South Alabama Defeat Bowling Green With Field Goal As Time Expires
It wasn’t pretty, but the Jags pulled out the 22-19 win over Bowling Green with Diego Guajardo’s 44 yard field goal as time expired.
The Jaguars start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2011 and for the first time as a FBS team. Bowling Green falls to 0-2 on the season.
The Jaguar defense kept the team in the game. But Terrion Avery and Caullin Lacy took the team on their shoulders to tie the game.
Avery carried the ball seven times on the touchdown drive and caught a pass too. However it was Lacy who stepped up on 4th and 8 to convert a first down at to the Bowling Green 16 yard line. Then Avery would cap the drive off with a 3 yard gain and then a 13 yard touchdown.
The Jags defense, after getting a much needed rest when the offense put together the touchdown drive, set their cleats in the turf and were not going to bend or break again.
On 3rd and 11 at their own 24, Falcon quarterback Matt McDonald found Christian Sims open but Shawn Jennings came in and punched the ball loose and Quentin Wilfawn fell on it giving the Jaguar offense the ball at the Falcon 33 yard line with just 1:21 left in the game.
Major Applewhite kept the ball on the ground with Avery setting up Diego Guajardo for the game-winning kick.
The game started off terrible, but it could have been worse.
Bentley was sacked for a 2 yard loss, Bentley then threw it to Lacy for a 4 yard loss and Kareem Walker was dropped for a 2 yard loss. The snap to Jack Brooks on 4th down was high and he luckily pulled it down but it gave the Falcons the time to get in and block the punt. Fortunately the ball went out of the back of the end zone to give Bowling Green a 2-0 lead.
With 4:53 left in the first quarter, Jake Bentley dropped back to pass and didn’t see linebacker Darren Anders drop into coverage and threw it right to him. Anders would return it 27 yards for a touchdown. The point-after was missed wide right and the Jags then trailed 8-0.
South Alabama got the ensuing kickoff and methodically drove down the field to the 9 yard line when the first quarter ended. Walker got the ball down to the 4 yard but the Jags settled for a 22 yard field goal for their first points of the game.
The Jaguars used their time outs wisely and forced the Falcons to punt with with under a minute left in the half.
USA took over on the Falcon 48 yard line. A pair of passes later the Jags were down to the 16 yard line. Fortunately a pass intended for Lacy was not caught as time would have expired witout a chance to kick a field goal most likely. Instead Guajardo drills a 41 yard field goal with 6 seconds left in the half to cut the Falcons lead to 8-6. Which the Falcons would be content to take to the locker room.
Bowling Green opened the second half with a 51 yard pass play on their third play from scrimmage. Aided by a holding penalty on what would have been a 1st down at the Jaguar 5 yard line, the Jags defense would force the Falcons to settle for a 40 yard field goal for an 11-6 lead.
The Jags punched right back with a 5 play, 75 yard touchdown drive. Bentley completed passes to Jalen Wayne for 15 yards then Jalen Tolbert for 42 yards to open the drive. Three plays later Kareem Walker pushes his way into the end zone to give South Alabama their first lead of the game at 12-11 with 10:11 left in the third quarter.
A 2-point conversion attempt looked to be good, but was ruled an incomplete pass. After review the play stood.
It was then Bowling Green’s turn though.
They quickly shredded the Jaguar defense with a 3 play, 83 yard drive. They opened the possession with a 47 yard pass play. Followed by a 3 yard run. But McDonald found Andrew Bench for a 33 yard touchdown to regain the lead.
The Falcons converted their 2-point conversion attempt to take a 19-12 lead with 9:08 left in the third quarter.
Bowling Green threatened to increase their lead with under a minute left in the third quarter but double-pass by Jaedyn McKinstry was overthrown and an easy interception by Keith Gallmon for a touchback.
The Jaguar defense kept bending but not breaking in the fourth quarter. A few times they looked like they were holding on by just a thread or a shoelace.
That was until the Jaguars offense with Avery and Lacy took over.
Stats
South Alabama
The Jags put up 371 yards of total offense, 114 on the ground and 257 through the air. They had 21 first down but converted 7-of-18 on 3rd down. The Jags were a perfect 3-for-3 in red zone scoring, converting two touchdown.
Bowling Green gained 317 yards, only 9 yards rushing with 308 passing. They only had 10 first down and were 2-of-12 on 3rd down. The Falcons only scored a field goal on their only red zone attempt.
Jake Bentley was 29-of-46 for 257 yards and an interception.
Caullin Lacy led the receivers with 8 catches for 63 yards. Jalen Tolbert had 7 catches for a game high 95 yards. Six other Jaguars caught passes in the game.
Terrion Avery led all rushers with 82 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown. Walker carried 12 times for 32 yards and a touchdown.
Yam Banks led the Jags with 6 total tackles, 3 of them solo. The defense had five tackles for loss and three sacks.
Bowling Green
Matt McDonald went 23-of-32 for 308 yards and a touchdown.
Christian Sims led the Falcons with 8 catches for 76 yards. Austin Osborne caught 7 passes for 38 yards. Tyrone Broden caught 3 passes for 76 yards. All six players who caught passes had a reception for 26 yards or longer in the game.
Terion Stewart led the Falcons with 16 yards rushing on 5 carries.
Next Game
South Alabama returns home to face Alcorn State on Saturday, September 18. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Travels To Bowling Green For First Road Game Of The Season
Kickoff: Saturday September 11, 3 pm
Venue: Doyt L. Perry Stadium, Bowling Green, Ohio
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5 fm, 96.1 fm The Rocket, iHeartRadio
South Alabama has spent the week gearing up for their first road trip under first-year head coach Kane Wommack.
I don’t think many will argue against the idea that it’s easier to prepare after a win than it is after a loss. However coach Wommack made sure, as soon as the Southern Miss game was over, to start pointing out that the team needs more urgency and that it was no where near the standard he wants to hold his team to.
Coach Wommack pointed out the teams poor execution at times, how he didn’t think they finished well, and that it was not a convincing win in his mind.
Next up for the Jaguars are the Bowling Green Falcons.
It’s an opportunity for some payback for the Jags 33-28 loss on December 20, 2014 in the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery. It was the Jags first bowl game appearance.
Third year Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler is 3-15 and coming off a 38-6 loss at Tennessee to open their season. The Falcons were 0-5 in a short 2020 season.
While the Jaguars offensive production, numbers wise, was not very impressive, it definitely felt different.
The Jags continued to struggle to run the ball. But the Southern Miss defensive front is arguably their strongest defensive unit. Any way you look at it, there is definitely room to grow on their 31 rushing yard outing.
Kareem Walker gained 26 yards on 18 carries. He got a significant chunk of carries in the later stages of the game with little effectiveness. Terrion Avery added 12 yards on 10 carries.
On the other hand the Jags passing game was quite efficient. Bentley went 17-of-22 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Tolbert led the way with 168 yards on just five receptions (an average of 33.6 yards per catch with a long of 49 yards). Caullin Lacy added 67 yards on five catches and Jalen Wayne caught three passes for 20 yards. Walker and Trent Tyre caught the two touchdown passes.
Offensively the Jags had 11 tackles for loss accounting for 31 lost yards. Of those 11, three of them were sacks for a loss of 17 yards. The Jags fumbled the ball away to Southern Miss once in the game.
Defensively the Jags used the SwarmD and caused disruptions all night. The team racked up five tackles for loss for a loss of 33 yards, four of them sacks for 31 yards. They collected two interceptions, one of them returned 48 yards for a touchdown. They also forced two fumbles and recovered both of them.
The secondary had three pass breakups. Keith Gallmon led the team in tackles with 7, 5 of them were solo.
In all, seven of the nine top tacklers in the game came from the defensive front. That helps show that Jags did a good job getting stops before players got to the secondary.
Bowling Green
Offense
The Falcons ran into a Tennessee defense that caused them a lot of problems. They were only able to rush for 32 yards. Nick Mosley led the way with 26 yards on the ground on eight carries. His longest run was 24 yards.
Matt McDonald was 25-of-38 for 187 yards through the air while being sacked twice. He spread the ball around pretty well. The leading receiver, Austin Osbourne, had eight catches for 46 yards. Cavon Croom added five catches for 45 yards. Three other receivers caught three passes each.
Defense
The Falcon run defense was shredded for 326 yards on 64 carries. That still averaged out to 5.1 yards per carry. Two Tennessee running backs went over 100 yards in the game and the quarterback had two rushing touchdowns.
The defense only allowed 145 yards passing and one passing touchdown to the Vols. Michigan transfer quarterback Joe Milton went 11-of-23 for 140 yards and a touchdown while adding 44 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries. The Falcons did sack him three times though.
Bowling Green’s defense recovered two fumbles, one of them forced.
South Alabama
Offense
As mentioned previously, the offense struggled running the ball. They only managed to gain 31 yards on 34 carries.
However the blame doesn’t solely rest on the offensive line.
After reviewing the game film, head coach Kane Wommack said that the Jaguar running backs showed some hesitancy. That hesitancy, however slight, against the quality and experienced defensive front of Southern Miss meant that the holes that the offensive line opened for the backs closed quickly.
But there were breakdowns in blocking by the receivers as well.
In short, the running backs hesitation and blocking mishaps by receivers all contributed to allowing the defense to fill the gaps.
Which circles back to coach Wommack’s post-game talk about playing with urgency. Which is fixable. And you better believe they will be working on that this week.
Going up against Bowling Green’s defense may give them a great opportunity to take this week’s work in practice and translate it into success on the field.
The Falcon defense allowed 326 yards to Tennessee. But going back to the 2020 season, they allowed over 310 rushing yards per game on average.
Defense
The Jaguar defense played better than expected.
During preseason camp coach Wommack said that installing the defense had gone quicker and easier than expected.
It sure came out to shine on Saturday night.
Overall the Jags only allowed 258 yards of total offense. Only 125 yards rushing and 2.9 yards per carry to coach Will Hall, who is known for his power rushing attack offense.
The defense was in the backfield all game long causing havoc.
They recorded 11 tackles for loss, three of them sacks, and many more quarterback hurries. They also forced two interceptions, some near interceptions, and three pass breakups.
The stat that I liked was that of the top 9 tacklers on the Jaguar defense, 7 of them came from the defensive front. Only two were players in the secondary.
That means that the front 6, and sometimes just the front 5 (as one of the ends may situationally drop into coverage), did not allow their opponents to get into the second level of the defense. Additionally they did not needing safeties to come up and help stop the run. It also means that they weren’t completing a lot of passes either.
The longest run allowed was 5 yards and the longest pass completion was 23 yards to Frank Gore Jr., the running back.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo had a solid outing connecting on a 48 yard field goal in the third quarter. He had six kickoffs and half of them were touchbacks.
Jack Brooks also had a solid night. He averaged 43.9 yards across his eight punts. His longest of the night was 54 yards and he had three punts downed inside the 20.
Keys to the Game
Rushing Offense
With improved offensive line play, the running game needs to pick up to help balance the offense. This will be needed as the season progresses as we get into conference play.
Coach Wommack said that there would be a focus this week on urgency and also said he thought he saw hesitancy by the running backs. This would be a great opportunity for the Jags running backs to have a break out performance against a somewhat historically weak run defense.
Since Saturday coach Wommack and also offensive coordinator Major Applewhite have both pointed out that all 11 players have roles to play each and every play. They pointed out some missed blocks by the wide receivers and missed checks by the quarterback that would have put them into better situations.
Penalties
I definitely noticed a difference in penalties.
When the game started getting chippy in the first quarter and ramped up after Southern Miss scored to take their only lead of the game, the Jags maintained composure in the moment. They didn’t get frustrated and they didn’t get baited into penalties.
They got some effort-based penalties that will be addressed. Yet they still got some penalties that there are no excuses for. A personal foul on a kickoff that goes for a touchback. A targeting call for a tackler leading with the crown of the helmet.
While these are improved, they need continual reinforcement and improvement.
Winning on the Road
Over the last several seasons the Jags have been a terrible road team. Including the win against Southern Miss this season, the Jags have won only 5 road games dating back all the way to the 2016 season.
There were two seasons in there where the Jags were winless on the road.
The season opening win over Southern Miss in 2020 ended a drought where the Jags had not won a road game since the Troy game on October 11, 2017.
A road win will go a long way towards giving the Jags some of their swagger back from the early days of the program.
The Jags have not started a season 2-0 since the 2011 season, before they were a FBS Transitional team.
Prediction
South Alabama enters as a double-digit favorite against Bowling Green. The line started at 14.5 and has dropped to 13.5.
This will definitely be a game to watch for any Jaguar fan. Just to see how the team performs on the road under coach Kane Wommack and his staff.
I definitely think the Jags will win, but flirting with the spread is an interesting conundrum. 13.5 points is quite a bit, I think the Jags will cover but just barely (like a 14 point win).
Go Jags!