South Alabama Gets First-Ever Win At Arkansas State 38-31
South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert set a new single game record with 252 yards receiving on 10 catches with three touchdowns leading the Jags to a 38-31 win over Arkansas State. This is the first win in Jonesboro in seven tries and the first road conference win since their 2017 win over Troy.
The Jaguars (4-6, 3-4 Sun Belt Conference) needed a defensive took it down to the final play but Jeremiah Littles sacked Layne Hatcher at the South Alabama 13 yard line to end the game. Arkansas State (3-7, 1-6 SBC) drops their fifth-straight game and their first losing season since 2010.
Arkansas State opened the game and scored on their first possession after the Jags were forced to punt. The Jags tied it with :35 left in the first quarter when Desmond Trotter ran it in from 2 yards out.
The Jags took the lead 14-7 in the second quarter when Trotter connected with Kawaan Baker for a 26 yard touchdown.
The Red Wolves tied the game up late in second quarter on a 25 yard touchdown pass by Logan Bonner to Brandon Bowling.
The Jags punt after a short 5 play possession using only 38 seconds off the clock. Arkansas State were not content to go into halftime tied and quickly marched down the field to the Jaguar 18 yard line with just 2 seconds left in the half and added a 35 yard field goal to go into halftime with a 17-14 lead over the Jaguars.
Arkansas State opened the second half with a 9 play, 75 yard touchdown drive to go up 24-14 with 9:55 left in the third quarter.
The Jags would respond with their own score. Trotter connected with Tolbert for a 42 yard touchdown with 6:39 left in the game to cut the Red Wolves lead to 24-21.
After Trotter had to leave with an injury, redshirt freshman Tanner McGee would have to come in and the Jaguar offense didn’t miss a beat. McGee would put the Jags ahead on a 37 yard touchdown pass to Tolbert 28-24.
Arkansas State scored early in the fourth quarter when Bonner connected with Jonathan Adams on a 3 yard touchdown pass with 12:03 left in the game to go up 31-28.
McGee plays throw and catch again with Tolbert covering 51 yards for another touchdown and taking a 35-31 lead with 4:56 left in the game.
Arkansas State turns the ball over on downs at their own 31 but the Jags can only manage to get a 30 yard field goal to extend their lead to 38-31 with 1:28 left in the game.
The Red Wolves behind Layne Hatcher drive down to the Jaguar 6 yard line after what looked like a game sealing interception by Keith Gallmon was overturned. With :16 seconds left in the game, Hatcher had three attempts to get into the end zone. Two incomplete passes followed by the game ending sack by Littles as the clock expired.
The Jags gained 486 total yards, 387 of them through the air and 99 on the ground. The Jags offense was only 5 of 15 on 3rd down.
Trotter went 16-of-22 for 242 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury. McGee came in and went 6-of-8 for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Tolbert caught 10 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Kawaan Baker added five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown before also leaving the game with an injury.
Carlos Davis rushed 12 times for 31 yards. Caullin Lacy and Jared Wilson both ran for 26 yards on four and 13 carries respectively.
Arkansas State rolled up 494 yards of total offense, 324 of them through the air and 170 on the ground. The Red Wolves were 5 of 14 on 3rd down as well.
Logan Bonner went 11 of 16 for 183 yards and four touchdowns. Layne Hatcher went 8 of 14 for 141 yards.
Jonathan Adams caught 9 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Foreman caught 5 passes for 111 yards. Brandon Bowling caught 4 passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
Jamal Jones carried the ball 19 times for 93 yards to lead all rushers. Marcel Murray carried it 13 times for 38 yards.
South Alabama will return home for the season finale and Senior Day game hosting Troy for the annual ‘Battle for the Belt’. Kickoff is scheduled for 1pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium and will be viewable on ESPN3.
Jaguar Offense Flounders In 30-3 Loss To Appalachian State
The South Alabama Jaguars dropped their sixth consecutive game of the season to #21 ranked Appalachian State 30-3 to fall to 1-7 (0-4 SBC) on the season. This was also the second consecutive homecoming loss for the Jags, dropping their record to 9-2 all-time in homecoming games.
When you think the offense has hit rock bottom and can only get better, the Jags only mustered 23 total yards of offense in the first half and didn’t cross the 50 yard line until the second half. They had 2 total yards on 19 plays in their first six possessions of the game with only one first down coming by way of a roughing the kicker penalty.
Their first offensive first down came in the final minute of the first half.
The Jags went into halftime with a 13-0 deficit.
Midway through the third quarter the Mountaineers added to their lead on a three yard touchdown run by Williams Jr. He set up the score with runs of 20 and 35 yards on the drive.
After going down 20-0 midway through the third quarter, the Jags coaching staff decided to pull Cephus Johnson in favor of Desmond Trotter after the Johnson-led offense only had 35 yards of offense on 29 snaps.
But Trotter’s first series culminated in a three-and-out leading to the Mountaineers adding a 46 yard field goal to take a 23-0 lead. Highlights of that drive were a 21 yard run by Jalen Virgil and a 29 yard keeper by quarterback Zac Thomas.
Opening the fourth quarter, the Jags had an opportunity to stave off a shutout but Frankie Onate’s 32 yard field goal was partially blocked.
Onate would prevent the shutout with a 37 yard field goal with 5:43 left in the game.
But App State wasn’t ready to go home, as Raykwon Anderson broke a 67 yard touchdown run with 4:48 left in the game to close out the scoring.
The Jags came up on the short end of the statistics too. Total offense they were out gained 139 to 445, rushing they were out gained 87 to 313, and passing they were out gained 52 to 132. ASU gained 21 first downs to the Jags 10. Jags held the ball for only 25:24 while ASU possessed it for 34:36. Both teams converted their only 4th down attempt.
USA only converted 1 (one) 3rd down attempt out of 15 tries. One, uno, ein. In whatever language you want to state it, it is still pathetic. App state converted 6 of 17.
Starting quarterback Cephus Johnson went 3 of 11 passing for 9 yards and sacked once. Desmond Trotter was 3 of 8 for 43 yards and was sacked twice.
Tra Minter led the Jaguar rushing attack with 94 yards on 23 attempts. Jared Wilson was next in line with 5 yards on three carries.
Six Jaguars caught a pass in the game, but no one caught more than one. Cade Sutherland’s catch went for 30 yards to lead the team.
App State’s Zac Thomas was 16 of 28 for 132 yards and a touchdown. Anderson carried the ball four times for 99 yards and a touchdown. Williams Jr carried the ball 11 times for 94 yards and the other Mountaineer touchdown. Thomas Hennigan caught six passes for 58 yards and the only passing touchdown for the Mountaineers.
“We didn’t get much going at all early, until the fourth quarter,” head coach Steve Campbell said after the game. “We’ve got to look at what we need to do… We’ve got to do much better, but Appalachian State is a good football team.”
When asked about making a quarterback change, Campbell would not commit to anything. “We’ll see,” he said. “We’ve definitely got to move the ball better. Desmond will have an opportunity.”
“We need to do something to try to move the football,” he concluded.
The Jags are assured of their sixth consecutive losing season and their third consecutive season without a bowl game.
Campbell and his team have an open date next Saturday and will return to action in two weeks on November 9th when they travel to Texas State, the team they defeated to end the 2018 season.
Over the next two weeks the Jags will have to go to the white board and figure out how to play better on offense in particular.
A Cat Fight: Jags vs Tigers
South Alabama (1-1) exploded for a school record 413 yards rushing last week against Jackson State. Though it was against a FCS school, that amount of rushing yards is still quite a feat.
The Jags welcomes a more formidable opponent to Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the Memphis Tigers (2-0).
This one should be a cat fight from the beginning.
A year ago in Memphis, the Jags were only down by four points 31-27 late in the third quarter before the Tigers pulled away for a 52-35 victory. However UM got a big shot in the arm to start the 2019 season by knocking off Ole Miss 15-10 at home. They followed that up with a 55-24 win over FCS Southern University.
The Tigers quarterback Brady White may be one of the best quarterbacks the Jags will see this season. Against Southern, he went 17-of-21 for 337 yards and two touchdowns in only three quarters of work. Against Ole Miss he went 23-of-31 for 172 yards. That’s a 77% completion clip through the first two games.
While the Tigers will with without their starting running back Patrick Taylor, they have a freshmen in Kenneth Gainwell who started his first game last week and rushed for 85 yards. Also gone is Darrell Henderson, who went for 188 yards and two touchdowns in last years game as he left school early for the NFL draft (LA Rams).
The Jags will look to keep a Memphis streak alive, for each of the last three seasons the Tigers have dropped their first road game of the season. In 2016 it was Ole Miss, in 2017 it was UCF and last year it was Navy.
Can USA make it four in a row?
The Jags defense is currently ranked 24th nationally in passing yards allowed. Additionally their rushing defense has been playing pretty well so far and are looking to atone for their performance a year ago.
Tra Minter will be a focus for the Memphis defense. He averages 216.5 all-purpose yards per game, which is third in the nation. He was the majority of the Jags offense last week against JSU. The Tigers have yet to allow a 100 yard rusher this year, but Minter will be their biggest test yet.
Now with a clear #2 back behind Minter in Jared Wilson, the Jags have what looks like a nice 1-2 punch with a change of pace.
Concerning things from last week was the continued turnover problem with Cephus Johnson. Granted it was only his third start but with six total turnovers in two games, four interceptions and two fumbles, including two that resulted in defensive touchdowns and two other that occurred in the opponents red zone, protecting the ball will have to be a premium.
Johnson has been exploited because he had locked into a receiver early allowing the defenders to read his eyes. But the two fumbles came from backside pressure that he never felt.
The other concerning thing from last week was discipline. When they traveled to Nebraska, the Jags were very disciplined and commit few penalties. But at home against JSU, the Jags were flagged 11 times for 101 yards and had three players ejected for targeting, including two on back-to-back plays. Fortunately it was an FCS opponent and didn’t really hurt them against an over-matched opponent. But against another FBS school, it could very well cost them the game, especially if it were to be Riley Cole again.
Injuries:
Jags will be without WR Jalen Wayne, LB Kade Koler and LB Patrick Rosette. RB Jalin Buie is out for the season with a knee injury. Defensive lineman Tyree Turner is questionable for the game.
Memphis will be without RB Patrick Taylor and DB Chis Claybrooks. DL O’Bryan Goodson is questionable.
Line:
Memphis is favored by 19 points. I think the Jags have be good opportunity to keep this game close into the fourth quarter and sneak out a win. I’ll take the under in this game.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPNU and can the radio broadcast can be heard on 99.5FM The Jag locally in Mobile and through the iHeartRadio app online.
Jags Set School Record Rushing In 37-14 Win Over Jackson State
As many strides the South Alabama football team and coaches made last week in their narrow defeat in Lincoln, Nebraska to the Cornhusker, they stepped backwards almost as much.
Plagued by mistakes in all phases of the game, the Jags (1-1) did figure out that they could lean on the running game after they wore down FCS Jackson State (0-2) defense.
The Jags put up a school-record 413 yard rushing on 60 carries as they ground out a 37-14 win over the Jackson State Tigers. Tra Minter led the attack with 189 yards and two touchdowns on just 16 carries, though one of them was a 49 yard touchdown on a backwards pass that counted as a rushing attempt. Freshman Jared Wilson carried 12 times for 95 yards showing his raw power on a number of attempts.
The Jags mistakes started early when on back-to-back plays the Jags lost Riley Cole and Rocelle McWilliams on targeting penalties. Luckily they occurred in the first half thus they will be able to play against Memphis next week. The loss of those two next week would have been devastating. But then they lost a third player to targeting in the second half and will miss playing time against Memphis.
The offense had three turnovers, two of them were red zone interceptions and the other was a fumble at the 1 yard line.
After playing very disciplined against the Cornhuskers, the Jags were penalized 11 times for 101 yards. A flashback to last season.
The Tigers looked to score on the games first possession, but their special teams woes continued as their field goal attempt sailed wide right.
The Jags made it 7-0 when Cephus Johnson carried it two yards into the end zone with 8:31 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers tied the game with 3:26 left in the opening quarter when Derrik Ponder connected with Warren Newman.
Just two plays later Johnson found Minter on a behind-the-line swing pass which he took 49 yards. However a high snap fouled up the extra point attempt leaving the Jags lead at 13-7.
It was starting to look like Jackson State was going to be able to make it to halftime only down by six points, but Jags drove 90 yards in 8 plays in only 1:48 highlighted by a 36 yard run by Minter and capped off by a 3 yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Kawaan Baker. Head coach Steve Campbell called for a two-point attempt but Johnson’s pass fell incomplete leaving the Jags lead at 19-7 at halftime.
USA came out in the second half with a focus on running the ball and stopping the Tigers running attack.
And they did, holding JSU to only 40 yards after halftime: 20 yards rushing and 20 yards passing.
With all the problems passing, the Jags ran the ball 60 times of their 79 offensive snaps.
Keshawn Harper ran 10 time for JSU gaining 75 yards on the ground. With Tyson Alexander added 44 yards on four carries and Jordan Johnson added another 39 yards on nine carries as the JSU Tigers rushed for 142 yards on the Jags.
Derrick Ponder went 15-of-26 for 123 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Nine Jags carried the ball to combine for 413 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including Tylan Morton’s first touchdown as a Jag.
Johnson went 11-of-18 for 120 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown. Tylan Morton completed his only passing attempt for 5 yards.
Seven Jaguars caught passes with Minter leading the way with 33 yards on four catches. Kawaan Baker added 41 yards on two catches and the only receiving touchdown of the game.
As mentioned, the Jags rushed for 413 yards as they rolled up 538 yards of total offense against Jackson State with 29 first downs and going 10-of-15 on 3rd downs.
The Jaguar defense tightened up eventually and only allowed 265 total yards to the Tigers, 142 of them on the ground. They also held the Tigers to a mere 1-of-9 on 3rd down.
After the game, coach Campbell was proud for getting a win but noted they made “some youthful and immature mistakes” that need correcting. He also mentioned that they worked hard on penalties and targeting fouls. He mentioned they did well last week but they regressed this week.
Typically you’d like to make your biggest improvement between week 1 and week 2,” Coach Campbell said. “But honestly I can’t say that we did that.”
Campbell noted that the Jags hurt themselves with turnovers against Nebraska. “We would have won the game if we hadn’t turned the ball over, so this week after turning it over twice in the air we didn’t want to do it again this week.”
Jalen Thompson’s interception broke the school career record. “It was one of the goals I set coming out of high school,” Thompson said. “It’s been a journey, a roller coaster so that interception was for my mom and my family because they sacrificed a lot. Over the last four years, it’s been a journey and getting that interception meant the world to me.”
Jackson State head coach John Hendrick noted that they did not play with with a few of their key starters so as not to expose them to injury against the Jags. But he saw that his team has a good offense that can move the ball and a defense that can stop people.
While the Jags are now 1-1 on the season, they have a lot of work to put in this week in preparation for Memphis, who upset Ole Miss in the first week of the season 15-10.
The Jags will host Memphis on Saturday, September 14 with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 pm and will be broadcast on ESPNU.