Jags Fall To Ohio 27-20, Drop To 0-2 On Season
South Alabama simply were their own worst enemy in Athens on Saturday. The Jags (0-2) couldn’t get a stop late and had too many penalties as they fall short 27-20 to Ohio University (1-1).
The Jags fell behind 10-0 near midway in the second quarter. The second score, a touchdown, was set up by a fumbled punt by Jamaal Pritchett at the Jags own 18 yard line. The defense stiffened up after Aleki Pulkkinen was able to flip the field with a 47 yard punt that was fair caught at the Bobcat 9 yard line. After forcing a 3-and-out, the Jags offense was in business on their 36.
Davenport opened the drive with a pair of passes, but the offense wasn’t able to do anything more and had to settle for a 28 yard field goal by Laith Marjan.
Another defensive three-and-out and a poor punt by Ohio gave the Jags a short field. The drive turned into the Fluff Bothwell show. He carried the ball four straight plays for 37 total yards, the final 8 put him in the end zone to make it a tie game with 1:25 left in the half.
But that was too much time for the Bobcats.
Ohio went to the air behind Parker Navarro and quickly scored in only 49 seconds. The touchdown play being a 33 yard pass to Chase Hendricks down the right side to take a 17-10 lead into halftime.
The opening drive of the second half was very reminiscent of the second half against North Texas. The Jag defense couldn’t get off the field as the Bobcats methodically drove 76 yards in 11 plays using 6:14 off the clock to go up two scores.
But unlike last week, South Alabama immediately responded.
The Jags converted two 3rd downs and a 4th down. On the first 3rd down Davenport rolled to his right, saw an opening and took off to convert. A few plays later facing 3rd and 21, Davenport connected with Devin Voisin to get 18 yards and set up 4th & 3. On fourth down, Davenport went to Fluff Bothwell. Bothwell caught the ball just as he was hit by a defender, shook him off and ran for a few more yards and the first down. Then on 3rd & 2 at the Bobcat 26, Davenport went back to Voisin for 17 on the right side of the field for a first and goal. Davenport then hooked up with Pritchett for a touchdown pass over the middle of the field to cut the lead to 24-17.
South Alabama immediately got the ball back after Tyler Thomas got a strip sack on Navarro with Carlos Johnson Jr recovering at the Ohio 41 late in the 3rd quarter. The Jags were unable to get into the end zone and settled for a 38-yard field goal by Marjan.
The Jag got the ball back after the defense forced and three-and-out. But Ohio shut down the offense, got the ball back after a punt, and then they just drained almost eight minutes off the clock. A 14 play, 78 yard drive eating up 7:53 ended in a field goal with just 3:16 left.
Head coach Major Applewhite decided to punt the ball back with a little over two minutes left with all three time outs left hoping to get a stop.
But they couldn’t find that stop.
Stats
| South Alabama | Ohio | |
| Total Yards | 336 | 404 |
| Passing Yards | 227 | 204 |
| Rushing Yards | 109 | 200 |
| 1st Downs | 18 | 20 |
| 3rd Downs | 5-of-16 | 6-of-15 |
| 4th Downs | 1-for-1 | 1-for-1 |
| Time of Possession | 27:43 | 32:17 |
| Turnovers (Points Off) | 1 (0) | 1 (3) |
South Alabama
Davenport was an efficient 24-of-38 for 227 yards with a touchdown in his first start for the Jags. He had one pass that was intercepted, however a defensive roughing the passer negated the turnover.
Pritchett led the Jags receivers with 8 catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Voisin led the Jag receivers with 77 yards on his 5 catches. Sandgren added 35 yards on three catches and PJ Martin added 26 yards on a pair of catches. DJ Thomas-Jones was held to only one catch for 2 yards.
Fluff Bothwell led the Jags rushing attack with 70 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown. Kentrel Bullock added 28 yards on six carries. Davenport had 12 yards on 10 attempts.
Blayne Myrick led the defense with 10 total stops, 6 solo, with a forced fumble and .5 tackles for loss. Jordan Scruggs, with a broken thumb, had 7 total stops, 3 solo, with .5 TFLs. Wesley Miller had two TFL’s. Tyler Thomas had a sack.
Ohio University
Parker Navarro went 20-for-28 with 204 yards and a touchdown. His favorite receiver was Coleman Owen with 5 catches for 33 yards. Chase Hendricks led the Bobcats with 65 yards on 4 catches with a touchdown.
Anthony Tyus III led the Bobcat rushing game with 74 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. Rickey Hunt Jr was right on his heels with 73 yards on just 3 carries and Navarro added 62 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown.
The bobcat defense got one sack, three quarterback hurries, and 5 tackles for loss.
“It was disappointing,” said coach Applewhite. “There were mistakes in the game, but in terms of the way they played, I was proud of the way they competed.”
After getting the ball with 3:15 left in the game and down one score, the Jags shot themselves in the foot. A holding penalty and a false start ended the drive before it could even get started and the defense was unable to get the ball back.
“When we get it down to a four-point game, get the ball at the 50-yard line, we go three and out, then it’s a seven-point game,” Applewhite said. “We get the ball back again, a chance to go tie it and we back up eight yards. So, just some untimely execution on each side of the ball in terms of what we need to do to play complimentary football.”
“We’re maturing as a ball club in terms of poise and composure in these late, fourth quarter games,” Applewhite observed. “But we didn’t make plays.”
Gio Lopez was held out of the game due to a turf toe injury suffered in the Jags loss to North Texas last week. Despite the injury, he set a program record with 432 passing yards and 496 total offensive yards.
Redshirt sophomore Bishop Davenport, a transfer from Utah State prior to the 2023 season, played a very poised game.
“I’m proud of the way he competed, proud of the way he played, proud of the opportunities he gave the offense,” Applewhite said.
There were a few Jaguars who missed the game, one of which was Braylon McReynolds, who was a game-time decision and didn’t see action.
“I expect no matter what the position is, if there’s a backup that comes in, I expect them to come in and perform because they’re here and they’re great players and they work their tail off,” Applewhite said.
Next
South Alabama will return home to face Northwestern State, an FCS school, on a short week. The Jags and the Demons are scheduled to kickoff at 6:30pm on Thursday, September 12 at Hancock Whitney Stadium on ESPN+.
Preview: South Alabama Travels To Ohio University For First Road Test Of Season
Kickoff: Saturday, September 7th, 6:00pm
Venue: Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium, Athens, OH
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Not announced yet (Last week Christopher Wallace Jr.)
South Alabama (0-1) came up on the short side of the scoreboard against North Texas. The 52-38 decision spoiled head coach Major Applewhite’s debut as the top Jaguar and their home opener. The Jags held a 19-14 lead at halftime but allowed four touchdowns in the third quarter as the Mean Green seized control of the game behind an up-tempo, big-play offense. They were also aided by a mishap in special teams that led to one of the scores.
Let’s start with the good things we saw.
Gio Lopez had a record-setting performance further showing why he was so hyped inside the program all last season. Lopez and his skill guys pretty much picked up right where they left off from the 68 Ventures Bowl. Jamaal Pritchett has elevated his game and has become the next playmaking wide receiver for the Jaguar offense. Devin Voisin was second on the team receiving and in targets in his first game back after missing almost all of 2023 with a knee injury. Braylon McReynolds, Kentrel Bullock and Fluff Bothwell are going to be a fun running back trio.
This could be the most productive offense in South Alabama history. They may need it with the way the defense played though.
Speaking of defense, the line played pretty well. They kept the UNT running game bottled up and only allowed them 104 yards and an average of 3.1 yards per attempt.
What we didn’t like.
The offensive line played better than expected but they still have a lot of work to put in. This week of practice will show us a lot about what this group can do.
While the defensive line was great against the run, they couldn’t generate any pressure on the quarterback. That allowed North Texas to pick apart the secondary for 446 yards and three touchdowns.
Going into the season, the linebackers were an area of concern.
They played decently considering the concerns but they, too, have a lot of work to put in and this week of practice will give us some insight at their ability to improve this season. Blayne Myrick had his name called a few times from his linebacker position. Most notably when the Jags turned away the Mean Green on a goal line stand.
Similar to last season’s opening game, the secondary had trouble in coverage. Hopefully the similarities to last season doesn’t stop there. Last season the secondary made a big adjustment after the first game and played much better.
It’s a cat fight!
We’ll see which cat comes out on top in a match between Jaguars and Bobcats.
The Bobcats (0-1) enter the game coming off of a season-opening loss of their own. They also had an early lead in the game but was unable to keep up with Syracuse, falling 38-22 on the road.
Ohio head coach Tim Albin is in his fourth season at the helm in Athens, OH. He was promoted to the position on July 15, 2021 after joining the program as the offensive coordinator in 2005 with former head coach Frank Solich. Previously Albin and Solich coached together at Nebraska.
The Bobcats defeated Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl to earn their second consecutive 10-win season, a first for the program. The bowl win was also the fifth-consecutive for the program.
Ohio University
Offense
| Stat | Stat total |
| Passing Completions – Attempts – Interceptions | 18-30-1 |
| Points | 22 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 436 |
| Passing Yards | 181 |
| Rushing Yards | 255 |
| Time of Possession | 31:28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 1 – 5 |
| 3rd Downs | 2 of 11 |
| 4th Downs | 1 of 2 |
| Red Zone Scores – Chances | 4 – 5 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 1 – 0 |
Quarterback Parker Navarro was 18-of-30 for 181 yards, one interception and sacked four times.
Coleman Owen led the receivers with 10 catches for 137 yards. Chase Hendricks had 3 for 27 yards. Four other receivers caught passes in the game with minimal yards.
Anthony Tyus III led the team with 203 yards rushing on 16 attempts with two touchdowns. Navarro added 33 yards on 16 carries of his own.
Defense
| Stat | Stat total |
| Passing Completions – Attempts – Interceptions | 27-40-1 |
| Points | 38 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 480 |
| Passing Yards | 354 |
| Rushing Yards | 126 |
| Time of Possession | 28:32 |
| Penalties – Yards | 6 – 47 |
| 3rd Downs | 9 of 15 |
| 4th Downs | 1 of 1 |
| Red Zone Scores – Chances | 5 – 5 |
| Fumbles – Recovered | 0 – 0 |
Austin Brawley led the team with 12 total stops, 9 solo, from the safety position. Blake Leake was next with seven total stops, three of them solo. Two players have one tackle for loss each, Bradley Weaver’s TFL was the teams only sack.
Pearson Tank is the only Bobcat on the season with an interception through the first game.
Special Teams
Punter Jack Wilson logged three kicks with an average of 45.3 yards per kick, a long of 50, and one downed inside the 20. Gianni Spetic went 3-for-3 on field goal attempt in the opening game with a long of 43, and made the one point after attempt.
South Alabama
Offense
| Stat | Stat total |
| Passing Completions – Attempts – Interceptions | 26-49-0 |
| Points | 38 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 582 |
| Passing Yards | 432 |
| Rushing Yards | 150 |
| Time of Possession | 30:28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 9-80 |
| 3rd Downs | 6 of 14 |
| 4th Downs | 2 of -3 |
| Red Zone Scores – Chances | 5 of 5 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 0 – 0 |
Gio Lopez was 26-of-49 for 432 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener. His longest pass completion was for 52 yards but he was sacked twice. He added 62 yards on the ground, leading the Jaguar rushing attack. His 494 all-purpose yards put him in the national lead. It should have propelled him to the Offensive Player of the Week honors for the Sun Belt, however that honor went to another player in an odd choice.
Jamaal Pritchett caught 10 of his 15 targets for 197 yards and a touchdown. Devin Voisin added 5 catches on 8 targets for 60 yards. Shamar Sandgren caught 3 passes for 37 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Eager had one catch for a 23-yard touchdown.
Fluff Bothwell was the leading rusher from the running back position with 30 yards on 6 carries with a touchdown.
Defense
| Stat | Stat total |
| Passing Completions – Attempts – Interceptions | 33-42-0 |
| Points | 52 |
| Total Offensive Yards | 550 |
| Passing Yards | 446 |
| Rushing Yards | 104 |
| Time of Possession | 29:32 |
| Penalties – Yards | 6-50 |
| 3rd Downs | 8-of-12 |
| 4th Downs | 0-of-1 |
| Red Zone Scores – Chances | 5-of-6 |
| Fumbles – Recovered | 0 – 0 |
Blayne Myrick led the team with 12 total stops, 3 solo. Jordan Scruggs was next with nine total stops, three solo as well, with a pass breakup. Maurice Strong Jr and Carlos Johnson Jr both had ½ tackle for loss in the game.
Special Teams
Jack Martin had two recorded punts in the game with an average of 44 yards per kick. However, he did have a bad snap that he dropped, then when he tried to pick it up and kick it, the ball ricocheted off of one of his blockers that led to a defensive touchdown.
Laith Marjan made both of this field goal attempts, the longest was from 39 yards out, as well as both of his point after attempts.
Keys to the Game
Defense
The defense, as a whole, needs to make a big improvement going into game two.
Point: While the rush defense looked good on paper against North Texas, how much of that was due UNT’s success through the air and not needing to run the ball?
Counter Point: The Mean Green had 34 rushing attempts for only 104 yards, an average of 3.1 yards per attempt, and the longest run was 13 yards. Did the Jags just take away the run and force a passing team to throw the ball more?
I would like to see them get more pressure on the quarterback. They need to play better in coverage (seriously, how many times have we been burned by inside slants over the last several seasons?!). I hope the linebackers get coached up some more because they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders.
Offensive Line
I feel the offensive line played decently well overall, but they played at their best in the first half. Gio’s speed and escapability allows him to get out of the pocket and extend plays. What would have been sacks with Carter Bradley at quarterback are now running throws or scrambles for yardage.
I think they’ll improve. They’ll need to as the schedule gets increasingly difficult. With only two returning starters in the group, including a new center, it was a given that the offensive line may need some time to settle in.
Speaking of center, I lost count how many times I saw high snaps that Gio had to really reach to catch. I hope that’s just some first-game jitters
Health
I think the team came out pretty healthy from the game. The only player that appeared to get banged up was Gio Lopez. There were several runs and scrambles where he took the hit instead of sliding.
At one point he had a visible limp after some tackles. Afterwards he had some deep throws that came up a little short. He may have just put too much air underneath his throws, but you can’t help to wonder if he was having problems setting and throwing off of his plant foot.
Lopez also took a hit to the ribs and stayed down for a moment in the second half of the game.
Gio is definitely one of the linchpins in the Jaguars offense, he needs to stay healthy because there’s a lot of football left to be played this season.
Prediction
South Alabama will be tested in their first road game of the season in Ohio. While the sample size is only one game for each program, it looks like the offensive and defensive strengths for the Jags match up well against Ohio University.
The Bobcats is a predominately running team, they had 255 yards on the ground against Syracuse on the road. The Jags defense only allowed 104 yards to UNT. I don’t expect that kind of performance against Ohio, I think the Bobcats are going to get theirs. But can the defense get some stops? Can they get some pressure in the backfield? Can they cause more chaos?
The Jags roll into Ohio a 2.5-point favorite over the Bobcats.
I think this is a chance for coach Applewhite and gang to show that they’ve corrected some of the issues from the first game. But they also aren’t facing such a high-powered, fast-tempo offense this week.
I think the Jags win and cover.
Go Jags!
Jags Falter In Second Half Losing 52-38 In Applewhite’s First Game
Head coach Major Applewhite’s first game was a tale of two halves. The first half saw the Jags (0-1) start off a little rocky but fought back and then held strong on a 4th and goal with seconds to go until halftime. They took a 19-14 lead into the locker-room but the second half would be all Mean Green (1-0) unfortunately leading to a 52-38 loss.
The Jags rolled up 582 yards of total offense in the game. But the defense allowed 550, a stark difference for the most part from the Kane Wommack/Corey Batoon Swarm D performances over the previous three seasons. Chandler Morris accounted for five total scores, three passing and two more rushing.
Gio Lopez accounted for four scores himself, three passing and one rushing. He threw for 432 yards and rushed for 62 yards, setting single-game records for passing yards and total offense.
North Texas took the opening drive 79 yards in 15 plays for a game-opening touchdown drive. The Jags defense only allowed one score over the next three possessions, including a goal-line stand near the end of the half.
The second half was much different.
The Mean Green scored touchdown on four straight possessions in the second half. After the Jaguar offense went three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half, UNT only needed three plays to drive 66 yards and retaking the lead.
After another three-and-out and an 18 yard punt return, the Mean Green scored again on a 5 play, 50 yard drive.
South Alabama tried to get back into the game after Gio Lopez connected with Jamaal Pritchett for a 26 yard touchdown to make it a 28-26 game. However, once again UNT strikes quickly with a 4 play, 69 yard drive to make it 35-26.
Then disaster struck on special teams.
After a third, 3-and-out Jack Martin dropped the snap. He picked it up and attempted to kick it, but the ball hit off his own player and bounced into the end zone to be recovered for a touchdown.
The Jags mounted a responding drive capped off by a 21 yard touchdown pass by Gio Lopez to Shamar Sandgren However the 2-point conversion failed and the Jags were down 42-32 with 13:31 left in the game.
Coach Windham’s defense just couldn’t muster a stop on the next drive and North Texas scored their final touchdown on a 10-play drive spanning 76 yards and eating 4:57 off the clock.
Once again the Jags offense drove down and scored thanks to a 23 yard touchdown pass from Lopez to Anthony Eager. Another failed 2-point conversion left the Jags trailing 49-38 with 4:39 left in the game.
With an opportunity to get the ball back, Jags defender Amarion Fortenberry sniffed out a perimeter pass to the far sideline and broke on the ball. Damon Ward Jr caught the pass and made a step before Fortenberry knocked the ball loose. The Jags recovered, but the officials reviewed and overturned the play that looked clearly like a catch and fumble. (But this seems to be very much the par for the course for the Jags at home)
North Texas added a 30 yard field goal to close out the scoring.
“I’m just disappointed in how we came out in the second half,” head coach Major Applewhite said. “We had two three-and-outs and it slowed us down. After that, we had a big drive to get a touchdown, but then we dropped a snap and gave them seven points on special teams. We also had some personal fouls that extended some drives. We just lost our bearings to start the third quarter and against a team that continues to put up points like that. When they’re hot, it’s difficult to recover from.”
“We left some plays on the field,” Lopez said after the game. “We had a lot of yards, but there’s more points out there we need to score.”
“We had bad eyes,” Jaden Voisin said. “We just did not execute at all. Tackling was a struggle; we’ve got to work on that. Getting to the quarterback; I mean, if the quarterback’s comfy back there, it’s not going to help anybody.”
“Any time our offense is at 38 points, we should win the game,” Voisin continued. “I’m not saying we (defense) lost the game, but we lost the game.”
Stats
| South Alabama | North Texas | |
| Total Yards | 582 | 550 |
| Passing Yards | 432 | 446 |
| Rushing Yards | 150 | 104 |
| 1st downs | 29 | 28 |
| 3rd downs | 6-of-14 | 8-of-12 |
| 4th downs | 0-of-1 | 2-of-3 |
| Time of Possession | 30:28 | 29:32 |
South Alabama
Gio Lopez finished 26-for-49 for 432 yards and three touchdowns. Lopez also led the rushing attack with 62 yards on 13 attempts with another touchdown.
True freshman Fluff Bothwell carried the ball six times for 30 yards and a touchdown. Kentrel Bullock had 28 yards on five carries. Braylon McReynolds added 27 yards on eight carries.
Jamall Pritchett led the Jags receivers with 197 yards on 10 catches with a touchdown. Devin Voisin added 5 catches for 60 yards. Jeremiah Webb caught three passes for 63 yards. Shamar Sandgren caught 3 for 37 yards with a touchdown.
Blayne Myrick led the defense with 12 stops, three solo. Jordan Scruggs has nine stops, also with three solo and a pass break-up. Wy’Kevious Thomas had 7 stops. Jaden Voisin has 6 total stops, five solo. Courtne McBride was the only Jag defender to get a quarterback hurry.
North Texas
Chandler Morris finished 32-for-41 for 415 yards and three touchdowns through the air and added 17 yards on 5 attempts with two touchdowns on the ground.
Ikaika Ragsdale led the Mean Green with 45 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown. Damashja Harris added 29 yards on six carries.
Damon Ward Jr led all receivers with 12 catches and 230 yards for two touchdowns. DT Sheffield added 7 catches for 74 yards. Jeremiah Aaron had 55 yards on three catches. In all ten receivers combined for the 33 pass receptions.
Jayden Hill led the Mean Green with nine stops, two solo. Roderick Brown collected a pair of sacks. Terrell Dawkins had a pair of quarterback hurries.
Next
South Alabama will travel to Ohio University to take on the Bobcats in Athens, Ohio. Ohio dropped their season opener 38-22 at Syracuse.
The Jags will have some work to do on defense over the upcoming week. While Chandler Morris is a really good quarterback, the Jags just couldn’t get any pressure on him though they were able to limit their ability to run the ball. Pressure on the quarterback and coverage in the secondary needs urgent attention.
The Jags and Bobcats kickoff at 5pm on Saturday, September 7 at Frank Solich Field at Peden Stadium. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.
Preview: South Alabama Opens 2024 Season Against North Texas
Kickoff: Saturday, August 31, 4:00pm
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: Not announced yet
South Alabama enters the 2024 season with momentum that the program has never experienced before. Though the regular season record took a step back from the 10-win 2022 campaign, the 2023 season culminated with a ferocious 59-10 defeat of Eastern Michigan in the 68 Ventures Bowl. It finally gave the school and it’s fans the long-awaited first bowl victory in program history. They unleashed some of their pent up frustration from previous bowl games with talk on the field. Though what happened after the game garnered most of the national spotlight.
However less than a month later, the entire college football world was shocked by the announcement of Nick Saban’s retirement. Less than a week later a new head coach, Kalen DeBoer, was announced at the University of Alabama, which began a series of dominoes falling across the college football landscape.
One of dominoes was South Alabama’s head football coaching position.
After only three seasons, Kane Wommack left to be the defensive coordinator at Alabama alongside his former Indiana staff-mate who had accepted the huge task of replacing a legend of college football.
In a swift but thorough search, South Alabama Athletics Director Joel Erdmann announced the selection of Major Applewhite to become the fourth head football coach in South Alabama football history. Applewhite was a clear and easy choice to make in retrospect. He had already been on staff for three seasons with Wommack, he knew the players and the program, and he knew all about the recruiting for the Jags. But in the new age of the transfer portal and players ability to enter it when their head coach leaves, it was also an opportunity to keep roster as intact as possible.
The Coaches
Long considered one of the great offensive minded coaches in the nation, Coach Applewhite helped lead an offense that set many records over the last three seasons. The 2023 offense set a program record for points scored in a single season with 430, scored 55 points or more in three games (including the 59 points scored in the 68 Ventures Bowl which itself set a program record for most points scored against an FBS opponent). They scored 55 points in back-to-back victories over Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Miss during the regular season.
This will be Coach Applewhite’s third season overall as a head coach, he previously held the position at Houston leading the Cougars to a 15-11 record with two bowl appearances and a win over nationally-ranked South Florida during his tenure.
In Coach Applewhite’s first game as head coach for the Jags, he will get to host a program that is not unknown to long time South Alabama supporters.
North Texas was a member of the Sun Belt Conference from 2001 until their departure for Conference USA in 2013. While all of the other sports programs faced the Mean Green many times, the football program only faced off on the gridiron once in what would be their final season in the SBC. It happened to be the Jags first season playing a full FBS and SBC schedule, and only their 4th season sponsoring football, as the first year of their transition. They came out on the wrong side of a 24-14 game in route to a 2-11 season, the worst season in program history.
South Alabama will finally get to renew the sports “rivalry” between the two schools and get finally host North Texas for a game in Mobile.
North Texas head football coach Eric Morris enters his second season at the helm for the Mean Green after going 5-7 in his debut season. He is one of the younger offensive minds that is making a mark for themselves in college football.
Since becoming offensive coordinator at Texas Tech in 2013, Morris has put together a top 25 offense in either FBS or FCS eight of the last 11 seasons. He’s also worked with great offensive minds like Mike Leach and Kliff Kingsbury while recruiting and coaching Pat Mahomes at Texas Tech.
Morris served as head coach at Incarnate Word for four seasons where he amassed a 24-18 record with two trips to the FCS playoffs. His first was in his first season where they lost in the first round, then again in his final season where his team went 10-3 but lost in the second round to top ranked Stephen F Austin. Between UIW and UNT, Morris served as offensive coordinator for Washington State, where they went 7-6 with a loss to Fresno State in the LA Bowl days after he accepted the head coaching position at North Texas.
The North Texas coaching staff had some offseason changes to it. They brought in Cutter Leftwich to coach the offensive line from Oregon, where he was an assistant offensive line coach. The 2023 Oregon OL was a finalist for the Joe Moore award, given to the nation’s top offensive line group. They also brought in Brian Odom to coach linebackers from USC where he previously coached inside linebackers as well as associate head coach for defense. He also filled in as interim co-defensive coordinator in 2023.
Defense is definitely where the Mean Green needs attention as you’ll see in the stats section below.
Measurables
Texas State
Let’s start what they did well.
In Coach Morris’ first season they finished 5-7 with an offense that put up some impressive numbers. They were one of only four teams who could say they had a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver. They were also one of only five FBS programs ranked inside the top 25 in scoring, rushing, passing and total offense in 2023. Their offense led the AAC and was 6th in the nation in total offense (495.8 yards per game), 12th in the nation is passing (307.4 yards per game) and 21st in the nation in both rushing offense (191.2 yards per game) and scoring (34.5 points per game).
But they needed that kind of production with their defense.
The Mean Green’s defense ranked 130th or dead last in the nation in Total Defense (5,717 total yards, 6.56 yards per play, 476.4 yards per game) and Rushing Defense (3,062 yds, 255.2 yards per game, 5.63 yards per rush). They ranked 128th in the nation is scoring defense allowing 37.08 points per game. They ranked 63rd in passing yards allowed with2,655 yards for the season, 221.2 yards per game, and 8.09 yards per attempt. But who needs to pass when allowing those kinds of rushing numbers.
North Texas has 77 new players on the roster for the 2024 season, the most of any FBS program. Out of that number, 36 of them are transfers, which is tied with New Mexico State for the most transfers in FBS. A number of transfers will be starting for UNT on both sides of the ball with others sprinkled throughout the two-deep depth chart.
Listed as the starting quarterback, Chandler Morris transferred from TCU where he played in 15 games overall and started six games in 2023. In his standout game he threw for 461 yards and ran for 70 against Baylor in 2021.
Ikaika Ragsdale appeared in two games last year before suffering a season-ending injury. In 2022 he had 755 yards and 7 touchdowns.
UNT returns three of their top six receivers from last year. They combined for 93 catches, 1,235 yards and 11 touchdowns. Damon Ward Jr leads the receiver corps with 39 catches, 487 yards and 5 touchdowns a year ago. His best game came against Memphis with 8 catches for 120 yards.
Jordan Brown returns after leading the team with 83 tackles last season. They added a pair of Texas transfers to bolster their secondary along returners Jayven Anderson and Evan Jackson. Both returners were freshmen last season with Anderson finishing with 30 tackles (21 solo) and Jackson finished with 27 tackles while finishing second on the team with 3 pass breakups.
South Alabama
The Jaguar offense finished the season ranked 24th overall in total offense (440.2 yards per game, 6.38 yards per play). They were 27th in scoring (33.1 points per game), 32nd in passing (268.8 yards per game, 12.17 yards per completion), and T-48th in rushing (172 yards per game, 4.77 yards per rush).
Defensively the Jags finished 15th in the nation in total defense (313.2 yards per game), T-19th in rushing defense (113.7 yards per game, 3.22 yards per rush), T-26th in scoring defense (21.0 points per game), and 28th in passing yards allowed (199.5 yards per game, 12.47 yards per completion).
The Jags return several key players all over the field.
Offensively Gio Lopez is set up with lots of playmakers around him. He was pretty much tabbed as the quarterback of the future during his freshman season and the coaching staff used every bit of his playing time without burning a year of eligibility doing so.
Lopez will have playmakers in his pass catchers Jamaal Pritchett, Devin Voisin, Javon Ivory as well as tight end DJ Thomas-Jones. Despite losing their top receiver, Caullin Lacy, and Voisin going down with a season-ending injury in the second game of the season, the Jags return 109 receptions, 1,429 yards and 15 touchdowns between the four returners. Voisin led the 2022 receiver corps with 871 yards, was 2nd on the team with 64 catches and had five touchdowns.
Braylon McReynolds is tapped to be the starting running back to replace 1,000-yard rusher La’Damian Webb. Though McReynolds missed a huge chunk of the season due to an injury in the season-opener, he managed to see action in 5 games and rushed for 260 yards on 46 carries and adding 141 yards receiving on 17 receptions. While the numbers don’t jump off the screen as outstanding, it was his speed and elusiveness in key moments that does stand out. Kentrel Bullock, who finished 2nd to Webb with 476 yards rushing on 83 carries with four touchdowns is also back in the Jags uniform this season.
Depth at running back has been a big focus leading into the season. Expect more of a running back by committee rather than having any one running back dominating like Webb has over the past two seasons. Some of the young players will likely see some playing time too. Look for freshman #24 “Fluff” Bothwell to be one of those to see some early time and potentially make some highlights too.
The offensive line has taken three fairly substantial hits in fall camp. Mississippi State transfer Jayden Hobson left the team early in camp with the intention to join the work force. Redshirt freshman John Ward, who was the second-team right guard and was expected to eventually take over for senior Reed Buys, was medically disqualified. Most recently Lucas Taylor was medically retired from football due to a heart condition. Taylor entered camp as the Jags starting left guard.
The current starting line from left to right are Jordan Davis (R-Jr), Kenton Jerido (R-So), Malachi Preciado (R-So), Reed Buys (R-Sr), and Malachi Carney (R-So).
The Jag defense returns some names that should be familiar to fans. Wy’Kevious Thomas, Ed Smith IV, and Maurice Strong all return to the defensive line. In the secondary Ricky Fletcher, Jaden Voisin, Reggie Neely and Dallas Gamble all make their return in Jaguar uniforms.
Jack Martin returns to his punting duties while Laith Marjan takes over placekicking and kickoff duties for Diego Guajardo, who graduated.
Keys to the Game
Defense
The Jag defense is without Wommack and former defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, the architects of South Alabama Swarm D of the last three seasons. Calling the plays will be first year defensive coordinator Will Windham. Coach Windham has served on the staff each of the previous three seasons, so he’s familiar with the terminology and defensive philosophy but will be calling plays for the first time.
As for the team, the linebacker corps is probably the most concerning defensive personnel grouping.
Several of the players have seen limited action for the Jags. Many saw most of their playing time on special teams. Wolf linebacker Aakil Washington is probably the most experienced amongst the listed starters.
Offensive line
The Jags entered fall camp with three more players than they currently have. As we went over above: one left the program, one was medically disqualified, and a third was forced to medically retire.
While that is a hit on depth, some of those were either starters or expected to challenge for a starter position/be a solid second-teamer.
Similar to the linebackers, the offensive line has limited starting experience and will need to gel quickly under game pressure in order to protect Gio Lopez and give the running backs a chance.
Gio is a very mobile quarterback and is quite good at making plays, but if he’s running for his life most plays how accurate can he be?
Fundamentals
Early season games are easily won and lost based on fundamentals. After several months between seasons, with only inter-team scrimmages in the spring and fall camp attempting to simulate games, the rubber meets the road in the first game. No matter how much you try, you just cannot adequately simulate an actual game in a scrimmage. That’s why you see lots of teams try to schedule what should be an easier game to open the season.
Ball protection, pursuit angles, footwork, and execution will all be tested early and often in this game.
Prediction
The Jags have a very good test to open the season with North Texas. Perhaps a good measuring stick to gauge where the program stands to being coach Major Applewhite’s first season. It’s also an opportunity to set the tone for the season.
With the coaching changes and the personnel changes, the football program enters the season with the more open questions than they’ve had over the last couple of seasons. However, they’ll have the first three games to really solidify before South Alabama opens conference play at App State on September 19.
But they would really like to roll into Boone, NC with a 3-0 record. Each week is a one-game season. You have to focus on the game at hand, you can’t look ahead to games further down the schedule.
This week it’s North Texas and the goal is to go 1-0.
Both teams have lots of questions but maybe my red, white and blue glasses may be affecting me as I think the Jags have better skill players returning offensively. They have some solid personnel on the defensive line and secondary. So, I think the Jags pull this out, possibly in a high scoring affair. It may even come down to the final possession.
USA is a 5.5 point favorite and has been as high as an 8 point favorite leading up to the game. Maybe I’m a little too nervous about the open questions with the offensive line and linebackers. I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they’ll cover.
Go Jags!