Jags Fall To Redwolves 38-14
South Alabama allowed 31 unanswered points after tying the game and 7-each midway through the second quarter before getting a late trash-time score as the Jags fell to 2-7 on the season and 1-4 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Arkansas State’s Justice Hansen accounted for 357 total yards and four touchdowns. He threw for 332 yards while going 26-for-37 and three touchdowns. He added 25 yards on the ground and a 22 yard pass reception as the Redwolves improved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
Justin McInnis caught seven passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Warren Wand rushed for 77 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown.
Evan Orth started the game after clearing the concussion protocol, which he suffered in the Jags game against Troy on October 23. Orth went 7-of-15 for 63 yards and a touchdown before he had to leave with an injury in the third quarter. Cephus Johnson went 5-of-7 for 30 yards and a touchdown in relief.
Tra Minter rushed 17 times for 88 yards. Cephus Johnson rushed for 28 yards on 12 carries as the second best runner. Minter also led the way receiving with four catches for only nine yards. Kawaan Baker hauled in three passes for a team-leading 40 yards.
Nigel Lawrence led the Jags with 17 stops after finally returning from injury and being disqualified in the first quarter against Troy. Bull Barge recorded 13 tackles.
The Jags trailed 14-7 at halftime before the Redwolves took control of the game in the third quarter with two scores. They got a big boost when a reverse throw-back pass to Hansen picked up 22 yards into the Jags red zone. Three plays later they scored.
The second score in the third quarter came after USA tried to convert on 4th and 1 at the Arkansas State 19 yard line and was unable to do so. Three plays later, on 3rd and 7, Hansen threw to McInnis near the right sideline and was able to race 78 yards to the end zone.
After going down 38-7, Johnson led the Jags on a 10 play, 68 yard drive capped off by a 5 yard touchdown pass to Jamarius Way.
If some crazy dominoes were to fall just right over the next three week, the Jags could conceivably still earn a berth in the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship game and bowl contention.
Head coach Steve Campbell said, “I thought we played hard in the first half and kept ourselves in the game. We had a couple of chances, but we gave up seven right before the half. It was a big series for us offensively when we didn’t convert the third-and-one and punted it. Arkansas State was able to drive down and score right before the half and that hurt, then we had the penalty on the kick return that could’ve evened up things for us heading into the locker room. They took the first drive [for a score] to open the second half and I didn’t get us ready coming out after halftime. We couldn’t really get anything going until our last drive.”
Coach Campbell’s positives from the game were, “We didn’t have as many penalties as we have in the past… We had a late hit on the quarterback and another 15-yard penalty on Arkansas State’s two first-half touchdown drives…. We didn’t turn it over. Those are some positive things that our young guys can build off of.”
South Alabama returns home on Saturday to host Louisiana-Monroe for homecoming. The Warhawks are coming off of a 44-25 win over Georgia Southern as they take control of the Western Division with a 5-4 overall record and 3-2 conference record.
Inside the Numbers:
Troy Wins The Battle of the Belt 38-14
A big first half by Troy was all that was needed by the Trojans to defeat South Alabama at home on a Tuesday night nationally televised game, 38-17.
The Jags lost the penalty battle, the two teams had the same number of penalties, seven, but the Jags were penalized for 91 yards while the Trojans had 67 yards in penalties.
Jaguar head coach Steve Campbell was glad to get the teams leading tackler, Nigel Lawrence, back for the game after missing the last two with a knee injury. However his time was short lived. On the third play from scrimmage he was flagged for targeting and disqualified for the game.
Later in the first half, on a play where the ball bounced off of Bull Barge and was intercepted by Sterrling Fisher, the replay booth called down for a review and eventually ejected Jeffery Whatley for targeting while throwing a block for his teammate.
These two targeting ejections makes five of them in the last four games.
South Alabama also lost the turnover battle. After being quite efficient in the passing game, Evan Orth threw three interceptions in the game, doubling his number for the season.
Meanwhile the Jags were able to pick off one of Sawyer Smith’s passes and was able to cover a muffed punt late in the first half.
USA had trouble weathering the early onslaught by the Trojans, allowing scores on each of Troy’s first five possessions. In most of the Jags games this season, the defense has dug deep holes and put the offense down by double-digits.
Risk taking, while it can turn the momentum in your favor if it works out, it can also backfire. That’s what happened at the end of the first half. After the Jags were stopped and Troy took a time out to force USA to punt, the punt bounced and hit a Troy returner and was recovered at the 27 yard line with three seconds left. But instead of kicking the gift field goal, Campbell and Edenfield decided to run a hail-mary style play against Troy’s prevent defense which nearly turned into pick six if it wasn’t for Tra Minter forcing the returner out of bounds at the USA 35 it would have been a touchdown.
After finding success with an onsides kick in the season opener against Louisiana Tech, the Jags have tried to catch their opponents by surprise a few times since then. Each time they were prepared for it or the bounce did not go the Jags way, but each time it gave the momenum back to the opponent. After the interception and return, the Trojan players rushed to the South endzone where a mass of Troy students were ready to receive them after an opening half score of 31-17 and a big play to lead them to the halftime break.
The second half was very different. The Jags defense tightened up and so did the Troy offense. While the Jags offense could move the ball, they couldn’t get into scoring position and when they did they threw interceptions and missed a field goal.
The only score of the second half came with 4:39 left in the game after Evan Orth threw the ball into the end zone but had it intercepted and ran back for an apparent touchdown only to have it called back to the 11 yard line due to a holding call. Two plays later the Trojans put the dagger into the heart of the Jags putting them up 38-17.
USA finished the game with 385 yards of total offense, 275 of them coming through the air. Troy gained 410 total yards, 261 through the air and 252 on the ground. But the Jaguar defense only allowed 71 total yards in the second half.
Tra Minter rushed 23 times for 99 yards to lead the Jaguar rushing attack and added 49 yards receiving on two catches. Jamarius Way caught six passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Jordan McCray added three for 60 yards and the other touchdown.
Troy’s BJ Smith rushed 22 times for 170 yards and a touchdown. Damion Willis caught five passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite being only 2-6 on the season and 1-3 in conference play, the Jags still control their destiny in the Sun Belt Conference Western division. They need to win out to get bowl eligible and three of those four are western division rivals each with two conference losses.
It’s not going to be an easy road with perennial contender Arkansas State coming up first followed by Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette and Coastal Carolina. But if they can continue to correct things each week, then it’s not outside the realm of possibility. A 5-3 conference record with wins over all of the western conference members would hold all of the tie breakers.
Meanwhile Troy (6-2, 4-0 SBC) keeps pace with Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, both 3-0 and on a collision course on Thursday night, October 25th in a battle of conference unbeatens and a rivalry known as ‘Deeper than Hate.’
South Alabama will return to action on the road in Jonesboro, Arkansas against Arkansas State on Saturday, November 3. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
Inside the Numbers:
Battle For The Belt 2018
South Alabama and Troy will play for the “Battle for the Belt” trophy Tuesday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on ESPN2. | Photo credit: USA Vanguard.
Last year, the Jags traveled to Troy after the Trojans were coming off of a 24-21 over then #22 ranked LSU in Death Valley and came away with a 19-8 win in a dominating defensive performance. The Jags scored 12 points off of four Trojan turnovers and didn’t allow any points on the board until 6:16 left in the game.
This season is a bit different though. This time the Trojans (5-2, 3-0 SBC) will travel to Mobile to face South Alabama (2-5, 1-2 SBC) after an upset loss on the road at FBS transitional Liberty 22-16.
So to say that the Trojans have something to play for is an understatement. They want revenge for that Wednesday night domination at the hands of the Jaguars on national television, bring the rivalry belt back to Troy, and they also want to redeem themselves after the upset loss.
The Jags enter the game after a pleasing 45-7 get-right win over Alabama State, but only the second ‘W’ of the season for the Jags under first year head coach Steve Campbell, a Troy alum. Actually both of his coordinators, OC Kenny Edenfield and DC Greg Stewart, are also Troy alums too and they all have Division II national championship rings from their time there. Edenfield came to the Jags after a 10 year stint at Troy, the last eight as offensive coordinator.
With the win over the Hornets, the Jags hope to start a run in this second half of the season towards a berth in the inaugural Sun Belt Conference championship game. Currently, the Jags control their fate and could move into a tie for first place in the western division with a win over Troy. Meanwhile Troy looks to keep pace in the Eastern Division with conference unbeaten Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.
Quarterback Sawyer Smith will make only his second start after Kaleb Barker was lost for the season with a knee injury. The Jags defense has been susceptible to big plays and being gashed on the ground this season. By all indications the Jags will have Nigel Lawrence back, who was the teams’ leading tackler when he went down with an injury a couple games ago.
Oh and who can forget the penalties.
The Trojans are very balanced, numbers wise. They average 207.7 yards per game rushing and 205.9 yards per game passing so the Jags will have to play disciplined.
Meanwhile the Jags will look to establish the running game to take pressure off of quarterback Evan Orth and his receivers by making the Trojan defense play honest against the run. While Jamarius Way and Kawaan Baker have both had their standout moments on the season, the Jags have also developed Jordan McCray and Jahmmir Taylor into more options. Now with the return of Malik Stanley, that adds more tools for the passing game to utilize.
Tra Minter has been the workhorse in the backfield with 84 carries on the season for 263 yards and five touchdowns. Baker is the next closest rusher with 179 yards and six touchdowns.
Troy’s leading rusher is BJ Smith, with 587 yards and eight touchdowns on the season on 94 carries. He averages 6.2 yards per carry.
The Trojans have a pair of receivers in Deondre Douglas and Damion Willis who each have five touchdowns. Douglas is the receptions leader with 34 for 348 yards. Willis is not far behind with 25 catches but for 373 yards. They also have three other receivers with over 100 yards receiving on the season and they have combined for five touchdowns between them.
The keys to a Jaguar win and keeping the Belt in Mobile are three fold.
First, limit the penalties committed by the Jags. Gifting Troy with first downs or short third downs will not help a struggling defense. Penalties of aggression or frustration simply have to be avoided. If they can play cool, calm and collected they will have a big advantage right off the bat.
Second, the Jags need to withstand the early Troy onslaught. In the first quarter, they are outscoring opponents 80-21 and in the first half they are outscoring opponents 154-87. In the second half they do not score nearly as much and are actually being outscored 85-82. In USA’s lone Sun Belt win, they were down going into the second half and scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to get the win.
Third, USA must protect the ball. The Jags have put the ball on the ground 14 times and lost possession nine times to go along with six interceptions on the season. Troy under coach Brown are 5-22 when they lose the turnover battle and they are 22-1 when they win that battle.
South Alabama enters as an 11 point underdog in the game. Call it being a homer or whatever you want, but I’m picking the Jags with that spread.
By the Numbers:
Jags Travel Back To Georgia Southern AKA The Scene Of The Crime
South Alabama (1-4, 1-1 SBC) hits the road for the final leg of their three game road swing to take on a resurgent Georgia Southern (3-1, 1-0 SBC) team in Statesboro, Georgia. This is also back-to-back seasons traveling to Statesboro, which is due to the Sun Belt Conference aligning into two divisions and hosting a Conference Championship Game beginning this season.
To give a little history, last season the Eagles were starting season two of Tyson Summers tenure as head coach. He had taken over for very successful Willie Fritz who left to take the head coaching position at Tulane (the Eagles won the GoDaddy Bowl to finish 9-4). Summers won the first three games of 2017 before losing 7 of the final 9 games of the season to finish a disappointing 5-7.
The 2017 season started out with a 41-7 loss to then #12 Auburn, followed by a 22-12 loss to FCS New Hampshire in Birmingham. They were 0-6 when it was decided that the six-time FCS national champions would fire Summers and name Chad Lunsford as the interim head coach.
Lunsford then lost the next three games to Troy, Georgia State and Appalachian State before having a long week to prepare for South Alabama. The Jags had started the season with two power 5 teams in Ole Miss and Oklahoma State before welcoming FCS Alabama A&M. They opened Sun Belt play against Idaho in a disaster of a game that lasted some 8 hours or so with multiple lightning delays and horrendous officiating that eventually saw the Vandals (steal a) win in overtime.
The Jags limped into Troy, who themselves were coming off of an upset win over LSU, for a Wednesday night game against their in-state rivals. The Jags turned up the defense and upset the Trojans 19-8 in front of a nationally televised audience.
The up-and-down Jags then defeated Louisiana-Monroe and lost to Georgia State and Louisiana-Lafayette before hosting the defending SBC champs, and the favorite to win the conference title again, Arkansas State Red Wolves. The Jags showed up and earned their first win against ASU. It looked like head coach Joey Jones may have saved his job, especially if they could win out and get bowl eligible again.
But the 0-9 Eagles had a different idea.
The Jags went into Statesboro and the game was a complete nightmare. Lunsford had rallied his team and they shellacked the Jags 52-0, which sealed Jones’ fate with his announced resignation effective at the end of the season two days later. It was the first time the Jags were held scoreless in program history.
Now back to current day.
The Jags have a new head coach in Steve Campbell but, as his post game comments said last Saturday, they are not as far along as he thought. The Jags were completely demolished by Appalachian State in Boone, NC 52-7. Now they hope to get some revenge from last year, notch their second win of the season, and keep their lead in their conference division.
The Eagles enter the game after a big win over one of the conference’s best teams year-in and year-out in Arkansas State.
The Eagles sealed the game with a reverse option pitch that went 47 yards for the game-deciding touchdown with :19 left in the game. The Eagles completed just one pass in the game, though they only attempted three passes, but the lone completion went 61 yards for a touchdown, however the Eagles rushed for 348 yards in the game.
South Alabama has already shown on the season that they are very susceptible to the run and big plays. The defense ranks 117th nationally in total defense (501.8 yards per game), 120th in rush defense (234.4 yards per game) and 126th in scoring defense (44 points per game). Add in the fact that the Jags have not found a way to stop the triple option attack, one could even say it has been their kryptonite over the last several years.
But the Jags offense showed some triple option itself early in the season, but has shied away from it the last few games. Coach Campbell, offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield and defensive coordinator Greg Stewart all have experience with the option somewhat. But will that translate onto the field?
Just a few weeks ago the Jags were riding high after getting their first win under Coach Campbell and playing well on the road against Memphis before last weeks debacle, where the Jags were outscored 45-0 after tying the game at 7 in the first quarter.
The most prominent affliction that can be seen each and every game has been penalties. USA is next-to-last nationally with 51 penalties, only three behind Kent State, and 130th which is dead last with 96.8 penalty yards per game.
The Jags are only averaging about 20 more yards rushing than they do in penalties. The teams leading rusher only has 164 yards through 5 games, or 32.8 yards per game.
Quarterback Shai Werts leads the Eagles with 369 yards and six touchdowns rushing on the season with Wesley Fields with 298 yards and one touchdown on the season. Werts has only thrown 27 passes on the season and has completed 14 of them for 264 yards and three touchdowns. So they don’t throw much, but when they do they are averaging almost 20 yards per reception.
On the flip side, the Jags Jamarius Way has emerged as the top receiver on the team with 500 receiving yards on 35 catches for two touchdowns. The next closest receiver is running back Kawaan Baker who has 16 receptions for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively the Jags safety, Nigel Lawrence leads the team with 48 total tackles, which indicates how much success offenses have had against this defense. The next closest defender, Nick Mobley, has 26 stops on the season.
But Nigel was helped off the field last week with a knee injury, it’s uncertain the extent of the injury but at a minimum he will miss a couple weeks if it is not a season ending injury. Add in linebacker Riley Cole’s knee injury keeping him sidelined and you start to see the Jags injury bug showing itself once again.
The line opened with GSU as a 13 point favorite in the game. It may be a conservative line with the Jags history against the triple option and porous run defense.
I really hope to that I am proven wrong but from what I have seen this season, I cannot confidently go with the Jags to cover much less win outright in this game. Again, I would love to be shown wrong, but key injuries along with the scheme and the love affair with the yellow hankies all add up to a recipe that just doesn’t taste well for a Jaguar fan.
The game can be seen on ESPN3 with kickoff scheduled for 2:30pm in Statesboro, Georgia.
Go Jags!
Inside the Numbers:
Jags Dominated in 52-7 Loss To Appalachian State
South Alabama had a disappointing trip to Boone, NC on Saturday when they ran into a buzz saw of a team in the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
App State got started with a 54 yard touchdown scramble by quarterback Zac Thomas to cap off a six play, 69 yard drive in the first 1:49 of the game.
After that the Jags defense seemingly settled in with a stop on their next series. Then we seemingly had a game when the Jags offense got in gear behind a 41 yard pass completion from Evan Orth to Kawaan Baker got the Jags in scoring position. three plays later Bakers took the handoff in for this eighth touchdown of the season to tie the game at 7-all.
But that was the end of the highlight reel for the Jags. It was all downhill from there, allowing 35 straight points in the first half for a 42-7 halftime deficit. Then another 10 points in the second half for the final score of 52-7.
The game shifted firmly into the Mountaineers favor after the Jags touchdown when Coach Campbell called for an on-sides kick trying to catch App State on their heels. But not only was the ball recovered with very good field position, but an Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty made it 15 yard better to the Jaguars 38 yard line. Two plays later the Mountaineers were back in the end zone with the lead.
Orth was 20-of-33 for 225 yards an an interception. Tra Minter was the leading rusher with 44 yards on nine carries. The recently hot Jamarius Way was cooled off with seven catches for 63 yards. Baker led the Jags receivers with 89 yards on four catches.
App State’s Zac Thomas was 8-of-18 for 146 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Peyton Derrick was 2-for-2 for 23 yards and a touchdown as he came in to lead a 95-yard touchdown drive to close out the scoring.
Jalin Moore ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Thomas added 77 yards on the ground with two touchdowns of his own.
Hennigan led the Mountaineers with 65 yards receiving on four catches. Corey Sutton had two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown while Marc Williams caught one pass for a 27 yard touchdown pass.
App State rolled up 517 yards against the Jaguar defense, 350 of them on the ground with an average of 7.6 yards per rush. Though they only gained 169 yards through the air, the Mountaineers averaged 16.9 yards per completion.
The Jags gained 308 yards of total offense, a mere 83 on the ground with an average of 2.4 yards per rush. But the Jags committed 9 penalties for 91 yards in the game.
At halftime and after the game Coach Steve Campbell had the same thing to say, “We didn’t play well…” In his post game statement he said, “We didn’t play well in any phase of the game and had too many penalties; our discipline is bad.”
Campbell on the on-sides kick said, “…from that point on things went bad. I thought we were going to be able to execute the on-side kick, get it and that would give us some momentum. They are a good football team though. They took Penn State to overtime and could have won the game, so I knew that we needed to do something. If I could take it back, I would.”
Campbell also noted, “Defensively, we need to work on our tackling. We’re still ducking our heads on some things.”
USA will travel to Georgia Southern on Saturday for the third-consecutive road game. Kickoff in Statesboro, Georgia is set for 2:30 CDT and will be aired on ESPN+.
Inside the Number:
Memphis’ Offense Too Much For Jags, Fall 52-35
Darrell Henderson rolled up 188 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Memphis Tigers over the Jags 52-35.
The South Alabama offense tried to keep up with Memphis, but Darrell Henderson’s 188 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns helped the Tigers outpace the Jags 52-35.
The Jaguars offense, led by Evan Orth, kept the Jags in the game well into the fourth quarter. Orth’s favorite target, Jamarius Way, had another huge night for with 10 receptions for 185 yards and a touchdown.
Kawaan Baker continues to contribute with 82 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. He had 33 yards on the ground on five touches with a touchdown then caught four passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Tra Minter led the Jags rushing with 35 yards.
Patrick Taylor added 75 yards rushing on 17 carries with two touchdowns for the Tigers. Tony Pollard carried three times for 30 yards and a rushing touchdown too.
Damonte Coxie led the Tigers with 113 yards receiving on eight catches with a touchdown. John Williams added 65 yards on five catches and a touchdown.
Nigel Lawrence led the Jags with 11 tackles. Sterling Fisher was the only Jag to record a sack.
The Jags came out strong driving down and scoring on the opening possession of the game when Baker ran in from 13 yards out.
But the Tigers answered right back on their first possession with a eight of their nine offensive plays being runs capped off by Henderson’s first touchdown. Memphis would score 21 unanswered points to take a 21-7 lead with 10:21 left in the second quarter.
The Jags would finally answer sparked by a 62 yard reception by Jahmmir Taylor and capped off by a two yard run by Tra Minter to make it 21-14.
The Jags would tie the game with 53 seconds left in the first half when Orth found Zac Crosby in the end one for his first career touchdown.
Memphis opened the second half with a touchdown drive with another run-heavy drive that covered 61 yards to make it 28-21.
After Memphis added a field goal, the Jags drove down for a touchdown after Jamarius Way’s big 29 yard catch highlighted the drive. But after a false start on the line backed up the Jags PAT attempt by five yards, the Tigers broke through the middle of the line and blocked the attempt to keep a 31-27 lead.
Down by four, the Jags decoded to go for it on 4th and 2 at the Tiger 8 yard line, but Minter was stopped for no gain turning the ball over on downs.
Memphis seized the opportunity and drove 92 yards on seven plays to take an 11 point advantage over the Jags 38-27 with 13:32 left to play. Just a few minutes later the Tigers would add to it on a three play, all Darrell Henderson drive where he ran for all 64 yards, 54 of them on the touchdown run to open up a 45-27 lead.
USA was in business deep in Tiger territory after Zac Crosby blocked a punt. Orth then went to work throwing the ball to Kawaan Baker, Jordan McCray and the final three to Jamarius Way including a four yard touchdown and a two-point conversion to him as well making it 45-35 with 7:30 left.
Memphis answered right back with another run-heavy drive with six of the eight plays being runs, but a pass interference call on Jalen Thompson on 3rd and 7 extended the drive and on the next play Patrick Taylor takes it in from 11 yards out for the final score of the game 52-35.
South Alabama had their best offensive performance of the season with 467 total yards, 360 of it through the air. Memphis rolled up 563 yards of total offense with 271 yards on the ground and 292 through the air.
Coach Campbell spoke after the game praising the receivers and acknowledging mistakes, “We made a couple of mistakes that I can point the finger directly at myself for that could have made the game even more interesting. Our guys though fought hard and gave a great effort. We created some mismatch opportunities on offense. They [Memphis] had a hard time covering Jamarius and our other receivers. They were out there making plays.”
South Alabama (1-3, 1-0 SBC) will play their second of three-consecutive road games when they travel to Boone, North Carolina to face Appalachian State (2-1, 0-0 SBC) in the Jags second Sun Belt Conference game and the Mountaineers first conference game of the season.
The Tale Of The Numbers:
Jags Hit The Road To Face Memphis In First Of Three Consecutive Road Games
South Alabama travels to Memphis for a 7pm kickoff against the Tigers.
Offensively the Tigers have a strong offensive line and backfield. They returned four of their five starting offensive linemen and a junior running back in Darrell Henderson that is averaging an absurd 14.5 yards per rush and 173.7 yards per game. He has 526 yards this season on 36 carries with six touchdowns.
South Alabama’s defense is allowing an average of 184 yards per game on the ground. The Jags defense will want to stop the run, as they have tried to do in their previous games, and make Memphis one dimensional and forced to throw the ball.
However USA will have a huge task ahead of them with Henderson. No one has stopped him yet this season but the Jags have made star running backs look bad before (See San Diego State two years ago).
Defensively the Tigers return some talented linebackers behind a defensive line that is lacking in depth but has played well so far this season.
The Jags defense sparked the Jags to their big win last Saturday behind Jalen Thompson’s two interceptions and a touchdown. He has three interceptions on the season. Safety Nigel Lawrence leads the team in tackles, but that also points out that the opposing offense is having success getting to the second and third levels of the defense if your safety is leading the team in tackles.
Despite the high points of the defensive secondary, the Jags are allowing almost 300 yards per game. The Tigers quarterback Brady White has thrown 10 touchdowns on the season with no interceptions. While he has yet to face the meat of their schedule, he has not made any mistakes yet.
So far this season the Jags have made most of their yardage on the ground with read options and some triple option. Quarterback Evan Orth, at least for the time being, looks to be the guy at quarterback as senior Cole Garvin remains suspended indefinitely from the team and redshirt-freshman Cephus Johnson just has not seen much playing time.
In addition to throwing for 429 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception, Orth is also the teams leading rusher with 104 yards. The Memphis front seven will key off of him.
Jamarius Way came up big time against Texas State by setting a new school record with 11 catches in the game and almost set another one with 173 yards in the game. Up until that game, Kawaan Baker has been the workhorse in the passing game but the Bobcats did a good job of keeping him in check during the game.
The Tigers were successful in shutting down Georgia State’s Penny Hart last week so they’ll want to do that again this week. Additionally the Tigers have a similar player in a similar role as Baker so it seems they may have some experience with the way the Jags use Baker.
The spread for the game is 30.5 in favor of Memphis. It looks like Memphis, behind their very high tempo offense, could score at will on the Jags if USA struggles with penalties and getting off the field on third down. But 30.5 is quite large. I think the Jags will cover but its hard for me to see a way the Jags win the game without LOTS of help from Memphis and breaking up with penalties, cold-turkey.
Inside the numbers: