A Cat Fight: Jags vs Tigers
South Alabama (1-1) exploded for a school record 413 yards rushing last week against Jackson State. Though it was against a FCS school, that amount of rushing yards is still quite a feat.
The Jags welcomes a more formidable opponent to Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the Memphis Tigers (2-0).
This one should be a cat fight from the beginning.
A year ago in Memphis, the Jags were only down by four points 31-27 late in the third quarter before the Tigers pulled away for a 52-35 victory. However UM got a big shot in the arm to start the 2019 season by knocking off Ole Miss 15-10 at home. They followed that up with a 55-24 win over FCS Southern University.
The Tigers quarterback Brady White may be one of the best quarterbacks the Jags will see this season. Against Southern, he went 17-of-21 for 337 yards and two touchdowns in only three quarters of work. Against Ole Miss he went 23-of-31 for 172 yards. That’s a 77% completion clip through the first two games.
While the Tigers will with without their starting running back Patrick Taylor, they have a freshmen in Kenneth Gainwell who started his first game last week and rushed for 85 yards. Also gone is Darrell Henderson, who went for 188 yards and two touchdowns in last years game as he left school early for the NFL draft (LA Rams).
The Jags will look to keep a Memphis streak alive, for each of the last three seasons the Tigers have dropped their first road game of the season. In 2016 it was Ole Miss, in 2017 it was UCF and last year it was Navy.
Can USA make it four in a row?
The Jags defense is currently ranked 24th nationally in passing yards allowed. Additionally their rushing defense has been playing pretty well so far and are looking to atone for their performance a year ago.
Tra Minter will be a focus for the Memphis defense. He averages 216.5 all-purpose yards per game, which is third in the nation. He was the majority of the Jags offense last week against JSU. The Tigers have yet to allow a 100 yard rusher this year, but Minter will be their biggest test yet.
Now with a clear #2 back behind Minter in Jared Wilson, the Jags have what looks like a nice 1-2 punch with a change of pace.
Concerning things from last week was the continued turnover problem with Cephus Johnson. Granted it was only his third start but with six total turnovers in two games, four interceptions and two fumbles, including two that resulted in defensive touchdowns and two other that occurred in the opponents red zone, protecting the ball will have to be a premium.
Johnson has been exploited because he had locked into a receiver early allowing the defenders to read his eyes. But the two fumbles came from backside pressure that he never felt.
The other concerning thing from last week was discipline. When they traveled to Nebraska, the Jags were very disciplined and commit few penalties. But at home against JSU, the Jags were flagged 11 times for 101 yards and had three players ejected for targeting, including two on back-to-back plays. Fortunately it was an FCS opponent and didn’t really hurt them against an over-matched opponent. But against another FBS school, it could very well cost them the game, especially if it were to be Riley Cole again.
Injuries:
Jags will be without WR Jalen Wayne, LB Kade Koler and LB Patrick Rosette. RB Jalin Buie is out for the season with a knee injury. Defensive lineman Tyree Turner is questionable for the game.
Memphis will be without RB Patrick Taylor and DB Chis Claybrooks. DL O’Bryan Goodson is questionable.
Line:
Memphis is favored by 19 points. I think the Jags have be good opportunity to keep this game close into the fourth quarter and sneak out a win. I’ll take the under in this game.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPNU and can the radio broadcast can be heard on 99.5FM The Jag locally in Mobile and through the iHeartRadio app online.
USA Hosts FCS Jackson State In Home Opener
South Alabama opens their home slate against FCS Jackson State, the final season playing in Ladd-Peebles as their home stadium.
The Jags come off of an inspring effort against then #24 Nebraska in Lincoln, falling short of their upset bid, 35-21. They will find themselves on the other side of the coin, they don’t want to be upset by Jackson State, who is coming off of a 36-15 road loss to Bethune Cookman in the 2019 MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
Jackson State played three quarterbacks in their first game, but head coach John Hendrick announced that Derrick Ponder will be the starter going forward. He finished 8-of-21 for 130 yards, but had a fumble in the fourth quarter when the Tigers were moving the ball.
Despite the loss and rotating quarterbacks, they ran up over 500 yards of total offense, 233 of them came on the ground in a three-headed rushing attack. Coach Hendrick challenged his offense to execute better, with all those yards they had ample opportunity to score.
The Jags won most of the statistical categories against the Cornhuskers, but the game is won or lost with the points put on the board.
The Jags settled in with Cephus Johnson taking snaps with 231 passing yards and two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions and two fumbles, one for a touchdown in the endzone.
The Jaguar defense held the Huskers to 276 yards of total offense and only 98 yards rushing.
The Jags has more talent across the board than the Tigers. The offense needs to continue to get Cephus confortable early with short, high-percentage passes and RPO’s. The JSU defense will look to disguise coverages and try to force Cephus into making mistakes.
The two fumbles by Cephus last week all came from his backside, where he never seemed to feel the pressure. Look for JSU to try to bring pressure to see if they can recreate that pressure and try to get some turnovers.
The Jags will look to better their protection from last week and getting more players involved to build depth as they prepare for Memphis next week and the fast approaching conference schedule. USA controlled the line of scrimmage pretty well against Nebraska, this week they look to get those rushing yards that eluded them last week. The rushing attack will feature Tra Minter but with Jalin Buie out for the season with a knee injury, the coaches will look to get more touches to the other guys to build depth at a position that has been pretty thin the last couple of seasons.
The Jags are a 27.5 point favorite. With their talent anything would probably be a disappointment. I think the Jags cover as they look to further forget the frustrations from last season.
Jags Fall At #24 Nebraska 35-21
South Alabama traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska with upset on their mind and they put a decent scare into the #24 ranked Cornhuskers and Coach Scott Frost.
The Jags took the Cornhuskers to halftime trailing by one score at 14-7 after Jalen Thompson was able to partially block a late field goal attempt by Nebraska. But the Jags focus on the “middle eight” didn’t go exactly as they wanted. On a 3rd and 8 play, starting quarterback Cephus Johnson was locked into his receiver allowing Eric Lee Jr. to jump the route for a 58 yard pick six at the 13:11 mark.
The Jags would get the ball right back but would go three-and-out. The Jack Brooks punt would sail 49 yards to JD Spielman, who elluded the first tackler and then ran it back 76 yards for the second score in under two minutes.
USA attempted didn’t give up, they would answer with two touchdowns in third quarter themselves. The first was set up by a JD Speilman muffed punt where the Jags covered it at the Husker 13 yard line. Four plays later Johnson would find Davyn Flenord on a tunnel screen for a 9 yard touchdown.
The second score was set up by an interception by AJ DeShazor at the Jag 24 yard line. USA got into the red zone thanks to a nice wheel route by Tra Minter down the left sideline then drive was capped off by a 13 yard touchdown reception by Khameron Taylor.
The scoring was capped off on the first play of the fourth quarter where Cephus would be hit from his backside and having the ball jarred loose where Alex Davis would cover it up in the end zone with 14:53 left in the game.
From there, the Jags had a great opportunity to cut the lead back to one score after Dedrick Mills fumbled the ball which Devin Rockette recovered at the Nebraska 49 yard line.
After driving down to the 12 yard line, Johnson was looking for Kawaan baker around the two yard line, but ball was delivered behind him, Baker got his had on the ball tipping it up where Cam Taylor could pick it off and returned it 48 yards to the mid field stripe.
The Jags won the battle on the statistics sheet if you ignore the score. They had more total yards (314 – 276), passing yards (231 – 178), first downs (19 – 15), total plays (79 – 66), time of possession (34:13 – 25:47) while Nebraska out-gained the Jags on the ground (98 – 83).
Cephus Johnson went 19-of-34 for 231 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and he was sacked four times. Tylan Morton came in for play and threw an interception when Cephus had to come out due to losing his helmet on a play.
Receiving Kawaan Baker led the way with 59 yards on four catches, Cade Sutherland gained 53 on four catches and Tra Minter gained 47 on five catches.
On the ground, Minter led the way with 37 yards on 10 carries. Baker added 27 yards on five carries and Cephus had a net of 9 yards on 18 carries with the lone rushing touchdown.
The Jags defense held Adrian Martinez to 13-for-22 passing for 178 yards and two touchdowns and one interception.
Rushing Dedrick Mills led the way with 45 yards on 15 carries. Washington added 39 yards on 6 carries after sitting out the first half. Martinez was held to 6 yards on 13 carries, with a big loss on a snap over his head though.
Receiving the Huskers Jack Stoll had three catches for 66 yards, Robinson added 33 yards on three catches and JD Spielman added 36 yards on two catches.
The Jags will open their home schedule with Jackson State on Saturday, September 7 with kickoff scheduled for 6pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Jags Face Nebraska In 11am Kick
Here we are, ready for the 2019 season to finally begin. While Thunderjags has been quiet, we are still here. This year has been very busy with off the field family business. Without any further ado, let’s preview game number one.
The Jags coming off a 3-9 record for the 2018 campaign opens in Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the #24 Cornhuskers.
The Huskers enter the third season under head coach Scott Frost after back-to-back 4 win seasons. Despite that, they are getting lots of early hype being ranked #24 in the nation to start the season.
South Alabama lost a lot from last season, but not all of it from graduation. Several players transferred out to other programs. They lost Jordan McCray and Malik Stanley to the transfer portal. Kawaan Baker is by far the leading receiver returning with 33 catches and four touchdowns. While the four returning receivers combine for a total of 10 catches. They do return six squad members from last season, a mixture of redshirts and others who didn’t see any gametime then added seven true freshmen and a senior transfer.
The linebacking corps will look to fill Bull Barge’s big shoes as they return one letterwinner from last season with one sack. They also return three redshirt freshmen and two previous squad members.
The offensive line returns four starters from last year, three of them started all 12 games. But the squad had problems knocking people off the ball, but hopefully an offseason of study and strengthening will pay dividends.
Punter Corliss Waitman decided to transfer to Mississippi State to spend what looks like his final college football season reunited with former Jag head coach Joey Jones. Frankie Onate looks to step up and fill Gavin Patterson’s shoes as placekicker.
Always one of the most talked about positions is quarterback. Evan Orth and Cole Garvin graduated. Orth started eight games, Garvin started three, and 2019 starting signal caller Cephus Johnson started one. While Johnson only threw 19 passes last year, he completed seven of them for three touchdowns and only one interception.
Though head coach Steve Campbell brought in the top ranked JUCO dual-threat quarterback in Tylan Morton, Johnson beat him out for the starting job.
As mentioned before, Johnson will be breaking in a lot of new receivers with one veteran leading the way in Baker.
The tight end position should see more work in 2019. They only accounted for one touchdown last season against Memphis.
The running back position returns two letterwinners. Tra Minter leads the way as a 2nd team All-America all-purpose back by the Sporting News and preseason watch list for the Doak Walker and Paul Hornung Awards. Minter was the only returning back to have carried the ball 10 times or more in a game in 2018. Actually, Jalin Buie hasn’t carried the ball in a game since September 16, 2017.
Though the Jags return four redshirt freshmen and a JUCO transfer to help give depth. Tony Brown and John Tank Miller are two names to keep up with this season as they have been mentioned many times over the last year and in the offseason.
Nebraska’s defense is big up front. The Jags offensive line will have their hands full with the size and speed of the Cornhuskers. Coach Edenfield will look to find mismatches and try to exploit them with misdirection and try to use some of their speed against them.
Additionally the Husker corners are pretty good. Opponents struggled completing outside passes down the field.
Offensively Nebraska has a very good quarterback, possibly one of the best in the nation, in Taylor Martinez. He can throw well and he’s very good and running the ball. The Jags defense will have to play very disciplined football. Everyone is going to make mistakes, especially in the first game of the season. Season openers are won and lost by those mistakes. In order to have a chance to win, the Jags have to minimize their mistakes against what looks to be a very potent offensive attack for the Huskers this season.
The Jags have a win over a top 25 team, they’ve defeated a Power 5 SEC team. This is their second time facing Nebraska in Lincoln. The team is ready to start the 2019 season after the lackluster 2018 record. Maybe the chances of a Jaguar win is a little more favorable than the odds that Doctor Strange gave in Avengers: Infinity War. But it takes precision, focus, and near perfect play.
While I’d love to recreate the Mississippi State win, I’m not confident I’ll see it today. We have 11 games after this one and we need to stay healthy but also get some game experience for lots of new players.
USA is a 36 point underdog according to the Las Vegas oddsmakers. I think the Jags will keep it closer than that on the road but the outright win is slim but would be extremely exciting.
Jags Send Senior Out On Top With 31-28 Win Over Coastal Carolina
Head coach Steve Campbell talking with the Jaguar offensive line between possessions early in the game against Coastal Carolina.
South Alabama took advantage of their final game of the season and a beat-up and bruised Coastal Carolina team to send 19 seniors out with one final 31-28 win.
Coastal Carolina (5-7, 2-6) came into the game looking for a win to get bowl eligible in their second season playing a Sun Belt schedule. Meanwhile the Jags (3-9, 2-6 SBC) only had pride and the program’s seniors to play for in their final game of the season.
The Chanticleers entered on a three game skid and plagued by injuries which only got worse during the game with more injuries occurring during the course of play.
The Jags jumped out early with a 32-yard field goal on their opening drive. Then a 45-yard touchdown pass from Cole Garvin to Jamarius Way on the first play after recovering a Coastal Carolina fumble to take a 10-0 lead.
The Jags kept it up in the second quarter with a one-play 73-yard drive when Evan Orth came in and lofted a throw over the Coastal defender to let Jamarius Way to out run the defense to the end zone for a 17-0 lead.
Coastal Carolina finally got on the board on their next possession, capped off by a 31-yard touchdown when Bryce Carpenter came in for an injured Kilton Anderson and found Isaiah Likely for the touchdown.
The Jags answered right back with a 13-play, 75 yard drive capped off by Kawaan Baker’s 6 yard touchdown run. Which let the Jags take a 24-7 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The second half was a different story, the Chanticleers opened the second half throwing the ball and systematically driving down the field for a touchdown.
USA got their only points of the second half two possessions later when they drove 51 yards in 10 plays and 4:22. Garvin connected with Way for a 7 yard touchdown making the score 31-14.
Coastal wasn’t ready to give up though and proceeded to drive 65 yards to get within 10 points again at 31-21.
The Jags offense went cold midway through the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-and-outs but the Jags defense held their own and forcing an incomplete pass on a 4th down conversion attempt with 3:17 left in the game.
The Jags then went into their ground control offense to bleed the clock. After Tra Minter broke the single-game rushing record, he then broke free for a 20 yard gain but the Chanticleers forced a fumble and recovered it at their own 20.
Coastal proceeded to pass the ball down the field aided by a illegal use of hands penalty before Anderson found Malcolm Williams for a 16 yard touchdown cutting the Jags lead to only three points 31-28 with only 34 seconds left in the game.
Coastal Carolina attempted an onside kick, but it never took the high bounce as wanted and Jahmmir Taylor was able to cover it up preserving the Jags win.
The Jaguar offense rolled up an impressive 533 yards of total offense and 331 yards on the ground. Tra Minter ran 24 times for 203 yards, breaking Kendall Houston’s record of 173 rushing yards against Troy.
Deonta Moore ran nine times for 72 yards. Baker rushed seven times for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Cole Garvin went 7-of-9 for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Evan Orth went 3-of-4 for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Jamarius Way caught six passes for 141 and all three receiving touchdowns. Minter caught two passes for 49 yards and Jordan McCray added 12 yards on two receptions.
The Jaguar defense allowed 385 yards, holding the Chanticleers to only 92 rushing yards. They commited their first penalty in two games against USA and ended the game with four for 40 yards.
Anderson went 20-for-32 for 262 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Williams caught seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown to lead the Coastal receivers.
CJ Marable ran 10 times for 40 yards while Alex James rushed for 32 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns. Anderson had 11 carries for 20 yards after sack yardage.
“I was glad our seniors could go out with a win in their last game at Ladd[-Peebles Stadium],” head coach Steve Campbell said. “Those guys really stepped up and played big in a big way.”
“After the Louisiana-Monroe game, we looked and saw that we really didn’t have a personality offensively,” Campbell continued. “We were running a little of this and a little of that; we really hadn’t established a personality. Before last week, we said we were going to run the football, be a play-action team and try to create some explosive plays with some man-to-man coverages. We were able to do that.”
“It makes it that much more special, to end with a win on this field” said senior linebacker Bull Barge after the game. “That’s what you work hard for, to go out on top at your own place. It just feels good knowing you’re going out on top after a long season.”
“It definitely gave us a spark,” said junior Tra Minter on a win to end the season. “All we wanted to do was send these seniors out with a bang and give them something to look back on. For next year, it just gave us a spark and some confidence for next season.”
The coaches will now put all their focus on recruiting with an early signing period on December 19-21 and the regular signing day on February 6, 2019.
Inside the Numbers:
South Alabama Host Coastal Carolina For Season Finale
South Alabama (2-9, 1-6 Conference) is set to play their final home game of the season which is also their final game of the season as a whole on Friday with kickoff scheduled for 2pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Jags will welcome a 5-6 Coastal Carolina team that are looking to get bowl-eligible (5-6, 2-5 Conference). This makes the third consecutive team looking to earn their sixth win against the Jaguars.
Head coach Steve Campbell is balancing getting playing time for the younger players with trying to win the remaining game and letting the seniors get playing time on Senior Day.
Senior Evan Orth, who started eight of 11 games so far this season injured his shoulder a couple weeks ago and has missed the last two game due to it. Cole Garvin, also a senior, started the first game of the season and played a complete game last week against Louisiana-Lafayette after missing most of the season due to a team rules violation when he was arrested for public intoxication.
Redshirt freshman Cephus Johnson started against Louisiana-Monroe two weeks ago, but split time with Garvin.
The Chanticleers, who joined the Sun Belt Conference last season, come into Mobile as a the favorite by anywhere from 2.5 to 6.5 points but in the midst of a three-game losing streak after facing Appalachian State, Arkansas State, and Georgia Southern.
South Alabama will be bidding goodbye to 19 seniors, some of the most accomplished players in program history to date. Among them, Jamarious Way who is in the top 10 in pretty much every USA career and single-season receiving category, Corliss Waitman who has the best punting average in program history, and Gavin Patterson who is the second-leading scorer in program history.
The Chanticleers join Appalachian State and Georgia Southern who were long-time FCS powerhouses who have joined the Sun Belt and have found success early. With just one win between them and bowl eligibility in their second season, they should be motivated and ready to play.
Meanwhile the Jags don’t have a post-season to play for, they only have pride. The Jags can play spoiler while heading into the off-season on a positive note.
The Chanticleers average 208.4 yards rushing per game and 170.5 yards passing per game. Meanwhile the Jags are averaging 135.7 yards rushing and 203.4 yards passing per game. But the Jags defense has been very susceptible to big plays, long runs and passes many of them for touchdowns have plagued them all season.
The Jags covered the spread last week, I think they’ll do it again but I’m not sure if they win. It’s more of toss-up and I think the more motivated team will win.
Inside the Numbers:
Jags Come Up Short in Lafayette 48-38
The Jags came up on the short end of a 48-38 shoot out with Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night. Though they have fallen to 2-9 and 1-6 in Sun Belt Conference play on the season, but they showed signs of life, which they had not shown much of over the past few games.
It looked like the Jags were on the verge of being in another blowout loss after the Ragin’ Cajuns broke out with a 54 kickoff return followed by a 44 yard touchdown pass to break a 10-10 tie with 4:38 remaining before halftime. Then they caught the Jags off guard with an onside kick, which they recovered and took 2:16 to drive 54 yards in five plays to add a second touchdown with 2:04 left until halftime.
This had been the point in previous weeks when the opponent took over the game but the Jags drove 75 yards in 13 plays and 1:53 to cut the Cajun lead to 24-17 at halftime.
USA opened the second half by receiving the kick off and driving 65 yards in nine plays to tie the game at 24-each with 10:51 left in the third quarter.
But the Cajuns responded with by scoring 17 points to regain control of the game. It started with a 45 yard touchdown run by Elijah Mitchell on the third offensive play. Then two Jag fumbles book ended a Cajun interception lead to a 41 yard field goal and a 34-24 Cajun lead at that point.
Another good special teams return, this time a 24 yard punt return, kick started a 70 yard, nine play touchdown drive to take a 41-24 lead at the end of third quarter.
The Jags could only get within 10 points in the final quarter with the Cajuns responding to the Jags touchdown midway through the quarter. But the Jags drove back down once more to with just :15 left in the game on a 50 yard touchdown pass from Cole Garvin to Kawaan Baker. The Jags attempted to recover an onside kick to try to make the game even more interesting but it was not to be.
South Alabama led the Cajuns in just about every statistical column you can find except for points. The Jags out gained the Cajuns 477 to 407, out rushed the Cajuns 223 to 210 and out passed them 254 to 197 yards. The Jags ground out 27 first downs to 17. They had 85 offensive plays to the Cajuns 52, they dominated time of possession 35:59 to 24:01, converted 11-of-19 3rd downs, converted a perfect 5-of-5 on 4th down, and they scored all five times they were in the red zone.
The Jags had more penalties with nine flags for 61 yards while the Cajuns had six flags for 66 yards. The Jags lost the turnover battle with 3 to the Cajuns lone interception, but the difference in the game was that Cajuns cashed in on those turnover for 10 points.
Cole Garvin, who started for the first time since the Oklahoma State game, went 18-for-28 for 254 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Eight Jaguars caught passes with Jamarius Way leading the way with six receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. Kawaan Baker caught four passes for 80 yards and the other touchdown.
Seven Jags carried the ball in the game, Tra Minter again was the leading rusher with 87 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown. Garvin gained 50 yards on 12 attempts. Baker added two rushing touchdowns to his receiving touchdown with 44 yards on the ground on seven carries.
Andre Nunez went 12-for-18 for 153 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Ja’Marcus Bradley and Jalen Williams both caught three passes each with the former gaining 62 yards and three touchdowns while the latter had 38 yards.
Elijah Mitchell rushed for 105 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns. Trey Ragas and Raymond Calais were both kept in check with the former rushing for 53 yards on 10 carries while the latter rushed for 34 yards on seven carries.
“I was proud of the guys and the way they fought,” head coach Steve Campbell said. “Obviously, we are disappointed when you get beat. We put ourselves in a hole right off the bat and went down 10-0, but the guys fought back and tied it back up twice. The last two weeks, we had started off well and didn’t finish the half.”
“Defensively, I didn’t like the way we finished the first half,” he continued. “We gave up two touchdowns right before halftime right after we had tied it up at 10-10. Offensively, I liked how we finished the first half, we were able to get some points on the board. We came back and tied it back up to start the second half after we had challenged the offense to start the second half fast.”
South Alabama will wrap up the 2018 season on Friday, November 23 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium when they host Coastal Carolina for their first-ever meeting. Kickoff is set for 2pm with the game being broadcast on ESPN+ (requires a subscription).
Inside the Numbers:
Louisiana-Monroe Spoils South Alabama’s Homecoming 38-10
Louisiana-Monroe breaks the Jags homecoming win streak at 9 after defeating USA 38-10 on Saturday, November 10, 2018.
South Alabama’s unbeaten streak in homecoming games came to an end at 9 as Louisiana-Monroe defeated the Jags 38-10.
The Jags (2-8, 1-5 SBC) started the game well, but could not muster much after the first quarter as Louisiana-Monroe (6-4, 4-2 SBC) scored 28 unanswered points after the Jags had tied the game.
ULM rolled up 551 yards of total offense, 376 of them through the air. The Jags could only muster 218 yards of total offense, with 129 of them coming through the air and a mere 89 yards rushing.
ULM’s Caleb Evans was 27-of-32 for 367 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was D’Marius Gillespie who caught all 7 passes thrown his way for 159 yards and a touchdown. Markis McCray had 5 catches for 41 yards. In total, 11 receivers caught passes with Jonathan Hodoh the other receiver catching a touchdown on his only catch.
Marcus Green led the Warhawks with 68 rushing yards on only two carries with a touchdown. Evans had 12 carries for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
Cephus Johnson started the game and finished 1-for-4 for 34 yards and a touchdown. Cole Garvin played the second and third quarters and went 13-for-19 for 95 yards.
Three Jags caught three passes each with Jordan McCray leading the trio with 45 yards and a touchdown.
Tra Minter led the rushing attach with 12 attempts for 61 yards. Johnson was next in line with 9 carries for 23 yards.
ULM was penalized only once for 15 yards while the Jags were flagged 5 times for 36 yards.
After being forced to punt on their opening possession, the Jags got the ball right back when Marcus Green muffed the punt and DJ Daniels recovered at the ULM 34 yard line. On the very next play Johnson threw a 34 yard touchdown pass to McCray lifting the Jags to a 7-0 lead. ULM would score the next 10 points to take a 10-7 lead into the second quarter.
USA couldn’t put the ball in the end zone early in the second quarter and settled for a 31 yard field goal by Gavin Patterson to tie the game.
The Warhawks took control of the game when they scored 14 points in the final 6:24 of the half. The Jags lined up for a 38 yard field goal attempt with 2:01 left in the first half, but the Warhawks blocked the attempt and would score with just :22 left.
ULM put a bow on it after they forced a three-and-out on the Jags first possession of the second half. Then the Warhawks only needed three plays to put another touchdown on the board with 12:34 left in the third quarter.
ULM would score on their next possession as well to get the final score of 38-10.
“I’m disappointed in the outcome of the game,” head coach Steve Campbell said after the game. “I thought the kids fought hard and that we did some good things in the first half. We had talked about starting faster and I thought we did. I hated that we gave up the touchdown right before the half with 22 seconds left, which really hurt.”
“We didn’t start the third quarter the way we wanted to, we got the ball and wanted to take it down the field and make it a seven-point game; Obviously we didn’t do that,” Campbell continued. “I was proud of our guys for fighting back and keeping them off the scoreboard for most of the fourth quarter.”
When asked about his biggest coaching concern with the way the season’s gone and only two game remaining, Campbell said: “The things that you would be concerned about have already happened. Getting beat by ULM by 28 on Homecoming is what I would be concerned about, but that has passed. What you have to do now is make sure you prepare hard and put together a good plan. We have to be able to go out and execute it against Louisiana-Lafayette and then finish strong against Coastal Carolina.”
The Jags will travel to Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday for a 4pm kickoff against the Ragin’ Cajuns who are 5-5 and looking to get bowl eligible themselves.
Inside the Numbers:
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: