South Alabama Scores 21-Unanswered For 38-31 Come Back Win Over Georgia Southern
Murphy’s Law states in the simplest form: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” On the second offensive play from scrimmage quarterback Carter Bradley’s pass was tipped and intercepted then ran back for a touchdown only 41 seconds into the game.
On Georgia Southern’s first offensive possession, the fourth snap went 54 yards for a touchdown when Darrell Luter gave a soft push at the sideline but Jalen White kept his balance and ran down the sideline to the end zone.
Not even half way through the opening quarter the Jags (7-2, 4-1 SBC) were down 14-0 to Georgia Southern (5-4, 2-3 SBC). Fans were thinking “oh no, not again.”
But the Jags were not going to give up that easy.
La’Damian Webb took the team on his shoulders behind the offensive line and ground out a 38-31 come from behind win.
Trailing 31-17 in the 3rd quarter, the Jags got the ball back on the kickoff and answered with a 75 yard, 13 play drive for a touchdown. La’Damian Webb capped off the drive with three straight runs for 4, 3 and then 5 yards into the end zone to make it 31-24. But they lost Dontae Lucas on the TD play after being flagged for unsportmanlike conduct for allegedly spitting on a Georgia Southern player.
After forcing a punt, disaster was averted. Caullin Lacy let the ball hit and bounce, then tried to pick it up with a group of Eagles in front of him. Georgia Southern recovered the ball at the Jags 15 yard line and threatening to go back up by to scores. However Vantrease’s pass to the right sideline in the end zone was slightly overthrown and Yam Banks was in perfect position for the interception and touchback.
The turnover allowed the Jags tie the game early in the 4th quarter behind La’Damian Webb legs and his third touchdown of the game. But Webb was set up by a 27 yard catch by Devin Voisin earlier in the drive.
The SwarmD forced a punt after just four offensive snaps. The punt was fielded by Caullin Lacy at the 7 but he was hit by the Eagles and gifted 15 yards on a kick catch interference penalty. The 78-yard touchdown drive only took seven plays, all but one of them were carries by Webb. He punched the ball in from 9 yards out to give the Jags their first lead of the game with 5:50 left in the game.
The defense forced a 4th & 5 at the Jags 47-yard line, a short pass was caught but Jalen Jordan was right there to drop him two yards short of the line to make. La’Damian Webb kept carrying the ball and kept churning out first downs until they bled Georgia Southern of their time outs and secure the best record in the Jags short history as a FBS Program.
Bradley and the Jags responded after going down by two scores early in the first quarter with a gusty drive capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Wayne to finally get on the board 14-7 at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter.
A pair of penalties on the ensuing Georgia Southern possession helped them down the field. Quarterback Kyle Vantrease hooked up with Derwin Burgess for a 16-yard touchdown to go back up by two scores 21-7, the final score in a high power first quarter.
The Jags were not fazed though. They drove 74 yards down the 1-yard line as the quarter expired. Webb punched it in to start the second quarter to make it 21-14.
Another penalty-ridden drive, three on the Jags and two on Georgia Southern, but the Jags eventually hold the Eagles to a field goal at the 10:17 mark of the 2nd quarter.
Diego Guajardo would answer with a field goal of his own at the 3:23 mark.
After a Jags punt and a block in the back on GSU, they started at their own 25 yard line. The Eagle drove to the Jags 35 yard line facing 4th and 6 with just :06 left until halftime, coach Clay Helton chose to kick a 52 yard field goal to put more points on the board before the half. Coach Wommack called a time out from the sideline just before the snap, which placekicker Michael Lantz was able to just barely get over the crossbar.
After the time out, Charles Coleman III burst through the line and blocked the attempt to preserve a 24-17 deficit at halftime.
Stats
The Jags offense gained 514 total yards of offense, 321 of it was on the ground. They were 8-of-15 on 3rd down conversions with a time of possession of 37:04.
Georgia Southern put up 366 total yards of offense, 278 through the air and only 88 on the ground. The Jags held them to 4-of-12 on 3rd down conversion attempts and only 22:56 time of possession.
La’Damian Webb followed up his offensive player of the week honor from last week with another effort worthy of the same honor. He rushed for 247 yards and 4 touchdowns on 35 carries. His longest run was only 26 yards. He set single-game records for yards and carries in a game while tying the most touchdowns by a player.
Braylon McReynolds rushed for 42 yards on six carries. He also caught one pass for 16 yards and was knocked out of the game when he stayed down after being slung to the ground after the catch and run. He was taken to the trainers’ tent and evaluated for a concussion.
Todd Justice had one carry for 30 yards on the key fake punt.
Carter Bradley went 16-of-27 for 193 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Caullin Lacy led the receivers with 33 yards on three catches. Jalen Wayne added 28 yards and a touchdown on his three catches. DJ Thomas-Jones also had three catches for 17 yards. Three players all has two catches with Devin Voisin gaining 42 yards, Lincoln Sefcik with 31 yards, and Omni Wells with 26 yards.
Jalen Jordan led the Jags with 10 total stops, eight solo. CJ Rias had 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Yam Banks got his 5th interception of the season.
Kyle Vantrease went 26-of-45 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Derwin Burgess led all receivers with 8 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Khaleb Hood added 76 yards on seven catches.
Jalen White led the Eagles rushing attack with 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Gerald Green added 27 yards on five carries.
Next
South Alabama returns home to host Texas State on Saturday, November 12th. Kickoff is scheduled for 4pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium in the Jags annual Hall of Fame game, Honor Band weekend, and Salute to Heroes.
Preview: South Alabama Travels To Georgia Southern
Kickoff: Saturday, November 5, 3:00pm
Venue: Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro, Georgia
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Trey Kiser
South Alabama earned a decisive 31-3 win over Arkansas State last Saturday. But it was a bit more than just another win for the Jaguar football program. It was the sixth win of the season, which marks FBS Bowl Eligibility. A feat that has not been accomplished since 2016.
While six years doesn’t sound like a long time, in football terms it feels like an eternity.
La’Damian Webb started the game with a bang, reeling off a 69-yard run on the opening offensive play of the game. He finished the game with 162 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns. He ran all 11 plays on the Jags final offensive possession, which ended with a score, late in the fourth quarter. That was good enough to earn him Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Jags defense turned in a stellar performance too.
They held the Red Wolves to only 158 yards of total offense and -19 yards rushing. Only 3 of their 15 offensive possessions gained over 12 yards of offense. Five of their possessions finished with negative yardage.
But there’s a few things to work on from this game too. The Jags committed seven first-half penalties, but only one after halftime. Two of them were false starts when they were pinned deep at their own 2-yard line. No other Jaguar running back rushed for more than 12 yards. Webb shouldered the workload, but after Webb went out with an injury earlier in the season Omni Wells and Marco Lee came in rushed for season highs. Where did they go?
Now the Jaguars must turn their attention to Georgia Southern. Last season they broke through and won their first game ever against the Eagles 41-14, in Mobile. Now they get to follow up last seasons win with a trip to Statesboro to see if they can notch their second against the Eagles and their first in Statesboro.
Georgia Southern (5-3, 2-2 SBC)
Georgia Southern had been a long-time powerhouse in the FCS ranks. In 2014 they moved up to FBS and joined the Sun Belt Conference and proceeded to go undefeated 8-0 in conference play their first season. Their success put them as only the third team in the modern era to win a conference title in it’s first FBS season, and the first to ever go undefeated in conference play in their first FBS season. However, they were unable to go to a bowl game due to transition rules and the NCAA denied a waiver request by the school as well. (Also the Sun Belt Conference did not have a Conference Championship Game at that time either.)
In 2017 the Eagles hit their low point with a 2-10 season. But a 52-0 win over the Jags in Statesboro in the next to last game of the season led to South Alabama head coach Joey Jones to not be retained. Georgia Southern took the interim tag off of Chad Lunsford, who took over the head coaching duties for the Eagles mid-season. In 2018 they went 10-3 with a win over then #25 ranked rival Appalachian State and a bowl victory over Eastern Michigan.
In 2019 and 2020 they posted 7-5 records. The beginning of 2021, after a 1-2 start, the Eagles fired Lunsford and finished 3-9.
Former USC head coach Clay Helton was hired and immediately went to work overhauling the Eagles offense. Georgia Southern had been known as a triple-option powerhouse for many years in FCS and again in FBS.
Helton’s transition has been pretty successful too.
Offense
Helton and offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis’ offensive scheme see them throw the ball over an average of 45 times per game. Nealy 60% of their offensive plays have been pass plays so far this season.
Ellis came to GSU after helping Western Kentucky to a Conference USA championship in 2021 where their offense ranked 2nd in FBS with 44.2 points per game, 2nd in total offense (535.3 yards per game), and led the nation with 433.7 passing yards per game (41.1 yards above the 2nd ranked team). They had 92 offensive plays of 20+ yards with 24 going for touchdowns.
The Eagles offense is averaging 36.9 points, 494.5 total yards, 338.0 passing yards, 156.5 rushing yards, and 29:29 time of possession per game. They are converting 71-of-130 (54.6%) of their 3rd down attempts and 8-of-15 (53.3%) of their 4th down attempts on the season. They have committed 13 turnovers on the season, only one of them have been a fumble.
Of the Eagles 34 trips into the red zone, they have scored on 32 of those trips with 23 of them being touchdowns.
Kyle Vantrease, a transfer from Buffalo, is 232-of-374 (62%) passing on the season for 2,704 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
While they have lots of numbers for their receivers, Khaleb Hood is their leading receiver with 53 catches for 609 yards and two touchdowns. Derwin Burgess Jr has 45 catches for 546 yards and five touchdowns. Jeremy Singleton has 46 catches for 497 yards and two touchdowns. Amare Jones has 35 catches for 483 yards and six touchdowns. The last receiver with double-digit receptions is Jalen White with 18 for 183 yards and a touchdown.
Jalen White leads the rushing attack with 678 yards on 132 carries with nine touchdowns. Gerald Green has 404 yards on 71 carries with six touchdowns.
Head coach Kane Wommack and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon have their hands full with this passing offense. But they use the rushing attack to open up their passing game.
Defense
As much as the offense takes, the defense allows almost as much.
On average the Eagles defense allows 30.4 points, 480.9 total yards, 270.1 passing yards, 210.8 rushing yards, and 30:31 time of possession per game. Opponents are converting 42-of-106 (39.6%) of their 3rd down attempts and 7-of-12 (58.3%) of their 4th down attempts.
The defense has taken the ball away 11 times on the season, only three of them have been fumble recoveries.
Of their opponents 35 trips into the red zone, they have only scored on 25 of them with 18 of them being touchdowns.
Special Teams
Alex Raynor has attempted all but one of the team’s field goal attempts. He is 12-of-14 on the season with a long of 45 yards and has only missed one of his 36 extra point attempts. Michael Lantz attempted one from 50+ yards but was unsuccessful.
Anthony Beck II has punted 26 times with an average of 44 yards per kick with 11 downed inside the 20, six kicks of 50+ yards with a long of 59.
South Alabama (6-2, 3-1 SBC)
Offense
The Jags are now averaging 31.6 points, 422.8 total yards, 274.5 passing yards, 148.3 rushing yards, and 31.46 time of possession per game this season. They didn’t have a particularly good game on 3rd down so their conversion rate on the season is now 50-of-116 (43.1%) and their 4th down conversion rate is 5-of-12 (41.7%) on the season.
They didn’t give the ball away last weekend so they hold fast with only 7 offensive turnovers, two of them being fumbles. Of 33 trips to the red zone, they have scored 28 times with 21 of them being touchdowns.
Carter Bradley saw all the action against the Red Wolves and is now 172-of-262 (65.7%) for 2,088 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. Most of the passing plays against the Red Wolves were short and towards the perimeter due to the rainy conditions. They wanted to limit the possibility of a wet ball being tipped or slipping through a receivers hands and being intercepted.
Jalen Wayne leads the way receiving with 642 yards and six touchdowns on 43 catches. Caullin Lacy is right behind him with 582 yards and three touchdowns on 45 catches. Devin Voisin has 425 yards on 36 catches with a touchdown.
Webb has 649 rushing yards on the season on 128 attempts with nine touchdowns. Then there’s a big dropoff to the next rushers: 157 yards by Omni Wells, 152 yards for Marco Lee but he has four touchdowns. True freshman Braylon McReynolds, who made his return to the lineup after missing a couple games, has 108 yards on 22 carries this season as a true freshman.
Defense
After the big effort last week, the Jags statistics are looking great this year. They are now ranked 4th in FBS in rushing defense, 16th in scoring defense, 8th in 3rd down conversion defense, and 18th in first down defense.
The defense is allowing an average of 17.6 points, 294.5 total yards, 209.8 passing yards, 84.8 rushing yards, and 27:36 time of possession per game.
Opposing offenses are converting 29-of-107 (27.1%) of their 3rd down attempts and 10-of-17 (58.8%) of their 4th down attempts.
Defensively they have taken the ball away 16 times, 7 fumbles and 9 interceptions.
James Miller leads the team with 44 total stops, 24 solo, with 4 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Jaden Voisin has 43 total stops, 25 solo, with 4 tackles for loss and an interception.
CJ Rias leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss with Trey Kiser right behind him with 5 TFL’s. Jamie Sheriff, with his effort against ASU, leads the team with for sacks. Rias is right on his heels with three sacks. Yam Banks continues to lead the team with four interceptions.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo only saw action in extra point attempts, where he made all four. He is still a perfect 11-of-11 on the season with a long of 48.
Jack Brooks, who wore the honorary #5 jersey, is averaging 41.88 yards per kick this season. He has 14 downed inside the 20. Although he had one mishap against Arkansas State, when a snap got away from him and he was taken down without being able to punt the ball away.
Keys to the Game
Fast Start
When the Jags get off to a fast start against a team, they seemingly cannot be stopped. Through eight games, when the Jags lead after the first quarter, they are 6-1. They jumped out to a 14-3 lead over Arkansas State and never looked back. They were up 14-0 over Louisiana Tech and also sailed to a 38-14 win. Also, against Central Michigan, they jumped out to a 20-7 lead and a 31-10 halftime lead as they cruised to a 38-24 win, though CMU scored two late touchdowns to make it seem much closer than it was. The lone loss was to UCLA where they held 10-6 lead after the first quarter.
The Jags recipe for success is to jump on their opponent early and seize the momentum. This has really helped this team go from a bad road record team to sitting at 3-1 in road games this season, the first time a Jags team has won three road games in a season since 2014. Until this season the Jags had only won three road games in total in the previous four seasons. They were winless on the road for two seasons in 2018 and 2019.
It would be nice to jump out to a fast start on Saturday in Statesboro.
Defensive Front Play
The Jags have allowed several explosive plays through the air on defense. Explosive plays are not an official stat, so their definition varies by team. Some consider an explosive pass play to be 15 yards or more, others define it as 20 yards or more.
The Jags secondary hasn’t been the strongest unit, but they aren’t slouches either. Offenses are throwing the ball more over the last several years than they have in years before so defensive secondaries are under more pressure than ever before. But the Jags defense has turned teams one-dimensional with their 4th ranked rushing defense.
The Jags lost preseason honoree Keith Gallmon to injury in preseason camp. Darrell Luter has been hampered by a wrap on one of his hands. Transfer Jamar Richardson missed time with an injury. The latest injury to affect the secondary was to transfer Marvin Martin, who was rushed to the hospital by ambulance after a hit during practice. News has been positive for Martin, it remains unknown if his playing career is over but the current focus is on his health and wellbeing.
Last week against Arkansas State, a fairly prolific passing team, the Jags defensive front generated a ton of pressure on a quarterback that wasn’t 100% and playing in the rain. They generated four sacks in the game with numerous quarterback hurries.
But they shut down the run and made Arkansas State one dimensional.
Coach Wommack and coach Batoon have a goal to shut down the Georgia Southern rushing attack. The Eagles establish the run early to then open up the passing game.
Strong play by the defensive front, particularly the defensive line, to shut down the run and also in generating pressure on the quarterback will be key to limiting the Eagles scoring opportunities.
The Jags will definitely be without linebacker Quentin Wilfawn as coach Wommack announced that he will miss the remainder of the season with a neck issue that will require surgery. However, they say he will have eligibility for the 2023 season and will be able to return along with Keith Gallmon.
Turnovers
Any time you play on the road, turnovers are a key part of the game. You’re playing in a hostile environment and a turnover can give momentum to your opponent and energize their fans.
South Alabama has been quite greedy with turnovers. With a +9 turnover margin (16 takeaways to 7 giveaways) the Jags often win the turnover battle. However, defensive coaches have been encouraging the defense that they should be generating more turnovers. Look for the Jags to be eager to give the ball back to their offense more down the stretch. This weekend would be a great time to get that ball rolling with more momentum in the closing month of the regular season.
Prediction
The spread has been a consistent with the Jags as a 3.5 to 4 point favorite over the Eagles.
The Eagles are 3-0 at home this season with a 45-38 win over then #25 ranked James Madison just a couple of weeks ago. They also notched a 45-42 win over Power 5 Nebraska in week 2. Add in that they were on a bye last Saturday; the Jags will be facing a rested Georgia Southern team in a very tough environment.
Coach Wommack and his staff always has his team ready to play. They have turned the overall culture around very quickly and the road game culture is paying off so far this season.
This is a very winnable game, but it also has me nervous. I feel that it’s going to be an interesting and exciting game, but I feel that the Jags win a very close game. Possibly too close for comfort.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Looks To Rebound From Loss At Arkansas State
Kickoff: Saturday, October 29, 3:00pm
Venue: Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro, Arkansas
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Jack Brooks
The 10-6 Jags loss at home to Troy was a tough fought slugfest. The Jags offense went from 615 yards of offense the week before to just 246 against the Trojans. The Trojans front seven were in the backfield all night blowing up rushing attempts and pressuring and hitting Bradley. There were a few times that Bradley was a bit slow getting up after some punishing blows too.
The Jaguar defense was gritty and tough as well, holding the Trojans to 266 total yards of offense.
But some questionable officiating left many scratching their heads. But at the end of the day complaining about officiating will get you nowhere. You just have to elevate your play and leave do doubt who the better team is. Ultimately Troy was able to execute their gameplan to limit the Jags offensive plays and shortening the game.
Now the Jags Western division fate is partially out of their hands, yet they still control one aspect of their destiny: how they respond.
The remaining games on their schedule are still very winnable and they can still finish the regular season with 10 wins.
But head coach Kane Wommack’s process driven approach will have his team focusing on Arkansas State and only Arkansas State. They don’t set goals like getting to the conference championship game. Part of their approach is that, if they win, those things will take care of themself.
The Jags hold a 6-4 advantage over the Red Wolves, including winning the last three match-ups between the two programs. Jalen Tolbert was instrumental in those three wins.
Who will step up and fill those cleats in torching the Red Wolves secondary? Hopefully each of the big three have a great day on Saturday.
Arkansas State (2-6, 1-4 SBC)
The second season under Butch Jones isn’t going quite like the Red Wolves faithful had hoped. Just when it looked like Jones and his staff were getting things worked out and in order, the injury bug hits and it hit hard.
Jaguar fans can commiserate with them over the years too.
They have wins over Grambling State and ULM to their record. They had some close losses to Old Dominion (29-26) and Southern Miss (20-19). Their other losses have been to Ohio State, Memphis, James Madison and just last weekend Louisiana-Lafayette.
In all the Red Wolves were missing three cornerbacks, the starting quarterback, and the rotational running back at Lafayette. Jones went into the game playing the backup quarterback, but then he suffered an injury in the third quarter and had to turn to a true freshman. Not to mention one of their offensive linemen is playing with a broken foot.
Throw on top of the laundry list of injuries that their roster consists of about 70 freshmen and sophomores.
Unlike “It’s a Wonderful Life” where they say “every time a bell rings an angel gets it’s wings”, with the Red Wolves it’s “every time there’s an injury, another redshirt is burnt.” Not nearly as catchy.
According to Jones, quarterback James Blackman is expected to return to play. However this could be more gamesmanship to force the Jags to prepare for two different quarterbacks.
Offense
The Red Wolves are averaging 28.8 points, 349.3 total yards, 242.8 passing, 106.5 rushing, and 31:30 time of possession per game. They are converting 41-of-117 of their 3rd down attempts (35%) and 10-of-16 of their 4th down attempts (62.5%) on the year.
The Red Wolves have been in the red zone 28 times and have scored 25 of those trips, 18 of them being touchdowns though.
They’ve fumbled nine times and lost three of them and have only thrown two interceptions all season. They average 5.1 yards per play, which is a pretty good stat on paper. It just hasn’t translated well in the win/loss columns.
James Blackman leads the quarterbacks going 149-of-215 (69.3%) for 1,695 yards, 11 touchdowns and an interception. AJ Mayer is 18-of-38 for 213 yards and a touchdown. Jaxon Dailey is 5-of-9 for 34 yards in only two appearances this season.
Seydou Traore is the leading receiver with 31 catches for 474 yards and three touchdowns. Champ Flemings has 29 catches for 352 yards and a touchdown. Jeff Foreman has 16 catches for 321 yards and a team leading four touchdowns. Three other receivers have over 100 yards receiving on the season.
Johnnie Lang leads the running backs with 313 yards on 82 attempts with two touchdowns. Brian Snead has 277 yards on 74 carries with six touchdowns. Two other players have over 100 yards rushing, one of them is quarterback AJ Mayer.
Defense
They are allowing on average 31.1 points, 409 total yards, 260.8 passing, 148.3 rushing yards, and 28:30 time of possession per game. Opponents are converting 40-of-107 (37.4%) of their 3rd down attempts and 9-of-14 (64.3%) of their 4th down attempts. Of the 20 trips into the red zone, opponents have scored 18 times with only two of them being field goals.
They have forced 16 fumbles but have only recovered four of them while also gathering three interceptions.
Jordan Carmouche leads the team with 54 total stops, 21 of them solo and a tied for the team lead with 5.5 tackles for loss. Trevian Thomas is next with 46 total stops, 28 solo, and is co-leader in tackles for loss with Carmouche with 5.5. Dennard Flower leads the team with three sacks, followed by Kivon Bennett with 2.5 sacks. Safety Eddie Smith leads the team with two interceptions.
Special Teams
Dominic Zvada is a perfect 12-of-12 on the season with a long of 46 yards, and has made 23-of-24 extra point attempts. Ryan Hanson is averaging 44.1 yards per punt with 12 downed inside the 20, 7 of 50+ yards, 8 fair catches, 1 touchback and a long of 68 yards over his 32 punts this season.
Johnnie Lang has a kickoff return for a touchdown on the season and is averaging 26.6 yards per return.
South Alabama (5-2, 2-1 SBC)
The Jags got help from a couple of players that they were unsure would be able to go. La’Damian Webb was able to play but was unable to be effective in the game. DJ Thomas-Jones was able to return after collapsing on the sidelines earlier this season and having a battery of tests run to ensure he was healthy to return to play, but only managed one catch.
Quentin Wilfawn returned to play but seemed to have missed some time or possibly the remainder of the game after aggravating his shoulder injury.
Offense
At this point in the season the Jags are averaging 31.7 points, 431.4 total yards, 288.1 passing yards, 143.3 rushing yards, and 31:10 time of possession per game. They are converting 47-of-101 of their 3rd down attempts (46.5%) and 3-of-8 of their 4th down attempts (37.5%).
Of their 30 trips into the red zone, they have scored 25 times with 18 of them being touchdowns.
Jags players have fumbled only four times on the season and lost two of them. Only five passes have been intercepted on the season as well for a total of only seven turnovers.
Carter Bradley is 155-of-238 for 1,909 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season as the leading signal caller.
Jalen Wayne leads the Jaguar trio of receivers with 559 receiving yards and five touchdowns on his 40 receptions. Caullin Lacy leads the trio in receptions with 42, for 553 yards and three touchdowns. Devin Voisin, who’s been clutch over the last few games, has 35 catches for 427 yards and a touchdown.
La’Damian Webb leads the team with 487 yards rushing on 100 carries with six touchdowns. Omni Wells has 156 yards on 34 carries. Marco Lee has 140 yards on 35 carries with four touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds has 104 yards on 18 attempts in the first five games of the season before missing the last couple of games with an injury.
Defense
The Jags are allowing an average of only 19.7 points, 314 total yards, 214.4 passing, 99.6 rushing yards, and 28:07 time of possession per game. Opposing teams are converting 27-of-93 of their 3rd down attempts (29%) and 9-of-15 of their 4th down attempts (60%).
Teams have been in the red zone 21 times on this defense and came away with points on 15 of those trips with only 10 of them being touchdowns.
James Miller and Jaden Voisin are the co-leaders on defense with 36 stops each, both of them with 21 solo. Trey Kiser is next in line with 35 stops, 25 solo.
CJ Rias leads the team with 5 tackles for loss and also with tree sacks on the season.
Yam Banks added a fourth interception against the Trojans to extend his team lead. Jaden Voisin, AJ DeShazor, Ke’Shun Brown, Darrell Luter Jr and CJ Thompson all have one pick each.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is a perfect 11-of-11 on the season with a long of 48 on field goals. He also has only missed one of his 26 extra point attempts on the season.
Jack Brooks is averaging 41.7 yards per punt across his 33 kicks this season. He has 12 downed inside the 20, 8 fair caught, 6 kicks of 50+ yards and two touchbacks. Brooks, who is the oldest Jaguar on the squad at 29, will be recognized for his contributions to the team by wearing the honorary #5 jersey. The Wagga Wagga, Australia native is in his fourth season with the Jags. Thanks to covid eligibility rules changes, he will be eligible to return and play a fifth season if he wants.
Keys to the Game
Responding to Adversity
The biggest game is always the next one.
The Jags responded well after their only other loss this season. They came out with a vengeance and earned a 38-14 win over Louisiana Tech. But Arkansas State will be looking to turn their ship around and break their losing streak to the Jags now that their nemesis, Jalen Tolbert, is gone.
Injuries
The Jags have been plagued by injuries to some key contributors this season. No one wants to be bitten by the dreaded injury bug, and so far the Jags have managed to avoid an injury bug infestation (knock on wood). Hopefully the players will be able to return sooner rather than later.
But staying healthy is key for a physical team like the Jags.
Attrition in the running back corps led the Jags to have only two running backs available against ULM. Terrion Avery left the team, McReynolds has not been able to play the last couple of games, then Webb was injured on the first possession against ULM.
Webb managed to return last week and Brian Hill suited up from the practice squad to provide extra depth in case Webb was unable to go. McReynolds may be able to return this week, we probably won’t know until pregame warmups if he made the trip with the team and if he’s suiting up.
Offensive Line
The offensive line was pushed around by Troy. The Jags couldn’t get their running game going and they couldn’t protect Bradley consistently. They’ve played great early in the season and especially against UCLA.
The team needs them to return to early season form. They’ll have a good opportunity against Arkansas State with their injury situation.
Prediction
Can Jalen Wayne be the next Jalen that induces a years worth of nightmares like his departed brethren Jalen Tolbert had for the previous three years? Will the next monster of the Red Wolves nightmares be Caullin Lacy or Devin Voisin? This game will be on Halloween weekend, you know.
The spread opened around 9.5 points in favor of South Alabama and has gone up to 12.5 points in favor of the Jags.
The Jags are 0-3 against the spread over the last three games against Lafayette, Monroe, and Troy.
This is another nationally televised game, the third consecutive actually, and the Jags will be looking to make a statement after falling to Troy. I think the Jags win and cover the spread in this one.
We’ll know Saturday night if and who the Red Wolves will have nightmares about until the next meeting.
Go Jags!
Jags Fall To troy 10-6 In Annual “Battle for the Belt” Game
South Alabama (5-2, 2-1 SBC) was held to only a pair of field goals by Troy (6-2, 4-1 SBC) (and the refs) in the annual “Battle for the Belt” game as they fall by a score of 10-6.
The Jags were held to 246 yards of total offense, 215 yards through the air and a mere 31 yards rushing.
Troy only gained 266 total yards of offense, 138 through the air and 128 on the ground.
A number of questionable calls (and no-calls) in the game all went against the Jags. Blatant late hit out of bounds wasn’t flagged. Horse collar tackle was flagged on Troy, then picked up. A deep pass by Carter Bradley for Devin Voisin at the 4 yard line was reviewed and ruled incomplete. A final possession pass went into and immediately out of the hands of a receiver and was catch and fumble and upheld on review allowing time to expire.
This was the second worst officiated Sun Belt game I have ever seen in person, the worst being the 2017 3OT debacle of a game against Idaho. There were many who were asking if this was real and if this was the best crew the Sun Belt could muster for a Thursday night, nationally televised game.
Carter Bradley finished the game 29-of-40 for 215 yards and an interception. Devin Voisin had nine catches for 93 yards to lead all receivers. Omni Wells led the Jags rushing game with just 21 yards on four carries.
South Alabama will have some extra time to regroup and prepare for a trip to Arkansas State on Saturday, October 29.
Preview: Battle For The Belt, South Alabama vs Troy
Kickoff: Thursday, October 20, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Carter Bradley
It’s the “Battle for the Belt” week.
When South Alabama announced the formation of a football team, it was destined to become a rivalry. Two institutions separated by 170 miles that are already in the same conference and rivals in other sport. Football just made it that much more.
Troy has won the last four meetings between the two schools to gain a 7-3 advantage in the series. Last year was the closest game over that four-game span was a 31-24 decision in Troy.
The remainder of the Jags season was thrown off script by that game too.
On the first series of the game the Jags lost starting quarterback Jake Bentley on a hit below the knee that tore two tendons in his knee. That put the Jags season in Desmond Trotter’s hands until Bentley returned for the season finale against Coastal Carolina. Unfortunately, the Jags couldn’t earn a win in the final three games and were unable to attain bowl eligibility in head coach Kane Wommack’s first season at the helm.
Fast forward to this season and both teams have an opportunity to reach bowl eligibility in this game. But most of all the winner of this game will control their destiny in the Sun Belt Conference Western Division and a berth in the conference championship game. South Alabama received votes in the Associated Press poll for the first time since 2016.
Troy (5-2, 3-1 SBC)
The Trojans are under the direction of first-year head coach Jon Sumrall. But he is familiar with Troy as he served on Neal Brown’s staff from 2015-2017 as associate head coach and was defensive coordinator and special teams coach.
Sumrall began his coaching career at Kentucky after suffering a career-ending injury. He served as a graduate assistant from 2005-2006. He then got his first coaching position with San Diego as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator 2007-2009 before being promoted to associate head coach, linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator from 2010-2011. He then went to Tulane as co-defensive coordinator from 2012-2014 where he also coached the defensive line for the first two seasons then linebackers the final season there.
In 2018 he left Troy for Ole Miss where he coached linebackers for a season. He then went back to his alma mater, Kentucky, to coach inside linebackers from 2019-2020 before being promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2021.
The two losses that Troy has on their 2022 record is a 28-10 loss at then #21 ranked Ole Miss and a 32-28 loss at Appalachian State on a hail mary touchdown pass as time expired.
Offense
Joe Craddock is in his first season as offensive coordinator at Troy. His coaching career began as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Briarwood Christian school from 2010-2011 where they went 25-4 with him on staff and finished at the 2010 state runner-up in their division. He then went to Clemson for the 2012 season as an offensive player development coach then he moved to an on-field graduate assistant position working with quarterbacks from 2013-2014. Chad Morris, whom he met at Clemson, hired him at SMU as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2015-2017 which made him the youngest offensive coordinator in college football at the time. When Chad Morris was hired as head coach at Arkansas, he brought Craddock with him as his OC, a position he held from 2018-2019. The last two seasons he served as tight ends coach at UAB.
Craddock’s offense ranked #8 in FBS in scoring offense (40.2 points), #13 in total offense (493.8 yards) and #16 in passing yards (308 yards) in 2017 at SMU. That season they had a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher, and two 1,000-yard receivers.
So far in 2022, the Trojans are averaging 24.3 points, 399.4 total yards, 312.7 passing yards, 86.7 rushing yards, and 30:38 time of possession per game.
They are converting 32-of-91 (35.2%) of their 3rd down attempts and 7-of-14 (50%) of their 4th down conversion attempts. Troy quarterbacks have thrown a total of nine interceptions and they have lost four fumbles for a total of 13 offensive turnovers. They’ve been in the red zone 27 times on the season and have scored points on 20 of those trips, 12 of them being touchdowns.
Gunnar Watson is the team’s leading quarterback going 122-of-193 for 1,691 yards, six touchdowns and 7 interceptions on the season. Jarret Doege is 34-of-50 for 491 yards with five touchdowns to two interceptions on the season.
Deshon Stoudemire leads the Trojans in receptions with 30 catches for 337 yards and a touchdown. Tez Johnson leads the team in receiving yards with 479 on 22 receptions with three touchdowns. Jabre Barber has 25 catches for 351 yards and two touchdowns. RaJae’ Johnson has 15 catches for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Two other receivers have 128 or more receiving yards on the season.
DK Billingsley leads the Trojans running game with 386 yards on 77 attempts with three touchdowns. Kimani Vidal has 308 yards on 76 carries with two touchdowns. No other back has more than 35 rushing yards on the season.
Gunnar Watson and Tez Johnson left games early with injury. Sumrall said publicly that they should be available to play on Thursday, but until pre-game warmups and kickoff we won’t know if this is a ruse to keep the Jags spending time preparing for players who won’t see the field.
Defense
Shiel Wood was hired by Sumrall as defensive coordinator when he took the helm. Wood began his coaching career at Woodruff High School in South Carolina in 2006. He then joined his alma mater, Wofford, in 2007 and spent a total of eight seasons there. From 2007-2010 he coached wide receivers, from 2011-2012 he coached safeties. From 2016-2017 he served as recruiting coordinator and coached the secondary, in 2017 he added defensive coordinator to his list of duties. In 2018 he coached the safeties at Georgia Tech and helped them to a bowl berth. In 2019 he served as inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for Georgia State. In 2020 he joined the Army program as co-defensive coordinator, his first season he coached the inside linebackers before transitioning to coach safeties in his last season.
His 2021 squad finished 9-4 with a win over Missouri in the Armed Forces Bowl. The defense ranked 17th nationally, they held opponents to 328.4 yards per game, ranked 36th by allowing 22.3 points per game, and 17th nationally allowing 117.2 yards per game rushing.
Opponents are averaging 19.3 points, 341.0 total offensive yards, 229.7 passing yards, 111.3 rushing yards, and 29:22 time of possession per game.
Opponents are converting 48-of-111 (43.2%) of their 3rd down attempts and 8-of-14 (57.1%) of their 4th down attempts on the season. The defense has forced seven interceptions and recovered five fumbles for a total of 12 forced turnovers. Opponents have been in their red one 21 times on the season and scoring on 17 of those trips, 14 of them touchdowns.
Linebacker Carlton Martial leads the team with 63 total stops, 25 of them solo, he has 2.5 tackles for loss with .5 sack with two pass breakups and an interception. Martial is a Mobile native who went to McGill-Toolen.
Craig Slocum Jr is the next closest tackler with 53 on the season, 20 solo. T.J. Jackson leads the Trojans with 10.5 tackles for loss, and also leads the team with 5.5 sacks. Markeis Colvin is the team leader with two interceptions.
Special Teams
Placekicker Brooks Bruce is 10-of-11 on the season with a long of 48 yards. Mike Rivers has punted 30 times with an average of 43.5 yards per kick, a long of 56 yards, three touchbacks, 15 fair catches, 13 downed inside the 20 and 5 that went 50+ yards.
South Alabama (5-1, 2-0 SBC)
The Jags got some revenge against Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday night with a 41-34 win. Though a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter made it a one-possession game, Marco Lee effectively took the team on his shoulders as he ground out first downs on the final possession of the game, draining time off the clock and denying ULM a chance to possess the ball once more.
The Jags secondary was torched by Tyrone Howell for the tune of 244 yards on nine catches with three touchdowns.
Coach Wommack, defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, and the staff and players will look to correct the mistakes and prepare for the Trojans with two fewer days than normal game-week preparation.
Offense
Looking at the team statistics, particularly rushing, you wouldn’t have known the Jags lost their starting running back La’Damian Webb on the first possession to an injury. Omni Wells and Marco Lee combined to rush for 178 yards between the two of them. The Jags as a team rushed for 195 yards
After a productive third quarter, the Jags were held to 96 offensive yards and just 18 snaps in the fourth quarter, 10 of those snaps and 79 of those yards came on the final possession as the Jags milked the clock for the win.
On the season the Jags are averaging 36.0 points, 462.3 total yards, 300.3 passing yards, 162 rushing yards, and 31:56 time of possession per game.
They are converting 43-of-88 (48.9%) of their 3rd down attempts and 2-of-7 (28.6%) of their 4th down attempts. Jag quarterbacks have thrown four interceptions and lost only two fumbles for a total of only 6 giveaways on the season. In 29 trips to the red zone, they have come away with points on 24 of those occasions with 18 of them being touchdowns.
Carter Bradley is 126-of-198 for 1,694 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. He set a single-game record against ULM with 420 passing yards in the game.
The “Big Three” receivers for the Jags each had over 100 yard receiving last time out against ULM. Caullin Lacy leads the team with 35 catches for 503 yards and three touchdowns for the season. Jalen Wayne is right behind him with 31 catches for 491 yards and five touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 26 catches for 334 yards and a touchdown.
La’Damian Webb leads the team with 470 rushing yards on 91 carries with six touchdowns. Marco Lee has 138 yards on 33 carries with four touchdowns. Omni Wells has 141 on 30 carries. Lee and Wells each were close to 100 yards rushing each last week against the Warhawks. Braylon McReynolds, who’s been the teams #2 back has had a quad issue since the Louisiana-Lafayette game. The staff are publicly hopeful that he may return this week. Both Webb and McReynolds availability look to be game-time decisions.
Defense
The Jags defense is allowing an average of 21.3 points, 322.0 total yards, 227.2 passing yards, 94.8 rushing yards, and 27:14 time of possession per game.
Opponents are converting just 26-of-81 (32.1%) of their 3rd down attempts and 7-of-13 (53.9%) of their 4th down attempts. They have forced teams into eight interceptions and six fumbles for a total of 14 takeaways. Of the opponents 19 trips into the red zone, they have scored 14 times with nine of them being touchdowns.
Linebacker James Miller leads the Jags defense with 33 total stops, 19 of them solo, with 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Brock Higdon leads the team with 3.5 tackles for loss with one sack. Jaden Voisin, Trey Kiser, and CJ Rias each have three tackles for loss each. Kiser, Rias, and Wy’Kevious Thomas all have two sacks each to lead the team. Yam Banks leads the team with three interceptions as well as four pass breakups.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo remains perfect on the season making all nine of his field goal attempts, adding two more over ULM, with a season long of 48. He is also 25-of-26 in extra point attempts and leads the team in scoring with 52 points on the season.
Jack Brooks has punted 26 times for an average of 41.7 yards per punt, a long of 58, five punts of 50+ yards, 10 downed inside the 20, four fair caught and only two touchbacks.
Caullin Lacy is averaging 14.7 yards per punt return with one touchdown return on the season. He also has a 49 yard kickoff return on his resume for the season.
Keys to the Game
Turnovers
In a rivalry game, turnovers play a huge part of the game. A poorly times mistake can swing the momentum to your opponent on a dime. The Jags are +8 in turnover margin and are very protective of the ball with only six giveaways on the season.
Meanwhile Troy is +1 on the season in turnover margin. They’ve given the ball away 13 times but have generated 12 takeaways defensively.
Pass Defense
The Jags secondary were exposed on a few pass plays and allowed a number of explosive plays, including an 83 yard touchdown pass. The Trojans, who are a primarily passing offense, will try to exploit the same weaknesses if given the opportunity.
Coach Wommack and coach Batoon have certainly worked with the players on those issues and will come into the game with a good gameplan to get pressure on the Trojan quarterback and limit the explosive plays. But how will the players execute is the question.
Health
The Jags were able to return a few players to the lineup after their bye week. Braylon McReynolds and Quintin Wilfawn were two notable exceptions. McReynolds has not played since prior to the Louisiana-Lafayette game due to a quad issue. La’Damian Webb left the ULM game with an injury on the teams first possession. Without Webb and McReynolds, the Jags were left with Omni Wells and Marco Lee at running back.
Wells and Lee performed great against ULM, neither one has had anywhere near that level of success in the previous five games. They were the next men up and they played their heart out.
Who can forget losing Bentley to a hit below the knee on the first drive last year at Troy.
There is some uncertainty out of Troy as well as they lost their starting quarterback Gunnar Watson early in their game against Texas State last Saturday. It’s unknown if Watson and Tez Johnson, who also left the game early, will both be available to play in the game. Coach Wommack said they will continue to prepare for both quarterbacks since they do utilize a rotation at that position.
If Webb, McReynolds, and Wilfawn can all play Thursday night, that would be a huge boost to the Jags roster for the rivalry game. I’m sure they are eager to see action against the Trojans too.
Prediction
Rivalry games can be difficult to prognosticate. There are times when you can “throw the records out the door.” Troy is a good team, particularly on defense. They are riding a four-game winning streak in the series.
The Jags are a 3-point favorite at home. Which traditionally the home team is typically given a three-point advantage, which translates to the bookies considering the game basically a toss-up.
I feel that this game could honestly go either way, it would be a big win by the Jags or it could be a nail-biter.
This game is always circled on the calendar, but I think this one had some extra circles drawn around it. Coach Wommack doesn’t focus too much on any one particular opponents too much, but if there ever was one, this would probably be it. My gut is nervous but my head tells me the Jags should win this barring any unforeseen developments prior to or during the game. I’m going with a Jags win and cover.
Go Jags! Go home Troy!
Jags Hold Off ULM For 41-34 Win
South Alabama dominated the third quarter with 17 points and added another touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter allowed the Jags to withstand a late charge by Louisiana-Monroe for a 41-34 win.
The Jags (5-1, 2-0 Sun Belt Conference) scored on their first four possessions of the second half to take a 41-20 advantage with 14:55 left in the fourth quarter after trailing 17-20 at halftime.
South Alabama took the opening possession of the second half and only needed five plays to drive 75 yards. The drive was capped off by quarterback Carter Bradley connecting with Jalen Wayne for a 20 yard touchdown for a 24-20 advantage.
On the ensuing possession, a tipped pass was intercepted by Yam Banks, who wore the honorary #5 jersey in the game. It only took two plays for the Jags to cash in on the turnover. A 17 yard pass to Devin Voisin set up a 24 yard touchdown pass to Caullin Lacy to put the Jags up 31-20 at the 10:29 mark.
The Jags defense forced the Warhawks to punt after four plays. Bradley connected with Lacy for a 44 yard gain to the Warhawks 18 yard line. A few plays later head coach Kane Wommack settled for a 29 yard field goal by Diego Guajardo for a 34-20 lead at the 3:51 mark.
The Swarm D forced a three-and-out, Lacy returned the punt 26 yards to their own 45 yard line. Marco Lee carried the ball the final four plays of the drive and scored on the first play of the fourth quarter from 5 yards out to put the Jags up 41-20 and seemingly cruising to victory.
Two possessions later, the Warhawks took advantage of a coverage mixup by the Jags for touchdown pass. Tyrone Howell caught it one yard past the line of scrimmage and outraced the Jags defenders for an 83 yard touchdown to cut the lead to two scores with 9:47 left in the game.
USA’s offense was only able to get one first down before being forced to punt on the ensuing possession. The Warhawks took advantage of another mistake in coverage for a 41 yard gain on their first offensive play from scrimmage. Five plays later the Warhawks converted a 4th and 1 at the Jags 7 yard line with a 7 yard touchdown pass to Zach Rasmussen to cut the Jags lead to 41-34 with just 5:00 left in the game.
Offensive coordinator Major Applewhite leaned on Marco Lee and he came through each time with clutch runs on key 3rd down situations. He carried the ball six times for 57 yards on the 10 play drive, but his final carry for 7 yards sealed the game when he got a first down after ULM had used their final time out. Bradley was able to kneel twice to preserve the win.
Stats
A number of records were broken in the game. Carter Bradley threw for 420 yards, breaking the record previously held by Jake Bentley. Caullin Lacy had 12 receptions, a new single-game record. Devin Voisin, Jalen Wayne and Lacy each had over 100 yards receiving, a first in South Alabama program history.
Carter Bradley was 25-of-33 passing with three touchdowns with the 420 passing yards.
Lacy finished with 133 yards on his 12 receptions with a touchdown. Voisin caught seven passes for 141 yards. Jalen Wayne added 127 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions. Lincoln Sefcik was the only other Jaguar to catch a pass in the game.
La’Damian Webb only had one carry for 7 yards before leaving the game with a rib injury in the first quarter. Marco Lee had 15 carries for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Omni Wells added 17 carries 85 yards.
Chandler Rogers was 20-of-27 for 371 yards, four touchdowns and an interception with three sacks.
Tyrone Howell torched the Jags defense for 244 receiving yards on 9 receptions with three touchdowns. Jevin Frett had three receptions for 83 yards and Bug Mortimer also had three receptions for 28 yards.
Malik Jackson rushed for 39 yards on 13 carries as the Warhawks leading rusher.
The Jags put up 615 yards of total offense, 420 yards passing and 195 rushing. They were 6-of-13 on 3rd down attempts and did not convert their only 4th down attempt. According to the final stats, ULM possessed the ball for 28:18 while the Jags possessed the ball 26:42, which is exactly five minutes short of a full 60 minutes so we guess the missing five minutes belong to the Jags on the final drive to boost their TOP to 31:42.
ULM put up 438 yards of total offense, with 371 passing yards and 67 rushing yards. The Warhawks only converted 3-of-12 of their 3rd down attempts but converted both of their 4th down attempts against the Jags.
Quentin Wilfawn and Dontae Lucas both sat out the game while Jamar Richardson and Brandon Crum both returned to play for the first time since getting injured against UCLA on September 24th.
Next
The Jags will host Troy (5-2, 3-1 SBC) for the annual Battle for the Belt on Thursday, October 20th at Hancock Whitney Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 6:30pm on ESPNU.
Jaguars Fall To UCLA 32-31 On Walk-Off Field Goal
South Alabama (2-1) botches a trick field goal play that led to UCLA (3-0) kicking a walk-off 24 yard field goal as time expired to fall 32-31 in Pasadena.
With about three minutes left in the game, the Jags faced 4th & 2 at the Bruins 22 yard line. USA sent the field goal unit onto the field with 3rd string quarterback Tanner McGee as the holder. They then shifted into an offensive formation with McGee at quarterback, unfortunately he couldn’t find anyone open before he was sacked for an 11 yard loss.
UCLA took over at the 33 yard line and proceeded to drive down the field bleeding the Jags of their final two time outs. With the ball sitting at the Jags 6 yard line with two seconds left, Nicholas Barr-Mira put the ball through the uprights as time expired for the win.
Quarterback Carter Bradley got off to a shaky start after throwing an interception on his second pass attempt of the game. The pass was returned 10 yards to the Jags 21 yard line. The defense would not yield and the Bruins had to settle for a 28 yard field goal to go up 3-0 at the 12:18 mark of the first quarter.
The Jags offense responded with a 10 play, 75 yard drive to take the lead. La’Damian Webb’s 47 yard run on 3rd & 8 set up Marco Lee for a 1 yard touchdown run to go up 7-3.
The Bruins and Jaguars traded field goals from 49 and 38 yards respectively on the next two possessions for a 10-6 advantage for South Alabama.
UCLA moved the ball down the field and appeared to score on a pass to Zach Carbonnet, but after review he was marked down at the one foot line. The Jags defense took advantage. The handoff from Dorian Thompson-Robinson wasn’t clean, CJ Rias was able to knock the ball loose and Zeke Chapman covered it up in the end zone to thwart the Bruins.
The offense took full advantage too. A false start at the 4 didn’t matter to Webb either, he took it in from 9 yards out to put the Jags up 17-6 at the 5:54 mark of the 2nd quarter.
It didn’t take long for UCLA to answer either, just six plays. A pass completion for 34 yards followed by a 25 yard run by Keegan Jones put them at the Jags 9 yard line. Then two plays later Thompson-Robinson found Jake Bobo for a 9 yard touchdown pass making it 17-13 at halftime.
UCLA made adjustments and came out strong in the second half.
The Bruins quickly marched down the field aided by a roughing the passer call on Jamie Sheriff. Thompson-Robinson capped it off with an 11 yard touchdown pass to Kam Brown to retake the lead 17-20 at the 13:22 mark of the 3rd quarter.
La’Damian Webb suffered his first fumble of the season when he was stretching for extra yards. While the replay looked like the Jags may keep possession, the officials saw it differently. They upheld the fumble but saw that the defender was on his knee when he recovered the ball which negated the touchdown return.
UCLA converted the turnover into a 28 yard field goal. The Jags had them stopped near mid field however Ricky Fletcher was flagged for defensive holding on a 3rd & 8 incomplete pass to give the Bruins new life.
Again South Alabama responded.
Marco Lee got his second touchdown of the game on a 1 yard run. But it was Caullin Lacy who set it up with a 37 yard reception to put USA in the red zone. The score gave USA a 24-23 lead at the 1:37 mark of the 3rd quarter.
UCLA’s ensuing possession started at their own 30. A fumble that a few players tried to scoop-and-score kept advancing the ball until Ed Smith finally covered it at the Bruins 6 yard line.
Caullin Lacy stretched out and had a fantastic aerobatic 4-yard touchdown catch to put the Jags up 31-23 at the :57 mark of the 3rd quarter.
The Bruins gashed the Jags as the defense struggled to pressure or contain Thompson-Robinson or stop the run. Thompson-Robinson set up a 4th & 4 at the Jags 8 yard line with a 5 yard run. Chip Kelly opted to go for it and it paid off with Thompson-Robinson connecting with Logan Loya for a touchdown. A failed 2-point conversion left the Lags in the lead 31-29 with 12:25 left in the game.
After a punt by both teams, the Jags had an opportunity to milk time off the clock.
A methodical 11 play drive stalled at the UCLA 22. Facing 4th and 2, coach Wommack sent on the field goal unit. However, instead of Jack Brooks as the holder, they sent in Tanner McGee. After lining up in field goal formation, they shifted into a normal offensive formation. It did not catch the Bruins off guard, McGee was pressured and sacked for an 11 yard loss as tried to move and find someone open to throw to.
UCLA took over possession with 2:52 left in the game with the Jags defense missing some key players.
Again the Jags just couldn’t muster any pass rush on Thompson-Robinson as they positioned themselves for the game winning field goal as time expired.
“We made some plays in big moments, but we were also an inconsistent football team today,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. When you go into big stadiums and have opportunities, you have to take care of the ball offensively and not shoot yourself in the foot from an execution standpoint… We have to step up on third downs. You have a fourth down in the red zone, you have to get off the field, [if you do] it changes the outcome of the game.”
“They adjusted well to it,” Wommack said about the failed fake field goal late in the game. “We thought we had them right there with the fake field goal. Would have been nice to get that one and iced the game. But we didn’t put ourselves in position in the plays prior to that moment to pull away…”
Wommack wasn’t wrong, they had a tight end in favorable coverage against a linebacker and coming open free on the left side. However the rush on McGee got to him before the tight end could get the separation he needed to throw it.
When asked about execution and responding when they needed to, he said “I thought so…our guys competed the entire game. It was just the execution. Physically we did some things on some plays, ran the football, it was just a couple of plays.”
“I told the guys they were going to have an opportunity to respond to this game and that is what we have to do against Louisiana Tech at home,” coach Wommack said.
Stats
South Alabama
The Jags had 399 yards of total offense, 237 passing and 162 rushing.
USA had 22 first downs while running 70 offensive plays. They held the time of possession advantage 32:57 to 27:03.
The Jags converted 9-of-14 3rd down attempts but was 0-for-1 on 4th down attempts. They scored on all 5 trips into the red zone, only one of them was a field goal.
La’Damian Webb finally got his 100 yard rushing game. He carried the ball 16 times for 124 yards and a touchdown. Terrion Avery added 29 yards on five carries. Marco Lee had two touchdowns on 4 carries for 6 yards.
Carter Bradley was 26-of-36 for 237 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Jalen Wayne finished with 7 catches for 76 yards. Devin Voisin caught seven passes for 64 yards. Webb caught all six of his targets for 42 yards. Lacy also caught all four of his targets for 49 yards and the only receiving touchdown.
Jalen Jordan led the defense with 7 stops, five solo. James Miller recorded the only tackle for loss in the game.
UCLA
The Bruins put up 407 total yards of offense, 263 through the air and 144 on the ground.
They had 23 first down while running 67 offensive plays.
The Jags defense held the Bruins to 7-of-13 on 3rd down attempts and allowed them to convert their only 4th down attempt in the game. They scored six of their 7 trips into the red zone, but only three of them were touchdowns.
Zach Charbonnet was held to 78 rushing yards on 13 carries. Keegan Jones added 65 yards on 14 carries. Thompson-Robinson had 27 yards on 7 carries.
Thompson-Robinson went 20-of-30 for 263 yards and three touchdowns.
Jake Bobo caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Charbonnet caught three passes for 51 yards. Logan Loya and Kam Brown both caught touchdown passes.
Darius Muassau led all defenders with 10 tackles, five solo. Carl Jones Jr had the only sack in the game for either team and the only tackle for loss for the Bruins. JonJon Vaughns had a pass breakup and the only interception of the game.
Who’s Up Next
The Jags return back home for their final non-conference game of the season against Louisiana Tech.
South Alabama has a week of events scheduled culminating with Jo Bonner’s inauguration as University President on Friday ahead of the Jags game against Bulldogs.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm on Saturday, September 24 at Hancock-Whitney Stadium. The game will be streamed online on ESPN+ and radio coverage on the Jaguar Radio Network including iHeartMedia app, and 99.5 fm in Mobile.