Preview: South Alabama Visits #14 LSU For Nighttime Showdown In Death Valley

September 27, 2024 · Filed Under Football · Comments Off on Preview: South Alabama Visits #14 LSU For Nighttime Showdown In Death Valley 

Kickoff: Saturday, September 28, 6:45pm
Venue: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
TV/Streaming: SEC Network
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: TBA


South Alabama travels to Baton Rouge to play in one of the toughest environments in college football: Tiger Stadium. The Jags (2-2) are in the second game of a three-game road swing after their 48-14 dismantling of Appalachian State on Thursday, September 19th in Boone, NC. The #14 ranked LSU Tigers are looking to handle business and get to their bye week to rest and heal up.

The Jags are considered one of the hottest teams in the nation right now. Over the last two weeks they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 135-24. Head coach Major Applewhite and offensive coordinator Rob Ezell have been making all the right calls offensively and defensive coordinator Will Windham has been doing the same on the opposite side of the ball.

Meanwhile LSU (3-1) enters the game in the second game of a three-game homestand by welcoming USA. Last week the Tigers held UCLA scoreless in the second half to pull away for a 34-17 win after taking a 17-all tie into halftime. The Tigers opened the season with a narrow loss to USC in the Vegas Kickoff Classic then followed with a closer-than-expected game against Nicholls (44-21) and a narrow victory on the road at South Carolina (36-33).

This will be the highest ranked opponent the Jags have faced since they took the field against #10 ranked Oklahoma State in 2017 and the first ranked opponent since playing #25 Louisiana-Lafayette in 2020.

LSU

LSU is led by third-year head coach Brian Kelly, who LSU hired away from Notre Dame after 12 seasons as the head guy there. He was 92-40 with the Fighting Irish after vacating 22 wins in the 2012 and 2013 seasons due to academic misconduct. He also had a record of 4-6 in bowl games after a vacated win in the 2013 Pinstripe bowl.

So far Kelly is 23-8 and 13-4 in SEC games at LSU. His career record is 286-104-2 in his 34th year as a head football coach.

Before Notre Dame, he spent 13 seasons at Grand Valley State (118-35-2 from 1991-2003), three seasons at Central Michigan (19-16 from 2004-2006), and four seasons at Cincinnati (34-6 from 2006-2009).

Getting into the stats, the Tigers have been able to generate six turnovers defensively and have forced nine fumbles overall. They have a +3-turnover margin through the first four games of the season.

Offense

Garrett Nussmeier is the Tigers’ starting quarterback going 113-of-160 (70.6%) with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions on the season.

Mason Taylor is the leading pass catcher on the team with 25 receptions for 237 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Anderson leads the team in receiving yards with 298 on 21 catches with a touchdown. Kyren Lacy is the teams leading scoring receiver with 5 touchdowns on 20 catches with 245 yards. CJ Daniels adds 199 yards on 17 catches while Zavion Thomas rounds out the double-digit receptions with 10 catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

The Tigers have two 100-yard rushers on the season. Josh Williams has 134 yards on 36 carries with two touchdowns while averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Caden Durham has 116 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

Keleb Jackson has 95 yards on 26 carries while John Emery Jr has 61 yards on 10 carries.

StatAverage per game
Points33.5
Total Offense418.5
Passing Offense239.8
Rushing Offense119
Time of Possession27:54
Penalty Yards83.3
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs25-of-51 (49%)
4th Downs2-of-5 (40%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts17-of-20
Red Zone Touchdowns13-of-20
Penalties – Yards31 – 237
Fumbles – Lost1 – 1

Defense

Whit Weeks leads the defense with 30 total stops, 17 solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss. Greg Penn III is second on the team with 24 stops, 10 solo, with 1 TFL and a forced fumble.

As a team the Tigers have 12 sacks with Bradyn Swinson leading the team with 5 for a loss of 45 yards with two quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. Sai’vion Jones is right behind him with 4 sacks (19 yards) with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

The defense only has two pass interceptions. Zy Alexander and Jardin Gilbert each have one pick each.

However, the Tigers have lost Harld Perkins Jr for the season due to an ACL tear. While he hasn’t put up flashy numbers, he has been a player offenses have had to account for every play. Could that be a factor in this game?

StatAverage per game
Points24.5
Total Offense358.8
Passing Offense321.3
Rushing Offense134.7
Time of Possession31:57
Penalty Yards64.7
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs17-of-46 (37%)
4th Downs2-of-6 (33%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts11-of-12
Red Zone Touchdowns8-of-12
Penalties – Yards36 – 333
Fumbles – Lost9 – 4

Special Teams

Peyton Todd has handled the majority of the punting duties with an average of 40.7 yards per kick, five fair catches and two downed inside the 20. Blake Ochsendorf is averaging 37.7 yards per attempts with one fair catch and all three of his attempts downed inside the 20.

Damian Ramos is 5-of-6 on field goals this season with a long of 45.

South Alabama

After a pair of losses to begin the season, the Jags have gelled as a team and found their footing in their last two games. The offensive line, who lost a few players in summer camp for various reasons, have improved leaps and bounds over the first four games. They controlled the line of scrimmage against Appalachian State. They’ll face their toughest test yet when they take on LSU Saturday night.

Similarly, the defense has matured a lot over the first four weeks. After only returning two starters, the Jags started the season with a bit of a learning curve experience wise. They’ve improved each and every week. Over the first two weeks the defensive front couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback, then last week they were harassing Joey Aguilar on pretty much every play.

The Jags have a +5-turnover margin on the season with only two fumbles lost while the defense has a total of 7 take-aways (4 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries).

Offense

The offense starts with Gio Lopez, who showed that his turf toe injury is not bothering him anymore. He is 57-of-92 (62%) with nine touchdowns and no interceptions on the season.

Jamaal Pritchett continues to lead the receiving corps in receptions (26), yards (354), and touchdowns (4). Devin Voisin has 16 catches for 206 yards on the season. Jeremiah Webb adds 10 catches for 185 yards with a touchdown. DJ Thomas-Jones has 6 catches for 52 yards with three of them being touchdown receptions.

True freshman Fluff Bothwell has emerged as the Jags leading back with 359 yards on 37 carries with six touchdowns through four games. Kentrel Bullock has 204 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns.

Both Bothwell and Bullock have recorded 100-yard games the last two games.

Gio Lopez is third on the team with 171 yards on 21 carries with a pair of touchdowns.

StatAverage per game
Points48.3
Total Offense502.8
Passing Offense267.3
Rushing Offense235.5
Time of Possession31:24
Penalty Yards64.8
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs21-of-47 (44.7%)
4th Downs4-of-5 (80%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts23-of-24
Red Zone Touchdowns18-of-24
Penalties – Yards32 – 259
Fumbles – Lost4 – 2

Defense

Blayne Myrick continues to pace the defense with 34 total stops, 11 solo, with two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs and Jaden Voisin are next with 21 stops each, Voisin with 13 solo while Scruggs has 9 solo and 1.5 Tackles for loss.

The Jags defense has intercepted four passes on the season, Scruggs earned the Sun Belt Player of the Week honor with his 96-yard interception return, it would have been a 100-yard touchdown return however an App State defender pulled him down from behind with a horse collar tackle. Voisin, Amarion Fortenberry, and Chrystyile Caldwell each have one interception each.

Defensively the Jags only have four sacks on the season. Jordan Norman, Maurice Strong Jr, Courtney McBride Jr, and Tyler Thomas have collected one sack each.

StatAverage per game
Points25.8
Total Offense394
Passing Offense271.8
Rushing Offense122.3
Time of Possession28:36
Penalty Yards60.8
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs21-of-55 (38%)
4th Downs1-of-4 (25%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts10-of-14
Red Zone Touchdowns7-of-14
Penalties – Yards27 – 243
Fumbles – Lost5 – 3

Special Teams

Aleksi Pulkkinen has handled most of the punting duties, he’s averaging 38 yards per kick across his nine punts with five downed inside the 20-yard line and three fair catches. Jack Martin is averaging 45 yards per kick across his three punts with one touchback.

Laith Marjan is 5-of-6 on field goals this season with a long of 39. His only miss came from over 50 yards. He’s only missed one of this 18 extra point attempts, his first attempt after halftime last week went off the left upright.

Pritchett is averaging 28 yards per return in seven punt return opportunities with one 62-yard touchdown return.

Keys to the Game

Communication

When playing in big games on the road in a hostile environment, communication is at a premium. Death Valley at night is notoriously loud with Tiger Stadium actually registering on the seismograph a couple of times in big games. When the game is on the line, the Tiger fans can get loud and raucous.

But South Alabama just played in front of a loud crowd in Boone, NC. Are they the same? No, but the team knows what to expect and they can be prepared.

With the new in-helmet communications from the sideline, getting the play onto the field is a bit easier but any pre-snap adjustments still need to be communicated. Hopefully they can stay on the same page in all phases of the game because LSU will take advantage of any miscue.

Fundamentals

Defensively the Tigers have taken the ball away from opponents six times in four games. But they have forced 9 fumbles through those same four games. But the Jags have been very surehanded on the season with only two turnovers, one of them on a muffed punt. Continuing to keep possession of the ball will be big fundamentally.

Tackling will be a big factor. The Jags cannot let LSU run through arm tackles and pick up additional yards after contact. In the first two games the Jags had problems tackling but in the last two games have been more fundamentally sound.

The offense needs to stay on schedule because the LSU defense is blitz happy on 3rd down.

“A little Magic”

Something unexpected needs to go South Alabama’s way.

South Carolina had a pick-six that would have given them the lead late, but it was called back in a poor flag on what should have been a good play (that’s a discussion for another day).

LSU hasn’t looked the best this season and struggled against Nicholls. The Tigers narrowly led 23-21 early in the third quarter before finally pulled away from the FCS program.

If the Jags can get an unexpected play or two to go their way at an opportune time it will quiet the crowd and energize the Jaguars. A little voodoo magic if you will.

Prediction

LSU opens as a 21.5-point favorite over the Jags across most of the betting odds websites.

The Tigers are thought to have better players top-to-bottom because they are an SEC program. They should, shouldn’t they?

Perhaps the Jags can catch the Tigers asleep and looking ahead to having a week off to prepare for Ole Miss. But having a week off after the Jags will perhaps keep the Tigers focused enough for a little G5 Sun Belt team from Mobile.

As much as I want to pick the Jags to win or even to cover the spread, my head tells me that the Tigers in Tiger Stadium is a very tough draw. Then play it at night after the Tiger fans have had all day to marinade and it’s a very tough draw.

I think LSU wins and covers at home but maybe the score to cover comes late so it looks like a better win than it actually was. But I would LOVE to have South Alabama prove me wrong. They’ve been doing it all season so far, why not another week…

Go Jags!

Preview: Jags Open Conference Play At App State On National TV

September 18, 2024 · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Preview: Jags Open Conference Play At App State On National TV 

Kickoff: Thursday, September 19th, 6:30pm
Venue: Kidd Brewer Stadium, Boone, NC
TV/Streaming: ESPN
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Devin Voisin


South Alabama earned their first win of the season and under new head coach Major Applewhite in record breaking fashion last Thursday night. The Jags (1-2) scored in all three phases of the game while setting a new single-game scoring record for the program as well as the Sun Belt Conference. It was also the highest scoring college football game since 1991, even with the fourth quarter shortened to only six minutes.

This week the Jags have an entirely new challenge when they travel to Boone, NC to take on Appalachian State (2-1) in the conference opening game for both programs.

App State

Head coach Shawn Clark is in his fifth season as head coach of the Mountaineers. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach for two seasons under Scott Satterfield before Satterfield left for Louisville after the 2018 season. Clark was retained by newly hired head coach Eliah Drinkwitz. But Drinkwitz would be a one-and-done as he was hired away after a 12-1 season, including a win over Power-5 North Carolina and winning the SBC Championship game, the fourth-consecutive for the Mountaineers at the time.

Clark was promoted and made his debut in the 2019 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl with a 31-17 win over UAB. Since becoming the head coach, he has a 37-19 record with the Mountaineers overall and 22-10 in conference play.

Clark can also boast three consecutive seasons with a win over ranked opponents: 2021 vs #14 Coastal Carolina, 2022 vs #6 Texas A&M, and 2023 vs #18 James Madison.

Last season they were 9-5 overall, 6-2 in conference play, and represented the East Division in the SBC Championship Game, though they finished 2nd in the division because newcomer James Madison was ineligible due to FBS transition rules.

Before coaching at App State, Clark served as offensive line coach for Kent State, Purdue, and Eastern Kentucky.

Offense

The Mountaineers base offense is a Pro-Tempo scheme. It has pro-style concepts with a tempo base. They will dial up and down their tempo based on their success. If they hit a big play, they will go with tempo in order to prevent the defense from substituting. They will also turn down the tempo and play methodically during some parts of the game. It’s similar to what Drinkwitz ran while in Boone.

Joey Aguilar is 72-of-124 (58.1%) for 964 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season at quarterback. He was selected as the preseason Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Kaedin Robinson leads the receiver corps with 18 catches for 290 yards but no touchdowns. Makai Jackson isn’t far behind with 14 catches but with 164 yards and two touchdowns. Christian Horn has 11 catches for 244 yards and a touchdown. Horn also has the longest reception with 83 yards. Eli Wilson rounds out the receivers with double-digit catches with 10 for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Anderson Castle leads the Mountaineers rushing attack with 148 yards on 33 carries with a touchdown, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Makai Jackson has 71 yards on three carries with a touchdown. Kanye Roberts has 63 yards on 19 carries, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. Ahmani Marshall has 49 yards on 14 carries, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Aguilar is next in line with 44 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns.

StatAverage per game
Points26.3
Total Offense456
Passing Offense321.3
Rushing Offense134.7
Time of Possession31:57
Penalty Yards64.7
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs16-of-39 (41%)
4th Downs1-of-2 (50%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts10-of-12
Red Zone Touchdowns5-of-12
Penalties – Yards18 – 194
Fumbles – Lost3 – 2

Defense

The defense is listed as a 3-4 base but tends to run more 3-3-5 and relying more on their Star safety. The Star position can be explained like a hybrid linebacker-safety position.

Linebacker Caden Sullivan (R-Jr) leads the team with 20 total stops, 9 solo, with a quarterback hurry. Safety Ronald Clarke is next on the team with 18 total stops, 9 solo.

Outside linebacker Thomas Davis leads the team with 1.5 sacks ahead of five other players each with one sack each.

Senior cornerback Seth Robertson has the only interception on the defense.

StatAverage per game
Points31.7
Total Offense447
Passing Offense269.3
Rushing Offense177.7
Time of Possession27:35
Penalty Yards64
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs14-of-38 (37%)
4th Downs2-of-6 (33%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts7-of-8
Red Zone Touchdowns4-of-8
Penalties – Yards21 – 192
Fumbles – Lost5 – 2

Special Teams

Mitchell Lake handled the punting duties through the first two games with an average of 38.2 yards per kick, three fair catches, two downed inside the 20 and a long of 61 yards. Connor Maynard handled the punting duties in their latest game with an average of 44.8 yards per kick, two touchbacks, one downed inside the 20 and a long of 50.

Michael Hughes is a perfect 5-of-5 on the season with a long of 36 yards. He is also a perfect 8-of-8 on extra points.

South Alabama

After starting the season with two losses, the Jags took the opportunity to have a get-right game against FCS Northwester State last Thursday. The game was moved back to Thursday to allow for a full week of preparation for this game after it was picked up by ESPN for national broadcast.

Offense

Gio Lopez started against Northwestern State after missing the previous game with a turf toe injury. On the season he is 41-of-68 (60.3%) for 689 yards and seven touchdowns. Bishop Davenport is 23-of-37 (62.2%) for 228 yards and a touchdown.

Jamaal Pritchett leads the receivers with 20 catches for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 13 catches for 184 yards. DJ Thomas-Jones has two touchdowns on 5 catches for 42 yards. Shamar Sandgren, Jeremiah Webb, and Anthony Eager each have one touchdown catch each on the season.

Fluff Bothwell in his first career 100-yard rushing game continues to lead the Jaguars rushing attack with 243 yards on 23 carries, averaging 10.6 yards per carry, with four touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock, also coming off a 100-yard rushing game himself, has 157 yards on 19 carries, averaging 8.3 yards per carry, with two touchdowns. PJ Martin, Gio Lopez, and Jarvis Durr all have one rushing touchdown each.

Pritchett also leads the team in all-purpose yards with 416 thanks to his punt return yardage of 129 yards added in. He also has a 62-punt return touchdown.

StatAverage per game
Points48.3
Total Offense514.7
Passing Offense305.7
Rushing Offense209
Time of Possession30:28
Penalty Yards63.3
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs15-of-36 (42%)
4th Downs3-of-4 (66.7%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts18-of-19
Red Zone Touchdowns13-of-19
Penalties – Yards23 – 190
Fumbles – Lost4 – 1

Defense

Blayne Myrick continues to lead the defense with 25 total stops, 9 solo, with .5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs has 17 total stops, 7 solo, with 1.5 TFLs and a pass breakup. Jaden Voisin has 16 total stops, 10 solo, with an interception.

Amarion Fortenberry and Chrystyile Caldwell each have one interception on the season.

Jordan Norman, Maurice Strong Jr, and Tyler Thomas all have one sack each.  

StatAverage per game
Points29.7
Total Offense394.3
Passing Offense273.7
Rushing Offense120.7
Time of Possession29:32
Penalty Yards65
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs17-of-42 (40%)
4th Downs1-of-2 (50%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts9-of-10
Red Zone Touchdowns6-of-10
Penalties – Yards22 – 195
Fumbles – Lost4 – 2

Special Teams

Aleksi Pulkkinen has served as the punter the last two games with an average of 37.6 yards per kick with four downed inside the 20 and two fair catches. Jack Martin averages 44 yards per kick on two punts.

Laith Marjan is 5-of-6 on the season with a long of 39 yards. He is also a perfect 12-of-12 on extra point attempts.

Keys to the Game

Pass Defense

The Mountaineers have a prolific pass offense, and it all starts with quarterback Joey Aguilar.

Aguilar was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week after throwing for 424 yards and two touchdowns in their come-from-behind 21-19 win over East Carolina.

Despite all of their yards, they aren’t putting up the points that one would expect looking at the stats sheet.

The Jags secondary hasn’t been the best in coverage this season and the defense has struggled to get pressure on the quarterback in the first two games of the season. They also allowed a 75-yard touchdown pass in the first half to Northwestern State in the 87-10 blowout.

If the Jags want to win, they have to generate pressure on Aguilar and tighten their coverage on the receivers.

Special Teams

In both losses, the Jags had miscues on special teams. Against North Texas a punt went off one of the blockers for the punter after a bad snap, that was recovered for a touchdown. A muffed punt by Pritchett gave Ohio a short field, which they turned into points as well.

Pritchett made amends for his special teams play with a punt return touchdown in the big win.

Solid special teams play may not win the game, but poor special teams play sure can lose a game.

Offensive Line

What can be said here that we haven’t already said before? Games are won on the line. Pass protection and run blocking are the fundamentals for an offense to function.

The Jags were able to get some good in-game reps for lots of players last week. Hopefully it builds confidence in the starters as well as depth on the bench.

They’ll be tested by the Mountaineers.

Prediction

South Alabama enters probably their toughest three-game stretch of football this season. With all three being road contests too.

But the goal this week is do what they need to do to go 1-0. The other games have to wait.

The Mountaineers are 7.5-point favorite at home. South Alabama took the first matchup between the two schools back in 2014 but have lost each of the four subsequent meetings, including a 31-7 loss in 2021.

The game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN and it will be the only college football game available on Thursday night. This is a huge opportunity for the program to shine and playing a good, exciting game will go a long way to further the Jaguar brand of football.

If the Jags are healthy, and they look to mostly be back healthy, they can score points. With over a 60% chance of rain and thundershowers Thursday evening, that could favor the Jags running game with Bothwell, Bullock, Braylon McReynolds, PJ Martin, and Jarvis Durr.

I think the Jags cover but fall in a very close game.

Go Jags!

Preview: Jags Host Northwestern State For Thursday Night Showdown

September 11, 2024 · Filed Under Football · Comments Off on Preview: Jags Host Northwestern State For Thursday Night Showdown 

Kickoff: Thursday, September 12th, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Blayne Myrick


South Alabama has to put the results of the previous game behind them quickly. They have two fewer days to prepare for this week’s opponent than a normal week of preparation.

The Jags (0-2) are looking to get their first win of the season when they host the Demons (0-2) from the Football Championship Subdivision. Both teams enter the contest winless but with a lot of football left to play this season.

Looking at the Jags remaining schedule, you can’t help but get the feeling that this is a ‘must win.’

The next three games, all on the road, are against pre-season conference favorite App State, perennial SEC power LSU, and at an improving Arkansas State. The Jags could already be looking at a very tough proposition to go bowling for their third consecutive season.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Jags have to focus on going 1-0 this week.

Northwestern State

Blaine McCorkle is in his first season as the head football coach for the Northwester State Demons. His previous position was head coach at Division III Belhaven University for the last six seasons. He built that program into winning a conference title and saw their first Division III playoff berth. They finished 2023 with a 9-2 record which capped off a three-season run where he led his team to a 24-7 record. In his first three seasons at the helm, they only won seven games, including a 3-2 record in the pandemic-affected 2021 spring season. But that was good enough for the programs first winning record since 2012.

The Blazers had not won more than 3 games in a season since 2013.

The Demons cancelled the remaining games of the 2023 season after a death on their team then their head coach resigned in the wake of it all.

Offense

JT Fayard leads the Demond offense going 17-of-45 (37.8%) for 232 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Quaterius Hawkins has appeared in one game going 4-of-5 (80%) for 57 yards and a touchdown.

Myles Kitt-Denton leads the receivers with 115 yards on four catches with two touchdowns. Twon Kines, Amaaz Eugene and Kareame Cotton have three catches each for 41, 38, and 31 yards respectively.

Kennieth Lacy leads the rushing attack with 142 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Zay Davis is next with 74 yards on 19 carries. Chance Newman, listed as a TE/QB from Daphne High School, has 31 yards on 6 carries with the only other touchdown in the rushing category.

StatAverage per game
Points29.5
Total Offense250.5
Passing Offense144.5
Rushing Offense106
Time of Possession25:30
Penalty Yards48
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs5-of-25 (25%)
4th Downs2-of-2 (100%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts3-of-4
Red Zone Touchdowns2-of-4
Penalties – Yards12 – 96
Fumbles – Lost2 – 0

Defense

Blake Gotcher leads the team with 34 total stops, 12 solo, with the only two sacks the defense has recorded, and a forced fumble from his linebacker position. Ara Rauls III, Cadillac Rhone, and Christian Williams are all tied with 12 total stops each. Rauls has 6 solo, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup as a safety. Rhone also has 5 solo, .5 tackles for loss, with an interception from his linebacker position. Williams has 6 solo and 1 TFL.

Emanuel Brown is the only other Demon with an interception.

StatAverage Allowed per Game
Points49.5
Total Offense543
Passing Offense289.5
Rushing Offense253.5
Time of Possession34:12
Penalty Yards84.5
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs19-of-33 (57.6%)
4th Downs2-of-3 (66.7%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts8 – 9
Red Zone Touchdowns6 – 9
Penalties – Yards17 – 169
Fumbles – Lost3 – 2

Special Teams

Reed Honshtein pulls double duty as the punter and placekicker. He is averaging 39.2 yards per punt, a long of 51, three punts of 50+ yards, with 7 fair catches, and five downed inside the 20.

He has made the only field goal he’s attempted on the season from 38 yards.

South Alabama

It’s been a rocky start to the season and head coach Major Applewhite’s tenure unfortunately. South Alabama could have won either game so far this season. In the season opener against North Texas the Jags held a lead at halftime but a disastrous third quarter shifted all the momentum their way and propelled the Mean Green towards the win.

Though Jags were still in the game with an opportunity to cut the lead to a single score late in the fourth quarter. However, an overturned turnover and a field goal put the final touches on the Jags loss.

Last week’s trip to Ohio saw the Jags defense play better, but both sides of the ball couldn’t get out of their own way and came up on the short side of the 27-20 score.

Unforced mistakes hurt them in all phases of the game. Without Gio Lopez at quarterback the offense was a bit out of sync and they didn’t call any passes downfield for whatever reason. Even the usually sure-handed Jamaal Pritchett fumbled a punt allowing Ohio to steal a possession and score.  While defensively they played better overall, they just couldn’t get off the field on a couple of drives in the second half and Ohio just melted the clock.

This week is one of those weeks where you should get a win. But you still have to prepare because nothing is a given in college athletics.

Offense

Gio Lopez started game one and went 26-of-49 (53%) for 432 yards, with three touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards and another touchdown. However, we later found out that he suffered a turf toe injury and the coaches sat him out for game two.

Bishop Davenport got the nod last week and went 23-of-37 (62%) for 226 yards and a touchdown. He only accumulated 5 yards rushing after sack yardage was subtracted.

Jamaal Pritchett leads the team in catches (18), yards (264), and receiving touchdowns (2) for the Jags. Devin Voisin is the only other receiver with double-digit catches (10) and over 100 yards receiving (137). Shamar Sandgren and Anthony Eager both have one receiving touchdown each.

True freshman Fluff Bothwell leads the Jags rushing with 100 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Lopez’s 62 yards, 13 carries and a touchdown are all second place in the rushing category. Kentrel Bullock has 51 yards on 11 carries. Braylon McReynolds has 27 yards on 8 carries against North Texas, he was held out of last week’s game at Ohio.

StatAverage per game
Points29
Total Offense458.5
Passing Offense329
Rushing Offense129.5
Time of Possession29:06
Penalty Yards65
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs11-of-29 (37.9%)
4th Downs3-of-4 (75%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts9 – 9
Red Zone Touchdowns5 – 9
Penalties – Yards16 – 130
Fumbles – Lost2 – 1

Defense

Redshirt Sophomore Blayne Myrick leads the defense with 22 total stops, 9 solo, with .5 Tackles for Loss, and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next on the team with 16 total stops, 6 solo, with .5 TFL’s and a pass breakup.

The Jags defense has only managed two sacks through two games. Jordan Norman and Tyler Thomas each have one, Thomas’ was a strip sack that resulted in a fumble. Carlos Johnson Jr got the only fumble recovery.

Both Ricky Fletcher and Reggie Neely missed last weeks game with injuries. Currently they are both considered questionable going into this game and will likely be a game-time decision.

StatAverage Allowed per Game
Points39.5
Total Offense477
Passing Offense325
Rushing Offense152
Time of Possession30:54
Penalty Yards68
StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs14-of-27 (51.9%)
4th Downs1-of-2 (50%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts8 – 9
Red Zone Touchdowns6 – 9
Penalties – Yards14 – 136
Fumbles – Lost2 – 1

Special Teams

Jack Martin had an average of 44 yards over his two punts against North Texas. Last week Aleksi Pulkkinen handled the punting duties and average 38.3 yards across his seven punts, with four downed inside the 20 and two fair catches.

Laith Marjan is a perfect 4-for-4 on the season with a long of 39 yards.

Keys to the Game

3rd Downs

I want to see the Jags to play better on third down.

Defensively, the Jags must get off the field. Currently opponents are converting almost 52% of their 3rd down attempts. The Jags best defensive effort saw Ohio convert 40% of their 3rd down attempts. Obviously, this has to improve. How do you improve on it? Cause havoc. The Jags need to get into the backfield more, pressuring the quarterback, and ideally causing turnovers.

The Jags only have two sacks and seven TFL’s on the season so far. They defensive front, particularly the young linebackers (six freshmen in the group) need to help generate pressure and cause havoc.

Offensively the Jags are converting just under 38% of their 3rd down attempts. They converted 67% of their attempts against North Texas as they put up 38 points. Last week they only converted 33% of their attempts and only put 20 points on the scoreboard. That was a big drop-off. Was it due to Gio Lopez being out? Quite possibly.

How do you improve on it regardless who’s taking snaps? Staying ahead of schedule, limiting negative plays, and cleaning up the penalties. Lopez adds another dimension to the offense with his speed and ability to run which forces the defense to have to account for him running. Davenport will have to push the ball downfield more to stretch the defense and make them have to account for the deep pass.

Special Teams

Two game and special teams’ mishaps have turned into two touchdowns for the opponents. Teams who are able to score a touchdown on special teams have a high statistical likelihood to win the game.

South Alabama can attest to the validity of that stat this season.

So far this season the Jags are winless when they either allow a special teams touchdown or a turnover on special teams that leads to a touchdown.

In addition, the kickoff returners have really given the offense some poor field position to start. Some kickoff returns have not even gotten across the 20-yard line. Maybe a few more fair catches should be called and give the offense an opportunity to start at the 25 instead.

Let’s have a solid showing in all phases of special teams. Punting, punt fielding, placekicking, kickoff coverage, and kickoff returning.

Stay Healthy

It looked like the Jags were healthy coming out of the first game, but it wasn’t until the Ohio game did, we find out that Gio was unlikely to play and Braylon McReynolds was going out.

Coach Applewhite said that his “hope is” to have Lopez on the field for the Jags. He also said that McReynolds should be ready to play as well.

With the weather expected leading up to, and potentially during the game, if the additional rest for those players will have them better prepared for the remaining schedule and the Jags can win without them, I would be supportive of having them rest one more week.

Prediction

The Jags are a 37.5-point favorite against an FCS school. This shouldn’t be a problem for South Alabama. But they cannot be caught looking ahead to next week and overlooking the Demons. They need to handle business early then they can turn their focus to the next game.

Not to disparage the opponent, but the Jags are more talented and deeper than the Demons. But they should be as a FBS program vs an FCS program. But that is not always the case. This is not one of those cases.

I think the Jags will win but I’m not sure they will cover. Why? It may be a very wet and sloppy game.

Heavy rains are supposed to move through the area due to hurricane Francine. Weather models show the rain potentially being over before kickoff, but with tropical systems feeder bands could linger and bring rain during the game.

Wind could also be a factor with an unstable atmosphere.   

But ultimately, I think the coaches will look to get more players into the game for experience so the 37.5-point spread may be a bit much.

Jags win but don’t cover the spread.

Go Jags!

South Alabama Dominates Southern Miss 55-3

October 17, 2023 · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on South Alabama Dominates Southern Miss 55-3 
South Alabama sets new record for total offensive yards and rushing touchdowns in a single game in 55-3 thrashing of Southern Miss.

It was a record setting night for the South Alabama Jaguars.

The Jaguar offense recorded a new program record 647 total yards of offense as well as a record setting seven rushing touchdowns. La’Damian Webb tied his program record with four rushing touchdowns.

Southern Miss (1-6, 0-4 SBC) didn’t cross the 50 yard line until the 3rd quarter and finally surpassed 100 yards of total offense with under 6 minutes left in the game.

The Jags scored touchdowns of their first four possessions; the first three were La’Damian Webb before Kentrel Bullock added one for himself. The fifth possession was field goal. With an attempt to put points on the scoreboard with just one second on the clock, Diego Guajardo’s 41 yard attempt missed wide right.

Guajardo came back with a 39-yard kick on South Alabama’s first possession of the second half.

Southern Miss broke the shutout with a 32-yard field goal with 5:40 left in the third quarter to make it 34-3.

South Alabama responded with a 3-play scoring drive. A pair of passes to Lincoln Sefcik went for 24 and 20  yards respectively then Webb capped it off with a 16 yard touchdown run for his 4th of the game.

After getting the ball back on downs, head coach Kane Wommack started sending in the subs. Walk-on running back Dorian Smith took his first collegiate carry 29 yards for his first career touchdown to make it 48-3 with 1:20 left in the 3rd quarter.

Freshman Gio Lopez had his fourth appearance of the season and gave Jaguar fans a glimpse of the future with a 20-yard touchdown run to finish off the scoring with 13:47 left in the game. It looked like Lopez had a 27-yard touchdown run later in the game, but a penalty for holding wiped it off the board.

“This was probably one of the more dominating performances I’ve been a part of,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. “Arguably our most dominating performance since I’ve been here.”

“We’re really starting to lean into how we’re supposed to start the game,” Wommack said.

Stats

South Alabama

South Alabama put up 647 yards of total offense, 360 passing yards and 287 rushing. They were 7-of-11 on 3rd down and held a 31:15 to 28:45 time of possession advantage.

Carter Bradley finished 21-of-27 for 319 yards. True freshman Gio Lopez was 2-of-4 for 41 yards with an interception late in the game.

“We’re starting to see things click, for sure,” Bradley said. “I think it’s just preparation. Our coaches are doing an unbelievable job of getting us prepared and guys are buying into it.”

Jamaal Pritchett led all receivers with 122 yards on five carries. Caullin Lacy led all receivers with nine catches for 103 yards, extending his streak of consecutive 100-yard games to six. Four other receivers caught passes in the game.

La’Damian Webb rushed for 102 yards on 20 attempts with the four touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock finished with 58 yards on nine carries with a touchdown. Dorian Smith had two carries for 34 yards and a touchdown. Marco Lee Jr has 26 yards on six carries. Gio Lopez was credited with one carry for 20 yards and a score. Jarvis Durr had three carries for 20 yards, Bradley had 19 yards on two carries, and Jonathon Carter had one carry for 8 yards.

Khalil Jacobs led the team with seven total stops, four solo, with three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. James Miller had six total stops, one solo, with a TFL.

Jordan Norman, Maurice Strong Jr both had a sack in the game. Carlos Johnson Jr and Brock Higdon both has ½ sack.

Strong Jr got the only takeway with an interception for the Jag defense.

“It was just about being consistent for us,” defensive lineman Wy’Kevious “Bubba” Thomas said after wearing the honorary #5 jersey this week. “If you show consistency throughout the week of practice, it’s easy on game day.”

Southern Miss

The Golden Eagles only managed 149 total yards of offense, a mere 46 passing and 103 rushing. The Jags defense held them to only 1-of-13 on 3rd down and 1-of-2 on 4th down attempts. They were only penalized four times for 25 yards.

Billy Wiles was 2-of-5 for 5 yards as the starting quarterback. Holman Edwards came in and went 5-of-15 for 41 yards and an interception.

Frank Gore Jr was the leading Golden Eagle receiver with 22 yards on two catches. He also had the longest play from scrimmage with a 20 yard pass reception.

Tiaquelin Mims had two catches for 4 yards. Tyquan Henderson had the second most receiving yards on the team with 9 on just one catch.

Kenyon Clay finished as the leading rusher for USM with 60 yards on 10 carries. Gore Jr finished with 27 yards on 12 carries. Rodrigues Clark was the only other player with positive rushing yards with 13 on five carries.

Swayze Bozeman finished with 12 total stops, 8 solo, with a TFL. Dylan Lawrence had nine total stops, 6 solo. MJ Daniels got the only takeway from the Jags with an interception of Gio Lopez in the fourth quarter.

Next

The Jags will take the field next on Saturday, October 28th for a 4pm kickoff against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns are currently 4-2, 1-1 in conference play, and are set to host Georgia State at Cajun Field this Saturday.