South Alabama and Henderson State by the numbers
The South Alabama offense break the huddle after a time-out late in the second half of the Jaguars win over Georgia State.
You may not have heard of Henderson State before, but that does not mean they are going to be a push-over for the Jaguars. The Henderson State Reddies are 6-3 on the season and have a showdown on November 13 with West Georgia that will determine if they win their conference this season.
They started off the season with a 44-13 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State, then a loss to the University of North Alabama 27-10 followed by another win against Arkansas Tech University, then another loss to Delta State University 41-37. Then the Reddies reeled off two consecutive victories over Arkansas-Monticello 47-0 (who South Alabama plays next week for the season finale) and Southern Arkansas University 28-17 then another loss to the University of West Alabama 40-38 then two more wins over Harding University 33-28 and Ouachita Baptist University 35-26. So they are riding a winning streak as they come down the stretch. Then what would be better to defeat an undefeated team followed by winning their conference?
However the Jaguars just completed what they knew would be their toughest stretch of games against Lamar, UC-Davis and Georgia State. However, no one knew how Henderson State would be coming into the game. With a high charged passing attack, it could be a long day for the Jaguars secondary. Especially losing Tim Harvey with an ACL against Georgia State. The Jaguars thin secondary just got a little thinner. Good thing is they only have two more games until they can the players can begin their off-season training and the coaches can redouble their efforts to recruit more secondary.
This game will be the Jaguars homecoming game. Friday will have a homecoming, mardi gras-like parade down Jaguar Drive South starting at 6:40pm that will end at the Bell Tower followed by a pep rally then a free concern in the Mitchell Center by Sister Hazel.
The Jags and the Reddies will kick-off at 4pm on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles stadium.
Now onto the breakdown of the Reddies:
Henderson State out scores their opponents by over 10 points per game, averaging 35.2 to 23.7 per game. Of the 229 first downs on the season, 65% of them, 150, have been through the air with only 59 coming on the ground and the remaining 20 have been on penalties.
South Alabama still has a wide margin of victory, averaging 43.1 points per game and allowing only 10.6 per game. On the season they have 165 first downs which are spread more evenly between rushing and passing. Still, rushing has the edge with 58% of the first downs.
The Reddies are predominately a passing team with over 80% of their total offensive yardage coming through the air. Of their 4,193 yards on the year, 3,406 have come through the air while only 787 net rushing yards on the ground. Their total rushing yardage is better at 986 yards but they lost 199 yards. They average only 87.4 yards per game and 3.2 yards per rush.
Again, the Jaguars are much more balanced with their rushing yardage accounting for 55% of their offense. The Jags have gained 2044 yards on the ground but lost 142 yards for a net of 1902 thus far on the year. The Jags average 237.8 yards per game.
The Reddies defense has allowed 1,498 yards on the season which is an average of 166.4 yards per game and 4.4 yards per rush. While South Alabama’s defense has given up 500 yards which is an average of 62.5 yards per game and a measly 2.3 yards per rush.
The reddies quarterbacks have attempted 437 passes and completed 280 with seven interceptions and 25 touchdowns for an impressive completion rate of 64%. They average 378.4 yards per game through the air and 12.2 yards per reception. While the Jaguars quarterbacks have completed 109 passes of 175 attempts and 15 touchdowns with only two interceptions for 1,553 yards. This averages out to 14.2 yards per reception and an equally impressive 62% completion rate. The Jags average 194.1 yards per game through the air.
Defensively, the Jags have given up 1,273 yards through the air but opposing quarterbacks have completed less than half of their attempts. But they still average 11.2 yards per reception or 5.4 yards per pass attempt. However the Jaguars have intercepted 12 passes. The Reddies defense has given up 1,946 yards through the air. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 54% of their attempts for 6.3 yards per attempt or 11.7 yards per completion with 13 interceptions.
The Reddies and the Jaguars are pretty similar in the kickoff return stats, USA averages 22.8 yards per return while Henderson State averages 19.9 per return. However the Jags nearly double the average yard per punt return of the Reddies 19.8 to 9.5 per punt return.
The Reddies rarely puts the ball on the ground with only four fumbles on the season, losing three of them to the opposing team. South Alabama has fumbled 12 times and lost seven of them. Defensively both teams are a bit closer with South Alabama forcing 18 fumbles and recovering nine of them while the Reddies have forced 14 fumbles and recovered seven of them.
Yet again, both teams are pretty close in some penalty statistics. The Jags average 66.8 yards per game in penalties while the Reddies average 69.9 yards per game. The Jags have 62 penalties on the year for 534 yards while Henderson State has 72 penalties for 629 yards.
The Jags only convert 33% of their 3rd down attempts on the season, making 29 of 87 opportunities. While the Reddies are a little better, converting 40% of their attempts, which is 46 of 115 opportunities. The Jags have gone for it on 4th down 8 times and have converted 6 times or 75% of the time. The Reddies have gone for it 16 times and converted 10 of them or 62% of their attempts.
South Alabama has had 50 trips to their opponents red-zone on the season and have scored 44 times, or 88% of the time. Of those 50 trips, 32 have been touchdowns or 64%. The Reddies have had 37 trips to their opponents red-zone and have scored 81% of the time or 30 of those attempts. Of the 37 trips, they have scored 23 touchdowns which is 62% of the time.
As we all should know, special teams can win or lose a game. The Jags are 13-of-17 in the field goal stats and average 38.3 yards per punt with half of his 28 punts being down inside the opponents 20 yard line. The Reddies are 10-of-15 kicking field goals and average 31.5 yards per punt with 14 of 34 punts being downed inside the opponents 20 yard line.
South Alabama continues to score most of their points in the second quarter of their games while Henderson State does the same, actually 35% of their points have been scored in the second quarter. Defensively, the Reddies have allowed the most points in the second quarter, which comes out to be almost 41% of the points scored against them. South Alabama allows the most points in the first quarter, which is 40% of the points scored against them. However the Jags have only allowed 85 points the entire year.
So overall, the Jags have turned the ball over twice by interception and seven times by fumble. Defensively they have recovered 9 fumbles and have made 12 interceptions to so they are +12 on the turnover margin. The Reddies have fumbled away the ball three times and threw 7 interceptions while picking off 13 passes and recovering 7 fumbles so overall they are +10 in the turnover department.
Reddies or not, the Jags are coming! Go Jags!