Preview: South Alabama Travels To Rocky Top To Face The Tennessee Volunteers
Kickoff: Saturday November 20, 6:30pm
Venue: Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey: Wy’Kevious “Bubba” Thomas
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
The South Alabama Jaguars may have lost to Appalachian State 31-7 but the final score did not show how close the game actually was. But there’s no consolation for that.
The Jags (5-5, 2-5 SBC) have found a more difficult time after starting the season 3-0. But they’ve also had a laundry list of injuries this season. One position that’s been hit particularly hard has been the offensive line.
Center James Jackson returned after missing four games with a knee injury but left a few plays after returning. Hadon Merchant and Josh McColloch have both been sideline with injuries lately. Then Anterrious Gray was ejected for a flagrant foul after an App State player reportedly spit in his face and used “racially charged” language.
Walk-on Reggie Smith filled in for Gray at right guard. The offense only managed 58 rushing yards on 33 carries against the Mountaineer defense.
The ‘Swarm D’ defense forced three turnovers and picked up another one on special teams. However the offense could not convert any of those opportunities into points on the scoreboard.
App State forced the Jags into two turnovers and converted both into points. The final one was a 100 yard interception return of a tipped pass for a touchdown.
Head coach Kane Wommack chose to keep the offense on the field on a 4th and 3 at the App State 5 yard line. They failed to convert and the Mountaineer actually drove down the field and a field goal to go up 17-7.
They attempted to convert five 4th down attempts in the game and converted two of them. On Monday’s radio show Coach Wommack said that their thoughts going into the game was that they were on the road against a good team and needed big plays. He also said they needed to score touchdowns to win, not field goals.
Diego Guajardo missed his fifth field goal of the season. However the snap was high and to the opposite side of the holder. The ball was placed on the left hashmark and the kick ended up hitting the left upright.
The Jaguars are now onto their next game. They now travel Tennessee to face them for the first time since the 2013 near upset.
Tennessee
Tennessee (5-5, 3-4 SEC) is under the direction of first year head coach Josh Heupel. He took over a team that finished 3-7 last season and a program which has struggled with more downs than ups for the last several years.
Last Saturday they hosted #1 Georgia and played them tough for part of the game. However the Bulldogs eventually separated themselves from the Volunteers, 41-17.
Offense
When Heupel came in he immediately implemented his style of offense. The simple way to describe his offense is that it’s similar to the Baylor offense from the early 2010’s or Arkansas State in the mid to late 2010’s.
It begins with a quick diagnosis of pre-snap positioning then is executed with a power run game inside or one-on-one vertical shots outside.
When a defense shows them a single-high safety, it tends to mean they are going to have access to a vertical shot on the outside down the sideline.
When a defense shows them a two-high safety look then the slot receiver is the one playing in space.
At UCF, when they faced off against one-high safety they threw the ball 63% of the time.
It’s the quarterbacks job to keep the safety in the middle of the field using his eyes or via play action then throws down the sideline with receivers running vertical option routes.
The vertical option route for the receiver is if they are at least even with the defender so many yards down the field, then they will stay on the vertical route, but if they can’t beat their defender off the snap or by so many yards downfield they will choke it down and hook.
They are simple reads for the quarterback with a reliance on downfield shots, high screen pass usage, and a high RPO rate which means there’s not much for the quarterback to mess up.
Basically they take young quarterbacks and make them into repetitive, robot-like players. Why would they do that? Because they produce explosive offenses and explosive offenses win games.
The Volunteer offense averages 36.1 points, 450.6 total yards of offense, 200.9 rushing yards, and 249.7 passing yards per game.
They are converting 63-of-139 (45.3%) 3rd down attempts and 10-of-21 (47.6%) of their 4th down attempts.
Out of 41 total trips into opponents red zone they have scored 35 times. Of those 35 scores, 27 of them have been touchdowns.
They have 11 turnovers on the season, eight of them have been fumbles and they have only three interceptions on the season.
Tiyon Evans is the teams leading rusher with 525 yards on 81 carries with six touchdowns in seven games played. Quarterback Hendon Hooker is next with 465 yards on 130 attempts with four touchdowns. Jabari Small has 436 yards on 88 carries for four touchdowns in eight games played.
Hooker is 153-of-223 for 2,138 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions on the season.
Cedric Tillman is the teams leading receiver with 46 catches for 725 yards and six touchdowns. Velus Jones Jr is next with 597 yards on 44 catches with six touchdowns. JaVonta Payton has 373 yards on 15 catches for six touchdowns.
The offense prides itself on quick strikes so their time of possession isn’t very good with 24:23 to the opponents 35:37 average time of possession.
Defense
Tennessee runs a 4-2-5 defensive scheme, which is gaining prevalence in college football these days.
Tim Banks is the defensive coordinator. He spent the previous five seasons as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Penn State.
On average the Volunteer defense allows 29.5 points, 424.9 total yards of offense, 165.4 rushing yards, and 259.5 passing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 80-of-167 (47.9%) of their 3rd down attempts and 9-of-20 (45%) of their 4th down attempts on the season.
The defense has allowed opponents in the red zone 39 times this season and they have come away with points on 37 of those trips. Out of those 37 scores, 31 of them have been touchdowns.
The defense has forced 12 turnovers on the season, nine of them have been interceptions while the other three were fumbles.
Jeremy Banks leads the Vols with 89 total stops, 44 of them solo, with 9 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and an interception.
Byron Young leads the team with 8 tackles for loss and is co-leader with Jeremy Banks with 4.5 sacks.
Jaylen McCullough has the team lead with 3 interceptions.
Special Teams
Chase McGrath has made all 46 of his extra point attempts. He is 10-of-13 in field goal attempts with a long of 48 yards.
Paxton Brooks had punted 36 times and is averaging 44.8 yards per punt with three touchbacks, 23 have been fair caught, 13 downed inside the 20, 11 have gone 50+ yard with a long punt of 64 yards.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags offense is averaging 26.4 points, 377.5 total yards of offense, 127.3 rushing yards, and 250.2 passing yards per game.
They are converting 50-of-147 (34%) of their 3rd down attempts and 21-of-33 (64%) of their 4th down attempts on the season.
Out of 42 red zone trips they have scored on 33 of them with 28 of those being touchdowns.
Jaguar quarterbacks have been sacked 21 times on the season. Defenses have forced 17 turnovers, eight of them being interceptions and nine of them fumbles.
Terrion Avery leads the running attack with 498 yards on 129 carries with a touchdown. Bryan Hill has 308 yards on 75 carries with three touchdowns in eight games. Kareem Walker has 257 yards on 70 carries with four touchdowns in only six games.
Desmond Trotter is 42-of-72 for 380 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s playing in place of Jake Bentley who suffered a partially torn MCL against Troy a couple weeks ago.
However Bentley was seen dressed and going through some workouts earlier in the week. While it’s still a long shot that he could play at Tennessee (he is 3-0 in his career against the Vols) it’s more likely he would see the field against Coastal Carolina for the regular season finale.
Jalen Tolbert leads the receiving corps with 65 catches for 1,140 yards and six touchdowns. Jalen Wayne has 42 catches for 464 yards and two touchdowns. Caullin Lacy has 36 catches for 274 yards. Lincoln Sefcik has 27 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
They are winning the time of possession 32:22 to 27:38.
Defense
The Jaguar defense is allowing an average of 23 points, 320.4 total yards of offense, 119 rushing yards and 201.4 passing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 44-of-139 (32%) of their 3rd down attempts and 12-of-19 (63%) of their 4th down attempts.
Opponents have been in the red zone 34 times on the season and came away with points only 24 times. Of those 24 scores, 17 have been touchdowns.
The Jags defense has 24 sacks on the season. They’ve forced 22 turnovers on the season with 14 of them being interceptions and eight being fumbles.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo made his only extra point attempt against App State to make his season 30-of-32. However he missed a 40 yard field goal attempt to drop his season to 10-of-15.
Jack Brooks has punted 45 times on the season with an average 42.8 yards per punt with a long of 54 yards. He’s had 15 kicks fair caught, 11 downed inside the 20 and 11 have gone 50+ yards.
Keys to the Game
Play Keep Away
Control the time of possession and shorten the game by limiting Tennessee’s possession of the ball. When the offense has the ball they need to put together long, time consuming drives like the 19 play, 9+ minute drive they had against Troy. The offense cannot score if they don’t possess the ball.
Put points on the Board
After putting together long, time consuming drive you have to put points on the board. Preferably touchdowns but you have to come away with points.
No matter how good the defense is playing, there’s a high likelihood that the Vol offense is going to strike at some point so you’ve got to put points on the board.
If you can get and maintain a lead then you can quiet down Neyland Stadium, which can be quite loud.
Don’t let receivers get behind the secondary
The defense has to keep the receivers in front of them. If they get behind the secondary they’re going to put the ball up toward the sidelines.
If they do hit on a long pass, they are going to go full-speed, up-tempo. Tennessee is definitely one of the most up-tempo offenses I’ve seen. That’s not to say they won’t go up-tempo any other time, but they really like to do that after a big play. They try to either hit it again or just take advantage of the defense as they try to recover from allowing a big play.
Fans going to the game: Watch out for Mustard Bottles
See the final few minutes of the Ole Miss game. Thankfully we don’t have Lane Kiffin on staff.
Prediction
This is going to be a tough game. The offensive line is banged up and very thin. The defense may be without a couple of players too.
SEC schools usually have some of the first choices in college recruiting. But any team can win on any given day. Just like the Jags did in 2016 at Mississippi State and had an opportunity against UT in 2013.
The Jags could use this game for bowl eligibility. But a win would do much more than that for the program. It would help in recruiting foremost.
The Jags are a 28.5 point underdog when they take the field in Knoxville. It’s hard to know how the game could turn out.
Do the Jags fall behind early and Tennessee just piles on the points after the loss to Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss losses in the last four weeks? Does the Swarm D come out and cause havoc from the beginning and help keep the game close? Do we see Jake Bentley play?
As much as I hate it, I think the Jags fall to below .500 this week. But I hope they cover the spread on Tennessee. But I’ll gladly have them prove me wrong and get that big W I N in Knoxville (the one they so nearly had in 2013).
Go Jags!
Preview: Battle For The Belt Edition, Jags Look To Bring The Belt Back From Troy
Kickoff: Saturday November 6, 2:30pm
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Darrell Luter
It’s Battle for the Belt Week.
South Alabama (5-3, 2-3 SBC) came out of the locker room ready to play from the opening whistle. They scored touchdowns on each of their first four possessions in route to a 31-13 win over Arkansas State (1-7, 0-4 SBC).
The only touchdown allowed came on the ensuing kickoff after the Jags fourth touchdown of the first half.
Jalen Tolbert scored the first two touchdowns for his 9th career touchdown against the Red Wolves.
Terrion Avery is only the second Jaguar to rush for over 100 yards in a game this season. The last was Kareem Walker against Alcorn State back in week 3 of the season.
Second half adjustments by Arkansas State really stymied the Jaguars offense in the second half. They had negative yardage in the third quarter. While the offensive adjustments by the Red Wolves helped them to have more production in the second half, the Jaguar defense kept them out of the end zone and forced four turnovers.
Now the Jags are just one win away from bowl eligibility.
But they also being the much talked about three-game road swing. It all begins on the road in Troy, AL.
Troy
The Trojans are 4-4 overall, 2-2 in Sun Belt play and the largest margin of defeat was 13 points to the ULM. Both of their conference wins have been by 3 points (27-24 over Georgia Southern in Troy, 31-28 over Texas State in San Marcos). Both conference wins came by late game heroics.
The two conference losses have come at the hands of ULM (29-16) and Coastal Carolina (35-28).
Their two non-conference wins were over Southern (55-3) and Southern Miss (21-9). Their losses were to Liberty (21-13) and South Carolina (23-14).
Offense
Here are the Trojans by the numbers. They are averaging 27.4 points, 138.3 rushing yards, 243.7 passing yards and 382 total offensive yards per game.
They are 41-of-99 (41.4%) on third down situations. They are 6-of-11 (54.6%) on fourth down situations.
In the red zone they have scored 19-of-25 trips, with 15 of them being touchdowns.
The offense has fumbled the ball 8 times and lost possession 6 times. Quarterbacks have thrown 4 interceptions on the season.
Kimani Vidal leads the running back corps with 105 attempts for 553 yards and 5 touchdowns. BJ Smith has 248 yards on 54 attempts with 2 touchdowns. Jamontez Woods has 222 yards on 40 carries with 4 touchdowns.
Taylor Powell, a transfer from Missouri, started the first four games of the season before being sidelined by a knee injury. Powell is 101-of-153 for 960 yards, 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in those four games.
Gunnar Watson has started the last four games and is 68-of-100 for 746 yards and 6 touchdowns without an interception. Watson started nine games last season before being beaten out for the job by Powell.
Tez Johnson is the teams leading receiver with 46 catches for 481 yards and three touchdowns.
Reggie Todd in the next leading receiver with 21 catches for 257 yards and a touchdown. However Todd has been indefinitely suspended after being arrested on a charge of hindering prosecution in relation to a shooting during a high school football game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on October 15.
Three other receivers have over 100 yards receiving on the season and five have 10 or more catches on the season.
While the offense hasn’t been overly productive, they really been kept in games by their defense.
The Jags know how that goes.
Defense
The Troy defense is a scrappy, stingy unit.
Statistically speaking the Trojans defense allows an average of 21.6 points, 99.9 rushing yards, 211.4 passing yards, and 311.3 total yards of offense per game.
Opponents are converting 35-of-101 (34.7%) 3rd down attempts and 6-of-9 (66.7%) 4th down attempts.
When opponents get into the red zone, they have scored all 13 times, however less than half have been touchdowns (6-of-13).
As a team the defense has 59 tackles for loss with 27 sacks, 13 interceptions, and 3 fumble recoveries.
Linebacker Carlton Martial from Mobile’s McGill-Toolen HS, leads the team with 70 total tackles, 31 solo, 8 tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception.
The next two combined come up one short of Martial’s total. Javon Solomon from the Bandit position has 35 total stops, 19 solo with 11.5 tackles for loss and team leading 8 sacks and an interception. Linebacker KJ Robertson has 34 total stops with 3 tackles for loss and 1/2 sack.
The defense kept the game against Coastal Carolina close in the fourth quarter. The Chanticleers gambled with a fake punt on a 4th and 4 from their own 31, which paid off in their favor. Though they still had to punt a little later, they were able to burn more time off the clock before doing so.
The Trojan defense forced three interceptions in the fourth quarter against Texas State. One of them went for a touchdown which provided the go-ahead score.
The week before that the defense collected an interception which allowed the Trojans to drive and get the game-winning field goal with 1:46 left in the game.
Troy’s defense ranks 18th in the nation in total defense, 39th in passing yards allowed, 20th in rushing defense, T36th 3rd down conversion percentage, and T10th in turnovers gained. Which right there with the Jags.
Special Teams
Brooks Buce is 4-of-4 on field goal attempts, his longes of the season is only 34 yards and is 24-of-25 in extra point attempts.
Luke Magliozzi has punted 38 times on the season with an average of 42.8 yards per kick, 15 fair catches, 9 downed inside the 20, 7 have gone 50+ yards with the longest being 65 yards.
South Alabama
One win away from bowl eligibility. Did any fans think this would happen a year ago?
It’s a testament to head coach Kane Wommack and his staff for the progress they’ve been able to make through eight games.
Offense
Four touchdowns on their first four possessions. This is type of execution a coach wants to see.
Statistically the Jags are averaging 29.1 points, 133.4 rushing yards, 261.1 passing yards and 394.5 total yards of offense per game.
They are converting 43-of-115 3rd down attempts (37%) and they are converting 13-of-20 on 4th down (65%).
The offense has given the ball away 13 times with 8 fumbles loss on 10 total fumbles and five interceptions.
Terrion Avery, who wore the honorary #5 jersey, showed why he earned. Avery was only the second Jag rusher to run for over 100 yards this season. He continues to be the Jags leading rusher with 399 yards on 95 carries with a touchdown.
Bryan Hill is next in line with 271 yards on 58 carries with three touchdowns. Kareem Walker, in only his second game back from a quad inury, has 237 yards on 63 carries with four touchdowns in five games of action.
Jake Bentley is the first Jag in five seasons to throw for over 2,000 yards. And he’s only 2/3rds of the way through the season!
On the season Bentley is 181-of-259 (69.9%) for 2,073 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Not only is Jalen Tolbert leading the team, but he’s among the best in the conference and the nation in receiving. He has 54 catches for 967 yards with six touchdowns.
Jalen Wayne is next in line with 34 catches for 385 yards and two touchdowns. Caullin Lacy has 262 yards on 32 catches. Lincoln Sefcik has 17 catches for 146 yards with three touchdowns.
Defense
South Alabama’s defense held the Red Wolves to only 28 yards of total offense in the first half. The rushing yardage was -12! Though they weren’t quite as dominant in the second half, they didn’t allow a single touchdown.
Statistically the defense is allowing an average of 21 points, 118.5 rushing yards, 202.2 passing yards and 320.8 total offensive yards per game.
Opponents are converting 33-of-113 (29%) of their 3rd down attempts and 9-of-16 (56%) of their 4th down attempts.
On the season they have 54 tackles for loss with 24 sacks. Jamal Brooks, despite not playing, still leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss. Charles Coleman III tied CJ Rias for the team lead with 3 sacks.
With Darrell Luter’s two interceptions he jumps Tre Young into the team lead with 3 on the season.
Quentin Wilfawn leads the team with 36 total stops, 18 solo with two tackles for loss and a sack. Keith Gallmon and Yam Banks are still tied with 35 stops each and both have 21 solo.
The first two interceptions last week came at great times. The Red Wolves were starting to move the ball some and the Jags were able to shut those drives down with turnovers. The final one simply sealed the game with a nice exclamation point.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo connected on all four extra points against Arkansas State, he’s not 26-of-28 on the season. He also connected on a 39 yard field, his only attempt of the night, to put the icing on the game. He’s not 9-of-13 on the season.
Jack Brooks’ punting averaging a solid 41.6 yards per attempt.
Keys to the Game
Offensive line
Which way the game goes will greatly depend offensive line play. Both defenses create havoc which results in negative plays and turnovers.
The Jaguar offensive line needs to communicate and play well in a hostile environment. If they can give Bentley and his receivers time, the Trojan defense is susceptible to big plays. Can you think of a better pair of receivers ready to exploit a secondary deep than the two Jalen’s?
Playing Behind Schedule
The Trojan defense generate a lot of negative plays. The Jaguar offense will have to find a way to be comfortable playing behind schedule.
That means they need to come to terms with and be comfortable executing 2nd-and-12 or 3rd-and-long situations. They don’t necessarily need to get all the yards back in a chunk but they must execute each and every play with a neutral mindset.
A player does not need to be heroic when behind schedule, they just need to execute their job each and every play at a high level no matter the previous outcome.
Injuries
You can’t talk about injuries without circling back to point number one: offensive line.
The Jags are thin as gift tissue paper on the offensive line right now. Center James Jackson injured his knee a couple of games ago. Hadon Merchant missed last week with a knee injury. Right guard Anterrious Gray suffered a concussion against Arkansas State and will have to clear the concussion protocol in order to play against Troy.
Due to Jackson’s injury, Trey Simpson moved from guard to center. If neither Jackson nor Merchant are able to play against Troy, that would likely leave Kent Foster and a group of freshmen and former walk-ons to back up the interior of the offensive line.
But that’s not all.
Jamal Brooks missed playing time against Arkansas State due to a shoulder injury that he had been trying to play through.
Bryan Hill broke a 47 yard run, his only carry of the game, but exited the game with a shoulder injury of his own.
Not only do they need to stay healthy but, if needed, they need to be ready if their number is called.
Prediction
Head coach Kane Wommack talked to the team about the Battle for the Belt rivalry on Monday. He brought in the empty case that houses the belt when under South Alabama’s care.
The Trojans have won the last three games in the series and currently holds a 6 games to 3 advantage in the series.
The last time the Jags won was in 2017 when coach Wommack was the defensive coordinator.
What could be sweeter than the Jags ending the three winning streak, bringing the belt back home, and getting bowl eligible against your in-state rival?
But Troy would like to keep their streak alive and also get within one game of bowl eligibility themselves.
Troy is favored by 3.5 points in the game. Basically an even game but given the three point home boost. I think the Jags get it done and win outright, get bowl eligible, and bring the belt back to Mobile.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Travels To ULM Looking For First Conference Road Win Of Season
Kickoff: Saturday October 23, 6:00pm
Venue: Malone Stadium, Monroe, Louisiana
TV/Streaming: ESPN3
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Jake Bentley
The South Alabama Jaguars got the win they needed last week against Georgia Southern. Not only did you see players step up to fill in for injured players, but they did it in an impressive fashion by a score of 41-14.
The Jags (4-2, 1-2 SBC) now turn their focus to Louisiana-Monroe team (3-3, 1-2 SBC) that just upset a heavily favored Liberty team 31-28 on Saturday.
ULM is the next game in a four-game stretch of games that are ripe for the picking as we wrote about a few weeks ago. The Jags dropped the first one to Texas State in a 4OT heartbreaker. The Jags came out of that game bruised and battered from a very physical contest.
The team was without Kareem Walker, Caullin Lacy, James Jackson, Shawn Jennings, and Trent Tyre. They also had a number of players who missed practice time leading up to that Georgia Southern win.
Despite the adversity the Jags showed that any given week they can play and compete with any team in the conference.
ULM
The Warhawks are under the direction of a new head coach this season. His name may be a bit familiar to some people in the state of Alabama.
At a minimum, his last name should be very familiar to anyone who’s a fan of college football.
Terry Bowden was the head coach at Auburn University in the 1990s, succeeding Pat Dye. As his last name suggests, he is the son of hall of famer Bobby Bowden.
He spent about 10 years out of coaching as a broadcaster for ABC sports among other football related media jobs. In 2009 he returned to the coaching ranks with North Alabama where he accumulated a 29-9 record and three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
He then went to Akron for the 2012 season and went from a 1-11 record his first season with the Zips to almost upsetting Michigan in 2013. There he compiled a 35-52 record and led the Zips to their first MAC Championship game appearance since 2005 and only the second in program history. He also led the Zips to their second bowl game in three seasons and only their third bowl game in program history. He was fired in 2018.
After being let go by Akron, Bowden join the Clemson staff for the last two seasons as an offensive analyst before being hired by ULM in the offseason.
Joining Bowden as his offensive coordinator is another name that many football fans may also remember, Rich Rodriguez.
Rodriguez came to prominence at the West Virginia University (2001-2007) with his zone read offensive concepts. He was considered for the job at the University of Alabama, which he turned down and eventually led to Nick Saban being hired.
He was hired at the University of Michigan in 2008. His first team finished with a 3-9 losing record, the worst season in school history and missed a bowl game for the first time in 33 years. After acknowledging rules violations to the NCAA and a disappointing season, the was dismissed.
He was the head coach at University of Arizona from 2012-2017, winning 33 games in his first four seasons, the most in school history over a four-year period. It included four-consecutive bowl berths, a first in program history.
In 2018 he was hired as offensive coordinator at Ole Miss under head coach Matt Luke. When Luke was let go, he was not offered a position with the Lane Kiffin staff.
Prior to the upset of Liberty, the Warhawks lost back-to-back games against Coastal Carolina (59-6) and Georgia State (55-21).
Offense
On the season, ULM’s offensive stats are not that impressive. They are averaging 18.2 points per game, 259 total yards of offense, 164.5 passing yards and 94.5 rushing yards per game.
They have converted 25-of-92 3rd down attempts (27.2%) and 6-of-8 4th down attempts (75%). In 12 red zone trips they have scored 11 times (91.7%) but of those 11 conversions, only six of them have been touchdowns. They have fumbled seven times and lost two of them.
Andrew Henry leads the team in rushing yards with 283 on 66 carries with two touchdowns. Chandler Rogers is next with 213 yards on 77 carries. No other ball carrier has over 65 yards rushing after that.
Chandler Rogers is leading the Warhawks quarterback position. He is 44-of-75 for 590 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Rhett Rodriguez, coach Rodriguez’s son, is 35-of-62 for 337 yards and a touchdown though he’s missed three games due to a punctured lung.
Boogie Knight leads the receiving corps with 23 catches for 285 yards. Zach Jackson has 17 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns in five games. Jared Sparks also has 17 catches for 162 yards. No other receiver has over 71 yards receiving or more than 6 catches on the season.
Against Liberty the Warhawks came out in the third quarter, trailing 14-0, and scored 28-unanswered points to take a 28-14 lead. They broke the 28-all tie with the game winning 53-yard field goal with 1:44.
Defense
As mentioned before, prior to the Liberty win, the Warhawks allowed 50+ points in back-to-back games. They allowed 291 yards rushing to Coastal Carolina and then 323 yards rushing to Georgia State. Those numbers skew the game averages, but definitely shows how Jekyll and Hyde ULM seems to be.
The Warhawk defense allows an average of 35 points, 455.3 total yards, 275.3 passing and 180 rushing yards per game.
Opponents have converted 42-of-79 3rd down attempts (53.2%) but only 1-of-7 4th down attempts (14.3%).
Opponents have had the ball in the red zone 22 times and have scored 19 times (86.4%), of those 17 have been touchdowns.
Linebacker Traveion Webster leads the defense with 46 total stops, 14 solo, two tackles for loss, and 1/2 sack on the season. Cornerback Adam Sparks has 39 stops, 21 solo with a fumble recovery.
Defensive end Ty Shelby leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss and also leads the team with 5 sacks on the season. Linebacker Zack Woodard has 34 total tackles on the season with 4 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, both of those are second on the team.
Special Teams
Calum Sutherland is 10-of-14 this season in his field goal attempts. He is 1-of-2 from 50+ yards, 4-of-6 from 40-49 yards. His longest was from 53 yards out. He’s had one attempt blocked. He has made all 11 extra point attempts on the season. Of his 27 kickoffs, he has eight touchbacks and one has gone out of bounds.
Punter Devyn McCormick is averaging 42.1 yards per punt over his 40 kicks this season. He’s kicked seven 50+ yards, his longest went 56 yards. He has four touchbacks and 18 fair catches. Nine has been downed inside the opponents 20 yard line.
South Alabama
Game six was finally the game where the offense came out ready to go. Not only did they get their first 1st down on an opening drive this season, but they also scored a touchdown.
That helped propelled the Jags to a 41-14 rout of Georgia Southern and broke seven-game winless streak the Jags held against the Eagles.
Offense
Jake Bentley finally showed his FBS experience. He set a school-record throwing for 389 yards and accounting for five total touchdowns in the game. That earned him Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The offense is now averaging 28.5 points, 387.7 total yards, 253.5 passing yards and 134.2 rushing yards per game.
They have converted 32-of-85 3rd down attempts (38%) and 8-of-13 4th down attempts (62%). They have scored 22 times in 27 red zone trips (81%) with 19 of those being touchdowns.
Bryan Hill is currently the teams leading rusher with 214 yards on 52 carries in four games with three touchdowns. Kareem Walker has 208 yards on 53 carries with four touchdowns, but has missed the last couple of games due to a quad injury.
Terrion Avery has 199 yards on 59 carries with a touchdown. AJ Phillips has 78 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns in only two games played.
Bentley is 122-of179 (68.2%) passing for 1,505 yards, 7 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Jalen Tolbert has 36 receptions for 718 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging 119.7 yards per game and 19.9 yards per reception.
Jalen Wayne is the next closest receiver with 307 yards on 24 catches with one touchdown. Caullin Lacy has 170 yards on 23 catches.
Defense
The Jags Swarm D keeps living up to its name. They are producing turnovers and causing havoc for the opponents.
The defense is allowing an average of 19 points, 297.8 total yards, 177.2 passing, and 120.7 rushing yards per game.
With the interceptions they gathered against the Eagles, USA now has 8 INTs on the year and have recovered four fumbles from opponents too. The team turnover margin is +3.
Yam Banks leads the Jaguar defense with 28 total stops, 17 solo. Keith Gallmon Jr. has 27 total stops, 15 solo with 2.5 sacks and an interception. CJ Rias leads the team with three sacks. Tre Young leads the team with 2 interceptions.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo has connected on 7-of-10 field goal attempts this season. He is 4-of-5 from 40-49 yards on the season with his longest being from 48 yards out. Of his 33 kickoffs, 15 have been touchbacks.
Jack Brooks is averaging 40.9 yards over his 28 attempts on the season. He’s had three go 50+ yards and his longest has been 54 yards. None have been touchbacks, 9 have been fair caught, 7 have been downed inside the opponents 20 yard line. He had one kick blocked.
Keys to the Game
Early Game Momentum
It took six games, but the Jags offense finally came out of the locker room ready to go last week. They took the opening kick and drove 84 yards for the score.
At one point they converted first downs on 5 consecutive plays.
They really need to come out and do that again, this time on the road.
Sustaining Momentum
Last week ULM started slow and was in a 14-0 hole at halftime. They then scored 28-unanswered points to seize control of the game in the second half.
The Jags need to put pressure on ULM early like they did Georgia Southern. But they need to keep applying pressure because the Warhawks will not give up and they also have proven they can make that come back.
Minimizing Mistakes
Well, obviously minimizing mistakes is a big deal. But where I’m coming from is penalties and mental mistakes in some specific instances.
Two weeks ago the Jags lost AJ DeShazor in the second half due to a targeting call. That forced him to sit out the first half of the Georgia Southern game. He was previously flagged for targeting in the season opener against Southern Miss and missed playing time.
Against Georgia Southern Yam Banks was flagged for targeting on a kickoff return. Upon review it was overturned otherwise the Jags linebacking corps was going to be quite thin without Banks and the injured players unable to play last week.
The offense and defense has had the occasional mistake occur. The offense has committed a penalty to negate a good play and put them behind the down and distance schedule. Also the defense has committed a penalty that extended drives.
Prediction
A couple weeks ago we saw one of the best second halves of football the Jags have played all season when they came back against Louisiana.
This past week we saw the best complete game effort by the Jags this season. It was probably one of the best team efforts in several years.
Coach Wommack’s mantra about the “neutral mindset” is his process. It’s all about the team playing to the same standard regardless of the score or game situation.
There are going to be highs and lows in each game. Some will be really high and some will seem really low.
But if they can continue to focus on the next play. If they can continue to do their job at a high level, regardless of success or adversity, then good things will happen. They want to do the same high-level job over and over again. Play after play.
When the team plays like that, they can compete with anyone in the Sun Belt.
If they can do that play after play and game after game, then they will build into a consistent program.
ULM leads the series 4-3. They’ve won every game in Monroe and the Jags have won three of the four contests in Mobile. It’s an opportunity for the Jags to break another streak against a Sun Belt foe.
Monroe is a tough place to play. The Warhawks have pulled off a pair of surprises this season under coach Bowden, both at home. They upset Troy 29-16 on September 25 then the 31-28 upset Liberty last week that was mentioned above.
The Jags will need the neutral mindset and they will need to play at a high level for the entire game in order to not fall into the Monroe trap.
The Jags are favored by 13.5 points over ULM. That line makes me nervous. You can call me a homer, but I think the Jags win however I don’t think they cover. ULM plays very tough at home and it’s not the best place to travel to.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Snaps Two-Game Skid, Gets First Ever Win Over Georgia Southern 41-14
South Alabama finally got the monkey off their back, defeating Georgia Southern and also breaking a two-game losing streak in an impressive rout, 41-14.
The Jags (4-2, 1-2 SBC) took control from the opening possession and never really let the Georgia Southern Eagles (2-5, 1-3 SBC) take flight. They took the opening kickoff and drove 84 yards in 10 plays to put up the opening score. Jake Bentley capped the drive off with a 12 yard run.
In each of the previous five games, the Jags first possession has been a three-and-out. So not only getting their first 1st down on an opening possession, but scoring a touchdown were both firsts for the 2021 team.
The Jags added to their lead with a 42-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo with 2:03 left in the opening quarter.
The defense forced a punt with little over a minute left in the opening quarter. Only a minute into the second quarter the Jags were back on the board with Jake Bentley’s second rushing touchdown of the game, this time from six yards out.
On the ensuing possession the Eagles were quickly facing a 3rd and 6 from their own 29 when CJ Rias picked off the pass at the Georgia Southern 40 yard line. Then the first offensive play Bentley connected with Jalen Tolbert down the near sideline for a 40 yard touchdown to go up 24-0 with 12:29 left in the second quarter.
South Alabama’s defense forced another punt after being aided by a holding penalty. All the offense needed was three plays to go 70 yards with a 5 yard touchdown pass by Bentley to Jalen Wayne to put the Jags ahead 31-0 with 9:08 left until hafltime.
Georgia Southern finally got on the board on a 15 play, 75 yard drive. The Eagles opted for the 2-point conversion, which they got, to cut the Jags lead to 31-8 with 2:00 left until halftime.
GSU opened the second half with a 10 play, 48 yard drive culminating in a 44 yard field goal to put the score at 31-11 with 10:22 left in the third quarter.
A 58 yard run by Bryan Hill set up Bentley’s second touchdown pass of the game. Bentley connected with Lincoln Sefcik for his second touchdown of the season. It gave the Jags a 38-11 advantage with 3:41 left in the third quarter and ending the 11-unanswered point streak by the Eagles.
The fourth quarter began with a 34 yard field goal on the second snap of the quarter. It would end up being Georgia Southerns final points of the game.
The Jags tried to answer on the next possession however Diego’s 43 yard field goal flew wide right.
The next Jaguar possession Diego got another opportunity to put one between the uprights, which he did from 31 yards out to set the final score.
Jake Bentley is the first Jaguar to account for five touchdowns in a game. He ran for two and threw for three more in the game. He is also the first Jaguar quarterback to throw for over 300 yards in a game since Evan Orth did in 2018.
Bentley finished with 389 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-31 passing. He also ran six times for 8 yards after sack yardage was subtracted.
Desmond Trotter was 1-of-2 for 16 yards at the end of the game.
Bryan Hill led all rushers with 65 yards on eight carries. Terrion Avery carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards.
Jalen Tolbert broke the record with the most 100-yard receiving games in Jaguar history. He caught 11 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown after being targeted 18 times in the game.
Jalen Wayne added 117 yards on 7 receptions with a touchdown.
Justin Tomlin went 5-of-13 passing for 49 yards and an interception. Cam Ransom went 2-of-12 for 63 yards.
Logan Wright led the Eagles backfield with 60 yards on 14 carries. Ransom added 23 yards on 10 carries.
Amare Jones led the Eagles receiving corps with 90 yards on four receptions. Emil Smith caught two passes for 20 yards. Beau Johnson caught 1 pass for 2 yards.
South Alabama rolled up 545 yards of total offense to Georgia Southern’s 233. The Jags threw for 405 yards to GSU’s 112 and the Jags out rushed the Eagles 140-121.
Offensively the Jags converted 7-of-12 3rd down attempts to GSU’s 9-of-21. USA was 5-of-6 in red zone scoring, the one trip without a score was at the end of the game when they allowed time to expire.
South Alabama’s CJ Rias collected the only turnover of the game with an interception. GSU put the ball on the ground once in the game but were able to recover it.
The Jags scored on five of its first six possession while the defense forced three-an-outs on four of Georgia Southern’s first five possessions. The other was Rias’s interception.
“It just felt free,” Bentley said. “The game plan going in was to be aggressive. We consistently did that all night, up-front, on the perimeter, we just really attacked all night. It felt really good as an offense to really get rolling and put up some points.”
“You think of how we’ve opened games and how we’ve opened drives, to take the ball and score the first drive of the game, and the defense continue to get three-and-outs,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. “They made some adjustments on their side and got some momentum, and we adjusted right back and took it away from them. That, to me, is awesome against a very proud program. But this program has been waiting to beat that team for a very long time and we got it done tonight.”
“You have to be able to build off momentum,” Wommack said. “A team that’s never had those situations.”
“The guys in that locker room have never responded to adversity and found ways to win.” Wommack continued. “And that’s what this group is doing right now.”
Speaking of adversity, the Jags had a long list of injured players sitting out the game. Center James Jackson (knee), wide receiver Caullin Lacy (ankle), linebacker Shawn Jennings (ankle) and tight end Trent Tyre (undisclosed) all missed the game due to injuries suffered in the last week.
Running back Kareem Walker (quad) missed his third consecutive game with his nagging injury.
Tight end Lincoln Sefcik, running back Terrion Avery, left tackle Ja’Chai Baker, and linebackers Chris Henderson and Ke’Shun Brown all missed some practice time this week after suffering injuries against Texas State last weekend.
Next Game
South Alabama has a couple extra days to rest and prepare for their trip to Monroe, Louisiana to take on the ULM Warhawks. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm on Saturday, October 23.
