South Alabama Gets First-Ever Win At Arkansas State 38-31
South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert set a new single game record with 252 yards receiving on 10 catches with three touchdowns leading the Jags to a 38-31 win over Arkansas State. This is the first win in Jonesboro in seven tries and the first road conference win since their 2017 win over Troy.
The Jaguars (4-6, 3-4 Sun Belt Conference) needed a defensive took it down to the final play but Jeremiah Littles sacked Layne Hatcher at the South Alabama 13 yard line to end the game. Arkansas State (3-7, 1-6 SBC) drops their fifth-straight game and their first losing season since 2010.
Arkansas State opened the game and scored on their first possession after the Jags were forced to punt. The Jags tied it with :35 left in the first quarter when Desmond Trotter ran it in from 2 yards out.
The Jags took the lead 14-7 in the second quarter when Trotter connected with Kawaan Baker for a 26 yard touchdown.
The Red Wolves tied the game up late in second quarter on a 25 yard touchdown pass by Logan Bonner to Brandon Bowling.
The Jags punt after a short 5 play possession using only 38 seconds off the clock. Arkansas State were not content to go into halftime tied and quickly marched down the field to the Jaguar 18 yard line with just 2 seconds left in the half and added a 35 yard field goal to go into halftime with a 17-14 lead over the Jaguars.
Arkansas State opened the second half with a 9 play, 75 yard touchdown drive to go up 24-14 with 9:55 left in the third quarter.
The Jags would respond with their own score. Trotter connected with Tolbert for a 42 yard touchdown with 6:39 left in the game to cut the Red Wolves lead to 24-21.
After Trotter had to leave with an injury, redshirt freshman Tanner McGee would have to come in and the Jaguar offense didn’t miss a beat. McGee would put the Jags ahead on a 37 yard touchdown pass to Tolbert 28-24.
Arkansas State scored early in the fourth quarter when Bonner connected with Jonathan Adams on a 3 yard touchdown pass with 12:03 left in the game to go up 31-28.
McGee plays throw and catch again with Tolbert covering 51 yards for another touchdown and taking a 35-31 lead with 4:56 left in the game.
Arkansas State turns the ball over on downs at their own 31 but the Jags can only manage to get a 30 yard field goal to extend their lead to 38-31 with 1:28 left in the game.
The Red Wolves behind Layne Hatcher drive down to the Jaguar 6 yard line after what looked like a game sealing interception by Keith Gallmon was overturned. With :16 seconds left in the game, Hatcher had three attempts to get into the end zone. Two incomplete passes followed by the game ending sack by Littles as the clock expired.
The Jags gained 486 total yards, 387 of them through the air and 99 on the ground. The Jags offense was only 5 of 15 on 3rd down.
Trotter went 16-of-22 for 242 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury. McGee came in and went 6-of-8 for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Tolbert caught 10 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Kawaan Baker added five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown before also leaving the game with an injury.
Carlos Davis rushed 12 times for 31 yards. Caullin Lacy and Jared Wilson both ran for 26 yards on four and 13 carries respectively.
Arkansas State rolled up 494 yards of total offense, 324 of them through the air and 170 on the ground. The Red Wolves were 5 of 14 on 3rd down as well.
Logan Bonner went 11 of 16 for 183 yards and four touchdowns. Layne Hatcher went 8 of 14 for 141 yards.
Jonathan Adams caught 9 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Foreman caught 5 passes for 111 yards. Brandon Bowling caught 4 passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
Jamal Jones carried the ball 19 times for 93 yards to lead all rushers. Marcel Murray carried it 13 times for 38 yards.
South Alabama will return home for the season finale and Senior Day game hosting Troy for the annual ‘Battle for the Belt’. Kickoff is scheduled for 1pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium and will be viewable on ESPN3.
Preview: South Alabama At Arkansas State
Kickoff: Saturday November 28, 2:00 pm
Venue: Centennial Bank Stadium Jonesboro, Arkansas
TV: ESPN3
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5FM, 96.1 The Rocket, iHeartRadio
South Alabama enter into their final road game of the season in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Their offensive line has turned into a sieve, leaking sacks at a frantic pace, 20 over the last four games and 33 for the season.
The Jaguars (3-6, 2-4 Sun Belt Conference) look to put an end to their losing streak and notch their second road win of the season. If successful, that would be the first time that the Jags have won two road games in a season since 2015.
The Arkansas State Redwolves (3-6, 1-5 SBC) have struggled this season well. Their biggest struggles have been on defense. Head coach Blake Anderson relieved his defensive coordinator of his duties earlier this season after a 59-52 win over Georgia State.
The Redwolves are coming off of a 47-45 loss at Texas State. This game against the Jaguars is the beginning of a three-game home stand and they would like nothing more than to start it off with a revenge win over the Jaguars and keep their hopes alive of getting back to .500 and get bowl eligible.
Arkansas State Offense
The Redwolves score an average of 31.4 points per game with 125.7 yards rushing and 352.6 yards passing per game. That’s an average of 478.2 yards per game of total offense.
With all that yardage, they are only converting 37.8% of their 3rd down attempts. However they have scored on 77% of their red zone trips with 63% of them being touchdowns. Not a bad stat to have.
They are also embracing their quarterback rotation. Layne Hatcher has gone 97-of-166 for 1,591 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. Logan Bonner has gone 139-of-229 for 1,495 for 13 touchdowns with 5 interceptions on the season.
Jonathan Adams Jr leads the receivers with 70 catches for 973 yards and 10 touchdowns. The next closest receiver has 34 catches for 436 yards and 5 touchdowns. Dahu Green has caught 32 passes for 542 yards and 5 touchdowns. Five other ASU players have caught double-digit passes on the season with six touchdowns combined.
Jamal Jones leads the running attack with 452 yards on 99 carries with three touchdowns. Lincoln Pare is next in line with 450 yards on 72 carries with a touchdown.
Against Texas State the Redwolves put up 654 yards of total offense. Jones rushed for 106 yards and wide receiver Jeff Foreman had 148 yards on three catches with a touchdown.
Arkansas State Defense
As mention above, the defense is a glaring deficiency on this team. So bad the coach Anderson let go of his defensive coordinator mid season.
The defense is allowing 39.6 points per game. They allow 316.6 yards passing and 168.1 yards rushing per game for an average of 484.7 total yards per game.
Opponents are converting 45.9% of their 3rd down attempts. They are also scoring 85% of the time when they reach the red zone. 67.5% of those red zone trips have been touchdowns. With numbers like that, will the Jags be able to put points on the board in the red zone?
Last weekend against Texas State they allowed 505 yards of total offense and could not prevent the game-winning score with :34 left in the game.
Linebacker Justin Rice is the leading tackler with 68 stops and also leads the team with seven sacks.
Keys to the Game
Offensive line
The offensive line play has been terrible. They haven’t been helped with the absence over the last two weeks by starters Jacob Shoemaker and Connor Estes due to Covid and contact tracing.
Last week Georgia State sacked Desmond Trotter seven times. They have allowed 20 sacks over the last four games and 33 sacks for the season.
If the offensive line continues to struggle to protect Trotter and establishing the run, then the Jags will likely add to their loss total.
Turnovers
Last week against the Panthers, the Jaguars as a team was +3 in turnover margin. They managed three interceptions and forced a fumble which they recovered. The Jags offense fumbled twice and only lost one of them.
On the season the Jags have only recovered 13 turnovers. So the four takeaways they recorded last Saturday is over 30% of their turnovers for the season! And despite being +3 last week, the Jags are -1 in turnover margin for the season.
The Jags need to keep generating turnovers. If they can keep up the positive numbers, then this can only give the offense more opportunities to put points on the scoreboard.
Points
The most obvious thing to win a game is to score points. Over the last four games the Jags have scored a measly 47 points, or an average of 11.75 points per game.
That’s not going to get it done.
The offense has to find a way to generate points and head coach Steve Campbell understands that. Arkansas State is a prime opportunity. Last year the Jags ended their nine-game losing streak with a 34-30 win over the Redwolves in their season finale.
It was a bit of a coming out party for Jalen Tolbert and Desmond Trotter. Tolbert caught 5 passes for 144 yards and four touchdowns. Trotter, in addition to the four touchdowns passes, rushed for 58 yards for an offense that ran for 216 yards on the ground.
Prediction
Arkansas State is a 7 point favorite and are able to score a lot of points.
The Jaguar defense hasn’t been playing bad, they just don’t get any offensive help. They held Coastal Carolina to well below their season average in the loss. They also held the Georgia State to 7 points through the most of three quarters. But down the stretch the defense allowing 24 points after the Jags had taken a 14-7 lead in the 3rd quarter.
Arkansas State and coach Anderson really need a win, the Redwolves want revenge for 2019, the Jags have never won in Jonesboro, and the Jags are struggling. I think the Redwolves win and unfortunately I also think they cover the spread.
But as always when I pick against South Alabama, I’d love to be proven wrong.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Without Answers In 42-10 Loss To UAB
The South Alabama Jaguars (1-2) just did not have an answer for the UAB Blazers (2-1) as they fall in their second game in Hancock Whitney Stadium 42-10.
The redshirt freshman Bryson Lucero, in his first start as a Blazer, opened the game with a 56-yard bomb to Austin Watkins Jr on the first offensive play from scrimmage and set the tone for how the next four quarters of football was going to be played. Three Spencer Brown rushes later and UAB Blazer would put the first points on the scoreboard.
The next Blazer possession would showcase Brown’s running ability with seven total runs and the last five for his second touchdown of the game to go up 14-0 with 5:26 left in the opening quarter.
South Alabama opened the 2nd quarter facing a 3rd and 7 at their own 33 but Chance Lovertich would finally get the Jaguar offense in gear with a 29 yard completion to Jalen Wayne followed two plays later with a 38 yard completion to Jalen Tolbert for a touchdown. On the play, Antonio Moultrie would be flagged for a hit to the head and disqualified from the game. With the point-after, the Jags halved the Blazer lead to 14-7.
With the 15-yard penalty assessed on the kickoff, Diego Guajardo would tee up the ball on the 50 yard line. A sneaky onsides kick would be recovered by Devin Voisin and the Jags were back in business again on the UAB 43 yard line.
Lovertich connected with Kawaan Baker for 14 yards and a first down, but a roughing the passer penalty added an addition 14 yards to the 13 yard line. However the Blazer rush defense shut down the Jags with back-to-back runs for no gain. Guajardo would put through a 31 yard field goal to cut the Blazer lead to 14-10.
From there, it was all Blazers.
UAB responded on their next possession with Lucero finding Watkins Jr for another 39 yards on 3rd and 10 to extend the drive. Spencer Brown capped off the drive with a 20 yard touchdown run.
The Blazers would add another touchdown with 3:20 left in the half and would take a 28-10 advantage to the locker room at halftime. After Guajardo missed a field goal wide right, Lucero would toss up another deep pass this time to Myron Mitchell for 52 yards then he would connect with Trea Shropshire for the score.
UAB wouldn’t score again until about midway through the fourth quarter.
On the Blazers final scoring drive, true freshman Dewayne McBride gashed the Jaguar defense for 53 yards on 5 carries to carry UAB into the end zone.
Chance Lovertich went 14-of-29 for 168 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his first start.
Kawaan Baker led the Jags with five catches for 35 yards. Jalen Tolbert caught three passes for 59 yards and a score.
Carlos Davis led the rushing attack for the Jags with 105 yards on 17 carries.
Nick Mobley led the defense with 9 total tackles, 4 solo. Riley Cole was the only Jag to record a sack, with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Bryson Lucero went 18-of-28 for 319 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate start as a redshirt freshman.
Watkins Jr led the way with seven catches for 183 yards and a touchdown. Myron Mitchell added three catches for 77 yards. Trea Shropsire caught two passes for 8 yards and the other touchdown.
Spencer Brown carried the ball 20 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns, and set the new career touchdown record for a running back in the process.
McBride carried the ball 8 times for 64 yards and a touchdown.
In all, the Jaguar offense was outgained 509 to 315 yards and out-rushed 319 to 168.
The Jaguars cleaned up their act some with only two penalties for 30 yards in the game. The Blazers were flagged 11 times for 122 yards and had two players ejected in the game.
Head coach Bill Clark threw some shade at coach Campbell and the Jags leading up to the game. “Their coach said that they are going to be ready for us,” Clark said. “I heard him say that last year.”
However Clark and his Blazers backed up their talk with play on the field, even if the penalties and ejections marred it somewhat.
South Alabama was on the losing end of the time-of-possession 25:00 to 35:00. In addition the Jags only convert 3-of-12 on 3rd down. While the Blazers converted 10-of-16 3rd down attempts, it sure seemed like much more than that.
“It’s very disappointing,” Campbell said after the game. “I thought we would play better than that. We had a hard time getting off the field early defensively, and offensively had trouble moving the ball there for a while. In the second half, we couldn’t generate any offense. It’s just disappointing.”
“We didn’t coach well, we didn’t play well,” Campbell said. “We played better than that the first two weeks, but we didn’t play well tonight.”
“This is indicative of how we practices the last two weeks,” UAB head coach Bill Clark said. “Our guys were on a mission to come back and play who we are. Proud of our guys, that was a team effort.”
South Alabama has a lot to work on over the next week to prepare for in-state rival Troy to open Sun Belt Conference play. Troy will travel to #18 BYU on Saturday for a 9:15pm CDT kickoff before returning home to begin their preparation for the Jags.
The Jags and the Trojans will kick off at 7:00 pm CDT on Saturday, November 3 at Hancock Whitney Stadium and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
Preview: UAB At South Alabama
Kickoff: 6:30 pm CDT Thursday, September 24th
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium
Television: ESPN2
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag, 96.1 FM The Rocket, iHeartRadio App
The South Alabama Jaguars now have two games under their belt for the 2020 season. They upset Southern Miss to open the season in Hattisburg as a double-digit underdog. Then gave up 21 unanswered points in the final quarter and a half of play against Tulane to open Hancock Whitney Stadium with a loss.
Desmond Trotter injured his shoulder against Southern Miss, which gave Chance Lovertich an opportunity to show what he can do. Lovertich got another chance against Tulane when the offense needed a spark and helped lead the Jags to a 24-6 advantage before the offense ground to a halt in the second half.
Trotter returned early in the fourth quarter, but left the game after re-injuring his shoulder. Subsequently head coach Steve Campbell announced on Monday that Lovertich will start on against UAB.
During the open date last week, Campbell also indicated that both quarterbacks will continue to get playing time, “I thought both of them did some good things. Desmond did some good things early and Chance came in and gave us a lift. … We’ve got two good quarterbacks and I think it’s going to take both of them playing well and staying healthy.”
Trotter has started the first two games of the season going 20-of-35 for 373 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions (both against Southern Miss). Lovertich has gone 20-for-32 for 311 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, but he was sacked five times and pressured numerous other times by Tulane.
With the announcement of Thursday’s starter, we’ll get to see what the offense looks like with Chance as the starter. It’s unknown if Trotter will be available if needed or if Tanner McGee would be the next man up should anything happen.
Speaking of quarterbacks, last week UAB head coach, and former South Alabama defensive coordinator, Bill Clark announced that Tyler Johnston III will be out indefinitely with a injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Johnston, a redshirt junior from Spanish Fort, was set to play basically in his back yard against the Jaguars.
The only other Blazer quarterback to have seen playing time other than Johnston this season has been Bryson Lucero who has gone 11-of-21 for 138 yards and a touchdown in two games played this season.
Probably one of the biggest concerns for South Alabama coming into the 2020 season, only slightly ahead of the quarterback position (which is always the most talked about position leading up to the season), was the offensive line.
Campbell, an offensive line guru, has struggled to get the Jaguar offensive line to play up to what is necessary to win week-in and week-out.
The offensive line played great against Southern Miss, though the Golden Eagle defensive front looked undersized compared to the Jags. But that was flipped when they took on Tulane. The Jag line looked good in the first half before the Tulane talent and size took over in the second half allowing five sacks and numerous pressures.
The Green Wave shut down the Jaguar rushing game to a tune of just 13 yards which allowed them to tee off on the 5’10” Lovertich. Potential returns of Hadon Merchant and Josh McCulloch may help the line against UAB.
One of my keys to the game against Tulane was turnovers. Last season the Green Wave forced lots of turnovers. The Jags only committed only one turnover in the game, but it was costly. Trotter fumbled on a QB keeper at the 2 yard line early in the game. Nether team would score any points in the first quarter. The Jags defense forced three fumbles, but only recovered one of them.
Meanwhile penalties became a problem again for the Jaguars. Tulane defensive end Cameron Sample drew a pair of holding penalties from veteran center Brian Ankerson, which hamstrung a potential scoring drive before halftime. A pass interference call aided the Green Wave to a touchdown in the third quarter. Roughing the quarterback in the fourth quarter allowed Tulane a second-chance at their two-point conversion attempt that put them up by three points.
However the penalty that hurt the most came with just over 1:30 left in the game. The Jags defense forced the Green Wave to punt. D.J. Exilhomme was flagged for leaping, which on the field at game speed it probably looked like that and may have met the letter of the rules, but in review it looked accidental. Either way the only penalty that is reviewable is targeting.
Another one of the keys to the game from last week was special teams. The place kicking improved with no issues on snaps or holds for extra-point or field goal attempts. Diego Guajardo even made a career-best 49-yard field goal in the third quarter.
While the return game was non-existent, there were some better decisions made on kickoff returns that did not pin the Jaguars inside their own 15 yard line.
The punting game was hit or miss. Jack Brooks had a 57 yard punt that rolled to the 1 yard line and another one that went inside the 15 yard line. But punts of 22 and 33 yards were the flip side of the coin. The punt coverage allowed a 19-yard return as well.
Despite the reduction in attendance, the fans were loud and a full Hancock Whitney Stadium will definitely be impressive in the future. Easy to navigate concourses, hand rails on the stairways, and much improved concessions made quite the impressions on fans. And that video board is the envy of the conference.
I could only find two things to “gripe” about with the new stadium. The first was a lack of airflow that made it feel much warmer than it was. But the enclosed endzones kept the sound in, which made 25% attendance sound louder than expected. You can’t really have it both ways unfortunately.
The other gripe was with the only speakers for the sound system seeming to be in the video board structure. The fans in the North end zone are BLASTED with sound. My advice is to bring some ear plugs if that is where your seats are located.
But if those are your only two complaints, I think you’ve done a pretty good job.
But seriously, those speakers can be REALLY loud in the end zone and as a proponent of proper hearing health, I cannot stress enough that a good pair of ear plugs is an invaluable investment.
Previewing UAB
So far this UAB Blazer team does not look like the same Blazer team you’ve seen over the last couple of years on the surface. Or is it?
Allowing 35 points to an FCS team is not the start to the season you really want. However not all FCS teams are alike.
Central Arkansas has one of the best offenses in the nation on their level. While they did load up on the points, the Blazers only allowed 293 offensive yards while forcing three turnovers and recording two sacks and five tackles for loss.
On the other hand, the Bears took advantage of three Blazer turnovers in the first half and, with the short fields, they cashed them in for points. Two of those turnovers were an interception that was returned to the 4 yard line and a mishandled fair catch that was recovered at the 15 yard line.
Against Miami, the Blazer defense was gashed by Miami’s run game. After taking a 7-0 lead, the Blazer defense forced a 4th & 1 at the Miami 34 yard line, then gave up a 66 yard touchdown run. Then an ineffectual offense led to a gassed defense that gave up 337 rushing yards in all.
Blazer running back Spenser Brown looks like he is already in mid-season form. Against Central Arkansas, he carried the ball 24 times for 127 and a touchdown.
He looked like he was going to have another good game against Miami before the yellow flags started flying. A 20-yard gain on the second play of the second drive was negated by an illegal motion penalty. He finished the game with 74 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.
Behind Brown the Blazers have two more backs that look capable of getting playing time without too much of a production dropoff. Though they did not put up good numbers against the hurricanes.
With the announcement of Johnston’s injury, Bryson Lucero looks to be the starter for the Blazers. However, Dylan Hopkins started five games in 2018 for the Blazers and led them to a 3-2 record and a west-conference division title. But Hopkins is listed as 3rd on the depth chart. Is this some gamesmanship in game preparation?
Both teams are coming into the game after an off week. Though UAB has had a couple extra days since they played on a Thursday.
The Jags have what is considered one of the best group of wide receivers in the nation. Both Jalen Tolbert and Kawaan Baker are in the top five in the nation currently. However their rushing game just has not solidified yet.
The Jags defense has allowed 150.5 yards per game rushing with an average of 4.1 yards per carry. With wet and rainy conditions and UAB’s stable of running backs, the ground game may be the one of the deciding factors in the game.
Keys to the Game
Rushing defense
As mentioned previously, with wet and rainy conditions predicted up until kickoff and thunderstorms possible during the game while missing Tyler Johnston III at quarterback, look for UAB to lean heavily on Spencer Brown and the running back corps to grind it out on the ground.
That will put a lot of pressure on the Jaguar defense to stop the run. Brown may be one of the best running backs the team faces all season.
Turnovers
In wet conditions turnovers are always a huge concern. Hopefully the Jags have done their share of wet ball drills and then some.
Special teams
Against Southern Miss the Jags had issues in place kicking and some in kickoff returns. Against Tulane the Jags had issues punting.
What will the third game bring?
I keep going back to the weather conditions because it could play a huge role in the game. A kicker could slip, a punter shank one, a returner could fumble a return or muff a catch. Any one of those could make or break the game. The Jags need to be solid in all aspects of special teams.
Spread and Prediction
UAB is a 7 point favorite in Mobile. The Jags have been underdogs in 12 consecutive football games and are 8-2 against the spread in the last 10 overall. This includes the two games this season that the Jags have covered in both, winning outright against Southern Miss.
I think the trend continues with the Jags covering the spread but, again, I don’t think they win outright.
Go Jags!
Preview: Tulane At South Alabama
Kickoff: 6:30pm CDT Saturday, September 12
Television Coverage: ESPN2
Radio: 99.5FM The Jag, 96.1FM The Rocket, iHeartRadio app
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The University of South Alabama football team made the most of their opportunity on the national stage on Thursday night. In doing so, they finally shed a couple of monkey’s off their back.
The nation-leading road losing streak was broken. The streak of season opening losses was broken. They also have their first two-game win streak (if you go back to the season finale of 2019) since 2017.
Add to that, they will be debuting their brand new $78 million (by last accounting) stadium and the Jaguars are looking to make another statement.
If it’s not obvious enough, the media department is pushing the #Something2Prove hashtag as well.
Next up is the Tulane Green Wave.
This will mark Tulane’s start to the season so they are a bit of an enigma right now. Head coach Willie Fritz is going into his 5th season in New Orleans after going 7-6 overall last season and a career record of 23-27 at the school.
Some Jaguar fans may remember him at Georgia Southern. Though he was only there two seasons, he led them to an undefeated conference schedule in their first year playing a Sun Belt Conference schedule.
However, they were not eligible to play in a bowl game as an FBS Transitional school.
But the two times he faced South Alabama he was victorious by a combined score of 83-23.
Fritz took over a team that had gone 3-9 the previous two season and began his rebuild. He has gone 4-8, 5-7, 7-6 and 7-6 in his four seasons at the helm with season-ending bowl victories the last two years.
Offense
Offensively, coach Fritz has adapted to his personnel. At Georgia Southern he ran an option attack. Now at Tulane he is running more of a spread attack that seems to throw the ball well enough to get by. But the running game definitely works.
Will Hall joined the program last season as the new offensive coordinator. His debut saw the offense finish 22nd in the nation in total offense and 30th in the nation in scoring. They also put up the 3rd most yards per game (449.3) and 3rd most points per game (33.1) in school history.
Quarterback and top rusher Justin McMillan is gone. He helped lead the team to an average of 243 yards rushing per game. However they have Keon Howard that looks to be the defacto starter.
Howard came to the Green Wave from Southern Miss. After sitting out a season he played in four games in 2019 and went 13-of-18 for 208 yards and two scores passing and one running. While he isn’t quite the runner that his predecessor was, he is ready to step in to push the passing game more while still adding some running ability.
But behind Howard there’s no experience, so if he’s not it then it may be a steep learning curve for someone and a rough go until someone can settle into the position.
The Green Wave’s top returning receiver is a senior that made 13 catches last season. So the receiving corps may be a bit of a work in progress as the season starts.
But if you’re facing a Willie Fritz team, you know they are going to run the ball well. Last season he had six player rush for 250 yards or more. Corey Dauphine rushed for 575 yards last season with seven scores with his speed. While he was in line for a big role in the offense, he is out for the season with a torn Achilles.
Freshman Tyjae Spears now looks to be the guy at running back and could very well be the most talented player on offense.
Amare Jones is a more all-around back. He averaged over six yards per carry on the way to 371 yards rushing with four scores. But he also played a bit as a slot receiver where he hauled in 34 passes for 367 yards and two scores. But wait, there’s more. He averaged 24 yards per kickoff return in his first two seasons and almost ten yards per punt return.
Defense
Defensively the Green Wave have had their losses from a year ago, but still return a veteran group and seven starters. They finished 4th in the American Athletic Conference in overall defense while allowing 26 points per game.
Despite not being healthy throughout the entire season their best defensive player, Patrick Johnson, still had a team-high four sacks, but was a significant drop off from the previous season’s 10.5 sacks.
Throw in a pair of defensive tackles that weigh 320 and 290 pounds and another 280-pound veteran who can play inside or out and they obviously have some beef up front.
What they have been missing is a pass rush.
They have to replace a big playmaker at safety, but they return Chase Kuerschen who lead the team with 76 stops.
At corner they return a veteran on one side and a former Florida State standout recruit, Kyle Meyers, is likely to start on the opposite side.
In what sounds like a pattern by now, Fritz loses a standout player yet returns a veteran and adds someone to fill the empty cleats. Gone is the top linebacker, but returning is a 6’2″ 230-pound Marvin Moody who has a way of getting into the backfield. Then they add a 230-pound juco transfer with experience to go along with the other players they have.
Keys to the Game
Big plays
The Jaguar defense needs to prevent big plays. They were very successful against what looked like an unprepared Southern Miss team, but Tulane should be a big step up in competition and cannot be taken lightly.
During the regular season, the Green Wave was 6-0 when they gained at least 7 yards per play. When they didn’t reach that, they were 0-6. The 2020 team may not need all those big plays to be as successful, but if they do reach that milestone they have proven they are hard to beat.
But in the same vein, South Alabama used big plays to defeat Southern Miss. It was only the third offensive play of the game when the Jags struck paydirt on a 73 yard touchdown catch and run by Jalen Tolbert.
Turnovers
The Jaguar offense will have to protect the ball. Desmond Trotter threw two interceptions in the opener, one due to being hit as he was throwing. But they didn’t put the ball on the ground.
The Green Wave defense had 12 interceptions last season. They also forced 17 fumbles, however they were only able to recover four of them. And only one fumble recovery over the final 11 games of the season.
Special teams
Special teams must improve.
While the Jags didn’t punt in the opening game, they are still lumped into this group for good measure.
A missed field goal and PAT along with a botched PAT had some fans on edge late in the game. USA converted a field goal attempt to essentially put the game out of reach, but a miss would have given USM a chance to tie with a touchdown and two-point conversion.
Between those errors, and a couple of ill-advised kickoff returns that didn’t even make it out to the 15 yard line, you can see where I’m going. While it didn’t hamper the Jags efforts against Southern Miss, it could in the future. If a bad return pins them back inside the 15 yard line, the offense fails to get a first down and is forced to punt, the opponent has a decent opportunity for excellent field position and a short field.
We hope the team spent some extra time between games working on these things.
Spread/Prediction
Tulane is a 9.5 point favorite in the game.
South Alabama appeared to be improved in the season opener against a Southern Miss team that seemed lost and looked undersized. The loss was enough to prompt coach Hopson to resign a few days later.
I think Tulane will still win, coach Fritz prepares his teams well and has something good going in New Orleans. But I think the Jags cover the spread to open their brand new home stadium. It may even be a nail biter at the end. It could easily be up to special teams to win or lose the game.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Breaks Road Streak With 32-21 Upset Over Southern Miss
September 3rd is a good date in South Alabama football history.
10 years ago to the day was the announcement of the home-and-home series against Southern Miss. Four years ago was the biggest win in program history against Mississippi State.
Now they can add the upset of Southern Miss to that list.
South Alabama entered the game as a two-score underdog with a nation-leading 15-game road losing streak. They had not won a season-opening game since that defeat of Mississippi State in 2016.
Both of those streaks ended in Hattiesburg.
The Jags struck early, on the third offensive play to be exact. Desmond Trotter connected with Jalen Tolbert on the right sideline. Tolbert made two guys miss and he took it 73 yards for the score. However a bad snap on the point after attempt led to an incomplete pass and left the Jags with a six point advantage.
Southern Miss would score 10 unanswered points in the second quarter, with a field goal in the waning seconds of the opening half to make it a 13-10 game at the half.
Near the end of the half the officiating crew made a good call when Frank Gore Jr. had his momentum stopped but seemingly lateraled the ball back to Abraham who took it into the end zone. However the play was ruled dead much to the dismay of the Golden Eagles.
Part of the confusion was due to the new “electronic” whistles being used this season. They are not nearly as loud as conventional whistles.
South Alabama picked right back up in the second half by forcing a three-and-out to start then navigating a 10-play 56-yard scoring drive. Trotter found Tolbert on a key 3rd & 8 play for a 31 yard touchdown making it 20-10.
Trotter and the Jags may have been huge benefit of a huge call on the play before the touchdown pass though. Trotter was bottled up by the defense and he was trying to throw it but it appeared to go backwards. USM was quick to cover it. The call was upheld and is now history.
A 52 yard touchdown pass and run from Trotter to Kawaan Baker all but put the game away early in the fourth quarter. Yet another missed kick happened as the left footed Diego Guajardo pushed it wide left a second time.
The Jags held a 29-13 lead at the time.
Southern Miss wouldn’t go quietly though. They scored a touchdown with 5:42 left in the game then followed it up with a 2-point conversion cutting the lead to one score.
The Southern Miss defense just could not stop the Jags offense. Meanwhile the Jaguar defense would consistently get enough pressure on Abraham to keep him from getting comfortable in the pocket.
Carlos Davis reeled off a big 40 yard run which led to a field goal to ice the game but not without a little worry at the end.
The Golden Eagles got all the way down to the Jaguar 1 yard line at one point, but the defense held strong and refused to let them score again.
Desmond Trotter went 16 of 27 for 299 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Carlos Davis led the Jaguar rushing attack with 85 yards on 15 carries. Trotter added 41 on nine carries.
Jalen Tolbert picked up where he left off against Arkansas State to end the 2019 season. Tolbert hauled in 6 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Wayne also caught 6 for 101 yards. Kawaan Baker caught 4 for 82 yards, with the 52 yard touchdown.
Nick Mobley led the Jaguar defense with 15 total tackles. Riley Cole and Keith Gallmon added 12 each.
Jack Abraham went 22 of 32 for 314 yards and two touchdowns.
Frank Gore Jr. rushed for 32 yards on 12 carries. to lead the USM rush attack.
Tim Jones caught 6 passes for 139 yards.
South Alabama put up 526 yards of offense with 363 of them through the air and 163 on the ground. Meanwhile USM gained 409 yards total, 314 through the air and only 95 on the ground.
This was a very good win for South Alabama. A much needed win too.
The Jags lost the turnover battle 2-0 and had three special teams mishaps. Both will need to be cleaned up.
Notably they were only penalized four times for 38 yards and had zero punts, which is a first in program history.
South Alabama will host Tulane on Saturday, September 12 in the debut of Hancock Whitney Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm with tv coverage on ESPN2.
Your 2020 South Alabama Jaguar Preview
After last season, the Jags can’t get much lower can they? A 2-10 season with their only win over a FBS and conference foe coming in the season finale That one win kept the Jags from having their first winless conference record in program history.
But the final four games of the season looked different from the first eight. Was the team finally starting to click, was it Desmond Trotter leading an offensive attack that could move the ball and score a few more points? Or was it something else?
Well, the 2020 season will tell and, despite Covid, it could be a make or break season for head coach Steve Campbell and his staff.
Offensively, South Alabama returns quite a bit of talent from 2019. Seven of the top 8 receivers are back as well as an experienced offensive line with 42 combined starts. Desmond Trotter is back at quarterback, who started the final four games of the season and saw a boost in offensive production. Trotter has some competition with Chance Lovertich transferring in from the junior college ranks after a juco national championship. Running back has some big question marks as they need to fill Tre Minter’s production.
Defensively the Jags have many question marks. In 2019 the defense made some huge gains statistically, but they didn’t reflect on the win-loss record. Defensive line lost a ton of experience as well as cornerback. The linebacker corps was razor thin at times but managed to make it through the season. The talent loss on the line will put pressure on the linebacker corps to control the run until the defensive line gels and gets their feet under them.
Not much has changed in special teams. Jack Brooks, the Aussie, will handle the punting and it’ll probably be kick-by-committee for field goals unless someone steps up as consistent in short, intermediate and long range field goals. Diego Guarjardo will most likely handle kickoffs as he tends to have the stronger leg. The video of the botched PAT attempt against Memphis has been watched by millions and really was the tone for the 2019 season. After that debacle the Jags will most likely utilize a backup quarterback as holder on field goal and pat attempts, which should help avoid a repeat of the 2019 incident.
Here’s the position group breakdowns.
Offensive line
The Jags only lost three letterwinners from last year and return 10 letterwinners of which three started all 12 games. They return four either redshirts or returning student-athletes.
In the offseason, the Jags brought in nine new faces and only one of them from the junior college ranks with the rest coming in as true freshmen.
Brian Ankerson is the anchor of the unit playing at center. He has the longest active starting streak on the team with 24 consecutive games. Hadon Merchant has started 22 of this 23 appearances in the last two seasons.
These two will be looked at as leaders of the unit.
Jacob Shoemaker, who was an honorable mention to the all-Sun Belt Conference team his first season with the Jags will move from his tackle position to guard.
Last years team allowed too many sacks and had a hard time blocking for the run game. For the 2020 team to have more success, those are two areas they must improve over last year.
Quarterbacks
The Jags return Desmond Trotter, who took over the starting position mid-season and never looked back. Cephus Johnson, who started the first eight games of the season, transfered out after the season.
Tylan Morton and Tanner McGee also return from last season.
Chance Lovertich was brought in from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College as well as true freshmen Elijah Gainey and Brian Garcia.
Trotter appeared in eight games, starting the final four of the season. He led the team with eight touchdowns, tied a school record with four touchdown passes in the season-finale win over Arkansas State. He also had a career-high 337 yards of total offense in the game.
Lovertich brings some juco success to the table. He was named the second-team NJCAA All-American, first-team all-MACJC and the South Division’s Most Valuable Offensive Back after helping MGCCC to the national championship with a 12-0 record his sophomore year.
Morton played in the first four games before sitting out the rest of the season to preserve a redshirt. McGee sat out the entire season to redshirt.
Gainey is a three-star prospect per 247sports but sat our his senior season after suffering a knee injury. He started the previous two seasons.
Trotter has been challenged by Lovertich for the starting spot, but coach Campbell expects Trotter to be the starter in the season opener against Southern Miss. Expect Lovertich to get some playing time, but didn’t get any spring practice to get experience in the program.
To start, the quarterback position must protect the ball and make good decisions. Between Johnson, Trotter and Morton they threw 11 interceptions but only 14 touchdowns while completing only 52.8% of their combined passing attempts.
Running backs
USA returns four letterwinners from last season while losing two.
The biggest loss is by far Tra Minter who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season, the first in program history. Minter also became only the second All-American in program history and the only first-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection.
In addition to the four letterwinners, they also return two redshirt freshmen and a juco.
Carlos Davis led the four sophomores on the team wiht a career best 122 yards on 10 carries against SBC West Division winner Louisiana-Lafayette.
The coaching staff will look to fill Minter’s role with a running back by committee until they have someone step up as ‘the guy.’ The coaches also look at the sophomores to have three years of experience in the offensive scheme and make contributions.
The coaching staff think they have a good mix in the backfield with power, speed, and pass catchers.
The Jags not only need to find their bonafied starter, but they also need backs that can come in, produce, and keep the defense respecting the position.
Wide receivers
The Jags return the two top receivers from the 2019 season. Kawaan Baker led the team with 35 catches, 574 yards, and yards per game (47.8) while Jalen Tolbert led the team with 6 touchdown catches, four of them in the season finale win over Arkansas State.
Davyn Flenord is changing positions this season, last year he caught 14 passes for 127 yards. Tre’Veon Hamilton caught 3 passes for 43 yards also left the program.
Two freshmen redshirted last season and two juniors return from last years squad. The coaching staff also brought in seven true freshmen.
Baker, who is on the Reese’s Senior Bowl Top 250 list, is the leader of the receiver corps but was also used in the running game with jet sweeps and special teams situations. He logged 82 yards rushing and 35 yards in kick returns for 692 all-purpose yards, finishing second on the team in that category.
Tolbert established himself as a receiver to watch against Arkansas State when he caught 5 passes for 144 yards and four touchdowns. His effort was rewarded with an honorable mention National Performer-of-the-Week accolade from the College Football Performance Awards and was College Sports Madness’ Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week against the Redwolves.
The coaching staff feels that they have good depth and with Baker, Tolbert and Jalen Wayne they have a trio of veterans with three years of experience in the program.
Tight ends
Only one letterwinner returns for the 2020 season. Brandon Crum played in all 12 games with six receptions for 65 yards. One reshirted freshmen and two sophomores return this season and the coaching staff brought in a juco and three freshmen. Only two returning players were active last season.
Leaving the program were Zac Crosby, Khameron Taylor and Nick Thompson. They combined for five receptions, 61 yards and the only touchdown from the tight end position (Taylor).
The tight end position is utilized much differently under coach Campbell and it couldn’t have been more obviously last season with only 11 receptions and one touchdown from the group. If the Jags throw to a tight end, it’s more to catch the defense off-guard rather than as a regular threat.
Crum is the de-facto veteran of the group as a sophomore. Meyers, the only other player of the group that was active last year was put on scholarship during fall camp this year.
Trent Tyre brings some much needed experience from the juco ranks.
Cameron Hatcher-Owens is moving from the defensive line to offense this season.
Defensive line
The defensive line lost a lot from last season. Only four letterwinners return from the 2019 squad in Gi’Narious Johnson, Jeremiah Littles, Maurice Strong and Charles Coleman III. Strong had the most tackles among the returning players with 15.
Gone are Jordon Beaton, Sean Brown, Rocel McWilliams, Tyree Turner, and Jeffery Whatley. Four of the five were all-Sun Belt Conference performers during their careers.
Of the additional returning players, two of them are redshirt freshmen. The coaching staff added three juco players and two true freshmen.
The defensive line has a core trio of Johnson (jr), Littles (Sr) and Strong (So) to build around with Jamie Sheriff and Markes Johnson to add some more experience from the Juco level. THen add in a pair of all-state and all-region prep stars and the coaches have something to work with.
Inside Linebackers
Defensive coordinator Greg Stewart returns four letterwinners from last year and only lost one Kade Koler.
Only two other players return at the position, a sophomore and a freshman.
The staff brought in a juco and two true freshmen.
Cole is receiving all the pre-season hype with a second-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection by Phil Steele, a third-team all-League by Athlon over the summer, and the other Jaguar in the Reese’s Senior Bowl Top 250.
Cole has played outside linebacker the last two seasons, but will be moving back to inside for the fall.
Nick Mobley led the team in total tackles with 91, which ranked him in the top 10 for the conference and top 90 in the nation per game.
Roy Yancey returned last year after redshirting in the 2018 season due to an injury. Yancey started six games and appeared in all 12 games.
Stewart feels he has the depth he needs for the first time in his time at USA.
Outside Linebackers
Four letterwinners return in AJ DeShazor, Chris Henderson, Shawn Jennings, and Kelvin Johnson. The two letterwinners lost from last season: Khalil McDonald and Taji Stewart.
Two freshmen reshirted last season also returns for the fall. The coaching staff added Zach Jones as a freshman, Zivaiishe Smith a sopohomore from Juco, and Christian Bell a senior transfer from Wisconsin.
DeShazor had his named called often last season, he was third on the team in total tackles while starting all 12 games.
Johnson finished in the top five it total tackles last season, but he primarily played inside he is making the move to outside for 2020.
Bell appeared in 24 games over three years for Wisconsin, he was a four-star recruit by ESPN coming out of Hoover.
Chris Henderson and Christian Bell are expected to be two of the main leaders of the outside linebacker corps. DeShazor and Doug Sullivan are expected to make some big contributions as well though.
Cornerbacks
The cornerback position had some big losses from last year too. Gone are Travis Reed, Jalen Thompson, and Gus Nave, some names you heard quite a lot last season. Also gone are Jay Woods and Tyrone Leggette.
Returning letterwinners are Devin Rockette, Ryan Melton, Jaden Voisin and Davyn Flenord (moving over from receiver). Also returning is Dallas Gamble who redshirted.
The coaching staff brought in two juco transfers and one true freshman.
Thompson graduated with the career leader in interceptions (9) and INT’s return for touchdowns (2). Reed’s 41 total stops and three tackles for loss led the cornerback group last season as he earned second-team all-Sun Belt honors.
Rockette returns with the second-most pass break ups last season, including a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception.
Darrell Luter Jr was a three-star juco recruit and rated among the top 40 cornerbacks in the nation, selected to the second-team all-Mississippi ACJC.
The coaching staff is hoping that youth, eagerness and willingness to learn will be enough to replace the experience lost from last season. Rockette returns the most reps and will be one to help set an example to the new faces.
Safeties
Gone are DJ Daniels and Sterrling Fisher but returning are Keith Gallmon, Tre Young and Keon Voisin. Also returning are Kwameh Lewis (sr) and Nic Brunkosky (r-fr).
The coaching staff brought in three players, two juco and one senior transfer.
Gallmon earned preseason third-team all-Sun Belt Conference from Athlon and a fourth-team preseason all-league by Phil Steele. He started all 12 games with 59 total tackles, 43 of them solo and two tackles for loss.
DJ Exilhomme was a second-team all-Northeast Conference selection after recording 72 total tackles, three tackles for loss, five passes broken up, three fumble recoveries, an interception and a blocked kick.
CJ Thompson was the top juco recruit in Oklahoma and the 15th rated safety in the country by 247 sports. He was named second-team NJCAA All-American and second-team all-Southwest Junior College Football Conference.
Gallmon returns the most starting experience on the team at the position and has emerged as a leader among the safeties. Add in the other safeties who have played snaps for the Jags and some juco experience and the staff feel pretty good about this squad.
Special teams
All the letterwinners and the lone redshirt return to the team with the addition of Cooper Charlton as an incoming freshman.
Brooks is a fourth-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection by Athlon sports. As a freshmen his punting average was sixth in the conference and in the top 60 in the country.
Frankie Onate led the team in scoring and Guajardo was the first kicker to record double-digit touchbacks in a season since 2014 and Aleem Sunanon.
Kawaan Baker will be continue to be on kickoff return coverage and Jalen Tolbert will replace Tre Minter as the other kickoff returner. Tolbert and Jalen Wayne will be the competing for the primary punt return position this fall.
Coaches have had the student-athletes kicking more balls than previously. Guajardo has working on his kickoffs for consistency and Brooks has been working on more consistent punting. Both were freshmen last season and Brooks was only on campus a few weeks before the season started, so with a season under their belts they should be ready come game time.
South Alabama Closes Out 2019 Season, Ladd-Peebles Stadium Era, With 34-30 Win Over Arkansas State
Jalen Tolbert, Desmond Trotter, and Tra Minter were the three big names in South Alabama’s 34-30 upset of Arkansas State. The much-needed win broke a nine-game losing streak by the Jags.
It also closed out the era of South Alabama Football at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with a win.
Tolbert set a school record with 4 touchdown receptions including the game-winning score with 1:18 left in the game. Tra Minter also made history as he became the first Jaguar to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.
Arkansas State opened the scoring when Layne Hatcher connected with Brandon Bowling to go up 7-0. The Jags answered with two touchdown passes by Desmond Trotter to Jalen Tolbert of 21 and 29 yards, both in the first quarter, to take a 14-7 lead.
Neither team could score for the remainder of the first half, but the Jags had appeared to have had Tolbert’s 3rd touchdown in the second quarter. However it was all for nothing as the Jags were flagged for an illegal player downfield, then was assessed a penalty for Tolbert flipping the ball at an Arkansas State defender. Then South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell was also hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct flag for arguing with the officials. In all, the Jags were hit with 35 yards of penalties.
Arkansas State opened the second half scoring with a 23 yard field goal with 10:50 left in the third quarter, cutting the Jaguar lead to 14-10.
Minter added a touchdown with 6:03 left in the third quarter, however Diego Guarjardo’s PAT was blocked leaving the Jags with a 20-10 lead.
The nations leading receiver in yards, Omar Bayless, cut the Jags lead to 20-17 on a 10-yard touchdown reception.
Trotter and Tolbert hooked up again on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 31-yard touchdown to put the Jags up 27-17. Hatcher’s 1-yard touchdown run put the Red Wolves within 3 points again with 12:29 left in the game.
As the Jaguars offense sputtered, Arkansas State was able to add field goals of 40 and 20 yards to take a 30-27 lead with 3:51 left in the game.
USA needed big conversions on their go-ahead drive and Tra Minter took the team on his back. Facing a 4th & 8, Trotter threw to Minter in the flat and he worked his magic to pick up 11 yards and to keep drive alive. A few plays later, Minter came up big again when Trotter threw it to him again which he turned into a 17 yard gain an a play that was ruled a run.
Trotter then found Tolbert for the final touchdown and the lead.
The Red Wolves had one more opportunity but a strip sack gave the Jags the ball with a little over a minute left in the game.
Facing 4th & 1 and Arkansas State out of time outs, Campbell had a choice: he could kick the field goal to go up by 7 points, or he could ice the game with a 1st down. Once again they called Minter’s number, and once more he came through gaining just enough to move the chains and allowing the clock to run out.
The Jags rolled up 495 yards of total offense, 216 of them on the ground and 279 through the air. They gained 26 first downs, went 5 of 16 on 3rd downs and converted all four 4th down attempts.
Arkansas State gained 437 yards of offense, 342 through the air and 95 on the ground. The Red Wolves gained 21 first downs, went 8 of 18 on 3rd down, and 0 of 2 on 4th down.
Minter rushed for 106 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. Trotter added 58 yards on 14 carries.
Trotter was 20-of-31 passing for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Tolbert led the way with 5 catches for 144 yards and 4 touchdowns. Kawaan Baker caught 5 passes for 62 yards.
Jamal Jones led the Red Wolves rushing with 61 yards on 16 carries.
Hatcher was 23-of-38 passing with 342 yards and two touchdowns. Kirk Merritt led the Red Wolves with 9 catches for 121 yards. Bayless gained 98 yards on four catches with a touchdown.
“I’m very proud of the way our guys played tonight,” coach Campbell said after the game. “I think we played complimentary football tonight; all three phases played about as well as we’ve played all year.”
“It means a lot, because you want to get the win for the players,” Campbell said. “You want them to know what you’re telling them is right and that they believe that. We tell them to keep chopping wood and sooner or later it’s going to turn.”
The Jags finish the season with a 2-10 record overall and a 1-7 record in Sun Belt Conference play, the worst record since the Jags FBS transitional season in 2012. The coaching staff will turn their full attention to recruiting with the early signing period beginning on December 18.
With the win, Campbell’s record is now 5-19 in two full seasons.
South Alabama Drops Heartbreaker At Texas State 30-28
South Alabama played a spirited game behind Desmond Trotter’s first career start against Texas State, but the potential game-winning field goal attempt would slip just outside the left upright by the slimmest of margins sending the Jaguars home with their seventh consecutive loss of the season.
The Jags opened the game with a mental mistake when Tra Minter ran up to field the kickoff near the sideline at the 5 yard line, but his momentum took him out of bounds. After only managing three yards, the Jags punted giving Texas State great field position at the midfield stripe.
The Jaguar defense bent but did not break as the Bobcats scored first with a field goal.
Later in the first quarter, after the Jaguar defense held on a three-and-out, the Jaguar offense started at their own 23 yard line and behind Carlos Davis and Tra Minter the Jags drove 77 yards in nine plays for a touchdown making it 7-3.
Texas State would get a field goal early in the second quarter to shrink the Jags lead to 7-6. Later in the quarter, the Bobcats would put together a 92 yard, 8 play drive to take a 13-7 lead aided by a face mask penalty on 3rd & 6 deep in Bobcat territory. Three plays later Tyler Vitt connected with Javen Banks for a 40 yard touchdown.
The Jags answered right back with a drive of their own that started with an 8 yard run by Carlos Davis and highlighted by an amazing one-handed catch down the right sideline by Tre’Veon Hamilton for 33 yards. Trotter would find Davyn Flenord on a seam route for a 22 yard touchdown pass to take a 14-13 lead that would hold up going into the locker room at halftime.
Texas State would take the opening possession of the second half to the end zone on a 75 yard, 6 play drive. The scoring play was on a play action pass when Vitt connected with Graham for a 38 yard touchdown making the score 20-14 with only 2:36 off the clock.
USA would answer back on the ensuing possession. Trotter would open the drive with a 12 yard slant pass to Jalen Tolbert to get the offense in gear. Trotter would find Jalen Wayne for an 8 yard touchdown. After a roughing the kicker and an offsides penalty, Frankie Onate would finally put the kick through the uprights and make the score 21-20.
Not to be outdone, the Bobcats would take their next possession of the ball and drive back down for a touchdown, capped off by an 17 yard slant pass to Graham making it 27-21 for the Bobcats.
After a three and out, Texas State opened their drive with a 40 yard pass from Vitt to Hutch White, but the Jaguar defense stiffened and forced a 44 yard field goal attempt that hit the right upright no good.
The Jags took over possession at their own 28 and pieced togehter a 73 yard, 12 play drive using 5:40 off the clock and culminating in a 6 yard touchdown run by Tra Minter. The Jags then held a 28-27 lead with 9:44 left in the game.
Texas State take the kickoff from the 5 yard line and return it 60 yards to the Jaguar 35 yard line. After only managing 21 yards on 7 plays, they settle for a 41 yard field goal to take a 30-27 lead over the Jags.
USA got the ball back and quickly was facing 4th & 1, but the run by Tra Minter went nowhere and gave the ball back to Texas State at the USA 33.
The Jags were looking to hold them to a field goal at worst to keep it a one score game. Facing 4th & 12 after a four yard loss on third down, Head coach Jake Spivital decided to punt the ball and try to make the Jags drive a long field to get into a game-winning field goal position.
However the snap to the punter was bobbled and the Jags recovered at the Bobcat 30 yard line setting up the Jags in excellent position to run the clock down and win the game with a field goal.
But as Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast…” the Jags set up for a 28 yard field goal and Frankie Onate’s kick just stayed left of the upright and missed.
Redshirt freshman Desmond Trotter finished 13 of 17 for 164 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start. Kawaan Baker led the receiving corps with four catches for 34 yards.
Tra Minter led the team rushing with 21 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. Carlos Davis added 63 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Trotter carried the ball 12 times for 34 yards as well.
Tyler Vitter wen 23 for 33 for 373 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Vitt led the Bobcats rushing with 42 yards on 11 carries. Anthony Taylor carried 11 times for 27 yards.
Hutch White led all receivers with 10 catches for 165 yards. Javen Banks had 4 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Hill also had four catches for 61 yards. Graham had two catches for 55 yards and both were touchdowns.
South Alabama will host Louisiana-Lafayette at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 4pm.
South Alabama Hosts 21st Ranked Appalachian State For Homecoming
The South Alabama Jaguar football team finally returns to play on a Saturday after playing a pair of midweek, nationally televised games against Georgia Southern and rival Troy and losing both.
After another long layover, the Jags look to tame the hotest team in the Sun Belt Conference, Appalachian State who’s ranked 21st in the nation, in South Alabama’s annual homecoming game. The schedule does not bode well for the homecoming court.
USA enters as a 25.5 point underdog at home. Oh and have we mentioned they are ranked 21st in the nation? Well they are and that ranking has set a Conference record too.
The Mountaineers are averaging 42.8 points per game, however their defense is allowing an average of 21.7 points per game themselves. But that does not help when the Jags offense averages a mere 16.3 points per game, their largest output was 37 points against an FCS school.
South Alabama, glaringly, left points on the field against Troy. In the first quarter trailing the Trojans 3-0 and facing 4th and goal at the 1 (after being stopped on back-to-back plays) head coach Steve Campbell settled for a field goal to tie the game.
Then in the second quarter facing fourth and goal on the 3 (after having it 1st and goal at the 3, Tra Minter gained 2, then Cephus Johnson running from the shotgun lost 2) Campbell opted to go for the touchdown and the pass flew with no chance of a catch.
Coach Campbell pointed that the issue is execution. “It’s not a scheme deal or a play-calling deal, we have to grow up and then make the play,” Campbell said. Which is quite funny to hear when you hear fans groan when the Jags have the ball at their own 25 yard line with 1:08 left in the game and they actually call the three plays before the offense even gets set for the 1st down snap.
Two passes, both incomplete, then a draw play up the middle that maybe gets one yard.
Can you guess what happened after those three plays? A punt and then Troy driving down for a field goal going into the half.
On the season the Jags have only converted 4 of 13 fourth down attempts and 31 of 96 attempts on 3rd down. All very pitiful numbers which leads to this fact, the Jaguar opponents have held the ball more than the Jags.
I know, shocker there.
But go back and look at time of possession in the Georgia Southern game. GSU: 40:38 to South Alabama’s 19:22. That’s not even an episode of Friends or Modern Family.
All this talk about how bad the team is performing glosses over the fact that these guys are actually talented, but all you see is Tra Minter, Kawaan Baker and Cephus Johnson as the three big spotlight players. Yes, we’ve seen a flash from others like Jalen Wayne, Jalen Tolbert, and Davyn Flenord on offense.
But where once USA was becoming Tight End U, now there has only been two catches from the tight end position and one touchdown. Actually only one touchdown last season as well. Overall the offense ranks 9th in the 10 team league.
So for Appalachian State, they enter the game bowl eligible at 6-0, ranked 21st in the nation and looking to continue making more noise nationally. The high-scoring offense has kept them going and now the defense seems to be catching up as they have only allowed one touchdown in both of their last two games and forced three turnovers against Louisiana-Monroe last weekend.
On one had the Mountaineers are licking their chops when sizing up the Jaguars. Then on the other hand they want to get through the game without any injuries as they gear up for a run against Georgia Southern (short turnaround for Thursday night game), at South Carolina and at Georgia State after their trip to Mobile.
Running back Darrynton Evans rushed for 136 yards, 130 of them in the first half, against ULM. That gives him 676 yards on the season with 10 touchdowns. Meanwhile Zach Thomas is completing 68.5% of his passes for 1,163 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Mountaineer head coach Eliah Drinkwitz is making sure to remind his team that they need to come ready when they play at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. “They’re backed into a corner so they’re going to have a ton of fight,” he said. “They’ve got a great defensive front, and they’ve got a solid running game, and that’s a recipe for an upset if we don’t take care of business and focus on what we need to do.
“We’re not trying to climb higher in the rankings. We’re just trying to beat South Alabama.”
With an 11am kickoff time, these games can be a bit unpredictable. USA could come out on fire and “pissed off” as Campbell put earlier this week. But do they have what it takes to beat the 21st ranked team in the nation?
Unfortunately I don’t see a win happening for the home team. I think we’ll be officially eliminated from bowl eligibility with our sixth consecutive loss by convincing margin. Now with the spread at 25.5, that’s a lot of points. I think the Jags will have to try to keep up scoring wise, which puts a lot of pressure on an offense that’s been struggling all season. I’m going to take the Mountaineers to cover, but maybe because I’ve been wrong just about all season it won’t work out.
The Jags and the Mountaineers kickoff at 11am on Saturday, October 26th. The game will be televised on ESPNU and radio coverage locally in the Mobile area on 99.5 The Jag and online through the iHeartMedia app worldwide.
Go Jags!