South Alabama Rally Falls Short At Troy, 31-24
South Alabama attempted to rally back from a 24-point deficit, but couldn’t find the tying touchdown as they fall at Troy 31-24.
The Jags (5-4, 2-4 SBC) took the opening kickoff down the field to open the game with a statement touchdown. However, one play before the touchdown, starting quarterback Jake Bentley was forced out of the game after a hit below the knee.
Troy (5-4, 3-4 SBC) went three and out and was forced to punt back to the Jags. But the first handoff exchange between Desmond Trotter and Terrion Avery wasn’t clean and ended up on the turf with a Trojan covering.
The Trojans put up 31 unanswered points with the last seven coming via a pick-six when Trotter threw an ill-advised pass in an attempt to evade a sack.
South Alabama got the ball back with 1:41 left before halftime with good field position at the Troy 47 yard line after a personal foul on the Trojans on the punt return. The Jags patched together a 9 play drive, with a 4th down conversion, to put seven on the board with only 9 seconds left befor halftime.
The Jags ended the Trojan’s first possession of the second half when Tre Young picked off Taylor Powell at the Jags 24 yard line.
A 19 play, 76 yard drive with three 4th down conversions ended with a three yard touchdown pass by Trotter to Terrion Avery to make it a 10 point game.
Early in the 4th quarter a 31 yard punt gave the Jags the ball at their own 35 yard line with 12:53 left in the game.
They drove down to the Troy 10 yard line but a sack on 3rd and 9 at the 10 yard line forced the Jags to settle for a field goal with 6:45.
Troy was backed up to their 9 yard line after a mishap on the kickoff but hit on a 34 yard pass to get out of the shadow of their own end zone. Three plays later the Swarm D force a punt.
The Jags had the ball 1st and 10 at their own 10 yard line with 4:14 left in the game. They converted one 4th down to extend the drive. But the second one, a 4th and 3 at the Jags own 33 could not be converted. Trotter had an open Avery but an overthrown pass hit the turf to give the ball back to try who were able to ice the game.
Stats
Jake Bentley was a perfect 3-for-3 for 49 yards before having to leave the game with a knee injury. Desmond Trotter went 20-of-32 for 138 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Lincoln Sefcik caught nine passes for 55 yards. Tolbert caught four passes for 65 yards. Avery caught four for 31 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Wayne caught three for 29 yards.
Avery led the Jags rushing attack with 75 yards on 23 carries. Trotter had 11 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Bryan Hill added 26 yards on nine carries.
Gunnar Watson was 11-of-14 for 121 yards before leaving the game himself. Taylor Powell was 6-of-11 for 80 yards and a touchdown in relief.
Tez Johnson led the Trojans with 4 catches for 46 yards. Luke Whittemore added three catches for 59 yards.
BJ Smith led the Trojans rushing attack with 49 yards on 12 carries. Tez Johnson had one carry for 31 yards and a touchdown. Kimani Vidal only had 5 carries for 29 yards. Jamontez Woods had 5 carries for 7 yards for two touchdowns.
South Alabama had a 335 to 308 advantage in total yardage. They were outgained 187 to 201 through the air, but out gained the Trojans 148 to 107 on the ground.
The Jags converted 5 of 16 3rd down attempts in the game and were 5-of-8 on 4th down attempts. Troy was 6-of-12 on 3rd down and didn’t attempted a 4th down conversion against the Jags.
The Jags gave the ball away twice, a fumble and an interception, which led to 10 points for the opponents. The Jags defense got one interception and turned it into a touchdown.
Next Game
The Jags travel to Appalachian State for a 1:30pm kickoff against the Mountaineers in Boone, NC on Saturday, November 13. They defeated Arkansas State 48-14 in Jonesboro, Arkansas earlier today
Preview: Battle For The Belt Edition, Jags Look To Bring The Belt Back From Troy
Kickoff: Saturday November 6, 2:30pm
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Darrell Luter
It’s Battle for the Belt Week.
South Alabama (5-3, 2-3 SBC) came out of the locker room ready to play from the opening whistle. They scored touchdowns on each of their first four possessions in route to a 31-13 win over Arkansas State (1-7, 0-4 SBC).
The only touchdown allowed came on the ensuing kickoff after the Jags fourth touchdown of the first half.
Jalen Tolbert scored the first two touchdowns for his 9th career touchdown against the Red Wolves.
Terrion Avery is only the second Jaguar to rush for over 100 yards in a game this season. The last was Kareem Walker against Alcorn State back in week 3 of the season.
Second half adjustments by Arkansas State really stymied the Jaguars offense in the second half. They had negative yardage in the third quarter. While the offensive adjustments by the Red Wolves helped them to have more production in the second half, the Jaguar defense kept them out of the end zone and forced four turnovers.
Now the Jags are just one win away from bowl eligibility.
But they also being the much talked about three-game road swing. It all begins on the road in Troy, AL.
Troy
The Trojans are 4-4 overall, 2-2 in Sun Belt play and the largest margin of defeat was 13 points to the ULM. Both of their conference wins have been by 3 points (27-24 over Georgia Southern in Troy, 31-28 over Texas State in San Marcos). Both conference wins came by late game heroics.
The two conference losses have come at the hands of ULM (29-16) and Coastal Carolina (35-28).
Their two non-conference wins were over Southern (55-3) and Southern Miss (21-9). Their losses were to Liberty (21-13) and South Carolina (23-14).
Offense
Here are the Trojans by the numbers. They are averaging 27.4 points, 138.3 rushing yards, 243.7 passing yards and 382 total offensive yards per game.
They are 41-of-99 (41.4%) on third down situations. They are 6-of-11 (54.6%) on fourth down situations.
In the red zone they have scored 19-of-25 trips, with 15 of them being touchdowns.
The offense has fumbled the ball 8 times and lost possession 6 times. Quarterbacks have thrown 4 interceptions on the season.
Kimani Vidal leads the running back corps with 105 attempts for 553 yards and 5 touchdowns. BJ Smith has 248 yards on 54 attempts with 2 touchdowns. Jamontez Woods has 222 yards on 40 carries with 4 touchdowns.
Taylor Powell, a transfer from Missouri, started the first four games of the season before being sidelined by a knee injury. Powell is 101-of-153 for 960 yards, 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in those four games.
Gunnar Watson has started the last four games and is 68-of-100 for 746 yards and 6 touchdowns without an interception. Watson started nine games last season before being beaten out for the job by Powell.
Tez Johnson is the teams leading receiver with 46 catches for 481 yards and three touchdowns.
Reggie Todd in the next leading receiver with 21 catches for 257 yards and a touchdown. However Todd has been indefinitely suspended after being arrested on a charge of hindering prosecution in relation to a shooting during a high school football game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on October 15.
Three other receivers have over 100 yards receiving on the season and five have 10 or more catches on the season.
While the offense hasn’t been overly productive, they really been kept in games by their defense.
The Jags know how that goes.
Defense
The Troy defense is a scrappy, stingy unit.
Statistically speaking the Trojans defense allows an average of 21.6 points, 99.9 rushing yards, 211.4 passing yards, and 311.3 total yards of offense per game.
Opponents are converting 35-of-101 (34.7%) 3rd down attempts and 6-of-9 (66.7%) 4th down attempts.
When opponents get into the red zone, they have scored all 13 times, however less than half have been touchdowns (6-of-13).
As a team the defense has 59 tackles for loss with 27 sacks, 13 interceptions, and 3 fumble recoveries.
Linebacker Carlton Martial from Mobile’s McGill-Toolen HS, leads the team with 70 total tackles, 31 solo, 8 tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception.
The next two combined come up one short of Martial’s total. Javon Solomon from the Bandit position has 35 total stops, 19 solo with 11.5 tackles for loss and team leading 8 sacks and an interception. Linebacker KJ Robertson has 34 total stops with 3 tackles for loss and 1/2 sack.
The defense kept the game against Coastal Carolina close in the fourth quarter. The Chanticleers gambled with a fake punt on a 4th and 4 from their own 31, which paid off in their favor. Though they still had to punt a little later, they were able to burn more time off the clock before doing so.
The Trojan defense forced three interceptions in the fourth quarter against Texas State. One of them went for a touchdown which provided the go-ahead score.
The week before that the defense collected an interception which allowed the Trojans to drive and get the game-winning field goal with 1:46 left in the game.
Troy’s defense ranks 18th in the nation in total defense, 39th in passing yards allowed, 20th in rushing defense, T36th 3rd down conversion percentage, and T10th in turnovers gained. Which right there with the Jags.
Special Teams
Brooks Buce is 4-of-4 on field goal attempts, his longes of the season is only 34 yards and is 24-of-25 in extra point attempts.
Luke Magliozzi has punted 38 times on the season with an average of 42.8 yards per kick, 15 fair catches, 9 downed inside the 20, 7 have gone 50+ yards with the longest being 65 yards.
South Alabama
One win away from bowl eligibility. Did any fans think this would happen a year ago?
It’s a testament to head coach Kane Wommack and his staff for the progress they’ve been able to make through eight games.
Offense
Four touchdowns on their first four possessions. This is type of execution a coach wants to see.
Statistically the Jags are averaging 29.1 points, 133.4 rushing yards, 261.1 passing yards and 394.5 total yards of offense per game.
They are converting 43-of-115 3rd down attempts (37%) and they are converting 13-of-20 on 4th down (65%).
The offense has given the ball away 13 times with 8 fumbles loss on 10 total fumbles and five interceptions.
Terrion Avery, who wore the honorary #5 jersey, showed why he earned. Avery was only the second Jag rusher to run for over 100 yards this season. He continues to be the Jags leading rusher with 399 yards on 95 carries with a touchdown.
Bryan Hill is next in line with 271 yards on 58 carries with three touchdowns. Kareem Walker, in only his second game back from a quad inury, has 237 yards on 63 carries with four touchdowns in five games of action.
Jake Bentley is the first Jag in five seasons to throw for over 2,000 yards. And he’s only 2/3rds of the way through the season!
On the season Bentley is 181-of-259 (69.9%) for 2,073 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Not only is Jalen Tolbert leading the team, but he’s among the best in the conference and the nation in receiving. He has 54 catches for 967 yards with six touchdowns.
Jalen Wayne is next in line with 34 catches for 385 yards and two touchdowns. Caullin Lacy has 262 yards on 32 catches. Lincoln Sefcik has 17 catches for 146 yards with three touchdowns.
Defense
South Alabama’s defense held the Red Wolves to only 28 yards of total offense in the first half. The rushing yardage was -12! Though they weren’t quite as dominant in the second half, they didn’t allow a single touchdown.
Statistically the defense is allowing an average of 21 points, 118.5 rushing yards, 202.2 passing yards and 320.8 total offensive yards per game.
Opponents are converting 33-of-113 (29%) of their 3rd down attempts and 9-of-16 (56%) of their 4th down attempts.
On the season they have 54 tackles for loss with 24 sacks. Jamal Brooks, despite not playing, still leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss. Charles Coleman III tied CJ Rias for the team lead with 3 sacks.
With Darrell Luter’s two interceptions he jumps Tre Young into the team lead with 3 on the season.
Quentin Wilfawn leads the team with 36 total stops, 18 solo with two tackles for loss and a sack. Keith Gallmon and Yam Banks are still tied with 35 stops each and both have 21 solo.
The first two interceptions last week came at great times. The Red Wolves were starting to move the ball some and the Jags were able to shut those drives down with turnovers. The final one simply sealed the game with a nice exclamation point.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo connected on all four extra points against Arkansas State, he’s not 26-of-28 on the season. He also connected on a 39 yard field, his only attempt of the night, to put the icing on the game. He’s not 9-of-13 on the season.
Jack Brooks’ punting averaging a solid 41.6 yards per attempt.
Keys to the Game
Offensive line
Which way the game goes will greatly depend offensive line play. Both defenses create havoc which results in negative plays and turnovers.
The Jaguar offensive line needs to communicate and play well in a hostile environment. If they can give Bentley and his receivers time, the Trojan defense is susceptible to big plays. Can you think of a better pair of receivers ready to exploit a secondary deep than the two Jalen’s?
Playing Behind Schedule
The Trojan defense generate a lot of negative plays. The Jaguar offense will have to find a way to be comfortable playing behind schedule.
That means they need to come to terms with and be comfortable executing 2nd-and-12 or 3rd-and-long situations. They don’t necessarily need to get all the yards back in a chunk but they must execute each and every play with a neutral mindset.
A player does not need to be heroic when behind schedule, they just need to execute their job each and every play at a high level no matter the previous outcome.
Injuries
You can’t talk about injuries without circling back to point number one: offensive line.
The Jags are thin as gift tissue paper on the offensive line right now. Center James Jackson injured his knee a couple of games ago. Hadon Merchant missed last week with a knee injury. Right guard Anterrious Gray suffered a concussion against Arkansas State and will have to clear the concussion protocol in order to play against Troy.
Due to Jackson’s injury, Trey Simpson moved from guard to center. If neither Jackson nor Merchant are able to play against Troy, that would likely leave Kent Foster and a group of freshmen and former walk-ons to back up the interior of the offensive line.
But that’s not all.
Jamal Brooks missed playing time against Arkansas State due to a shoulder injury that he had been trying to play through.
Bryan Hill broke a 47 yard run, his only carry of the game, but exited the game with a shoulder injury of his own.
Not only do they need to stay healthy but, if needed, they need to be ready if their number is called.
Prediction
Head coach Kane Wommack talked to the team about the Battle for the Belt rivalry on Monday. He brought in the empty case that houses the belt when under South Alabama’s care.
The Trojans have won the last three games in the series and currently holds a 6 games to 3 advantage in the series.
The last time the Jags won was in 2017 when coach Wommack was the defensive coordinator.
What could be sweeter than the Jags ending the three winning streak, bringing the belt back home, and getting bowl eligible against your in-state rival?
But Troy would like to keep their streak alive and also get within one game of bowl eligibility themselves.
Troy is favored by 3.5 points in the game. Basically an even game but given the three point home boost. I think the Jags get it done and win outright, get bowl eligible, and bring the belt back to Mobile.
Go Jags!
South Alabama’s Fast Start Leads To 31-13 Win Over Arkansas State
The South Alabama Jaguars got their third-consecutive win over Arkansas State and is now one game away from earning bowl eligibility after the 31-13 win.
A pair of Jalen Tolbert touchdown receptions in the first half and a pair of interceptions by Darrell Luter Jr in the second half propelled the Jags (5-3, 2-3 SBC) over the Red Wolves (1-7, 0-4 SBC).
The Jags opened the game with an 8 play, 79 yard touchdown drive on their first possession. A great mix of run and pass where the shortest gain was of 5 yards was capped off by a 13 yard touchdown pass by Jake Bentley to Jalen Tolbert.
The offense got the ball back after Arkansas State went three-and-out. The Jags only needed 7 plays to cover the 75 yards for the score. Jalen Tolbert got his second score of the game and his 9th overall against the Red Wolves when Jake Bentley connected with him for 30 yards.
Alan Lamar returned the kickoff 52 yards to give the Red Wolves the ball in Jaguar territory for the first time in the game. The Jags defense were backed up with ASU getting a 1st and goal at the 7 yard line after a pass interference penalty. On 4th and goal at the 1 Chris Henderson hurried quarterback Layne Hatcher and helped force an incomplete pass.
The Jaguar offense took over possession at their own 1 yard line with 1:41 left in the opening quarter. Terrion Avery barely got the ball out of the end zone saving a safety on the first play from scrimmage. When it was all said and done the Jags put together a 18 play, 99 yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a two yard touchdown pass from Bentley to Avery. The drive took 8:31 off the clock with the Jags up 21-0.
The defense forced another three-and-out and pushed the offense back 16 yards as they did it.
Bryan Hill took the first handoff and scampered 47 yards to the Red Wolves 14 yard line. Then Bentley connected with Brandon Crum for a 14 yard touchdown to cap off the 2 play, 61 yard drive for a 28-0 advantage.
Alan Lamar took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to give Arkansas State their only touchdown of the game to make the halftime score 28-7.
“I thought it was a tremendous first half in terms of our execute,” head coack Kane Wommack said. “I thought we did a poor job on our kickoff unit, we have to get better there. But outside of that, we really played with a lot of effort and energy. We executed at a high level. It was a good response victory to a week ago against Louisiana-Monroe where I didn’t think we played anywhere near the standard offensively, defensively, special teams.”
Arkansas State came out hot early in the second half but the Jags defense got a stop when needed and forced a 32 yard field goal and cutting the score 28-10 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.
The South Alabama offense’s next three possession all were three-and-outs.
Arkansas State’s first two possessions after the field goal all ended with turnovers. The first was a fumble forced and recovered by AJ DeShazor. The second was Darrell Luter’s first interception of the game.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Jake Bentley was intercepted when his pass intended for Tolbert was taken away by the defender. But the Jags would get it back a few plays later when Devin Rockette caught the ball as he was sliding down.
The Jags defense bent but refused to break again when the Red Wolves drove down to the Jaguar 17 yard line. A sack on 3rd and 7 took the option of going for it out of ASU head coach Butch Jones’ playbook and forced them to settle for a 43 yard field goal to shrink the lead to 28-13 with 6:22 left in the game.
The onsides kick attempt bounced and went off a Jaguar player out of bounds at the 50 yard line. On the kick Arkansas State’s Corey Rucker was injured. After a long time on the turf on the Jags sideline, he was finally helped up but immediately was assisted through the Jags bench towards the tunnel until the cart came to take him into the locker area.
Terrion Avery got 23 yards on the first play of the possession but the offense could not muster much else. Diego Guajardo made it a three score game with a 39 yard field goal for the 31-13 final score.
Darrell Luter got his second interception to ensure Arkansas State would not have another opportunity to score.
Game Stats
After putting up 352 total yards of offense in the first half. The Jags were negative in all three yardage categories in the third quarter. Their total yards was -5, their rushing yardage was -4 and their passing was -1 yard.
“I thought we played very hard and aggressive on defense the entire game,” Wommack said. “You look at the numbers and you can see that it was a dominating performance by our defense [only allowing] 242 yards total, giving up 38 yards rushing. They were 3-of-13 [on third down]. We stopped them in the red zone on fourth down. Obviously getting four takeaways on defense is huge and tremendous.
“Offensively, we did such a great job in the first half. I thought Arkansas State responded well in the second half. They competed their tails off, particularly their defense. I thought offensively, they did some challenging things that we had to continue to adjust to and we did. We’ve got to be more consistent though. When we can operate at such a high level at the beginning of the game, we need to do that in the third and fourth quarter as well.”
The Jags ended the game with 424 yards of total offense, they rushed for 173 yards and threw for 251 yards.
They were 5-of-14 (36%) on third down attempts and 2-of-3 (67%) on 4th down attempts. They had 23 first downs in the game, 20 of them came in the first half.
Arkansas State finished the game with 224 total yards of offense after going into halftime with 28 yards. They ran for only 38 yards and passed for 186.
The Jags defense held the Red Wolves to only 3-of-13 (27%) on third down and 1-of-2 (50%).
Arkansas State had 232 kickoff return yards, more than their total offensive output for the game.
Jake Bentley went 29-of-39 for 251 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Jalen Tolbert caught 8 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Wayne, Caullin Lacy and Lincoln Sefcik all caught five passes for 42, 39, and 35 yards respectively. Brandon Crum cuaght 3 passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. Terrion Avery’s only catch of the game went for a 2 yard touchdown.
Terrion Avery carried the ball 22 times for 113 yards. Bryan Hill had one carry before injurying his shoulder and it went for 47 yards. Kareem Walker had 5 carries for 26 yards.
Quentin Wilfawn led the defense with 11 total stops, 6 solo with 1/2 sack. Ke’Shun Brown had two tackles for loss with one sack. Charles Coleman III had 1 1/2 sacks. Luter had one tackle for loss to go along with his two interceptions. Devin Rockette had 1/2 tackle for loss to go along with his interception.
Layne Hatcher was 19-of-37 for 186 yards and three interceptions. Corey Rucker caught 4 passes for 67 yards.
Lincoln Pare had 8 carries for 32 yards. Johnnie Lang had 7 carries for 20 yards.
The Jags have the most wins (5) since the 6-7 record in the 2016 season, the last appearance in a bowl game.
“…the standard and capability of this team is not five wins,” Wommack said. “It’s disappointing that it’s been so long since we’ve had five wins as a program, but at the same time we need to be process oriented. To me, we are not where we can be, but we’ve created an opportunity for this team to play our best ball at the end of the year and that is really exciting.
“You appreciate what you have, because at the end of the season there are a lot of teams sitting there that don’t get to compete or play their best football at the end of the year and they don’t have opportunities to better themselves in a bowl game and all the preparation that comes with that. We do have those things, but our process and consistency has to get better. This was a great win, but we need to move the dial forward in this program, and until we become a consistent football team, we will not achieve our goals.”
Next Game
The Jags will travel to Troy for the annual Battle for the Belt game against the Trojans. Kickoff in Troy, AL is scheduled for 2:30pm.
Preview: South Alabama Looking For 3rd Consecutive Win Over Arkansas State On Homecoming
Kickoff: Saturday October 30, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
South Alabama ran into a fired-up ULM team last week that put up season-high numbers on the Jags defense. It was uncharacteristic of the defense to struggle as much as they did against the ULM offense.
But credit is due to ULM (4-3, 2-2 SBC) and offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez for scheming a game plan and preparing their players for the Jaguars (4-3, 1-3 SBC) defense.
ULM put up 554 total yards of offense on the Jaguars with 369 yards coming through the air.
USA only managed to briefly seize control of the momentum in the game in the third quarter against ULM. They opened the half with a 10 play, 75 yard touchdown drive to tie the game. The defense held on a 4th and 3 at the Jags 34 yard line to give the ball back to the offense. Then the offense only took four plays to cover the 66 yards, the final 40 via a touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert.
It seemed at that time that the halftime adjustments had cured the ills.
But ULM took the ball on the ensuing kickoff and responded to the Jags two-consecutive scores with a touchdown of their own to tie the game again.
The Warhawks had retaken the momentum and would not relinquish it.
Arkansas State
South Alabama’s next opportunity to get a game closer to bowl eligibility comes up this weekend. The Jags will host Arkansas State (1-6, 0-3 SBC) for their annual homecoming on Saturday.
Last season the Jags notched their first win in Jonesboro in four tries. It marked the Jags first two-game winning streak against the Red Wolves and the third win in the last four meetings.
Overall the Jags still trail in the series 3 games to 6.
Gone is coach Blake Anderson. His replacement is former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones and most recently University of Alabama analyst.
However the Butch Jones tenure is off to a rough start.
The Red Wolves are off to a 1-6 start to the season. But they’ve had some close calls. They came up short in a shootout against Memphis 55-50, on the road against Tulsa 41-34, and just last week they fell to Louisiana-Lafayette 28-27 coming off their bye week.
But they’ve also been on the wrong side of some blowouts too. They fell to Washington 52-3, to Georgia Southern 59-33, and to Coastal Carolina 52-20.
Each week you’re not quite sure which team you’re going to get.
Offense
Arkansas State averages 29.6 points per game, 436.3 total yards, 348.6 passing yards, and 87.7 rushing yards per game.
They are converting 36-of-99 3rd down attempts (36%) and 1-of-7 4th down attempts (14%) on the season.
The quarterback has been sacked 26 times on the season for a loss of 140 yards. That’s an average of 3.7 sacks per game.
They have turned the ball over 11 times on the season, seven interceptions and four fumbles lost of their eight total fumbles.
Their top three running backs are all within a couple carries of each other. Lincoln Pare has 41 carries for 205 yards and a touchdown, Johnnie Lang has 44 carries for 172 yards, and Alan Lamar have 40 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown.
The Red Wolves do not have as much of a two-quarterback system as they have utilized under coach Anderson. However they are still utilizing a two quarterback system.
James Blackman is 109-of-184 (59.2%) for 1,334 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. Layne Hatcher is 78-of-139 (56.1%) for 1,106 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Each quarterback have missed a game each.
ASU has a long list of receivers with catches. Three of them stand out from the rest. Corey Rucker has 35 catches for 550 yards and eight touchdowns. Te’Vaila Hunt has 32 catches for 511 yards and four touchdowns. Jeff Foreman has 24 catches for 419 yards and two touchdowns. Four other receivers have over 100 receiving yards on the season and five receivers beyond the three mentioned have double-digit numbers of receptions.
Lamar is the team leader with 900 all-purpose yards with 690 of them coming from kickoff returns. That includes a 93 yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Tulsa.
The Red Wolves have rushed for over 100 yards in a game twice. In their only win of the season they rushed for 194 yards against Central Arkansas. The other time was last weeks close game against Louisiana where they ran for 113 yards.
Defense
The defense has really been the Achilles heel for the Red Wolves. Particularly their run defense it seems.
Lets delve into the statistics first.
The defense is allowing a whopping average of 44 points per game.
On average the defense is allowing 578.6 total yards of offense, 288 yards passing and 290.6 yards rushing per game this season.
As a defensive coach those numbers make you cringe a bit. As an offensive coach I’m sure that makes you smile.
Opponents are converting 36-of-87 3rd down attempts (41%) and 5-of-6 4th down attempts (83%).
Safety Elery Alexander leads the team with 50 total tackles, 31 solo with a sack and two fumble recoveries.
The next closest defender is linebacker Caleb Bonner with 39 stops, 16 solo.
Georgia Southern ran for 503 yards and averaged 9.9 yards per rush. Coastal Carolina rushed for 294 yards and 8.2 yards per rush. Louisiana ran for 424 yards and 8.0 yards per rush. Tulsa ran for 308 yards and 6.3 yards per rush.
Louisiana only threw the ball 20 times in the game with 11 completions for 122 yards. Their final drive was a gruelling 18 play, 88 yard march burning 10:26 off the clock before they took two knees to end the game.
Special Teams
Blake Grupe is 22-of-23 on extra points and 10-of-12 on field goals for the season. His long is a 50 yarder against Tulsa.
Ryan Hanson has 42 punts on the season and is averaging 43.3 yards per attempt. He has 9 punts that have gone 50+ yards, the longest being a 60 yard kick. He has 16 of them inside the 20 yard line and none have been touchbacks.
South Alabama
Good news was that some injured players returned to the lineup for the Jags. Kareem Walker, Caullin Lacy were among those who returned.
However with the good also comes some bad. They lost Hadon Merchant to a knee injury early in the game. At a minimum he’s going to miss some time and could possibly miss the remainder of the season.
Also at practice during in the week leading up to the ULM game Josh McCulloch suffered an injury that kept him sidelined. It’s unknown if McCulloch will be ready for the Red Wolves.
But others continued to be hampered by lingering issues. Jamal Brooks was one of those who had to leave the ULM game a few times but tried to play through the pain.
Offense
South Alabama is averaging 28.9 points, 390.7 total yards, 263 passing yards, and 127.7 rushing yards per game on offense.
Their third down efficiency needs improvement. They are converting 38-of-101 (38%) 3rd down attempts on the season. They are converting 11-of-17 (65%) 4th down attempts on the season. That includes the 4th and 3 near the goal line last Saturday that went for a touchdown.
The Jags have converted 26-of-31 (84%) of their red zone trips into scores. Of those 26 scores, 22 (71%) of them have been touchdowns.
Jaguar quarterbacks have been sacked 14 times for a loss of 88 yards on the season.
Terrion Avery leads the Jaguar backfield with 286 yards on 73 carries with a touchdown. Bryan Hill is next with 224 yards on 57 carries through five games with three touchdowns. Kareem Walker has 211 yards on 58 carries and four touchdowns in only four games.
Jake Bentley is completing 69.1% of his throws. He is 152-of-220 for 1,825 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Jalen Tolbert is far and away the leading pass catcher in the offense. He has 46 receptions for 873 yards and four touchdowns. That averages out to be 124.7 yards per game and 19 yards per catch.
Jalen Wayne has 343 yards on 29 catches with two touchdowns. Caullin Lacy has 27 catches for 223 yards. Tight end Lincoln Sefcik has 12 catches for 114 yards and three touchdowns.
As mentioned above, the Jags offensive line has suffered more than their share of injuries this season. However there’s a good chance that James Jackson could return to action this week. If so that would allow Trey Simpson to move back over to left guard.
Defense
The Jaguars are allowing an average of 22.1 points, 334.6 total yards, 204.6 passing yards, and 130 rushing yards per game. Which rank nationally at T43rd, T35th, 40th, T40th respectively.
The Jags defense has 13 takeaways which is tied for 24th nationally.
Keith Gallmon and Yam Banks are tied for the lead with 34 total stops each. Both has 20 solo stops each. Gallmon has 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery. Banks has 4 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
CJ Rias continues to lead the defense with three sacks on the season. Tre Young also continues to lead the defense with two interceptions.
Special Teams
Jack Brooks has punted 31 times with an average of 41.9 yards per punt. Eight downed inside the 20, 11 fair caught, six have gone 50+ yards and his longest has gone 54 yards.
Diego Guajardo is 22-of-24 on extra point attempts. He is 8-of-12 in field goal attempts, missing one attempt in each of the last four games. His long on the season in 48 yards.
Keys to the Game
Consistent Execution
In every game, except maybe the Georgia Southern game, the Jags have had stretches with some quite poor execution. In the first five games, the Jags opening possession all ended with three-and-outs.
Against ULM the defense couldn’t execute well enough to stop the Warhawks passing game taking advantage of seams in the coverage.
The only game where the Jags executed consistently for the most part was against Georgia Southern. And you can see what they are capable of when they do.
Stay Healthy
Many teams are bruised and beat up by this point in the season.
The Jags are no exception. And they may be more bruised and beat up than a few others.
They need to get through a week without accumulating more injuries, especially on the offensive line. But the linebacker corps could use a break from the injuries as well.
Flying Footballs
There is no denying that Jalen Tolbert is a beast.
Arkansas State is particularly bad at defending the pass. This could set up for a huge game for Jake Bentley, Jalen Tolbert, and the rest of the Jaguar receivers.
But Arkansas get most of their offensive yards through the air themselves. After ULM’s slicing and dicing of the Jaguar secondary, this should be of some concern.
Prediction
The Jags chances are growing fewer by the game. If they want to attain bowl eligibility that is. Arkansas State looks like they should be a team the Jags can and should win against.
However last week the Jags were a double-digit favorite and we see how that turned out. You simply cannot take anything for granted.
As we keep pointing out, the final three or four games are brutal. And as it stands right now they will need to find at least one win out of those four to get bowl eligible.
Three consecutive weeks of travel to rival Troy, App State, and SEC opponent Tennessee is followed by the regular season finale against Coastal Carolina at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
But we can’t lose focus on this week. Arkansas State is coming and the Jags need a win.
The Jags are favored in the game by 9.5 points. Last week I had a bad feeling about the game. I picked the Jags to win but not to cover. Well, I was a bit wrong.
This week I feel a bit better. The Jags will be at home, not playing in Monroe, LA. It’s homecoming and the opposing team’s rush defense is particularly weak and has a weak rushing offense.
If the Jags secondary can hold up against the Red Wolves passing, they can win the game. But as we saw last week, the Jags had better be prepared.
I think the Jags win, but they don’t cover. It may come down to a defensive stand late in the game or Diego’s leg once again. It could also be a one sided affair, it really depends on which Jaguar team and which Red Wolves team show up at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Snaps Two-Game Skid, Gets First Ever Win Over Georgia Southern 41-14
South Alabama finally got the monkey off their back, defeating Georgia Southern and also breaking a two-game losing streak in an impressive rout, 41-14.
The Jags (4-2, 1-2 SBC) took control from the opening possession and never really let the Georgia Southern Eagles (2-5, 1-3 SBC) take flight. They took the opening kickoff and drove 84 yards in 10 plays to put up the opening score. Jake Bentley capped the drive off with a 12 yard run.
In each of the previous five games, the Jags first possession has been a three-and-out. So not only getting their first 1st down on an opening possession, but scoring a touchdown were both firsts for the 2021 team.
The Jags added to their lead with a 42-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo with 2:03 left in the opening quarter.
The defense forced a punt with little over a minute left in the opening quarter. Only a minute into the second quarter the Jags were back on the board with Jake Bentley’s second rushing touchdown of the game, this time from six yards out.
On the ensuing possession the Eagles were quickly facing a 3rd and 6 from their own 29 when CJ Rias picked off the pass at the Georgia Southern 40 yard line. Then the first offensive play Bentley connected with Jalen Tolbert down the near sideline for a 40 yard touchdown to go up 24-0 with 12:29 left in the second quarter.
South Alabama’s defense forced another punt after being aided by a holding penalty. All the offense needed was three plays to go 70 yards with a 5 yard touchdown pass by Bentley to Jalen Wayne to put the Jags ahead 31-0 with 9:08 left until hafltime.
Georgia Southern finally got on the board on a 15 play, 75 yard drive. The Eagles opted for the 2-point conversion, which they got, to cut the Jags lead to 31-8 with 2:00 left until halftime.
GSU opened the second half with a 10 play, 48 yard drive culminating in a 44 yard field goal to put the score at 31-11 with 10:22 left in the third quarter.
A 58 yard run by Bryan Hill set up Bentley’s second touchdown pass of the game. Bentley connected with Lincoln Sefcik for his second touchdown of the season. It gave the Jags a 38-11 advantage with 3:41 left in the third quarter and ending the 11-unanswered point streak by the Eagles.
The fourth quarter began with a 34 yard field goal on the second snap of the quarter. It would end up being Georgia Southerns final points of the game.
The Jags tried to answer on the next possession however Diego’s 43 yard field goal flew wide right.
The next Jaguar possession Diego got another opportunity to put one between the uprights, which he did from 31 yards out to set the final score.
Jake Bentley is the first Jaguar to account for five touchdowns in a game. He ran for two and threw for three more in the game. He is also the first Jaguar quarterback to throw for over 300 yards in a game since Evan Orth did in 2018.
Bentley finished with 389 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-31 passing. He also ran six times for 8 yards after sack yardage was subtracted.
Desmond Trotter was 1-of-2 for 16 yards at the end of the game.
Bryan Hill led all rushers with 65 yards on eight carries. Terrion Avery carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards.
Jalen Tolbert broke the record with the most 100-yard receiving games in Jaguar history. He caught 11 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown after being targeted 18 times in the game.
Jalen Wayne added 117 yards on 7 receptions with a touchdown.
Justin Tomlin went 5-of-13 passing for 49 yards and an interception. Cam Ransom went 2-of-12 for 63 yards.
Logan Wright led the Eagles backfield with 60 yards on 14 carries. Ransom added 23 yards on 10 carries.
Amare Jones led the Eagles receiving corps with 90 yards on four receptions. Emil Smith caught two passes for 20 yards. Beau Johnson caught 1 pass for 2 yards.
South Alabama rolled up 545 yards of total offense to Georgia Southern’s 233. The Jags threw for 405 yards to GSU’s 112 and the Jags out rushed the Eagles 140-121.
Offensively the Jags converted 7-of-12 3rd down attempts to GSU’s 9-of-21. USA was 5-of-6 in red zone scoring, the one trip without a score was at the end of the game when they allowed time to expire.
South Alabama’s CJ Rias collected the only turnover of the game with an interception. GSU put the ball on the ground once in the game but were able to recover it.
The Jags scored on five of its first six possession while the defense forced three-an-outs on four of Georgia Southern’s first five possessions. The other was Rias’s interception.
“It just felt free,” Bentley said. “The game plan going in was to be aggressive. We consistently did that all night, up-front, on the perimeter, we just really attacked all night. It felt really good as an offense to really get rolling and put up some points.”
“You think of how we’ve opened games and how we’ve opened drives, to take the ball and score the first drive of the game, and the defense continue to get three-and-outs,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. “They made some adjustments on their side and got some momentum, and we adjusted right back and took it away from them. That, to me, is awesome against a very proud program. But this program has been waiting to beat that team for a very long time and we got it done tonight.”
“You have to be able to build off momentum,” Wommack said. “A team that’s never had those situations.”
“The guys in that locker room have never responded to adversity and found ways to win.” Wommack continued. “And that’s what this group is doing right now.”
Speaking of adversity, the Jags had a long list of injured players sitting out the game. Center James Jackson (knee), wide receiver Caullin Lacy (ankle), linebacker Shawn Jennings (ankle) and tight end Trent Tyre (undisclosed) all missed the game due to injuries suffered in the last week.
Running back Kareem Walker (quad) missed his third consecutive game with his nagging injury.
Tight end Lincoln Sefcik, running back Terrion Avery, left tackle Ja’Chai Baker, and linebackers Chris Henderson and Ke’Shun Brown all missed some practice time this week after suffering injuries against Texas State last weekend.
Next Game
South Alabama has a couple extra days to rest and prepare for their trip to Monroe, Louisiana to take on the ULM Warhawks. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm on Saturday, October 23.
Preview: South Alabama Hosts Georgia Southern For Thursday Night Matchup
Kickoff: Thursday October 14, 6:30 pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama
TV: ESPNU
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5 fm, 96.1 fm The Rocket, iHeartRadio App
We saw another first from the South Alabama Jaguars on Saturday evening against Texas State. It was the first time under first year head coach Kane Wommack that the Jaguars faltered coming down the stretch.
Through the first four games the Jags (3-2, 0-2 SBC) have started slow but in each of them they rallied towards the final whistle. Three of them were wins and one was a loss.
While the Jags still opened slowly against the Bobcats, they took control and had a 17-7 lead at halftime.
They led 24-10 early in the fourth quarter.
Momentum shifted decisively into the Bobcats favor when a flea flicker attempt went awry. Running back Bryan Hill technically fumbled the ball away on the stats sheet, however his lateral intended for Jake Bentley was plucked out of the air by a Bobcat defender.
The Jags have quite a tough assignment this week.
They have to clear their minds, rest their bodies, and yet they still need to prepare to host Georgia Southern on Thursday night after that very physical game in San Marcos, Texas.
Georgia Southern
The Eagles (2-4, 1-2 SBC) dismissed head coach Chad Lunsford after a 28-20 loss to Louisiana in the fourth game of the season after starting the season 1-3. They then split the two games since then with a win over Arkansas State (59-33) and last Saturday a loss to Troy (27-24) on a very late field goal.
They fought back from a 24-3 deficit early in the third quarter to tie the game with 6:08 left in the game. Aided by an interception, Troy regained the lead with 1:46 left in the game. The Eagles had an opportunity tie or win the game, but quarterback Justin Tomlin threw his third interception near midfield with :32 left to seal the game.
They too have a short week but at least they have to travel to Mobile for the game.
Offense
As is normal for a Georgia Southern offense, they are a predominately running offense.
They average just under 381 yards of total offense per game. The running game accounts for an average of just over 253 yards per game and they pass for 127.5 yards per game on average.
However the script was flipped for the Eagles against Troy. Georgia Southern only managed to run for 82 yards against the Trojans but threw for 219 yards.
Georgia Southern scores an average of 24.8 points per game. They have only converted 27-of-86 3rd down attempts (31.4%) on the season. They have converted 9-of-17 4th down attempts (52.9%).
As a team they have thrown 5 interceptions and fumbled 7 times, but only lost 1 fumble to opponents.
In the red zone the Eagles have scored 14 times out of 16 trips. Of those 14 scores, 8 of them have been touchdowns.
Logan Wright leads the Eagles backfield with 66 carries for 481 yards and five touchdowns on the season. Gerald Green accounts for 342 yards on 48 carries with five touchdowns. Jalen White has ran 32 times for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
The Eagles have a bit of a two quarterback system going on. Justin Tomlin has carried the ball 50 times this season for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Passing he is 38-of-77 for 458 yards, no touchdowns but four interceptions. Cam Ransom is 25-of-49 for 242 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.
The Eagles only have three receivers with over 100 yards receiving so far on the season. Khaleb Hood leads the receiver corps with 22 catches, the only receiver in double digits, for 230 yards. Running back Logan Wright is next with 9 catches for 102 yards. Derwin Burgess Jr has four receptions for 101 yards.
Defense
GSU allows an average of 32.7 points per game.
They allow an average of 483 yards per game. However they only allow 144.2 yards rushing per game. But they allow 338.8 yards passing per game.
Their 3rd down defense is pretty strong with opponents converting 31-of-78 (39.7%) on 3rd down. Opponents have only attempted 9 4th down attempts and only converted 2 (22.2%).
Safety Anthony Wilson leads the defense with 34 total tackles, 19 of them solo, with two tackles-for-loss, one sack, three pass break ups and a forced fumble.
Safety Justin Birdsong is second with 32 total tackles, 18 of them solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss, .5 sack, and a pass break up.
Gardner-Webb opened the season with only 50 yards rushing against the Eagles defense, but they threw for 365 yards. The Eagles squeaked out a 30-25 win over the FCS opponent.
Their only other win was against Arkansas State when they held the Red Wolves to 81 yards rushing but allowed 453 yards passing in route to the 59-33 victory.
When Georgia Southern holds their opponents to under 100 yards rushing they are 2-0 this season. But when they allow over 100 yards, they are 0-4.
Against Louisiana they only allowed 129 rushing yards and lost the game 28-20. Against Troy they allowed 139 yards and lost 27-24.
Special Teams
Anthony Beck averages just a hair under 45 yards per punt. His longest on the season is 60 yards and he has 12 downed inside the opponents 20 yard line.
Alex Raynor has converted 5-of-6 field goal attempts with a long of 42 yards. The one missed attempt was blocked. Raynor has 13 kickoffs with six touchbacks.
Freshman Britton Williams is 3-for-3 in field goal attempts with a long of 49 yards. Williams has handled 18 kickoffs with five touchbacks and two out of bounds.
South Alabama
The Jags have a laundry list of injured players that are in various stages of recovery from the game. Running back Kareem Walker, who has missed the last two games, should be able to return on Thursday. Running back Terrion Avery, wide receiver Caullin Lacy, offensive tackle Ja’Chai Baker, tight ends Trent Tyre and Lincoln Sefcik, and linebackers Chris Henderson, Shawn Jennings and Ke’Shun Brown are all trying to recover from being banged up against the Bobcats, but should be able to play.
Center James Jackson suffered an injury to this right knee and will not play on Thursday.
Add in A.J. DeShazor’s disqualification for targeting in the second half of the game in San Marcos, the Jags will be without him in the first half against Georgia Southern as well. With Jennings’ being banged up, that means Juco transfer Trey Kiser will likely see more action.
Offense
The Jags offensive line has been particularly hit by injuries, however Jackson’s injury is the most significant. This will be the sixth different starting offensive line configuration in six games. You’ll likely see Trey Simpson move over to play center with Josh McCulloch at left tackle, Hadon Merchant at left guard, Anterrious Gray at right guard and Antawn Lewis at right tackle.
After last weeks performance, Bryan Hill only managed to run for 17 net yards on 13 carries against the Bobcats. AJ Phillips was the Jags leading rusher with 19 carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns, his first career score as a Jaguar. Caullin Lacy ran four times for 23 yards.
The Jags have done a good job developing their run game so far this season. They entered the season with Walker and Avery as the top two backs. Now with the emergence of Hill and Phillips, the Jags have developed depth at a position that was lacking it somewhat.
But the running backs would not be having as much success if the offensive line had not continued to improve as well.
The run game success translated into play-action passing and increased vertical passing opportunities as seen against Louisiana two weeks ago.
Georgia Southern’s defense has been pretty good against the run but susceptible to the pass by allowing an average of 338.8 yards per game.
If the Jags run game can get some footing early then Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Wayne, Caullin Lacy, and Cade Sutherland should be able to find some success against the Eagles.
Defense
For the first time this season the Jags defense struggled coming down the stretch against Texas State. They allowed two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. Up until that point the Jags only allowed one touchdown all season in the fourth quarter
Though they were missing AJ DeShazor due to disqualification and had three linebackers banged up.
They allowed 399 yards of total offense, the most so far this season, and 212 yards rushing, also the most allowed so far this season.
Maybe one of their toughest assignments yet is coming to town.
Georgia Southern runs the triple-option, an offense that has given the Jags fits historically.
So much so the Jags have yet to notch a win against the Eagles.
The first five meetings between the two were decided by 22, 38, 15, 52, and 35 points. However the last two meetings were decided by a field goal in overtime in 2019 and a touchdown last season.
Head coach Kane Wommack said that he and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s defense had facets built in that would naturally help defend against the triple option.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo made all of his extra points against Texas State and is now 13-of-15. He missed a 28 yard attempt attempt against the Bobcats but connected on a 35 yard attempt. He is now 5-of-7 on the season.
Jack Brooks averages 41.4 yards punt with 7 downed inside the opponents 20 yard line and no touchbacks.
Keys to the Game
Stopping the Run
Georgia Southern isn’t the traditional triple option team that they once were. But running the ball is still 100% their identity.
When they’ve been held to under 100 yards rushing this season they are 0-2. Over the last few years when their opponent out gains them on the ground, they have lost all 20-some-odd games.
The South Alabama defense has ranked very high in the nation in run defense. Coach Wommack said that their defensive scheme has elements to it that help to stop their type of rushing attack too.
Rushing Offense
Being a predominately run offense, the Eagles defense tends to be pretty good against the run themselves.
When they have been able to take away the run and force their opponents to be one dimensional with the pass, they have excelled.
However when the opponent has success on the ground, gets favorable down and distances, and can use play-action passing to their advantage their opponents have done well.
The Jags have tall, athletic receivers in Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Wayne. The Jags have an average height advantage over the defensive backs of 3 inches. Tolbert has shown that he is one of the best receivers in the Sun Belt and possibly in the nation too.
If they can establish that run game and use play-action to get some man-to-man coverage on the outside with either Wayne or Tolbert then they could have a field day with the Eagles secondary.
Offensive Line
The Jags offensive line is a banged and bruised up group right. They’ve been that way all season though.
They have yet to start the same five guys in the same five positions twice this season.
Trey Simpson is slated to move over to center while while James Jackson will miss the game with a right knee injury. Thankfully it doesn’t look too serious or season ending.
Left tackle Ja’Chai Baker missed some time last Saturday due to injury.
They’ll need to be ready to go come Thursday evening.
Prediction
South Alabama is only a few plays away from being 5-0. But they are also only a few plays away from being 1-4 as well.
As an article a couple weeks ago pointed out, the Jags have a run of four games that should be very winnable. The first was Texas State.
Next up is Georgia Southern.
This may not be a must-win game in order to keep hope alive to get bowl-eligible. But the difficulty increases week by week. The last three game will be against the three most difficult teams on the schedule. The game before that three-game stretch is at Troy. Need I say more?
The time to win is now.
Also, let’s get that first win against Georgia Southern. Having that big zero staring at you from the win column each and every year is really old.
The Jags are a 3 point favorite according to the different odds sites. I think the Jags win but I’m not sure if they will cover. It may be yet another nail biter decided late in the game.
Let’s get to 4-2 and a win closer to bowl eligibility.
Go Jags!
South Alabama’s Comeback Falls Short In 20-18 Loss To Louisiana
South Alabama went toe to toe with Louisiana-Lafayette but came up short in their upset bid, falling by a score of 20-18.
The Jags (3-1, 0-1 SBC) had opportunities late to take the lead over the Ragin’ Cajuns (3-1, 2-0 SBC). Diego Guajardo just barely missed a 37-yard field goal with 1:06 left in the game.
In the previous offensive drive, the Jags had the ball 4th and 1 at the Cajuns 4 yard line. Head coach Kane Wommack opted to keep the offense on the field. The snap to quarterback Jake Bentley was low and rolled on the ground. Bentley picked it up and rolled to his right and tossed the ball towards a diving Lincoln Sefcik however the ball was just too short and incomplete.
Two missed extra points and a failed two-point conversion attempt also left points on the field for the Jags.
Cajuns’ Chris Smith took the opening kickoff to the Jaguars 13 yard line. Smith would get the touchdown a couple plays later to put Louisiana on top 7-0 with under a minute off the clock.
The Jags offense was stuck in reverse and went three-and-out.
The Cajuns kept the ball on the ground and gashed the defense for second touchdown on only four plays. Runs of 13, 8, 14 and capped off by quarterback Levi Lewis’ 22 yard touchdown run. USA then trailed 14-0 with 11:10 left in the opening quarter.
The Cajuns got down to the Jaguar 23 at the end of the first quarter. The defense stood their ground and forced a 43 yard field goal attempt by Nate Snider, however sailed wide right.
Coach Wommack and the Jags special teams were looking to catch Louisiana off guard with a fake punt early in the second quarter. However Jack Brooks couldn’t get to the edge and ended up losing 3 yards and giving the ball back to the Cajuns at the Jags 31 yard line.
Two Emani Bailey’s runs later and the Cajuns were back in the end zone. However Nate Snider missed the extra point leaving the Cajuns with a 20-0 lead with 11:23 left in the second quarter.
South Alabama finally put points on the board just before halftime. Bryan Hill ran the ball and Bentley connected with Jalen Wayne to move the ball down the field. Hill finally punched it in on 3rd and goal at the 1. Guajardo’s extra point was blocked leaving the Jags trailing 20-6 with 1:33 left in the half.
The Jags came out in the second half with a completely different air about them. They had an air of confidence about them.
South Alabama looked to Bryan Hill and Jalen Tolbert to jump start the offense. Hill was the workhorse, but it was a pass to Tolbert for 49 yards that flipped the field. Hill capped off the drive with a two yard touchdown. The extra point attempt by Guajardo missed to the right leaving the Jags trailing 20-12 at the 4:20 mark in the third quarter.
USA got the ball back after the defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession.
It looked like the Jags were going to go three-and-out themselves but a snap to Keith Gallmon, the up man, who took it 38 yards to the Louisiana 13 yard line. Jake Bentley carried it in for the touchdown with 12:51 left in the game.
The coaches opted for the two-point conversion since they trailed by two points. Bentley was pressured and rolled to his left and missed seeing a wide open Terrion Avery on the right side of the field and took a sack.
Jags get the ball at their own 20 yard line with 9:58 left in the game. Their second offensive play Bentley went deep for Jalen Tolbert, who high pointed the ball perfectly, and came down with a 61 yard catch at the Cajuns 13 yard line.
Facing 4th and 1 at the 4, the ill-fated snap occurred where the ball rolled to Bentley then the throw was short for Sefcik and giving the Cajuns the ball at their own 4 yard line with 6:20 left in the game.
The Jags offense got the ball back at their own 35 yard line with 3:20 left in the game. On the second offensive play again, Bentley went deep to Jalen Wayne for 34 yards and flipped the field once more.
Terrion Avery put the ball on the left hashmark at the 19 yard line with 1:11 left in the game for the potential game-winning field goal from 37 yards out. Guajardo’s kick looked like it was going to slip inside the upright, but instead it barely slipped outside the right upright.
The Jags put up 387 yards of total offense, 144 rushing and 243 passing.
Bryan Hill led the Jags with 81 rushing yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns. Gallmon had 38 yards on the one run. Avery added 27 yards on 10 carries.
Bentley went 19-of-29 for 243 yards.
Tolbert led all receivers with 6 catches for 143 yards. Wayne added 5 catches for 56 yards. Lacy had 5 catches as well for 19 yards.
USA was 6-of-17 on 3rd down attempts and 3-of-5 on 4th down attempts. USA also led the way in time of possession with 36:47.
The South Alabama defense held the Cajuns to 283 total yards of offense, 225 rushing and 58 passing.
Emani Baily rushed for 81 yards on seven carries. Quarterback Levi Lewis rushed for 61 yards on 10 carries.
Lewis went 9-of-20 for 49 yards. Chandle Fields came in for one play and completed his only pass attempt for 9 yards.
Cajuns had three receivers who all caught two passes each and four players with one catch each.
The Cajuns only converted 2-of-10 3rd down attempts and converted their only 4th down attempt.
Next Up
South Alabama will travel to San Marcos, Texas to face Texas State on Saturday, October 9 with kickoff scheduled for 6pm. The game will be streamed online on ESPN+.
