Preview: South Alabama Hosts Louisiana Tech In Finals Non-Conference Game Of 2022
Kickoff: Saturday September 24, 6:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium – Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey: Jalen Wayne
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
South Alabama went to Pasadena to the Rose Bowl and narrowly missed out on coming home with a win.
They held a 17-6 advantage late in the first half when UCLA closed the gap to four points at halftime. They also held a 31-23 lead at the end of the third quarter after a pair of touchdowns only :17 seconds apart. But the Bruins pulled out the game on a walk-off field goal with :02 left.
Now the Jags return home after two long distance away games to host their final non-conference opponent of the 2022 campaign: Louisiana Tech.
Louisiana Tech is under the direction of first year head coach Sonny Cumbie. Cumbie has spent the past 12 years as an assistant coach in the Big 12. He started out his college coaching career with Texas Tech as a graduate assistant then as wide receivers coach, then co-offensive coordinator and outside receivers coach. He then went to TCU where he was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for three seasons then the next three seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He then went back to Texas Tech in 2021 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach but ended up being named the interim head coach.
Cumbie is known for his air-raid style of offense. He started his college coaching career under Mike Leach at Texas Tech, who known for the same style of offense. Gary Patterson hired Cumbie to implement his offense over the pro-style offense that had been in use by Patterson for a long time. His first two seasons at TCU he helped the Horned Frogs to finish in the top 3 offensively. His final two seasons saw the offense struggle to replicate the success of the first two.
The Bulldogs (1-2) will make their second visit to Mobile but their first to Hancock Whitney Stadium. The two teams have squared off against each other twice before with the Bulldogs coming out on top both times. The Jags went to Ruston in 2017 and fell 34-16 then they came to Mobile and came away with a 30-26 win at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Both teams are quite different than when they last met each other on the gridiron.
This season, under new coach Cumbie, the Bulldogs opened the season with a 52-24 loss at Missouri. They won at home against FCS Steven F Austin 52-17. Then traveled to #5 Clemson for a 48-20 loss.
Louisiana Tech
Offense
Cumbie’s offense is known for its air raid style, so they like to spread the field and throw the ball.
They will run 10 personnel and 11 personnel but will line up like 5 wide receivers.
So, for those of you reading who don’t know what 10 and 11 personnel means, here you go. When they say 10 personnel it means they have 1 running back and 0 tight ends (and 4 receivers), hence the 1 and 0. Similarly 11 personnel means 1 running back and 1 tight end (with 3 receivers). What is 12 personnel then? Right, 1 running back and 2 tight ends (with 2 receivers). What is 21 personnel? Right again, 2 running backs and 1 tight end (and 2 receivers), this is also the common grouping for pro-style offenses. There are more variations (22, 13, and 00) but we won’t go over them here today but you know what the personnel groupings are by what we have covered today.
The Bulldogs have a tight end, #5 Griffin Herbert, who leads the team in receiving yard. He’s a good-sized guy who can play like a receiver or block like a tight end is known to do. So it doesn’t really matter if he is attached to the line or out in the formation wide, he is a threat at all times.
I guess this is as good a time as any to present their stats on the season so far.
As a team they are averaging 32 points per game with 392.3 total yards of offense, 287.7 passing yards and 104.7 rushing yards per game.
Their leading quarterback is Parker McNeil who is 41-of-76 on the season for 650 yards with 6 touchdowns and three interceptions. Matthew Downing has played in two games and gone 21-of-38 for 197 yards with one touchdown to three interceptions.
As mentioned, Hebert leads the team with 278 receiving yards on 9 catches with 2 touchdowns. He is averaging almost 93 yards per game receiving. Tre Harris’ 14 catches leads the team in that category, with 165 yards and two touchdowns. Two other receivers have 10 or more catches on the season.
Marquis Crosby is by far the leading rusher with 227 yards on 35 carries with three touchdowns. Only three other players have double-digit rushing yards. Charvis Thornton leads that group with 74 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown.
In the Bulldogs’ two losses they have rushed for a combined 14 yards (8 against Missouri and 6 against Clemson). They ran for 300 yards against Steven F Austin in their only win.
Defense
Defensive coordinator Scott Power comes to the Bulldogs from Steven F Austin, where he was the defensive coordinator since 2018. They signed back-to-back top 5 FCS recruiting classes including the #1 overall recruit in FCS both years. Prior to DC at SFA, he was also DC at Texas A&M-Commerce, Central Washington, and Marian University.
A big focus of Powers’ defense is strong defensive line play to allow linebackers and defensive backs to focus on their assignments. Through the first three games his defense has generated five turnovers (3 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions), 15 tackles for loss, and four sacks. Linebacker Hugh Davis and defensive back Jaiden Cole leads the team with 1.5 sacks each, Cole also has an interception.
La Tech allows an average of 39 points, 461.3 total offensive yards, 212.3 passing yards, and 249 rushing yards per game. Missouri put up 558 total yards of offense, 323 of them on the ground to start the season. Clemson put up 521 total yards of offense, 280 of them on the ground.
Steven F Austin, the only win and an FCS school, put up 305 yards of total offense, 144 of them on the ground.
Special Teams
Austin McCready has handled the majority of punts, his 12 kicks average 42.3 yards with a long of 51 yards. He’s had 5 fair catches, 4 kicks of 50+ yards, 2 downed inside the 20 and one touchback.
Patrick Rea has punted four times for an average of 34.8 yards per punt, his longest is 39 yards.
Jacob Barnes has kicked all but one of the teams six field goal attempt. He is 4-of-5 but his longest kick is from 35 yards. Buck Buchanan had his only attempted blocked from 50+ yards out.
South Alabama
The Jags could be entering this game 3-0. For the majority of the game the Jags outplayed the Bruins. It wasn’t until the end of the game that they overtook the Jags statistically, as well as on the scoreboard. While the UCLA, PAC 12, and national Power 5 fans all expected UCLA to win, they were quick to troll the Bruins for their post-game celebration.
South Alabama will have to regroup and respond to their first loss of the season this week. In the meantime, they need to get some players back healthy. Quentin Wilfawn, Jamar Richardson, Brandon Crum, and Lincoln Sefcik were some we mentioned on twitter as missing time in the game due to injury. Trey Kiser and Ed Smith both left the game but returned.
Offense
The Jags offensive line played the game as a unit in recent memory, and possibly the best since joining the FBS ranks. They helped La’Damian Webb to his first 100 yard rushing game and protected Carter Bradley so well he avoided any sacks in the game and completed 72% of his passes for 237 yards.
Overall, the Jags offense is ranked 40th in the nation in total offense, 33rd in scoring offense, 64th in rushing offense, tied for 23rd in passing offense, 49th in 3rd down conversions, 36th in the nation in turnover margin.
One of our keys to the game last week was offensive line play and they delivered.
As mentioned, Webb rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries with an average of 7.8 yards per carry. Bradley was 26-of-36 for 237 yards a touchdown and an interception, his second of the season. Jalen Wayne once again led the receivers with 76 yards on seven catches, and for his hard work this season Wayne will be wearing the honorary #5 jersey against the Bulldogs.
USA is averaging 39 points, 469.7 total yards of offense, 307.7 passing yards and 162.0 rushing yards per game this season.
Caullin Lacy has continued to improve as a receiver, he is second on the team in receptions (15) and yards (218). But Devin Voisin is a player on the rise in the receiving corps as well. He’s third on the team in receptions (13) and yards (125) and recorded his first career touchdown against Central Michigan.
So far this season the tight ends haven’t made much noise. Sefcik and DJ Thomas-Jones each two catches each for 28 yards each.
Defense
The Jags defense is allowing an average of 21 points, 303.3 total offensive yards, 208.7 passing yards and 94.7 rushing yards per game.
The defense is ranked 34th in the nation in total defense, 32nd in rushing defense, tied for 52nd in scoring defense, 61st in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, tied for 59th in 1st down defense, tied for 63rd in pass defense, and tied for 7th in fumbles recovered.
Jaden Voisin, Devin’s twin brother, along with Quentin Wilfawn leads the defense with 17 stops on the season. Jaden has nine solo and two tackles for loss while Quentin has 12 solo and 1.5 TFL.
They’ve only generated three sacks so far this season with James Miller, Wy’Kevious Thomas, and CJ Rias each with one sack each. AJ DeShazor is the only Jag with an interception while four Jags each have one fumble recovery each.
Special Teams
Jack Brooks did not see much action against UCLA, he’s punted 13 times on the season with an average of 43.6 yards per kick with a long of 58 yards, 3 traveling 50+ yards, and five downed inside the 20.
Diego Guajardo is a perfect 4-of-4 on the season with his longest being 48 yards.
Keys to the Game
Health
The physicality of the Jaguars lends itself to some injuries throughout the season. Last week against UCLA a few notable Jaguars missed playing time due to injuries. Quentin Wilfawn and Jamal Richardson were two notable defenders who missed game time.
And it showed.
As the game wore on in the second half, the Bruins were more able to move the ball on the Jags defense. While some of it can be attributed to halftime adjustments by coach Kelly and his staff, some could be attributed to the additional depth a Power 5 team may have over a Group of 5 team. But I think the Jags were missing some key components of their defense that at least aided UCLA’s ability to move the ball more in the second half.
This week the Jags have the luxury of playing at home instead of being on the road. But they need to stay healthy, not only to win this game, but for the conference schedule that is coming fast.
Defense
Which Bulldogs offense is going to show up? They are not a particularly good rushing team in their losses. As noted in the offensive scouting report, they have rushed for a total of 14 yards in their two losses. However, they were playing Missouri from the SEC and #5 Clemson from the ACC. When they faced off against Steven F Austin, an FCS school, they rushed for 300 yards.
Are Missouri and Clemson that much better on rush defense? Is Steven F Austin that bad on rush defense? Were the gameplans just that tilted one way or the other in the gameplans?
Either way, the Jags must be ready for whichever Bulldogs team shows up at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday. UCLA was the first team to rush for over 100 yards on the Jags defense. I feel confident in the Jags ability to contain the Bulldog rushing attack, but how will they do against the air-raid scheme?
It goes back to health, if Richardson and Wilfawn are healthy and ready to go it’s a big help for the defense.
Get the run game going
Back in the scouting report, we noted that the La Tech defense was allowing an average of nearly 250 yards per game rushing. If the Webb and company can get that ground game going, that will set the tone for the Jags offense.
Coach Powers’ defense likes to free the linebackers and the defensive backs to do their thing while the defensive line does the attacking. Making those linebackers and defensive backs have to move up and provide run support will obviously lead some man coverage and opportunities down the field.
It would also be nice to get some other running backs going too. So far Webb is by far the top running back on the roster, but the drop off in production to some of the other backs is very pronounced at times. If coach Wommack and offensive coordinator Major Applewhite can get another back going to form a formidable one-two punch out of the backfield that will lay the groundwork for what could be a very successful season in conference play.
But most importantly, help them get a win against La Tech first.
Prediction
The oddsmaking websites all favor South Alabama in the matchup this Saturday. Most of them like the Jags by 13 points.
So far this season by predictions have been right about outright win or loss. I may not get the scores correct, but hey what can you say.
At the beginning of the week I didn’t think the Jags would cover the spread. My thoughts were about the injuries and how I thought Coach Wommack and his staff would probably take the opportunity to play reserves later in the game which would keep the Jags score down some and I thought possibly a late score would allow the Bulldogs to cover.
However the Jags have covered the spread in all of their last five home games, which is among if not leading the nation right now. Also looking at Louisiana Tech, they are a good team but Coach Wommack and staff have shown that few teams will out gameplan or out prepare them.
All that explanation to say, I think the Jags cover 38-23 and the reserves still get some playing time late.
Go Jags!