconds left, which really hurt.”
“We didn’t start the third quarter the way we wanted to, we got the ball and wanted to take it down the field and make it a seven-point game; Obviously we didn’t do that,” Campbell continued. “I was proud of our guys for fighting back and keeping them off the scoreboard for most of the fourth quarter.”
When asked about his biggest coaching concern with the way the season’s gone and only two game remaining, Campbell said: “The things that you would be concerned about have already happened. Getting beat by ULM by 28 on Homecoming is what I would be concerned about, but that has passed. What you have to do now is make sure you prepare hard and put together a good plan. We have to be able to go out and execute it against Louisiana-Lafayette and then finish strong against Coastal Carolina.”
The Jags will travel to Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday for a 4pm kickoff against the Ragin’ Cajuns who are 5-5 and looking to get bowl eligible themselves.
Inside the Numbers:
Jags Host Louisiana-Monroe On Homecoming Weekend
South Alabama (2-7, 1-4 SBC) have been guaranteed another losing season but they have a lot yet to play for, pride. With only three games left, head coach Steve Campbell is expected to take advantage of the new red shirt rules and get freshmen some playing time down the stretch.
Louisiana-Monroe (5-4, 3-2 SBC) travel to Mobile as the first place team in the Sun Belt Conference western division and are favored to win the game by 6.5 points.
Senior starting quarterback Evan Orth left last weeks game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury which will keep him sidelined this week. Complicating things is that Desmond Trotter will not be available which will leave Cephus Johnson and Cole Garvin as the only two quarterbacks available on Saturday. Garvin has not seen playing time since arrested back in September.
The Warhawks hosted Georgia Southern and put a whipping on them 44-25. They held them to 138 yards rushing and 216 overall. The Warhawks gained 573 total yards, 236 rushing.
The Jaguar defense has played well in spurts but the offense has had problems moving the ball and putting points on the board. Then other times the roles were reversed with the offense moving the ball but the defense unable to get a stop. But the whole time the defense has been very susceptible to big plays, both through the air and on the ground.
With the injuries the number of players who are missing time with injuries and the expected use of freshmen, I don’t like the sound of how this game could play out. With a forecasted high of 56 degrees for Saturday, 55 degrees at kickoff and a quick cool off into the 40s as the sun sets may make for a small crowd and a long evening for the fans.
Keys to a jaguar win:
1. Win the turnover battle. The Jags can’t waste any possessions if they hope to win.
2. Stop the big plays. Big plays have been a bane in the side of the Jaguar defense all season. The 78 yard touchdown pass given up last week was a prime example. But giving up big double-digit yards on 3rd down is killer.
3. Score points. The most obvious of things to say, but there’s no way to win without putting points on the scoreboard. Last week they got on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter but didn’t get another score until the game was quite settled late in the fourth quarter.
I haven’t seen anything to make me think the Jags will suddenly put the last few games behind them and play up to their full potential. But I’m always open for a surprise. But right now I see the Warhawks getting their first win in three tries in Mobile and based on trends they will cover the 6.5 point spread.
Inside the Numbers:
Jags Fall To Redwolves 38-14
South Alabama allowed 31 unanswered points after tying the game and 7-each midway through the second quarter before getting a late trash-time score as the Jags fell to 2-7 on the season and 1-4 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Arkansas State’s Justice Hansen accounted for 357 total yards and four touchdowns. He threw for 332 yards while going 26-for-37 and three touchdowns. He added 25 yards on the ground and a 22 yard pass reception as the Redwolves improved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
Justin McInnis caught seven passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Warren Wand rushed for 77 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown.
Evan Orth started the game after clearing the concussion protocol, which he suffered in the Jags game against Troy on October 23. Orth went 7-of-15 for 63 yards and a touchdown before he had to leave with an injury in the third quarter. Cephus Johnson went 5-of-7 for 30 yards and a touchdown in relief.
Tra Minter rushed 17 times for 88 yards. Cephus Johnson rushed for 28 yards on 12 carries as the second best runner. Minter also led the way receiving with four catches for only nine yards. Kawaan Baker hauled in three passes for a team-leading 40 yards.
Nigel Lawrence led the Jags with 17 stops after finally returning from injury and being disqualified in the first quarter against Troy. Bull Barge recorded 13 tackles.
The Jags trailed 14-7 at halftime before the Redwolves took control of the game in the third quarter with two scores. They got a big boost when a reverse throw-back pass to Hansen picked up 22 yards into the Jags red zone. Three plays later they scored.
The second score in the third quarter came after USA tried to convert on 4th and 1 at the Arkansas State 19 yard line and was unable to do so. Three plays later, on 3rd and 7, Hansen threw to McInnis near the right sideline and was able to race 78 yards to the end zone.
After going down 38-7, Johnson led the Jags on a 10 play, 68 yard drive capped off by a 5 yard touchdown pass to Jamarius Way.
If some crazy dominoes were to fall just right over the next three week, the Jags could conceivably still earn a berth in the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship game and bowl contention.
Head coach Steve Campbell said, “I thought we played hard in the first half and kept ourselves in the game. We had a couple of chances, but we gave up seven right before the half. It was a big series for us offensively when we didn’t convert the third-and-one and punted it. Arkansas State was able to drive down and score right before the half and that hurt, then we had the penalty on the kick return that could’ve evened up things for us heading into the locker room. They took the first drive [for a score] to open the second half and I didn’t get us ready coming out after halftime. We couldn’t really get anything going until our last drive.”
Coach Campbell’s positives from the game were, “We didn’t have as many penalties as we have in the past… We had a late hit on the quarterback and another 15-yard penalty on Arkansas State’s two first-half touchdown drives…. We didn’t turn it over. Those are some positive things that our young guys can build off of.”
South Alabama returns home on Saturday to host Louisiana-Monroe for homecoming. The Warhawks are coming off of a 44-25 win over Georgia Southern as they take control of the Western Division with a 5-4 overall record and 3-2 conference record.
Inside the Numbers:
South Alabama Looks For First Win In Jonesboro Against Arkansas State
The Jaguars (2-6, 1-3 SBC) travel to Jonesboro, Arkansas looking for the programs first win there against the Arkansas State Redwolves (4-4, 1-3 SBC).
Flash back to last year when the Jags upset the Redwolves in Mobile 24-19 and looked like they had turned the corner after a very rough beginning to the season and was making a run towards bowl eligibility.
Snapping back to this season the Jags under first year head coach Steve Campbell and the Jags have had a rough go of it. Particularly on the road where they are winless, and quite frankly have only been competitive in one game (Memphis) where the Jags were tied at 21 at halftime and was within four points going into the fourth quarter but ended up losing 52-35. USA has lost by an average score of 52-17 on the road, allowing no fewer than 48 points per road game and 522.7 yards of offense.
It’s been terrible.
Yes, one of those away games was Oklahoma State. But two of those losses came against Appalachian State and Georgia Southern. In each road game other than Memphis, the Jags trailed by double digits at halftime, including a 42-7 shocker at Appalachian State.
Despite all of this, USA still controls their destiny in the Sun Belt Conference Western Division with an opportunity to earn a spot in the inaugural SBC Championship.
Today is a key towards earning that spot.
The Redwolves come into the game battered and bruised. They have had several players miss practice this week. They’ve had five offensive skill position players among them.
But quarterback Justice Hansen continues playing as one of the best at his position in conference history. He leads the team in rushing yards and continues to be a proficient passer.
The Jags were able to get some extra rest since they played on a Tuesday night against Troy. SO instead of a normal bye week, the Jags had two “long” weeks between games. Maybe they wished they had a full bye week after the physical game they had against Troy, which they lost 23-7. Starting quarterback Evan Orth took a pounding, leaving the game late with a concussion. He finally passed through concussion protocol and returned to practice on Wednesday after sitting out much of the time since the October 23rd game.
South Alabama has a couple things they need to do in order to win this game, and they are very similar to what they needed to do against Troy. They simply have to win the turnover battle. The offense has to convert more 3rd down attempts to sustain drives and rest the defense. The defense has to show up, they have been bad all year but terrible on the road. The defense has given up big plays, both running and passing. They clamped down against Troy in the second half but they can’t go into halftime down double-digits.
Coach Campbell and his staff just cannot gamble on making a big play to give themselves momentum. The “surprise” onside kicks and the hail-mary throw with just :03 left until halftime against Troy keeps giving the momentum that the Jags were building up right back to the other team. Let the guys keep fighting, they will turn the tide, just don’t pull the run out from under then. Don’t be your own worst enemy.
South Alabama and Arkansas State kicks off this afternoon at 2pm in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The game can be heard on the Jaguar Radio Network and iHeartRadio. Video will be streamed on ESPN+ (seven day free with signup then recurring monthly fee).
Inside the Numbers:
Troy Wins The Battle of the Belt 38-14
A big first half by Troy was all that was needed by the Trojans to defeat South Alabama at home on a Tuesday night nationally televised game, 38-17.
The Jags lost the penalty battle, the two teams had the same number of penalties, seven, but the Jags were penalized for 91 yards while the Trojans had 67 yards in penalties.
Jaguar head coach Steve Campbell was glad to get the teams leading tackler, Nigel Lawrence, back for the game after missing the last two with a knee injury. However his time was short lived. On the third play from scrimmage he was flagged for targeting and disqualified for the game.
Later in the first half, on a play where the ball bounced off of Bull Barge and was intercepted by Sterrling Fisher, the replay booth called down for a review and eventually ejected Jeffery Whatley for targeting while throwing a block for his teammate.
These two targeting ejections makes five of them in the last four games.
South Alabama also lost the turnover battle. After being quite efficient in the passing game, Evan Orth threw three interceptions in the game, doubling his number for the season.
Meanwhile the Jags were able to pick off one of Sawyer Smith’s passes and was able to cover a muffed punt late in the first half.
USA had trouble weathering the early onslaught by the Trojans, allowing scores on each of Troy’s first five possessions. In most of the Jags games this season, the defense has dug deep holes and put the offense down by double-digits.
Risk taking, while it can turn the momentum in your favor if it works out, it can also backfire. That’s what happened at the end of the first half. After the Jags were stopped and Troy took a time out to force USA to punt, the punt bounced and hit a Troy returner and was recovered at the 27 yard line with three seconds left. But instead of kicking the gift field goal, Campbell and Edenfield decided to run a hail-mary style play against Troy’s prevent defense which nearly turned into pick six if it wasn’t for Tra Minter forcing the returner out of bounds at the USA 35 it would have been a touchdown.
After finding success with an onsides kick in the season opener against Louisiana Tech, the Jags have tried to catch their opponents by surprise a few times since then. Each time they were prepared for it or the bounce did not go the Jags way, but each time it gave the momenum back to the opponent. After the interception and return, the Trojan players rushed to the South endzone where a mass of Troy students were ready to receive them after an opening half score of 31-17 and a big play to lead them to the halftime break.
The second half was very different. The Jags defense tightened up and so did the Troy offense. While the Jags offense could move the ball, they couldn’t get into scoring position and when they did they threw interceptions and missed a field goal.
The only score of the second half came with 4:39 left in the game after Evan Orth threw the ball into the end zone but had it intercepted and ran back for an apparent touchdown only to have it called back to the 11 yard line due to a holding call. Two plays later the Trojans put the dagger into the heart of the Jags putting them up 38-17.
USA finished the game with 385 yards of total offense, 275 of them coming through the air. Troy gained 410 total yards, 261 through the air and 252 on the ground. But the Jaguar defense only allowed 71 total yards in the second half.
Tra Minter rushed 23 times for 99 yards to lead the Jaguar rushing attack and added 49 yards receiving on two catches. Jamarius Way caught six passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Jordan McCray added three for 60 yards and the other touchdown.
Troy’s BJ Smith rushed 22 times for 170 yards and a touchdown. Damion Willis caught five passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite being only 2-6 on the season and 1-3 in conference play, the Jags still control their destiny in the Sun Belt Conference Western division. They need to win out to get bowl eligible and three of those four are western division rivals each with two conference losses.
It’s not going to be an easy road with perennial contender Arkansas State coming up first followed by Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette and Coastal Carolina. But if they can continue to correct things each week, then it’s not outside the realm of possibility. A 5-3 conference record with wins over all of the western conference members would hold all of the tie breakers.
Meanwhile Troy (6-2, 4-0 SBC) keeps pace with Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, both 3-0 and on a collision course on Thursday night, October 25th in a battle of conference unbeatens and a rivalry known as ‘Deeper than Hate.’
South Alabama will return to action on the road in Jonesboro, Arkansas against Arkansas State on Saturday, November 3. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
Inside the Numbers:
Battle For The Belt 2018
South Alabama and Troy will play for the “Battle for the Belt” trophy Tuesday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on ESPN2. | Photo credit: USA Vanguard.
Last year, the Jags traveled to Troy after the Trojans were coming off of a 24-21 over then #22 ranked LSU in Death Valley and came away with a 19-8 win in a dominating defensive performance. The Jags scored 12 points off of four Trojan turnovers and didn’t allow any points on the board until 6:16 left in the game.
This season is a bit different though. This time the Trojans (5-2, 3-0 SBC) will travel to Mobile to face South Alabama (2-5, 1-2 SBC) after an upset loss on the road at FBS transitional Liberty 22-16.
So to say that the Trojans have something to play for is an understatement. They want revenge for that Wednesday night domination at the hands of the Jaguars on national television, bring the rivalry belt back to Troy, and they also want to redeem themselves after the upset loss.
The Jags enter the game after a pleasing 45-7 get-right win over Alabama State, but only the second ‘W’ of the season for the Jags under first year head coach Steve Campbell, a Troy alum. Actually both of his coordinators, OC Kenny Edenfield and DC Greg Stewart, are also Troy alums too and they all have Division II national championship rings from their time there. Edenfield came to the Jags after a 10 year stint at Troy, the last eight as offensive coordinator.
With the win over the Hornets, the Jags hope to start a run in this second half of the season towards a berth in the inaugural Sun Belt Conference championship game. Currently, the Jags control their fate and could move into a tie for first place in the western division with a win over Troy. Meanwhile Troy looks to keep pace in the Eastern Division with conference unbeaten Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.
Quarterback Sawyer Smith will make only his second start after Kaleb Barker was lost for the season with a knee injury. The Jags defense has been susceptible to big plays and being gashed on the ground this season. By all indications the Jags will have Nigel Lawrence back, who was the teams’ leading tackler when he went down with an injury a couple games ago.
Oh and who can forget the penalties.
The Trojans are very balanced, numbers wise. They average 207.7 yards per game rushing and 205.9 yards per game passing so the Jags will have to play disciplined.
Meanwhile the Jags will look to establish the running game to take pressure off of quarterback Evan Orth and his receivers by making the Trojan defense play honest against the run. While Jamarius Way and Kawaan Baker have both had their standout moments on the season, the Jags have also developed Jordan McCray and Jahmmir Taylor into more options. Now with the return of Malik Stanley, that adds more tools for the passing game to utilize.
Tra Minter has been the workhorse in the backfield with 84 carries on the season for 263 yards and five touchdowns. Baker is the next closest rusher with 179 yards and six touchdowns.
Troy’s leading rusher is BJ Smith, with 587 yards and eight touchdowns on the season on 94 carries. He averages 6.2 yards per carry.
The Trojans have a pair of receivers in Deondre Douglas and Damion Willis who each have five touchdowns. Douglas is the receptions leader with 34 for 348 yards. Willis is not far behind with 25 catches but for 373 yards. They also have three other receivers with over 100 yards receiving on the season and they have combined for five touchdowns between them.
The keys to a Jaguar win and keeping the Belt in Mobile are three fold.
First, limit the penalties committed by the Jags. Gifting Troy with first downs or short third downs will not help a struggling defense. Penalties of aggression or frustration simply have to be avoided. If they can play cool, calm and collected they will have a big advantage right off the bat.
Second, the Jags need to withstand the early Troy onslaught. In the first quarter, they are outscoring opponents 80-21 and in the first half they are outscoring opponents 154-87. In the second half they do not score nearly as much and are actually being outscored 85-82. In USA’s lone Sun Belt win, they were down going into the second half and scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to get the win.
Third, USA must protect the ball. The Jags have put the ball on the ground 14 times and lost possession nine times to go along with six interceptions on the season. Troy under coach Brown are 5-22 when they lose the turnover battle and they are 22-1 when they win that battle.
South Alabama enters as an 11 point underdog in the game. Call it being a homer or whatever you want, but I’m picking the Jags with that spread.
By the Numbers:
Jags Win Big Over Alabama State 45-7
Offensive line coach Mike Bangtson works with the offensive line between drives early in the first quarter in South Alabama’s 45-7 win over Alabama State on Saturday, October 13, 2018.
After a tough three-game road swing which they lost all three by a combined score of 152-55, the Jags returned home for their final non-conference tilt of the season against FCS Alabama State.
The Jaguar offense started out pretty shaky on their first two drives before putting together an 8 play, 82 yard touchdown drive capped off by an 8-yard touchdown run by Tra Minter with 4:03 left in the first quarter.
Once the Jags opened the scoring, they then put touchdowns on the board on their next three possessions. The second touchdown came by way of a jet sweep by Kawaan Baker where he outran the Hornet defense to the corner of the end zone.
Alabama State got their only points of the game on one play. Kha’Dar Davis threw it up down the far sideline, the Jaguar defender went up for it but missed, then Tyrek Allen came away with it and made for the end zone with the help of his teammates making some good blocks for a 75 yard touchdown pass.
USA answered right back with a six play, 49 yard drive capped off by Evan Orth running it in from 19 yards out. The next possession, Orth rolled to his right and found McCray open for a 9 yard touchdown pass to take a 28-7 lead into halftime.
The Jaguar defense opened the second half with a 3 and out. The ensuing punt was fielded by Tra Minter at his own 25 and he didn’t stop until he found the end zone 75 yards later to make it a 35-7 game.
On the next possession, the Jags drive stalled at the Hornet 33 yard line, but Gavin Patterson put three points on the board with a career long 50 yard field goal.
South Alabama took out Evan Orth at the beginning of the fourth quarter in favor of redshirt-freshman Cephus Johnson. On his third play directing the offense, the found Jahmmir running open on a seam route and he floated in perfectly for a 56 yard touchdown for his first career touchdown throw and the final score of 45-7.
The Jags rolled up 396 yards of total offense, 185 of it on the ground. USA held Alabama State to 219 total yards of offense and only 85 on the ground. The 75 yard touchdown pass was 34% of their entire offensive output in the game.
USA still committed seven penalties for 75 yards, which is an improvement in both categories. While the Hornets committed 13 for 83 yards.
Deonta Moore led the Jags with 65 yards rushing with Tra Minter added 61 on a team high 12 attempts with a touchdown.
Orth went 12-of-15 for 155 yards and a touchdown. Johnson went 1-of-2 for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Taylor led the way with 56 yards receiving on the touchdown reception. Kawaan Baker caught two for 52 yards. Jamarius Way caught a team-high three passes for 35 yards. Jordan McCray had the other receiving touchdown with on two catches for 12 yards.
Coach Steve Campbell spoke of how well the team played against Alabama State. “It was a really good win, I’m really proud of the way the guys responded. Tonight was a total team victory. Offensively, I thought we did a lot of good things and we protected the football. We were able to sustain drives with one of them being a 13-play drive. Defensively, we played really, really well. We gave up one play, but other than that our defense played lights out. We did a lot of good things in special teams. We returned a punt for a touchdown, we forced a couple of errant punts, we hit a 50-yard field goal and we covered kicks well, so there were a lot of good things special teams wise. All three phases contributed and I can see a lot of progress. It was good to be back in Mobile.”
With the win the Jags improve to 2-5 on the season and remains 1-2 in the conference and tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference Western Division.
South Alabama will host Troy for a Tuesday Night game on October 23 on ESPN2 the the “Battle for the Belt.”
Inside the Numbers: