IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl Preview: South Alabama vs Western Michigan
Kickoff: Saturday, December 14, 2024
Venue: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, 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
South Alabama is playing in their third-consecutive bowl game just one season after earning their first-ever bowl win in the 68 Ventures Bowl in 2023. This game will cap off head coach Major Applewhite’s first at the helm of the program and could mark the first head coach to win a bowl game in their debut at South Alabama.
It also marks a return for the Jaguar program. They return to the site of their first-ever bowl game ten-years removed. The Jags, then still under the direction of Joey Jones, played in the first-ever Cameillia Bowl in 2014.
The Jaguars knew about their selection a little early, the official bowl selection show was just on Saturday, December 8th which would have been less than a week before the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl. Early last week the teams accepted their invites so preparations by both teams could begin in earnest for the kickoff of the bowl season.
USA enters the game 6-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play. Their season finale against Texas State didn’t turn out the way they wanted. They came out on the losing side of a 45-38 score after committing three turnovers and eight penalties at home.
Western Michigan (6-6, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) got a 26-18 win over Eastern Michigan in their season finale to earn bowl eligibility and to snap a three-game losing streak.
Let’s compare the stats between the two teams.
Offensive Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Western Michigan |
| Points | 34.8 | 29.4 |
| Total Offense | 433.8 | 374.4 |
| Passing Offense | 240.8 | 186.1 |
| Rushing Offense | 193 | 188.3 |
| Interceptions | 5 | 8 |
| Time of Possession | 29:33 | 29:21 |
| Penalty Yards per game | 71 | 39.1 |
| 3rd Downs | 58 – 146 (39.7%) | 51 – 147 (34.7%) |
| 4th Downs | 11 – 17 (64.7%) | 18 – 30 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 46 – 53 (86.8%) | 34 – 38 (89.5%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 34 – 53 (64.2%) | 28 – 38 (73.7%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 99 – 852 | 48 – 469 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 11 – 6 | 11 – 4 |
| Total Turnovers | 11 | 12 |
Defensive Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Western Michigan |
| Points | 25.3 | 31.4 |
| Total Offense | 397.8 | 404.9 |
| Passing Offense | 253.3 | 218.6 |
| Rushing Offense | 144.6 | 186.3 |
| Interceptions | 15 | 7 |
| Time of Possession | 30:27 | 29:48 |
| Penalty Yards per game | 49.1 | 35.7 |
| 3rd Downs | 66 – 172 (38.4%) | 68 – 157 (43.3%) |
| 4th Downs | 12 – 24 (50%) | 11 – 14 (78.6%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 35 – 44 (79.5%) | 40 – 43 (93%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 21 – 44 (47.7%) | 30 – 43 (69.8%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 64 – 589 | 52 – 428 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 11 – 4 | 23 – 13 |
| Total Turnovers | 19 | 20 |
Western Michigan
The Broncos are back in a bowl game for the first time since 2021 and the first under head coach Lance Taylor. Taylor is fairly well known in southern Alabama and to some in the state of Alabama. He’s a native of Mt. Vernon, went to high school at Citronelle, and was a walk-on at the University of Alabama from 1999-2003 where he played in 38 consecutive games and served as specials teams captain for then head coach Mike Shula.
After a short stint in the Arena Football League, Taylor began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama from 2007-08. He then coached receivers at App State in 2009. Then spent 2010-2012 with the New York Jets as an offensive quality control coach and assistant tight ends coach.
He made two stops at the Carolina Panthers with a stint at Stanford in between. While at Stanford he coached running backs such as Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey and recruited another runner-up in Bryce Love. He then spent three seasons at Notre Dame coaching running backs and run game coordinator. Finally, he served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Louisville before landing the head job at Western Michigan.
Offense
Hayden Wolff is 191 of 285 (67%) for 2,212 yards with 17 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.
His most prolific receiver, tight end Blake Bosma, caught 37 passes for 403 yards with 6 touchdowns. However, he entered the transfer portal and does not look like he will be playing. Chris Toudle is the next tight end on the receiving list with just 8 catches for 91 yards in 7 games with a touchdown.
Kenneth Womack is next up with 34 catches in nine games, with 456 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Sambucci has 31 catches in 10 games with 376 yards and two touchdowns.
Zahir Abdus-Salaam has 28 catches for 227 yards and a touchdown.
Jaden Nixon leads the rushing attack with 876 yards on 132 carries with 12 touchdowns. Jalen Buckley has 657 yards on 120 carries with 8 touchdowns in 9 games played. Abdus-Salaam has 567 yards on 104 carries with three touchdowns. Broc Lowry has 123 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns in 10 games played.
Defense
Donald Willis leads the defense with 99 total stops, 58 solo, with a sack and six tackles for loss from his linebacker position. Tate Hallock is second on the team with 78 total stops, 47 solo, with a team-leading four interceptions and 5 tackles for loss from his safety position.
Isaiah Green leads the team with three sacks. Mason Nelson is behind him with two sacks and nine other players each have one sack each.
Special Teams
Ryan Millmore is averaging 40.3 yards per punt with 21 fair catches, 21 downed inside the 20-yard line, 7 kicks of 50+ yards and a long of 60 on the season.
Luka Zurak is 10 of 12 on the season placekicking with a long of 45 yards. His misses were from 40+ yards and one of 50+ yards.
South Alabama
Offense
Gio Lopez is 205 for 311 (65.9%) for 2,557 yards with 18 touchdowns to 5 interceptions in 11 games played while adding 465 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns. His availability for the game is unknown after suffering an injury against Texas State that forced him out of the game.
Bishop Davenport is 33 for 55 (60%) for 333 yards and a touchdown on the season passing and added 76 yards rushing.
Jamaal Pritchett finished the regular season with 91 catches for 1,126 yards with 9 touchdowns.
Jeremiah Webb had 467 yards on 30 catches with three touchdowns. Devin Voisin had 31 catches for 365 yards. DJ Thomas-Jones had 22 catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns.
Fluff Bothwell ended the season as the Jags leading rusher with 834 yards on 112 attempts with 13 touchdowns. However, it is uncertain if he will play as he announced he was entering the transfer portal.
Kentrel Bullock was the next leading rusher with 702 yards on 135 carries with six touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds rushed for 113 yards on 19 carries in 8 games with a touchdown.
Defense
Blayne Myrick finished the regular season with 92 total stops, 41 solo, with two sacks and 7 TFLs and an interception.
Jaden Voisin is second on the team with 74 total stops, 38 solo, with 2.5 TFLs and a team leading 5 interceptions.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 40.5 yards per punt with 21 fair catches, 16 downed inside the 20, two touchbacks and two kicks of 50+ yards with his longest being 67 yards.
Laith Marjan is 16 of 17 placekicking on the season with his only miss coming from 50+ yards. He has a long of 49 on the season. It’s uncertain if he will play as he has also announced he is entering the transfer portal.
If Marjan does not play, it will either be Davis Little (true freshman) or Hamilton DiBoyan (redshirt freshman) handling the placekicking duties.
Keys to the Game
Don’t beat yourself with penalties
Against Texas State the Jags had eight penalties but many of them came at inopportune times. South Alabama finished the regular season tied for 127th in fewest penalties, only four schools were flagged more than the Jags. They also finished 124th with fewest penalty yards.
So many penalties have disrupted offensive drives and put the offense behind the chains which led to the ball going over to the other team one way or another.
Turnovers
Both teams are +8 in turnover margin, both teams are better at taking the ball away from their opponents than giving the ball away. However, both teams have gotten there in different ways. The Jags have done it more through intercepting the ball while Western Michigan has gotten there by generating fumbles. The Broncos have forced 23 fumbles and recovered 13 of them.
Three turnovers coupled with the eight penalties was just too much for South Alabama to overcome against Texas State.
Fundamentals
Often times bowl games are kinda sloppy because teams have had a lot of time off from the end of the season until the bowl game without game action. So you tend to see more unforced errors, missed tackles, and the such. Both teams enter just two weeks since their last action and should be ready to go, like both teams just had a bye week.
Prediction
Bowl games in this day in age with Name, Image and Likeness and the Transfer Portal is very hard to predict. We may not know until the day of the game who may or may not play for either team. We already see that a key offensive and defensive player for the Jags have opted to go into the portal. Meanwhile the Broncos have a laundry list of players in the portal, including some key players on both sides of the ball as well.
Setting aside the uncertainty of NIL and transfer portal, I believe South Alabama has a more talented roster from top to bottom, however inconsistent they can be from game to game.
The spread opened with South Alabama as the favorite by 10.5-points and is down to 7.5-points depending on where you look. Some of the factors are Fluff Bothwell and Jordan Scruggs opting for the portal and Gio Lopez’s injury against Texas State. While by all accounts Bishop Davenport is a very capable quarterback who really hasn’t been used to his full potential on gameday, we have only really seen him in limited duty even when he started against Ohio in week 2.
I think the Jags cover the 7.5-points and goes into the postseason with momentum for 2025.
Go Jags!
Preview: A Season Finale Cat Fight Between Jaguars and Bobcats
Kickoff: Friday, November 29, 2:30pm
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
South Alabama punched their bowl ticket with a win last Saturday at Southern Miss. But they also kept their chances alive to win the Sun Belt Western Division title. In order to realize that, they need some help this week from Louisiana-Lafayette’s cross-state rival Louisiana-Monroe.
But first, the Jags have to take care of their own business and get a win against Texas State in order to keep those dreams alive.
The Jags (6-5, 5-2 Sun Belt Conference) and Texas State (6-5, 4-3 SBC) will meet at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Senior Day for South Alabama. If they win, they can sit back on Saturday and watch how the Sun Belt Conference divisions play out. Both division crowns will be determined this weekend.
What is South Alabama facing when the Bobcats come to town for a good ole cat fight? Let’s get familiar with the Bobcats head coach and take a look through the season stats for both teams.
Texas State
GJ Kinne is completing his second season at the helm in San Marcos. He has already taken Texas State to new heights in his short time in charge. He led them to a FBS program record 8 wins in his first season and their first-ever appearance in a bowl game.
When he took over the program, they had not had a winning season in 9 years. In an age of NIL and the transfer portal, Kinne brought in 53 scholarship newcomers and 71 total new players over the spring and summer of 2023. They got the programs first-ever win over a Power-5 program when they defeated Baylor to start the 2023 season. They tied for 2nd place in the west division and earned a 45-21 win over Rice in the Servpro First Responders Bowl in Dallas, TX for their first bowl win.
Kinne and his staff have overhauled the Bobcat offense since arriving in San Marcos. They were the nations most improved offense in 2023 with a 15-point improvement in scoring offense and finished 14th in the nation in scoring and total offense.
Offense
The Bobcats ranks 1st in Scoring Offense and Total Offense, 2nd in Offensive Efficiency, 3rd in Passing Offense, and 4th in Rushing Offense in the conference.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.4 |
| Total Offense | 469.3 |
| Passing Offense | 267.1 |
| Rushing Offense | 202.2 |
| Time of Possession | 30:13 |
| Penalty Yards | 59.6 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 61 of 138 (44.2%) |
| 4th Downs | 12 of 20 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 35 of 42 (83.3%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 29 of 42 (69%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 71 – 655 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 18 – 8 |
Jordan McCloud, the former JMU quarterback, now leads the offense in San Marcos. So far this season he is 226 of 327 (69.1%) for 2,672 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also adds 249 yards on 62 carries with 6 touchdowns.
McCloud spreads the ball around pretty well as you’ll see. Joey Hobert leads the team with 59 catches for 581 yards and 7 touchdowns. Jaden Williams leads the team with 644 receiving yards on 48 catches with 6 touchdowns. Kole Wilson has 40 catches for 567 yards and 4 touchdowns. Chris Dawn Jr has 30 catches for 370 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Ismail Mahdi leads the Bobcats rushing attack with 844 yards on 163 attempts with 3 touchdowns. Torrance Burgess Jr has 344 yards on 54 carries with 2 touchdowns. Lincoln Pare has 315 yards on 48 carries with 5 touchdowns.
Defense
The Bobcats ranks 1st Forced Fumbles, 2nd in Defensive Effenciency, 3rd in Total Defense, and 3rd in Scoring Defense, Rushing Defense and Passing Defense in the conference.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 23 |
| Total Offense | 345.3 |
| Passing Offense | 197 |
| Rushing Offense | 148.3 |
| Time of Possession | 29:47 |
| Penalty Yards | 43.9 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 58 of 162 (35.8%) |
| 4th Downs | 12 of 23 (52.2%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 32 of 37 (86.5%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 21 of 37 (56.8%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 65 – 483 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 18 – 7 |
Jordan Polk leads the team with 56 total stops, 28 solo, with 3.5 Tackles for Loss and a sack. James Neal is next on the team with 47 total stops, 23 solo, with 1.5 TFLs
Kalil Alexander leads the team with 5.5 sacks and also adds 7 TFLs. Steven Parker leads the defense with 9 TFLs with 5 sacks.
Trez Moore leads the Bobcats with 2 interceptions.
Special Teams
Lars Rau is averaging 38.1 yards per punt over his 20 attempts, with 16 fair catches, 4 downed inside the 20 and a 58-yarder as his long.
David Nunez is averaging 38.9 yards per punt over his 13 kicks with 7 fair catches, 9 downed inside the 20, and 3 touchbacks with a long of 52 yards.
Mason Shipley is 11-of-15 placekicking with a long on the season of 60 yards and is 44 of 46 on extra point attempts.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags currently sit 3rd in the conference in scoring offense, 3rd in rushing offense, and total offense. Nationally the Jags are 25th in rushing offense and scoring offense, 23rd in total offense, 45th in time of possession. But they are also 3rd nationally in Passes Had Intercepted (3), 13th Turnovers Lost (8), and 6th in Punt Returns (17.5).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 34.5 |
| Total Offense | 439 |
| Passing Offense | 241.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 197.2 |
| Time of Possession | 30:00 |
| Penalty Yards | 72.1 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 55 of 135 (40.7%) |
| 4th Downs | 8 of 14 (57.1%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 43 of 50 (86%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 32 of 50 (64%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 91 – 739 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 10 – 5 |
After last weeks win Gio Lopez is now 189 of 288 (65.6%) for 2,367 yards, 17 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also has 436 rushing yards on 75 carries with 6 touchdowns.
Jamaal Pritchett became the fourth Jaguar receiver in the past five seasons to surpass 1,000 receiving yard mark and only the 3rd player ever to do so (Caullin Lacy and Jalen Tolbert twice). He has 1,041 yards on 81 catches with 8 touchdowns on the season. Jeremiah Webb is second on the team with 414 yards on 27 catches with 3 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 28 catches for 332 yards.
Fluff Bothwell leads the rushing attack with 753 yards on 106 carries with 11 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 684 yards on 125 carries with 6 touchdowns.
Defense
The Jags defense stacks up pretty good in the several categories in the conference. They are 2nd in Rush Defense, 4th in 3rd down defense, 4th in red zone defense, 4th in scoring defense and 6th in 1st down defense and 5th down defense, and 6th in total defense.
Nationally the defense ranks 18th in passes intercepted (13), 40th in turnovers gained (17), and 44th in rushing defense (127.6).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 23.6 |
| Total Offense | 385.8 |
| Passing Offense | 253.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 132.1 |
| Time of Possession | 30:00 |
| Penalty Yards | 45.8 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 56 of 155 (36.1%) |
| 4th Downs | 11-23 (47.8%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 30 of 37 (81%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 17 of 37 (45.9%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 56 – 155 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 11 – 4 |
Blayne Myrick leads the team with 82 total stops, 38 solo, with 2 sacks and 7 Tackles for Loss. Jordan Scruggs and Jaden Voisin are next on the list with 60 total stops each.
Courtney McBride Jr leads the team with 4 sacks and also 8 TFLs.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with 4 interceptions but Wesley Miller has 3 after his pick-six last week. Lardarius Webb Jr has 2. Scruggs, Amarion Fortenberry, Ty Goodwill and Chrystylle Caldwell each have an interception.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen is averaging 40.7 yards per punt with 19 fair catches, 16 downed inside the 20, and 2 touchbacks. His 67-yard boot continues to be the long.
Laith Marjan is 15-of-16 with his only miss coming from 50+ yards and a season long of 49 yards.
Keys to the Game
Don’t beat yourself
Just one more regular season game left with a lot left to play for in this game. They cannot afford to set themselves back with preventable penalties. When you watch the game with Red, White & Blue glasses its easy to feel that the Jags keep coming up on the short end of the penalty game. They just have to play as cleanly as possible, don’t let frustrations get to them if they do get penalized, and hope for the best. If they can avoid setting the offense back with holds and false starts this week, I think the offense will be able to put plenty of points on the board against the Bobcats.
Solid Special Teams
The Jags played a better on special teams last week, lets keep that momentum going this week. Don’t let the Bobcats gain any momentum from good return or a good play in special teams.
Turnovers
South Alabama has a turnover margin of +9, they have intercepted opponents 13 times and recovered 4 fumbles on the season. Texas State has a turnover margin of -5, they have forced 18 fumbles, recovering 7, and intercepted opponents 5 times. But offensively they have thrown 11 interceptions and lost 8 fumbles.
Watch for turnover opportunities in this game.
Prediction
South Alabama hosts their regular season finale after two weeks on the road. Both teams will have one less day to prepare for the game since it’ll kickoff at 2:30pm on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
The Jags are a 1.5-point underdog at home to the Bobcats, which is basically a toss-up.
South Alabama will be without probably their best offensive lineman, Reed Buys, who tore his ACL against Southern Miss. When he has been out of the lineup, the Jags have struggled somewhat because they prefer to shuffle the offensive line a bit and move a more experienced guy into the right guard position then fill in on the left side. Since Lopez is a left-handed quarterback, the right side of the line is protecting his back.
Hopefully they can get starting offensive line plenty of reps this week to be ready on Friday. Perhaps the home underdog status will motivate them to come out firing on all cylinders.
Texas State will have plenty of motivation on their own. They come in after a somewhat embarrassing loss to a 3-8 Georgia State team in a very high scoring affair.
No matter how you cut it, I think this is going to be a great one for a Friday afternoon when there’s not going to be many games on to watch.
I think the Jags win outright.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Looking To Get Bowl Eligible On The Road At Southern Miss
Kickoff: Saturday, November 23, 2pm
Venue: M. M. Malone Stadium, Hattiesburg, MS
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
South Alabama went into Lafayette and did what no other Sun Belt team has been able to do this season: defeat the Cajuns. The once blemish free conference record for the Cajuns now has a chip in it and the Jags hopes for West Division title, like the Undertaker, has risen from the coffin yet to be completely dead and buried for the season.
The Jags (5-5, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) now just needs one more win to get bowl eligible in head coach Major Applewhite’s first season at the helm and for the third consecutive season.
They travel to Hattiesburg to take on the ailing Southern Miss Golden Eagles (1-9, 0-6 SBC). They enter on an eight-game skid and only managing 3 points in each of their last two games (37-3 vs Marshall and 58-3 vs Texas State). Their only win of the season has come against FCS Southeastern Louisiana 35-10.
What are the Jags facing when they get to “The Rock,” let’s dig into the opponent some along with the season stats to this point.
Southern Miss
Head coach Will Hall was dismissed the day after the Golden Eagles lost at home to Arkansas State 44-28 and a 14-30 record overall in Hattiesburg. Since his dismissal, USM has only managed to put 21 total points on the scoreboard across their last three games.
Reed Stringer is serving at the interim head coach. Before being tapped for the interim position he was in his fourth season as the assistant head coach and general manager. He was in his seventh year overall with the Golden Eagle program. He joined the program in 2018 with coach Jay Hopson as an offensive quality control coach. He took over coaching tight ends in 2019 and made it through the chaotic 2020 season when Hopson stepped down and the Golden Eagles had three coaches. He remained on staff when Hall was hired.
Previously he spent seven seasons as an assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach at Louisiana-Lafayette.
Southern Miss will honor just two seniors for their senior day on Saturday so they don’t really have that much upper level experience it seems.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 14.9 |
| Total Offense | 281 |
| Passing Offense | 170.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 110.7 |
| Time of Possession | 26:09 |
| Penalty Yards | 51.9 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 29 of 124 (23.4%) |
| 4th Downs | 11 of 23 (47.8%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 18 of 25 (72%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 14 of 25 (56%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 64 – 519 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 15 – 12 |
Ethan Crawford leads USM with pass attempts, he is 50 of 120 (41.7%) for 849 yards with no touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Tate Rodemaker leads the team with completions, going 65 of 107 (60.8%) for 643 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.
Larry Simmons leads the receiving corps with 318 yards on 20 catches. Tiaquelin Mims has a team leading 25 catches for 287 yards. They have four other receivers with between 10 and 13 catches each. Kyirin Heath leads the group with 2 touchdown catches.
Rodrigues “Dreke” Clark is the leading rusher with 468 yards on 104 carries with a touchdown. Kenyon Clay has 320 yards on 61 attempts with six touchdowns. Ethan Crawford has 211 yards on 97 carries and three touchdowns.
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.6 |
| Total Offense | 455.7 |
| Passing Offense | 221.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 233.9 |
| Time of Possession | 32:21 |
| Penalty Yards | 40.1 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 54 of 132 (40.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 12 of 17 (70.6%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 41 of 46 (89.1%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 28 of 46 (60.9%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 63 – 541 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Tre’ Pinkney leads USM with 67 total stops, 33 solo, with 3.5 tackles for loss and .5 sacks. Chris Jones is next on the team with 46 total stops, 25 solo, with 2.5 TFLs and one sack with an interception. Dylan Lawrence leads the team with a pair of interceptions. Jalil Clemons and Ryan Johnson co-lead the team with three sacks.
Special Teams
Bryce Lofton is averaging 44.96 yards per punt with 18 fair catches, 14 downed inside the 20, 14 punts of 50+ yards with a long of 57.
Connor Gibbs is 8 of 8 on field goal attempts with his longest of the season being from 54 yards out. Andrew Stein has attempted three field goals and has yet to put up between the uprights.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags currently sit 3rd in the conference in scoring offense, rushing offense, total offense, and time of possession. Nationally the Jags are 25th in rushing offense and scoring offense, 23rd in total offense, 45th in time of possession. But they are also 3rd nationally in Passes Had Intercepted (3), 13th Turnovers Lost (8), and 6th in Punt Returns (17.5).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 34.4 |
| Total Offense | 444.9 |
| Passing Offense | 246.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 198.2 |
| Time of Possession | 30:53 |
| Penalty Yards | 72.4 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 52 of 125 (41.6%) |
| 4th Downs | 8 of 14 (57.1%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 41 of 48 (85.4%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 30 of 48 (62.5%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 84 – 724 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 10-5 |
Gio Lopez ranks 17th nationally in total offense, 24th in yards per pass attempt, 25th in completion percentage and passing efficiency. He is 174 of 265 (65.9%) with 2,174 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the team in catches with 73, receiving yards 939, and touchdowns with seven. he ranks 7th nationally in receptions per game, 8th nationally in Receiving Yards and Receiving Yards per game, 28th in Receiving Touchdowns, and 33rd in All-Purpose yards.
Jeremiah Webb is next on the list with 364 yards on 24 catches with two touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 332 yards on 29-8 catches. Devin Voisin has 332 yards on 28 catches. Shemar Sandgren has 176 yards on 16 catches with a touchdown.
Fluff Bothwell leads the team in rushing yards with 649 on 100 carries with a team-leading 10 touchdowns. He ranks 30th nationally in rushing touchdowns and 41st in total touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock is right on his heels with 630 yards on 111 carries with six touchdowns. Gio Lopez is running fourth on the team with 427 yards on 70 carries and six touchdowns.
Kentrel Bullock ranks 42nd nationally in rush yards per carry.
Defense
The Jags defense stacks up pretty good in the several categories in the conference. They are 2nd in Rush Defense, 4th in 3rd down defense and red zone defense, 5th in scoring defense and 6th in 1st down defense and 4th down defense, and 7th in total defense.
Nationally the defense ranks 19th in passes intercepted (12), 34th in turnovers gained (16), 40th in Punt Return Defense (5.38), and 44th in rushing defense (127.6).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 24.5 |
| Total Offense | 393.8 |
| Passing Offense | 265.4 |
| Rushing Offense | 128.4 |
| Time of Possession | 29:07 |
| Penalty Yards | 48.4 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 50 of 136 (36.8%) |
| 4th Downs | 10-20 (50%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 28 of 34 (82.4%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 16 of 14 (47.1%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 53 – 484 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 10 – 4 |
Blayne Myrick leads the team with 75 total stops, 33 solo with 6 TFLs and a sack. Jordan Scruggs is next with 53 total stops, 26 solo, with 3 TFLs and an interception.
Jaden Voisin, who broke the record for career interceptions as a Jaguar last week, now ranks 7th nationally in total interceptions on the season with 52 total stops, 30 solo.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen is averaging 41.3 yards per punt with 14 fair catches, 14 downed inside the 20, two touchbacks and two kicks of 50+ yards.
Laith Marjan is 15 of 16 placekicking on the season (93.75%) with his only miss coming from over 50 yards.
Keys to the Game
Don’t beat yourself
After playing a very disciplined first half, the Jags got a little too complacent in the second half and the offensive penalties creeped back in a little. Not necessarily the cause of all of the second half offensive woes, but they definitely didn’t help the cause. Just play more like the first-half team, not the second half team.
Play a complete game
It’s been a while since the Jags have really played a complete game. You have to go all the way back to the App State game for that. While they did end up winning big over ULM, they really didn’t play a complete game. The first half of that game wasn’t their best first half of football, by any means.
The last two weeks have seen the Jags play good first halves, but falter in the second half. They lost one against Georgia Southern but they held on to win last week against the Cajuns.
With just two games to go and a potential bowl game, now is the time to put everything together and get two big wins and hope for some help to get to the conference championship game.
Solid Special Teams
The special teams have had some problems over the last couple of weeks too. Miscommunication, turnovers, etc. Don’t give the other team an opportunity to seize momentum with a big play on special teams.
Prediction
The Jags roll into the game as a 22.5-point favorite over the Golden Eagles. The Southern Miss fanbase may just be ready for the season to be over and done with. They wouldn’t mind getting a couple of wins to end the season, but are they able to regroup at this point and execute at a high enough level to win.
Meanwhile my ability to predict what this team can and will do continues to be beyond my grasp. The only consistency is that I cannot consistently prognosticate which Jaguar team will show up to play. I’ll go ahead and apologize if my prediction does not pan out. But I think the Jags will cover the 22.5 point spread and earn bowl eligibility this week running their all-time record against the Golden Eagles to 5-0.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Stops Two-Point Conversion Late To Defeat Cajuns 24-22
South Alabama raced out to an early lead with touchdowns on their first three possessions of the game. But held off a second half surge and turned away a two-point conversion with under two minutes to go to earn a 24-22 win over Louisiana-Lafayette at Cajun Field.
The Jags (5-5, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) scored all of their points in the first half and held a 24-3 lead at halftime. The Cajuns (8-2, 5-1) scored a potential game-tying touchdown with 1:16 left in the game, but the Jaguar defense kept them out of the endzone on the two-point try. Then the onside kick bounced out of bounds to allow the Jags to run out the clock.
Gio Lopez scored the first two touchdowns on short runs. The third touchdown came by Kentrel Bullock. Laith Marjan added a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
“We were just executing the offense,” Lopez explained after the game. “We weren’t trying to do too much. If the hole was open, we took it. We game-planned for two weeks and we just executed it.”
The second half was all Cajuns though despite starting quarterback Ben Wooldridge being knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury early in the third quarter.
“The first half was really beautiful. In the second half, we made our mistakes,” head coach Major Applewhite said. “We had a special teams error that resulted in a field goal. We have a bust on the defensive call that ended up in a big touchdown, brining it within eight. But we also did some good things. After the issue on the punt, we held them to a field goal. We did more the ball a little bit, obviously we need to sustain drives better in the second half; put points up on the board. But when it mattered, we got some first downs and took some time off the clock.”
The Cajuns drove deep into Jaguar territory twice and were turned away with only field goals for a 24-9 score in the fourth quarter.
The Jaguar offense couldn’t sustain any drives in the second half. After a punt with 9:30 remaining in the game, Chandler Fields found Dre’Lyn Washington for a 66-yard touchdown to shrink the Jaguar advantage to just one score, 25-16 with 8:28 left.
As the Jags were trying to burn clock, Lopez was picked off on a deep pass with 5:30 left in the game. The Cajuns then proceeded to drive 85 yards, aided by penalties for offsides and pass interference, to score to get within two points on a two-yard quarterback keeper off left tackle with 1:16 left. The two-point conversion was almost the same play with Fields running off left tackle, but this time Wy’Kevious Thomas was there to deny him the endzone.
Stats
| Stat | South Alabama | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Total Yards | 353 | 413 |
| Passing Yards | 285 | 276 |
| Rushing Yards | 68 | 137 |
| 3rd Downs | 4-of-11 | 4-of-13 |
| 4th Downs | 1-of-2 | 3-of-4 |
South Alabama
Lopez finished the game 24-of-34 for 285 yards with an interception. He also ran for 34 yards and two touchdowns.
Jamaal Pritchett led all receivers with 170 yards on 11 catches. Shamar Sandgren had 3 catches for 41 yards and Jeremiah Webb added 31 yards on 4 catches.
Fluff Bothwell was held to 38 yards on 9 carries and Kentrel Bullock was held to only 24 yards on 9 carries.
Jaden Voisin led the defense with 10 total stops, 6 solo, with an interception that gives him the program record for career interceptions.
Louisiana-Lafayette
Ben Wooldridge was 8-of-13 for 91 yards and an interception before having to leave the game. Chandler Fields came in and went 14-of-17 for 185 yards and a touchdown.
Harvey Broussard led the Cajuns with 84 yards on 6 catches. Lance LeGendre led the Cajuns with 7 catches for 75 yards. Dre’Lyn Washington had one catch for 66 yards and a touchdown. Terrance Carter had 5 catches for 41 yards.
Bill Davis led the Cajuns with 50 yards rushing on 16 carries. Washington had 41 yards on 5 carries. Fields had 28 yards on 7 carries with a touchdown.
Next
The Jags will travel to Southern Miss for a 2pm kickoff in Hattiesburg, MS on ESPN+. If the Jags win, they will earn bowl eligibility for the third-consecutive season, a program first. A chance to win the SBC West Division is still alive but it will require the Jags to win out and get some help.
Preview: South Alabama Travels To Louisiana-Lafayette For West Division Showdown
Kickoff: Saturday, November 16, 6pm
Venue: Cajun Field, Lafayette, LA
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
The South Alabama Jaguars are back on the road this weekend for the first road game in over a month. They travel to Lafayette, LA to take on the West Division leading Ragin’ Cajuns for a very pivotal game as the end of the regular season is quickly approaching.
The Jags (4-5, 3-2 Sun Belt Conference) all but had their hopes to represent the west in the conference title game dashed two weeks ago. Georgia Southern took advantage of two opportunities given to them and seized control of the game for a 34-30 defeat of USA on November 2nd. A game the Jags should have won.
The Cajuns (8-1, 5-0) may be playing some of their best football of the season right now. They enter the game coming off of a 55-19 blowout of Arkansas State at Cajun Field last Saturday.
This is an opportunity for the Jags to earn a season-defining win and creep one game closer to bowl eligibility. They’ve already let two conference wins slip from their grasp this season. They held the lead against both Arkansas State and Georgia Southern when they held the lead late in the game. They cannot afford to let any more slip away as their path to earn bowl eligibility is narrowing by the week.
The Cajuns have a history of winning and their home stadium is a difficult place to play. Head coach Major Applewhite and the Jags have their work cut out for them this week. Hopefully coming into the game after an off week will work to their advantage.
Let’s dig into the opponent some along with the season stats to this point.
Louisiana-Lafayette
The Cajuns are under the direction of Michael Desormeaux, who is in his third season as head coach of the program. He was a former record-setting quarterback for Louisiana-Lafayette.
In both seasons as head coach, he’s led ULL to its fifth and sixth-consecutive bowl games, which is a school record. He has a career head coaching record of 21-15 (11-9 SBC) including his win in the 2021 New Orleans Bowl as interim head coach. However, he has lost both bowl games he’s coached since then.
He was named the head coach after joining the staff in 2016 and helped the program win four consecutive SBC West Division titles (2018-2021) and won its first outright SBC Championship in program history in 2021 when he was serving a Co-Offensive coordinator. His offense ranked 3rd in the Sun Belt in both scoring offense and total offense during the 2021 13-win season.
Desormeaux was the only member that Billy Napier retained from the previous staff when he was hired.
Offense
Ben Wooldridge is 177-of-258 (68.6%) for 2,301 yards with 17 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Chandler Fields is 10-of-12 (83.3%) for 97 yards on the season in three games.
The Cajuns spread the ball around pretty equally. They have five players with 21 or more pass receptions and over 200 yards receiving on the season.
Terrance Carter has 558 yards on 36 catches (both lead the team) with four touchdowns. Lance LeGrendre has 515 yards on 27 catches with four touchdowns. Harvey Broussard has 271 yards on 18 catches for three touchdowns.
Similarly, the offensive backfield spreads the ball around a lot too. They have three running backs with over 400 yards rushing and over 50 carries each. Bill Davis leads the backfield with 585 yards on 98 carries with 5 touchdowns. Zylan Perry has 463 yards on 73 carries with two touchdowns. Dre’lyn Washington has 412 yards on 56 carries with 5 touchdowns. Ben Wooldridge has 190 yards on 56 carries with 5 touchdowns.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 32.2 |
| Total Offense | 392.4 |
| Passing Offense | 216.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 175.7 |
| Time of Possession | 29:06 |
| Penalty Yards | 48.6 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 68 of 167 (41%) |
| 4th Downs | 11 of 20 (55%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 42 of 52 (81%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 30 of 52 (58%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 79 – 632 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 27 – 12 |
Defense
KC Ossai leads the team with 76 total stops, 41 solo, with two tackles for loss, three pass breakups and 0.5 sacks. Carmycah Glass has 51 total stops, 30 solo, with 3.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks.
Cameron Whitfield leads the team with five sacks and six TFLs.
Tyrone Lewis and Tyree Skipper are both tied for the team lead with four interceptions each.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 28.6 |
| Total Offense | 385.8 |
| Passing Offense | 215 |
| Rushing Offense | 170.8 |
| Time of Possession | 30:51 |
| Penalty Yards | 48.9 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 89 of 200 (45%) |
| 4th Downs | 23 of 31 (74%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 48 of 58 (83%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 37 of 58 (64%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 70 – 636 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 16 – 9 |
Special Teams
Nathan Torney is averaging 39.6 yards per punt with 10 fair catches, 5 downed inside the 20 and a long of 54 yards.
Kenneth Almendares is 19-of-21 placekicking (90.5%) with his only misses coming from 50+ yards. He does have a season long of 53 yards to his credit.
Jacob Bernard returns most puts for the Cajuns and he is averaging 5.8 yards per return. His longest was 32 yards.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags currently sit 1st in the conference in scoring offense, 2nd in the Sun Belt Conference in rushing offense while 2nd in the conference in total offense and time of possession. Nationally the Jags are 15th in rushing offense, 21st in scoring offense, 14th in total offense, 35th in time of possession. But they are also 2nd nationally in Passes Had Intercepted (2), 5th Turnovers Lost (6), and 5th in Punt Returns (17.5).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 35.2 |
| Total Offense | 457.1 |
| Passing Offense | 266.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 190.3 |
| Time of Possession | 32:29 |
| Penalty Yards | 44.4 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 54 of 108 (50%) |
| 4th Downs | 7 of 12 (58.3%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 40 of 43 (93%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 27 of 43 (62.8%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 51 – 400 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 3 – 0 |
Gio Lopez is 150-of-230 (65.2%) for 1,889 yards with 14 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. Bishop Davenport is 28-of-48 (58.3%) for 293 yards with 1 touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett continues to distance himself from the remainder of the receivers. He has 62 catches for 769 yards and 7 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 27 catches for 326 yards. Jeremiah Webb has 333 yards on 20 catches with two touchdowns.
Fluff Bothwell barely holds the team lead in rushing yards with 611 on 91 carries while leading the team with 10 rushing touchdowns. He also ranks 1st in the conference with his 10 touchdowns and 10th nationally in rush yards per carry (6.77). Kentrel Bullock has 606 yards on 102 carries with 5 touchdowns. Lopez has rushed for 393 yards on 62 carries with 4 touchdowns.
Defense
The Jags defense stacks up pretty good in the several categories in the conference. They are 2nd in Rush Defense, 3rd in 3rd down defense and red zone defense, 4th in scoring defense and 1st down defense, 6th in 4th down defense, and 7th in total defense.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 21.8 |
| Total Offense | 335.4 |
| Passing Offense | 173 |
| Rushing Offense | 162.4 |
| Time of Possession | 27:31 |
| Penalty Yards | 44.8 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 51 of 111 (46%) |
| 4th Downs | 8 of 9 (88.9%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 25 of 25 (100%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 18 of 25 (72%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 44 – 403 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick paces the defense with 68 total stops, 28 solo, with one sack and 5 TFLs. Jordan Scruggs is next on the team with 49 total stops, 23 solo, with 3 TFLs and an interception.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with 3 interceptions. Courtney McBride Jr leads the team with 4 sacks and 6.5 TFLs.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen is averaging 41.7 yards per punt with 13 fair catches, 13 downed inside the 20-yard line, two touchbacks and 2 50+ kicks and a long of 67 yards.
Laith Marjan is 14-of-15 (93.3%) with his only miss coming from 50+ yards out. He has a season long of 49 yards.
Pritchett is averaging 17.5 yards per punt return with one touchdown on the year.
Braylon McReynolds, after re-emerging for the Jags, showed up on kickoff returns and is averaging 25.3 yards per return over his three kick returns. Unfortunately, he fumbled in his second return attempt that gave Georgia Southern a big boost of momentum to get back into the game.
Keys to the Game
Don’t beat yourself
The Jags were mired with 13 penalties for 99 yards, with 10 of them coming from the offense. Six were false starts, three holding and one offensive pass interference. This was at home too, not on the road in a loud stadium in hostile environment.
While the officiating in the game, and the conference, is something that can easily be debated (look for more about this soon). You still have to play very disciplined football and you just cannot set your team back like that so many times.
That has to be cleaned up to compete against the Cajuns.
Turnovers
One key turnover very early in the fourth quarter solidly swung the momentum into Georgia Southern’s favor. After the Jags had taken a commanding 30-14 lead, but had just given up a touchdown after miscommunication on the kickoff gave the Eagles a short field. On the kickoff, Braylon McReynolds took the kickoff at the 3-yard line but fumbled the ball on the return giving the Eagles the ball at the Jaguars 21-yard line. Just a couple plays later they had cut the lead to a mere 3 points.
The Jags have a +7-turnover margin on the season while the Cajuns have a +8-turnover margin. The Cajuns have 9 interceptions while the Jags have 11 takeaways by interception. Since both teams protect the ball very well, but generate takeaways, if either team can force one it could prove to be big storyline in this game.
The Jags rank 2nd in the nation with only 2 interceptions thrown on the season.
Stretching the Defense
The Jags and Gio Lopez have not been very accurate taking deep shots downfield. From memory, it has seemed that Lopez has been overthrowing his receivers lately. It could be from his limited reps in practice due to his lingering turf toe injury. Hopefully with some extra rest his toe will be in better shape going into the game against the Cajuns and have allowed him more practice reps during game week.
If he can stretch the field on some deep passes, it will further open up running lanes and play action passes.
Prediction
After being favored over the last few games, the Jags now find themselves the underdog on the road. The Cajuns are a 7-point favorite to win.
The Cajuns lead the series 9-3 and have a 5-1 record at home. This game could have a lot of fireworks as these two teams are two of the top offenses in the conference. The Cajuns just edge out the Jags in total offense 457.1 to 455.1.
I don’t have the best feeling about this after watching what the Cajuns did last week against Arkansas State and the week before against Texas State. It really depends which Jaguar team gets off the bus for the game.
I think with an extra week to prepare, I think the Jags cover but Cajuns pull out the win.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama vs Georgia Southern
Kickoff: Saturday, November 2, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
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 enters this week’s game with an even record overall and looks to both break some bad patterns and continue some good patterns when they host Georgia Southern on Saturday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The Jags (4-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) comes in after winning their last two match-ups on the season, both at home. This will be the third and final game of a three-game home stand by the Jags. They also have a two-game streak going against Georgia Southern (5-3, 3-1 SBC).
They are also the only two wins the Jags have had in nine meetings between the two programs.
We also alluded to breaking a streak. Dating back to the 2023 season the Jags have had a curious pattern going. They tend to win and lose in pairs. It’s not a perfect pattern, it was technically broken by the win in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Or was it just interrupted?
Head Coach Major Applewhite can have a testy side to him. Last week when a reporter brought up that his team was 3-0 in weeknight games but 0-4 in Saturday games, he didn’t seem very…entertaining of that question. This week the same reporter asked about “the pattern” as I have referred to it.
“This is about as much prosperity as we can handle,” Applewhite joked. “So, everybody brace themselves it’s time to go win three in a row.”
It’s good to see both sides of coach Applewhite, throwing some shade and also tossing out a laugh.
The Eagles come to Mobile tied for first place in the Sun Belt East Division and looking to keep it that way. But they are tied with Old Dominion who holds the tiebreaker based on their 47-19 head-to-head loss on Thursday, October 17. They will have a slight advantage over the Jags since they will be coming in with a couple extra days to prepare.
But enough of that, let’s take a look at some of the team stats.
Georgia Southern
Clay Helton is in his third season at the helm in Statesboro. He’s led the Eagles to back-to-back 6-7 seasons with losses in the Camellia Bowl (2022) and the Myrtle Beach Bowl (2023). He came to Georgia Southern after spending 11 years at USC in all. He started as the quarterbacks coach under Lane Kiffin then was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013. He served at interim head coach when the previous interim head coach, Ed Orgeron, resigned following the hiring of Steve Sarkisian. In the 2015 season he served as the interim head coach again when Sarkisian took a leave of absence. USC then they promoted him to the head coach.
Helton went 46-24 over his time as head coach at USC and notably with a win in the 2017 Rose Bowl over Penn State.
Fans in Statesboro are getting a little itchy to get back to their winning way more like they had previously. Everything was looking up and up until their upset loss to Old Dominion.
Offense
Ryan Aplin has helped Helton transform Georgia State into a passing team. After setting just about every passing record for the Eagles in 2022, the 2023 season saw the Eagles finish in the top 20 nationally in passing yards per game with many of the records previously set falling again.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 28.6 |
| Total Offense | 379.1 |
| Passing Offense | 252.1 |
| Rushing Offense | 127 |
| Time of Possession | 30:24 |
| Penalty Yards | 47.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 50 of 112 (44.6%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 9 (66.7%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 25 of 27 (92.6%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 22 of 27 (81.5%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 45 – 380 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 16 – 7 |
JC French is 169 of 265 (63.8%) for 1,790 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He is also the fourth leading rusher on the team with 138 yards on 68 attempts with one touchdown.
Dalen Cobb leads the team in catches with 37 for 434 yards and three touchdowns. Derwin Burgess Jr leads the team in receiving yards with 440 on 35 catches with three touchdowns as well.
Josh Dallas has 25 catches for 325 yards and a pair of touchdowns. LV Bunkley-Shelton has 20 catches for 216 yards. Tyler Fromm has 18 catches for 211 yards and two touchdowns as the final pass catcher with over 100 yards receiving for the season.
Jalen White leads the ground game with 393 yards on 92 carries with seven touchdowns. OJ Arnold has 253 yards on 43 carries with three touchdowns. David Mbadinga adds 145 yards on 35 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
Defense
Brandon Bailey is in his second season as defensive coordinator for Georgia Southern. In 2023 the Eagles finished top 30 nationally in passes intercepted, defensive touchdowns and tackles for loss.
In 2022 he was the youngest defensive coordinator in FBS while at the University of Buffalo. His defense finished 7th nationally with 28 turnovers, 7th nationally in interceptions with 13, and 2nd nationally with 15 forced fumbles. They were 4th in the MAC in scoring.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 30.5 |
| Total Offense | 457.6 |
| Passing Offense | 272.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 185.1 |
| Time of Possession | 29:36 |
| Penalty Yards | 83.9 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 51 of 110 (46.4%) |
| 4th Downs | 5 of 13 (38.5%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 24 of 26 (92.3%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 19 of 26 (73.1%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 69 – 671 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Marques Watson-Trent (r-Sr LB) far and away leads the team with 77 stops, 34 solo. He also leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss and is in a three-way tie for second on the team with 1.5 sacks. He is a big disrupter too with four forced fumbles, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
Marc Stampley II (Jr DB) leads the team in sacks (2) and pass breakups (7), and is tied for the team lead in interceptions (2).
Special Teams
Alex Smith is averaging 43 yards per punt attempt with 20 fair catches, 15 downed inside the 20, 5 punts of over 50 yards, and a long of 63 yards.
Gavin Stewart is 7 of 9 placekicking for the Eagles with a long of 53 yards. He is 24 of 26 on extra point attempts.
South Alabama
Offense
The Jags currently sit 1st in the Sun Belt Conference in rushing offense and scoring offense while 2nd in the conference in total offense and time of possession. Nationally the Jags are 14th in rushing offense, 22nd in scoring offense, 19th in total offense, 29th in time of possession. But they are also 2nd nationally in Passes Had Intercepted (1), Turnovers Lost (4), and 3rd in Punt Returns (21.5).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.3 |
| Total Offense | 454.8 |
| Passing Offense | 238.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 216.3 |
| Time of Possession | 31:41 |
| Penalty Yards | 70.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 43 of 102 (42.2%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 10 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 32 of 38 (84.2%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 24 of 38 (63.2%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 63 – 564 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 7 – 3 |
After a predominantly ground game last week Gio Lopez is 128 of 200 (64%) for 1,632 yards, 13 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Behind his career-high 11 catches last week, Jamaal Pritchett has 50 receptions for 662 yards and 6 touchdowns for the season. Second place on the team in receptions is Devin Voisin with 22 for 260 yards. Jeremiah Webb is third on the team in receptions with 17 but second on the team in reception yardage with 276 and a pair of touchdowns. DJ Thomas-Jones is second on the team in touchdown receptions with 3.
Fluff Bothwell continues to lead the Jags rushing attack with 580 yards on 85 carries with 8 touchdowns as a true freshman. His average of 6.88 yards per carry is 9th in the nation while his rushing touchdowns is 28th, but 1st among true freshmen.
Kentrel Bullock is not too far behind him with 505 yards on 85 carries with 5 touchdowns. Lopez is third on the team with 350 yards on 55 carries with 4 touchdowns. His 5.93 yards per carry ranks 38th nationally.
Defense
The Jags defense stacks up pretty good in the several categories in the conference. They are 2nd in Rush Defense, 3rd in 3rd down defense and red zone defense, 4th in scoring defense and 1st down defense, 6th in 4th down defense, and 7th in total defense.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 23.6 |
| Total Offense | 401.7 |
| Passing Offense | 268.4 |
| Rushing Offense | 133.3 |
| Time of Possession | 28:19 |
| Penalty Yards | 47.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 39 of 107 (36.5%) |
| 4th Downs | 4 of 11 (36.4%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 22 of 28 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13 of 28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 42 – 378 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick continues to pace the team with 58 total stops, 23 solo. He also has a sack, 5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble to his resume. Jordan Scruggs is second on the team with 41 total stops, 19 solo, with an interception and a pass breakup.
Courtney McBride leads the team with 3 sacks. Tyler Thomas is next with 2 sacks.
Jaden Voisin’s three interceptions leads the team and is 14th nationally.
Wesley Miller’s interception against ULM ties him with Lardarius Webb for second on the team with two each.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 41.9 yards per punt with 13 downed inside the 20, 12 fair catches, 2 touchbacks, two kicks of 50+ yards and a season long of 67 yards.
Laith Marjan is 11 of 12 (91.7%) in field goals for the season, his only miss was from 52 yards. His season long is 49 yards. He is now officially 26 of 28 on extra points, but that counts as a miss against ULM was due to a poor snap and hold.
Jamaal Pritchett is still averaging 21.9 yards per punt return with the 1 touchdown on the season.
Keys to the Game
Turnovers
Georgia Southern’s defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey prioritizes defensive turnovers. They’ve forced seven interceptions but have only recovered three fumbles of the eight fumbles by opponents. On the other hand, the Eagles offense has turned the ball over 13 times (6 INT, 7 fumbles). Astonishingly, the Eagles have put the ball on the ground 16 times. So overall the Eagles are -3 in turnover margin.
South Alabama is very protective of the ball with only 4 offensive turnovers (3 fumbles, 1 INT). Defensively the Jags are pretty good at generating takeaways with 14 overall (11 INT, 3 fumbles) for a turnover margin of +11.
If past patterns continue, the Jags may have some opportunities to force some turnovers.
RTDB
The Jags found their offensive identity again last week: Run the damn ball.
In three of their four wins this season, the Jags have rushed for 300+ yards. The second half against ULM the Jags fully committed to the run and they ran all over the Warhawks.
The running back trio of Bothwell, Bullock and McReynolds were able to shoulder the run load and Gio only had to give the ball off. On passes, he stayed in the pocket more and didn’t move out immediately when he felt some pressure. Hopefully that was planned and not a change due to his lingering turf toe injury from week 1.
Getting the running backs rolling is a huge advantage for the Jags.
Pass Rush
Georgia Southern is predominantly a passing offense. Historically this has given the Jags problems. Generating a pass rush has been problematic in those instances. If they can get to the quarterback and make him uncomfortable, they can disrupt what they do and maybe force some more interceptions out of their quarterback.
Prediction
South Alabama is in the thick of the Sun Belt Conference West race. They have a chance to make another statement with a win. ULM entered with a darling storyline and the Jags were able to make a statement last week. Now they have a chance to knock off one of the eastern division leaders.
But it would also be nice to break “the pattern” and continue the current streak against the Eagles.
The Jags enter the match-up as a 6.5-point favorite. Once again, I have a feeling that the line is too high for whatever reason. I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they’ll cover. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here, I’m completely open to them proving me wrong.
Go Jags!
Preview: West Division Showdown Against ULM
Kickoff: Saturday, October 26, 4pm
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: TBA
Homecoming is a special tradition that dates back to the early 20th century. A number of schools claim they started the tradition as early at 1909, but a few sources have given the honor to the University of Missouri in 1911 when they faced Kansas and encouraged alumni to attend.
What does this have to do with South Alabama? Nothing really, other than this is homecoming week for the Jags.
Schools have started scheduling “easy” games for homecoming if they have the ability. With Sun Belt schools, they are…encouraged… to schedule all of their non-conference games in the first four weeks of the season. With schools who adhere to that scheduling “suggestion” that leaves scheduling your homecoming game against a conference foe.
That’s where we are now.
South Alabama (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) will host their annual homecoming game this Saturday with the ULM Warhawks (5-1, 3-0 SBC).
Yes, you read that right! A Saturday game at Hancock Whitney Stadium! The Jags last played a Saturday home game in the season opener on August 31st.
Scheduling a conference opponent as your homecoming foe can be bulletin board material. Which ULM head coach Bryant Vincent has already alluded to this in his weekly press conference. They also enter the game after a full bye week, they last played on October 12th.
The Warhawks are out to a 5-1 start on the season for the first time ever as a FBS team and the first since 1987 when they played in Division I-AA (now known as FCS). Their 3-0 start in conference play is their first since 2017.
ULM has made a very quick turnaround since the hiring of Vincent. They were picked to finish last in the conference in the SBC Preseason poll but are currently tied atop the SBC West Division standings with Louisiana-Lafayette. Two of their three conference wins have been against teams that aren’t very good. Troy, which we previewed last week, has been plagued by injuries, loss of talent, and a coaching change. Last time out they defeated a downtrodden and dejected Southern Miss team who just fired their head coach after their latest loss. But in between those two games they defeated a James Madison team that has also seen a coaching change after last season’s magical run.
USA enters the game after a long rest from their Tuesday night win over Troy. The 25-9 victory broke a six-game losing streak to the in-state rival and hopefully propels them toward a strong finish down the stretch. They need at least three wins in their final five games to get bowl eligible for the third consecutive season, which would be another milestone for the rather young program.
South Alabama has an opportunity to knock off one of the top teams in the conference and the western division. While the Jags don’t completely control their destiny after the loss to Arkansas State, they have the remainder of the western division on their schedule to round out the season. If they win out, they still need a little help with Arkansas State.
But for that scenario to play out, they need to win on Saturday.
Louisiana-Monroe
Bryant Vincent was named the head coach in December of 2023 after ULM had only won 10 games in the previous three seasons under Tery Bowden.
Vincent has the Warhawks sitting at 5-1 and just one game away from bowl eligibility, which would be the first time since the 2018 season the Warhawks has won six games in a season.
Vincent was the offensive coordinator at the University of New Mexico for the 2023 season. He helped lead the Lobos to a top-20 ranking in red zone offense and rushing offense.
Prior to New Mexico, he was at UAB from 2018 to 2022 where he served as the offensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2022 when Bill Clark retired due to health reasons. He led the Blazers to a 7-6 record and a win the 2022 Bahamas Bowl. UAB’s offense averaged 30.1 points per game and 438.2 yards per game, which was in the top 35 of the nation. Also, during his tenure at UAB the Blazers set a FBS-program record for wins in a season (11-3), as they went 48-27 overall in his six seasons there. In the 2018 season alone the offense set new records for total points (418), total touchdowns (53), rushing touchdowns (32), total yards (5,680), and rushing yards (2,818).
Prior to UAB, Vincent was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Alabama. He helped lead the Jags to the 2016 Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl and record setting quarterback Dallas Davis, who at the time, threw for a school record 2,706 yards.
Before USA for the second time, he was hired at UAB as the offensive coordinator for a season in 2014 before the program was shut down. Before that he was at USA as tight ends coach in 2011 and then quarterbacks in 2012.
He was an accomplished high school football coach before jumping ranks to the college game. He was the 5A coach of the year at Greenville in 2006 and then went 39-13 at Spanish Fort High School from 2007-2010 winning a state title in his final season with the Toros.
Offense
In the press release announcing the finalization of Vincent’s staff it had Jamaal Fobbs as offensive coordinator, whoever it’s not on his official title. Before ULM he was assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Mile College. Before that he spent six seasons as the running backs coach for Tulane.
His experience building Tulane’s rushing attack into the top rush game in the AAC in 2020 with an average of 217.1 yards per game and 32 touchdowns (2nd nationally).
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 22.8 |
| Total Offense | 279.8 |
| Passing Offense | 123.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 156.3 |
| Time of Possession | 31:23 |
| Penalty Yards | 56.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 29 of 80 (36.3%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 8 (75%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 14 of 14 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 8 of 14 |
| Penalties – Yards | 47 – 339 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 3 – 1 |
Aidan Armenta is the Warhawks leading passer going 37 of 62 (59.7%) for 481 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. General Booty is 28 of 53 (52.8%) for 241 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Jake Godfrey is the teams leading receiver by yardage with 191 on 13 catches with a touchdown. Davon Wells is the teams leading pass catcher with 16 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown. Three other receivers each have caught one touchdown each.
Ahmad Hardy leads the team rushing with 500 yards on 99 carries with 6 touchdowns. James Jones has 172 yards on 43 carries with a touchdown.
Defense
Earnest Hill came to ULM from UAB after two seasons at UAB as the Stars/Nickels coach. Before UAB he was the running backs coach at South Alabama during the 2021 season.
Prior to USA he was head coach at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School where he went 40-8 overall with a state championship game appearance in his first season at the helm.
Through the first half of the season the defense has played very strong. If you take out the 51-3 loss to #1 Texas, the Warhawks are allowing an average of 13.8 points per game and will be an interesting matchup against the South Alabama offense.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 20 |
| Total Offense | 341.3 |
| Passing Offense | 189.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 151.5 |
| Time of Possession | 28:37 |
| Penalty Yards | 66.2 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 30 of 79 (38%) |
| 4th Downs | 4 of 15 (26.7%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 16 of 17 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 10 of 17 |
| Penalties – Yards | 56 – 397 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 4 |
Carl Glass Jr leads the team in stops with 48, 20 solo, with a half sack, two quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble. Wydett Williams Jr leads the team in interceptions with 3 but is also second on the team with 47 total stops, 20 solo, with a sack, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Billy Pullen leads the team with 4 sacks. Tristan Shorter is right behind him with 3 sacks.
Kevontay Wells leads the Warhawks with 7.5 tackles for loss with Pullen in line behind him with 5.5 TFLs.
Special Teams
Makenzie Ryan is averaging 39.6 yards per punt on his 31 kicks, with 15 downed inside the 20, nine fair catches, 3 touchbacks and 2 kicks of 50+ with his longest going 59 yards.
Max Larson is 8-of-10 on field goals with both of his misses coming from 40+ yards via blocks. His season long is 47 yards. He is also 14-of-15 on extra point attempts.
Davon Wells is averaging 7.4 yards per punt return across his 5 returns.
South Alabama
Thankfully the Jags had a long rest after the last game to prepare for this week. It also allowed them extra time to let the emotional high to wear off from the rivalry game win over Troy. Also to allow some extra time for players to heal from a very physical game.
While the defense played very good against Troy, the offense struggled against what is still a very strong defensive unit for the Trojans. The offensive line and the Troy defensive front were battling hard every down and made the Jags earn every yard they gained.
Defensively the Jags held the Trojans under 100 yards of total offense until late in the third quarter.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 34.9 |
| Total Offense | 445 |
| Passing Offense | 248.6 |
| Rushing Offense | 196.4 |
| Time of Possession | 31:56 |
| Penalty Yards | 70.6 |
Gio Lopez is 110-for-170 (64.7%) for 1,464 yards, 13 touchdowns and 1 interception in the six games he’s played this season.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the team with 39 catches for 573 yards and 6 touchdowns. Jeremiah Webb is coming up the list and is second on the team in receiving yards with 253 on 15 catches with 2 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 224 yards on 19 catches.
Fluff Bothwell leads the team with 461 yards on 68 carries with 6 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 364 yards on 67 carries with three touchdowns. Gio is third on the team with 325 yards on 52 carries with three touchdowns.
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 36 of 89 (40.5%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 10 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 27 of 32 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 19 of 32 |
| Penalties – Yards | 57 – 494 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 2 |
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 24.6 |
| Total Offense | 403.7 |
| Passing Offense | 285.4 |
| Rushing Offense | 118.3 |
| Time of Possession | 28:04 |
| Penalty Yards | 52.6 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 36 of 92 (39.1%) |
| 4th Downs | 2 of 7 (28.6%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 21 of 26 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 12 of 26 |
| Penalties – Yards | 40 – 368 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 7 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick leads the defense with 51 total tops, 20 solo, with 4 TFLs, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next with 36 total stops, 17 solo, with 2.5 TFLs, an interception and a pass breakup.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with three interceptions, and is tied for the career record at South Alabama. Lardarius Webb Jr has two interceptions. Scruggs and three other players have one interception each.
Courtney McBride Jr leads the team with 3 sacks. Tyler Thomas has two sacks.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen is averaging 40.5 yards per kick across his 24 punts with 11 downed inside the 20, 10 fair caught and 1 kick of 50 yards.
Laith Marjan is 10-of-11 on the season with the only miss coming from a 52-yard attempt. His longest made attempt was from 49 yards. He is also 21-of-22 on extra point attempts.
Keys to the Game
Offensive Identity
The Jags offense needs to find its identity again. After putting up 135 points in the two games against Northwestern State and Appalachian State, the Jags are averaging only 17 points per game over their last three. Or if you want to toss aside the LSU game, the Jags are averaging 20.5 points per game over their last two outings against Sun Belt opponents.
Either way you stack it, their offense isn’t running with the same effectiveness as it did over the first few games of the season. Some of it can be blamed on injuries. Reed Buys, arguably the best offensive lineman, has missed some playing time. Gio Lopez suffered a turf toe injury in the season opener and sat out the second game. But that injury will continue to plague him the rest of the season until he can rest it for an extended amount of time.
The Warhawks defense has been a scrappy, stingy bunch and they will do whatever they can to disrupt the Jags offense and keep them off the scoreboard. So, they need to find what their identity going forward is going to be and quick.
Penalties
The Jags had 100 yards assessed in penalty yardage against the Trojans. There were only nine flags on them too. That’s a lot of yardage to give back. That’s over half of the Trojans offensive yardage total for the game in just penalties for the Jags.
The worst were the offensive procedure penalties that kept putting the Jags behind the down and distance schedule.
Cleaning up these issues with recurring procedure penalties need to be a high priority.
Stopping the Run
This is a strength of the Jags defense, but ULM’s offense is predicated on the run game. If they have problems stopping the run, it could be a long night for South Alabama.
But the linebacker corps, which was already thin, lost one of their most experienced players for the season last week. Gavin Forsha suffered a knee injury against Troy and sounds like he is out for the season.
How will this affect the defense? We’ll soon see.
Prediction
The Jags entered at a 7.5-point favorite and it’s been shown that my predictions against the spread with USA has not been the best. But let’s do this again.
ULM seems to be playing well but if you look closer at their schedule so far, you really don’t get a sense of the team. The Texas game went about as expected honestly. The overall record of their opponents so far is 17-24 with three opponents with only one win on their resumes and all three of them being wins over FCS programs.
The win over UAB was more satisfactory in a revenge storyline, but you cannot count it as a quality win when their record is 1-6 with their only win over FCS Alcorn State.
The quality win of the season so far is James Madison (5-2), who’s only other loss is Georgia Southern.
Similar to the last two wins, the Jags need to jump on the Warhawks early and force ULM to play from behind. Their offense really doesn’t lend itself to play from multi-score deficit. Their identity on offense is to run the ball and chew the clock. Coaches on both sides have been saying that possessions will be at a premium in the game.
So, a bonus Key to the Game will be turnovers. Both teams are good at forcing turnovers. The Jags are +9 for the season and ULM is +4. If possessions are at a premium as the coaches alluded to, a turnover that leads to points would be a huge advantage to the benefiting team.
I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they cover the 7.5.
Go Jags!
Jags Win The Battle For The Belt, 25-9
Major Applewhite did what his two predecessors could not: defeat Troy and get the Belt back. Tonight, his team did just that behind a stifling defense and three turnovers at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
“I’m just very excited for our players, for our campus, for our city,” coach Applewhite said. “This is a big game, a rivalry game, that we haven’t been as competitive in, in years past. To see our staff, our players and our fans pull together, it was awesome.”
“I’m so happy for our seniors, and so proud of them, to get the Belt back this year,” Applewhite said.
South Alabama (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) earned their first win over the Trojans (1-6, 0-3) in the last seven tries dating back to 2017. It was also the first win over them in Mobile since the Jags faced them at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in 2014, the first-ever game officially dubbed the “Battle for the Belt.” It also marks the first win over Troy on-campus.
The Jaguar defense held the Trojans to under 100 yards until very late in the fourth quarter. They would have kept them out of the end zone had it not been for a very puzzling call by the officials deep in the fourth quarter. On a deep pass to the near sideline an official “inadvertently” whistled the play dead. After the officials convened, they allowed the catch and run to stand as well as a penalty for roughing the passer to move them into the red zone.
Tucker Kilcrease started the game for the Trojans, but was pulled after an interception and a flubbed snap that led to a safety. Matthew Caldwell came in and led the Trojans to most of their success in the game.
After a couple possessions by each team with very little success, the Jags finally got in gear when the defense forced and incompletion on a 4th and 2 at the Jags 49. From there Gio Lopez led the offense down to the 17-yard line before the offense shot themselves in the foot with a holding penalty. Coach Applewhite settled for a 36-yard field goal to go up 3-0 late in the first quarter.
South Alabama broke the game open in the second quarter.
Kilcrease was picked off by Jaden Voisin at the Trojans own 22-yard line. Two plays later Lopez connected with Jeremiah Webb for a 24-yard touchdown to put the Jags up 10-0.
One the subsequent kickoff, Devonte Ross chose to return the kick from the goal line and was cut down at the 10-yard line. Kilcrease dumped the ball all to Mojo Dortch at the 6-yard line on the right side of the field. As he was going towards the sideline with several Jags bearing down on him, he retreated towards the end zone trying to reverse the field but would be brought down by Voisin at the 1-yard line. After Kilcrease ducked in behind his line and pushed forward for 4 yards, the ball would be snapped over his head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety and a 12-0 lead midway through the quarter.
After the Jags got the ball back on the free kick, it didn’t take long for the offense to get back on the board. On the 5th play of the drive, facing 4th & 2 Lopez would call his own number and, with the defense selling out for the run, once he broke through the line of scrimmage, he was off to the races for a 49-yard touchdown run for a 19-0 lead with 4:34 left in the opening half.
Troy then put together their best drive of the game at that point behind Matthew Caldwell coming in at quarterback. It led to the Trojans settling for a 36-yard field goal with only 18 seconds left in the half.
Troy got the ball to start the second half but the Jags forced a turnover on downs. Lopez connected with Javon Ivory for 57 yards to get into the Trojan red zone, but they couldn’t punch it in and had to settle for the first of two 42-yard field goals by Laith Marjan.
Late in the third quarter, Lardarius Webb picked off a deep pass at the Jags 6-yard line and returned it 72 yards to the Troy 22. But after a sack on Lopez, the Jags couldn’t get into the end zone again. Marjan added his second 42-yard field goal to make it 25-3.
Stats
| South Alabama | Troy | |
| Total Yards | 318 | 172 |
| Passing Yards | 158 | 136 |
| Rushing Yards | 160 | 36 |
| 3rd downs | 4-of-13 (30.8%) | 5-of-15 (33.3%) |
| 4th Downs | 0-of-2 | 0-of-0 |
| Penalties – Yards | 9 – 100 | 3 – 34 |
South Alabama
Gio Lopez finished 16-of-21 (76%) for 158 yards and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett led the Jags with 42 yards receiving on 3 catches. Jeremiah Wedd also had 3 catches but for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Lopez finished at the Jags leading rusher with 67 yards on 11 carried with the other Jag touchdown. Fluff Bothwell, wearing the honorary #5 jersey, finished with 53 yards on 12 carries. Kentrel Bullock had 38 yards on 15 carries.
Jordan Scruggs led the Jags with 6 total tackles, 4 solo.
Dalton Hughes and Courtney McBride Jr each had a sack as well as Jayln Durgan and Aakil Washington both had ½ a sack.
Jaden Voisin, Lardarius Webb jr, and Wesley Miller each had an interception in the game, Jaden’s 3rd pick of the season and Webb Jr’s second of the season.
Troy
Starting quarterback Tucker Kilcrease went 2-of-6 for -6 yards and an interception. Matthew Coldwell went 17-of-30 (57%) for 142 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Devonte Ross led the Trojans receivers with 70 yards on 7 catches with a touchdown. Peyton Higgins had 21 yards on 4 catches.
Damien Taylor led the Trojans rushing with 23 yards on 6 carries. Gerald Green had 14 yards on 6 attempts.
Jordan Stringer led the Trojans with 11 total stops, 5 solo, with 2 TFL’s. Brendan has 10 total stops, 5 solo with 4. 5 tackles for loss.
“We were sputtering so much offensively the whole night,” Applewhite observed. “For the defense to do what they did, it’s a testament to how they’ve continued to improve throughout the year.”
There’s two, maybe three, guys on that side that have played a lot of football,” Applewhite continued. “But you’ve seen steadily game-after-game, guys getting better, more confident.”
“I’m just very proud of these guys,” Applewhite finished.
Next
The Jags will have a long break, 11 days to be exact, before they host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, October 26 for a 4pm kickoff at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Preview: Battle For The Belt 2024
Kickoff: Tuesday, October 15, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN2
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Fluff Bothwell
Battle for the Belt.
The yearly renewal of the in-state rivalry between South Alabama and Troy has been fairly one sided over the last few years but the animosity between the two remains as heated as ever. Troy has won the last six meetings between the two, including a 28-10 victory last season that saw Gio Lopez get his first career start as a true freshman.
The Jags (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) and the Trojans (1-5, 0-2 SBC) both enter the game with something to prove and two-game losing streaks each. The Jags dropped a lopsided game at LSU then just over a week ago they lost a heart breaker at Arkansas State on a field goal with under a minute to go. Troy fell to Louisiana-Monroe and Texas State at home and see their path to a bowl game shrinking.
Both teams enter with a sense of urgency on top of the drive of playing in a rivalry game.
South Alabama hasn’t defeated Troy since the 19-8 defensive battle at Troy in 2017. Six consecutive losses. Steve Campbell went 0-3 and Kane Wommack went 0-3 in their coaching careers in the Battle for the Belt. Now head coach Major Applewhite gets to see how we fares in the rivalry.
The Jag seniors have never held the belt after a win while the Troy seniors have never had it leave their possession.
With two new head coaches, what does the 2024 renewals have in store for us?
Troy
The Trojans are led by first-year head coach Gerad Parker. He was selected to fill the position left vacant when Jon Sumrall left to take the head job at Tulane. He posting a 23-4 record overall and 16-2 in conference play during his time at Troy.
Parker previously served as offensive coordinator at Notre Dame for the 2023 season, where the Fighting Irish ranked 8th national averaging 39.1 points per game, 12th nationally in passing efficiency, and 29th in total offense. The Irish finished with a 9-3 record.
The 2022 season he was the tight ends coach at Notre Dame. Previous to Notre Dame, Parker served as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia for 2020-2021. Before that he had stops at Penn State, Duke, Purdue, Marshall, and UT Martin. He served as interim head coach for six games at Purdue in 2016.
The Trojans entered the season with only 11 seniors and only returned a few starters.
Offense
The offense is led by Sean Reagan who returns to Troy for his 11th season overall as a coach. He returns after a 5-year stint at West Virginia under former Troy head coach Neal Brown. Prior to his first stint at Troy, he served as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech.
In 2018 he was Co-offensive coordinator before leaving with Brown for West Virginia. He worked in varying capacities until he was named passing game coordinator for the 2023 season.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 20.7 |
| Total Offense | 334.2 |
| Passing Offense | 202.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 131.8 |
| Time of Possession | 28:32 |
| Penalty Yards | 69 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 38-of-79 (48.1%) |
| 4th Downs | 3-of-7 (42.9%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 13 of 13 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 8 of 13 |
| Penalties – Yards | 44 – 414 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 8 – 3 |
Goose Crowder is the Trojans starting quarterback but he’s missed time due to injury, including their previous game against Louisiana-Monroe. He is 43 of 62 (69.4%) for 543 yards and 5 touchdowns in five games played. Tucker Kilcrease, who started last week against the Warhawks, is 26 of 44 (59.1%) for 383 yards and three touchdowns. Matthew Caldwell has seen action in four games and is 27 of 45 (60%) for 288 yards with a touchdown and an interception but he too was injured.
Devonte Ross leads the Trojans with 31 catches for 556 yards and 7 touchdowns. Peyton Higgins has 20 catches for 187 yards. Zeriah Beason has 13 catches for 172 yards.
Damien Taylor leads the Trojan rushing attack with 399 yards on 68 carries with 2 touchdowns. Gerald Green has 201 yards on 47 carries with a touchdown. Kilcrease is third on the team with 118 yards on 34 carries.
Defense
The defense is under the direction of Dontae Wright, who also comes to Troy from West Virginia where he coached safeties from 2020-23. Before WVU he coaches safeties at Western Michigan 2018-19.
He previously served as defensive coordinator at Tennessee Tech in 2017 and at Morehead State in 2015.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 27.8 |
| Total Offense | 380.7 |
| Passing Offense | 198.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 181.8 |
| Time of Possession | 31:28 |
| Penalty Yards | 54.3 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 30-of-70 (42.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-6 (33.3%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 19 of 21 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 13 of 21 |
| Penalties – Yards | 35 – 326 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 4 – 1 |
Jordan Stringer (Jr LB) leads the team with 43 total stops, 20 solo, with 3 TFL’s, a sack and an interception. Justin Powe (Sr S) has 37 total stops, 23 solo, with a TFL and an interception.
Phillip Lee leads the team with 5 TFL’s. Six different players have one sack each as well as three different players have one interception each.
Special Teams
Robert Cole is averaging 40.4 yards per punt with 12 fair catches, 3 downed inside the 20, a touchback and a long of 59 yards.
Scott Taylor Renfroe is 7 of 8 on field goal attempts with a long of 49 yards and is also 13 of 14 on extra point attempts.
Ross leads the Trojans with an average of 36 yards per return across his 3 punt returns, with one returned for a touchdown.
South Alabama
The Jaguar offense and defense played out of character last time out against Arkansas State. The offense couldn’t move the ball consistently or well enough to score for most of the game. The defense, who played poorly over the first two games and LSU, played great holding the Red Wolves to only 18 points. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a stop when it mattered most though. Arkansas State marched right down the field on their final drive to set up the game winning field goal.
But what plagued the Jags the most last week were penalties. When you are penalized 11 times for a total of 100 yards, it’s hard to win a game.
While South Alabama has a very favorable turnover margin (+6), their only turnover last week was an interception at a terrible time. The interception thrown by Gio Lopez was the first interception thrown on the season by any Jaguar quarterback. They have fumbled six times but only lost the ball twice. Meanwhile the defense has recovered three fumbles and picked off opposing quarterbacks six times.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 36.5 |
| Total Offense | 466.2 |
| Passing Offense | 263.7 |
| Rushing Offense | 202.5 |
| Time of Possession | 31:16 |
| Penalty Yards | 65.7 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 31 of 74 (41.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 6 of 10 (60%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 24 of 28 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 19 of 28 |
| Penalties – Yards | 48 – 394 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 2 |
Gio Lopez is 94 of 149 (63.1%) for 1,306 yards, 12 touchdowns and one interception in five games. Bishop Davenport is 27 of 46 (58.7%) for 276 yards and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the receiving corps by a wide margin, he has almost 3x the catches as the next receiver on the team. He has 36 catches for 531 yards and 6 touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 18 catches for 221 yards. Jeremiah Webb has 12 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Eager has 6 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Fluff Bothwell leads the Jags with 408 rushing yards on 56 carries with 6 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 326 yards on 52 carries with 3 touchdowns. Lopez has 258 yards on 41 carries with 2 touchdowns.
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 27.2 |
| Total Offense | 442.3 |
| Passing Offense | 310.3 |
| Rushing Offense | 132 |
| Time of Possession | 28:44 |
| Penalty Yards | 55.7 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 32 of 79 (40.5%) |
| 4th Downs | 2 of 5 (40%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 19 of 24 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 12 of 24 |
| Penalties – Yards | 31 – 283 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 6 – 3 |
Blayne Myrick paces the team with 50 total stops, 20 solo, with 4 Tackles for Loss, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next in line with 30 total stops, 13 solo, with 2.5 TFL’s, and interception and a pass breakup.
Courtney McBride Jr and Tyler Thomas shared the lead with 2 sacks each.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with two interceptions. Scruggs, Amarion Fortenberry, Lardarius Webb Jr., and Chrystyile Caldwell have one pick each.
Special Teams
Aleksi Pulkkinen continues to be the team’s punter with an average of 41.2 yards per attempt across his 20 punts with 11 downed inside the 20 and 8 fair catches.
Laith Marjan is 7-of-8 on field goal attempts this season with a long of 49 yards and his only miss was from about 52 yards and has made 19 of his 20 extra point attempts.
Pritchett is averaging 24.5 yards per punt return including a 62-yard touchdown return against Northwestern Louisiana.
Keys to the Game
Injuries
The Jag offensive line dictate how the offense goes. Reed Buys missed about half or more of the Arkansas State game and the offense floundered outside of the two touchdown drives. It’s affected both the running and passing game.
It seemed fairly obvious that Gio Lopez was being affected by the turf toe some. He was moving around differently and was off on his deep throws.
With the additional time since the last game hopefully the Jags have been able to get a little rest and treatment so they can get back to closer to full strength again.
Quarterback Pressure
The defense was able to get plenty of pressure on App State’s quarterback but couldn’t generate much against LSU or Arkansas State. On the final drive by the Red Wolves they just couldn’t generate anything, and they got picked apart with the cushion they gave the receivers.
Troy has had plenty of injuries but the quarterback position has been affected a lot this season. In six games they have had to start three different signal callers due to injury. But no matter who is starting behind center, the Jags have to generate pressure.
Penalties
The Jags can’t beat themselves with penalties. They were flagged several times offensively for various infractions last game. Offensive penalties hurt you in two key ways: they put you behind the sticks and they rob you of momentum. The Jags had it 2nd and 10 at the ASU 11 yard line late in the game. They were then flagged for a false start and a hold over the next three plays which made it 3rd and 25 at the 26-yard line. Fortunately, Lopez was able to find Pritchett for a touchdown on the next play, but they didn’t make it any easier on themselves with those two penalties.
Cleaning up those penalties will be key this week. Also making sure they stay disciplined mentally heading into a rivalry game should be a focus for the players and coaches. They can’t allow themselves to lose focus and get drawn into committing penalties if they encounter any adversity or jawing back and forth.
Prediction
It’s dangerous to play a rival when they’re licking their wounds with their backs against the wall.
While Troy’s record is bad, South Alabama’s record isn’t much better. Both teams need a win if they want to get bowl eligible and they both are seeing the number of games remaining dwindling. Both teams could easily have two more wins than their current records reflect.
But if South Alabama plays up to their capabilities, they can beat anyone left of their schedule. It just depends which team shows up at Hancock Whitney Stadium Tuesday night.
It’s times to bring the belt back to Mobile.
The Jags are a 13.5-point favorite in the game. I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they cover. Jags win a close game to get the belt back against a Troy team that’ll pull out all the stops.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Falls 18-16 At Arkansas State On Late Field Goal
South Alabama fell to Arkansas State on a late field goal at Arkansas State 18-16 in a mistake-riddle game. The Jags had retaken the lead with 1:49 left but was unable to stop the Red Wolves when it mattered the most.
The Jags (2-4, 1-1 SBC) couldn’t get out of their own way, committing 11 penalties for 100 penalty yards. Lopez was picked off inside the 10-yard line in the second quarter ending a promising drive. They were also stopped short on a 4th and 2 play from the Red Wolves 20-yard line.
South Alabama took their first lead of the game with 1:09 left in the third quarter when Gio Lopez and Jamaal Pritchett hooked up for a 75-yard touchdown. The score was the first touchdown of the game and gave the Jags a 10-9.
The Red Wolves (3-2, 1-0 SBC) drove down the field on a 10 play, 58-yard drive to regain the lead when Jaylen Raynor connected with Tyler Little for a 5-yard touchdown. The 2-point attempt failed leaving the Jags trailing 15-10 with 5:58 left.
South Alabama started driving and got down to the Red Wolves 11-yard line before penalties set them back. After flags for a false start and holding the Jags were facing 3rd and 25 at the ASU 26-yard line. Gio Lopez rolled out and tossed the ball into the end zone with Jamaal Pritchett coming down with it to retake the lead. The ensuing 2-point conversion failed with Jeremiah Webb couldn’t haul in Lopez’s pass.
Arkansas State started their drive at their own 23 with 1:45 left on the clock.
The Jaguar defense allowed three consecutive pass completions on the same offensive play to quickly move out near mid field. It was like the defense had set a line in the sand that the Red Wolves were not going to complete a pass down the field but they would allow anything that gained 7 to 11 yards with little contention.
The defense finally tightened up, but it was too little too late.
Clune Van Andel made the 34-yard field goal with only 10 seconds left in the game to go up 18-16.
After a 14-yard pass completion to Devin Voisin, the Jags had one last show but the pass intended for Pritchett was broken up at the Arkansas State 27 to end the game.
“It was a difficult one to lose,” head coach Major Applewhite said after the game. “There were so many opportunities early – turnovers in the red area, tons of penalties on offense – It finally got us and I’m just really disappointed from that standpoint.”
“I’m very proud of our defense, the way they played the entire ball game,” Applewhite said. “I know we gave up the field goal to lose the football game, but they kept us in the ball game, and I’m proud of the way were are improving on that side of the ball.”
The first half was a defensive struggle as the Jaguar offense started slow but the defense kept forcing stops and leaving Arkansas State having to settle for field goals. When the first half ended the Jags trailed 6-3.
Stats
| South Alabama | Arkansas State | |
| Total Yards | 453 | 411 |
| Passing Yards | 292 | 345 |
| Rushing Yards | 161 | 66 |
| 3rd Downs | 6 of 13 | 5 of 15 |
| 4th Downs | 1 of 2 | 1 of 1 |
| Penalties – Yards | 11 – 100 | 6 – 51 |
South Alabama
Gio Lopez was 21 of 35 for 292 yards with 2 touchdowns and his first interception of the season.
Jamaal Pritchett led the Jags with 7 catches for 137 yards and both of the Jags touchdowns. Kentrell Bullock added 41 yards on 3 catches, Jeremiah Webb had 38 yards on one catch.
Kentrel Bullock led the Jags running game with 66 yards on 13 carries. Lopez added 54 yards on 10 carries. Fluff Bothwell was held to only 32 yards on 9 carries.
Blayne Myrick led the Jags with 13 stops, 8 solo, and led the team with 3 tackles for loss. Courtney McBride Jr and Tyler Thomas both had a sack in the game.
Laith Marjan only field goal attempt was good from 42 yards out.
Arkansas State
Jalen Raynor was 30 of 39 for 345 yards and a touchdown
Corey Rucker led all receivers with 8 catches for 172 yards. Ja’Quez Cross had 6 catches for 38 yards.
Zak Wallace led ASU with 30 yards on 11 carries. Cross added 29 yards on 7 carries.
Clune Van Andel connected on all four attempts, including the final attempt from 34 yards out. The first three kicks were good from 20, 21 and 25 yards out.
Next
South Alabama will finally return home after traveling the last three weeks on the road. They’ll have a couple extra days to prepare to host in-state rival Troy the Battle for the Belt on Tuesday, October 15 at 6:30pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
South Alabama have lost their last 6 to Troy but look to bring the Belt back to Mobile.