South Alabama Earns First-Ever Bowl Victory; Dominates Eastern Michigan 59-10 To Win 68 Ventures Bowl
South Alabama entered the 68 Ventures Bowl with a chip on their shoulder and only one goal in mind: Win.
And win they did.
The game was never in doubt as they dominated Eastern Michigan in every phase of the game, but most importantly on the scoreboard by a score of 59-10. This set a new program record for the most points scored in an FBS game for the Jags.
With the win the Jags earn their first win in a bowl game and are now 1-3 all time in bowls. They also finish with a winning record (7-6) in consecutive seasons for the first time as a member of FBS.
The Jags entered the game without their top receiver, Caullin Lacy, without their top running back La’Damian Webb, and their starting quarterback Carter Bradley. Bradley attempted to recover from a nagging knee injury to be ready for the game, but he was unable to go in the end.
Unexpectedly they were without Dontae Lucas, who was injured in pregame warmups. But they also did not have James Miller due to an injury in one of the final practices.
Without Bradley, head coach Kane Wommack and offensive coordinator Major Applewhite went with a rotation between the official starter senior Desmond Trotter and freshman Gio Lopez. But it was Lopez who earned the Bowl MVP as he threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns while adding 88 yards rushing and a touchdown.
“It was fun just rotating, seeing Dez ball out,” Lopez said after the game. “I was feeding off his energy. So that was fun. It meant a lot to be out there with everybody. … It was awesome.”
“It means a lot, man,” Trotter said. “And to be able to do it with the guys I came in with, it makes it even more special. And just doing it here at the University of South Alabama, in our city, and our stadium, it means a lot to the city and to the team. I’m just glad we were able to come out with the win.”
“A lot of work goes into a moment like this,” coach Wommack said. “It goes way beyond just our players this season. There were young men who came here over a decade ago to build something special. They ran on hills on what is now Hancock Whitney Stadium. They came here with nothing, knowing that they were going to build a foundation for us to walk upon. At some point, you have a group of young men who take ownership and actualize those dreams, and that’s what exactly these guys up here with me and those guys celebrating in the locker room have done. … We’ve had a great past, great moments in our present and certainly our best days are ahead of us and that’s really exciting. This is a great moment to build upon and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re continuing to lay the foundation of a great program that years from now will come back and remember those moments. Because they’re truly special, and we’re excited to be here.”
Jamaal Pritchett, who was selected the offensive MVP, caught eight passes for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns. DJ Thomas-Jones also caught a pair of touchdowns among his three catches for 23 yards in the game.
Defensive end Jamie Sheriff was named the defensive MVP in his final game as a Jaguar. He earned it with four tackles, two TFLs, and two quarterback hurries. He was an even bigger force in the game than the stat sheet indicates.
“To come from where we came from, a losing program, to where we are now is truly incredible,” Sheriff said. “It’s something that me and (Trotter), we’ve worked hard for. We’ve been for a long time and we want to set the standard for the future. We want to have a legacy behind it and start a new tradition here.”
South Alabama scored in each of their first three possessions. The first possession ended with a 46-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo. But the next two possessions ended in the end zone. Trotter connected with Jeremiah Webb for 49 yards to set up a 3-yard touchdown pass to DJ Thomas Jones. The following possession was capped off when Lopez connected with Pritchett for a 4-yard touchdown pass to put the Jags up 17-0.
After Eastern Michigan had gone three-and-out on each of their first two possessions, their defense set them up for their first score of the game. Linebacker Joe Sparacio stepped back and timed a perfect jump to intercept a pass by Trotter to give the Eagles the ball in Jaguar territory. Though they were unable to move the ball, Kenyon Bowyer split the uprights from 49 yards out to make it a 17-3 game at the 14:50 mark of the second quarter.
USA answered with three more scores before halftime.
Kentrel Bullock scampered in from 17 yards out for the first one. Marquise Robinson’s interception set up Lopez to connect with Thomas-Jones for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Then an interception by Jalen Jordan set up Lopez to connect with Pritchett for a 41-yard touchdown pass. It was ruled down at the 1 yard line before being overturned and ruled a touchdown upon review to go up 38-3 late in the second quarter.
The Jaguar defense forced the Eagles to punt but the Jags were unable to sustain their drive. The EMU returner muffed the punt which the Jags jumped on at the 11 yard line with :06 left until halftime. However Diego Guajardo pushed the 29 yard field goal attempt wide left to end the half.
The Jags first possession of the second half was capped off by Trotter running in a touchdown from three yards out for a 45-3 advantage. Lopez added a 27-yard touchdown run at the 7:50 mark of the third quarter to put the Jags up 52-3.
Freshman PJ Martin finished off the Jaguar scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter for a 59-3 lead.
With almost all of the Jaguar defensive starters out of the game, the Eagles were able to pad their offensive stats and score a touchdown with only :58 left in the game. Cam’Ron McCoy, a freshman, ran it in from 10 yards out for the final score of 59-10.
Team Statistics
| Stat | South Alabama | Eastern Michigan |
| Total Offensive Yards | 627 | 150 |
| Passing Yards | 307 | 73 |
| Rushing Yards | 320 | 77 |
| 3rd Down Conversions | 4-of-9 | 6-of-17 |
| 4th Down Conversions | 0-of-1 | 0-of-3 |
South Alabama
Lopez finished 14-of-19 for 192 yards and three touchdowns. Trotter was 9-of-17 for 115 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Lopez also finished as the Jags leading rusher with 88 yards on 7 carries with a touchdown. Braylon McReynolds had 71 yards on 13 carries. Kentrel Bullock finished with 68 yards on 6 carries with a touchdown. Freshman PJ Martin had 3 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown. Trotter has 27 yards on 5 carries with a touchdown. Tanner McGee had two carries for 21 yards as well.
Jamaal Pritchett picked up where Lacy left off. He had 127 yards on 8 catches with two touchdowns. Javon Ivory had 51 yards on 4 catches. Jeremiah Webb has 49 yards on just one catch. McReynolds had 40 yards on three catches.
Jaden Voisin led the Jag defense with 5 total stops, 2 solo. Sheriff, Dallas Gamble, Wesley Miller, and Blayne Myrick each had four stops.
Sheriff led the way with 2 TFLs. Myrick, Yam Banks, Quentin Wilfawn, Khalil Jacobs, Marquise Robinson, and Christopher Wallace Jr each had a TFL in the game.
Robinson and Jalen Jordan had interceptions in the game. Robinson had 3 pass break ups.
Eastern Michigan
Ike Udengwu started the game and did not complete any of his three passing attempts before being pulled from the game. Cam’Ron McCoy went 12-of27 for 73 yards and two interceptions.
McCoy was also the leading rusher for the Eastern Michigan with 73 yards on 13 attempts with the only touchdown for the Eagles. Dontae McMillan had 8 yards on 5 carries. Jaylon Jackson added 2 yards on 11 carries. Udengwu has -2 yards and Max Reese had -4 yards.
Terry Lockett finished with 29 yards on two catches. Joseph Walker had 3 catches for 22 yards. Jaylon Jackson had 13 yards on 2 catches.
Final Thoughts
Despite losing their three top offensive players from the regular season in Webb, Lacy and Bradley, the Jaguars showed that their success wasn’t just because of the play of their two best offensive players.
Trotter stepped in as the starter for the bowl game and showed poise and maturity. He could have left over the last couple of seasons but decided to stay.
Gio Lopez showed what the Jags have to look forward to at the quarterback position. He will enter spring practice as QB1 by default with the departure of Bradley, Trotter, and Tanner McGee.
Braylon McReynolds returned from his broken collarbone and started the final regular season game and the bowl game in place of La’Damian Webb. Webb rushed for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons for the Jags. McReynolds showed he has what it takes to be starting running back.
Pritchett stepped into the WR1 role after Lacy hit the transfer portal. He showed that he is capable of similar performances.
The Jaguar defense came to play. The defensive line and linebackers set up camp in the Eastern Michigan backfield. Quentin Wilfawn, Jamie Sheriff, and Khalil Jacobs were all over the quarterback and really any player holding the ball it the backfield.
South Alabama will have to reload in their defensive front with the graduation of several Jaguar players. But their early signing class on the defensive line and linebacker consist of a talented group of players whose names you will hear soon and often.
Preview 68 Ventures Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs South Alabama
Kickoff: Saturday, December 23, 6:00pm
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: Khalil Jacobs
The 2023 postseason is here and it’s full of firsts for South Alabama.
USA is playing in a bowl game in back-to-back seasons for the first time. They’re playing for their first bowl win, and their first back-to-back winning seasons. They are playing in the hometown bowl game, the 68 Ventures Bowl, for the first time. But they are also facing Eastern Michigan for the first time in program history.
That’s a lot firsts.
The 68 Ventures Bowl went out on a limb and chose the Jags to play at home. They are banking on JagNation to show up for a bowl game when their college football watching is limited. While Saturday, December 23rd has a few games scheduled throughout the day, the 68 Ventures Bowl and the Las Vegas Bowl (Northwestern vs Utah on ABC) are the only two games scheduled during the evening time slot.
It’s very important for South Alabama fans to buy tickets and show up to show their support for both the program and for the bowl game itself. If you cannot go, it’s just as important to tune in to watch the game and to post on social media about the game throughout it.
In the previous three bowl games the Jags have been invited to the Jags just haven’t broken through and got their first win. Yet.
A win will be a huge accomplishment for the program. It’ll get the monkey off their back for bowl losses. But it will secure their first winning season in consecutive seasons.
Now for the final “first” in this game, let’s take a look at Eastern Michigan. (Or skip down to the TL;DR section)
Eastern Michigan (6-6, 4-4 MAC)
The Eagles earned bowl eligibility in their season finale with a 24-11 win at Buffalo. It was their only road win for the season. They were 5-1 at home and 1-5 on the road.
The Eagles are +3 on turnover differential this season. They’ve given the ball away 15 times (10 INTs, 5 fumbles lost) while the defense has taken the ball away 18 times (11 fumble recoveries, 7 INTs).
Offense
| Stat | Average per Game |
| Points | 20.33 |
| Rushing Yards | 115.0 |
| Passing Yards | 158.58 |
| Total Offense | 273.6 |
| Time of Possession | 29:02 |
| Penalty Yards | 60.83 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 57-of-163 (34.97%) |
| 4th Downs | 10-of-16 (62.5%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 32-of-37 (86.5%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 22-of-37 (59.5%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 76-730 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 12-5 |
| Passing Attempts-Completions-TD-Interceptions | 328-185-10-10 (56.4% completion rate) |
Austin Smith was the leading passer for the Eagles going 171-of-298 for 1,775 yards, nine touchdowns, and seven interceptions. However Smith entered the transfer portal.
Junior Ike Udengwu III is 13-of-28 (46.63%) for 100 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Freshman Cam’Ron McCoy only attempted one pass this year.
Tanner Knue leads the team with 479 yards on 50 catches with three touchdowns. JB Mitchell III has 398 yards on 35 catches with a touchdown. Hamze El-Zayat has 370 yards on 25 catches with two touchdowns. Jaylon Jackson has 221 yards on 22 catches with two touchdowns.
Samson Evans leads the Eagles running back corps with 635 yards on 142 carries with 12 touchdowns. Jaylon Jackson has 574 yards on 125 carries with two touchdowns. Austin Smith had 134 yards on 101 carries with two touchdowns.
Defense
| Stat | Average Allowed per Game |
| Points | 24.0 |
| Rushing Yards | 177.8 |
| Passing Yards | 205.17 |
| Total Offense | 382.9 |
| Time of Possession | 30:55 |
| Penalty Yards | 57.0 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs Allowed | 64-of-163 (39.26%) |
| 4th Downs Allowed | 12-of-33 (36.36%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Defense | 40-of-52 (76.9%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 27-of-52 (51.9%) |
| Penalties-Yards | 77-684 |
| Fumbles-Recovered | 19-11 |
| Passing Attempts-Completions-TD-Interceptions | 351-205-13-7 (58.4% completion rate) |
Linebacker Chase Kline leads the defense with 143 total stops, 48 solo, with 5 TFLs, 2 sacks, and 10 quarterback hurries. Fellow linebacker Joe Sparacio has 131 total stops, 57 solo, with 6.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks and 5 quarterback hurries. Then third on the tackles list is defensive back Quentavius Scandrett with 56 total tackles, 30 solo, and two interceptions.
Mikah Coleman leads the team with 4.5 sacks but entered his name into the transfer portal in the offseason. Peyton Price is second on the team with 4 sacks and Justin Jefferson is third with 3.5 sacks.
Three players lead the team with 6.5 TFLs each, Mikah Coleman, Justin Jefferson, and Joe Sparacio.
Special Teams
Mitchell Tomasek averages 45.31 yards per punt with 24 downed inside the 20, 17 fair catches, 17 punts of 50+ yards with a long of 72 yards.
Jesus Gomez was 11-of-15 on the season with a long of 55 yards. Kenyon Bowyer attempted one kick and was successful in converting it from 25 yards.
South Alabama (6-6, 4-4 SBC)
The 2023 may not have played out the way they were hoping after a 10-3 record last season. But they’ve had several bright spots during the season. They went to Oklahoma State and completely whipped the Cowboys in their home stadium in Stillwater 33-7. They scored 55 points in back-to-back conference games against Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Miss. When they needed to win two of their final three games to get bowl eligible, they stepped up. They shut out Marshall 28-0 to get their sixth win with a game to go in the season.
The story of the 2023 season was inconsistency. Games came in batches of two. Whenever they won two games, they lost two games. Plus the whole season was book-ended with a season-opening loss at Tulane and a season-ending loss at Texas State.
Let’s delve into the Jaguars stats for the season.
The Jags are even in turnover differential this season. They have given the ball away 19 times on the season (10 INTs, 9 fumbles lost) while the defense has taken the ball away from their opponents 19 times as well (11 INTs, 8 fumble recoveries).
Offense
| Stat | Average per Game |
| Points | 30.92 |
| Rushing Yards | 160.0 |
| Passing Yards | 264.92 |
| Total Offense | 424.9 |
| Time of Possession | 30:30 |
| Penalty Yards | 57.25 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 71-of-165 (43.03%) |
| 4th Downs | 17-of-26 (65.38%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 39-of-43 (90.69%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 33-of-43 (76.74%) |
| Penalties – Yards | 80-687 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 18-9 |
| Passing Attempts-Completions- TD-Interceptions | 392-268-24-10 (68.36% Completion Rate) |
Carter Bradley started 11 games this season and threw for 221-of-326 (67.79%) for 2,660 yards, 19 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. Bradley has 83.16% of the passing attempt, 83.67% of the passing yards, and 79.16% of the touchdowns thrown on the season.
True freshman Gio Lopez appeared in four games, with on start against Try when Bradley was out with a knee injury. He went 27-of-42 (64.29%) for 283 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Trotter went 20-of-24 (83.33%) for 236 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Trotter was 18-of-21 for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the season finale against Texas State when Bradley had to leave after aggravating his knee.
Caullin Lacy by and far led the Jaguar receiving corps with 91 catches for 1,316 yards and seven touchdowns. However, Lacy opted for the transfer portal after the season.
Jamaal Pritchett is the top returning receiver with 49 catches for 756 yards and six touchdowns. DJ Thomas-Jones has 24 catches for 212 yards and three touchdowns. Javon Ivory has 16 catches for 183 yards with a touchdown.
La’Damian Webb also by and far led the Jags rushing attack with 1,007 yards on 186 carries with 16 touchdowns. He missed the season finale against Texas State with turf toe. Webb will also miss the 68 Ventures Bowl as he continues to heal the turf toe and prepare to enter the NFL draft.
Kentrel Bullock is the leading returning rusher with 380 yards on 77 carries with three touchdowns. He also missed the season finale with an injury. Marco Lee has 220 yards on 53 carries and two touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds, who left the season opener with a broken collarbone, has 161 yards on 33 carries and will be the starter for the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Defense
| Stat | Average Allowed per Game |
| Points | 21.92 |
| Rushing Yards | 116.8 |
| Passing Yards | 209.67 |
| Total Offense | 326.4 |
| Time of Possession | 29:29 |
| Penalty Yards | 46.17 |
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs Allowed | 54-of-160 (33.75%) |
| 4th Downs Allowed | 8-of-18 (44.44%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Defense | 23-of-30 (76.66%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 14-of-30 (46.66%) |
| Penalties-Yards | 69-554 |
| Fumbles-Recovered | 14-8 |
| Passing Attempts-Completions-TD-Interceptions | 323-195-19-11 (60.37% completion rate) |
Quentin Wilfawn leads the team with 81 total stops, 46 solo, with a team-leading 6.5 sacks and a team leading 15 tackles for loss with six quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup. Trey Kiser is next in line with 68 total stops, 29 solo, with 9.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks. James Miller has 67 total stops, 26 solo, and four TFLs.
Jaden Voisin has 66 total stops, 29 solo, two TFLs, and a team-leading four interceptions. Marquise Robinson adds two interceptions while Yam Banks, Khalil Jacobs, Jalen Jordan, Maurice Strong Jr, and Wesley Miller each have one interception each.
Special Teams
Jack Martin averaged 40.05 yards per punt with 21 fair catches, 12 down inside the 20, four punts of 50+ yards with a long of 54 yards.
Diego Guajardo was 13-of-18 on the season with a long of 51 yards. He was perfect inside 40 yards. He was 5-of-7 from 4-49 yards and was 1-of-4 from 50+ yards.
Injuries/Transfer Portal
The new landscape of college football with the transfer portal and Name, Image, and Likeness has affected both teams coming into the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Eastern Michigan was hit pretty hard.
The Eagles have seen their starting quarterback, Austin Smith, enter the transfer portal. But he wasn’t the only one. Tight ends Andreas Paaske (4 catches, 39 yards) committed to the University of Arkansas, and CJ Horton. Offensive lineman Zach Conti committed to Southern Miss. Most recently wide receiver Javon Swinton entered the portal on Monday, December 18.
Defensive end Micah Coleman (38 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 6.5 TFLs, and 8 quarterback hurries) committed to Cincinnati while defensive tackle Alex Merritt (27 tackles, 4.5 TFLs) entered his name into the portal but does not currently show up in the portal.
Starting running back Samson Evans may not play due to injury. He has reportedly made the trip with the team, but he is not a guaranteed play as of the time of this writing. Evans ran for 127 yards and a touchdown against Buffalo to help the Eagle get bowl-eligible.
South Alabama wasn’t immune either.
Caullin Lacy, the Jags First Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection, 5th nationally wide receiver nationally, and the Jags leading receiver, entered his name into the portal and has committed to Louisville.
Defensive lineman Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge decided to enter the portal in order to play somewhere closer to home. Linebacker Gavin Forsha, a transfer from Kansas State, initially entered his name into the portal but has reportedly decided to withdraw it shortly afterwards.
Offensive lineman Dontae Lucas has reportedly decided to enter the portal after playing in the bowl game. Lucas transferred from Florida State in 2022 and started 11 of 13 games at left guard. He has started 11 of 12 games this season after moving to right guard.
La’Damian Webb will not play in the game either. He missed the regular season finale against Texas State due to turf toe. He continues to treat his injury and will focus on getting ready for the NFL draft since his collegiate eligibility has been exhausted.
Carter Bradley has been going through some drills to get ready for the game. However his knee injury needs rest so Desmond Trotter and Gio Lopez have been getting lots of practice reps in case Bradley is unable to play. Bradley had to miss the Troy game after being knocked out near the end of the Louisiana-Lafayette game. He also exited the Texas State game early with the same injury with Trotter nearly leading a comeback that fell just short.
Keys to the Game
Who Steps Up
With two key pieces to the Jaguar offense this season missing from the lineup, who will be the next man up to fill their production?
Caullin Lacy had a consistent presence all season long. He had explosive plays down field, but he also served as a key possession receiver when the Jags needed to move the chains. Jamaal Pritchett came on as the season unfolded. He was able to occasionally flash his speed down the stretch, especially when team began to focus their attention on Lacy. This leads the way for freshman Anthony Eager and redshirt-junior Jeremiah Webb to step in.
Eager is listed as the starter in place of Lacy on the depth chart released earlier this week. Eager does not have any stats for this season. Behind him they have listed Jeremiah Webb, he has one catch for 3 yards recorded this season.
In place of La’Damian Webb, Braylon McReynolds is listed as the starter. He started in the Texas State game when Webb missed due to the same injury that’s keeping him out of this game. McReynolds hasn’t missed a step since coming back from his broken collarbone suffered in season opener. Kentrel Bullock is also making his return to the lineup after missing a couple of games due to injury himself. They make a good one-two punch in the backfield.
Capitalizing on Opportunities
Eastern Michigan’s offense takes a methodical approach. They don’t necessarily make a lot of big plays, but they will eat clock, shorten the game, and will keep moving the ball down the field. When the Jags possess the ball, they really need to take advantage and put points on the board. Because if the Eagles can play their style of game, the Jags opportunities will be limited.
However EMU has their own question marks leading into the game with injuries and the transfer portal. The Jaguar defense will need to be ready for anything. With a few weeks to scheme for a bowl game and their question marks, they may dial up some offensive changes and trick plays to catch the Jags on their heels.
Playing Fundamentally Sound
What you’ll often see in bowl games is some lapses in fundamentals. It can be attributed to a couple of things. The long layoff between games and, especially now with the transfer portal and opt-outs, limited depth.
Losing players to the portal or even to opt-outs for some (thankfully not something USA has experienced) can limit depth at positions that may already be razor thin after a long, grueling regular season schedule and the injuries suffered therein.
Coaches can be apprehensive to let their team get too physical during bowl practice due to the fear of losing key player leading up to the game.
These and other factors converge and can lead to a lack of fundamentals in a bowl game. Poor tackling, issues with ball security, and others have already shown themselves again this bowl season. The team with the strongest fundamentals in the game will definitely have an easier path to victory.
Prediction
South Alabama is a 16.5 point favorite according to handicapper websites. It’s the second-largest spread this bowl season (Oregon is a 17.5 favorite over Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl).
Comparing the stats between the two teams, it seems logical that the Jags are a big favorite. If you add in the transfer portal and injuries, it further bolsters the spread.
EMU have lost their starting quarterback, best pass rusher, and their best interior offensive and defensive linemen to the portal. Additionally their top running back may miss the game with an injury.
Without Webb, the Jags will be starting Braylon McReynolds and running back. Kentrel Bullock is back healthy and will rotate in for playing time as well. Even without Webb, the Jags should be able to move the ball well on the ground against the Eagles rushing defense.
If Bradley is unable to play, either Trotter or Lopez will get the start or could also come in and play if Bradley is unable to finish the game. Lopez could play without burning his redshirt even though he’s already appeared in three games this season thanks to a rules change over the last couple of years.
Even if Bradley is healthy and ready to go, head coach Kane Wommack said that they plan on using multiple quarterbacks in the game. I would expect to see all three in the game at some point.
I feel that the Jags get the win at home, even if they are designated the away team.
Do they cover the spread? I think the Jags are more talented and are more hungry for the win. As long as they don’t get in their own heads, I think they win and cover the spread.
TL;DR (“Too long; didn’t read” for those wondering)
I think we’ve over analyzed this game by this point if you’ve read this entire article.
South Alabama is the better team in this match-up. They would have been the better team in the regular season and, even after the transfer portal subtractions, the Jags remain the better team. If the South Alabama plays up to their capabilities, they will get their first bowl win. Even if they don’t play up to their capability, they should win.
In my Lee Corso moment, I turn and grab Southpaw’s headgear and put it on. I say “South Alabama big in this one. Go Jags. South in your Mouth!” as the credits roll and the camera goes into the next scheduled program.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Looking For First Win In San Marcos Against Texas State
Kickoff: Saturday, November 25, 6:00pm
Venue: Bobcat Stadium, San Marcos, TX
TV/Streaming: NFL Network
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Carter Bradley
With the Jags back-to-back wins over the last two weeks, they have achieved bowl-eligibility with one game left in the season. These last two games have been won on the defensive side of the ball.
South Alabama (6-5, 4-3 Sun Belt) forced two takeaways on Marshall’s first two possessions last Saturday. Though the Jaguar offense was only able to capitalize with a pair of field goals, they set the tone for the game. The defense shut down the run game and the entire Marshall offense for most of the game.
Texas State (6-5, 3-4 SBC) started the season 4-1 but have sense gone 2-4 and dropped their last two games. Two weeks ago they fell to Coastal Carolina 31-23 but last week they were routed by Arkansas State 77-31. The Bobcats allowed 7 rushing touchdowns in the game. They allowed three defensive touchdowns (in the second half), and a 93-yard kick return touchdown in the third quarter.
The Bobcats gave up three scores of 40+ yard runs in the first half. Then allowed three touchdowns over a seven-minute span early in the third quarter to fall behind 56-17. The Red Wolves has back-to-back pick-sixes to go up 77-24 with 10:39 left in the game. The Red Wolves didn’t take a snap between 8:20 mark in the third quarter and the 6:19 mark in the fourth quarter.
Both teams are bowl eligible, but ending the season with a win has some huge upside. It helps secure a winning season, is more enticing for a bowl game to choose them, and gives momentum into post-season play.
The all-time record is even between South Alabama and Texas State. Homefield advantage is strong in this series. Each school is a perfect 4-0 playing at home. Half of the games have been decided by seven points or less. The Jags would love to break through and get their first road win against the Bobcats, like they were able to do against ULM a few weeks ago.
Texas State (6-5, 3-4 SBC)
Head coach GJ Kinne is in his first season as head coach of the Bobcats and only his second season as a head coach in his career. His first season as a head coach was at FCS Incarnate Word where he led the team to a 12-2 record (5-1 Southland Conference) with a season-ending loss in the FCS Division I semifinals and a #7 national ranking. The offense was ranked #1 in all of NCAA Division I – FBS and FCS – with 51.5 points and 581.2 yards per game.
Kinne came into Texas State and put together a newcomer class of 53 scholarship players which was rated by 247Sports as the program’s best in its FBS history. Kinne and the Bobcats grabbed attention in their season opener when they upset Baylor 42-31 for the program’s first win over a Power 5 program. They then scored 77 points in the home opener against Jackson State, which was one point shy of tying the program record for most points in a game.
The Bobcats have a turnover margin of -8 on the season. They’ve given the ball away 21 times total; eight interceptions and 13 fumbles lost. Defensively they’ve had 13 takeaways; they’ve intercepted five passes and recovered eight fumbles.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 34.55 |
| Total Offense | 471.1 |
| Passing Offense | 272.91 |
| Rushing Offense | 198.2 |
| Time of Possession | 29:08 |
| Penalty Yards | 65.91 |
TJ Finley is 245-of-357 (68.63%) for 2,919 yards with 21 touchdowns to 7 interceptions on the season.
Joey Hobert leads the team with 71 catches for 847 yards and 8 touchdowns in 10 games. Ashtyn Hawkins has 688 yards on 47 catches with two touchdowns. Kole Wilson has 55 catches for 595 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Ismail Mahdi leads the team with 1,112 yards on 176 attempts with nine touchdowns. Donerio Daveport has 423 yards on 84 carries with two touchdowns. Malik Hornsby has 229 yards on 35 carries with 6 touchdowns. Finley sixth on the team with 101 yards on 65 carries with five touchdowns.
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 69-of-154 (44.81%) |
| 4th Downs | 19-of-30 (63.33%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 45-of-53 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 35-of-53 |
| Penalties – Yards | 77-725 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 20-13 |
Defense
| Stat | Average Allowed per Game |
| Points | 32.91 |
| Total Offense | 408.7 |
| Passing Offense | 244.0 |
| Rushing Offense | 164.7 |
| Time of Possession | 30:52 |
| Penalty Yards | 46.64 |
Brian Holloway leads the defense with 83 total stops, 45 solo, with a team leading 12.5 Tackles for Loss (TFL) and also a team leading two interceptions, with ½ sack, 8 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and two forced fumbles. Shawn Holton is next in line with 74 total stops (53 solo) with an interception, two pass breakups, and four forced fumbles. Kaleb Culp is third on the team with 64 total stops, 42 solo, with 1.5 TFS, five pass breakups, three fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
Ben Bell is second on the team with 12 TFLs and leads the team with 7 sacks.
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 78-of-164 (47.56%) |
| 4th Downs | 13-of-30 (43.33%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 40-of-48 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 32-of-48 |
| Penalties – Yards | 61-513 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 22-8 |
Special Teams
Mason Shipley is a perfect 13-of-13 placekicking this season. His long on the year is 47 yards and hasn’t attempted a kick of 50+ yards on the season.
Seamus O’Kelly is averaging 41.33 yards per punt with a long of 55, 15 fair catches, five downed inside the 20 and five that have gone 50+ yards.
South Alabama (6-5, 4-3 SBC)
After having a turnover margin of +2 last week against Marshall, the Jags are no even for the season through 11 games. The Jags have given the ball away 17 times in total, nine interceptions and eight fumbles. Meanwhile the Jag defense has 17 total takeaways with 10 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.
Offense
| Stat | Average per Game |
| Points | 29.73 |
| Total Offense | 420.3 |
| Passing Offense | 252.73 |
| Rushing Offense | 167.5 |
| Time of Possession | 30:26 |
| Penalty Yards | 57.64 |
Carter Bradley is 203-of-302 (67.22%) for 2,477 yards with 17 touchdowns to 7 interceptions for the year.
Caullin Lacy leads the team with 1,222 yards on 80 catches with 6 touchdowns. Jamaal Pritchett has 675 yards on 45 catches with 6 touchdowns as well. DJ Thomas-Jones has 165 yards on 17 catches.
La’Damian Webb became the first Jaguar to rush for over 1,000 yards in two seasons in program history. He has 1,007 yards on 186 carries with 16 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 380 yards on 77 carries with three touchdowns. Marco Lee Jr has 216 yards on 49 carries with 2 touchdowns.
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 65-of-150 (42.67%) |
| 4th Downs | 15-of-24 (62.5%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 34-of-38 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 28-of-38 |
| Penalties – Yards | 74-634 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 13-8 |
Defense
| Stat | Average Allowed per Game |
| Points | 19.18 |
| Total Offense | 312.5 |
| Passing Offense | 195.27 |
| Rushing Offense | 117.3 |
| Time of Possession | 29:34 |
| Penalty Yards | 46.18 |
Quentin Wilfawn continues to lead the team with 75 total stops, 44 solo stops, 13.5 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks. Trey Kiser is next with 63 total stops, 28 solo stops, and 8.5 TFLs with 2.5 sacks.
Jamie Sheriff and Brock Higdon are tied for 2nd on the team with 3 sacks each.
Khalil Jacobs is third on the team with 6.5 TFLs. Jamie Sheriff has 6 TFLs.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with 4 interceptions. Marquise Robinson has two interceptions. Yam Banks, Maurice Strong Jr, Jalen Jordan, and Wesley Miller each have one interception each.
| Stat | Cumulative for Season |
| 3rd Downs | 48-of-147 (32.65%) |
| 4th Downs | 7-of-17 (41.18%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 19-of-26 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 11-of-26 |
| Penalties – Yards | 62-508 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 13-7 |
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is 12-of-16 (75%) placekicking for the Jags. He made a season-long 47-yard kick last week against Marshall. Two of his misses have been in the 40–49-yard distance and the other two have been both of his 50+ yard attempts.
Jack Martin is averaging 39.71 yards per punt. That average is skewed by a punt he had to quickly get off after a bad snap that was very nearly blocked. Of his punts his long on the season is 54 yards, 18 have been fair caught, 11 downed inside the 20, three have gone 50+ yards, one being a touchback.
Injuries
DJ Thomas-Jones left the game on the first drive of the second half after the officials indicated he needed to be checked out. After he came off the field, he entered into the concussion protocol and did not return. Concussions are impossible to forecast a timeline to return, each one is different.
Jacob Hopper also left the Marshall game with an injury. Since Lincoln Sefcik will miss remainder of the season the once deep tight end position could be pretty thin if Thomas-Jones or Hopper are unable to play on Saturday. However both have reportedly been practicing this week.
Jordan Davis was helped to the sideline and was eventually carted to the locker room before halftime. It’s unknown the extent of his injury or if he may be available this week. I would not expect him to be able to go as a hunch. Josh McCulloch, who Davis replaced, may be ready to return to action after suffering a knee injury in practice leading up to the Oklahoma State game.
Dontae Lucas also missed some game time last week but is likely to play against Texas State.
Keys to the Game
Jaguar Defensive Front vs Texas State’s Offensive Line
Texas State has a potent offense. They roll up a lot of yards both through the air and on the ground. But it all starts at the line of scrimmage. The Bobcats like to run the ball in order to open up the passing game. The Jags defensive front needs to stop the run first then they need to attack and pressure Finley to make him uncomfortable. He’s not really known for running the ball all that much. He is just 81 yards short of passing for 3,000 yards on the season and has 21 touchdowns. Getting pressure on him will be key.
But they cannot simply sell-out to pressure Finley either because the Bobcats average close to 200 yards rushing per game themselves. The Jags have been caught blitzing and the opposing offense found some success running into the blitz.
Honestly it will take an entire defense effort with good coverage in the secondary, attacking defensive front to pressure the quarterback, and containment of the running backs.
Turnovers
Similar to Marshall, Texas State tends to turnover the ball quite a bit. The Jags need to challenge the Bobcats and force some turnovers. The Red Wolves were able to score on a pair of pick-sixes in the second half when they forced the Bobcats to throw the ball a lot due to game script.
But the Bobcats suffer more from ball security than interceptions. They have fumbled 20 times on the season and lost 13 of them to their opponents.
Offensive Efficiency
Though the Jags have won the last two weeks, they have done so more though defense than offense. They have struggled converting third downs and taking advantage of short fields or takeaways.
The offense had great field position after two takeaways from Marshall and were only able to turn them into a pair of field goals. They were also unable to punch the ball in from the 1-yard line on multiple tries too. The final try was a leap by La’Damian Webb where he was marked inches short of the goal line.
With Texas State’s productive offense, the Jags defense will have their work cut out for them. The offense needs to be able to convert more on third down to extend drives and keep the ball away from the Bobcat offense.
While the Jag offense is clearly better when Bradley is at quarterback, the defenses have turned up their pressure to try to get to him. He’s made good decisions with the ball and has shown that he can move to protect himself but he hasn’t tucked the ball and ran with it much since the injury against Louisiana that caused him to sit out against Troy.
Prediction
South Alabama opened as a 5.5-point favorite against the Bobcats.
The Jags have never won in San Marcos. Some of the losses have been heartbreaking too. Texas State has already improved their win totals by two games over their records the last two seasons. They enter this game after a disastrous second half against Arkansas State where they had 28 points scored off of four turnovers and also allowed seven rushing touchdowns. Three of those rushing touchdowns were runs of 40+ yards.
The Jags have been an inconsistent team this season that goes in cycles, generally in twos.
After a season-opening loss at Tulane, they started the two-game pattern. Wins over Southeastern Louisiana and Oklahoma State. Losses to Central Michigan and James Madison. Blowout wins over ULM and Southern Miss. Losses to Lafayette and Troy. Defensive wins over Arkansas State and Marshall.
Now what.
Complete the cycle with a loss? Or break the cycle with a win?
As I joke every game day, it depends on which team gets off the bus on gameday. If the right team shows up, they can definitely win.
I’m going to roll with the Jags to win and cover this week. I think they are motivated and ready to make some more program history. The first win in San Marcos and securing back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the FBS.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Looks To Start Late-Season Run Against Arkansas State
Kickoff: Saturday, November 11, 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: Quentin Wilfawn
South Alabama finds itself in the midst of another two-game skid this season. The Jags (4-5, 2-3 SBC) return home after another stinging loss to Troy in their bitter rivalry game, the “Battle for the Belt”, for the sixth consecutive time.
The Arkansas State Red Wolves (5-4, 3-2 SBC) come into Mobile riding a two-game winning streak (ULM 34-24 and Louisiana-Lafayette 37-17).
In the 11 previous match-ups between the two teams, the Jags have a 5-6 record against Arkansas State. The Jags hold a 3-2 edge when playing the Red Wolves in Mobile and have also won the previous four meetings between the two, including a 31-3 win last season in Jonesboro.
Red Wolves head coach Butch Jones is in his third season at the helm in Jonesboro and has them on the verge of being bowl-eligible for the first time since 2019. Since taking over the Red Wolves they have improved their record every season. They have gone from 2-10, to 3-9, and now are 5-4 with three games to go.
The Jags hope to finish the season strong, needing at least two wins in order to gain bowl eligibility.
Interestingly the Jags and Red Wolves, like their win-loss record, have the same opponents just in a different order to finish out the season. USA will host Marshall then travel to Texas State while ASU hosts Texas State and travels to Marshall over the next two weeks.
But before that, we have the game on Saturday. If the Jags win, they are one game closer to bowl eligibility. If the Red Wolves win, they are bowl eligible.
Arkansas State (5-4, 3-2 SBC)
The Red Wolves have a -2 turnover margin. They have turned the ball over to opponents only nine times, six interceptions and three fumbles. Their defense has taken the ball away seven times, four by interception and three recovered fumbles.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 24.56 |
| Total Offense | 379.1 |
| Passing Offense | 226.22 |
| Rushing Offense | 152.9 |
| Time of Possession | 27:19 |
| Penalty Yards | 61.44 |
| Season Stat | |
| 3rd Downs | 44-of-120 (36.67%) |
| 4th Downs | 4-of-12 (33.3%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 25-of-30 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 16-of-15 |
| Penalties-Yards | 55-553 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 4-3 |
Jaylen Raynor is 102-of-172 (59.3%) for 1,648 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions in 7 games played. Jaxon Dailey is 17-of-33 (51.5%) for 137 yards in 4 games played. J.T. Shrout is 24-of-51 (47.1%) for 227 yards and two interceptions in two games played.
Courtney Jackson leads the Red Wolves with 480 yards on 25 catches with six touchdowns. Corey Rucker has 443 yards on 22 catches. Jeff Foreman has 367 yards on 17 catches with three touchdowns.
Ja’Quez Cross leads the team rushing with 470 yards on 83 carries with three touchdowns. Zak Wallace is next with 435 yards on 103 carries with four touchdowns. Jaylen Raynor is next on the team with 324 yards on 84 carries with five touchdowns in only seven games played.
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 31.89 |
| Total Offense | 441.1 |
| Passing Offense | 268.33 |
| Rushing Offense | 172.8 |
| Time of Possession | 32:41 |
| Penalty Yards | 59.11 |
| Season Stat | |
| 3rd Downs | 52-of-130 (40.0%) |
| 4th Downs | 12-of-16 (75.0%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 34-of-38 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 22-of-34 |
| Penalties-Yards | 59-532 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 5-3 |
Javante Mackey leads the Red Wolves with 69 total stops, 44 solo, with 5 TFLs and two sacks. Charles Willekes has 62 total stops, 22 solo, with 5 TFLs and a sack.
Melique Straker adds 59 total stops, 29 solo, with two TFLs and an interception.
Keyron Crawford leads the team with 9.5 TFL’s and also 4.5 sacks. Thurman Geathers has 9 TFL’s and 3 sacks with 10 quarterback hurries under his belt.
Eddie Smith leads the team with two interceptions.
Special Teams
Dominic Zvada is 13-of-17 (76.47%) with a season long of 53 yards.
William Przystup is averaging 44.19 yards per punt with a long of 59 yards. He has 13 downed inside the 20, 13 kicks of 50+ yards, 8 fair catches and 5 touchbacks.
South Alabama (4-5, 2-3 SBC)
The Jags also have a -2 turnover ratio coming into the game against the Red Wolves. They have turned the ball over a total of 15 times, nine interceptions and six fumbles lost. The defense has taken the ball away from opponents 13 times, six interceptions and seven fumbles.
Offense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 30.89 |
| Total Offense | 431.8 |
| Passing Offense | 271.0 |
| Rushing Offense | 160.8 |
| Time of Possession | 29:30 |
| Penalty Yards | 58.44 |
| Season Stat | |
| 3rd Downs | 52-of-118 (44.1%) (T-29th) |
| 4th Downs | 10-of-17 (58.8%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 30-of-32 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 24-of-30 |
| Penalties-Yards | 61-526 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 10-6 |
Carter Bradley is 167-of-254 (65.75%) on the season with 2,156 yards, 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions through eight games (did not play against Troy). Gio Lopez is 27-of-42 (64.29%) for 283 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in four appearances, including the start last week against Troy.
Caullin Lacy became the first receiver in FBS football to eclipse the 1,000 yard receiving mark last week. He has 64 catches for 1,046 yards (2nd) with six touchdowns (T-33rd). Jamaal Pritchett has 41 catches for 600 yards and three touchdowns. Lincoln Sefcik has 17 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown. DJ Thomas-Jones has 14 catches for 150 yards. Kentrel Bullock has 14 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
La’Damian Webb set a new single-season rushing touchdown record against Troy with his 14th score of the season and ranks 2nd nationally. He has 727 yards (40th) on 134 carries for the season. Bullock has 380 yards on 76 carries with three touchdowns. Marco Lee Jr has 186 yards on 40 carries with two touchdowns.
Defense
| Stat | Average per game |
| Points | 21.89 (40th) |
| Total Offense | 326.1 (26th) |
| Passing Offense | 200.33 (32nd) |
| Rushing Offense | 125.8 (37th) |
| Time of Possession | 30:29 |
| Penalty Yards | 50.22 |
| Season Stat | |
| 3rd Downs | 43-of-120 (35.83%) (43rd) |
| 4th Downs | 6-of-12 (50%) |
| Red Zone Scoring Attempts | 18-of-24 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns | 11-of-18 |
| Penalties-Yards | 52-452 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 10-7 |
Quentin Wilfawn leads the defense with 61 total stops, 33 solo with a team leading 10.5 tackles for loss and a tie for team leading three sacks. James Miller has 57 total stops, 21 solo, with 2.5 TFLs. Trey Kiser has 55 total stops, 23 solo, with 8 TFLs and 2.5 sacks. Jaden Voisin adds 51 total stops, 20 solo, with ½ TFL, six pass breakups and a team-leading 2 interceptions.
Brock Higdon shares the sack lead with Wilfawn at 3 each.
Maurice Strong Jr., Yam Banks, Wesley Miller, Marquise Robinson each have an interception.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is 10-of-14 on the season (71.4%), his long on the season is 46 yards and has missed both attempts from 50+ yards.
Jack Martin is averaging 39.86 yards per punt with a long of 53 yards. He has 15 fair catches, 10 downed inside the 20, and two kick of 50+ yards.
Injuries
The status of Carter Bradley will not be known until game time on Saturday. The coaches said that he made a lot of progress last week but they held him out because there were concerns about his mobility and his ability to protect himself in the game.
Meanwhile the coaches also said that Lopez and Desmond Trotter will split reps with the first and second-string offenses this week while Bradley continues to rehab and try to work out his injured left knee.
Is this some gamesmanship to make the Red Wolves prepare for up to three quarterbacks? Absolutely! Will it work? We’ll see on Saturday.
Gio Lopez has hit the threshold for the number of games he can play without burning his redshirt. So it’s safe to say that, if he goes into the game, it is because the coaching staff believes that he gives the team the best shot at winning.
Braylon McReynolds is getting closer to returning to action. He is likely not going to play this week, but he could see action before the end of the regular season. He has been working out with the team in non-contact gear.
Keys to the Game
Consistency
This has been an issue for this team all season, overall consistency. The Jags get a brush with it but it only seems to last about two games. They have the high-performing games like against Southeastern Louisiana and Oklahoma State, then ULM and Southern Miss. But then they have the low games like against Central Michigan and James Madison, then Louisiana-Lafayette and Troy.
But even in the losses, they had sparks where they played well but just couldn’t maintain it or found it too late.
That’s something that South Alabama has struggled with since transitioning into FBS. Though they have improved some over the last couple of seasons but clearly aren’t where they want to be. Hopefully after the success they tasted last season and how this season has gone so far, it will help them in working towards that collective goal: Consistency.
Offensive Line
Speaking of inconsistency, the offensive line has had its share of inconsistent play.
Over the last two games though, the ULL and Troy have both been able to dominate the line of scrimmage and pressure the quarterback and disrupt the Jags running game. It didn’t help that the Jags started true freshman Gio Lopez against the Trojans last week. While Lopez did show a lot of poise and potential, the Trojans were able to get pressure on him and didn’t allow him to try to stretch the field with some throws down the field.
However, last season the Jags offensive line led the way for La’Damian Webb to run for 163 yards and three touchdowns against the Red Wolves. Against a defense that allows an average 172.8 rushing yards per game, there’s an opportunity for USA to repeat that performance and earn their fifth win of the season and their fifth consecutive win in the series.
Stadium Presence
In the home game losses, the stadium feel has just been dead. Walking into the stadium for the Louisiana-Lafayette game it just felt like extremely low energy and I immediately had red flags go up. That was the next game after an extremely high-energy crowd for the Tuesday night Southern Miss game.
The two games could not have been any more polar opposites.
The closer I got to the stadium on that Tuesday evening, the air felt like it could just start crackling at any moment with the sheer energy that was present. During pre-game festivities, team entrances, and throughout the game the crowd was feeding and the team was eating.
While the program is still quite new, it’s time that the students and spectators made their presence felt more on gameday. It’s time to turn Hancock Whitney Stadium, aka ‘The Cock’, into the Jungle.
“Do you know where you are? You’re in the Jungle baby. You’re gonna die….watch it bring you to your…knees”
Prediction
I’ve written this out too many times this season already, but it really depends on which Jaguar team gets off that bus at the stadium on Saturday. But if you look above at my keys to the game, I believe it will also be determined by the stadium atmosphere.
Under head coach Kane Wommack, the Jags have not had a .500 or sub-.500 record at home. They currently are 2-2 with two home games remaining on their schedule.
Arkansas State has some momentum on their side with a stunning win over the Ragin’ Cajuns (who put a decent whipping on the Jags just two weeks ago. The Red Wolves seem to have found their quarterback of the future in freshman Jaylen Raynor. Raynor, a dual threat quarterback, has risen up the team rushing ranks. He’s sitting at third on the team in rushing yards and leads the pack with 5 rushing touchdowns. Also with a 3.25-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio, he is making pretty good decisions throwing the ball.
Dual-threat quarterbacks have plagued the Jags this season. But can the defense put enough pressure on him to force bad decisions while keeping contain?
I feel the Jags are coming into this game with a mission and with focus.
As an 11.5 point favorite, I feel that’s a bit high considering. But what do I know. Sometimes I feel that I might as well employ a magic 8-ball this year, but I’ll keep at it. I feel good about the Jags winning, but I don’t think they cover. Go ahead, prove me wrong. (Just don’t do it by losing, okay)
Go Jags!
Preview: Battle for the Belt 2023
Kickoff: Thursday, November 2, 6:30pm
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN2
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Jamaal Pritchett
The 2023 edition of The Battle for the Belt is here.
South Alabama (4-4, 2-2 SBC) has come out on the wrong side of the scoreboard the last five meetings against troy (6-2, 3-1 SBC). Those five losses are the difference in the all-time record between the two teams, troy leads the series 8-3. The last time the Jags won, it was Joey Jones’ last season at the helm of the program and current head coach Kane Wommack was the defensive coordinator. That game was a 19-8 defensive struggle. Last year was another defensive struggle that finished with a low scoring 10-6 final.
In a short week after a 33-20 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, the South Alabama players and coaches have to clear their minds, correct their issues, and treat their injuries for a 6:30 pm kickoff on Thursday night.
Some may think that’s a hard thing to do in such short time. Physically, that is true. Mentally, it may be easier that you think. Especially when you’re a talented team and you lose, you’re ready to get back on the field and prove yourself all over again.
They will have their opportunity Thursday night on national television.
South Alabama (4-4, 2-2 SBC)
As a team, the Jags have a -2 turnover margin. They have given the ball away 14 times in total, 8 passes intercepted and out of eight fumbles, they’ve lost 6 to their opponents.
Meanwhile the defense has forced nine fumbles, recovering 6 of them, and intercepted 6 passes.
South Alabama is averaging 7.125 penalties and 62.63 penalty yards per game. Their opponents are averaging 5.875 penalties and 50.88 penalty yards per game.
Offense
The Jaguars are averaging 33.5 points (31st nationally), 454.3 total offensive yards (20th nationally), 285.5 passing yards (25th), 168.8 rushing yards (50th), and 30:01 time of possession per game through eight games this season.
They are converting 52-of-108 on 3rd down and 9-of-16 on 4th down attempts.
The perfect run of red scoring came to an end against the Ragin’ Cajuns. After failing to score on two attempts, the Jags now have scored on 28 of their 30 trips into the red zone, with 23 of them being touchdowns. The Jags failed to score on their first red zone trip against the Cajuns when head coach Kane Wommack opted to keep the offense on the field for a 4th and 1 at the Cajuns 6-yard line. The other was an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter.
Carter Bradley is 167-of-254 (65.75%) passing with 2,156 yards, 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Gio Lopez is the only other Jags with passing stats, he is 10-of-15 (66.67%) for 128 yards, a touchdown and an interception in three appearances.
Caullin Lacy leads the team with 55 catches for 957 yards and 6 touchdowns. He ranks 2nd in the nation in receiving yards, trailing LSU’s Malik Nabers by only 24 yards on the season.
Jamaal Pritchett had a career game against the Cajuns. His season total is 35 catches and 541 yards with three touchdowns. Lincoln Sefcik has 17 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown. DJ Thomas-Jones has 14 catches for 150 yards. Kentrell Bullock has 13 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. La’Damian Webb has 17 catches for 106 yards to round out the pass catchers with 100+ yards on the season.
Webb leads the team rushing with 674 yards on 119 carries and 13 touchdowns (tied for the most in a season and tied for first in the nation) with a 5.7 yards per carry average. Bullock has 375 yards on 74 carries and three touchdowns with a 5.1 yards per carry average. Marco Lee Jr has 186 yards on 39 carries with two touchdowns and a 4.8 yards per carry average.
Defense
The defense is allowing an average of 21.13 points (T38th nationally), 316.9 total yards of offense (22nd nationally), 191.5 passing yards (22nd nationally), 125.4 rushing yards (40th nationally), and 29:58 time of possession per game this season.
Opponents are converting 38-of-106 (35.85%) on 3rd down and 3-of-8 (37.5%) on 4th down attempts.
The defense has had opponents in the red zone 22 times and they have scored on 17 of those trips with 10 of them being touchdowns.
James Miller has moved back into the top spot with 51 total stops, 18 solo. Quentin Wilfawn, with his career game against the Cajuns, has moved into second place with 50 total stops, 27 solo, and he leads the team with 8.5 Tackles for Loss. Trey Kiser is now third on the team with 46 total stops, 20 solo, with six TFLs (second on the team).
Brock Higdon continues to lead the team with 3 sacks. Wilfawn, Khalil Jacobs, Jamie Sheriff, and Maurice Strong Jr are all tied for second with two sacks each.
Jaden Voisin continues to lead the team with two interceptions. Strong Jr, Yam Banks, Wesley Miller, and Marquise Robinson each have an interception.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is 9-of-12 (75%) on the season in field goals and is 30-of-32 on extra point attempts.
Jack Martin, after not seeing any action since September, is now averaging 39.41 yards per punt for his 22 attempts this season. His average took a plunge after the shanked punt from a bad snap and narrowly avoiding a block against the Cajuns.
troy (6-2, 3-1 SBC)
As a team, the Trojans have a turnover margin of +2 on the season. They have fumbled 15 time, losing possession on 9 of them, with 4 passes being intercepted. Defensively they have forced 13 fumbles and recovered 8 of them while also intercepting 7 passes.
Offense
The trojans are averaging 27.13 points (69th), 441.8 total yards of offense (31st), 275.88 passing yards (33rd), and 165.9 rushing yards (55th), and 32:14 time of possession per game.
They are converting 49-of-118 (41.53%) of their 3rd down attempts and 6-of-15 (40%) of their 4th down attempts on the season.
The Trojans are also doing well in the red zone. Out of their 30 trips, they have scored on 29 of them, however only 15 of them have resulted in touchdowns.
Gunnar Watson is 149-of-247 (60.32%) for 2,158 yards, 14 touchdowns and 4 interceptions on the season. Goose Crowder is 5-of-6 for 49 yards.
Jabre Barber leads the Trojans with 615 yards on 39 catches with three touchdowns. Chris Lewis has 415 yards on 18 catches with four touchdowns. Deshon Staudemire has 381 yards on 27 catches with a touchdown. Devonte Ross has 243 yards on 22 catches with two touchdowns. Finally, Kimani Vidal has 140 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown to round out the list of 100+ yard receivers.
Vidal leads the team with 994 rushing yards on 172 attempts with six touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Kamien Taylor has 247 yards on 45 carries with a touchdown and a 5.5 yard per carry average.
Defense
troy leans on their defense for their winning ways. They allow an average of 16.88 points (17th nationally), 301 total yards of offense (14th), 193.88 passing yards (28th), 107.1 rushing yards (20th), and 27:32 time of possession per game.
Opponents are converting 35-of-110 (31.82%) of their 3rd down attempts and 6-of-19 (31.58%) of their 4th down attempts.
Opponents have had the ball in the red zone 22 times and scored on 17 of those trips, with 10 of them being a touchdown.
Jayden McDonal leads the team with 52 total stops, 32 solo, with 7 tackles for loss. Dell Pettus is next in line with 43 stops, 26 solo, with a TFL. Caleb Ransaw has 34 total stops, 21 solo.
Javon Solomon leads the Trojans with 6 sacks. Richard Jibunor has 4.5 sacks for second place on the team.
Solomon and McDonald are tied for the lead with 7 TFLs. Jibunor has six. Ransaw has 4 TFLs.
Special Teams
Scott Taylor Renfroe is 16-of-19 (84.21%) on field goal attempts. His only misses have come from 40+ yards and his longest make of the season is 43 yards.
Robert Cole is averaging 39.71 yards per punt over 28 attempts. He’s had 9 downed inside the 20, 8 fair catches, 4 kicks of 50+ yards, and two touchbacks.
Injuries
The most obvious injury from the game against the Cajuns was Carter Bradley. Bradley went down on the last offensive play of the game, a two-point conversion try, when he was tackled from behind just after he threw the ball. He was in obvious pain on the ground.
In the Jags Monday press conference, one of the first questions was about Bradley’s availability on Thursday. Coaches said that he has had a lingering issue with his left knee for a few weeks now. The first question to Bradley during the player portion of the press conference was about him playing against Troy. He had a sly grin on his face when he answered, “You’ll find out on Thursday.”
Bradley explained “I kind of tweaked it a little bit during the week of practice, I just landed on it weird, nothing crazy.”
Offensive coordinator Major Applewhite said that Bradley’s rehab efforts are going well. “He moved around pretty good out at practice [Monday],” Applewhite said. “…We’re going to rep all of them. Dez has played in that game before and we feel comfortable with him running the offense and Gio has gotten some reps throughout the year. He’s still young in his development but he’s come a long way and he’s doing great things as well.”
Lopez, a true freshman, has appeared in three games so far this season and is the only other player with passing statistics this season other than Bradley. However Trotter was the starter in the 2020 season and has filled in as starter in games over the last two seasons with the program. He has in-game experience and will likely be the starter if Bradley is unable to go or if Bradley has to come out early.
Keys to the Game
Offensive Line
The Jags got whipped in the trenches by Louisiana-Lafayette. They allowed Carter Bradley to be sacked five times, he fumbled on three of those sacks. The rushing attack wasn’t able to get established consistently either. The Cajuns were able to set the line of scrimmage in the Jaguar backfield.
After a failed two-point conversion, we are now waiting to hear if Bradley will even be able to play against troy. If not, will Desmond Trotter get the start or could they turn to Gio Lopez, the true freshman, who’s already shown he can also bring more of a running threat to the position.
But no matter who is back taking the snaps, they need to the offensive line to get back to the way they’ve played against Oklahoma State, ULM and Southern Miss (and quickly).
No matter who is taking snaps, troy will be looking to pressure them to see how they react. If it’s Bradley, how well can he move. If it’s Trotter, how can they pressure him into mistakes. But if it’s Lopez, how can they capitalize on this inexperience.
No matter how you slice it, the offensive line has a big test ahead of them on Thursday.
Establishing the Run
South Alabama’s offense is much more effective when they have established the run well on opponents.
It’s also very beneficial with the new clock rules this season. The new rule that is making the most impact in games is having the clock run after first downs, except for the last two minutes of each half. If you can keep the ball on the ground and churn out first downs, teams can really limit their opponents’ opportunities to possess the ball and score.
I’ll just reiterate it, the Jaguar offense simply runs much more efficiently and effectively if they can run the ball consistently.
Turnovers and Penalties
Five turnovers doomed the Jags against Louisiana-Lafayette. Five turnovers will doom you against any opponent though.
It was an uncharacteristically bad game for the Jags, they rarely turn the ball over that much under coach Wommack and they rarely are on the negative side of the turnover margin.
Coach Applewhite mentioned in the press conference that, whenever the quarterback is on the move, they have to have both hands on the ball. Bradley also mentioned that he needs to do better at picking up the backside pressure, like what the Cajuns did against him.
In order to win the game, the Jags need to be in the positive side of the turnover margin. The defense has not generated a lot of takeaways so far this season and they need to change that, starting this week.
But also, they cannot commit penalties and give their opponent free first downs to extend drives. Whenever you play, you have to play clean. You have to assume when you are playing on the road, the officials will be calling in favor of the home team.
You can almost guarantee that emotions will be running high in the game. troy will try to bait Jaguars into committing penalties. South Alabama players will have to keep cool heads and focus on the game from snap to whistle and anything outside of that has to be shrugged off.
Prediction
If this game had been swapped with the ULL game on the schedule, we would be saying that both teams were coming into the game playing their best football.
troy may be playing some of their best football coming into the game. But after the game on Saturday, where the Jags committed five turnovers, they don’t seem to be playing their best football coming into this game.
But that doesn’t mean the Jags can’t find their mojo again.
After dropping back-to-back games against Central Michigan and James Madison, the Jags rolled to back-to-back wins while scoring 55-points per game. Let’s hope they Jags don’t need two games to get that mojo back.
troy is going to go after Bradley if he plays. They know he has a questionable knee and the offensive line has had their issues this season.
It all depends which team gets off the bus at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium on Thursday.
The Jags are a 6.5-point underdog to troy. Let’s bring that Belt back to Mobile.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Hosts Ragin’ Cajuns In SBC West Showdown
Kickoff: Saturday, October 28, 4pm
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: Reggie Smith (he will be wearing #50 due to jersey numbering restrictions for offensive linemen)
South Alabama returns to the field after having 11 days off and only it’s second game in 21 days in a pivotal Sun Belt Conference Western Division showdown against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.
Over the last two games the Jags have been on a tear. They have won them by a combined scored of 110-10. They won their first game in Monroe, LA 55-7 and then continued their unbeaten streak against Southern Miss 55-3 on a nationally televised Tuesday night game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns start a two-game stretch for the Jags in determining if they have what it takes to contend for the SBC West title.
Currently the Jags are tied with Texas State and Troy on top of the Western division standings at 2-1 in conference play with the Cajuns and Arkansas State right behind them at 1-2. The Jags have games remaining against all the teams mentioned down the stretch. But the immediate two are the Cajuns then a short turnaround to play Troy on Thursday night on the road in the Battle for the Belt.
But they can’t look ahead, the Jags are 0-0 this week and need a win.
Hall of Fame
But before the game, as part of the Hall of Fame weekend, South Alabama’s first head coach Joey Jones will be inducted into the University of South Alabama Hall of Fame. Jones along with Charde Hannah (women’s soccer), Kevin Hill (baseball) and Daniel Leitner (men’s tennis) will all be inducted at 10am at the Moulton Bell Tower and Alumni Plaza then they will also be honored at halftime of the game.
Jones was the architect of the football program starting in 2008 and fielded the first team in 2009. They began the program with 19-consecutive wins, joined the Sun Belt conference in 2012 and reached their first bowl game in 2014. Jones was selected as the SBC Coach of the Year in 2013. His career record at USA was 52-50 with two bowl berths. He is currently the director of player personnel at Mississippi State University.
Hannah was a two-time All-SBC and was named MVP of the 2014 and 2015 SBC tournament championships. The Jags won the championship all four seasons she was with USA.
Hill was a first-team All-American in 2016 and was named SBC Pitcher of the Years twice. He won the SBC pitching Triple Crown as a junior with a 10-0 record, 1.73 ERA, and 107 strikeouts. Only playing for USA for three seasons after transferring from junior college, Hill’s 326 strikeouts and 298.2 innings pitched are 6th in program history. His 22 wins are 9th in program history.
Leitner was SBC Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015. He was named to the All-Conference team three consecutive years and was Sun Belt Player of the Week eight times, five of them in his senior season.
South Alabama (4-3, 2-1 SBC)
The Jags have a turnover margin of +3 so far this season. They have given the ball away nine times on the season so far, six by interception and three by fumble. So far, the Jags have only fumbled the ball five times on the season in total, only losing three of them to their opponent. The defense has taken the ball away 12 times through seven games. They’ve forced nine fumbles, recovering six of them and also intercepting six passes.
The Jags have also played fairly clean football over the last two weeks. On the season they have been flagged 49 times for 430 yards, which is an average of 61.43 penalty yards per game.
Offense
After outscoring the opponents the last two weeks by a combined score of 110-10, the Jags have really bolstered their point differential on the season. On average the Jags are racking up 35.4 points, 448 total offensive yards, 271.86 passing yards, 176.1 rushing yards per game with an average time of possession of 30:42.
They are converting 46-of-94 (48.9%) on 3rd down and 7-of-12 (58.3%) on 4th down situations. They continue to be perfect in the red zone for the season by scoring on all 27 trips, with only five of them being field goals.
Carter Bradley is 138-of-205 passing for 1,775 yards, 11 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Gio Lopez got in some extra work against Southern Miss and is 10-of-15 for 128 yards with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown with only one interception.
Caullin Lacy continues to distance himself from the field with 48 catches for 826 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Lacy now ranks 3rd in the nation in receiving yards and tied for 17th in receiving touchdowns. His average of 118 yards receiving per game ranks him 2nd behind Malik Nabers of LSU (122.6).
Jamaal Pritchett, who had a standout performance against Southern Miss, now has 24 catches for 373 yards and a touchdown. Lincoln Sefcik has 16 catches for 152 yards and a touchdown. DJ Thomas-Jones has 11 catches for 136 yards.
La’Damian Webb seems to be back in full form after a 20-carry performance against the Golden Eagles. He now has 578 yards on 103 carries with 12 touchdowns on the season. Webb ranks 2nd in the nation in rushing touchdowns only trailing Blake Corum of Michigan by one touchdown. His rushing yards places him in the top 50 in the nation.
Kentrel Bullock has 343 yards on 68 carries with three touchdowns. Marco Lee Jr adds 186 yards on 39 carries and two touchdowns.
Defense
After the dominant performances the last two weeks the defensive stats are really looking impressive.
On average the defense is allowing 19.4 points, 312.4 total yards, 198.14 passing yards, and 114.3 rushing yards per game. Opposing teams have an average time of possession of 29:17 per game.
Opponents are converting 32-of-92 (34.78%) of their 3rd down attempts and 3-of-8 (37.5%) of their 4th down attempts on the season.
Trey Kiser leads the defense with 44 total stops, 19 solo, with two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry. James Miller is right behind him with 43 total stops, 14 solo, with a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble.
Kiser also leads the team with 6 tackles for loss. Khalil Jacobs has 5 TFLs. Quentin Wilfawn has 4.5 TFLs.
Brock Higdon leads the team with 3 sacks. Jamie Sheriff and Maurice Strong Jr both have two sacks each.
Jaden Voisin leads the team with two interceptions. Strong Jr, Yam Banks, Wesley Miller and Marquise Robinson each have an interception. Sheriff leads the team with 5 quarterback hurries and Higdon is behind him with three.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is now 9-of-12 on the season on field goal attempts. He missed a 52 yard attempt to start the season and his other two misses have been from 40+ yards. He has a long of 46-yards this season.
Jack Martin’s best friend has been the kicking net on the sidelines over the last two games. He has not seen the field for a punt since the September 30th game against James Madison. He is still averaging 40.68 yards per kick on 19 attempts with 10 fair catches, 7 downed inside the 20 and two kicks of 50+ yards.
ULL (4-3, 1-2 SBC)
The Cajuns are a -5 turnover margin on the season. they have turned the ball over 15 times, seven by interception and eight by fumble. They’ve actually fumbled 17 times on the season and lost 8 of them. Their defense has taken the ball away 10 times, recovering four of their opponents 7 fumbles and six interceptions.
The Cajuns have been flagged 41 times for 345 yards on the season. They are averaging 49.3 penalty yards per game.
Offense
The Cajun offense is averaging 32.9 points, 425 total yards, 209.4 passing yards, and 215.6 rushing yards per game with an average time of possession of 29:04.
They are converting 39-of-90 (43%) of their 3rd down attempts and 7-of-12 (58%) of their 4th down attempts on the season.
They have been in their opponents red zone 31 times on the season and have scored on 23 (74%) of those trips with 17 of them (55%) being touchdowns.
Zeon Chriss is 77-of-119 (64.7%) passing for 906 yards, eight touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Ben Wooldridge, who’s only appeared in three games, is 39-of-69 (56.5%) for 508 yards, five touchdowns and only one interception.
Robert Williams leads the Cajuns receiving corps with 289 yards on 22 catches with three touchdowns. Jacob Bernard has 241 yards on 19 catches. Neal Johnson has 163 yards on 15 catches. Peter LeBlanc also has 15 catches for 209 yards with three touchdowns.
Jacob Kibodi leads the Cajun rushing attack with 466 yards on 64 attempts with five touchdowns. Zeon Chriss is right with him with 446 yards on 57 carries with 5 touchdowns as well. Dre’lyn Washington has 272 yards on 41 carries with a touchdown. Zylan Perry has 113 yards on 34 carries and a touchdown.
Their rushing attack ranks eighth in the nation with Zeon Chriss as their #2 rusher on the team.
Defense
K.C. Ossai leads the Cajun defense with 49 total stops, 25 solo, with two tackles for loss, a sack, two quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick. Jasper Williams is next in line with 44 total stops, 23 solo, with two sacks, and 3.5 TFLs. Tyrone Lewish has 41 total stops, 17 solo, with ½ sack, an interception and two pass breakups.
Kendre’ Grant leads the defense with five sacks, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. Jordan Lawson has 4 sacks, 4.5 TFL’s, and three quarterback hurries. Tyler Guidry has 3 sacks, 5.5 TFLs, an interception, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
Tyree Skipper leads the Cajuns with two interceptions with four other players tied for 2nd with one interception each.
Special Teams
Kenneth Almendares is 7-of-8 of his field goal attempts this season, his long is from 46-yards. His only miss is from 40+ yards.
Leo Thomas is averaging 42.4 yards per punt across his 25 attempts. He long for the season is 52 yards with 12 fair catches, 8 downed inside the 20, 3 kicks of 50+ yards and two touchbacks.
Injuries
No key injuries to note. Josh McCulloch is currently listed as the starter on the two-deep roster for the game. Maybe this is the week he finally returns from the knee injury that’s been hampering him since mid-September leading up to the Oklahoma State game. However, we won’t know for sure if McCulloch is a go until game time.
Keys to the Game
Quarterback Containment
Zeon Chriss rushed for a game high 119 yards in the Cajuns homecoming loss last week to Georgia State. Including a 34 yard run on 3rd and 6 on their final drive in their attempt to win the game.
The Jags defense has struggled defending against a dual-threat quarterback. The losses to Central Michigan and James Madison were both to teams with quarterback with dual-threat capabilities.
Against Central Michigan, the Jags were up 14-0 before Jase Bauer came in and led the Chippewas come-from-behind win.
If South Alabama wants to continue to their winning streak and remain at bunched at the top of the Sun Belt Conference Western Division, they will have to keep Chriss in check.
Continued Consistency
The Jags have been executing at a very high level over the last two games. The only thing you can knock on their play over the last two games were late in the first half against Southern Miss. The Jags had a couple of opportunities for touchdowns that were squandered. They had a few attempts to punch the ball into the end zone from at or inside the one-yard line and couldn’t convert. Then a costly false start when they were lining with the offense on fourth down, led them to a field goal.
They had another drive stall the field goal attempt by the usually reliable Diego Guajardo missed wide right leaving points on the field.
But outside of those and a couple other instances in the last two games, the Jags have almost been the embodiment of consistency over the last two games.
They need to keep striving to hit that mark this week (and the rest of the season).
Continue To Involve Other Receivers
Caullin Lacy was slotted in at the clear #2 receiver with Devin Voisin expected to be the #1. But when Devin went down with a season-ending injury, Lacy has stepped into the #1 position and has excelled.
Lacy has gone over 100-yards receiving in all but one game this season. He only managed 60 yards in the season opener at Tulane.
Jamaal Pritchett broke out in the Jags game vs Southern Miss last time out. He showed his speed and ability to avoid defenders.
Pritchett and other pass catchers will need to play big roles down the stretch this season with the meat of the SBC West coming up over the last few games.
Prediction
South Alabama is a 10.5-point favorite against the Cajuns. After the last two weeks, it’s hard for Jag fans to not nod their head in agreement with that.
Last time I was nervous about the Southern Miss game and that was a big whiff.
Call me what you want, but I’m nervous about this game too. Dual-threat quarterbacks have been kryptonite against the Jags defense historically (and this season). Head coach Kane Wommack, defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, and secondaries coach Jay Hopson have all done a great job correcting issues in the back side of the defense. Ricky Fletcher has stepped up his game noticeably. Jaden Voisin continues to play like the leader of the unit he is.
Lafayette seems to have improved in the second season under head coach Michael Desormeaux. Though they currently sit at 4-3 overall, they played Minnesota close and were one play away from potentially upsetting Georgia State, however an interception in the end zone with 30 seconds left derailed that comeback.
I feel that the Jags win I don’t think they cover the spread.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Hosts Southern Miss Tuesday Night Nationally Televised Showdown
Kickoff: Tuesday, October 17, 6:30pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN2
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Wy’Kevious “Bubba” Thomas
Half of the regular season schedule is in the books. Through the first six games of the season we’ve seen some of the best play from the Jaguars, but we’ve also seen some of the worst. They’re record is an even split across the board: they are 3-3 overall and 1-1 in Sun Belt Conference play.
After back-to-back losses, South Alabama went to Louisiana-Monroe. They had never won in Monroe but this time they did in emphatic fashion. They took the Warhawks out behind the woodshed by the score of 55-7.
The next test for the Jags will be the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. In the three meetings between the two programs, the Jags have yet to lose to USM. They’ve won two in Hattiesburg and one in Mobile.
Both teams come into the game on Tuesday night with a little extra rest. Both teams last played on October 7th and have a semi-bye week. They don’t get a full two weeks between games, since they were picked up by ESPN to play a nationally televised mid-week game.
Southern Miss (1-5, 0-3 SBC)
Southern Miss head coach Will Hall are in the midst of a five-game losing streak in his third season at the helm. They opened with a 40-14 win over Alcorn State then dropped games to #4 Florida State, Tulane, Arkansas State, Texas State and Old Dominion.
They come to Mobile for only the fourth meeting between these two programs looking for their first conference win of the season and their first win against the Jags.
Offense
Despite the record, Southern Miss remains a team that you cannot take lightly. Frank Gore Jr is one of the best all-around backs in the country. He has 3,288 career rushing yards and 58 career receptions to go along with seven career touchdown passes.
The Golden Eagles average 23.7 points, 356 total yards of offense, 213.8 passing yards, and 142.2 rushing yards per game.
They are converting 36-of-94 (38.3%) on 3rd down attempts and are 7-of-16 (43.8%) on 4th down attempts. They hold a 33:16 to 26:44 advantage on average time of possession per game too.
Of their 25 trips into the red zone, they have scored 22 times, but 11 (50%) have been field goals.
Sophomore Billy Wiles is 107-of-200 (53.5%) passing for 1,254 yards with 7 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. His rushing stats don’t look so good because of sack yardage, but he has gained 122 yards on the ground yet he only has a net yardage of 14 for the season with a touchdown run. Quarterbacks have been sacked 14 times on the season.
Frank Gore Jr has only attempted one pass on the season and it was incomplete.
Jakarius Caston leads USM with 334 yards on 21 catches with three touchdowns. Latreal Jones leads the team with 23 catches with 324 yards and a touchdown. Tiaquelin Mims has 18 catches for 209 yards and a touchdown. Chandler Pittman adds 13 catches for 111 yards to round out the list of receivers with over 100 yards on the season.
Gore has 10 catches for 50 yards and a touchdown as the last player with double-digit receptions on the season. He leads the team rushing with 397 yards on 103 carries with four touchdowns. Gore has rushed for over 100 yards in two of his last three games.
Rodrigues Clark has 356 yards on 50 carries with two touchdowns.
Defense
The ‘Nasty Bunch’ defense has not been as nasty as their predecessors.
They have allowed an average of 35.3 points, 395.3 total yards of offense, 207.2 passing yards, and 188.2 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are only converting 26-of-71 (36.6%) of their 3rd down attempts and 4-of-7 (57.1%) on 4th down attempts.
They have 17 sacks on opposing quarterbacks on the season for a loss of 105 yards though.
Safety Dylan Lawrence leads the team with 36 total stops, 13 solo, with a sack. Fellow safety Jay Stanley is right behind him with 34 total stops, 18 solo, with ½ sack, a team leading two interceptions, 3 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Linebacker Hayes Maples is third on the team in total stops with 24, 9 solo, with 1.5 sacks.
Linebacker Jalil Clemons leads the team with three sacks.
Special Teams
Placekicker Andrew Stein is 13-of-15 (86.7%) on the season with a long of 52. His only two misses have come in the 40 yard zone.
Bryce Lofton is averaging 38.5 yards per punt with 10 fair catches, 7 downed inside the 20, and a long of 50 yards.
South Alabama (3-3, 1-1 SBC)
The Jags put together a consistent game last time out. The offense consistently moved the ball and the defense didn’t allow any big plays to note.
Offense
The Jag offense is averaging 32.2 points, 414.8 total yards of offense, 257.1 passing yards, and 157.7 rushing yards per game.
They are converting on 39-of-83 (46.99%) on 3rd down and 7-of-12 (58.3%) on 4th down attempts. They hold a slight advantage in average time of passion with 30:36 to their opponents 29:23.
USA continues to hold a perfect record when getting into the red zone. They have scored on all 20 trips, with 16 of them coming as touchdowns.
Carter Bradley is 117-of-178 (65.7%) passing for 1,456 yards, 11 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Gio Lopez is 8-of-11 for 87 yards and a touchdown, with most of that work coming last time out against ULM.
Caullin Lacy has stepped up as the Jaguars leading receiver. He has 39 catches for 723 yards with 6 touchdowns. He is averaging just over 18.5 yards per catch. He is third nationally in receiving yards. He has a five-game streak of 100+ receiving yard games entering this game.
Jamaal Pritchett is next with 19 catches for 251 yards and a touchdown. Tight end DJ Thomas-Jones has 9 catches for 103 yards. Fellow tight end Lincoln Sefcik has 12 catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Kentrel Bullock has 84 yards on 10 catches with a touchdown while fellow running back La’Damian Webb has 12 catches for 66 yards.
Webb leads the team with 476 yards rushing on 83 carries with 8 touchdowns. His eight rushing touchdowns has him tied for 3rd in the national rankings, while his yards ranks him 33rd.
Bullock has 285 yards on 59 carries with two touchdowns. Marco Lee Jr has 160 yards on 33 carries with two touchdowns as well.
Defense
The Jag defense is allowing an average of 22.2 points, 339.7 total offensive yards, 223.5 passing yards, and 116.2 rushing yards per game. Opponents are converting 31-of-79 (39.2%) of their 3rd down attempts and 2-of-6 (33.3%) of their 4th down attempts.
Opponents have scored on 14 of their 19 trips into the Jags red zone, with only 9 of them scoring a touchdown.
Trey Kiser leads the defense with 39 total stops, 18 solo. He also leads the team with 6 tackles for loss too.
James Miller is second on the team with 37 total stops, 13 solo, with 1.5 sacks. Jaden Voisin has 34 total stops, 13 solo, with a team-leading two interceptions.
Brock Higdon leads the team with 2.5 sacks.
Yam Banks, Wesley Miller, and Marquise Robinson all have one interception each.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is 7-of-9 on the season with a long of 46. He missed a 52 yard attempt in the season opener against Tulane and a 43 yard attempt last time out against ULM.
Jack Martin is averaging 40.7 yards per punt with 10 fair catches, 7 downed inside the 20, two kicks of 50+ yards and a long of 53.
Injuries
Outside of the players that were lost for the season, head coach Kane Wommack anticipates that the players that are banged up will potentially be available against USM. Josh McCulloch has missed the last four games with a knee injury. Safety Mike Harris didn’t play against ULM due to an undisclosed injury.
Braylon McReynolds, Devin Voisin, Keith Gallmon Jr and Ed Smith are all considered out for the season. McReynolds has an outside chance to return late in the regular season and/or potentially for post-season play.
Keys to the Game
Consistency
The Jags have only played consistent ball for all four quarters in two games this season. Both were big wins (33-7 over Oklahoma State and 55-7 over ULM). When they play with consistency, the Jags are a powerhouse. They can beat any team in the conference.
But they have yet to play consistent ball in back-to-back games. This is an opportunity to do just that on national television.
Offensive Line
This is one of the keys to the game for at least the last two games. Even though Southern Miss haven’t shown it on the scoreboard, their defense has caused a bit of havoc on the season. They’ve collected 17 sacks of opposing quarterbacks and 32 tackles for loss.
They know that they have to attack at the line of scrimmage. They also know that the Jags have had some games where the offensive line hasn’t played very well either.
They’ll try to draw up some schemes to limit the Jaguar rushing attack and apply pressure on Carter Bradley.
Composure on the National Stage
The Jags have a somewhat bad history with nationally televised games. They have played flat and haven’t brought the same energy that they’ve had in other games not broadcast on a national platform.
I don’t know if it’s something to do with preparing to be seen nationally or just that the extra pressure has resulted in them playing tight historically.
This could be one of those games that, if the Jags don’t come to play for all 60 minutes, they could be on the bad end of an upset.
Prediction
Coach Wommack said that he and his staff spent a lot of time before the season planning out how they would navigate their two mid-week games. Getting off the usual Saturday game cadence and adjusting the schedule for a Tuesday night game with a couple extra days between can disrupt the rhythm of a team.
Hopefully the attention to detail helps the team play to their standard and ability.
South Alabama is a 15.5 point favorite against the Golden Eagles.
I think coach Hall and Southern Miss will throw everything they have at the Jags in order to find that first elusive conference win of the season. They’d also love to break that winless streak against the Jags too.
I think the Jags win, but I also think that Southern Miss will fight and cover the spread as their window to bowl eligibility is closing quickly. A loss to the Jags leaves them needing to win out with games against Mississippi State and Troy to close out the regular season.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Heads To Louisiana-Monroe To Face Division Foe
Kickoff: Saturday, October 7, 6pm
Venue: Malone Stadium, Monroe, LA
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: Jaden Voisin
UPDATE:
Well, this was embarrassing. My day job had me sleep deprived and working long hours this week. South Alabama is a 10.5 point favorite over ULM. With this realization, I am concerned. As I wrote originally, it depends which South Alabama team gets off the bus. They could come out and play like they did at OSU and easily cover. But I could see a Jaguar team that gives up too many big plays, especially to Howell, and drop another game.
My heart tells me the Jags win, but don’t cover the spread.
South Alabama (2-3, 0-1 SBC) have dropped their last two games since their big 33-7 win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater. In those last two losses the Jags have allowed too many explosive plays on defense and the offense has struggled moving the ball consistently.
The Jaguar defense has already allowed more touchdown plays of over 40 through five games this season than they allowed all of last season. After allowing only six touchdowns of over 40 yards in 2022, they have given up seven already this season, with three of them coming last week at James Madison.
Last season the Jags held off Louisiana-Monroe 41-34 in Mobile. However the Warhawks scored on two explosive plays, a pair of touchdown passes that went for 75 and 83 yards. Those were the two longest plays that the Jags allowed in the 2022 season.
Tyrone Howell, the recipient of both of those touchdown passes, is coming off of a three-touchdown performance last week against Appalachian State. The Warhawks lost that game 41-40 on a walk-off field goal.
South Alabama is winless in their four trips to Malone Stadium. ULM tends to play good football at home, they generate their own energy on the sidelines and behind their fans.
Head coach Terry Bowden’s team looks to have improved from last season. Offensive Coordinator Matt Kubik returned to fill the position he left in 2019 after Rich Rodriguez left after just one season to assume the head coach position at Jacksonville State. Under Kubik’s direction the offense seems to have improved. They put up 471 yards of total offense against what is normally a strong defense in App State. They currently rank second in the conference with 205.5 yards rushing per game.
The Jags defensive woes have not come on the ground necessarily. That has been the strong point of the defense going back to last season even.
Tyrone Howell had 244 yards and three touchdowns last season against the Jags. So the Jags secondary know what they may be facing on Saturday in Monroe.
ULM (2-2, 0-1 SBC)
Offense
The Warhawks are averaging 21 points, 343.8 total yards, 138.3 passing yards, and 205.5 rushing yards per game.
They are converting 14-of-52 (26.9%) of their 3rd down attempts and 5-of-7 (71.4%) of their 4th down attempts.
Jiya Wright is 35-of-64 (54.7%) passing for 432 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on the season. Hunter Herring is 16-of-30 (53.3%) passing on the season with 121 yards and a touchdown in two games.
Howell leads the team with 23 receptions, the only receiver in double-digits receiving) for 234 yards and four touchdowns. Dariyan Wiley has nine catches for 136 yards and a touchdown.
“Tyrone Howell is probably the best receiver we faced a year ago and he had a career day against us,” defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said in the Jaguars Monday media day. “We understand how good he is, because we saw it live last year. So it will be a tremendous challenge for us.”
Hunter Smith leads the team with 258 yards rushing on 32 carries with two touchdowns. Isaiah Woullard has 247 yards on 39 carries with a touchdown. Jiya Wright has 143 yards on 33 carries and a touchdown. Hunter Herring has 68 yards on 13 carries in two games.
Defense
Michael Batton leads the team by a far margin with 35 total stops, 11 solo, with ½ sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Simion Hines is second on the team with 23 total stops, 13 solo. Then four other Warhawks are bunched up with 22 stops each. James Smith leads the team with 2.5 sacks on the season, four TFLs, and three quarterback hurries.
AJ Watts and Ja’Terious Evans both lead the team with two interceptions each. Max Harris and Austin Goffney both have an interception as well.
Special Teams
Derek McCormick is 3-of-4 on the season placekicking. His only miss was a blocked kick.
Braxton Builbeau is averaging 38.96 yards per punt with a long of 59 yards, 7 fair catches, 6 downed inside the 20, two kicks of 50+ yards and one touchback.
South Alabama (2-3, 0-1 SBC)
Offense
The Jags are averaging 27.6 points, 380 total yards, 231.2 passing yards and 148.8 rushing yards per game.
They are converting 32-of-70 (45.7%) on 3rd down attempts and 4-of-9 (44.4%) on 4th down attempts on the season.
Carter Bradley is 97-of-149 (65.1%) passing with 1,153 yards, 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions on the season.
Caullin Lacy leads the team with 32 catches for 567 yards and 5 touchdowns. Jamaal Pritchett has 17 catches for 226 yards and got his first career touchdown last week. Lincoln Sefcik has 9 catches for 65 yards and a touchdown.
La’Damian Webb leads the team with 376 yards on 64 carries with 7 touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock has 247 yards on 52 carries with a touchdown. Marco Lee Jr has 111 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown.
Defense
James Miller continues to pace the defense with 31 total stops, 12 solo, with 1.5 TFLs. Trey Kiser and Jaden Voisin are next with 30 stops each.
Jamie Sheriff and Brock Higdon are tied for the team lead with 2 sacks each. Trey Kiser leads the team with 5 TFLs.
Yam Banks, Marquise Robinson, and Jaden Voisin all lead the team with 1 interception each.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is 5-of-6 on the season with a 42 yarder as his longest of the year. His only miss came in the season opener against Tulane from 52 yards.
Jack Martin is averaging 40.68 yards per punt with 10 fair catches, 7 inside the 20, two kicks of 50+ yards with a long of 53.
Keys to the Game
Explosive Plays
In all three of the Jaguar losses the defense gave up big, chunk plays or explosive plays as they are also referred as. The first two scored by James Madison were touchdown passes of 48 and 44 yards. Then their last touchdown was a 66 yard pass.
“You can’t give up explosive plays for touchdowns,” head coach Kane Wommack said in his Monday press conference. “I think that put us in a really challenging situation… We dug ourselves in a pretty deep hole, really defensively (against JMU) with those three explosive plays.”
“We’re not going to reach our potential as a football team until we stop doing that” he continued.
Against Central Michigan They only game up one explosive play touchdown, but it was huge 3rd down pass that went for 70 yards to start the fourth quarter. In that game it was more complicated than just explosive plays. It was a combination of that with poorly timed penalties, the inability to stop Jase Bauer running the ball, and 3rd down conversions.
But back to start the season at Tulane they had three touchdown passes of 47, 47 and 48 yards.
If the Jags want to get back into the win column more consistently this season, the explosive plays in the secondary must be reduced or eliminated.
Offensive Line
James Madison and Tulane both exposed the Jaguar offensive line. The Jags struggled to establish the run and Carter Bradley was consistently under pressure. The offense starts up front with the line, and right now they are struggling.
James Madison’s front seven lived up to their billing too. They got into the backfield and caused havoc. They consistently moved the line of scrimmage into the Jags backfield, they got a number of sacks, and Bradley had a number of passes batted at the line. One of the batted passes was caught and returned for a touchdown.
Hopefully the offensive line that showed up to play at Oklahoma State reemerges and reestablishes themselves as the Jaguar Standard beginning this week.
Consistency
This goes from top to bottom on both sides of the ball. Consistency in executing the offense, in tackling, in coverage, just in everything.
Against Central Michigan the Jags went down the field on their first two possessions and held a 14-0 lead early only to go cold on both sides of the ball.
Against James Madison the Jags went down 14-0 in the first quarter and were down 17-0 before they put points on the board. Even against Tulane the Jags opened the game with a turnover and were down 10-0 in the first quarter.
It looked like that in the second half of the Southeastern Louisiana game the Jags found their way. It seemed to be confirmed in the 33-7 thrashing of Oklahoma State. However the play in the last two games have shown that the problems still persist.
But it’s not a case where they’re not fixable. If anything, SLU and OSU show what this team is capable of when they play up to their standard.
Injuries
No major injuries of note came out of the James Madison game. It’s still unknown if Josh McCulloch will return to play this week but it’s looking doubtful. Adrien Strickland, who appeared to get a poked in the eye against James Madison, came back to play later in the game and will be ready to suit up on Saturday as well.
Several players seem to be banged up, which is a kind of expected after five consecutive weeks of play. So next week quasi bye week can get here fast enough.
Prediction
The Jags defense has been plagued this season by dual threat quarterbacks. Jase Bauer, Jordan McCloud and now they will face another in Jiya Wright leading a resurgent ULM offense. Add to that Tyrone Howell’s playmaking ability and the Jags defense has a big test ahead of them.
Additionally they are facing down starting conference play 0-2.
So far this series has been all about the home team. While South Alabama holds the advantage overall at 5-4, all 5 wins have come in Mobile while every loss has been in Monroe.
The Jags hold their destiny in their own hands in conference play. This is their first divisional game, if they can run the table in the division; they will have a spot in the conference championship game in December.
But it has to start this Saturday.
South Alabama is a 10.5 point underdog against the Warhawks. I think the Jags cover the points with a chance to win. But it all depends on which team gets off that team bus in Monroe.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Opens Conference Play At James Madison
Kickoff: Saturday, September 30, 11am
Venue: Bridgeforth Stadium, Harrisonburg, VA
TV/Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Caullin Lacy
The South Alabama Jaguars coaches and players are still seeking that key ingredient that breeds continued success: consistency. They will need to play their type of football consistently from the opening kickoff until the final buzzer if they want to get to 1-0 in conference play this week.
When the Jags are on, they are on, but when they’re not they’re not….but still aren’t too bad.
Two weeks ago the Jags played arguably one, if not the, best games in program history. The 33-7 win over Oklahoma State was never in doubt. Even though many Jaguar fans were bracing for the Cowboys to at least make a run in the second half. It never really came though.
The Jaguar offense hit a little lull in the third quarter, but responded urgently when the Cowboys scored their only points of the game. Most of the first quarter against Central Michigan it looked like the Jags were just picking up where they left off in Stillwater.
However it came to a screeching halt near the end of the first quarter.
When Jase Bauer came in at quarterback the defense was put on their heels and the offense went cold. It was a one-two punch that stunned the Jags. The Chippewa’s scored 20 unanswered before the Jags managed to stop the Chippewa scoring run. They mustered a field goal and cut the lead to three points very late in the third quarter.
It looked like the Jaguar defense had gotten a stop on the first play of the fourth quarter. However, Bauer avoided a sack, managed to kept his balance, and delivered a pass that went for a 70-yard touchdown. Then the Jaguar offense finally responded. They came alive, and got the crowd back into the game as well, by scoring a pair of touchdowns to regain the lead with just 2:42 left in the game. The defense was playing with momentum again.
The defense looked to have the Chippewa’s stopped for a 4th and 7 at the Jaguar 35 when a little yellow flag was tossed. A momentary, and uncharacteristic, mistake by Quentin Wilfawn drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With it came a fresh set of downs at the Jaguar 20-yard line. A couple of plays later Bauer punched it in and the Chippewa’s were able to hold on for the final 13 seconds and defeat the Jags 34-30.
It’s a new week and a new season is being ushered in with it. The Jags are 0-0 this week and looking to go 1-0 on Saturday.
James Madison (4-0, 1-0 SBC)
The Dukes joined the Sun Belt last season and by looking at their poise and the results on the field, you wouldn’t have known that 2022 was their first season in the FBS ranks. They have long been a powerhouse program in FCS and now join the ranks of fellow Sun Belt members that have found success early in their transition to FBS. Programs like Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, and Coastal Carolina.
James Madison went 8-3 last season, 6-2 in conference play. They hit a mid-season slump with losses at Georgia Southern, vs Marshall, and at Louisville. However they rebounded to end the season with three wins, including a 47-7 spanking of then #23 ranked Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
JMU has picked up right where they left off so far in 2023.
They added to the conference’s list of wins over Power 5 programs with a 36-35 decision over Virginia. They knocked off the defending conference champion Troy 16-14 in Troy, AL. Last week they held off a pesky Utah State team on the road for a 45-38 win.
South Alabama will travel to Virginia for their first-ever game between the two programs on Saturday.
Offense
The Dukes are averaging 33.75 points, 408.3 total yards, 238.5 rushing yards, and 169.8 rushing yards per game on the season. They are converting 17-of-54 (31.5%) on 3rd down and 2-of-5 (40%) on 4th down on the season.
Out of 21 trips to the red zone, they have scored on 17 of those trips, with 11 of them being touchdowns.
They have a slight edge in time of possession by averaging 30:30 while their opponents are averaging 29:30 per game.
They’ve turned the ball over six times on the season, three fumbles lost out of five total fumbles, and three interceptions. The defense has forced six fumbles, recovering one, but they have gotten five interceptions to make them even on the year in turnover margin.
Jordan McCloud is 67-of-101 (66.3%) on the season for 919 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
Reggie Brown leads an experienced group of receivers with 15 catches for 354 yards and three touchdowns. Elijah Sarratt is right behind him with 14 catches for 188 yards and a touchdown. Kaelon Black is the only other receiver with over 100 yards receiving though. He has 12 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. Phoenix Sproles is the only other receiver with double-digit receptions at 11 for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Kaelon Black leads the team rushing with 304 yards on 54 attempts. Ty Son Lawton has 191 yards on 32 carries with three touchdowns. Latrele Palmer has 102 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown. McCloud has run for a pair of touchdowns himself.
The offensive line returned intact from last season. They were averaging about 30 starts each across the line. However, College Football Network Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Lineman of the Year, redshirt senior right tackle Nick Kidwell suffered a season-ending injury on the first play against Utah State. Junior Tyler Stephens, who has previously started at left guard this season, will move over to right tackle to fill in in his absence.
The Dukes are capable of marching down the field quickly. They don’t really grind out a lot of 3rd downs and do a good job of limiting negative plays or getting off-schedule on offense.
Defense
The JMU defense is allowing an average of 22.5 points, 356 total yards, 314.5 passing yards, and a mere 41.5 rushing yards per game. Part of the rushing defense is that they have 18 sacks for a loss of 133 yards on the season. They are averaging 4.5 sacks per game through the first four games.
Opponents are converting 17-of-62 (27.4%) of their 3rd down attempts and 5-of-11 (45.5%) of their 4th down attempts. Teams have been in the red zone only 10 times on the season, they’ve scored 8 times with 7 of them being touchdowns.
They lead the FBS in rushing defense and yards per rush allowed (1.39 per carry). They are tied for the lead nationally with an average of 10.2 TFL’s per game, and are tied for second nationally with 4.5 sacks per game.
Aiden Fisher leads the team with 28 total stops, 11 solo, with three pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and an interception from his linebacker position. Jalen Green has 22 total stops, 8 solo, with 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup on the defensive line.
Kikail Kamara has 19 total stops, 11 solo, and a team leading 8.5 tackles for loss on the season with three sacks and a pair of forced fumbles from the defensive lineman.
Green is tied with Jamree Kromah for the team lead in sacks (4). Kromah has 19 total tackles, 9 solo, with 6.5 TFLs two quarterback hurries, and a fumble recovery.
The Dukes defensive front seven generate lots of pressure and havoc. As previously mentioned they have 18 sacks on the season, but they also have a total of 41 tackles for loss. They rotate a lot of players in their front seven so they do a good job of keeping players fresh and getting experience down the depth chart. They play very complimentary to each other too.
But they have also allowed some explosive plays downfield.
Special Teams
Camden Wise is a perfect 6-of-6 on the season placekicking, however his longest kick has been from 38 yards.
Ryan Hanson is averaging 40.4 yards per punt, his longest being 59 yards his only kick of 50+ yards, with 10 fair catches, 7 downed inside the 20, and one touchback.
South Alabama (2-2, 0-0 SBC)
Consistency, that’s the objective of the coaches this week. It’s also been the objective for the entire season through four games.
If the Jags can play with more consistency, then last Saturday’s game would have turned out completely different. The Tulane game would have been a very different game too. I’m not going to say that the Jags would have definitely defeated the Green Wave, but allowing three touchdown passes of 47, 47 and 48 yards definitely changes the dynamic of the game.
Offense
The Jags are averaging 28.8 points, 393.6 total yards, 214.3 passing yards, and 179.3 rushing yards per game. They are converting 27-of-52 (51.9%) of their 3rd down attempts and 3-of-5 (60%) of their 4th down attempts on the season.
They’ve made the most of their red zone trips this season. They’ve scored on all 12 trips with 9 of them being touchdowns.
Last week the Jags didn’t commit any turnovers on offense, but the defense didn’t get any take-away’s either so the Jags continue to be +1 in the turnover margin. They’ve lost three of the four fumbles they’ve committed and have thrown three interceptions. The Jag defense has forced and recovered five fumbles and has gathered a pair of interceptions.
The offense is averaging 29:36 on time of possession on the season.
Carter Bradley is 69-of-99 (69.7%) for 854 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions on the season.
Caullin Lacy has emerged as the leading receiver with 26 catches for 435 yards and five touchdowns, all from 35 yards or more. He is the only receiver in the nation with five touchdown receptions of 35 yards or more.
Jamaal Pritchett has added 14 catches for 161 yards as the only other receiver with either double-digit catches or over 100 yards receiving.
Lincoln Sefcik has 7 catches for 46 yards. Kentrel Bullock has 7 catches for 40 yards.
La’Damian Webb leads the team with 340 yards on 52 carries with six touchdowns. He’s averaging 6.5 yards per attempt and has only lost 3 yards on the season. That loss came in the last game on a 4th down attempt when the offense rushed to the line and Central Michigan sold out to stop the run.
Kentrel Bullock has 255 yards on 49 carries with a touchdown. Marco Lee Jr has 21 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown. Both are averaging 5 yards or more per carry.
Jordan Davis filled in for Josh McCulloch again last week as Josh was still recovering from a knee injury sustained in practice prior to the Oklahoma State game.
Defense
The Jaguar defense is allowing an average of 23.8 points, 352.8 total yards, 247 passing yards and 105.8 rushing yards per game. Opponents are converting 22-of-50 (44%) of their 3rd down attempts and 2-of-2 (100%) of their 4th down attempts.
Out of 15 trips to the red zone, the Jags have allowed opponents to score 12 times and only 8 of them resulting in a touchdown.
James Miller is still on top of the defensive statistics with 26 total stops, 12 solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery. Jaden Voisin is next with 24 total stops, 11 solo, with a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
Trey Kiser has 21 total stops, 10 solo, also with 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry.
Quentin Wilfawn has 19 total stops on the season, 14 solo, with a sack and a team leading 3 tackles for loss.
Brock Higdon leads the team with 2 sacks. Yam Banks and Marquise Robinson both have an interception.
After starting the season allowing big plays in the secondary, the Jags have been able to make adjustments. They are playing with more of that key word head coach Kane Wommack keeps talking about: consistency.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo is 4-of-5 on field goal attempts for the season. His long is 42 and his only miss was in the season opener against Tulane from 52 yards out.
Jack Martin is averaging 41.9 yards per punt with a long of 53 yards. He has 7 fair catches, 5 downed inside the 20, and two kicks of 50+ yards.
Keys to the Game
Offensive Line
The JMU defense is going to bring pressure and cause havoc. Their sheer number of sacks and tackles for loss show it. When Bradley and the offense struggle, it has been because protection has broken down and Bradley is under pressure. JMU is going to generate some negative plays, but how the team responds will be a storyline of this game.
The offensive line has shown that they can play at a high level. Just look at the second half against Southeastern Louisiana, Oklahoma State, and the first quarter against Central Michigan.
If they play with consistency and up to their potential, which we’ve seen, the Jags can play with anyone.
They need to set the line of scrimmage, because the JMU defensive line will be determined to set the line of scrimmage in the Jaguar backfield. If they are able to give Bradley time, he has Lacy, Pritchett, Ivory, Sefcik and others that are talented pass-catchers that can make plays downfield. Which leads to…
Establish the Run
Utah State showed how a team can get a foothold establishing the run on them. Between Webb and Bullock, the Jags have two players with great vision that can find the hole and make positive yardage. They have turned plays that seemed to be destined for a loss into gains or even big plays. They just need the opportunity.
Between the two they have less than 20 yards of negative plays between them this season. If the line can give them a lane, they’ll find it.
The matchup between the Dukes proficiency is generating negative plays and Webb and Bullock’s ability to avoid losing yardage will make for some interesting viewing on Saturday.
Play Responsive Football
South Alabama has been very “responsive” after an opponent has scored. This means that, when the opponent scores, the offensive has not responded with a score of their own on the next possession.
Responsiveness really takes the air out of the stadium. When the opponent scores just to get the ball back and answer with your own score really seizes any momentum back away from the other team.
The Jags didn’t respond to several of the Chippewa’s scores in the game last Saturday. You could feel the small contingent of fans who traveled for the game as their presence became more and more prominent with each score.
When the Jags had closed within 3 points in the fourth quarter and the Chippewa’s scored to stretch it out to a 10-point lead, they seized the opportunity. USA responded with a 3 play 75-yard drive, with a 72-yard touchdown pass, that electrified the crowd.
The Jaguar fans got loud and really got into the game.
That’s what a response will do for you at home. On the road it will do similar to what Central Michigan did, it will quiet the crowd.
Injuries
Braylon McReynolds, Devin Voisin, and Keith Gallmon Jr are all out for the season with injuries. McReynolds has not been ruled out for potential post-season play.
Josh McCulloch has been improving since his non-season threatening knee injury. It’s unknown if he may be back for the game on Saturday.
The Jags came out of the game against Central Michigan pretty healthy, no major injuries.
Prediction
This is a big game for the Jaguars. You only have eight conference games and each one looms large, especially if you lose one.
The Jags only lost one conference game last season, their head-to-head matchup against Troy. Troy also only lost one conference game but held the tiebreaker due to the head-to-head victory. The Trojans were the preseason favorite to win the western division again, but they’ve already have a loss in conference play…to James Madison.
In that game, the Dukes got six sacks and held the Trojans to -12 yards rushing. Prior to Troy, they held Virginia to just 18 rushing yards. Last week Utah State was able to rush for 98 yards, the most the Dukes have allowed during their current seven game winning streak, dating back to 2022.
The Dukes opened at a 5 point favorite and the line has moved down to just 3.5 points.
What was once a thorn in the Jags side, they have turned around their fortunes when playing on the road. They are now 10-4 over the last 14 games away from Hancock Whitney Stadium.
On one hand, my predictions have not turned out too accurate this season. Which makes me want to pick against the Jags this week to see if that helps them win. But I think the players and coaches understand what this game means and will get back focused on the task at hand.
I think the Jags win outright in a close game.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Hosts Central Michigan For Homecoming, Final Non-Conference Game
Kickoff: Saturday, September 23, 4pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
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: Desmond Trotter
This is an important game for the South Alabama Jaguars.
No, it’s not a flashy game against another Power-5 program. It’s not a conference game. It may be homecoming, but that’s not the reason either.
It’s an important game for two reasons: one, it’s next game on the schedule, and two, we get to see how the team responds after the last game.
You may be reading this thinking “man, you make it sound like they lost last week. But they won arguably the biggest game in program history last week against Oklahoma State.” But that’s exactly it. They won the biggest game in program history, now how do they respond?
The Greek philosopher Epictetus wrote, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
Head Coach Kane Wommack took over the program in 2021 and he has consistently spoken about getting his players to have a neutral mindset. You cannot get too high on emotion, but you cannot get to low either. This week will be a big test for his team to see if they have that neutral mindset nailed down, at least from the emotional high that was last week.
The Jags (2-1) earned a program-defining win last Saturday in dominating fashion. They took a 23-0 lead into halftime and by the time the final whistle blew, they posted a stunning 33-7 beat-down of a Power-5 program in their own stadium. One of the intriguing stats we noted was that the Jags rushed for more yards (248) than Oklahoma State gained in total offense (208) for the entire game.
South Alabama has been showered with praise since the game ended. They were named the Cheez-It’s team of the week (which brought them a big delivery of assorted boxes of Cheez-It’s on Monday). They were honorably mentioned in Matt Mitchell’s “SEC Roll Call”, a weekly comedy sketch he does recapping the previous weeks performances. But they also have Homecoming festivities this coming week.
How they turn around and respond in this game could really define the remainder of the season.
This paragraph may induce PTSD, so be warned. In 2016, South Alabama traveled to Starkville, MS and earned their first win over a Power-5 and SEC program with a 21-20 win. Coincidentally, it happened to be coach Wommack’s first game with the Jaguars as defensive coordinator too. However the Jags lost the following week to Georgia Southern 24-9 as well as the next week at Louisiana-Lafayette 28-23. Then they needed overtime to survive an upset bid by Nicholls 41-40. Similarly in the 2016 season, they were able to defeat the then #19 ranked San Diego State Aztecs 42-24, but lost back-to-back games to Arkansas State (17-7) and Troy (28-21) afterwards.
Coach Wommack keeps stressing “consistency.” This game will be a big measuring stick for how much consistency the coaching staff has been able to instill into this program.
South Alabama (2-1)
In a way the Oklahoma State game was a carry-over from the second half of the Southeastern Louisiana game. The Jaguar offense scored on their first three possessions and four of their six first-half possessions, not counting the last possession with a mere 18 seconds left before halftime.
The defense kept the Cowboys off the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter, and the longest plays from scrimmage was a 21 yard quarterback run and a 15 yard pass completion.
The Jags are +1 in turnover margin for the season. They have thrown three interceptions and lost three of the four fumbles they’ve committed. Defensively the Jags have forced five fumbles and recovered all of them while also collecting a pair of interceptions.
Offense
South Alabama’s mantra ‘Run The Damn Ball’ was on full display in Stillwater. La’Damian Webb, even on a play-count, rolled up an impressive 151 yards rushing on 18 carries with a pair of touchdowns. It was highlighted by a 65 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that put the final dagger in the Cowboy’s heart.
Kentrel Bullock also had 18 carries for 71 yards and Marco Lee Jr had 6 carries for 30 yards.
Carter Bradley was 10-of-16 for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a beautify placed 57-yard strike to Caullin Lacy.
Lacy led the Jags receivers with 5 catches for 104 yards and both of Bradley’s touchdown passes. Lincoln Sefcik had three catches for 21 yards. Javon Ivory and Bullock had one catch each for 17 and 10 yards respectively.
Lacy has really elevated his play after Devin Voisin was lost for the season to a knee injury last week. He was already a big-time playmaker before!
Josh McColloch suffered a knee injury mid-week and did not play, however the offensive line had their best outing so far this season with Jordan Davis stepping up and starting in McCulloch’s place.
The Jags are averaging 389.7 total yards of offense, 201 yards passing and 188.7 yards rushing per game. The running back corps are averaging 5 yards per attempt through three games.
The offense is converting 20-of-39 (51%) of their 3rd down attempts and 3-of-4 (75%) of their 4th down attempts. In the red zone they have scored on all 9 of their trips, with seven of them being touchdowns.
However, Bradley has been sacked 7 times on the season for 50 yards, but only twice last week by the Cowboys.
Defense
Coach Wommack, defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, and assistant coach Jay Hopson seemed to have really turned around the secondary after Tulane exploited them for several explosive plays. They only allowed 208 total yards of offense, 114 passing yards and 94 rushing yards to the Cowboys.
Through three games the defense is allowing an average of 352 yards of total offense, 252.7 passing yards and 99.3 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting just 13-of-34 (38%) of their 3rd down attempts. Of the 11 trips into the red zone for opponents, they have scored on 8 of them with only 4 coming as touchdowns.
James Miller leads the defense with 19 total stops, 10 solo, with a fumble recovery. Jaden Voisin is next behind him with 16 total stops, nine solo, with a forced fumble. Trey Kiser is third with 15 total stops, eight solo, with a tackle for loss, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry.
Brock Higdon leads the defense with 2 sacks on the season. Jamie Sheriff, Quentin Wilfawn, Khalil Jacobs, and Maurice Strong Jr have one sack each.
Yam Banks and Marquise Robinson both have one interception each.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo made good on both of his attempts against OSU last weekend and is 3-of-4 on the season with a long of 42. His only miss was from 52 in the season-opener against Tulane.
Jack Martin is averaging 43.4 yards per attempt, with a long of 53 yards. He has four fair catches, four downed inside the 20.
Central Michigan (1-2)
Despite the Chippewa’s record, they have been playing some pretty good football on the season. Both of their two losses come at the hands of Power-5 programs. The season opener was a 31-7 loss at Michigan State and last week they kept it close in the first half at Notre Dame before the Fighting Irish pulled away in the second half for a 41-17 win.
Between the two losses, the Chippewas earned a win against #11 ranked FCS New Hampshire 45-42 on a field goal as time expired. They led 42-28 with under six minutes left in the game. New Hampshire tied the game with a 71-yard catch-and-run with just over three-minutes left in the game.
Last week against Notre Dame, the Chippewas cut the lead to 7 before halftime before the Irish pulled away in the second half. The Irish, who put up 578 yards of total offense, took back any momentum with a 74 yard touchdown drive in only 7 plays to start the third quarter and never looked back.
Overall they are -1 on turnover margin. Offensively they have fumbled three times but recovered them all, however they have thrown three interceptions. Defensively they have one interception and a forced fumble that they’ve recovered.
Offense
The Chippewa offense is averaging 23 points, 309 yards of total offense, 145.7 passing yards, and 163.3 rushing yards per game. They are only converting 11-of-44 (25%) of their 3rd down attempts but they have converted 4-of-5 (80%) of their 4th down attempts.
Quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr missed the Notre Dame game with an illness but is expected to return and presumably start on Saturday. He is 18-of-36 (50%) for 280 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in those two games. Jase Bauer is 13-of-29 (44.9%) for 157 yards.
The top two receivers both have five catches. Chris Parker has 142 yards on his 5 catches with a touchdown. Tyson Davis has 92 yards with his five catches.
They have five players with three catches each. Jesse Prewitt III has 91 yards and a touchdown, Mitchel Collier has 30 yards, Marion Lukes has 28 yards, Myles Bailey has 11 yards, and Sam Hicks has 7 yards.
Myles Bailey leads the Central Michigan rushing attack with 186 yards on 38 carries with two touchdowns. Emanuel Jr is the next leading rusher, even with sack-adjusted yardage figured in, with 142 yards on 38 carries with two touchdowns in two games played. Marion Lukes has 75 yards on 19 carries. Quarterback Jase Bauer has 43 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown. BJ Harris has 11 carries for 32 yards, the last back with double-digit carries on the team.
Defense
Central Michigan runs multiple fronts. They will switch between 3 and 4 down linemen which give an even and odd look to the offensive line. So the Jaguar offensive line will need to stay on the same for their protection schemes. They have played pretty well against the run, but have been quite susceptible to explosive passing plays.
They are allowing an average of 38 points, 507.3 total yards of offense, 371.3 passing yards, and 136 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 16-of-39 (41%) of their 3rd down attempts and 3-of-6 (50%) of their 4th down attempts.
Donte Kent leads the defense with 26 total stops, 18 of them solo, with a tackle for loss (TFL) from the secondary. Kyle Moretti is right behind him with 25 total stops, 14 solo, with two TFLs from his linebacker position. It drops off to 16 total, 7 solo, stops for Trey Jones from the secondary. Then Justin Whiteside has 13 total stops, 11 solo, for the highest ranking defensive lineman.
Jacques Bristol leads the team with three TFL’s with a sack, as part of his 11 total tackles. He is tied with Michael Heldman and Maurice White for sack leader. Heldman leads the team with 4 quarterback hurries.
Elijah Rikard is the only player on the defense with an interception.
Special Teams
Tristan Mattson, a redshirt-junior transfer from Arkansas State, is 2-of-3 on the season. His long is 47 yards, which was his first attempt of the season and came against New Hampshire as time expired. He also handles kickoff duty and has nine touchbacks on his 13 kickoff attempts.
Jake Walrath is averaging 45.1 yards across his 21 punt attempts. His longest kick was 63 yards. He has two touchbacks, five fair catches, five downed inside the 20 and seven kicks of 50+ yards. He can really flip field position in a hurry.
Keys to the Game
Neutral Mindset
The Jags will be coming off a big win over a Power-5 opponent. It’s also Homecoming week. This is a textbook upset script for the Chippawa’s. It also doesn’t help that they want revenge for last season and to get back to .500 on the season.
Coach Wommack speaks about having a neutral mindset. There are several keys to the neutral mindset. He doesn’t want players to get too emotionally high nor too emotionally low after a game, or even after a play. The players need to approach each play as its own entity, when the play is over it’s time for the next play. It doesn’t matter if the previous play was a big loss or a huge gain; you have to line up for the next play just the same. Each time you line up for a play, just do your job and trust your teammate to do his.
Taking what the defense gives
The Chippewa defense has been quite good against the run. While their passing numbers aren’t that good to observe, they haven’t been that bad against the pass either. Their biggest problem is explosive plays through the air, similar to what the Jags had trouble with against Tulane. They will be working to make similar adjustments this week and hope they show on the field when they arrive in Mobile on Saturday.
Carter Bradley may have to put the ball in the air more than he did against Oklahoma State for the Jags to win. If the Chippewa’s continue to be susceptible to the pass, that’s what the Jags need to exploit.
But a productive running game will also help loosen up the secondary too.
Offensive Line
Last Saturday, the Jags offensive line played arguably the best game of football in program history. They opened running lanes for the Jaguar running backs and they were pretty good in pass protection. Bradley was sacked twice in the game, but did not have a single quarterback hurry on the stat sheet.
Consistency is stacking one good game after another. They could really use another outing like that this week.
Not to keep repeating it, but Central Michigan has been good against the run. If they are able to get success stopping the Jags rushing game, they will turn up the pressure on Bradley and try to get him to force the ball downfield. Two of his three interceptions this season can be contributed to him trying to force the ball under pressure.
Injuries
Reggie Smith was injured late in fall camp and will miss the season. Braylon McReynolds suffered a broken collarbone against Tulane and will likely miss the entire regular season.
Before the game last Saturday, we found out that both Devin Voisin and Keith Gallmon Jr will also miss the rest of the season as well.
Gallmon Jr suffered a torn pectoral muscle early in the game against Southeastern Louisiana. This is the second time in as many seasons he has suffered the same injury and missed an entire season. However this time it’s the opposite pectoral as the one injured in 2022.
Voisin suffered a knee injury in the second half against SLU.
Thankfully, the Jags stayed pretty healthy against Oklahoma State last week.
Prediction
The Jags are pretty much a 14.5 point favorite across the board on most odd-maker sites. I was glad my prediction last week was completely wrong. When I pick against the Jags, I’m more than happy to be wrong.
It may be early for the Chippewa’s to circle the wagons, but I’m sure they feel an urgency for a win before they start conference play. They had 12 players out with Covid last Saturday and was within one score of Notre Dame at halftime (21-14). Thankfully the game will be at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The Jags offensive strengths play into some of the strengths of Central Michigan’s defense. It will be interesting to watch how it plays out.
I’m going with the Jags to win, but maybe they don’t cover the 14.5 spread but barely. I think a strong second half leads to a Jags win 31-17, just under the spread.
Go Jags!