Preview: Jags Host Northwestern State For Thursday Night Showdown
Kickoff: Thursday, September 12th, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Blayne Myrick
South Alabama has to put the results of the previous game behind them quickly. They have two fewer days to prepare for this week’s opponent than a normal week of preparation.
The Jags (0-2) are looking to get their first win of the season when they host the Demons (0-2) from the Football Championship Subdivision. Both teams enter the contest winless but with a lot of football left to play this season.
Looking at the Jags remaining schedule, you can’t help but get the feeling that this is a ‘must win.’
The next three games, all on the road, are against pre-season conference favorite App State, perennial SEC power LSU, and at an improving Arkansas State. The Jags could already be looking at a very tough proposition to go bowling for their third consecutive season.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Jags have to focus on going 1-0 this week.
Northwestern State
Blaine McCorkle is in his first season as the head football coach for the Northwester State Demons. His previous position was head coach at Division III Belhaven University for the last six seasons. He built that program into winning a conference title and saw their first Division III playoff berth. They finished 2023 with a 9-2 record which capped off a three-season run where he led his team to a 24-7 record. In his first three seasons at the helm, they only won seven games, including a 3-2 record in the pandemic-affected 2021 spring season. But that was good enough for the programs first winning record since 2012.
The Blazers had not won more than 3 games in a season since 2013.
The Demons cancelled the remaining games of the 2023 season after a death on their team then their head coach resigned in the wake of it all.
Offense
JT Fayard leads the Demond offense going 17-of-45 (37.8%) for 232 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Quaterius Hawkins has appeared in one game going 4-of-5 (80%) for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Myles Kitt-Denton leads the receivers with 115 yards on four catches with two touchdowns. Twon Kines, Amaaz Eugene and Kareame Cotton have three catches each for 41, 38, and 31 yards respectively.
Kennieth Lacy leads the rushing attack with 142 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Zay Davis is next with 74 yards on 19 carries. Chance Newman, listed as a TE/QB from Daphne High School, has 31 yards on 6 carries with the only other touchdown in the rushing category.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 29.5 |
| Total Offense | 250.5 |
| Passing Offense | 144.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 106 |
| Time of Possession | 25:30 |
| Penalty Yards | 48 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 5-of-25 (25%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-2 (100%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 3-of-4 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 2-of-4 |
| Penalties – Yards | 12 – 96 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 2 – 0 |
Defense
Blake Gotcher leads the team with 34 total stops, 12 solo, with the only two sacks the defense has recorded, and a forced fumble from his linebacker position. Ara Rauls III, Cadillac Rhone, and Christian Williams are all tied with 12 total stops each. Rauls has 6 solo, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup as a safety. Rhone also has 5 solo, .5 tackles for loss, with an interception from his linebacker position. Williams has 6 solo and 1 TFL.
Emanuel Brown is the only other Demon with an interception.
| Stat | Average Allowed per Game |
| Points | 49.5 |
| Total Offense | 543 |
| Passing Offense | 289.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 253.5 |
| Time of Possession | 34:12 |
| Penalty Yards | 84.5 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 19-of-33 (57.6%) |
| 4th Downs | 2-of-3 (66.7%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 8 – 9 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 6 – 9 |
| Penalties – Yards | 17 – 169 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 3 – 2 |
Special Teams
Reed Honshtein pulls double duty as the punter and placekicker. He is averaging 39.2 yards per punt, a long of 51, three punts of 50+ yards, with 7 fair catches, and five downed inside the 20.
He has made the only field goal he’s attempted on the season from 38 yards.
South Alabama
It’s been a rocky start to the season and head coach Major Applewhite’s tenure unfortunately. South Alabama could have won either game so far this season. In the season opener against North Texas the Jags held a lead at halftime but a disastrous third quarter shifted all the momentum their way and propelled the Mean Green towards the win.
Though Jags were still in the game with an opportunity to cut the lead to a single score late in the fourth quarter. However, an overturned turnover and a field goal put the final touches on the Jags loss.
Last week’s trip to Ohio saw the Jags defense play better, but both sides of the ball couldn’t get out of their own way and came up on the short side of the 27-20 score.
Unforced mistakes hurt them in all phases of the game. Without Gio Lopez at quarterback the offense was a bit out of sync and they didn’t call any passes downfield for whatever reason. Even the usually sure-handed Jamaal Pritchett fumbled a punt allowing Ohio to steal a possession and score. While defensively they played better overall, they just couldn’t get off the field on a couple of drives in the second half and Ohio just melted the clock.
This week is one of those weeks where you should get a win. But you still have to prepare because nothing is a given in college athletics.
Offense
Gio Lopez started game one and went 26-of-49 (53%) for 432 yards, with three touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards and another touchdown. However, we later found out that he suffered a turf toe injury and the coaches sat him out for game two.
Bishop Davenport got the nod last week and went 23-of-37 (62%) for 226 yards and a touchdown. He only accumulated 5 yards rushing after sack yardage was subtracted.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the team in catches (18), yards (264), and receiving touchdowns (2) for the Jags. Devin Voisin is the only other receiver with double-digit catches (10) and over 100 yards receiving (137). Shamar Sandgren and Anthony Eager both have one receiving touchdown each.
True freshman Fluff Bothwell leads the Jags rushing with 100 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Lopez’s 62 yards, 13 carries and a touchdown are all second place in the rushing category. Kentrel Bullock has 51 yards on 11 carries. Braylon McReynolds has 27 yards on 8 carries against North Texas, he was held out of last week’s game at Ohio.
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 29 |
| Total Offense | 458.5 |
| Passing Offense | 329 |
| Rushing Offense | 129.5 |
| Time of Possession | 29:06 |
| Penalty Yards | 65 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 11-of-29 (37.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 3-of-4 (75%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 9 – 9 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 5 – 9 |
| Penalties – Yards | 16 – 130 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 2 – 1 |
Defense
Redshirt Sophomore Blayne Myrick leads the defense with 22 total stops, 9 solo, with .5 Tackles for Loss, and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is next on the team with 16 total stops, 6 solo, with .5 TFL’s and a pass breakup.
The Jags defense has only managed two sacks through two games. Jordan Norman and Tyler Thomas each have one, Thomas’ was a strip sack that resulted in a fumble. Carlos Johnson Jr got the only fumble recovery.
Both Ricky Fletcher and Reggie Neely missed last weeks game with injuries. Currently they are both considered questionable going into this game and will likely be a game-time decision.
| Stat | Average Allowed per Game |
| Points | 39.5 |
| Total Offense | 477 |
| Passing Offense | 325 |
| Rushing Offense | 152 |
| Time of Possession | 30:54 |
| Penalty Yards | 68 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 14-of-27 (51.9%) |
| 4th Downs | 1-of-2 (50%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 8 – 9 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 6 – 9 |
| Penalties – Yards | 14 – 136 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 2 – 1 |
Special Teams
Jack Martin had an average of 44 yards over his two punts against North Texas. Last week Aleksi Pulkkinen handled the punting duties and average 38.3 yards across his seven punts, with four downed inside the 20 and two fair catches.
Laith Marjan is a perfect 4-for-4 on the season with a long of 39 yards.
Keys to the Game
3rd Downs
I want to see the Jags to play better on third down.
Defensively, the Jags must get off the field. Currently opponents are converting almost 52% of their 3rd down attempts. The Jags best defensive effort saw Ohio convert 40% of their 3rd down attempts. Obviously, this has to improve. How do you improve on it? Cause havoc. The Jags need to get into the backfield more, pressuring the quarterback, and ideally causing turnovers.
The Jags only have two sacks and seven TFL’s on the season so far. They defensive front, particularly the young linebackers (six freshmen in the group) need to help generate pressure and cause havoc.
Offensively the Jags are converting just under 38% of their 3rd down attempts. They converted 67% of their attempts against North Texas as they put up 38 points. Last week they only converted 33% of their attempts and only put 20 points on the scoreboard. That was a big drop-off. Was it due to Gio Lopez being out? Quite possibly.
How do you improve on it regardless who’s taking snaps? Staying ahead of schedule, limiting negative plays, and cleaning up the penalties. Lopez adds another dimension to the offense with his speed and ability to run which forces the defense to have to account for him running. Davenport will have to push the ball downfield more to stretch the defense and make them have to account for the deep pass.
Special Teams
Two game and special teams’ mishaps have turned into two touchdowns for the opponents. Teams who are able to score a touchdown on special teams have a high statistical likelihood to win the game.
South Alabama can attest to the validity of that stat this season.
So far this season the Jags are winless when they either allow a special teams touchdown or a turnover on special teams that leads to a touchdown.
In addition, the kickoff returners have really given the offense some poor field position to start. Some kickoff returns have not even gotten across the 20-yard line. Maybe a few more fair catches should be called and give the offense an opportunity to start at the 25 instead.
Let’s have a solid showing in all phases of special teams. Punting, punt fielding, placekicking, kickoff coverage, and kickoff returning.
Stay Healthy
It looked like the Jags were healthy coming out of the first game, but it wasn’t until the Ohio game did, we find out that Gio was unlikely to play and Braylon McReynolds was going out.
Coach Applewhite said that his “hope is” to have Lopez on the field for the Jags. He also said that McReynolds should be ready to play as well.
With the weather expected leading up to, and potentially during the game, if the additional rest for those players will have them better prepared for the remaining schedule and the Jags can win without them, I would be supportive of having them rest one more week.
Prediction
The Jags are a 37.5-point favorite against an FCS school. This shouldn’t be a problem for South Alabama. But they cannot be caught looking ahead to next week and overlooking the Demons. They need to handle business early then they can turn their focus to the next game.
Not to disparage the opponent, but the Jags are more talented and deeper than the Demons. But they should be as a FBS program vs an FCS program. But that is not always the case. This is not one of those cases.
I think the Jags will win but I’m not sure they will cover. Why? It may be a very wet and sloppy game.
Heavy rains are supposed to move through the area due to hurricane Francine. Weather models show the rain potentially being over before kickoff, but with tropical systems feeder bands could linger and bring rain during the game.
Wind could also be a factor with an unstable atmosphere.
But ultimately, I think the coaches will look to get more players into the game for experience so the 37.5-point spread may be a bit much.
Jags win but don’t cover the spread.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Opens 2024 Season Against North Texas
Kickoff: Saturday, August 31, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Not announced yet
South Alabama enters the 2024 season with momentum that the program has never experienced before. Though the regular season record took a step back from the 10-win 2022 campaign, the 2023 season culminated with a ferocious 59-10 defeat of Eastern Michigan in the 68 Ventures Bowl. It finally gave the school and it’s fans the long-awaited first bowl victory in program history. They unleashed some of their pent up frustration from previous bowl games with talk on the field. Though what happened after the game garnered most of the national spotlight.
However less than a month later, the entire college football world was shocked by the announcement of Nick Saban’s retirement. Less than a week later a new head coach, Kalen DeBoer, was announced at the University of Alabama, which began a series of dominoes falling across the college football landscape.
One of dominoes was South Alabama’s head football coaching position.
After only three seasons, Kane Wommack left to be the defensive coordinator at Alabama alongside his former Indiana staff-mate who had accepted the huge task of replacing a legend of college football.
In a swift but thorough search, South Alabama Athletics Director Joel Erdmann announced the selection of Major Applewhite to become the fourth head football coach in South Alabama football history. Applewhite was a clear and easy choice to make in retrospect. He had already been on staff for three seasons with Wommack, he knew the players and the program, and he knew all about the recruiting for the Jags. But in the new age of the transfer portal and players ability to enter it when their head coach leaves, it was also an opportunity to keep roster as intact as possible.
The Coaches
Long considered one of the great offensive minded coaches in the nation, Coach Applewhite helped lead an offense that set many records over the last three seasons. The 2023 offense set a program record for points scored in a single season with 430, scored 55 points or more in three games (including the 59 points scored in the 68 Ventures Bowl which itself set a program record for most points scored against an FBS opponent). They scored 55 points in back-to-back victories over Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Miss during the regular season.
This will be Coach Applewhite’s third season overall as a head coach, he previously held the position at Houston leading the Cougars to a 15-11 record with two bowl appearances and a win over nationally-ranked South Florida during his tenure.
In Coach Applewhite’s first game as head coach for the Jags, he will get to host a program that is not unknown to long time South Alabama supporters.
North Texas was a member of the Sun Belt Conference from 2001 until their departure for Conference USA in 2013. While all of the other sports programs faced the Mean Green many times, the football program only faced off on the gridiron once in what would be their final season in the SBC. It happened to be the Jags first season playing a full FBS and SBC schedule, and only their 4th season sponsoring football, as the first year of their transition. They came out on the wrong side of a 24-14 game in route to a 2-11 season, the worst season in program history.
South Alabama will finally get to renew the sports “rivalry” between the two schools and get finally host North Texas for a game in Mobile.
North Texas head football coach Eric Morris enters his second season at the helm for the Mean Green after going 5-7 in his debut season. He is one of the younger offensive minds that is making a mark for themselves in college football.
Since becoming offensive coordinator at Texas Tech in 2013, Morris has put together a top 25 offense in either FBS or FCS eight of the last 11 seasons. He’s also worked with great offensive minds like Mike Leach and Kliff Kingsbury while recruiting and coaching Pat Mahomes at Texas Tech.
Morris served as head coach at Incarnate Word for four seasons where he amassed a 24-18 record with two trips to the FCS playoffs. His first was in his first season where they lost in the first round, then again in his final season where his team went 10-3 but lost in the second round to top ranked Stephen F Austin. Between UIW and UNT, Morris served as offensive coordinator for Washington State, where they went 7-6 with a loss to Fresno State in the LA Bowl days after he accepted the head coaching position at North Texas.
The North Texas coaching staff had some offseason changes to it. They brought in Cutter Leftwich to coach the offensive line from Oregon, where he was an assistant offensive line coach. The 2023 Oregon OL was a finalist for the Joe Moore award, given to the nation’s top offensive line group. They also brought in Brian Odom to coach linebackers from USC where he previously coached inside linebackers as well as associate head coach for defense. He also filled in as interim co-defensive coordinator in 2023.
Defense is definitely where the Mean Green needs attention as you’ll see in the stats section below.
Measurables
Texas State
Let’s start what they did well.
In Coach Morris’ first season they finished 5-7 with an offense that put up some impressive numbers. They were one of only four teams who could say they had a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver. They were also one of only five FBS programs ranked inside the top 25 in scoring, rushing, passing and total offense in 2023. Their offense led the AAC and was 6th in the nation in total offense (495.8 yards per game), 12th in the nation is passing (307.4 yards per game) and 21st in the nation in both rushing offense (191.2 yards per game) and scoring (34.5 points per game).
But they needed that kind of production with their defense.
The Mean Green’s defense ranked 130th or dead last in the nation in Total Defense (5,717 total yards, 6.56 yards per play, 476.4 yards per game) and Rushing Defense (3,062 yds, 255.2 yards per game, 5.63 yards per rush). They ranked 128th in the nation is scoring defense allowing 37.08 points per game. They ranked 63rd in passing yards allowed with2,655 yards for the season, 221.2 yards per game, and 8.09 yards per attempt. But who needs to pass when allowing those kinds of rushing numbers.
North Texas has 77 new players on the roster for the 2024 season, the most of any FBS program. Out of that number, 36 of them are transfers, which is tied with New Mexico State for the most transfers in FBS. A number of transfers will be starting for UNT on both sides of the ball with others sprinkled throughout the two-deep depth chart.
Listed as the starting quarterback, Chandler Morris transferred from TCU where he played in 15 games overall and started six games in 2023. In his standout game he threw for 461 yards and ran for 70 against Baylor in 2021.
Ikaika Ragsdale appeared in two games last year before suffering a season-ending injury. In 2022 he had 755 yards and 7 touchdowns.
UNT returns three of their top six receivers from last year. They combined for 93 catches, 1,235 yards and 11 touchdowns. Damon Ward Jr leads the receiver corps with 39 catches, 487 yards and 5 touchdowns a year ago. His best game came against Memphis with 8 catches for 120 yards.
Jordan Brown returns after leading the team with 83 tackles last season. They added a pair of Texas transfers to bolster their secondary along returners Jayven Anderson and Evan Jackson. Both returners were freshmen last season with Anderson finishing with 30 tackles (21 solo) and Jackson finished with 27 tackles while finishing second on the team with 3 pass breakups.
South Alabama
The Jaguar offense finished the season ranked 24th overall in total offense (440.2 yards per game, 6.38 yards per play). They were 27th in scoring (33.1 points per game), 32nd in passing (268.8 yards per game, 12.17 yards per completion), and T-48th in rushing (172 yards per game, 4.77 yards per rush).
Defensively the Jags finished 15th in the nation in total defense (313.2 yards per game), T-19th in rushing defense (113.7 yards per game, 3.22 yards per rush), T-26th in scoring defense (21.0 points per game), and 28th in passing yards allowed (199.5 yards per game, 12.47 yards per completion).
The Jags return several key players all over the field.
Offensively Gio Lopez is set up with lots of playmakers around him. He was pretty much tabbed as the quarterback of the future during his freshman season and the coaching staff used every bit of his playing time without burning a year of eligibility doing so.
Lopez will have playmakers in his pass catchers Jamaal Pritchett, Devin Voisin, Javon Ivory as well as tight end DJ Thomas-Jones. Despite losing their top receiver, Caullin Lacy, and Voisin going down with a season-ending injury in the second game of the season, the Jags return 109 receptions, 1,429 yards and 15 touchdowns between the four returners. Voisin led the 2022 receiver corps with 871 yards, was 2nd on the team with 64 catches and had five touchdowns.
Braylon McReynolds is tapped to be the starting running back to replace 1,000-yard rusher La’Damian Webb. Though McReynolds missed a huge chunk of the season due to an injury in the season-opener, he managed to see action in 5 games and rushed for 260 yards on 46 carries and adding 141 yards receiving on 17 receptions. While the numbers don’t jump off the screen as outstanding, it was his speed and elusiveness in key moments that does stand out. Kentrel Bullock, who finished 2nd to Webb with 476 yards rushing on 83 carries with four touchdowns is also back in the Jags uniform this season.
Depth at running back has been a big focus leading into the season. Expect more of a running back by committee rather than having any one running back dominating like Webb has over the past two seasons. Some of the young players will likely see some playing time too. Look for freshman #24 “Fluff” Bothwell to be one of those to see some early time and potentially make some highlights too.
The offensive line has taken three fairly substantial hits in fall camp. Mississippi State transfer Jayden Hobson left the team early in camp with the intention to join the work force. Redshirt freshman John Ward, who was the second-team right guard and was expected to eventually take over for senior Reed Buys, was medically disqualified. Most recently Lucas Taylor was medically retired from football due to a heart condition. Taylor entered camp as the Jags starting left guard.
The current starting line from left to right are Jordan Davis (R-Jr), Kenton Jerido (R-So), Malachi Preciado (R-So), Reed Buys (R-Sr), and Malachi Carney (R-So).
The Jag defense returns some names that should be familiar to fans. Wy’Kevious Thomas, Ed Smith IV, and Maurice Strong all return to the defensive line. In the secondary Ricky Fletcher, Jaden Voisin, Reggie Neely and Dallas Gamble all make their return in Jaguar uniforms.
Jack Martin returns to his punting duties while Laith Marjan takes over placekicking and kickoff duties for Diego Guajardo, who graduated.
Keys to the Game
Defense
The Jag defense is without Wommack and former defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, the architects of South Alabama Swarm D of the last three seasons. Calling the plays will be first year defensive coordinator Will Windham. Coach Windham has served on the staff each of the previous three seasons, so he’s familiar with the terminology and defensive philosophy but will be calling plays for the first time.
As for the team, the linebacker corps is probably the most concerning defensive personnel grouping.
Several of the players have seen limited action for the Jags. Many saw most of their playing time on special teams. Wolf linebacker Aakil Washington is probably the most experienced amongst the listed starters.
Offensive line
The Jags entered fall camp with three more players than they currently have. As we went over above: one left the program, one was medically disqualified, and a third was forced to medically retire.
While that is a hit on depth, some of those were either starters or expected to challenge for a starter position/be a solid second-teamer.
Similar to the linebackers, the offensive line has limited starting experience and will need to gel quickly under game pressure in order to protect Gio Lopez and give the running backs a chance.
Gio is a very mobile quarterback and is quite good at making plays, but if he’s running for his life most plays how accurate can he be?
Fundamentals
Early season games are easily won and lost based on fundamentals. After several months between seasons, with only inter-team scrimmages in the spring and fall camp attempting to simulate games, the rubber meets the road in the first game. No matter how much you try, you just cannot adequately simulate an actual game in a scrimmage. That’s why you see lots of teams try to schedule what should be an easier game to open the season.
Ball protection, pursuit angles, footwork, and execution will all be tested early and often in this game.
Prediction
The Jags have a very good test to open the season with North Texas. Perhaps a good measuring stick to gauge where the program stands to being coach Major Applewhite’s first season. It’s also an opportunity to set the tone for the season.
With the coaching changes and the personnel changes, the football program enters the season with the more open questions than they’ve had over the last couple of seasons. However, they’ll have the first three games to really solidify before South Alabama opens conference play at App State on September 19.
But they would really like to roll into Boone, NC with a 3-0 record. Each week is a one-game season. You have to focus on the game at hand, you can’t look ahead to games further down the schedule.
This week it’s North Texas and the goal is to go 1-0.
Both teams have lots of questions but maybe my red, white and blue glasses may be affecting me as I think the Jags have better skill players returning offensively. They have some solid personnel on the defensive line and secondary. So, I think the Jags pull this out, possibly in a high scoring affair. It may even come down to the final possession.
USA is a 5.5 point favorite and has been as high as an 8 point favorite leading up to the game. Maybe I’m a little too nervous about the open questions with the offensive line and linebackers. I think the Jags win, but I don’t think they’ll cover.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Rally Falls Short At Texas State 52-46
South Alabama couldn’t overcome an early 24-point deficit in the first quarter as Texas State wins 52-44 in San Marcos.
“We dug ourselves into an incredible hole and earned a loss with poor execution,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. “We didn’t make enough plays defensively. We weren’t nearly responsive enough. That was really the story to me all season. When we’re in tight games and tough moments, we didn’t have a defense that was responsive enough.”
DJ Thomas-Jones had three receiving touchdowns. Desmond Trotter, who came in for an injured Bradley Carter in the second half, threw for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds, who started for an injured La’Damian Webb rushed for a team-leading 79 yards on 19 carries.
After the South Alabama (6-6, 4-4 SBC) defense kept Texas State (7-5, 4-4 Sun Belt) off the scoreboard on their first possession for only the third time this season.
But on the first offensive play by the Jags, the Bobcats forced Caullin Lacy to fumble and Texas State’s Kaleb Culp scooped it up and ran it back 31 yards for the first score of the game.
On the Bobcats next possession, TJ Finley connected with Ashtyn Hawkins for a 48-yard touchdown to take a 14-0 lead at the 8:47 mark.
The Jags offense go three-and-out and the Bobcats march down the field sparked by a 31-yard run by Donerio Daveport on the first play of the drive. Jahmyl Jeter keeps the ball in the wildcat and scores from a yard out to put the Bobcats up 21-0 at the 3:38 mark in the first quarter.
Texas State catches the Jags off-guard with an onside kick and recover it at the Jags 37-yard line. The defense finally got their legs underneath them and held the Bobcats to a 28-yard field goal at the 1:05 mark of the first quarter.
“We just made too many errors in all three phases – offense, defense, special teams,” Wommack said.
South Alabama finally gets on the board early in the second quarter when Carter Bradley connected with Javon Ivory for 39-yards and his first touchdown of the season. The Jags go for a two-point conversion but it fails on an incomplete pass leaving the Jags trailing 24-6 at the 14:08 mark of the second quarter.
Texas State’s Kole Wilson caught the kickoff about two yards deep in the endzone and found a lane on the left side of his protection and returned it for a touchdown to go up 31-6 with 13:55 left in the second quarter.
After Khalil Jacobs forces a fumble and Marquise Robinson caught it and returned it 25 yards to the Bobcats 29-yard line. Diego Guajardo added a season-long 51-yard field goal.
The Jags forced a punt and got the ball back with 1:52 left in the first half. Bradley led the Jags down the field and found DJ Thomas-Jones for an 18-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was good when Bradley went back to Thomas-Jones to make it 31-17 at halftime.
On the third play of the second half Carter Bradley would go down on a hit that aggravated his left knee injury. Desmond Trotter led the team into field goal range, but Guajardo’s 55-yard attempt had the distance but was pulled wide right.
After forcing the Bobcats the punt, Trotter hit on back-to-back passes for 19 yards to Lacy then 51 yards to Jamaal Pritchett to quickly flip the field. A couple plays later Trotter would toss a 1-yard touchdown to Thomas-Jones to cut the Texas State lead to 31-24 at the 6:41 mark of the third quarter.
Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Jags would get.
“Our offense was better in the second half,” coach Wommack said. “But our defense never gave us a chance to get back in the game enough. We had to find a way to get one more stop and we didn’t do that. That’s kind of been the take of our season, we have not been responsive enough in tough games. That’s something we’ve got to get better at.”
Texas State would go back up by two touchdowns just a little bit later. Aided by pass completions of 39 and 16 yards, the Bobcats capped off a 64-yard drive with a one-yard TJ Finley touchdown run with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Quentin Wilfawn tipped Finley’s pass at the line of scrimmage and Khalil Jacobs intercepted it and returned it 12 yards to the Texas State 28-yard line. Braylon McReynolds opened the drive with a 16 play rush then on the third play Trotter connected with Lacy on a perfectly thrown corner route for a 12 yard touchdown at the 12:57 mark. But the two-point conversion attempt would fall incomplete leaving the Jags trailing 38-30.
The Bobcats only needed four plays to get back on the scoreboard. Finley connected with Kole Wilson for a 24-yard score with 11:31 left in the game to go up 45-30.
Trotter led the Jags back down the field with a mix of run and pass, but the drive took 7:25 off the clock. He threw it to Thomas-Jones who used his size and hands to come down with the touchdown. The Jags got two attempts at the two-point conversion after a pass interference penalty on the first attempt. On the second, Trotter was rushed and had to move up in the pocket. He threw to the right side of the end zone, but possibly could have kept it and converted. The Jags were then down 45-36 with 4:01 left to play.
The Jags used two of their time outs on the ensuing Texas State possession, but on 3rd & 9, Finley connected with Konner Fox for 41 yards to the 1-yard line. The Jags let the Bobcats score to preserve time and go up 52-36 with 2:54 left in the game.
The game got very chippy on the Jags possession after Jordan Revels was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he leveled Thomas-Jones after the whistle had blown and Thomas-Jones was looking to the sideline. By all rights he should have been ejected, but the officials let him keep playing and Texas State kept him in the game.
Dontae Lucas was flagged on the next play for unsportsmanlike conduct, though it was actually another Jaguar, who took a shot at Revels after the play. The offense caught the Bobcats in the neutral zone on two consecutive plays, but were unable to capitalize on the free plays down the field. A few plays later Trotter connected with Hopper for a 5-yard touchdown. McReynolds converted the two-point attempt on a shovel pass from Trotter to make it 52-44 with 1:02 left in the game.
However, the Jags were unable to cover the onside kick and only had one time out which allowed Texas State to run out the clock.
Stats
After being dominated on the stats sheet in the first quarter, the Jags ended up out-gaining the Bobcats overall.
| Stat | South Alabama | Texas State |
| Total yards: | 485 | 479 |
| Passing yards: | 403 | 368 |
| Rushing Yards | 82 | 111 |
| 3rd down conversions: | 7-of-15 | 6-of-13 |
| 4th down conversions: | 2-of-2 | 1-of-1 |
| Turnovers (defensive points off) | 2 (6) | 2 (9) |
| Possession: | 31:15 | 28:45 |
Bradley finished the game 18-of-24 for 183 yards and two touchdowns before having to exit the game. Trotter finished out 19-of-22 for 220 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
“I’m so proud of Desmond Trotter,” Wommack said. “He answered the bell and made play after play. He’s worked so hard every single day. He’s been the guy ready at a moment’s notice. He was selfless when we put Gio in versus Troy. I didn’t want to burn Gio’s redshirt, but we wanted to give Dez a shot and what a tremendous job he did. We would have loved to be able to execute better so he had a chance to win it at the end.”
Caullin Lacy led with 11 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Thomas-Jones had 56 yards on nine catches with the three touchdowns. McReynolds had six catches for 70 yards. Javon Ivory had 85 yards on four catches with a touchdown. Pritchett had four catches for 81 yards.
McReynolds added 79 yards rushing on 19 carries. Trotter had 20 yards on seven carries. Marco Lee Jr had 4 yards on four carries.
Several Jags all finished with six stops each – James Miller, Ricky Fletcher, Quentin Wilfawn, Khalil Jacobs and Charles Coleman III. Wilfawn and Jacobs both had sacks in the game with Jacobs getting the only interception by the Jags.
TJ Finley finished 19-of-28 for 368 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Kole Wilson led the Bobcats with six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Ashtyn Hawkins led all receivers with 131 yards on five catches with a touchdown.
Ismail Mahdi had 97 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown. Donerio Davenport added 35 yards on six carries. Jahmyl Jeter had two carries for 3 yards and a touchdown.
Next
South Alabama will officially find out their bowl destination on Sunday, December 3rd. Go to usajaguars.com/tickets/bowlgames to secure your tickets to any of the three bowl games that the Sun Belt Conference is tied to in case the Jags are selected to one of them. You will not be charged and the ticket office will contact you BEFORE charging you if you have tickets selected for one of the SBC tie-in bowl games. This helps the Jags with ticket-commitments to lobby for their selection by the respective bowl committees.
See you at the Bowl Game!
Preview: South Alabama Hosts Marshall For Senior Day With Bowl Eligibility Implications
Kickoff: Saturday, November 18, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Jamie Sheriff
South Alabama (5-5, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference) will look to give their departing seniors one last win at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday when they host Marshall (5-5, 2-4 SBC). If they accomplish the task, they will be the first senior class to earn back-to-back bowl berths in program history.
Both teams enter needing just one win to earn bowl eligibility.
Marshall snapped a five-game losing streak last week behind redshirt freshman Cole Pennington’s first career start. They started the season 4-0 with wins over Albany (21-17), East Carolina (31-13), Virginia Tech (24-17) and Old Dominion (41-35).
Then they hit the rough patch in their season. They lost to @ NC State (41-48), @ Georgia State (24-41), vs James Madison (9-20), @ Coastal Carolina (6-34), and @ App State (9-31).
Marshall head coach Charles Huff is in his third season at the helm. He went 7-6 in his first season with a loss in the New Orleans Bowl against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Herd was still in Conference USA at the time.
Last season Huff lead the Herd to a 9-4 and a 5-3 conference record in their first year in the Sun Belt. They made waves in with a 26-21 win at then #8 Notre Dame and finished the season with a 28-14 win over UConn in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Prior to Marshall, Huff was an assistant coach at Alabama for two years.
The Jags were able to break their two-game losing streak themselves with the return of Carter Bradley behind center, an offensive line that were determined to set the line of scrimmage, and a stingy defense.
With two games left for both teams to earn bowl eligibility, both squads would like to go ahead and get that done this week.
Marshall (5-5, 2-4 SBC)
Marshall has a -11 turnover margin on the season. They’ve given the ball away a total of 23 times, 14 interceptions and have lost 9 out of 18 total fumbles. Meanwhile the defense has taken the ball away 12 times, they have 10 interceptions and have recovered 2 out of 9 fumbles.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 24.4 (83rd) |
| Total Offense | 359.9 (85th) |
| Passing Offense | 230.9 (T-59th) |
| Rushing Offense | 129.0 (97th) |
| Time of Possession | 29:13 |
| Penalty Yards | 55.8 |
Cam Fancher is the leader passer on the team going 186-of-287 (64.8%) for 1,948 yards with eight touchdowns to 11 interceptions on the season. Redshirt freshman Cole Pennington is 27-of-43 (62.8%) for 278 yards with no touchdowns to three interceptions in two game appearances. Pennington made his first career start last week in Marshall’s 38-33 win over Georgia Southern.
The Herd has many receivers involved in their passing game. Five receivers have 20 or more catches on the season and 10 receivers in all have 100+ receiving yards. Caleb Coombs leads the team in catches with 33 catches and receiving touchdowns with two, for 287 yards. DeMarcus Harris leads the receiving corps with 362 yards on 21 catches with a touchdown. In all, eight receivers have touchdowns receptions on the team.
Jaden Harrison has 238 yards on 19 catches with a touchdown. Darryle Simmons has 226 yards on 22 catches.
Rasheen Ali leads the team with 932 yards rushing on 173 carries with 14 touchdowns in nine games played. Ali is tied for 7th in the nation in rushing touchdowns, one TD behind Webb. Ethan Payne has 183 yards on 50 carries. Fancher is third on the team in rushing with 173 yards on 102 carries with two touchdowns in the nine games he’s played in.
| Season Stat | |
| 3rd Downs | 40-of-130 (31%) |
| 4th Downs | 6-of-21 (29%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 26-of-34 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 17-of-34 |
| Penalties-Yards | 61-558 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 18-9 |
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 28.9 (T-94th) |
| Total Offense | 381.5 (72nd) |
| Passing Offense | 216.3 (50th) |
| Rushing Offense | 165.2 (94th) |
| Time of Possession | 30:47 |
| Penalty Yards | 62.5 |
JJ Roberts leads the team with 73 total stops, 39 solo, with two interceptions, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry in nine games played. Eli Neal has 64 total stops, 20 solo, with 6.5 Tackles for Loss, 2 sacks, an interceptions and three quarterback hurries.
Owen Porter leads the team with 13 sacks, is tied for the team lead with 5 sacks, with 50 total stops, 20 solo, 11 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups.
Elijah Alston is second on the team with 9.5 TFLs, 4 sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, and an interception with an 85 yard return for a TD.
Sam Burton co-leads the team with 5 sacks, he has 5.5 TFLs and 8 quarterback hurries.
| Season Stat | |
| 3rd Downs | 44-of-143 (31%) |
| 4th Downs | 9-of-21 (43%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 29-of-37 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 15-of-37 |
| Penalties-Yards | 68-625 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 9-2 |
Special Teams
Rece Verhoff is 10-of-13 (76.9%) placekicking with a long of 44 with one kick blocked. Kameron Lake is 1-of-2 with a long of 20.
John McConnell is averaging 43 yards per punt, a long of 74 yards, with 16 fair catches, 13 downed inside the 20, 5 kicks of 50+ yards, and one touchback.
South Alabama (5-5, 3-3 SBC)
The Jags continue to have a turnover margin of -2 on the season. They have turned the ball over a total of 16 times, nine interceptions and seven fumbles lost. The defense has taken the ball away from opponents 14 times, seven interceptions and seven fumbles. The Jags gave the ball away once to Arkansas State last week, but took the ball away once as well.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 29.9 (T-49th) |
| Total Offense | 423.0 (40th) |
| Passing Offense | 258.4 (42nd) |
| Rushing Offense | 164.6 |
| Time of Possession | 29:50 |
| Penalty Yards | 59.70 |
Carter Bradley’s is 186-of-279 (66.7%) for 2,301 yards and 15 touchdowns to 7 interceptions in nine games played. Gio Lopez, with one start but four game appearances, is 27-of-42 (64.3%) for 283 yards with 1 touchdown to 2 interceptions on the season.
Caullin Lacy leads the team with 71 catches, 1,096 yards, and six touchdowns. Lacy ranks 4th in the nation in receiving yards after a 50-yard game last week. Jamaal Pritchett has 650 yards on 44 catches with 5 touchdowns. Lincoln Sefcik has 165 yards on 17 catches with a touchdown. DJ Thomas-Jones has 156 yards on 15 catches.
La’Damian Webb leads the team with 890 yards rushing on 162 carries with 15 touchdowns and an average of 5.5 yards per carry. Webb is 31st in the nation in rushing yards and tied for 2nd in the nation in rushing touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock, despite missing last week in the concussion protocol, has 380 yards on 76 carries with three touchdowns and a 5 yard per carry average. Marco Lee Jr has 186 yards on 41 carries with two touchdowns and a 4.5 yards per carry average.
| Season Stat | |
| 3rd Downs | 57-of-133 (42.9%) (29th) |
| 4th Downs | 12-of-20 (58.8%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 32-of-34 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 26-of-32 |
| Penalties-Yards | 69-597 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 12-7 |
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 21.1 (37th) |
| Total Offense | 323.7 (25th) |
| Passing Offense | 198.9 (31nd) |
| Rushing Offense | 124.8 (35th) |
| Time of Possession | 30:09 |
| Penalty Yards | 46.7 |
Quentin Wilfawn’s tear over the last three weeks continues to have him pace the defense with 71 total stops, 40 solo, with a team leading 13.5 TFLs and also a team leading 5.5 sacks. He also has 5 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, and a pass breakup.
James Miller has 61 total stops, 23 solo, with 4 TFLs, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery.
Trey Kiser has 60 total stops, 26 solo, with 8.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.
Jamie Sheriff is third on the team with 6 TFLs and is tied for second on the team with 3 sacks. He leads the team with 7 quarterback hurries with a forced fumble.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with 3 interceptions to go with his 6 pass breakups and a forced fumble.
Ricky Fletcher leads the defense with 11 pass breakups.
| Season Stat | |
| 3rd Downs | 45-of-1330 (33.83%) (43rd) |
| 4th Downs | 7-of-15 (46.67%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 19-of-26 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 11-of-26 |
| Penalties-Yards | 55-467 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 11-7 |
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is 10-of-14 (71.4%) placekicking with a long of 46 yards.
Jack Martin is averaging 39.06 yards per punt with a long of 53 yards, 16 fair catches, 10 downed inside the 20 and two kicks of 50+ yards.
Injuries
Carter Bradley returned and played the entire game. At times it looked like he may have been favoring his left knee, but he moved around in the pocket well and even ran a few times. There was a strong northern wind during most of the game which affected his deep passes a bit. Some sailed long on him when the wind was at his back.
Overall Bradley looked good in his return.
Braylon McReynolds returned to the lineup for the first time since his injury suffered against Tulane in the season opener. The coaching staff said they were limiting how much playing time he got in the game. His first time touching the ball he gained 10 yards, so it’s safe to say he is ready to go. The coaching staff will evaluate him throughout the week and may “significantly” increase it workload this Saturday.
McReynolds return came at the perfect time. Kentrel Bullock missed the game after being unable to clear the concussion protocol prior to the game against Arkansas State. Each player and each concussion is different so the timetables to return are completely different each time. Hopefully Bullock will completely recover in time for the game.
Lincoln Sefcik will miss the remainder of the season due to breaking unspecified team rules, not due to injury.
Keys to the Game
Turnovers
Marshall averages 2.3 turnovers a game this season. Last week they gave the ball away twice to Georgia Southern, an INT and a fumble, yet still won the game. Over the five game losing streak they had a total of 14, or nearly three per game.
The Jags defense has not generated as many turnovers this season as they have over the last two seasons. I’m sure the team will look at this game as an opportunity to improve on the turnover margin with some takeaways
Meanwhile the Jaguar offense wants to protect the ball more. Webb had a very uncharacteristic fumble last week against the Red Wolves. It looked as though he was slipping on the turf as the defender knocked the ball loose. Bradley has cut down his interceptions after what looked like he was trying to force the ball downfield into bad coverage.
Turnover margin in a game is one of those key stats teams want to win as it increases their likelihood to win.
Offensive Line
The guys up front did a great job against the Arkansas defense. They limited the Red Wolves to only two sacks and led the way for La’Damian Webb to rush for 163 yards.
That kind of play is exactly what the team needed to help defeat the Red Wolves.
Marshall’s rushing defense is 94th in the nation, so if the offensive line can set the line of scrimmage the Jaguar backfield could have a field day running the ball.
But it all starts up front.
Stadium Presence
South Alabama still has a fan problem. Despite on-campus students not having far to go to view the game, they just didn’t turn out very well against Arkansas State.
It was the Jaguar Marching Band along with the Honor Band that provided most of the crowd noise in the game. They did a very good job of it too!
Everyone in the stadium last week could take a lesson from them.
The stadium was rocking for the Southern Miss game. We need that each and every week at Hancock Whitney Stadium. We need to “Rock the ‘cock” every home game. Whoever programs the in-game music really needs get off their personal playlist and look for some music to energize the crowd. The “Stand up and Shout” on 3rd down needs to go away for the foreboding chimes of “Hell’s Bells.” We need to settle on one good sing-along song to play early in the fourth quarter.
Give Thunderjags a crack at the in-game musical choices!
Senior Recognition
A strong group of seniors will be honored before the game on Saturday. They are in no particular order: Jamie Sheriff, Jamall Hickbottom, Maurice Strong Jr, Carter Bradley, Desmond Trotter, Tanner McGee, La’Damian Webb, Marco Lee Jr, Reggie Smith, Josh McCulloch, Brandon Crum, Jacob Hopper, Lincoln Sefcik, Ke’Shun Brown, Trey Kiser, James Miller, Quentin Wilfawn, Keith Gallmon, Jalen Jordan, Jacob Meeks and Diego Guajardo.
Many of those names you’ve heard mentioned on this site, while watching on television or streaming, or on the radio broadcast. Thank you for what you have done as a Jaguar and for being outstanding ambassadors of the team and the school. We wish you the best in whatever comes next in your journey.
Prediction
The Jags are another double-digit favorite this week with a 10.5 point favorite to win. Every time the Jags have been favored this season I have cringed a bit just because of the uncertainty and the inconsistency.
But I think South Alabama will be ready for Marshall. If the Jag defense can pick up where they left off last week, they should hold Marshall in check like they did Arkansas State no matter who starts at quarterback.
Though the Jaguar offense did just enough to win, we’d like to see them do a bit more.
The weather was a factor last week though. A strong northerly wind with mist doesn’t make for the best playing conditions, particularly throwing the ball. The weather on Saturday looks good, so hopefully that means lots of fireworks and light display for South Alabama.
I think the Jags win and they squeak out a cover while they’re at it.
Go Jags!
Jaguars Use Strong Second Half To Win Home Opener 35-17 Over Southeastern Louisiana
The Jags pulled away eventually to earn a 35-17 win, but it was a tale of two halves.
In the first half, the Jags offense really couldn’t get anything going while the defense bent but wouldn’t break. Head coach Kane Wommack acknowledged that after the game. “I thought our team seemed like we were playing with a bit of a hangover, in terms of some of the things execution-wise, particularly in the passing game on defense, and not executing enough offensively to sustain drives,” he said.
South Alabama (1-1) and Southeastern Louisiana (0-2) played to a scoreless draw in the first quarter. Just when the Jags looked like they were moving the ball well at the end of the first quarter, they started the second quarter and nothing seemingly went right.
Offensive pass interference bookended by holding calls and the Jags went from the SLU 25 back to their own 48.
The Lions were the first to get on the board on the next possession. Aided by a roughing the passer call on Quentin Wilfawn, the Lions mixed run and pass down the field and capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown pass.
The Jags answered quickly with a 4 play, 75 yard touchdown drive. Bradley opened the drive with a pair of pass completions to Caullin Lacy and Devin Voisin for 6 and 29 yards respectively. Then La’Damian Webb got his first two carries of the game and he made good with them. He ran for 33 yards on his first touch then finished it off with a 3-yard touchdown to even the score.
Carter Bradley was intercepted on the third play from scrimmage in the second half and it looked like the first half woes were going to hang around.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Jaguar offense came out swinging with La’Damian Webb. Webb got the drive started and he ended the drive. In all he carried the ball four times for 38 yards while the scoring drive was only 7-plays, 74 yards as the Jags took their first lead of the game and the season, 14-7.
After another three-and-out by the defense, it was Marco Lee and Kentrel Bullock’s turn to drive the running game. Lee started the drive carrying the ball four of the first five plays. Then Bullock finished the drive with three consecutive runs ending with an 8-yard touchdown and a 21-7 advantage.
On the third play of their next possession, and the first play of the fourth quarter, Bradley connected with Caullin Lacy on a drag route just short of the first down. But Lacy weaved his way down the far sideline, got a key block from a fellow wide receiver downfield, and took it 84 yards to the end zone for a 28-7 advantage.
SLU opened their ensuing drive with a 76 yard pass against the Jaguar secondary. The defense held strong and forced a 29 yard field goal.
The Jags pretty much iced the game on their next possession. The Jags put together a 14-play 75 yard drive that burned almost nine minutes off the clock. Marco Lee capped it off with a 13 yard touchdown on 4th and 1 to put the Jags up 35-10 with 3:18 left in the game.
The Lions took advantage of the Jags playing reserves on defense and scored a trash-time touchdown for the final score of 35-17.
Stats
The Jags put up 509 yards of total offense, 261 through the air and 248 on the ground. The defense allowed SLU to put up 412 yards of total offense, 350 through the air and only 62 on the ground.
Carter Bradley finished 19-of-26 for 258 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Gio Lopez took one snap and completed his only pass attempt for 3 yards as a true freshman.
Caullin Lacy led the Jags receiving corps with 8 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. Devin Voisin had four catches for 70 yards before leaving as a precaution after an injury. Jamaal Pritchett caught three passes for 36 yards.
Kentrel Bullock led the Jaguar rushing attack with 14 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. Webb only had 7 carries but rolled up 81 yards and two touchdowns. Marco Lee had 11 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown. True freshman PJ Martin had three carries for 19 yards in his brief appearance.
Yam Banks led the defense with 7 total stops, four solo, and an interception. Trey Kiser, Ricky Fletcher, Quentin Wilfawn, LaMondre Brooks all had a tackle for loss each. Jamall Hickbottom and Wy’Kevious Thomas combine for a sack.
Zachary Clement finished 18-of-24 for 267 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Eli Sawyer finished 7-of-12 for 83 yards.
Darius Lewis led the Lions with 7 catches for 81 yards. Da’Shun Hughley only had one catch but it went for 76 yards. Harlan Dixon had five catches out of the backfield for 62 yards.
Rodeo Graham led the Lions rushing with 33 yards on eight carries. Dixon has 19 yards on 11 carries.
“There are certainly some things that we’ve got to get cleaned up, if we want to reach our potential as a football team,” coach Wommack said after the game.
The Jags had a couple injuries in the game. Keith Gallmon Jr left the game early and didn’t return. Devin Voisin had a knee injury but was seen on the sideline with his pads off and ice on it. They join Jalen Jordan, who didn’t dress out for the game but was seen on the sideline in street clothes. Braylon McReynolds injured his shoulder last week and wasn’t seen on the sideline for the game.
Khalil Jacobs was ejected for targeting on a late hit in the third quarter. He will miss the first half of the Jags game against Oklahoma State next Saturday.
Next
South Alabama will travel to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State for a 6pm kickoff. The Jags are 0-2 all-time against the Cowboys. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
