South Alabama Rally Falls Short At Texas State 52-46

November 25, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on South Alabama Rally Falls Short At Texas State 52-46 

South Alabama couldn’t overcome an early 24-point deficit in the first quarter as Texas State wins 52-44 in San Marcos.

“We dug ourselves into an incredible hole and earned a loss with poor execution,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. “We didn’t make enough plays defensively. We weren’t nearly responsive enough. That was really the story to me all season. When we’re in tight games and tough moments, we didn’t have a defense that was responsive enough.”

DJ Thomas-Jones had three receiving touchdowns. Desmond Trotter, who came in for an injured Bradley Carter in the second half, threw for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds, who started for an injured La’Damian Webb rushed for a team-leading 79 yards on 19 carries.

After the South Alabama (6-6, 4-4 SBC) defense kept Texas State (7-5, 4-4 Sun Belt) off the scoreboard on their first possession for only the third time this season.

But on the first offensive play by the Jags, the Bobcats forced Caullin Lacy to fumble and Texas State’s Kaleb Culp scooped it up and ran it back 31 yards for the first score of the game.

On the Bobcats next possession, TJ Finley connected with Ashtyn Hawkins for a 48-yard touchdown to take a 14-0 lead at the 8:47 mark.

The Jags offense go three-and-out and the Bobcats march down the field sparked by a 31-yard run by Donerio Daveport on the first play of the drive. Jahmyl Jeter keeps the ball in the wildcat and scores from a yard out to put the Bobcats up 21-0 at the 3:38 mark in the first quarter.

Texas State catches the Jags off-guard with an onside kick and recover it at the Jags 37-yard line. The defense finally got their legs underneath them and held the Bobcats to a 28-yard field goal at the 1:05 mark of the first quarter.

“We just made too many errors in all three phases – offense, defense, special teams,” Wommack said.

South Alabama finally gets on the board early in the second quarter when Carter Bradley connected with Javon Ivory for 39-yards and his first touchdown of the season. The Jags go for a two-point conversion but it fails on an incomplete pass leaving the Jags trailing 24-6 at the 14:08 mark of the second quarter.

Texas State’s Kole Wilson caught the kickoff about two yards deep in the endzone and found a lane on the left side of his protection and returned it for a touchdown to go up 31-6 with 13:55 left in the second quarter.

After Khalil Jacobs forces a fumble and Marquise Robinson caught it and returned it 25 yards to the Bobcats 29-yard line. Diego Guajardo added a season-long 51-yard field goal.

The Jags forced a punt and got the ball back with 1:52 left in the first half. Bradley led the Jags down the field and found DJ Thomas-Jones for an 18-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was good when Bradley went back to Thomas-Jones to make it 31-17 at halftime.

On the third play of the second half Carter Bradley would go down on a hit that aggravated his left knee injury. Desmond Trotter led the team into field goal range, but Guajardo’s 55-yard attempt had the distance but was pulled wide right.

After forcing the Bobcats the punt, Trotter hit on back-to-back passes for 19 yards to Lacy then 51 yards to Jamaal Pritchett to quickly flip the field. A couple plays later Trotter would toss a 1-yard touchdown to Thomas-Jones to cut the Texas State lead to 31-24 at the 6:41 mark of the third quarter.

Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Jags would get.

“Our offense was better in the second half,” coach Wommack said. “But our defense never gave us a chance to get back in the game enough. We had to find a way to get one more stop and we didn’t do that. That’s kind of been the take of our season, we have not been responsive enough in tough games. That’s something we’ve got to get better at.”

Texas State would go back up by two touchdowns just a little bit later. Aided by pass completions of 39 and 16 yards, the Bobcats capped off a 64-yard drive with a one-yard TJ Finley touchdown run with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Quentin Wilfawn tipped Finley’s pass at the line of scrimmage and Khalil Jacobs intercepted it and returned it 12 yards to the Texas State 28-yard line. Braylon McReynolds opened the drive with a 16 play rush then on the third play Trotter connected with Lacy on a perfectly thrown corner route for a 12 yard touchdown at the 12:57 mark. But the two-point conversion attempt would fall incomplete leaving the Jags trailing 38-30.

The Bobcats only needed four plays to get back on the scoreboard. Finley connected with Kole Wilson for a 24-yard score with 11:31 left in the game to go up 45-30.

Trotter led the Jags back down the field with a mix of run and pass, but the drive took 7:25 off the clock. He threw it to Thomas-Jones who used his size and hands to come down with the touchdown. The Jags got two attempts at the two-point conversion after a pass interference penalty on the first attempt. On the second, Trotter was rushed and had to move up in the pocket. He threw to the right side of the end zone, but possibly could have kept it and converted. The Jags were then down 45-36 with 4:01 left to play.

The Jags used two of their time outs on the ensuing Texas State possession, but on 3rd & 9, Finley connected with Konner Fox for 41 yards to the 1-yard line. The Jags let the Bobcats score to preserve time and go up 52-36 with 2:54 left in the game.

The game got very chippy on the Jags possession after Jordan Revels was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he leveled Thomas-Jones after the whistle had blown and Thomas-Jones was looking to the sideline. By all rights he should have been ejected, but the officials let him keep playing and Texas State kept him in the game.

Dontae Lucas was flagged on the next play for unsportsmanlike conduct, though it was actually another Jaguar, who took a shot at Revels after the play. The offense caught the Bobcats in the neutral zone on two consecutive plays, but were unable to capitalize on the free plays down the field. A few plays later Trotter connected with Hopper for a 5-yard touchdown. McReynolds converted the two-point attempt on a shovel pass from Trotter to make it 52-44 with 1:02 left in the game.

However, the Jags were unable to cover the onside kick and only had one time out which allowed Texas State to run out the clock.

Stats

After being dominated on the stats sheet in the first quarter, the Jags ended up out-gaining the Bobcats overall.

StatSouth AlabamaTexas State
Total yards:485479
Passing yards:403368
Rushing Yards82111
3rd down conversions:7-of-156-of-13
4th down conversions:2-of-21-of-1
Turnovers (defensive points off)2 (6)2 (9)
Possession:31:1528:45

Bradley finished the game 18-of-24 for 183 yards and two touchdowns before having to exit the game. Trotter finished out 19-of-22 for 220 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.

“I’m so proud of Desmond Trotter,” Wommack said. “He answered the bell and made play after play. He’s worked so hard every single day. He’s been the guy ready at a moment’s notice. He was selfless when we put Gio in versus Troy. I didn’t want to burn Gio’s redshirt, but we wanted to give Dez a shot and what a tremendous job he did. We would have loved to be able to execute better so he had a chance to win it at the end.”

Caullin Lacy led with 11 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Thomas-Jones had 56 yards on nine catches with the three touchdowns. McReynolds had six catches for 70 yards. Javon Ivory had 85 yards on four catches with a touchdown. Pritchett had four catches for 81 yards.

McReynolds added 79 yards rushing on 19 carries. Trotter had 20 yards on seven carries. Marco Lee Jr had 4 yards on four carries.

Several Jags all finished with six stops each – James Miller, Ricky Fletcher, Quentin Wilfawn, Khalil Jacobs and Charles Coleman III. Wilfawn and Jacobs both had sacks in the game with Jacobs getting the only interception by the Jags.

TJ Finley finished 19-of-28 for 368 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

Kole Wilson led the Bobcats with six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Ashtyn Hawkins led all receivers with 131 yards on five catches with a touchdown.

Ismail Mahdi had 97 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown. Donerio Davenport added 35 yards on six carries. Jahmyl Jeter had two carries for 3 yards and a touchdown.

Next

South Alabama will officially find out their bowl destination on Sunday, December 3rd. Go to usajaguars.com/tickets/bowlgames to secure your tickets to any of the three bowl games that the Sun Belt Conference is tied to in case the Jags are selected to one of them. You will not be charged and the ticket office will contact you BEFORE charging you if you have tickets selected for one of the SBC tie-in bowl games. This helps the Jags with ticket-commitments to lobby for their selection by the respective bowl committees.

See you at the Bowl Game!

Preview: South Alabama Looking For First Win In San Marcos Against Texas State

November 23, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on 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

StatAverage per game
Points34.55
Total Offense471.1
Passing Offense272.91
Rushing Offense198.2
Time of Possession29:08
Penalty Yards65.91

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.

StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs69-of-154 (44.81%)
4th Downs19-of-30 (63.33%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts45-of-53
Red Zone Touchdowns35-of-53
Penalties – Yards77-725
Fumbles – Lost20-13

Defense

StatAverage Allowed per Game
Points32.91
Total Offense408.7
Passing Offense244.0
Rushing Offense164.7
Time of Possession30:52
Penalty Yards46.64

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.

StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs78-of-164 (47.56%)
4th Downs13-of-30 (43.33%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts40-of-48
Red Zone Touchdowns32-of-48
Penalties – Yards61-513
Fumbles – Lost22-8

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

StatAverage per Game
Points29.73
Total Offense420.3
Passing Offense252.73
Rushing Offense167.5
Time of Possession30:26
Penalty Yards57.64

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.

StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs65-of-150 (42.67%)
4th Downs15-of-24 (62.5%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts34-of-38
Red Zone Touchdowns28-of-38
Penalties – Yards74-634
Fumbles – Lost13-8

Defense

StatAverage Allowed per Game
Points19.18
Total Offense312.5
Passing Offense195.27
Rushing Offense117.3
Time of Possession29:34
Penalty Yards46.18

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.

StatCumulative for Season
3rd Downs48-of-147 (32.65%)
4th Downs7-of-17 (41.18%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts19-of-26
Red Zone Touchdowns11-of-26
Penalties – Yards62-508
Fumbles – Lost13-7

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!

South Alabama Clinched Bowl Eligibility With 28-0 Shutout Of Marshall

November 18, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on South Alabama Clinched Bowl Eligibility With 28-0 Shutout Of Marshall 
La’Damian Webb rushes for 117 yards with a rushing and receiving touchdown to help power the Jaguars to back-to-back bowl-eligible seasons.

The South Alabama Jaguar football earns bowl-eligibility behind a shutout defensive effort against the Marshall Thundering Herd 28-0 on Senior Day at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

The Jags (6-5, 4-3 Sun Belt) forced turnover on both of Marshall’s (5-6, 2-5 SBC) first two possession and turned them into a pair of Diego Guajardo field goals. The Jaguar defense held the Thundering Herd to only 80 yards of total offense in the first half and 201 total yards for the entire game.

Senior La’Damian Webb powered his way to 117 yards with a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown and a two-point conversion. Caullin Lacy also powered his way 126 yards receiving.

Jalen Jordan picked off Cole Pennington on the third play of the game to set up Diego Guajardo for a season-long 43 yard field goal. On the next possession Jaden Voisin got his team-leading fourth interception of the season on the third play of the second possession. Again the Jaguar offense couldn’t sustain the drive and settled for a 37 yard field goal by Guajardo at the 8:38 mark of the first quarter.

After a three-and-out, Lacy gave the offense the ball with great field position after good punt return out to the Jaguar 49. It only took the Jaguars four plays to capitalize. Senior Carter Bradley connected with Jamaal Pritchett for a 25 yard touchdown. After a pass interference penalty on the first two-point try, Webb took a shovel pass from Bradley into the end zone for two-points to put the Jags up 14-0.

Lacy set up the offense at midfield after another good punt return. Braylon McReynolds ran for 35 yards to move the ball into the red zone, then a couple of plays later Bradley connected with Webb for an 8-yard touchdown for a 21-0 lead. Marquise Robinson got the third Jaguar interception of Pennington as time expired in the first half.

The Jags looked they were going to take the opening possession of the second half the length of the field to score. The 13 play drive featured 11 carries by Webb and ended when his dive from inside the 1 yard line was marked inches short of the end zone on 4th down.

The only second-half score came in the fourth quarter after Jamie Sheriff and Quentin Wilfawn forced Pennington into an incomplete pass on 4th & 7 at the Jaguar 46 yard line. Bradley connected with Lacy for 38 yards to the 6 yard line to set up Webb for a 6-yard touchdown run untouched for the final score of the game.

Team Stats

CategorySouth AlabamaMarshall
Total Yards:393201
Passing Yards:196159
Rushing Yards:19742
3rd Downs:7-of-173-of-14
4th Downs:0-for-23-for-4
Turnovers (Defensive pts off)3 (6)1 (0)
Time of Possession36:2723:33

Individual Stats

Carter Bradley finished the game 17-of-23 for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Desmond Trotter went 2-of-3 for 20 yards in mop-up duty.

Caullin Lacy had nine catches for 126 yards. Braylon McReynolds had five catches for 21 yards. Webb had two catches for 4 yards and a touchdown. Pritchett only had one catch for 25 yards for his touchdown.

La’Damian Webb had 117 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown. McReynolds had 53 yards on eight carries. Marco Lee Jr also had eight carries for 30 yards. Trotter gained 13 yards on two carries.

Khalil Jacobs led the team with five total stops, one solo, with a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry. Jalen Jordan finished with four stops, two solo, with an interception. Jaden Voisin also had four total stops, three solo, with an interception and a pass breakup. Marquise Robinson also had an interception.

The Jaguar defense held Cole Pennington to 22-of-36 for 159 yards and three interceptions while Rasheen Ali only managed 55 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Caleb Coombs had 6 catches for 23 yards and Ali had four catches for 41 yards.

“Proud of the fight of our football team,” said head coach Kane Wommack after the game. “We talk about adversity and working through adversity. Certainly, we’ve created adversity for ourselves this season and we’ve had to work through those things. I’m very proud of the last two weeks of our team doing hard things in hard times.”

“I’m very proud of our defense,” Wommack continued. “They’re playing at a really high level right now. They’re playing fast, playing aggressive, we’re attacking the ball, we’re attacking the quarterback, and we were situationally dominant tonight on third and fourth down. They never got into the red zone.”

The shutout was the first for South Alabama since 2017 versus Alabama A&M and the first shutout against an FBS opponent in program history. Also the Jags will go to a bowl game in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.

“Shutouts are really, really hard,” Wommack said. “They’re really, really hard especially when you start to have a big lead. Because typically you’re going to take out a few [starters] in that situation and [the opponent] is going to be more aggressive. They’re going to go for it on fourth down; they’re going to throw the ball down the field. And really, the whole fourth quarter, [Marshall] was doing those things. I’ve seen a lot of 7-point finishes, because you end up giving up something in the end… So it’s really, really hard to do that, and it was pretty impressive to be able to do that tonight. As a defensive guy, shutouts are just fun.”

In addition to the seniors that were honored before the game, Yam Banks was a surprise addition to the list. Banks, a redshirt junior, indicated that he is undecided as to whether or not he will return for a fifth season or if he may turn pro.

“I’m thinking about declaring [for the NFL draft], leaning towards it,” Banks said. “But it could be a possibility that I play a fifth year and stay.”

Next

South Alabama will travel to San Marcos, Texas to take on Texas State. The game was picked up by the NFL Network so the kickoff time has shifted to 6pm on Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.

Preview: South Alabama Hosts Marshall For Senior Day With Bowl Eligibility Implications

November 17, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on Preview: South Alabama Hosts Marshall For Senior Day With Bowl Eligibility Implications 

Kickoff: Saturday, November 18, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags on X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Jamie Sheriff


South Alabama (5-5, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference) will look to give their departing seniors one last win at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday when they host Marshall (5-5, 2-4 SBC). If they accomplish the task, they will be the first senior class to earn back-to-back bowl berths in program history.

Both teams enter needing just one win to earn bowl eligibility.

Marshall snapped a five-game losing streak last week behind redshirt freshman Cole Pennington’s first career start. They started the season 4-0 with wins over Albany (21-17), East Carolina (31-13), Virginia Tech (24-17) and Old Dominion (41-35).

Then they hit the rough patch in their season. They lost to @ NC State (41-48), @ Georgia State (24-41), vs James Madison (9-20), @ Coastal Carolina (6-34), and @ App State (9-31).

Marshall head coach Charles Huff is in his third season at the helm. He went 7-6 in his first season with a loss in the New Orleans Bowl against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Herd was still in Conference USA at the time.

Last season Huff lead the Herd to a 9-4 and a 5-3 conference record in their first year in the Sun Belt. They made waves in with a 26-21 win at then #8 Notre Dame and finished the season with a 28-14 win over UConn in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

Prior to Marshall, Huff was an assistant coach at Alabama for two years.

The Jags were able to break their two-game losing streak themselves with the return of Carter Bradley behind center, an offensive line that were determined to set the line of scrimmage, and a stingy defense.

With two games left for both teams to earn bowl eligibility, both squads would like to go ahead and get that done this week.

Marshall (5-5, 2-4 SBC)

Marshall has a -11 turnover margin on the season. They’ve given the ball away a total of 23 times, 14 interceptions and have lost 9 out of 18 total fumbles. Meanwhile the defense has taken the ball away 12 times, they have 10 interceptions and have recovered 2 out of 9 fumbles.

Offense

StatAverage per game
Points24.4 (83rd)
Total Offense359.9 (85th)
Passing Offense230.9 (T-59th)
Rushing Offense129.0 (97th)
Time of Possession29:13
Penalty Yards55.8

Cam Fancher is the leader passer on the team going 186-of-287 (64.8%) for 1,948 yards with eight touchdowns to 11 interceptions on the season. Redshirt freshman Cole Pennington is 27-of-43 (62.8%) for 278 yards with no touchdowns to three interceptions in two game appearances. Pennington made his first career start last week in Marshall’s 38-33 win over Georgia Southern.

The Herd has many receivers involved in their passing game. Five receivers have 20 or more catches on the season and 10 receivers in all have 100+ receiving yards. Caleb Coombs leads the team in catches with 33 catches and receiving touchdowns with two, for 287 yards. DeMarcus Harris leads the receiving corps with 362 yards on 21 catches with a touchdown. In all, eight receivers have touchdowns receptions on the team.

Jaden Harrison has 238 yards on 19 catches with a touchdown. Darryle Simmons has 226 yards on 22 catches.

Rasheen Ali leads the team with 932 yards rushing on 173 carries with 14 touchdowns in nine games played. Ali is tied for 7th in the nation in rushing touchdowns, one TD behind Webb. Ethan Payne has 183 yards on 50 carries. Fancher is third on the team in rushing with 173 yards on 102 carries with two touchdowns in the nine games he’s played in.

Season Stat 
3rd Downs40-of-130 (31%)
4th Downs6-of-21 (29%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts26-of-34
Red Zone Touchdowns17-of-34
Penalties-Yards61-558
Fumbles-Lost18-9

Defense

StatAverage per game
Points28.9 (T-94th)
Total Offense381.5 (72nd)
Passing Offense216.3 (50th)
Rushing Offense165.2 (94th)
Time of Possession30:47
Penalty Yards62.5

JJ Roberts leads the team with 73 total stops, 39 solo, with two interceptions, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry in nine games played. Eli Neal has 64 total stops, 20 solo, with 6.5 Tackles for Loss, 2 sacks, an interceptions and three quarterback hurries.

Owen Porter leads the team with 13 sacks, is tied for the team lead with 5 sacks, with 50 total stops, 20 solo, 11 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups.

Elijah Alston is second on the team with 9.5 TFLs, 4 sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, and an interception with an 85 yard return for a TD.

Sam Burton co-leads the team with 5 sacks, he has 5.5 TFLs and 8 quarterback hurries.

Season Stat 
3rd Downs44-of-143 (31%)
4th Downs9-of-21 (43%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts29-of-37
Red Zone Touchdowns15-of-37
Penalties-Yards68-625
Fumbles-Lost9-2

Special Teams

Rece Verhoff is 10-of-13 (76.9%) placekicking with a long of 44 with one kick blocked. Kameron Lake is 1-of-2 with a long of 20.

John McConnell is averaging 43 yards per punt, a long of 74 yards, with 16 fair catches, 13 downed inside the 20, 5 kicks of 50+ yards, and one touchback.

South Alabama (5-5, 3-3 SBC)

The Jags continue to have a turnover margin of -2 on the season. They have turned the ball over a total of 16 times, nine interceptions and seven fumbles lost. The defense has taken the ball away from opponents 14 times, seven interceptions and seven fumbles. The Jags gave the ball away once to Arkansas State last week, but took the ball away once as well.

Offense

StatAverage per game
Points29.9 (T-49th)
Total Offense423.0 (40th)
Passing Offense258.4 (42nd)
Rushing Offense164.6
Time of Possession29:50
Penalty Yards59.70

Carter Bradley’s is 186-of-279 (66.7%) for 2,301 yards and 15 touchdowns to 7 interceptions in nine games played. Gio Lopez, with one start but four game appearances, is 27-of-42 (64.3%) for 283 yards with 1 touchdown to 2 interceptions on the season.

Caullin Lacy leads the team with 71 catches, 1,096 yards, and six touchdowns. Lacy ranks 4th in the nation in receiving yards after a 50-yard game last week. Jamaal Pritchett has 650 yards on 44 catches with 5 touchdowns. Lincoln Sefcik has 165 yards on 17 catches with a touchdown. DJ Thomas-Jones has 156 yards on 15 catches.

La’Damian Webb leads the team with 890 yards rushing on 162 carries with 15 touchdowns and an average of 5.5 yards per carry. Webb is 31st in the nation in rushing yards and tied for 2nd in the nation in rushing touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock, despite missing last week in the concussion protocol, has 380 yards on 76 carries with three touchdowns and a 5 yard per carry average. Marco Lee Jr has 186 yards on 41 carries with two touchdowns and a 4.5 yards per carry average.

Season Stat 
3rd Downs57-of-133 (42.9%) (29th)
4th Downs12-of-20 (58.8%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts32-of-34
Red Zone Touchdowns26-of-32
Penalties-Yards69-597
Fumbles-Lost12-7

Defense

StatAverage per game
Points21.1 (37th)  
Total Offense323.7 (25th)
Passing Offense198.9 (31nd)
Rushing Offense124.8 (35th)
Time of Possession30:09
Penalty Yards46.7

Quentin Wilfawn’s tear over the last three weeks continues to have him pace the defense with 71 total stops, 40 solo, with a team leading 13.5 TFLs and also a team leading 5.5 sacks. He also has 5 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, and a pass breakup.

James Miller has 61 total stops, 23 solo, with 4 TFLs, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery.

Trey Kiser has 60 total stops, 26 solo, with 8.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.

Jamie Sheriff is third on the team with 6 TFLs and is tied for second on the team with 3 sacks. He leads the team with 7 quarterback hurries with a forced fumble.

Jaden Voisin leads the team with 3 interceptions to go with his 6 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Ricky Fletcher leads the defense with 11 pass breakups.

Season Stat 
3rd Downs45-of-1330 (33.83%) (43rd)
4th Downs7-of-15 (46.67%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts19-of-26
Red Zone Touchdowns11-of-26
Penalties-Yards55-467
Fumbles-Lost11-7

Special Teams

Diego Guajardo is 10-of-14 (71.4%) placekicking with a long of 46 yards.

Jack Martin is averaging 39.06 yards per punt with a long of 53 yards, 16 fair catches, 10 downed inside the 20 and two kicks of 50+ yards.

Injuries

Carter Bradley returned and played the entire game. At times it looked like he may have been favoring his left knee, but he moved around in the pocket well and even ran a few times. There was a strong northern wind during most of the game which affected his deep passes a bit. Some sailed long on him when the wind was at his back.

Overall Bradley looked good in his return.

Braylon McReynolds returned to the lineup for the first time since his injury suffered against Tulane in the season opener. The coaching staff said they were limiting how much playing time he got in the game. His first time touching the ball he gained 10 yards, so it’s safe to say he is ready to go. The coaching staff will evaluate him throughout the week and may “significantly” increase it workload this Saturday.

McReynolds return came at the perfect time. Kentrel Bullock missed the game after being unable to clear the concussion protocol prior to the game against Arkansas State. Each player and each concussion is different so the timetables to return are completely different each time. Hopefully Bullock will completely recover in time for the game.

Lincoln Sefcik will miss the remainder of the season due to breaking unspecified team rules, not due to injury.

Keys to the Game

Turnovers

Marshall averages 2.3 turnovers a game this season. Last week they gave the ball away twice to Georgia Southern, an INT and a fumble, yet still won the game. Over the five game losing streak they had a total of 14, or nearly three per game.

The Jags defense has not generated as many turnovers this season as they have over the last two seasons. I’m sure the team will look at this game as an opportunity to improve on the turnover margin with some takeaways

Meanwhile the Jaguar offense wants to protect the ball more. Webb had a very uncharacteristic fumble last week against the Red Wolves. It looked as though he was slipping on the turf as the defender knocked the ball loose. Bradley has cut down his interceptions after what looked like he was trying to force the ball downfield into bad coverage.

Turnover margin in a game is one of those key stats teams want to win as it increases their likelihood to win.

Offensive Line

The guys up front did a great job against the Arkansas defense. They limited the Red Wolves to only two sacks and led the way for La’Damian Webb to rush for 163 yards.

That kind of play is exactly what the team needed to help defeat the Red Wolves.

Marshall’s rushing defense is 94th in the nation, so if the offensive line can set the line of scrimmage the Jaguar backfield could have a field day running the ball.

But it all starts up front.

Stadium Presence

South Alabama still has a fan problem. Despite on-campus students not having far to go to view the game, they just didn’t turn out very well against Arkansas State.

It was the Jaguar Marching Band along with the Honor Band that provided most of the crowd noise in the game. They did a very good job of it too!

Everyone in the stadium last week could take a lesson from them.

The stadium was rocking for the Southern Miss game. We need that each and every week at Hancock Whitney Stadium. We need to “Rock the ‘cock” every home game. Whoever programs the in-game music really needs get off their personal playlist and look for some music to energize the crowd. The “Stand up and Shout” on 3rd down needs to go away for the foreboding chimes of “Hell’s Bells.” We need to settle on one good sing-along song to play early in the fourth quarter.

Give Thunderjags a crack at the in-game musical choices!

Senior Recognition

A strong group of seniors will be honored before the game on Saturday. They are in no particular order: Jamie Sheriff, Jamall Hickbottom, Maurice Strong Jr, Carter Bradley, Desmond Trotter, Tanner McGee, La’Damian Webb, Marco Lee Jr, Reggie Smith, Josh McCulloch, Brandon Crum, Jacob Hopper, Lincoln Sefcik, Ke’Shun Brown, Trey Kiser, James Miller, Quentin Wilfawn, Keith Gallmon, Jalen Jordan, Jacob Meeks and Diego Guajardo.

Many of those names you’ve heard mentioned on this site, while watching on television or streaming, or on the radio broadcast. Thank you for what you have done as a Jaguar and for being outstanding ambassadors of the team and the school. We wish you the best in whatever comes next in your journey.  

Prediction

The Jags are another double-digit favorite this week with a 10.5 point favorite to win. Every time the Jags have been favored this season I have cringed a bit just because of the uncertainty and the inconsistency.

But I think South Alabama will be ready for Marshall. If the Jag defense can pick up where they left off last week, they should hold Marshall in check like they did Arkansas State no matter who starts at quarterback.

Though the Jaguar offense did just enough to win, we’d like to see them do a bit more.

The weather was a factor last week though. A strong northerly wind with mist doesn’t make for the best playing conditions, particularly throwing the ball. The weather on Saturday looks good, so hopefully that means lots of fireworks and light display for South Alabama.

I think the Jags win and they squeak out a cover while they’re at it.

Go Jags!

South Alabama Earns Fifth-Straight Win Over Arkansas State Behind Strong Defense, 21-14

November 11, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on South Alabama Earns Fifth-Straight Win Over Arkansas State Behind Strong Defense, 21-14 
La’Damian Webb runs 28 times for 163 yards in the Jags 21-14 win.

South Alabama held off a late surge for a 21-14 win over Arkansas State on a misty, windy evening at Hancock Whitney Stadium. It puts them one win away from bowl eligibility and marks their fifth consecutive win over Arkansas State in the series.

Carter Bradley returned from his knee injury he suffered against Louisiana-Lafayette to toss a pair of touchdowns to Jamaal Pritchett. La’Damian Webb ran for 163 yards and a touchdown. Quentin Wilfawn, wearing the honorary #5 jersey, led the team 9 total stops, 6 solo, 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback hurries.

The Jags improve to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in Sun Belt Conference play while Arkansas State falls to the same 5-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

South Alabama opened the game with a three-and-out on the opening possession. Arkansas State found success running the ball early in their first possession, but the Jags defense stiffed up and held them to a field goal.

Head coach Kane Wommack has spoken all season that the team needs to be responsive, and they did exactly that on the next possession. On the second play of the drive, La’Damian Webb busted off a 60 yard run to the Red Wolves 12 yard line. Two plays later Webb finds the end zone on a 13 yard run to give the Jags the lead and they wouldn’t surrender it.

Late in the second quarter, the Jags faced a 4th and 5 from their own 41 yard line when they called a direct snap to Todd Justice. He found a big opening on to his left and rumbled for 19 yards. Though he fumbled at the end of this run, but it was covered by long snapper Travis Drosos. After calling a time out with :12 left until halftime, Bradley connected with Jamaal Pritchett in the left side of the end zone for a 20 yard touchdown. They took a 14-3 advantage into halftime.

Arkansas State took the opening possession of the second half and quickly burned the defense for a pair of passes for 17 and 24 yards. But the Jags defense regained their composure and held the Red Wolves to another field goal, making it 14-6.

But again the Jags responded.

Caullin Lacy returned the kickoff 40 yards to the 47, giving Bradley and the offense a short field. The drive was capped off by the second passing touchdown from Bradley to Pritchett for a 21-6 lead at the 7:52 mark of the 3rd quarter.

The Jags looked to be driving for another score in the fourth quarter when Webb slipped and was stripped of the ball at the Arkansas State 19 yard line. The Red Wolves capitalized with a 46 yard touchdown pass by Jaylen Raynor to Jeff Foreman. Raynor also converted the two-point conversion to make it 21-14 with 3:39 left in the game.

Arkansas State used their final two time outs and forced the Jags to punt with 2:44 left but a running into the kicker penalty gave the Jags 5 yards, which was enough for a first down. From there Webb was able to run for a first down to seal the game.

“I’m very, very proud of the responsiveness of our team tonight,” head coach Kane Wommack said. “We’ve been talking about doing hard things in hard times and certainly tonight was that. The last couple of games here, it’s been really hard. This season, we’ve had to grind for everything that we’ve gotten. We’ve earned wins and earned losses, but I’m very proud of our guys. I’m proud of our defense because we’ve talked about being responsive and being the aggressor, and I thought we stayed in the backfield all night.”

Team Stats

StatSouth AlabamaArkansas State
Total Yards344302
Passing Yards145186
Rushing Yards199116
3rd Downs5-of-152-of-13
4th Downs2-of-31-of-3
Penalties8 for 71 yards3 for 15 yards
Time of Possession32:5227:08

Individual Stats

Carter Bradley finished 19-of-25 for 145 yards and two touchdowns with two sacks in his return.

Caullin Lacy was held to only 50 yards on seven catches. Jamaal Pritchett also had 50 yards on three catches with two touchdowns. La’Damian Webb had four catches for 32 yards.

Webb had 28 carries for 163 yards and a touchdown. Braylon McReynolds, making his return from his broken collarbone in the season opener at Tulane, added 20 yards on four carries. Todd Justice had the one carry for 19 yards on the fake punt.

Wilfawn has been playing lights-out over the last two games. In addition to his nine tackles, four quarterback hurries, two TFLs and 1.5 sacks, he also broke up a pass and kept pressure in Raynor’s face all night.

“[Raynor is] a really good athlete and getting pressure to him the whole game was one of our keys, and I th ink we executed really well,” Wilfawn said after the game.

Jaden Voisin picked off Raynor for his third of the season.

Jaylen Raynor was limited to 15-of-28 for 186 yards with an interception and a touchdown with four sacks. Raynor was also held to 26 yards on the ground on 10 carries.

Jeff Foreman led the receivers with 61 yards on three catches with a touchdown. Adam Jones added 30 yards on three catches. Courtney Jackson has 23 yards on two catches.

Zak Wallace was held to 56 yards on 11 carries. Ja’Quez Cross had 52 yards on 13 carries.

Next

South Alabama will attempt to earn bowl eligibility next Saturday when they host Marshall for their first-ever meeting. Marshall is also 5-5 and will also try to earn bowl eligibility. It will be the last home game of the 2023 season for the Jags. South Alabama will be honoring the Seniors prior to the game on Senior Day.

The game is scheduled to kick off at 4 pm and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Preview: South Alabama Looks To Start Late-Season Run Against Arkansas State

November 10, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on 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

StatAverage per game
Points24.56
Total Offense379.1
Passing Offense226.22
Rushing Offense152.9
Time of Possession27:19
Penalty Yards61.44

Season Stat 
3rd Downs44-of-120 (36.67%)
4th Downs4-of-12 (33.3%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts25-of-30
Red Zone Touchdowns16-of-15
Penalties-Yards55-553
Fumbles-Lost4-3

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

StatAverage per game
Points31.89
Total Offense441.1
Passing Offense268.33
Rushing Offense172.8
Time of Possession32:41
Penalty Yards59.11

Season Stat 
3rd Downs52-of-130 (40.0%)
4th Downs12-of-16 (75.0%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts34-of-38
Red Zone Touchdowns22-of-34
Penalties-Yards59-532
Fumbles-Lost5-3

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

StatAverage per game
Points30.89
Total Offense431.8
Passing Offense271.0
Rushing Offense160.8
Time of Possession29:30
Penalty Yards58.44

Season Stat 
3rd Downs52-of-118 (44.1%) (T-29th)
4th Downs10-of-17 (58.8%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts30-of-32
Red Zone Touchdowns24-of-30
Penalties-Yards61-526
Fumbles-Lost10-6

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

StatAverage per game
Points21.89 (40th)
Total Offense326.1 (26th)
Passing Offense200.33 (32nd)
Rushing Offense125.8 (37th)
Time of Possession30:29
Penalty Yards50.22

Season Stat 
3rd Downs43-of-120 (35.83%) (43rd)
4th Downs6-of-12 (50%)
Red Zone Scoring Attempts18-of-24
Red Zone Touchdowns11-of-18
Penalties-Yards52-452
Fumbles-Lost10-7

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!

South Alabama Commits Five Turnovers, Fall To The Cajuns 33-20

October 28, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on South Alabama Commits Five Turnovers, Fall To The Cajuns 33-20 

The South Alabama Jaguars fell back to earth on Saturday. Louisiana-Lafayette came into Hancock Whitney Stadium and forced five turnovers in route to a 33-20 defeat of the Jaguars. The Jags fall to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play while the Cajuns improve to 5-3 overall, 2-2 in conference play.

Anything that could go wrong for the Jags, did go wrong.

Cater Bradley was sacked five times with three fumbles and threw two interceptions accounting for all of the Jags 5 turnovers. One of the Cajuns field goals hit the right upright and miraculously fell across the crossbar.

South Alabama had the opportunity to put the first points on the board. They had the ball 4th and 1 at the Cajuns 6 yard line. Opting to keep the offense on the field, La’Damian Webb’s run up the middle lost a yard against the Lafayette defensive push which resulted in a turnover on downs.

The Cajuns proceeded to drive 93 yards in 15 plays, which was capped off by a 33 yard touchdown pass by Zeon Chriss to Jacob Bernard with 12:58 left in the second quarter.

On the third play of the Jags ensuing possession Bradley was sacked and fumbled it away to the Cajuns at the Jags own 41 yard line. The Cajuns scored with a 3 yard touchdown pass to finish off the seven play drive.

The Jags offense went three-and-out on the next possession. The snap to Jack Brooks was very low, he was able to pick it up off the ground and was barely able to get it away and it only went 9 yards. The Jags defense kept them out of the end zone, but with a 20-yard field goal the Cajuns were able to take a 17-0 lead into the halftime locker room.

South Alabama started the second half with a quick score. Bradley connected with Jamaal Pritchett for a 6 yard touchdown with 11:53 left in the third quarter.

Louisiana-Lafayette answered with a 42-yard field goal. The kick high the right upright and somehow fell across the crossbar giving the Cajuns a 20-7 advantage.

South Alabama’s offense only needed three plays to answer. A two yard run by Webb set up Bradley to connect with Caullin Lacy for a 62 yard gain. Then La’Damian Webb went untouched for a 25 yard touchdown, which tied him for the season record for most rushing touchdowns.

The Jags were then trailing 20-14 with 6:09 left in the third quarter.

The Jags called a safety blitz while Zeon Chiss ran the zone-read perfectly. The defense bit on the quarterback letting Jacob Kibodi get through the defensive front and go for a 56 yard touchdown. The Cajuns lined up for a two-point conversion, but an offensive pass interference call negated a conversion. Then Kenneth Almendares’ long extra point missed wide left leaving the Cajuns with a 26-14 lead.

Another Jaguar drive ended with a sack fumble on Bradley. But this one was picked up and returned 45 yards for a scoop-and-score touchdown with 1:07 left in third quarter.

The first two possessions by the Jags in the fourth quarter both ended with interceptions. The first was tipped and intercepted by a diving, outstretched defender. The second was on a 3rd and 7 pass at the Cajun 9 yard line. Pritchett was crossing in the end zone but Tyrone Lewis jumped in front and took the ball away.

The Jags weren’t finished. They got the ball with 1:14 left in the game and quickly drove down the field. Bradley connected with Pritchett for a 39 yard touchdown down the left sideline with :16 left.

On the two point conversion, Bradley’s pass was low and fell incomplete. But he was hit and rolled on the floor clutching his left knee in pain. He was helped off the field and all the way to the trainer’s tent.

After the game head coach Kane Wommack said that the early report on Bradley’s injury was positive, but it’s too early to be certain.

“He tweaked his knee in the end there,” coach Wommack commented. “He’s such a competitor and he’s trying to make something happen…It’s going to be pretty sore. He got dinged up, similar to the injury he’s been dealing with all season, but it just got tweaked.”

If Bradley is unable to play on Thursday, Wommack and offensive coordinator Major Applewhite will have to choose between sixth-year senior Desmond Trotter or true freshman Gio Lopez. Trotter has experience starting for the Jags, he was the starter in the 2020 season. Lopez can play in one more game and still redshirt for the season.

Stats

South Alabama

The Jags finished with 498 total yards of offense, with 381 passing and 117 rushing. The Jags were 6-of-14 on 3rd down attempts and 2-of-4 on 4th down attempts. They were flagged eight times for 71 yards.

The big difference was the 5 turnovers. Bradley was sacked five times total, three of them resulted in fumbles lost to the Cajuns. Bradley also had a pair of interceptions.

The Cajuns dominated with a 34:44 to 25:16 time of possession.

Bradley finished the game 29-of-49 for 381 yards, his second most passing yard in his Jaguar career, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Jamaal Pritchett led all receivers with 168 yards on 11 catches with of the Jags passing touchdowns. Caullin Lacy continues his 100 yard receiving streak with 131 yards on 7 catches.

La’Damian Webb finished with 96 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. Kentrel Bullock had 32 yards on 6 carries.

Quentin Wilfawn set a new record for most stops in a game. He had 15, 7 of them solo, with a sack and 4.5 tackles for loss. Jaden Voisin, James Miller and Khalil Jacobs all finished next in line with eight stops each.

Lafayette

The Cajuns finished with 348 total yards of offense, 145 passing and 203 rushing. They were also 6-of-14 on 3rd down attempts. They were flagged six times for 40 yards.

Zeon Chriss was 13-of-17 for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

Terrance Carter les the Cajuns with tree catches for 36 yards. Peter Leblanc had two catches for 37 yards.

Jacob Kibodi ran for 119 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown. Kre’lyn Washington finished with 52 yards on 12 carries. Zeon Chriss finished with 30 yards on 10 carries.

Jalen Clark led the Cajuns with 10 total stops, five solo. Cameron Whitfield was in the backfield the whole game, he finished with 3.5 sacks. Antoine Baylis had 1.5 sacks.

Next

The Jags have a short turnaround. They will travel to Troy for the Battle of the Belt in a Thursday night nationally televised game. The game is slated for a 6:30 pm kickoff at Veterans Memorial Stadium on ESPN2.

South Alabama Hosts Ragin’ Cajuns In SBC West Showdown

October 27, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on 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!

South Alabama Dominates Southern Miss 55-3

October 17, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on South Alabama Dominates Southern Miss 55-3 
South Alabama sets new record for total offensive yards and rushing touchdowns in a single game in 55-3 thrashing of Southern Miss.

It was a record setting night for the South Alabama Jaguars.

The Jaguar offense recorded a new program record 647 total yards of offense as well as a record setting seven rushing touchdowns. La’Damian Webb tied his program record with four rushing touchdowns.

Southern Miss (1-6, 0-4 SBC) didn’t cross the 50 yard line until the 3rd quarter and finally surpassed 100 yards of total offense with under 6 minutes left in the game.

The Jags scored touchdowns of their first four possessions; the first three were La’Damian Webb before Kentrel Bullock added one for himself. The fifth possession was field goal. With an attempt to put points on the scoreboard with just one second on the clock, Diego Guajardo’s 41 yard attempt missed wide right.

Guajardo came back with a 39-yard kick on South Alabama’s first possession of the second half.

Southern Miss broke the shutout with a 32-yard field goal with 5:40 left in the third quarter to make it 34-3.

South Alabama responded with a 3-play scoring drive. A pair of passes to Lincoln Sefcik went for 24 and 20  yards respectively then Webb capped it off with a 16 yard touchdown run for his 4th of the game.

After getting the ball back on downs, head coach Kane Wommack started sending in the subs. Walk-on running back Dorian Smith took his first collegiate carry 29 yards for his first career touchdown to make it 48-3 with 1:20 left in the 3rd quarter.

Freshman Gio Lopez had his fourth appearance of the season and gave Jaguar fans a glimpse of the future with a 20-yard touchdown run to finish off the scoring with 13:47 left in the game. It looked like Lopez had a 27-yard touchdown run later in the game, but a penalty for holding wiped it off the board.

“This was probably one of the more dominating performances I’ve been a part of,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. “Arguably our most dominating performance since I’ve been here.”

“We’re really starting to lean into how we’re supposed to start the game,” Wommack said.

Stats

South Alabama

South Alabama put up 647 yards of total offense, 360 passing yards and 287 rushing. They were 7-of-11 on 3rd down and held a 31:15 to 28:45 time of possession advantage.

Carter Bradley finished 21-of-27 for 319 yards. True freshman Gio Lopez was 2-of-4 for 41 yards with an interception late in the game.

“We’re starting to see things click, for sure,” Bradley said. “I think it’s just preparation. Our coaches are doing an unbelievable job of getting us prepared and guys are buying into it.”

Jamaal Pritchett led all receivers with 122 yards on five carries. Caullin Lacy led all receivers with nine catches for 103 yards, extending his streak of consecutive 100-yard games to six. Four other receivers caught passes in the game.

La’Damian Webb rushed for 102 yards on 20 attempts with the four touchdowns. Kentrel Bullock finished with 58 yards on nine carries with a touchdown. Dorian Smith had two carries for 34 yards and a touchdown. Marco Lee Jr has 26 yards on six carries. Gio Lopez was credited with one carry for 20 yards and a score. Jarvis Durr had three carries for 20 yards, Bradley had 19 yards on two carries, and Jonathon Carter had one carry for 8 yards.

Khalil Jacobs led the team with seven total stops, four solo, with three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. James Miller had six total stops, one solo, with a TFL.

Jordan Norman, Maurice Strong Jr both had a sack in the game. Carlos Johnson Jr and Brock Higdon both has ½ sack.

Strong Jr got the only takeway with an interception for the Jag defense.

“It was just about being consistent for us,” defensive lineman Wy’Kevious “Bubba” Thomas said after wearing the honorary #5 jersey this week. “If you show consistency throughout the week of practice, it’s easy on game day.”

Southern Miss

The Golden Eagles only managed 149 total yards of offense, a mere 46 passing and 103 rushing. The Jags defense held them to only 1-of-13 on 3rd down and 1-of-2 on 4th down attempts. They were only penalized four times for 25 yards.

Billy Wiles was 2-of-5 for 5 yards as the starting quarterback. Holman Edwards came in and went 5-of-15 for 41 yards and an interception.

Frank Gore Jr was the leading Golden Eagle receiver with 22 yards on two catches. He also had the longest play from scrimmage with a 20 yard pass reception.

Tiaquelin Mims had two catches for 4 yards. Tyquan Henderson had the second most receiving yards on the team with 9 on just one catch.

Kenyon Clay finished as the leading rusher for USM with 60 yards on 10 carries. Gore Jr finished with 27 yards on 12 carries. Rodrigues Clark was the only other player with positive rushing yards with 13 on five carries.

Swayze Bozeman finished with 12 total stops, 8 solo, with a TFL. Dylan Lawrence had nine total stops, 6 solo. MJ Daniels got the only takeway from the Jags with an interception of Gio Lopez in the fourth quarter.

Next

The Jags will take the field next on Saturday, October 28th for a 4pm kickoff against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns are currently 4-2, 1-1 in conference play, and are set to host Georgia State at Cajun Field this Saturday.

Preview: South Alabama Hosts Southern Miss Tuesday Night Nationally Televised Showdown

October 16, 2023 · By · Filed Under Football, Sun Belt Conference · Comments Off on 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!

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