Preview: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – South Alabama vs Western Kentucky
Kickoff: Wednesday, December 21, 8:00pm
Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
TV/Streaming: ESPN
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
South Alabama’s march towards the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl is quickly reaching its end. The Jags will tee it off against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at 8pm on Wednesday, December 21st in the Big Easy.
Jaguar fans have been eager to earn a bowl invite since their last trip in 2016.
Six years is a long time to wait for another shot to win the schools first bowl game. While the Jags were favored to be bowl eligible in preseason prognostications, few outside of Jag Nation thought they would be rolling into the post season with a 10-2 record. Much less only losing their two games by a combined 5 points.
While playing in a bowl game is a huge accomplishment for the team, the extra practices leading up to the bowl game is huge in and of itself. It’s additional reps for the young players and keeps momentum going to bridge the football season into spring football.
Head coach Kane Wommack said in his press conference leading up to game week that the team has gone back to a fall camp practice schedule. They were doing fundamental drills that haven’t been run since August due to time. But they are still doing preparation for Western Kentucky at certain times throughout those practices. Once they got to game week, then they started their usual game-week preparation.
Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers are no stranger to South Alabama. They were fellow members in the Sun Belt Conference from 1982 until their departure in 2014. The Jags and Hilltoppers had a particularly strong rivalry in men’s basketball over the years.
The one and only time the Jags and Hilltoppers met on the gridiron, the Jags won 31-24 back in the 2013 season.
Now the Hilltoppers come in representing Conference USA with an 8-5 record on the season. They were allowed to schedule a 13th regular season game by the NCAA as compensation for traveling to play at Hawaii. Some of their noteworthy games on the season: 33-30 loss at Indiana, 73-0 win over Florida International, 31-28 loss to CUSA Champ UTSA, and a 32-31 win over Florida Atlantic in overtime in the regular season finale.
Offense
Western Kentucky is the #2 ranked passing offense team in the nation, behind only Washington and ahead of #3 Tennessee and #4 Georgia Southern. Their rushing offense ranks 72nd in the nation. They rank 10th in total offense in the nation.
On the season Western Kentucky averaged 35.8 points (18th nationally), 483.5 total yards (9th nationally), 339.2 passing yards (2nd nationally), 144.3 rushing yards (72nd nationally), and 28:52 time of possession per game (92nd nationally).
They converted 72-of-175 (41%) of their 3rd down attempts (T46th nationally) and 15-of-37 (41%) of their 4th down attempts (105th nationally).
They possessed the ball in their opponents red zone 53 times, scoring on 44 of those possessions (83%) with 34 of them being touchdowns (64%) (71st nationally).
Austin Reed went 353-of-548 (64.4%) for 4,249 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions at quarterback. Two other players saw some playing time but neither one had any significant numbers for the season. Reed actually put his name in the transfer portal, but has since removed it to stay at WKU.
In total, WKU had seven receivers who had over 100 yards receiving on the season, four of them with over 500 yards on the season, and also seven receivers who caught touchdowns. Malachi Corley led the team with 1,181 yards on 90 catches with 9 touchdowns. Daewood Davis added 872 yards on 63 catches with 7 touchdowns in 12 games played. Jaylen Hall had 731 yards on 59 catches with 5 touchdowns. Michael Mathison added 580 yards on 49 catches with 3 touchdowns.
Kye Robichaux and Davion Ervin-Poindexter were the top two running backs on the season. Robichaux, a sophomore, rushed for 496 yards on 73 carries with three touchdowns in only eight games played, he suffered an injury against North Texas and saw action in only one other game the rest of the season. Robichaux is listed 3rd on the depth chart at running back. Ervin-Poindexter rushed for 492 yards on 107 carries with 3 touchdowns as well. Quarterback Reed has logged 199 yards on 87 attempts with eight touchdowns.
Defense
The Hilltopper defense is allowing an average of 23.5 points (44th nationally), 380.8 total yards (69th nationally), 225.2 passing yards (70th nationally), 155.6 rushing yards (75th nationally), and 31:08 time of possession per game this season.
Opponents are converting 68-of-194 (35%) of their 3rd down attempts (39th nationally) and 14-of-28 (50%) of their 4th down attempts on the season (T62nd nationally).
Opponents have scored on 36-of-41 (88%) of their trips into the red zone. With 24 (59%) of them result in touchdowns (98th nationally).
JaQues Evans leads the team with 100 total stops, 60 of them solo. Evens also leads the team with 11 tackles for loss, and sacks with 7.5, two fumble recoveries, and a blocked kick. Derrick Smith is next with 90 total stops, 56 solo with six tackles for loss and three sacks and an interception. Kahlef Hailassie has 65 total stops, 44 of them solo, 8 tackles for loss (2nd on team), three sacks, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Kaleb Oliver and Upton Stout are the team co-leaders with three interceptions each. .
Special Teams
Brayden Narveson converted all 59 of his extra point attempts on the season. He also went 15-of-21 on field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards.
Cory Munson has handled all but one punt on the season. Munson is averaging 61.1 yards per punt with 34 touchbacks and 3 kicked out of bounds. Narveson punted once on the season for 65 yards and a touchback.
Transfer Portal
Most of WKU’s student athletes entering the transfer portal are on the defensive side of the ball. Edge rusher and leading tackler JaQues Evans entered the transfer portal on 12/14. He joined fellow edge rusher Dante Walker who joined on 12/12. Safety Arthur Brathwaite entered on 12/7.
Offensive tackle Luke Slusher and wide receiver Joshua Simon both entered the portal on 12/6.
On 12/5 Wide receiver Barry Wagner, safety Talique Allen, quarterbck Darius Ocean, and offensive tackle Rusty Staats all entered the portal.
12/1 starting kicker Brayden Narveson entered his name into the transfer portal.
South Alabama
As has been already mentioned, this is the Jags first bowl appearance since 2016 and only the 3rd bowl appearance in program history.
Head coach Kane Wommack only needed two seasons to get the Jags into a bowl game and to record their best record as a FBS program. The New Orleans Bowl gives them the opportunity to add one more to their win column and to notch the programs first bowl win.
Offense
The Jags are averaging 31.9 points (T41st nationally), 423.8 total yards (40th nationally), 259.2 passing yards (42nd nationally), 164.6 (57th nationally) rushing yards, and 32:24 time of possession (18th nationally) per game this season.
They are converting 77-of-179 (43%, 35th nationally) of their 3rd down attempts, and 17-of-26 (65.4%, T21st nationally) of their 4th down attempts.
Of the Jags 49 trips into the red zone, they’ve scored on 41 of them (83.7%) and scored touchdowns on 30 (61.2%) of those trips. Those numbers rank them at T68 nationally in red zone offense.
Quarterback Carter Bradley, who came to South Alabama from Toledo, has gone 240-of-374 (64.2%) for 2,983 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the regular season. Desmond Trotter appeared in four games going 14-of-18 for 127 yards.
South Alabama had a trio of receivers with over 50 receptions and 700-yards receiving on the season. Jalen Wayne led the trio with 793 yards and 9 touchdowns on 56 catches. Caullin Lacy led the trio with 58 catches for 759 yards and six touchdowns. Devin Voisin, who came on later in the season, caught 53 passes for 718 yards and four touchdowns.
Behind the three-headed beast of receivers, the next closest is Braylon McReynolds with 188 yards on 17 catches with a touchdown.
La’Damian Webb led the Jags backfield with 1,015 yards on 197 carries with 13 touchdowns. He missed one game due to an injury.
McReynolds finished his true freshman regular season with 311 yards on 55 carries as the second leading rusher. Marco Lee rushed for 247 yards and four touchdowns on 67 carries. Omni Wells rushed for 234 yards on 55 carries.
Defense
The Jags are allowing an average of 19.4 points (T14th nationally), 302.6 total yards (11th nationally), 215.0 passing yards (51st nationally), 87.6 rushing yards (4th nationally), and 27:11 time of possession per game.
Opponents converted 49-of-164 (29.9%, 11th nationally) of their 3rd down attempts, and 15-of-26 (57.7%, T105th nationally) of their 4th down attempts.
Opponents have possessed the ball in the red zone 35 times during the regular season and scored on 28 of those trips (80%), with only 17 being touchdowns (48.6%) those numbers lands them at T36th nationally.
Jaden Voisin finished the regular season with 76 total stops, 42 of them solo, to lead the team. He added 6 tackles for loss, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Trey Kiser had 71 total stops, 53 solo, with four sacks and a forced fumble on the season. Kiser and CJ Rias are team co-leaders with 10 tackles for loss each. Jamie Sheriff leads the team with six sacks.
Yam Banks leads the team with 5 interceptions on the season while also leading with 10 pass breakups and five quarterback hurries.
Special Teams
Jack Brooks has 53 punts on the season with an average of 42.8 yards per kick with 16 kicks downed inside the 20, 11 fair catches, 10 punts of 50+ yards and only 3 touchbacks.
Diego Guajardo finished the season 17-of-18 on field goals with a long of 49 yards, and 44-of-45 on extra point attempts.
Transfer Portal
Only two Jaguars who have entered the portal have been Anterrious Gray, who left the team to enter his name into the portal during the season, and reserve quarterback Eli Gainey.
Keys to the Game
Pass Defense
Western Kentucky is a very prolific passing offense led by the most prolific quarterback the Jags will have faced all season. In addition, the Jags have had their share of injuries in the back end of the defense. Keith Gallmon Jr was lost in preseason camp, Marvin Martin was lost during the season with very serious hit in practice, Quentin Wilfawn was lost during the season due to a shoulder injury.
It seems the Jags have been particularly susceptible to inside slants. But when they are able to shut down their opponents rushing attack and are able to get pressure on the quarterback with their defensive front, they have been able to drop a linebacker and take away that play.
The Hilltoppers rank above Georgia Southern (4th ranks passing offense nationally), which the Jags were able to defeat in Statesboro. The Jags held them to almost 50 yards below their season average and only allowed seven points in the second half.
Turnovers
Turnovers as a “key to the game” is pretty obvious. It’s always a key to the game.
An interesting college football stat is that, if your team averages a turnover margin of +1 per game, you should expect them to win 8 or 9 games if all other things are equal (but they never are).
However teams often have more turnovers in bowl games, possibly due to the time between their final regular season game and the bowl game. Call it rust, or just a long layoff, but teams often suffer from the “turnover bug” in postseason play.
It’s a no-brainer that if you get more turnovers than you give away, your chance of winning is higher.
The Jags offense has been very good all season protecting the ball. They’ve had 10 fumbles all season but lost only 4 of them to their opponents. Bradley has thrown 10 interceptions but he threw half of them in the final four games of the season, three in the last two while he was nursing an injured non-throwing shoulder.
Run The D*mn Ball
RTDB has become a mantra for the Jags. It was mentioned that Director of Football Athletic Performance, Matt Shadeed, printed “RTDB” on a sheet of paper and taped it to his shirt for a practice and that was when they adopted it as their mantra. Now they have actually printed shirts that have been worn by coaches in practices.
La’Damian Webb has shouldered the workload in a few games and basically willed the team to a win. The offensive line opened a crease and Webb would explode through them to grind out first down and melt the clock. That has helped him to be only the second 1,000 yard rusher in Jaguar history.
He scored the final three touchdowns against Georgia Southern in the Jags come-from-behind win and ate clock while doing it. He even did that after having the flu during the week leading up to the game.
A strong run game will minimize opponent’s possessions and shorten the game. Braylon McReynolds showed he can fill in for Webb in the final two games of the season when Webb was hampered by a foot injury. Marco Lee and Omni Wells also had a huge game filling in for Webb and McReynolds when they both missed a game early in the season.
Prediction
South Alabama opened at a 7.5-point favorite but the spread has shrunk to only a 4.5 point favorite for the Jags.
Coach Wommack and his staff are great and preparing for games as well as master motivators. I expect the Jags to come out fast. The team, especially the seniors, will be highly motivated to earn the first bowl win in program history. Excluding players who have transferred from other programs, there’s no one on the team who have been to a bowl game before.
I think the Jags win but I think it will be a close, hard-fought game where they don’t cover the spread. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the Jags having to mount a game winning drive late in the game.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Rallies Late To Defeat Old Dominion 27-20, Earns Tenth Win Of Season
South Alabama (10-2, 7-1 SBC) held Old Dominion (3-9, 2-6 SBC) scoreless after halftime for a comeback win over the Monarchs to secure the programs first 10-win season as a FBS program. The win also kept the Jags hopes alive for a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game.
A banged-up Carter Bradley found Jalen Wayne for a 30-yard touchdown with 4:50 left in the 3rd quarter to tie the game.
Then in the 4th quarter the Jags pieced together a 15-play, 69-yard drive in 6:57 to take the lead for the first and only time of the game. Carter Bradley opened the drive with a gutsy 18-yard run with a thrilling hurdle over a Monarch defender. On 3rd and goal at the 2-yard line, Bradley connected with DJ Thomas-Jones for the touchdown to complete the comeback.
The Monarch had one last chance to tie the game. They opened their possession with a 15-yard pass from Wolff to Ahmarian Granger and two plays later what looked like a big sack for a 6-yard loss was negated by a facemask penalty for 15 yards. Five plays later it looked like Old Dominion had a 25-yard touchdown pass but a penalty for a chop block moved them back to the Jaguars 40-yard line. Then on 4th & 13, Jamie Sheriff sacked Wolff for a 10-yard loss and a turnover on downs.
The Jags haven’t won many, if any, coin tosses at home this season. They won the toss and elected to defer their choice to the second half. The Monarchs took the opening kickoff and only needed five plays to find the end zone and put the Jags in the hole 7-0. On the second snap Hayden Wolff connected with Blake Watson for a 36-yard gain. Three plays later and Wolff connected with Javon Harvey for a 26-yard touchdown.
South Alabama answered back with a 15-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game. Carter Bradley finished the drive off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Caullin Lacy.
Old Dominion came right back to retake the lead though. Watson opened the drive with a 35-yard run. But Wolff threw three consecutive incomplete passes at the South Alabama 16-yard line and settled for a 33-yard field goal to go up 10-7 late in the first quarter.
Again, the Jags answered. After driving down to the ODU 24, Carter Bradley’s left non-throwing shoulder was driven into the turf hard and he had to go out of the game to get checked by the training staff. Desmond Trotter came in and reeled off a 14-yard run. On 3rd & 5, Bradley threw for Lincoln Sefcik but he couldn’t bring in the ball. Diego Guajardo converted the 23-yard field goal to bring the teams even at 10-each.
Watson opened the next ODU possession with another big run and finished it with a 6-yard touchdown reception on a shovel pass to put the Monarchs back ahead 17-10.
South Alabama drove down to the Monarchs 28 yard line but couldn’t convert on 3rd & 5. Diego Guajardo nailed a 46-yard field goal to cut lead to 17-13 late in the second quarter.
But Old Dominion wouldn’t quit. They drove down to the USA 2-yard line but the Jags defense set their cleats in the turf and refused to allow the Monarchs in the end zone. Wolff kept the ball and gained a yard. Watson was dropped for a loss and no gain to bring up 4th down. ODU head coach Ricky Rayne rushed on the kicking team and converted an 18-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-13 lead at halftime.
Stats
South Alabama had been out-gained on total yards for the whole game until the Jags go-ahead drive. The Jags out-gained the Monarchs 398-381 in total yards and 208-96 rushing, but was out-gained by ODU 285-190 passing.
The Jags converted 9-of-17 on 3rd down, and all three of their 4th down attempts in the game. ODU converted 7-of-15 on 3rd down and one of their two 4th down attempts.
South Alabama had a 35:08 to 24:52 advantage in time of possession and were only flagged five times for 40 yards.
Carter Bradley was 17-of-29 for 190 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Caullin Lacy caught six passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Wayne caught only 3 of his 9 targets for 63 yards and a touchdown. Devin Voisin caught three passes for 36 yards before having to leave the game with a shoulder injury.
La’Damian Webb didn’t start the game but came in and ran for 74 yards on 18 carries. Webb finished the regular season with 1,015 yards rushing.
Braylon McReynolds carried the ball 10 times for 56 yards. Omni Wells added 40 yards on nine carries. Bradley got 22 yards on five carries.
Old Dominion’s Hayden Wolff finished 21-of-36 for 285 yards and two touchdowns.
Blake Watson ran for 110 yards on 18 carries as the only ball-carrier other than Wolff with carries, and the only one who finished with positive yardage.
Watson also led the team receiving with 88 yards on 6 catches with a touchdown. Granger had 5 catches for 71 yards.
Next
South Alabama would have hosted the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday, December 3rd, however Troy defeated Arkansas State to win the SBC West Division due to the head-to-head tie-breaker against the Jags.
South Alabama will have to wait until Sunday, December 4th at 11am for the Bowl Selection Show to find out who and where they will be spending bowl season.
Preview: South Alabama Hosts Old Dominion On Senior Day, Regular Season Finale
Kickoff: Saturday, November 26, 11:00am
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: A.J. DeShazor
South Alabama’s (9-2, 6-1 SBC) win over Southern Miss (5-6, 3-4 SBC) wasn’t the stellar performance by the Jags. Fans will be quick to say that any win is a good win. But coaches will be quick to point out lots of things that need attention before the next game.
But both can be true, and this is one of those instances.
The Jags win was a good win. They showed great resilience in the face of adversity. Overcoming turnovers and a poorly executed fake punt in route to a 27-20 win on the road was exactly what a good team does. Head coach Kane Wommack’s process-oriented approach and neutral mindset philosophy has proven to be effective in changing the culture in the program.
The win sets a new record for wins in a season as a FBS program. The previous record was set just the week before. Now they have an opportunity to move that bar one notch higher with a 10th regular season win on the line this Saturday against Old Dominion.
Being Senior Day, it’s a great time to reflect on this group of seniors. Many of them have seen this program at it’s lowest (2-10 in 2019) and, even if the season ended prior to the game versus Old Dominion, they have seen the best FBS season for this same program. But they have one final chance to play in Hancock Whitney Stadium and earn a 10 win season. They’ll also have an opportunity to record the first-ever bowl win, they just have to wait to find out the details on when and where.
They also still have an outside shot to play in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game. They just have to win against Old Dominion and they need Arkansas State to upset Troy in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Two of the seniors on the team are the last players to play under South Alabama’s first football coach and architect for the program, Joey Jones. Jalen Wayne and this weeks #5 jersey honoree, A.J. DeShazor.
Old Dominion (3-8, 2-5 SBC)
The Monarchs have had quite an interesting season first season in the Sun Belt. They opened the year with a 20-17 win over Virginia Tech. Then dropped games to East Carolina (39-21) and Virginia (16-14). They earned their second win against Arkansas State (29-26). They dropped their next game 38-24 against Liberty before knocking off the top team in the Sun Belt Conference, and gave them their only loss of the season so far, with a 49-21 win at Coastal Carolina.
They come to Mobile on a five-game losing skid after defeating the Chanticleers and looking to go into the offseason on a high note.
Offense
The offense is averaging 19.5 points, 335.9 total yards, 243.7 passing yards, 92.2 rushing yards, and 24:17 time of possession per game.
They are converting only 40-of-144 (27.8%) of their 3rd down attempts, and 7-of-20 (35%) of their 4th down attempts. Of their 24 trips into opponents red zone, they have scored points 19 times with 13 of them being touchdowns.
In total, they have thrown seven interceptions and lost 11 fumbles.
Hayden Wolff is 213-of-376 (56.7%) for 2,623 yards, 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
Ali Jennings III is the leading receiver with 54 catches for 959 yards and nine touchdowns in only nine games played before being lost for the season to injury. Javon Harvey has 28 catches for 523 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games played. Blake Watson has 31 catches for 226 yards and a touchdown in 10 games played. Bly Jordan adds 22 catches for 225 yards in 10 games. Four other receivers have recorded over 100 yards on the season. One of those, Zach Kuntz, had 144 yards receiving on just 12 catches with two touchdowns in only five games before his season ended due to injury.
Blake Watson has 806 yards rushing on 140 attempts with five touchdowns in 10 games played. Keshawn Wicks has 125 yards on 32 attempts and a touchdown as the only other player with over 100 yards rushing on the season.
Complicating things is that the offensive line has been beat up this season too.
Defense
The Monarchs defense found itself bruised and beaten after last weeks game against Appalachian State. Linebackers Jason Henderson entered last weeks game just 28 tackles short of breaking the FBS record for tackles in a season. If he is able to go this week, he would need to record 26 tackles in order to get the record.
The defense is allowing an average of 26.6 points, 446.6 total yards, 249.2 passing yards, 197.5 rushing yards, and 35:43 time of possession per game.
Opponents are converting 68-of-170 (40%) of their 3rd down attempts and 13-of-22 (59.1%) of their 4th down attempts.
Of the 44 times opponents have been in the Monarch red zone, they have scored 32 times but only 19 have been touchdowns.
The defense has collected 11 interceptions and recovered 7 fumbles.
Unsurprisingly, Henderson is the leading tackler with 168 total stops, 52 of them solo. The next closest is R’Tarrium Johnson with 80 total tops, 48 solo. Henderson also leads the team with 10 tackles for loss. Ryan Henry and Denzel Lowry are tied leading the team with four sacks each.
Tre Hawkins III leads the team with just two interceptions. Nine other players have one interception each.
Special Teams
Ethan Sanchez is 8-of-11 on the season as placekicker. His long for the season is a 44-yarder. He’s missed one of this three attempts from 40-49 yards and two of his five attempted from 20-29 yards.
Ethan Duane is averaging 43.1 yards per punt. His longest punt of the season is a 59 yarder. He has 26 punts downed inside the 20, 20 have been fair caught, 13 kicks have gone over 50 yards and only three have been touchbacks.
South Alabama (9-2, 6-1 SBC)
Offense
The Jags are averaging 32.4 points, 426.1 total yards, 265.5 passing yards, 160.6 rushing yards, and 32:09 time of possession per game. They are converting 68-of-162 (42%) of their 3rd down attempts and 14-of-23 (60.9%) of their 4th down attempts.
They scoring on 38 of their 46 trips into the red zone with 28 of them being touchdowns.
They have only lost 4 fumbles on the season with only 9 interceptions as well.
Carter Bradley is 223-of-345 for 2,793 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions on the season. Desmond Trotter in only his third game appearance on the season is 14-of-18 for 127 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns.
Jalen Wayne continues to lead the receiving corps with 730 yards on 53 catches with eight touchdowns. Caullin Lacy has 706 yards on 52 catches with five touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 682 yards on 50 catches with four touchdowns. A pair of running backs and a pair of tight ends round out the receiving corps with over 100 yards on the season, all of them have one touchdown each.
La’Damian Webb, after missing his second game of the season, still leads the team with 941 yards on 179 carries with 13 touchdowns. He just needs 59 yards to hit the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
Braylon McReynolds, on his first start, had his first 100-yard rushing game against Southern Miss. He has 255 yards on 45 carries in nine games played. Marco Lee has 239 yards on 64 carries with four touchdowns, but the bruiser has converted a number of 3rd downs for the season. Omni Wells has 194 yards on 46 carries.
Defense
The defense is allowing an average of 19.4 points, 295.5 total yards, 208.6 passing yards, 86.8 rushing yards, and 27:24 time of possession for the season. Opponents are converting just 42-of-149 (28.2%) 3rd down attempts and 14-of-24 (58.3%) of 4th down attempts.
The stingy defense has only allowed 25 scores out of 32 trips into the red zone with only 16 being a touchdown.
Sun Belt Conference defensive player of the week Jaden Voisin had 17 total stops, 11 solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception last week against Southern Miss. Those tackles jumped him into the top stop for the team with 68 for the season, 37 solo, with 5.5 tackles for loss. Trey Kiser stayed in second place with 65 total stops, 48 solo, with 10 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. James Miller dropped from the top spot to 3rd with 61 total stops, 35 solo, with 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Yam Banks leads the team with five interceptions, but almost added one more against the Golden Eagles. Jaden Voisin moves into a tie with Ke’Shun Brown with two interceptions each.
Kiser and CJ Rias continue to pace the team with 10 tackles for loss each. Jamie Sheriff leads the team with 5 sacks.
Special Teams
Diego Gajardo had another perfect week for the Jags. He is now 15-of-16 for the season. He added a season-long 49-yarder just before halftime to give the Jags the lead going into the locker room.
Jack Brooks is averaging 42.4 yards per punt for the season with a long of 58. He has 8 kicks of 50+ yards, 16 downed inside the 20, 11 fair catches and only two touchbacks.
As coach Wommack highlighted in his weekly radio show, kickoff specialist Jacob Meeks has 25 touchbacks on the season. This is not an insignificant team stat. When you can consistently force touchbacks on kickoffs, the opponents are consistently having to drive the length of the field for touchdowns while preventing momentum-stealing kickoff returns.
Keys to the Game
Continue Limiting Penalties
The Jags entered the game last week ranked #1 in the nation in total penalties, total penalty yards, and penalty yards per game. Those are not categories you want to be a national leader in.
However, after two games with 13 and 11 penalties, the Jags were only flagged five times against Southern Miss. They avoided any post-play unsportsmanlike penalties. They only had one offensive penalty, a false start. But defensively they were flagged three times: one for defensive holding, one for pass interference, and once for targeting.
The targeting wasn’t egregious, the runner dipped his head while Rickey Hyatt Jr was leading with his head. He immediately knew he messed up as he immediately grabbed his head after the flag was thrown. The Jags were already without Jalen Jordan due to a targeting flag in the second half against Texas State.
It would be great for the team to limit penalties for a second-consecutive game.
Balanced Offensive Attack
In the three wins by Old Dominion they have successfully made their opponent primarily one-dimensional by limiting their opponents rushing attack.
Virginia Tech saw the most success on the ground with 136 rushing yards, but the Monarchs were at their peak health-wise. Arkansas State rushed for 112 yards. Coastal Carolina rushed for only 90 yards while the Monarchs had their way with 323 yards on the ground against the Chanticleers.
According to coach Wommack’s radio show, they believe that he will be able to play on Saturday. However, if last week is any indication, Braylon McReynolds would be ready to step into the starting role if needed. But Marco Lee and Omni Wells both rushed for nearly 100 yards each when both Webb and McReynolds were unavailable earlier in the season.
Don’t Look Ahead
With the Jags bowl eligible and eager to win their first bowl game, they can’t look ahead to an unknown opponent just because they are playing a 3-8 team. The Sun Belt has proven that from top to bottom, any team can win on any given week.
Just ask Coastal Carolina.
Though they are the lone top-25 ranked team from the Sun Belt, they would have most certainly been ranked higher than their current 23rd place. They are in the running for a new years 6 bowl game. If they are the highest ranked group of 5 champion, they get an automatic berth in a new years 6 bowl game.
Prediction
Depending on the site you look at the Jags are either a 16.5-point favorite or a 15.5-point favorite on others.
The Monarchs have had lots of attrition due to injury. They’ve lost two key pass catchers on the season. Their top tackler’s status is currently unknown for the season finale this week.
They have played well against their biggest opponents, power five opponent Virginia Tech and top Sun Belt team Coastal Carolina. They would like to add another win against one of the upper-level teams in the conference.
I think the Jags will thwart their attempt in the friendly confines of Hancock Whitney Stadium on Senior Day though. I also think they cover the 15.5 point spread due to the injury status of the Monarchs as well.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Downs Southern Miss 27-20 To Earn Ninth Win
South Alabama (9-2, 6-1 SBC) scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and recovered an onside kick attempt by Southern Miss (5-6, 3-4 SBC) to preserve the win. The Jags finish their road season 5-1, their only loss a 32-31 walk-off loss at UCLA. It also runs the Jags record against USM to 3-0 all-time as well.
The Jags scored their second touchdown in the fourth quarter with 1:53 left to seal the game. Southern Miss kicked a field goal with :13 left in the game to set up the onside kick attempt needing two scores. The onside kick went to Devin Voisin who got his body in front of it but didn’t cleanly field it. The ball was underneath him as he turned around looking for it. Two USM players dove for it but also didn’t cover it and actually knocked it into Voisin’s chest to cover.
It looked like South Alabama was going to start the game fast again. Braylon McReynolds took the handoff on the second snap 64 yards. But the offense stalled and settled for a short Diego Guajardo field goal for the first points of the game.
After forcing a three-and-out defensively and a 16-yard punt return, the Jags looked to ready for another drive for points. However, Carter Bradley didn’t see a defender hiding behind a referee in the middle of the field and threw it right to him for an interception. Southern Miss drove the short field and Frank Gore Jr ran in untouched off left tackle to give the Eagles the lead 7-3.
After a failed fake punt, the Jags gave Southern Miss the ball at the Jags 36. But the defense held strong at the 5-yard line and forced a field goal giving Southern Miss a 10-3 lead about midway through the second quarter.
The Jags answered back quickly with two big plays for 29 yards each by Braylon McReynolds and Devin Voisin. Bradley found Jalen Wayne crossing in the back of the end zone and hit him in stride to tie the game at 10-each.
Desmond Trotter came in for the final possession of the half after Bradley went to the locker room early to get some treatment on his left shoulder. Trotter led the Jags on a quick drive to set up Guajardo for a 49-yard field goal to end the first half with a 13-10 lead.
After trading punts back and forth in the 3rd quarter, Southern Miss scored on a broken play to regain the lead. Quarterback Trey Lowe and Frank Gore Jr both moved left looking to the sideline, but the center snapped the ball behind Gore. Gore picked up the ball and threw it deep to an open receiver in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown with 1:09 left in the quarter.
Stats
South Alabama dominated Southern Miss in yardages. The Jags had 411 total yards of offense to 298, they threw for 257 yards to USM’s 196, and rushed for 154 to 102.
The Jags were 5-of-13 on 3rd down attempts and converted 2-of-4 attempts on 4th down.
Southern Miss had a 31:14 to 28:46 time of possession edge.
Carter Bradley went 15-of-22 for 238 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Desmond Trotter went 2-of-4 for 19 yards on one possession at the end of the first half.
Devin Voisin led the Jags receiver corps with 6 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Wayne caught 4 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. Braylon McReynolds added 3 catches for 66 yards. Caullin Lacy caught one pass, a touch pass sweep, for 33 yards and a touchdown.
True freshman Braylon McReynolds carried the ball 15 times for 100 yards, his first 100-yard game as a Jaguar. Marco Lee added 25 yards on six carries and was key converted some short first downs.
Trey Lowe was 18-of-33 for 167 yards and an interception. Frank Gore Jr completed his only pass attempt for a 29-yard touchdown.
Jason Brownlee led all receivers with 7 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. Latreal Jones caught three for 26 yards.
Next
A few Jaguar players were banged up in the game but none were kept from returning. Carter Bradley injured his shoulder on the touchdown pass to Jalen Wayne. Wayne, on the same play, rolled and hit the wall with his knee. After wincing in some pain, he eventually jogged off slightly favoring the right knee he hit.
A few defensive secondary players were banged up too.
La’Damian Webb traveled with the team and came out to warm but, but quickly changed back into his street clothes.
Hopefully all those guys will be good to go by next Saturday.
South Alabama returns home for their regular season finale against Old Dominion. The Jags and the Monarchs will kick off at 11am on Saturday, November 26 at Hancock Whitney Stadium as South Alabama goes for their first 10-win season as a FBS program.
Preview: South Alabama Goes For Ninth Win Of The Season At Southern Miss
Kickoff: Saturday, November 19, 2:30pm
Venue: M. M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Jamie Sheriff
South Alabama is in new, uncharted territory for the football program.
After the win over Georgia Southern two weeks ago, every new win they notch they break the previous record for wins they themselves set just the week prior. In 2014 and 2016 the program achieved six wins and earned bowl berths. But both times they came up on the losing end in the bowl game and finished with six wins and seven loses. In 2013 the program earned finished 6-6 and were not invited to go bowling.
This season, the second under head coach Kane Wommack, the program has smashed that glass ceiling.
They guaranteed themselves a winning regular season record when they defeated Georgia Southern for the program record seventh win of the season. Just one week later, this past Saturday, they guaranteed themselves an overall winning season by setting the bar one rung higher with eight regular season wins.
This Saturday they travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi with an opportunity to set that bar one rung higher with a ninth regular-season victory with a win over Southern Miss.
In order to earn win number eight, the script from the previous two wins had to be flipped. It wasn’t the La’Damian Webb show this time. It wasn’t even a dominant rushing attack that gave the Jags the win.
The Jags offense took to the air to topple Texas State.
Carter Bradley tied a single-game record with a career-high four touchdown passes as he threw for 274 yards in the 38-21 win. It wasn’t Jalen Wayne who stepped up big for the Jags, he was kept as mostly a non-factor with only three catches for 27 yards in the game. Neither was it Caullin Lacy, though he did catch three passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Devin Voisin was the one who . He caught six passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns, both career highs.
The diversity that the Jags have shown throughout the season as they have navigated their schedule and sit here with eight wins is a testament to all the hard work that has been put into this program. When a good Texas State defense limited the rushing attack and then neutralized Wayne and kept Lacy mostly at bay, it was Devin Voisin who stepped up and made the plays that mattered.
South Alabama remains tied atop the Sun Belt Conference West Division standings. Troy holds the tiebreaker for winning the head-to-head meeting between the two. In order for the Jags to overtake them they need to win both of their remaining games against Southern Miss and Old Dominion. They also need either Louisiana-Monroe or Arkansas State to pull an upset on Troy in the final two weeks of play.
But the Jags can only control what’s in their path.
In their path this week is Southern Miss.
Southern Miss (5-5, 3-3 SBC)
The Golden Eagles have been an up and down team this season. They began the year two-consecutive losses. A 29-27 4OT loss at home to Liberty and a 30-7 loss at Miami (FL).
The Golden Eagles got back to .500 with a 64-10 win over Northwestern State and upset a strong Tulane team (who are currently 8-2 and ranked #21 in the latest AP Poll).
They then lost a 27-10 decision in Troy before three consecutive wins over Sun Belt foes Arkansas State (20-19), Texas State (20-14), and Louisiana-Lafayette (39-24).
The Golden Eagles are riding a two-game losing streak coming into this matchup with a 42-14 home loss to another up-and-down team in Georgia State and a 26-23 loss to Eastern Division Champs Coastal Carolina in Conway, South Carolina.
Offense
Southern Miss is averaging 25.1 points, 324.6 total yards, 213.2 passing yards, 111.4 rushing yards, and 28:40 time of possession per game. They are converting 51-of-144 (35.4%) on 3rd down and 10-of-16 (62.5%) on 4th down.
They have scored 22 times out of their 29 trips into their opponents red zone, with only 12 of them being touchdowns.
Head coach Will Hall has been playing musical quarterbacks with at least four different quarterbacks seeing playing time with at least two running backs throwing passes as well.
Freshman Zach Wilcke is the team’s leading quarterback statistically. He’s played in eight games and is 100-for-175 (57.1%) for 1,151 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions on the season. Trey Lowe, a redshirt junior, is 27-of-54 for 458 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in four games played. Sophomore Jake Lange is 11-of-21 for 110 yards, with an interception and no touchdowns.
Jason Brownlee, a senior, leads the receiving corps with 44 catches for 687 yards with six touchdowns. Freshman Tiaquelin Mims has 23 catches for 361 yards and two touchdowns in six games played. Junior Jakarius Caston adds 22 catches for 272 yards with three touchdowns in seven games played. Sophomore running back Frank Gore Jr. has 16 catches for 177 yards. Cole Cavallo, a redshirt junior tight end, is next with 15 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. Then 15 other players have caught passes, none with double-digit receptions nor over 87 yards receiving.
Frank Gore Jr. leads the team rushing with 788 yards on 163 carries with five touchdowns. Janari Dean has 134 yards on 48 carries and three touchdowns in eight games played. Out of 13 runners with carries, none have netted over 69 yards rushing with only four of them logging game time in all 10 games.
Defense
The Golden Eagle defense is allowing an averaging of 24.5 points, 377.0 total yards, 236.2 passing yards, 140.8 rushing yards, and 31:20 time of possession per game.
Opponents are converting 55-of-152 (36.2%) on 3rd down and 3-of-18 (16.7%) on 4th down attempts for the season.
When teams get into the red zone, they have scored 27 times out of the 31 trips with 19 of them being touchdowns.
Malik Shorts leads the team with 74 total stops, 43 of them solo, with a team co-leading three interceptions. Averie Habas and Dominic Quewon co-lead the team with 9.5 sacks each, Quewon leads the team with 8.5 sacks a full five sacks more than the next defender. Jay Stanley is the other co-leader with three interceptions while adding five pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Special Teams
Briggs Bourgeois is 13-of-14 placekicking this season with a long of 53 yards. He’s also 27-of-28 on extra points.
Mason Hunt is averaging 42.8 yards per punt with a long of 59 yards, 15 kicks of 50+ yards, 23 downed inside the 20, 22 fair catches, and only eight touchbacks.
South Alabama (8-2, 5-1 SBC)
Offense
The Jags offense is averaging 32.9 points, 427.6 total yards, 266.3 passing yards, 161.3 rushing yards, and 32:29 time of possession per game. They are converting 63-of-148 (42.6%) on 3rd down and 12-of-19 (63.2%) on 4th down for the season. They converted all six 4th down attempts against Texas State.
Out of 43 trips into the red zone, the Jags have scored 36 times with 27 of them being touchdowns.
Carter Bradley’s numbers are now 208-of-323 (64.4%) for 2,555 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions for the season.
The top three receivers stay bunched up with very similar numbers. Jalen Wayne has 49 catches for 697 yards and 7 touchdowns. Caullin Lacy has 51 catches for 673 yards and 4 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 44 catches for 585 yards and three touchdowns.
La’Damian Webb has 941 yards on 179 carries with 13 touchdowns for the season. Marco Lee adds 214 yards on 58 carries with four touchdowns. Omni Wells has 180 yards on 41 carries and Braylon McReynolds has 155 yards on 30 carries.
Defense
The Jags allow an average of 19.3 points, 295.2 total yards, 209.9 passing yards, 85.3 rushing yards, and 27:01 time of possession per game through ten games this season. They are allowing opponents to convert a mere 36-of-134 (26.9%) on 3rd down and 12-of-21 (57.1%) on 4th down attempts.
Opponents have had the ball in the red zone 29 times this season and came away with points on 22 of those trips with only 15 of them being touchdowns.
James Miller (58 total stops, 35 solo) continues to hold onto a narrow lead over Trey Kiser (57 total stops, 43 solo) in tackles. Kiser is the team co-lead with CJ Rias in tackles for loss with nine each. Jamie Sheriff holds onto the team lead in sacks with 5, but Rias is right behind him with four on the season. Yam Banks leads the team with five interceptions. Ke’Shun Brown has two, including a game-sealing pick-six against Texas State.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo saw his first missed field goal of the season. He is now 13-of-14 on the season with a long of 48. He’s only missed one of his 39 extra point attempts on the season as well.
Jack Brooks is averaging 42.2 yards per punt on 49 punts this season. He has a long of 58 yards with 16 kicks downed inside the 20, 10 fair caught, 7 kicks of 50+ yards, and only two touchbacks.
Keys to the Game
Quick Start
When the Jags jump out with a quick start to the game, they have performed exceptionally well this season. Last week was no exception with a 41-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the game. The defense also got onto the early jump bandwagon when James Miller sacked quarterback Layne Hatcher on the first defensive play.
They worked up a 17-0 lead at halftime, which they needed as the Jags went score for score against the Bobcats in the second half to win by that margin, 38-21.
If the Bobcats had discovered Josh Berry’s running ability earlier in the game we may have been talking about a much closer game on the scoreboard.
That fast start was the difference and has been a big help in most games this season.
Adjusting To Whichever USM Team Shows Up
There’s no way around it, Southern Miss has been a bit of Jekyll and Hyde this year. Just look at their win over Tulane and contrast it will their whipping they suffered at the hands of Georgia State.
Head coach Will Hall has played four or five different quarterbacks on the year. Frank Gore Jr. has more passing attempts than all of South Alabama’s quarterbacks not named Carter Bradley.
Only 5 receivers out of the 20 receivers on the squad with a reception on the season have played all 10 games.
Additionally, only 5 players out of the 15 players on the team with a rushing attempt on the season have played in all 10 games this season as well.
Despite all of this coach Hall has his team one win away from bowl eligibility with an even mark overall on the season and in conference play.
While the Jaguar defense has made some great adjustments this season (hello second half against Georgia Southern), they have also shown they aren’t flawless (hello second half against Texas State).
But throughout it all the defense has remained elite.
This team has lived the mantra of LEO, Love Each Other, every step of the way. When the defense had it’s struggles, the offense kept scoring. When the offense couldn’t close out the game, the defense stepped in.
Stay Healthy (and leaning on more than one running back)
This keeps cropping up in my list as it stays in my mind as one of the top three keys to Jaguar victories. If they stay healthy, there’s not many teams on the schedule that can beat them.
I was concerned about the spike in La’Damian Webb’s usage over the previous two weeks just from a wear and tear angle. The coaches don’t seem too concerned about the injury that had them keep him out of the remainder of the game last week. But I feel it underscores the urgency of developing a clear #2 back that can pick up where Webb leaves off with little dropoff.
We saw a flash of potential against Louisiana-Monroe when Marco Lee and Omni Wells rushed for 93 and 85 yards respectively after Webb left the game on the first drive with an injury. But we have not seen that kind of rushing productivity out of the pair since. We haven’t seen it from Braylon McReynolds either, though he missed a few games with injuries himself.
The closest we have seen has been 57 yards from Marco Lee last week against Texas State, then McReynolds with 42 against Georgia Southern before that.
I have no doubt that coach Wommack, offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, and the rest of the staff have detailed plans to work into the overall gameplan if Webb is limited or additional injuries occur. But, on the outside looking in, boy would I like to have see more in the stat logs and in game play in case that was to happen.
Prediction
Which Southern Miss team do you get on Saturday will be key. The Jags hold a 2-0 advantage over Southern Miss. They completed a home-and-home series last season before the Golden Eagles flew the coup from Conference USA to the Sun Belt.
Coach Will Hall is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to turn the USM program around. He’s making progress too.
But Hall’s progress is nowhere near the progress that coach Wommack has made.
South Alabama is favored by 7.5 points according to handicapping websites. I think the Jags win and also cover the spread.
Preview: South Alabama Returns Home To Host Texas State
Kickoff: Saturday, November 12, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Brandon Crum
South Alabama (7-2, 4-1 SBC) returns home after back-to-back road contests. It’ll be the first home game since the loss to rival Troy in the ‘Battle for the Belt.’ The road trip began with a 31-3 thumping of an ailing Arkansas State team. It wrapped up last week with a major gut-check of a game against Georgia Southern where the Jags came from behind to win 38-31.
It gave the Jags their first win in Statesboro, Georgia.
Against Georgia Southern, the Jags fell behind by two scores before the halfway mark of the first quarter. Carter Bradley’s first pass attempt was tipped, intercepted, and returned for a touchdown less than a minute into the game. Then a 50+ yard touchdown run on Georgia State’s first offensive possession.
In all they allowed 21 points in the first quarter but only allowed 10 points the rest of the way and only seven points in the second half.
The Jags trailed 31-17 around midway through the third quarter but from there it became the La’Damian Webb show. Webb would score all three of the Jaguars touchdowns down the stretch. He finished with 247 yards rushing with four touchdowns on 35 carries. He set single game records for yards and attempts and tied a record for touchdowns in a game.
It also marked his second-consecutive Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Louisiana-Lafayette had Troy 17-0 at halftime, however the Trojans managed to fight their way back and score the game winning touchdown with five seconds left. The Trojans continue to hold onto the Sun Belt Conference West lead over the Jags due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
While the Jags may not control their destiny in the Sun Belt Conference West division race, they control what happens in the next game.
That next game is Texas State.
Texas State (3-6, 1-4 SBC)
Bobcat head coach Jake Spavital is in his fourth season at the helm. He is 12-33 overall and 8-21 in conference play. The Bobcats upset the Jags in overtime last season 33-31. The Bobcats scored a game-tying touchdown with :17 left in regulation to force overtime.
In overtime both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime. Texas State missed a field goal and forced a fumble in the second overtime. Both teams failed to convert their two-point conversions in the third overtime. Then in the fourth overtime the Bobcats convert first, but Jake Bentley’s pass attempted fell incomplete for the loss. The Bobcats would finish the season 4-8 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Offense
This is the third season that Spavital is calling the plays on offense.
On the season the Bobcats are averaging 22.6 points, 330.7 total yards, 242.3 passing yards, 88.3 rushing yards, and 30:37 time of possession per game.
They are converting 52-of-138 (37.7%) of their 3rd down attempts and have converted 4-of-16 (25%) of their 4th down attempts on the season. While they are scoring well when they get into the red zone, they are only coming away with touchdowns 2/3rds of the time. Of their 27 trips, they’ve scored 24 times with 16 being touchdowns.
Quarterback Layne Hatcher’s name should be familiar. He transferred to Texas State after spending the previous three seasons at Arkansas State. In 32 career games and 16 starts the threw for 7,427 yards and 65 touchdowns. He is currently 4th all time in Arkansas State history in career passing yards, 3rd in career passing touchdowns, and 4th in completion percentage (61.6%).
So far this season Hatcher is 215-of-337 (63.8%) for 2,181 yards and 18 touchdowns with 8 interceptions.
The Bobcats top receiver is Ashtyn Hawkins with 56 catches for 587 yards and 7 touchdowns. The next closest receiver in receptions is Julian Ortega-Jones with 28 catches for 266 yards and a touchdown in eight games played. The next closest receiver is yardage is Marcell Barbee with 21 catches for 299 yards and a touchdown in eight games played. Only four other receivers have caught double-digit passes on the season. But a total of 18 players have caught passes on the season.
Lincoln Pare, another name that may be familiar, also transferred to San Marcos from Arkansas State. He leads the rushing attack with 458 yards on 120 carries with three touchdowns. Calvin Hill adds 333 yards on 76 carries with a touchdown in seven games played. Jahmyl Jeter has 108 yards on 35 carries and a touchdown in eight games.
Defense
Jake Spavital’s brother Zac, is the defensive coordinator for the Bobcats. He has helped the Bobcats to ranking among the nations top 50 teams in forcing turnovers in 2020. They were a top 25 pass defense in 2019 when they allowed an average of 199.3 passing yards per game that season.
This season the Bobcats are allowing an average of 24.9 points, 358.9 total yards, 239.7 passing yards, and 119.2 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 48-of-132 (36.4%) of their 3rd down attempts and 9-of-19 (47.4%) of their 4th down attempts on the season. While opponents have been in the red zone 30 times on the season, they have scored points in 24 of those trips and 18 of those scores were touchdowns.
London Harris leads the team with 64 total stops, 30 of them solo, with two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. Levi Bell leads the team with 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, and six quarterback hurries from the defensive line. Jordan Revels had 55 total tackles, 21 solo, 9 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 7 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery from his outside linebacker position. Defensive lineman Nelson Mbanasor has 8 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Bell and Mbanasor are co-leaders in sacks.
Kordell Rodgers leads the team with 4 interceptions of the teams 10 total interceptions.
Special Teams
Seth Keller is the team’s primary placekicker. He is 9-of-11 with a long of 41 yards and has converted all 23 extra point attempts. Mason Shipley made his only kick attempt on the season from 54 yards.
Seamus O’Kelly is averaging 41.9 yards per punt with a long of 68 yards, 8 kicks of 50+ yards, 28 fair catches, nine downed inside the 20.
South Alabama (7-2, 4-1 SBC)
The Jags locked in the programs first-ever winning season since transitioning to the FBS ranks. But head coach Kane Wommack does not want to just get back to a bowl game. Anytime the subject is mentioned he tells people that he wants it to be an expectation that South Alabama is going to a bowl game year after year.
As players continue to build upon coach Wommack’s process-oriented approach, the results are showing up on the field.
And in the win-loss column too.
Offense
After the big offensive day against Georgia Southern, the Jags are now averaging 32.3 points, 432.9 total yards, 265.4 passing yards, 167.4 rushing yards, and 32:22 time of possession per game.
They are converting 58-of-131 (44.3%) of their 3rd down attempts and 6-of-13 (46.2%) of their 4th down attempts.
Across their 30 trips into the opponents red zone, the Jags have scored points 34 times, with 26 of them being touchdowns.
La’Damian Webb is closing in on a 1,000-yard season. He has 896 yards on 163 carries with 13 touchdowns on the season. He is averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Omni Wells is next in the Jaguars stable of running backs with 175 yards on 39 carries. Marco Lee has 157 yards on 44 carries with four touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds has 150 yards on 28 carries.
Carter Bradley is 188-of-289 (65.1%) for 2,281 yards, 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on the season.
Jalen Wayne leads the receiver trio with 670 yards on 46 catches with 7 touchdowns. Caullin Lacy leads the trio with 48 catches for 615 yards and three touchdowns. Devin Voisin, who has emerged as a clutch receiver, has 467 yards on 38 catches with a touchdown.
Defense
The Jags SwarmD defense has picked up where they left off last season with impressive national defensive rankings.
The rushing defense ranks 5th, 6th national in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, tied 18th in scoring defense, 12th nationally in red zone defense, T-19th in turnover margin, and 19th in time of possession.
On the season the Jags defense is allowing on average 19.1 points, 302.4 total yards, 217.3 passing yards, and 85.1 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 33-of-119 (27.7%) of their 3rd down attempts and 10-of-18 (56.6%) of their 4th down attempts. Also, of opponents 26 trips into the red zone, they came away with points on 19 of those trips and only 12 of them were touchdowns.
James Miller continues to lead the defense with 51 total stops, 28 solo, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two quarterback hurries. Trey Kiser is second with 47 total stops, 33 solo, with six tackles for loss and two sacks with a fumble recovery.
CJ Rias and Jamie Sheriff co-lead the team with four sacks each. Though Rias leads the team with eight tackles for loss.
Yam Banks leads the team and is tied for the national lead with five interceptions on the season.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo remains perfect on the season by making his 12th field goal attempt of the season against Georgia Southern. Guajardo has only missed one of his 34 extra point attempts on the season.
Jack Brooks is averaging 42.1 yards per kick with a season long of 58 yards and 14 kicks downed inside the 20.
Keys to the Game
Establish the Run
I can hear you now, “but they’ve been running the ball great the last two weeks, why is it key for this game?”
Well, despite their record, the Texas State defense is a very strong unit. Are they a Troy caliber defense? I don’t think so. But they have enough talent on that side of the ball to give me some concern because it stacks up a little bit like Troy.
Troy was able to just smother us defensively. None of our running backs could find room to run, their defensive speed closed any hole, and La’Damian Webb wasn’t at full health either.
However, over the last two weeks, we’ve established that either Webb is back at full strength or very close to it. We’ll need him, the rest of the running back corps, and the offensive line to play up to the task at hand.
Play Disciplined
Last week was another game with 13 penalties for 118 yards assessed on the Jags. As a team that prides itself on being very physical, it also comes with penalties. However, the number of unsportsmanlike penalties needs to be reduced. Plus you just cannot commit some of those penalties in certain situations.
Dontae Lucas being ejected for an unsportsmanlike penalty is completely avoidable. He is suspended for this game against Texas State. Actions have consequences. Thankfully the penalty didn’t seem to hurt the team against Georgia Southern. The offense was able to continue their domination against the Eagles with Kent Foster in as his replacement. That also goes a long way to show how much this staff has been able to turn around this offensive line in only their second season.
The worst penalties for the Jags have been offensive penalties that get them off schedule. When you dig yourself into a 1st & 15 or 1st & 20 situation, those have often been drive killers.
Staying Healthy
Like all teams, the Jags have had their share of injuries and have managed to continue to play at a high level. Coach Wommack and his staff have done a good job with player rotations and preparations. When a player has been forced out of a game, the “next man up” has been well prepared and has not had a significant drop-off in terms of play.
With three weeks left in the regular season, and still the hope for a spot in the conference championship game, health down the stretch will be key.
Seeing many key starters still playing at the end of the Arkansas State game was a little disconcerting. But at the end of the game, you could see Carter Bradley limping as he was jogging towards the locker room. The 2021 season was hampered down the stretch by an injury to starting quarterback Jake Bentley.
With La’Damian Webb’s workload the last two weeks, and dealing with flu-like symptoms last week, I hope they manage his workload in practice accordingly. He has had 68 carries and 409 yards rushing over that stretch. That is 41.7% of his carries and 45.6% of his rushing yardage for the season over the last two games alone.
Thankfully Braylon McReynolds is on track to clear the concussion protocol for the game on Saturday to hopefully give some additional help in the backfield.
Prediction
The Bobcats rallied and got us in overtime last year in San Marcos, TX. Actually, San Marcos is another place we’ve never won at on the road. But that will have to wait until next year to be settled. Conversely, the Jags have never lost to Texas State in Mobile either (two wins at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and one at Hancock Whitney Stadium).
The Jags are a solid 16.5-point favorite to win according to the different handicapping websites. Combine that with South Alabama’s strong play at home and Texas State’s poor play on the road and I understand why the line is set where it is.
I say the Jags win but I don’t think they cover the 16.5. I think the Bobcat defense will do just enough to keep the Jags under that line.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Scores 21-Unanswered For 38-31 Come Back Win Over Georgia Southern
Murphy’s Law states in the simplest form: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” On the second offensive play from scrimmage quarterback Carter Bradley’s pass was tipped and intercepted then ran back for a touchdown only 41 seconds into the game.
On Georgia Southern’s first offensive possession, the fourth snap went 54 yards for a touchdown when Darrell Luter gave a soft push at the sideline but Jalen White kept his balance and ran down the sideline to the end zone.
Not even half way through the opening quarter the Jags (7-2, 4-1 SBC) were down 14-0 to Georgia Southern (5-4, 2-3 SBC). Fans were thinking “oh no, not again.”
But the Jags were not going to give up that easy.
La’Damian Webb took the team on his shoulders behind the offensive line and ground out a 38-31 come from behind win.
Trailing 31-17 in the 3rd quarter, the Jags got the ball back on the kickoff and answered with a 75 yard, 13 play drive for a touchdown. La’Damian Webb capped off the drive with three straight runs for 4, 3 and then 5 yards into the end zone to make it 31-24. But they lost Dontae Lucas on the TD play after being flagged for unsportmanlike conduct for allegedly spitting on a Georgia Southern player.
After forcing a punt, disaster was averted. Caullin Lacy let the ball hit and bounce, then tried to pick it up with a group of Eagles in front of him. Georgia Southern recovered the ball at the Jags 15 yard line and threatening to go back up by to scores. However Vantrease’s pass to the right sideline in the end zone was slightly overthrown and Yam Banks was in perfect position for the interception and touchback.
The turnover allowed the Jags tie the game early in the 4th quarter behind La’Damian Webb legs and his third touchdown of the game. But Webb was set up by a 27 yard catch by Devin Voisin earlier in the drive.
The SwarmD forced a punt after just four offensive snaps. The punt was fielded by Caullin Lacy at the 7 but he was hit by the Eagles and gifted 15 yards on a kick catch interference penalty. The 78-yard touchdown drive only took seven plays, all but one of them were carries by Webb. He punched the ball in from 9 yards out to give the Jags their first lead of the game with 5:50 left in the game.
The defense forced a 4th & 5 at the Jags 47-yard line, a short pass was caught but Jalen Jordan was right there to drop him two yards short of the line to make. La’Damian Webb kept carrying the ball and kept churning out first downs until they bled Georgia Southern of their time outs and secure the best record in the Jags short history as a FBS Program.
Bradley and the Jags responded after going down by two scores early in the first quarter with a gusty drive capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Wayne to finally get on the board 14-7 at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter.
A pair of penalties on the ensuing Georgia Southern possession helped them down the field. Quarterback Kyle Vantrease hooked up with Derwin Burgess for a 16-yard touchdown to go back up by two scores 21-7, the final score in a high power first quarter.
The Jags were not fazed though. They drove 74 yards down the 1-yard line as the quarter expired. Webb punched it in to start the second quarter to make it 21-14.
Another penalty-ridden drive, three on the Jags and two on Georgia Southern, but the Jags eventually hold the Eagles to a field goal at the 10:17 mark of the 2nd quarter.
Diego Guajardo would answer with a field goal of his own at the 3:23 mark.
After a Jags punt and a block in the back on GSU, they started at their own 25 yard line. The Eagle drove to the Jags 35 yard line facing 4th and 6 with just :06 left until halftime, coach Clay Helton chose to kick a 52 yard field goal to put more points on the board before the half. Coach Wommack called a time out from the sideline just before the snap, which placekicker Michael Lantz was able to just barely get over the crossbar.
After the time out, Charles Coleman III burst through the line and blocked the attempt to preserve a 24-17 deficit at halftime.
Stats
The Jags offense gained 514 total yards of offense, 321 of it was on the ground. They were 8-of-15 on 3rd down conversions with a time of possession of 37:04.
Georgia Southern put up 366 total yards of offense, 278 through the air and only 88 on the ground. The Jags held them to 4-of-12 on 3rd down conversion attempts and only 22:56 time of possession.
La’Damian Webb followed up his offensive player of the week honor from last week with another effort worthy of the same honor. He rushed for 247 yards and 4 touchdowns on 35 carries. His longest run was only 26 yards. He set single-game records for yards and carries in a game while tying the most touchdowns by a player.
Braylon McReynolds rushed for 42 yards on six carries. He also caught one pass for 16 yards and was knocked out of the game when he stayed down after being slung to the ground after the catch and run. He was taken to the trainers’ tent and evaluated for a concussion.
Todd Justice had one carry for 30 yards on the key fake punt.
Carter Bradley went 16-of-27 for 193 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Caullin Lacy led the receivers with 33 yards on three catches. Jalen Wayne added 28 yards and a touchdown on his three catches. DJ Thomas-Jones also had three catches for 17 yards. Three players all has two catches with Devin Voisin gaining 42 yards, Lincoln Sefcik with 31 yards, and Omni Wells with 26 yards.
Jalen Jordan led the Jags with 10 total stops, eight solo. CJ Rias had 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Yam Banks got his 5th interception of the season.
Kyle Vantrease went 26-of-45 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Derwin Burgess led all receivers with 8 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Khaleb Hood added 76 yards on seven catches.
Jalen White led the Eagles rushing attack with 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Gerald Green added 27 yards on five carries.
Next
South Alabama returns home to host Texas State on Saturday, November 12th. Kickoff is scheduled for 4pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium in the Jags annual Hall of Fame game, Honor Band weekend, and Salute to Heroes.
Preview: South Alabama Travels To Georgia Southern
Kickoff: Saturday, November 5, 3:00pm
Venue: Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro, Georgia
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Trey Kiser
South Alabama earned a decisive 31-3 win over Arkansas State last Saturday. But it was a bit more than just another win for the Jaguar football program. It was the sixth win of the season, which marks FBS Bowl Eligibility. A feat that has not been accomplished since 2016.
While six years doesn’t sound like a long time, in football terms it feels like an eternity.
La’Damian Webb started the game with a bang, reeling off a 69-yard run on the opening offensive play of the game. He finished the game with 162 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns. He ran all 11 plays on the Jags final offensive possession, which ended with a score, late in the fourth quarter. That was good enough to earn him Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Jags defense turned in a stellar performance too.
They held the Red Wolves to only 158 yards of total offense and -19 yards rushing. Only 3 of their 15 offensive possessions gained over 12 yards of offense. Five of their possessions finished with negative yardage.
But there’s a few things to work on from this game too. The Jags committed seven first-half penalties, but only one after halftime. Two of them were false starts when they were pinned deep at their own 2-yard line. No other Jaguar running back rushed for more than 12 yards. Webb shouldered the workload, but after Webb went out with an injury earlier in the season Omni Wells and Marco Lee came in rushed for season highs. Where did they go?
Now the Jaguars must turn their attention to Georgia Southern. Last season they broke through and won their first game ever against the Eagles 41-14, in Mobile. Now they get to follow up last seasons win with a trip to Statesboro to see if they can notch their second against the Eagles and their first in Statesboro.
Georgia Southern (5-3, 2-2 SBC)
Georgia Southern had been a long-time powerhouse in the FCS ranks. In 2014 they moved up to FBS and joined the Sun Belt Conference and proceeded to go undefeated 8-0 in conference play their first season. Their success put them as only the third team in the modern era to win a conference title in it’s first FBS season, and the first to ever go undefeated in conference play in their first FBS season. However, they were unable to go to a bowl game due to transition rules and the NCAA denied a waiver request by the school as well. (Also the Sun Belt Conference did not have a Conference Championship Game at that time either.)
In 2017 the Eagles hit their low point with a 2-10 season. But a 52-0 win over the Jags in Statesboro in the next to last game of the season led to South Alabama head coach Joey Jones to not be retained. Georgia Southern took the interim tag off of Chad Lunsford, who took over the head coaching duties for the Eagles mid-season. In 2018 they went 10-3 with a win over then #25 ranked rival Appalachian State and a bowl victory over Eastern Michigan.
In 2019 and 2020 they posted 7-5 records. The beginning of 2021, after a 1-2 start, the Eagles fired Lunsford and finished 3-9.
Former USC head coach Clay Helton was hired and immediately went to work overhauling the Eagles offense. Georgia Southern had been known as a triple-option powerhouse for many years in FCS and again in FBS.
Helton’s transition has been pretty successful too.
Offense
Helton and offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis’ offensive scheme see them throw the ball over an average of 45 times per game. Nealy 60% of their offensive plays have been pass plays so far this season.
Ellis came to GSU after helping Western Kentucky to a Conference USA championship in 2021 where their offense ranked 2nd in FBS with 44.2 points per game, 2nd in total offense (535.3 yards per game), and led the nation with 433.7 passing yards per game (41.1 yards above the 2nd ranked team). They had 92 offensive plays of 20+ yards with 24 going for touchdowns.
The Eagles offense is averaging 36.9 points, 494.5 total yards, 338.0 passing yards, 156.5 rushing yards, and 29:29 time of possession per game. They are converting 71-of-130 (54.6%) of their 3rd down attempts and 8-of-15 (53.3%) of their 4th down attempts on the season. They have committed 13 turnovers on the season, only one of them have been a fumble.
Of the Eagles 34 trips into the red zone, they have scored on 32 of those trips with 23 of them being touchdowns.
Kyle Vantrease, a transfer from Buffalo, is 232-of-374 (62%) passing on the season for 2,704 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
While they have lots of numbers for their receivers, Khaleb Hood is their leading receiver with 53 catches for 609 yards and two touchdowns. Derwin Burgess Jr has 45 catches for 546 yards and five touchdowns. Jeremy Singleton has 46 catches for 497 yards and two touchdowns. Amare Jones has 35 catches for 483 yards and six touchdowns. The last receiver with double-digit receptions is Jalen White with 18 for 183 yards and a touchdown.
Jalen White leads the rushing attack with 678 yards on 132 carries with nine touchdowns. Gerald Green has 404 yards on 71 carries with six touchdowns.
Head coach Kane Wommack and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon have their hands full with this passing offense. But they use the rushing attack to open up their passing game.
Defense
As much as the offense takes, the defense allows almost as much.
On average the Eagles defense allows 30.4 points, 480.9 total yards, 270.1 passing yards, 210.8 rushing yards, and 30:31 time of possession per game. Opponents are converting 42-of-106 (39.6%) of their 3rd down attempts and 7-of-12 (58.3%) of their 4th down attempts.
The defense has taken the ball away 11 times on the season, only three of them have been fumble recoveries.
Of their opponents 35 trips into the red zone, they have only scored on 25 of them with 18 of them being touchdowns.
Special Teams
Alex Raynor has attempted all but one of the team’s field goal attempts. He is 12-of-14 on the season with a long of 45 yards and has only missed one of his 36 extra point attempts. Michael Lantz attempted one from 50+ yards but was unsuccessful.
Anthony Beck II has punted 26 times with an average of 44 yards per kick with 11 downed inside the 20, six kicks of 50+ yards with a long of 59.
South Alabama (6-2, 3-1 SBC)
Offense
The Jags are now averaging 31.6 points, 422.8 total yards, 274.5 passing yards, 148.3 rushing yards, and 31.46 time of possession per game this season. They didn’t have a particularly good game on 3rd down so their conversion rate on the season is now 50-of-116 (43.1%) and their 4th down conversion rate is 5-of-12 (41.7%) on the season.
They didn’t give the ball away last weekend so they hold fast with only 7 offensive turnovers, two of them being fumbles. Of 33 trips to the red zone, they have scored 28 times with 21 of them being touchdowns.
Carter Bradley saw all the action against the Red Wolves and is now 172-of-262 (65.7%) for 2,088 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. Most of the passing plays against the Red Wolves were short and towards the perimeter due to the rainy conditions. They wanted to limit the possibility of a wet ball being tipped or slipping through a receivers hands and being intercepted.
Jalen Wayne leads the way receiving with 642 yards and six touchdowns on 43 catches. Caullin Lacy is right behind him with 582 yards and three touchdowns on 45 catches. Devin Voisin has 425 yards on 36 catches with a touchdown.
Webb has 649 rushing yards on the season on 128 attempts with nine touchdowns. Then there’s a big dropoff to the next rushers: 157 yards by Omni Wells, 152 yards for Marco Lee but he has four touchdowns. True freshman Braylon McReynolds, who made his return to the lineup after missing a couple games, has 108 yards on 22 carries this season as a true freshman.
Defense
After the big effort last week, the Jags statistics are looking great this year. They are now ranked 4th in FBS in rushing defense, 16th in scoring defense, 8th in 3rd down conversion defense, and 18th in first down defense.
The defense is allowing an average of 17.6 points, 294.5 total yards, 209.8 passing yards, 84.8 rushing yards, and 27:36 time of possession per game.
Opposing offenses are converting 29-of-107 (27.1%) of their 3rd down attempts and 10-of-17 (58.8%) of their 4th down attempts.
Defensively they have taken the ball away 16 times, 7 fumbles and 9 interceptions.
James Miller leads the team with 44 total stops, 24 solo, with 4 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Jaden Voisin has 43 total stops, 25 solo, with 4 tackles for loss and an interception.
CJ Rias leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss with Trey Kiser right behind him with 5 TFL’s. Jamie Sheriff, with his effort against ASU, leads the team with for sacks. Rias is right on his heels with three sacks. Yam Banks continues to lead the team with four interceptions.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo only saw action in extra point attempts, where he made all four. He is still a perfect 11-of-11 on the season with a long of 48.
Jack Brooks, who wore the honorary #5 jersey, is averaging 41.88 yards per kick this season. He has 14 downed inside the 20. Although he had one mishap against Arkansas State, when a snap got away from him and he was taken down without being able to punt the ball away.
Keys to the Game
Fast Start
When the Jags get off to a fast start against a team, they seemingly cannot be stopped. Through eight games, when the Jags lead after the first quarter, they are 6-1. They jumped out to a 14-3 lead over Arkansas State and never looked back. They were up 14-0 over Louisiana Tech and also sailed to a 38-14 win. Also, against Central Michigan, they jumped out to a 20-7 lead and a 31-10 halftime lead as they cruised to a 38-24 win, though CMU scored two late touchdowns to make it seem much closer than it was. The lone loss was to UCLA where they held 10-6 lead after the first quarter.
The Jags recipe for success is to jump on their opponent early and seize the momentum. This has really helped this team go from a bad road record team to sitting at 3-1 in road games this season, the first time a Jags team has won three road games in a season since 2014. Until this season the Jags had only won three road games in total in the previous four seasons. They were winless on the road for two seasons in 2018 and 2019.
It would be nice to jump out to a fast start on Saturday in Statesboro.
Defensive Front Play
The Jags have allowed several explosive plays through the air on defense. Explosive plays are not an official stat, so their definition varies by team. Some consider an explosive pass play to be 15 yards or more, others define it as 20 yards or more.
The Jags secondary hasn’t been the strongest unit, but they aren’t slouches either. Offenses are throwing the ball more over the last several years than they have in years before so defensive secondaries are under more pressure than ever before. But the Jags defense has turned teams one-dimensional with their 4th ranked rushing defense.
The Jags lost preseason honoree Keith Gallmon to injury in preseason camp. Darrell Luter has been hampered by a wrap on one of his hands. Transfer Jamar Richardson missed time with an injury. The latest injury to affect the secondary was to transfer Marvin Martin, who was rushed to the hospital by ambulance after a hit during practice. News has been positive for Martin, it remains unknown if his playing career is over but the current focus is on his health and wellbeing.
Last week against Arkansas State, a fairly prolific passing team, the Jags defensive front generated a ton of pressure on a quarterback that wasn’t 100% and playing in the rain. They generated four sacks in the game with numerous quarterback hurries.
But they shut down the run and made Arkansas State one dimensional.
Coach Wommack and coach Batoon have a goal to shut down the Georgia Southern rushing attack. The Eagles establish the run early to then open up the passing game.
Strong play by the defensive front, particularly the defensive line, to shut down the run and also in generating pressure on the quarterback will be key to limiting the Eagles scoring opportunities.
The Jags will definitely be without linebacker Quentin Wilfawn as coach Wommack announced that he will miss the remainder of the season with a neck issue that will require surgery. However, they say he will have eligibility for the 2023 season and will be able to return along with Keith Gallmon.
Turnovers
Any time you play on the road, turnovers are a key part of the game. You’re playing in a hostile environment and a turnover can give momentum to your opponent and energize their fans.
South Alabama has been quite greedy with turnovers. With a +9 turnover margin (16 takeaways to 7 giveaways) the Jags often win the turnover battle. However, defensive coaches have been encouraging the defense that they should be generating more turnovers. Look for the Jags to be eager to give the ball back to their offense more down the stretch. This weekend would be a great time to get that ball rolling with more momentum in the closing month of the regular season.
Prediction
The spread has been a consistent with the Jags as a 3.5 to 4 point favorite over the Eagles.
The Eagles are 3-0 at home this season with a 45-38 win over then #25 ranked James Madison just a couple of weeks ago. They also notched a 45-42 win over Power 5 Nebraska in week 2. Add in that they were on a bye last Saturday; the Jags will be facing a rested Georgia Southern team in a very tough environment.
Coach Wommack and his staff always has his team ready to play. They have turned the overall culture around very quickly and the road game culture is paying off so far this season.
This is a very winnable game, but it also has me nervous. I feel that it’s going to be an interesting and exciting game, but I feel that the Jags win a very close game. Possibly too close for comfort.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Earns Bowl Eligibility With 31-3 Win Over Arkansas State
South Alabama is bowl eligible!
On a rainy afternoon in Jonesboro, the Jags (6-2, 3-1 SBC) put up a dominating 31-3 win over Arkansas State (2-7, 1-5) behind La’Damian Webb’s 162 yards, three touchdown performance. The win extends the Jags winning streak to four games against the Red Wolves.
The game opened with a 69-yard run by Webb on the first offensive snap, then four plays later Webb punched it in to give the Jags a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
The Jags got excellent field possession after a blocked punt careens out of bounds at the Jags 46-yard line. On the second snap, Bradley connected with a wide-open Jalen Wayne for a 49-yard touchdown to go up 14-0.
After allowing a 42-yard pass completion, the Jags defense drew a line in the sand and would not budge. Arkansas State got their only points of the game with a 32-yard field goal.
The Jags defense kept getting to James Blackman and with 2:45 left in the first half, James Miller and Jamie Sheriff sack him for a safety and a 16-3 lead at halftime.
Webb earned his second touchdown of the game with a leap over the line from the 1-yard line with 5:18 left in the third quarter. Head coach Kane Wommack opted for a two-point try and Bradley connected with DJ Thomas-Jones to go up 24-3.
Close to the middle of the fourth quarter, the Jags forced a turnover when Lamondre Brooks knocked the ball loose from Johnnie Lang’s grip then Gi’Narious Johnson covered it up at the Jags 48-yard line with 8:50 left.
The final drive was all La’Damian Webb. Offensive coordinator Major Applewhite kept calling his number and Web kept delivering. He carried the ball on all 11 plays of the drive and finished with a 1-yard plunge for his third and final touchdown of the game as they melted 7:16 off the clock.
Stats
Webb ran for 162 yards on 28 carries with the three touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Bradley added 17 yards on four carries as the next closest rusher.
Carter Bradley was 17-of-24 for 179 yards and a touchdown.
DJ Thomas-Jones, his second game back after his scary incident on the sideline several weeks ago now, led the Jags with four catches with 48 yards. Jalen Wayne led the team with 83 yards on three catches with the only receiving touchdown. Lacy caught three passes for 29 yards. Lincoln Sefcik also caught three passes for only 8 yards.
James Miller led the defense with eight stops, three solo, 1.5 tackles for loss and a half sack. Jamie Sheriff led the Jags with 1.5 sacks for the game. Wy’Kevious Thomas also logged a sack in the game.
Diego Guajardo was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra point attempts. Jack Brooks averaged 42.8 yards per punt wearing the honorary number 5 jersey.
James Blackman was 22-of-39 for 177 yards. Seydou Traore was the leading receiver with eight receptions for 47 yards. Jeff Foreman led the way with 98 receiving yards on six catches.
Only two Red Wolves rusher ended the game in positive numbers. Marcel Murray led the Red Wolves rushing attack with 15 yards on four carries. Johnnie Lang added 14 yards on nine carries.
Blackman was sacked four times for -43 yards then Mike Sharpe had -5 yards on his two carries. Four other runners combined for -19 yards.
Arkansas State punters kept the Jags pinned back with six punts downed inside the 20, and it seemed like every one was down inside the 5 yard line too.
The Jags dominated the team stats with 362 total yards of offense, 183 yards rushing and 179 passing yards. The Red Wolves only managed 158 total yards, 177 yards passing and -19 yards rushing. If you factor out the sack yardage, the Red Wolves had 24 yards rushing.
That final drive helped the Jags take a dominant edge in time of possession too, 35:59 to 24:01.
There were some not so good stats for the Jags though. Eight penalties for 35 yards were called on the Jags, seven of them in the first half. They at least cleaned it up after the break. Also, the Jags were a mere 3-of-15 on 3rd down attempts.
Arkansas State wasn’t any better on 3rd down, going 2-of-14 in the game but they were only flagged for twice for 25 yards.
Next
The Jags will travel to Statesboro, Georgia to face off against Georgia Southern. South Alabama earned their first win against the Eagles last year, 41-14. The Eagles have the weekend off. The game kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, November 5.
Preview: South Alabama Looks To Rebound From Loss At Arkansas State
Kickoff: Saturday, October 29, 3:00pm
Venue: Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro, Arkansas
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Jack Brooks
The 10-6 Jags loss at home to Troy was a tough fought slugfest. The Jags offense went from 615 yards of offense the week before to just 246 against the Trojans. The Trojans front seven were in the backfield all night blowing up rushing attempts and pressuring and hitting Bradley. There were a few times that Bradley was a bit slow getting up after some punishing blows too.
The Jaguar defense was gritty and tough as well, holding the Trojans to 266 total yards of offense.
But some questionable officiating left many scratching their heads. But at the end of the day complaining about officiating will get you nowhere. You just have to elevate your play and leave do doubt who the better team is. Ultimately Troy was able to execute their gameplan to limit the Jags offensive plays and shortening the game.
Now the Jags Western division fate is partially out of their hands, yet they still control one aspect of their destiny: how they respond.
The remaining games on their schedule are still very winnable and they can still finish the regular season with 10 wins.
But head coach Kane Wommack’s process driven approach will have his team focusing on Arkansas State and only Arkansas State. They don’t set goals like getting to the conference championship game. Part of their approach is that, if they win, those things will take care of themself.
The Jags hold a 6-4 advantage over the Red Wolves, including winning the last three match-ups between the two programs. Jalen Tolbert was instrumental in those three wins.
Who will step up and fill those cleats in torching the Red Wolves secondary? Hopefully each of the big three have a great day on Saturday.
Arkansas State (2-6, 1-4 SBC)
The second season under Butch Jones isn’t going quite like the Red Wolves faithful had hoped. Just when it looked like Jones and his staff were getting things worked out and in order, the injury bug hits and it hit hard.
Jaguar fans can commiserate with them over the years too.
They have wins over Grambling State and ULM to their record. They had some close losses to Old Dominion (29-26) and Southern Miss (20-19). Their other losses have been to Ohio State, Memphis, James Madison and just last weekend Louisiana-Lafayette.
In all the Red Wolves were missing three cornerbacks, the starting quarterback, and the rotational running back at Lafayette. Jones went into the game playing the backup quarterback, but then he suffered an injury in the third quarter and had to turn to a true freshman. Not to mention one of their offensive linemen is playing with a broken foot.
Throw on top of the laundry list of injuries that their roster consists of about 70 freshmen and sophomores.
Unlike “It’s a Wonderful Life” where they say “every time a bell rings an angel gets it’s wings”, with the Red Wolves it’s “every time there’s an injury, another redshirt is burnt.” Not nearly as catchy.
According to Jones, quarterback James Blackman is expected to return to play. However this could be more gamesmanship to force the Jags to prepare for two different quarterbacks.
Offense
The Red Wolves are averaging 28.8 points, 349.3 total yards, 242.8 passing, 106.5 rushing, and 31:30 time of possession per game. They are converting 41-of-117 of their 3rd down attempts (35%) and 10-of-16 of their 4th down attempts (62.5%) on the year.
The Red Wolves have been in the red zone 28 times and have scored 25 of those trips, 18 of them being touchdowns though.
They’ve fumbled nine times and lost three of them and have only thrown two interceptions all season. They average 5.1 yards per play, which is a pretty good stat on paper. It just hasn’t translated well in the win/loss columns.
James Blackman leads the quarterbacks going 149-of-215 (69.3%) for 1,695 yards, 11 touchdowns and an interception. AJ Mayer is 18-of-38 for 213 yards and a touchdown. Jaxon Dailey is 5-of-9 for 34 yards in only two appearances this season.
Seydou Traore is the leading receiver with 31 catches for 474 yards and three touchdowns. Champ Flemings has 29 catches for 352 yards and a touchdown. Jeff Foreman has 16 catches for 321 yards and a team leading four touchdowns. Three other receivers have over 100 yards receiving on the season.
Johnnie Lang leads the running backs with 313 yards on 82 attempts with two touchdowns. Brian Snead has 277 yards on 74 carries with six touchdowns. Two other players have over 100 yards rushing, one of them is quarterback AJ Mayer.
Defense
They are allowing on average 31.1 points, 409 total yards, 260.8 passing, 148.3 rushing yards, and 28:30 time of possession per game. Opponents are converting 40-of-107 (37.4%) of their 3rd down attempts and 9-of-14 (64.3%) of their 4th down attempts. Of the 20 trips into the red zone, opponents have scored 18 times with only two of them being field goals.
They have forced 16 fumbles but have only recovered four of them while also gathering three interceptions.
Jordan Carmouche leads the team with 54 total stops, 21 of them solo and a tied for the team lead with 5.5 tackles for loss. Trevian Thomas is next with 46 total stops, 28 solo, and is co-leader in tackles for loss with Carmouche with 5.5. Dennard Flower leads the team with three sacks, followed by Kivon Bennett with 2.5 sacks. Safety Eddie Smith leads the team with two interceptions.
Special Teams
Dominic Zvada is a perfect 12-of-12 on the season with a long of 46 yards, and has made 23-of-24 extra point attempts. Ryan Hanson is averaging 44.1 yards per punt with 12 downed inside the 20, 7 of 50+ yards, 8 fair catches, 1 touchback and a long of 68 yards over his 32 punts this season.
Johnnie Lang has a kickoff return for a touchdown on the season and is averaging 26.6 yards per return.
South Alabama (5-2, 2-1 SBC)
The Jags got help from a couple of players that they were unsure would be able to go. La’Damian Webb was able to play but was unable to be effective in the game. DJ Thomas-Jones was able to return after collapsing on the sidelines earlier this season and having a battery of tests run to ensure he was healthy to return to play, but only managed one catch.
Quentin Wilfawn returned to play but seemed to have missed some time or possibly the remainder of the game after aggravating his shoulder injury.
Offense
At this point in the season the Jags are averaging 31.7 points, 431.4 total yards, 288.1 passing yards, 143.3 rushing yards, and 31:10 time of possession per game. They are converting 47-of-101 of their 3rd down attempts (46.5%) and 3-of-8 of their 4th down attempts (37.5%).
Of their 30 trips into the red zone, they have scored 25 times with 18 of them being touchdowns.
Jags players have fumbled only four times on the season and lost two of them. Only five passes have been intercepted on the season as well for a total of only seven turnovers.
Carter Bradley is 155-of-238 for 1,909 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season as the leading signal caller.
Jalen Wayne leads the Jaguar trio of receivers with 559 receiving yards and five touchdowns on his 40 receptions. Caullin Lacy leads the trio in receptions with 42, for 553 yards and three touchdowns. Devin Voisin, who’s been clutch over the last few games, has 35 catches for 427 yards and a touchdown.
La’Damian Webb leads the team with 487 yards rushing on 100 carries with six touchdowns. Omni Wells has 156 yards on 34 carries. Marco Lee has 140 yards on 35 carries with four touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds has 104 yards on 18 attempts in the first five games of the season before missing the last couple of games with an injury.
Defense
The Jags are allowing an average of only 19.7 points, 314 total yards, 214.4 passing, 99.6 rushing yards, and 28:07 time of possession per game. Opposing teams are converting 27-of-93 of their 3rd down attempts (29%) and 9-of-15 of their 4th down attempts (60%).
Teams have been in the red zone 21 times on this defense and came away with points on 15 of those trips with only 10 of them being touchdowns.
James Miller and Jaden Voisin are the co-leaders on defense with 36 stops each, both of them with 21 solo. Trey Kiser is next in line with 35 stops, 25 solo.
CJ Rias leads the team with 5 tackles for loss and also with tree sacks on the season.
Yam Banks added a fourth interception against the Trojans to extend his team lead. Jaden Voisin, AJ DeShazor, Ke’Shun Brown, Darrell Luter Jr and CJ Thompson all have one pick each.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is a perfect 11-of-11 on the season with a long of 48 on field goals. He also has only missed one of his 26 extra point attempts on the season.
Jack Brooks is averaging 41.7 yards per punt across his 33 kicks this season. He has 12 downed inside the 20, 8 fair caught, 6 kicks of 50+ yards and two touchbacks. Brooks, who is the oldest Jaguar on the squad at 29, will be recognized for his contributions to the team by wearing the honorary #5 jersey. The Wagga Wagga, Australia native is in his fourth season with the Jags. Thanks to covid eligibility rules changes, he will be eligible to return and play a fifth season if he wants.
Keys to the Game
Responding to Adversity
The biggest game is always the next one.
The Jags responded well after their only other loss this season. They came out with a vengeance and earned a 38-14 win over Louisiana Tech. But Arkansas State will be looking to turn their ship around and break their losing streak to the Jags now that their nemesis, Jalen Tolbert, is gone.
Injuries
The Jags have been plagued by injuries to some key contributors this season. No one wants to be bitten by the dreaded injury bug, and so far the Jags have managed to avoid an injury bug infestation (knock on wood). Hopefully the players will be able to return sooner rather than later.
But staying healthy is key for a physical team like the Jags.
Attrition in the running back corps led the Jags to have only two running backs available against ULM. Terrion Avery left the team, McReynolds has not been able to play the last couple of games, then Webb was injured on the first possession against ULM.
Webb managed to return last week and Brian Hill suited up from the practice squad to provide extra depth in case Webb was unable to go. McReynolds may be able to return this week, we probably won’t know until pregame warmups if he made the trip with the team and if he’s suiting up.
Offensive Line
The offensive line was pushed around by Troy. The Jags couldn’t get their running game going and they couldn’t protect Bradley consistently. They’ve played great early in the season and especially against UCLA.
The team needs them to return to early season form. They’ll have a good opportunity against Arkansas State with their injury situation.
Prediction
Can Jalen Wayne be the next Jalen that induces a years worth of nightmares like his departed brethren Jalen Tolbert had for the previous three years? Will the next monster of the Red Wolves nightmares be Caullin Lacy or Devin Voisin? This game will be on Halloween weekend, you know.
The spread opened around 9.5 points in favor of South Alabama and has gone up to 12.5 points in favor of the Jags.
The Jags are 0-3 against the spread over the last three games against Lafayette, Monroe, and Troy.
This is another nationally televised game, the third consecutive actually, and the Jags will be looking to make a statement after falling to Troy. I think the Jags win and cover the spread in this one.
We’ll know Saturday night if and who the Red Wolves will have nightmares about until the next meeting.
Go Jags!