Jags Make USA Today’s Not-So-Good List
The Jags have been in the Sagarin rankings for a couple seasons now and we have pointed out how the Jags were rated in those rankings. But now they have made one of USA Today’s rankings that schools do not want to be on.
Jeff Sagarin has been producing a college football power ranking for USA Today since 1985. His list includes FBS and FCS teams, which now includes about 245 schools. His computer rankings are even used as part of the BCS formula to determine its rankings.
This week, USA Today published a story that was titled “Walk of Shame: The Worst 25 FBS Schools Right Now”. They took the lowest ranked FBS teams in the Sagarin rankings to create this list. Two schools from the state of Alabama are on that list. South Alabama is ranked #5 while UAB is ranked #12. But the Jags are not the only Sun Belt schools on this list. Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee State, Florida International and defending SBC Champs Arkansas State are all on the list along with future SBC member Texas State.
The entire list of 25 are (with #1 being the “worst” team in the FBS):
- UMass
- Memphis
- Florida Atlantic
- Texas-San Antonio
- South Alabama
- Eastern Michigan
- Akron
- Tulane
- Colorado
- New Mexico
- Texas State
- UAB
- Central Michigan
- Idaho
- UNLV
- Colorado State
- Buffalo
- Kent State
- Army
- New Mexico State
- Middle Tennessee State
- Florida International
- Miami-Ohio
- Houston
- Arkansas State
South Alabama will be facing all four of the current Sun Belt members on the list. Also, the Jags are ranked better than UTSA, who the Jags lost to in a heart-breaker of a game in the season opener.
Hopefully this will be a big motivating factor as the Jags travel to Mississippi State on Saturday to face their first SEC team and their first Nationally ranked opponent.
South Alabama Completes Final Practice Prior To MSU
Romelle Jones along with Melvin Meggs, Trey Clark, Jake Johnson and Tyrell Pearson were selected as team captains for the Jaguars road game against Mississippi State.
South Alabama held its final practice before the Jags travel to Starkville, Mississippi to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The coaching staff continued to stress improvements to its third-down conversions.
During the practice that spanned around two hours, the Jags continued to prepare on both sides of the ball for the Bulldog players. They also continued to work on the teams mindset prior to this weekends game.
“We had good preparation I thought,” head coach Joey Jones said. “The coaches came out and did a good job. The players came out and had a good day and they were concentrating on what they were doing. We’ve got a great task at hand and they understand that. So I think they’re focused on what they were doing.”
“We’re a young football program, so the biggest thing we’ve got to do is stay the course,” he continued. “We can’t get frustrated when things go wrong and we have to become a better team each week. We know where we are, we’re young and we’re trying to prove ourselves, and the biggest thing I want to do is gain respect from our opponents in how we play. That’s one of my main goals each week when we go out is to gain respect and that’s not different when we’re playing a team like Mississippi State.”
According to the Press-Register, defensive lineman Romelle Jones will not play in Saturday’s game. Jones, a 6’2″ 275-pound junior from New Orleans had an MRI on his shoulder Tuesday which indicated he had a partial dislocation. He is expected to miss two to three weeks. However it was mentioned that Jones had a non-season ending knee injury earlier this week.
Jesse Kelley is expected to start in his place against Mississippi State. Jones had played in all three previous games this season and had earned his first start of the season against NC State.
Jags Try To Replicate MSU Speed In Practice This Week
Quarterback Ross Metheny reads the NC State defense pre-snap in Raleigh, NC.
The South Alabama football team has returned to pitting their first string offense versus their first string defense in practice this week. The Jaguars are gearing up for their first game against an SEC team which happens to be their first game against a top-25 ranked opponent as well.
As the Jags try to replicate what they may see in Starkville against Mississippi State, both first-team squads are facing each other. “We actually backed off that a couple of weeks ago and didn’t do as much of that,” Jones explained. “We’ve got to get back to that for the speed of the game. When you play N.C. State and you play Mississippi State and you play Troy and everybody we’re going to play this year, they’re fast football teams, physical football teams, so you simulate that by going ones versus ones, and I think that’s going to help.”
Ross Metheny appears to be getting more time with the first-team offense this week as they face the scout team defense. Although there has been no word from anyone close to the program if it will be Metheny or C.J. Bennett starting the game against the Bulldogs. However, Coach Jones said on tuesday that they intend to continue the quarterback rotation in Starkville this weekend.
I would not be surprised if Metheny starts in Starkville. Actually, it makes sense if Coach Jones and Coach Matthews really wants to evaluate their two quarterbacks to decide who will be the starter as they enter conference play.
Coach Jones believes that his team has been able to put last Saturday’s loss to NC State behind them this week. “Its been good,” Jones said to the Press-Register of practice so far this week. “Our kids have bounced back. We’re building a football program right now. Our kids are trying to get things going. We played N.C. State to 31-7. We don’t like it, but the bottom line is our kids are working hard every day to build this football program. They’re excited about the teams we’re going to play and we’re going to get better and better as we grow.”
Coach Jones recapped Wednesday’s practice by saying, “It was good. I told the kids we’ve got to have that look in our eyes every day at practice, any time we play. We’ve got to have that look in our eyes, what I call our game face. We’ve done that. The kids are working hard and I’m pleased with them.”
Coach Jones said he is pleased to have the opportunity to play a nationally ranked SEC team in Mississippi State. “I’m excited about it,” he said. “Our kids are going to Starkville and playing and they’re ranked No. 23 in the country. When you walk in a venue like that, they’re playing with a lot of confidence right now and they’re playing well. They beat Auburn 28-10. Our kids want to be in environments like that and our kids are looking forward to it.”
Three key starters where wearing gold non-contact jersey’s on Wednesday. Free safety B.J. Scott, linebacker Jake Johnson and running back Kendall Houston were all participating and are expected to be available for Saturday’s game in Starkville.
Jaguar Baseball Begins Fall Practice This Week
The South Alabama Jaguar baseball team will hold an intrasquad game on Friday at Eddie Stanky Field to kick off their first day of fall practice. The game will begin at 3:30pm.
The Jags will have two weeks of individual and four-on-one workouts. Similar to last fall, they will hold intrasquad games every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday during their workout period. They will scrimmage at 11am on Saturday morning then an intrasquad game on Sunday at 11:30am.
The Jags have several returning players this year with key positions being filled by some newcomers to the program. But head coach Mark Calvi says that there will be competition at all positions. Returners are bigger and stronger but the most important thing that the Jags need to improve is on their quality of pitching and pitching depth.
Last season the Jags opened fall practice without definite one, two or three pitchers or a closer. They only returned around 30 innings of experience in their pitchers. This season coach Calvi estimates they are returning around 350 innings of experience. Plus some JuCo transfers that coach Calvi are quite excited about.
The intrasquad games will be very beneficial to the coaching staff as they evaluate players and see how they react in game-like situations.
Additionally, an emphasis on offseason conditioning is paying off. “Our guys appear to be much stronger,” he said. “[Associate strength and conditioning] Coach [Jon] Hersel has really worked hard in putting his workouts together to make the guys better. And there is a competitive balance. You want the workouts to be very competitive, but you also don’t want to cross the line where someone gets hurt.”
“But I think coach Hersel has done that,” Calvi continued. “Our guys are flexible, and the key to strength and conditioning is you want to keep your players on the field performing at their best. There is that balance, and I think Jon has struck a good balance of getting their work in, yet, have them at peak-ability on the field. I’m very pleased with the way the strength and conditioning part of the program has been going.”
The date for the annual Red and Blue World Series, the final intrasquad game of fall practice, has not yet been set.
CBSSports Conference Power Rankings This Week
Chip Patterson, a blogger for CBSSports.com, posted his Conference Power Rankings for September 18. While the top conference will not surprise you, you may be surprised at who is ranked at the “top of the rest” as many would say.
First, he ranked the “Cupcake King Power Rankings” as he called it. These are teams who played the most FCS games so far this season.
- 1. ACC (12 games)
- 2. Big 12 (9 games) & Mountain West (9 games)
- 4. MAC (8 games) & PAC 12 (8 games)
His Conference Power Rankings for the 11 conferences. Note the top 6 conferences are typically called “The Big 6”:
- SEC
- Big 12
- Pac 12
- Big 10
- Big East
- ACC
- Sun Belt
- MAC
- WAC
- Mountain West
- C-USA
Not long ago there was an article about how the Sun Belt had set it’s sights on C-USA, but right now C-USA is in the cellar according to Chip.
If you want to read Chip’s original article, which outlines some of his criteria for his rankings as well as statistics that went into his rankings, click here.
Jaguar Volleyball Prepares To Open Sun Belt Play This Week
The South Alabama Lady Jaguar volleyball team will begin their Sun Belt Conference schedule this week when they play against Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.
The Jags enter Sun Belt play with a 7-7 record after going 2-2 this past weekend at the Springhill Suites Invitational. They defeated Jacksonville State and Savannah State in straight sets. But lost two matches to tournament host Georgia State and Wisconsin both 3-1.
Both MTSU and WKU were chosen to finish at the top of the Eastern Division of the Sun Belt Conference in a preseason poll. On Thursday the Jags will open up against MTSU at 7pm at Alumni Memorial Gym then they will play WKU at 1pm on Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena against WKU.
Web streaming of the MTSU match will be available online while live stats for both matches will be available at the Jaguars official website www.usajaguars.com.
The Jags are led by three very talented players in Senior Olivia Mohler and Junior Jenna Hassell, who ranks fourth in the lead in digs, along with freshman outside hitter Savannah Stewart who has stepped up her game since the beginning of September.
Head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said that, “Starting off the Sun Belt schedule playing Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky will be a great opportunity to immediately show us where we stand against those teams that are typically competing for the championship each year. I fully expect our team to walk in both gyms looking to compete at a high level.”
“We are excited and ready to compete,” Hendirchovsky continued. “The team has worked hard through the preseason tournaments to improve and grow. We have learned many things about our team and my hope is we continue to improve throughout conference play leading into the conference tournament.”
Coach Joey Jones Show Recap 2012-09-18
Head Coach Joey Jones looking on as the Jaguars warm up for their game at North Carolina State.
Lee Shirvanian and Jaguar head football coach Joey Jones is joined by defensive line coach Brian Turner at Baumhower’s Restaurant on Airport Boulevard in Mobile.
Lee opened the show by saying that the number 1 question people asked him was who is going to be the quarterback. Lee then talked about how quarterback is the one position in all sports that brings the most scruitiny and speculation.
Back when he was at Alabama, coach Jones said that they ran the wishbone a lot and so they rotated between two or three quarterbacks because they were kind of like running backs themselves. Now, you pretty much go with one quarterback the whole game. What the Jags are trying to do is to get one of the quarterbacks to seperate themselves from the rest so they can have a definite starting quarterback as they head into Conference play. He mentioned that the Jags plan to rotate again this week but that they have to make a decision after that for Troy. As for who played the best between the two this week, Coach Jones said they both played pretty well and that he could not make a call about who was better.
Jones continued by saying that both quarterbacks completed around 66% of their passes, which is very good, but third down was their issue overall as an offense. Coach Jones said that NC State’s defense had something to do with that, they did a great job rushing the quarterback. He continued saying that their defensive front was much better than last year. Coach Jones ended by saying that the Jags did well except for third down.
Lee pointed out an interesting stat that the Jags are last place in the Sun Belt offensively on third down, but the defense is in first place in the conference on third down. Coach Jones said that is something they have to correct.
Bo Bishop of Baumhower’s Restaurant, where the Joey Jones Show takes place, asked what he was going to do about the cowbells while in Starkville. Coach Jones said that they are practicing with speakers blaring the sound of cowbells so they will be used to it when they play Mississippi State on Saturday. Coach Jones said that they just have to be able to communicate.
Coach Jones then introduced Coach Turner, he is the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Turner was part of the original staff and came to South Alabama from Troy.
Lee’s first question to coach Turner was to ask if he thought the Jaguar defensive line did well against a skilled, veteran NC State line. Coach Turner said that he thought they did play well overall. There were times that they didn’t play well and that caused problems and allowed a few touchdowns. But overall they played well.
Lee then asked coach Jones how he felt about the game and how it went. Coach Jones answered by saying that the offense was terrible and that third just killed them. But, if you look at the offense on first down, they played really well and more like what they wanted to do. They wanted to get five or six yards on first down but then their defensive front got to the Jaguar quarterback at times and caused problems. Additionally they were not able to run the ball effectively either.
Jones then spoke about the defense by saying they started off pretty well but gave up some big plays like the post route and wheel routes that went for touchdowns. But from that point forward, the defense did well and in the second half the defense played extremely well. Also, the offense started moving the ball in the second half and scored some points. He further mentioned they could have kicked some field goals but went for it on fourth down and that they missed a field goal before halftime and they had a bad snap on another attempt, so they could have had 13 points on the board like last year. But he said that they were not trying to just put points on the board but they were trying to come back and win the game.
Lee asked about what do they do after coming out from halftime down 28-0 against a team that, on paper, is a better team. Lee further asked if you stay with the game plan or do you throw everything you have at them. Coach Jones said that he thinks the best thing for you to do is to become fundamentally sound at everything you do and to go out and execute each play. They have to go out there and do what they have planned to do and not anything extra; just go execute your game plan.
But coach Jones was most pleased that his team never gave up and continued to fight the entire game. He said that they could have easily gave up after that rough first half, but they didn’t and that will pay off in the future. They just have to keep fighting.
Lee turned the conversation toward recruiting. Lee stated that they cannot mention any names of recruits, but asked if he can confirm anything about verbal committment numbers. Coach Turner said that they do have 15 verbal committments right now and are working hard to keep those recruits on-board with the program.
When asked about positions that they need for next season, coach Turner mentioned defensive linemen are a major issue and defensive backs. Additionally they need some wide receivers and running backs.
Lee asked a question that he has asked a few times before, would they like to see an early signing period like basketball has and suggested possibly August. Coach Turner would like to have it before August, because the “big schools” like Alabama and Auburn will be evaluating kids during camp and he would like for schools like South Alabama to have a shot to get those kids in camp.
Coach Jones reiterated his point that he thought it would be great for everybody. He said it would make it clearer for schools who are trying to fill needs on their team. Plus those schools don’t have to worry about getting a verbal committment then keeping that player committed for six months. Coach Jones also understands the negative of it where a kid could visit an Alabama and fall in love with it and sign early then the other schools do not have a shot at him. But he still thinks it would be more positive overall.
They then had the injury report sponsored by The Orthopaedic Group. Overall they did well. Romelle Jones had a knee injury but will be back this season, just not sure when right now. Also Corey Besteda who rolled his ankle and will be fine and should be ready by Wednesday.
Lee asked Coach Turner about Romelle and what he means to the team. His answer was that Romelle is a tremendous player and brings so much to the table. He does not know if he would be back for this weekend’s game, but hopes he could be back by the Troy game.
This led to Lee asking about the defensive line rotation. Coach Turner said that they average about four or five plays before they rotate some fresh players into the game. He tries to keep the linemen fresh, especially against the larger offensive linemen.
Lee asked for an explaination about “playing a perfect game” that many coaches refer to as a way to beat a team that they are an underdog to. Coach Jones said you cannot play a perfect game, but you need to play a mistake free game where you don’t make any turnovers and don’t give up any big plays. That’s about as close to perfect as you can get.
Coach Jones then lays out how he thinks teams like Louisiana-Monroe defeats an Arkansas. He said you have to keep the game close somehow until the third quarter and then you apply pressure onto that team. ULM kept it close, then Arkansas lost their quarterback and got some momentum going their way and suddenly they are tied. Last season the Jags did that before a late touchdown by State put them up 35-13. This season they couldn’t score early to keep it close. Plus they scored their first three touchdowns in quick succession.
Lee then asked Coach Turner if he was on the Troy staff when they started and what he saw then versus what he sees now. Turner said the first big game they played was Nebraska and were a 50+ point underdogs going into Lincoln. Then at halftime the score was 21-14 in Nebraska’s favor. But he said that once those players realized that they could play with Nebraska, it “snowballed.” They ended up defeating Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and Missouri in the next few years. The players believed that they could play with any of those teams. But they also played games where they were blown out, like a 50-0 defeat at Nebraska.
Coach Turner said that about 75% of it was recruiting. They had more players who wanted to play there after they began playing those type of teams. He said that the other 25% was mental.
Travis Toth, the associate athletic director of marketing, came on talking about the Mississippi State game for fans who are traveling. He said that MSU is proclaiming it as a “White-Out” but the team will be wearing their traditional home Maroon uniforms. So the school is encouraging Jags fans to wear BLUE to the game to stand out. Then the following week the Jags will be wearing Red for Troy. Lots of big things will be going on for the Troy game, including recognizing the 2012 Sun Belt Champion Lady Jaguar Softball team.
Lee mentioned that ESPN writer Ivan Maisel wrote about the Sun Belt this week in his article. Maisel wrote that Sun Belt teams are 2-1 in overtime games this season against SEC opponents and 2-5 overall. Previously, the Sun Belt was 0-35 total against the SEC with an average score of 40-11. ULM and Western Kentucky both have wins while Troy was very close against Mississippi State last week.
Coach Jones mentioned that ULM only won 3 or 4 games last season he thought. He said tht he thought these teams are putting a lot of money into recruiting and facilities and that that committment is paying dividends.
Lee then asked about Coach Turner about some things that the defensive line will have to do specifically in order to stop Russell, Perkins and the rest of the Bulldog offense. Turner said that their offense begins with their offensive line. Their line is big, athletic and do a good job at pass protection and also in run blocking. He continued by saying that their running back is very good and their quarterback has a good arm as well.
Turner also said that the Bulldog quarterback is more athletic than NC State’s Mike Glennon, but he does not have as strong of an arm as Glennon. He poses a different problem than Glennon.
Coach Jones said that the Jags HAVE to play better offensively. He said that they will be going up against a huge defenive line at Mississippi State.
Coach Jones spoke about how they have been working for the last few years to build a team and that now they are almost having to do it again as they are transitioning into FBS play. They need to recruit more good players to help build out depth.
Coach Jones went on to say that from here on out the Jags will be playing the best of the best at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. They have NC State and Mississippi State coming in here in the next few years along with the Sun Belt schools like Troy, ULM and FIU that will be here. They need the fans in the area to continue to support the school.
Sun Belt Looking For New Conference Headquarters
The Sun Belt Conference may not be calling New Orleans home much longer according to SportsNOLA.com. The conference office has called New Orleans for the home for their offices for the past two decades.
Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson said that the conference is considering their current home New Orleans along with Atlanta, Orlando, Nashville, Memphis and Birmingham as possible sites for the league’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments as well as a potential home for the conference office.
The University of New Orleans is no longer a member of the Sun Belt Conference, but New Orleans still has ties to the league in the R&L Carrier New Orleans Bowl that invites the Sun Belt Champion each season.
Among the other cities that are under consideration, only two of them have Sun Belt schools located within or very nearby. Atlanta has Georgia State who will be joining the conference in 2013 and Nashville with long-time member Middle Tennessee State nearby.
The basketball tournaments are contracted to play in Hot Springs, Arkansas through the 2013-2014 season, but the city also has a 30-day window after the 2013 tournament to exclusively negotiate another contract with the Sun Belt.
Benson toured the Gwinnett Arena with members of Georgia State’s athletic department and the Atlanta Sports Council. Benson said he liked the facilities.
“The priority is finding the right location for our basketball tournament,” Benson said. The Conferences wishes to find a location that will be good for fans to travel to and that will provide a good experience for the fans that will result in better attendance. With the conference spread from Texas to Florida, he said somewhere central would be ideal.
Last seasons’ championship game between Western Kentucky and North Texas was attended by 4,216. The men’s tournament had a total attendance of 16,109 while the women had a total attendance of 13,253.
Benson said that Atlanta is “very, very preliminary.”
South Alabama’s Monday Press Conference
Jaguar head coach Joey Jones spoke to the media on Monday along with tight end Wes Saxton and defensive lineman Alex Page. Below are some highlights from the press conference.
Coach Jones’ opening statement: “We realize we are going up against a top-25 football team in Mississippi State, they have done a great job getting that program back on the map, so to speak. They have a great coaching staff and great players, and we are looking forward to playing a team like them.”
“Last week the game ended up 31-7, and I thought that we gave up a couple of big plays early in the game but the defense tightened up a good bit after that. Offensively, we just didn’t get the ball in the end zone even though we were working on some things there. They were very, very good defensively, their defensive front was about as good as we are going to face [this year], which had a lot to do with that.”
Coach Jones then spoke about what concerned him the most about the Bulldogs. “They are very big. You look across their front line on offense and defense and they have guys who are 6-foot-6 and 340, 330, 325 pounds. They have done a great job recruiting some very big linemen, which is the first thing you see. The second thing you see is that they are playing with a lot of confidence right now. They beat Auburn 28-10 a couple of weeks ago, they are playing at a high level and deservedly so. They are doing a good job early in the year.”
He then spoke about any lessons that the Jags learned at NC State that could help them this week. “There were a lot of things on film that were so correctable, which is still on us. Some of it had to do with how good they were, there is no doubt about that, but there were a lot of things we didn’t do ourselves that we can correct. That was probably the biggest thing.”
“The second thing was that our kids didn’t quit,” he continued. “I don’t say that trying to make anything sound better, we went out in the second half and could have easily folded since it was 28-0, but the defense came out and played really tough. The offense kept working and drove down and scored. We had a couple chances to kick field goals but went for it, we probably should have kicked looking back on it. The bottom line is we played much better in the second half. To me, that shows the character of a team. when you’re down, how are you going to react? I think the kids really fought hard and kept fighting, that’s one thing I like about this team.”
Jones then spoke about how the team held up at the line of scrimmage against NC State. “Their defensive front is very good. There were some times we held up and sometimes we didn’t. We fought hard, sometimes we just got run over by some of those guys in pass rush situations. I thought our defensive front held up a good bit and got to the quarterback some, and they stopped the run fairly well. I think we matched up pretty well other than some pass-protection situations.”
Coach Jones then spoke about his greatest offensive convern from last week. “The biggest thing is that we were 0-for-11 on third down, obviously that’s not very good. We’ve got to be able to correct that, if you make four of those then you continue drives. Against a team like N.C. State you have to convert and at least get field goals to try and put some points on the board, and we didn’t do that.”
“We went through each of those one-by-one, and there were separate things that happened. One was on the quarterback, one was on the receiver, one was on a lineman not blocking a guy. They all know what we have to do, and when you put it all together we can make first downs.”
He then spoke about how Mississippi State’s line compares to NC State’s line. “They are every bit as good or better, they are a good bit bigger on the defensive front. When you recruit SEC linemen, they are going to get those guys who can play in the middle. They are very well coached on defense and show a lot of movement in the secondary spinning coverages. At the snap of the ball you see one thing, and after the snap they are moving to something else.”
Jones then spoke about getting the Jags to believe they can win this week’s game. “You always prepare to win. If you’re an odds maker you might not pick us to win, but there is somebody who gets beat every week who isn’t supposed to. That’s the way I look at it. We will go out and prepare. We were watching film of last week’s game, and had we done some of the things we were supposed to do, the game would have been much closer. It all comes down to us, not how good our opponent is. If we do the right things and put ourselves in a position to win, we will have a chance, and if we don’t we won’t.
“We are going to get knocked around some, they have some big linemen. But we’ll keep fighting back and trying to make plays and do what we are supposed to do, that is what we have to focus on.”
Then coach Jones answered a question asking if he can take an upset like the ULM over Auburn game and bring it up to his team. “We don’t bring it up a lot, they know about it and we have talked about it a couple of times. The bottom line is that we have to believe in what we are doing and go out execute it. If we do that and keep the game close in the third and fourth quarter, then you have a shot like Troy did [last week]. It was 23-7, but they kept it close and suddenly the score was 23-14 and then 23-21 and all of it sudden it was a game. We have to do that in a game like this. Let’s face it, they are a good football team. We are going to have to make those plays and keep it close to have a chance to win.”
Finally, Coach Jones was asked if his familiarity with Bulldog offensive coordinator Les Koenning will help the Jaguar defense prepare for them. Koenning was the Jaguars first offensive coordinator but left the program before the Jags first spring practices as he was hired by Dan Mullen when he was assembling his staff after being hired at the Bulldogs head football coach. “I don’t think so, because a lot of what he is doing now with coach Mullen, they have tweaked some things more toward the Florida philosophy. I wouldn’t think there would be anything we could take from that. They are doing things differently than when he was here.”
Wes Saxton spoke about things the Jags need to correct from the NC State game. “We kept the defense on the field a lot, which made them tired. The offense couldn’t move the ball, so we have to make sure this game that we keep moving the ball and put it in the end zone.”
He then spoke about gaining consistency on offense. “We need to focus on discipline this week, and not commit as many penalties. Penalties are hurting us in games. If we cut down on them, we’ll put the ball in the end zone.”
Saxton then spoke about the team’s morale while trailing at NC State. “We kept fighting. No matter what happens, we keep fighting. We don’t drop our heads when things go bad, because there are going to be bad times. We just keep our heads up no matter what situation comes up.”
He also spoke about the Saturday’s game at Mississippi State. “We’re looking to go in and fight hard and try to get better. We didn’t succeed last week, but we’re going in strong with a great game plan and we’ll be ready to play.”
Defensive lineman Alex Page spoke about the defense’s performance at NC State. “We played well in the second half, but realize that we made some mistakes in the first half and gave up some big plays. Minimizing the big plays and getting off the field on third down is what we need to focus on. I believe if we do that then we’ll have more success against Mississippi State. We need to continue the good play by our defensive line. Getting pressure on the quarterback is always going to be key in a big game like this.”
Page spoke about how beneficial playing at NC State was this past weekend. “It was a big stage and our guys came out there ready. I don’t think it was a matter of the big stage affecting our performance as far as us not making the right plays when we needed them. But it prepares you being in front of crowds like that. I believe it will be even more hostile this week, so we have to be even more prepared this week and minimize the mistakes and not let the crowd become a factor like it can.”
Page also spoke about the defense’s progress so far this season. “I think we had a letdown in the first week based on our standards, but we came back the next week and performed. This past week, we were right there but just had a few mistakes. We all think we have a chance, and we need to have a good week of practice and try to be ready for the game Saturday and just try to improve from last week.”
Jags To Face First Top-25 Team In Mississippi State On Saturday
It’s official. South Alabama will face it’s first top-25 ranked opponent on Saturday when they travel to Starkville, MS. to face Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium. It will also mark the Jaguars first SEC opponent.
The Bulldogs are 3-0 on the season with wins over Jackson State (56-9), Auburn (28-10) and Troy (30-24) and have cracked the AP top-25 poll at #23. The Jags, a 34.5-point underdog to the Bulldogs, have a lot to overcome following their 31-7 loss at North Carolina State.
“We realize we’re going up against a top-25 football team in Mississippi State,” Jags head coach Joey Jones said. “They have done a great job getting that program back on the map, so to speak. They have a great coaching staff and great players. We’re looking forward to playing a team like them.”
MSU may be the biggest team the Jags have ever faced. “They are very big,” Jones said. “You look across their front line on offense and the front line on defense and they have guys who are 6-foot-6 and 340, 330, 325 and 6-7 and those kind of things. They’ve done a great job recruiting some very big linemen, which is the first thing you see. The second thing you see is that they are playing with a lot of confidence right now. They beat Auburn 28-10 a couple of weeks ago and they are playing at a high level and deservedly so. They are doing a good job early in the year.”
But Mississippi State has some chinks in the armor. Coming into last Saturday’s game the Bulldog defense ranked 11th in the country in total defense yet Troy rolled up over 570 yards of offense against their defense.
Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen likened the Jaguars to Troy. “They’re a tough team being a newer program,” said Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen. “They have a lot of similarities with the team that we played last week, a very similar offensive system. They’re going to try to spread you out and run the football. Defensively, they’re pretty stout. They’ve given up 300 yards a game, a very sound defensive team and they play hard. That’s what you see when you watch them on film.”
But in order to be successful, the Jags will have to improve their execution and limit their own mistakes. “There were a lot of things on film that were so correctable, which is still on us,” Jones said. “Some of it had to do with how good (N.C. State was), there is no doubt about that, but there were a lot of things we didn’t do ourselves that we can correct. That was probably the biggest thing. The second thing was that our kids didn’t quit. I don’t say that trying to make anything sound better, we went out in the second half and could have easily folded since it was 28-0, but the defense came out and played really tough.”
“The offense kept working and drove down and scored,” he continued. “We had a couple chances to kick field goals but went for it. We probably should have kicked looking back on it. The bottom line is we played much better in the second half. To me, that shows the character of a team. When you’re down, how are you going to react? I think the kids really fought hard and kept fighting, that’s one thing I like about this team.”
If you look purely at the numbers, it doesn’t look good for the Jags right now. The Bulldogs average 413 yards per game and 38 points per game while their defense allows an average of 351 yards per game and just over 14 points per game. On the other hand, the Jaguars offense only averages 300 yards per game and just under 16 points per game while their defense yields an average of 300 yards per game and 22.3 points per game.
But the numbers only indicate what they did in the past, not what will happen in the future. “You always prepare to win,” Jones said. “If you’re an oddsmaker you might not pick us to win, but there is somebody who gets beat every week who isn’t supposed to. That’s the way I look at it. We will go out and prepare. We were watching film of last week’s game and had we done some of the things we were supposed to do, the game would have been much closer. It all comes down to us, not how good our opponent is. If we do the right things and put ourselves in a position to win, we will have a chance, and if we don’t we won’t. We are going to get knocked around some. They have some big linemen. But we’ll keep fighting back and trying to make plays and do what we are supposed to do. That is what we have to focus on.”