South Alabama And Troy – The Beginning Of A Rivalry?
The South Alabama Jaguars have now turned their focus to their first Sun Belt Conference football game against Troy University. While they have never met on the gridiron, South Alabama and Troy have a long rivalry in the Sun Belt.
Both schools have fought hard against each other in all other sports. But in the south, football is king. And that rivalry is about to reach new heights this week when Troy visits Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
While the Jags are playing a full Sun Belt schedule this season, they are not eligible for the conference championship or a bowl game. But that does not deter the Jags from wanting to make waves in the conference this season.
Up to this point, the Jags have only played a handful of teams more than once. UTSA and Georgia State were the closest things to a rivalry game Jags fans have experienced until Saturday’s kickoff arrives. But this game will be a true rivalry game, an intense one, between the two schools.
“It will be a very exciting thing just because of geography,” Troy director of athletics Steve Dennis was quoted by the Press-Register. “Now that South Alabama has matriculated through the football stages, and we’ve always had a great rivalry in basketball and baseball and we recruit the same areas, football is just another addition to the puzzle, so to speak. It’s a very big piece though when you talk about football in the state of Alabama.”
Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson spoke about the South Alabama and Troy rivlary. “Once South Alabama started football, that was the impetus for a true, legitimate rivalry,” he said. “When you have two schools in the same state, just a few miles from each other and fans have a chance to travel to the respective schools, that’s what makes a rivalry. The fans have to embrace the rivalry in order for there to be a rivalry.”
“Their proximity allows for it,” he continued. “The state of Alabama kind of has it’s own structure. Obviously there’s Auburn and Alabama and now you can thrown in Troy and South Alabama. … I think Troy-South Alabama has the same type of rivalry potential as Auburn-Alabama.”
Dr. Joel Erdmann, the South Alabama Athletics Director, is looking fowards to this weekend’s game as well as the rivalry’s future. “Due to several things – due to our proximity, due to the fact we’re located in the same state, due to the fact that we each have alumni in each other’s backyard – I think it’s a natural and tremendous fit for a rivalry that can be grown over the years,” Erdmann said. “They are an institution that has been around a little longer than us and they have been playing football a little longer than us – quite a while longer than us – but they have some aspects where they have climbed, too. They made a great climb from Division II through the old Division I-AA and now to the FBS. And not only has football had great success on a national level, but they have other sports that have been successful in the Sun Belt Conference and on a regional and national level.”
However, in the early days of the Sun Belt, South Alabama had a different in-state rival. UAB and South Alabama had a strong rivalry in basketball, but when the Blazers left the conference for Conference-USA the rivalry faded. Though they have played each other in basketball over the last few years, it isn’t the same.
Troy had a great rivalry with Jacksonville State when both teams were in Division II. However that rivalry was lost when Troy moved through Division I-AA to Division I-A (FBS) competition. Though they have developed a football rivalry with Middle Tennesse State and other schools in different sports, but not to the potential level a football rivalry with the Jags could reach.
“I think we can work to build this rivalry into something very special,” Erdmann said. “This could be one of those events that our people and their people circle on their calendars when the schedules come out in early spring.”
But a good rivalry has an equally good name. What name will emerge for this rivalry?
Hopefully this rivalry will stay on the positive side without the negativity that so many fans know and associate with the Alabama-Auburn rivalry.
Taylor Broke Two Bones In Right Leg Against MSU
South Alabama’s Anthony Taylor, a 6’3″ 225-pound senior defensive end/outside linebacker, will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a broken leg early in the first quarter against Mississippi State on Saturday.
Initially it was reported that he had fractured his fibula. However during surgery, doctors found that he had also fractured his tibia. Director of sports medicine Jinni Frisbey reported that Sunday’s surgery to repair the break went well.
Taylor has been a member of the Jaguars since the programs first season in 2009. He came into this season with 49 total tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks with an interception and four pass deflections. This season Taylor had recorded eight tackles, two sacks and three tackles-for-loss.
With Romelle Jones’ injury that will keep him out for a couple weeks, Taylor’s loss will affect the depth the Jaguars had at defensive line. But worst of all is that Taylor will miss the remainder of his senior season.
Jaguar Nation will be pulling for Taylor to make a full and speedy recovery.
Jags Fall In Starkville 30-10
C.J. Bennett reads the defense while head coach Joey Jones looks on from the sidelines in Starkville Mississippi.
South Alabama (1-3) played a tough game against Mississippi State (4-0) on Saturday evening, though they came up short on the scoreboard as they lost 30-10. The difference in the game was big plays, but the Jags led or were very close in several stats.
Mississippi State scored first on a 44-yard run and had five pass completions for over 20 yards, two kickoff returns that went for over 40 yards and two interceptions that were returned over 40 yards in the game.
However statistically the Jags held their own. The Jags had more first downs than the Bulldogs (21-15), more passing yards (224-200) and led the time-of-possession (30:35-29:25) and dominated the time of possession in the fourth quarter 9:07 to 5:53. The Jags were within ten yards of matching the Bulldogs overall offensive production 356-347 total yards.
The Jags improves on last weeks 0-for-11 third down performance. They converted 5-of-15 this week. They Jaguar defense held the Bulldogs to 5-of-14 on third down themselves. While that third down conversion stat isn’t what they would like to see, it is an improvement and it was against an SEC defense.
Demetre Baker lead the Jags rushing with 12 carries for 49 yards. C.J. Bennett ran three times for 29 yards including a stunning hurdle of a Mississippi State player to gain a first down in the red zone. Unfortunately on the next play he would throw an interception inside the five yard line. Kendall Houston would rush eight times for 21 yards.
C.J. Bennett would go 14-of-26 for 154 yards with the one interception and one touchdown. Ross Metheny, the starter of the game, would go 8-of-17 for 70 yards with an interception.
Bryant Lavender led all receivers in both receptions, with six, and yards with 80. Jereme Jones and T.J. Glover both caught four passes for 49 and 12 yards respectively. Greg Hollinger had three catches for 49 yards and the only receiving touchdown of the game. Corey Walden added three catches and 17 yards. Three other Jaguars caught passes as well.
Defensively, the Jags would finish with three players racking up double-digit tackles for the first time in school history. Enrique Williams had a career best 12 tackles including 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Jake Johnson and B.J. Scott both had 10 stops. Johnson had 1.5 tackles-for-loss and Scott had one TFL.
“We have some things we need to work on for sure, but I saw a lot of heart on that football field tonight,” said Jaguar head coach Joey Jones. “You’re talking about a top-23 team, and we’re a new program. We fought our rear-ends off. I’m just proud of the team as a whole, and I told them in the locker room that I could live with that. We have to get better, we’re a young team and have a long way to go, but I can’t tell you how proud I am of them tonight.”
The Jags came out inspired in the first quarter and played lights-out defensively holding Mississippi State to only 27 total yards and zero yards rushing while gaining 67 yards offensively.
After marching down the field late in the first quarter, the Jags drive stalled at the Bulldog 30 where Michel Chapuseaux attempted a 47 yard field goad which would sail wide left. The Bulldogs would respond by driving 70 yards in three plays to score the games first touchdown.
With the Bulldogs leading 17-0 just before halftime, the Jags Tyrell Pearson would intercept a Tyler Russell pass and return it 25 yards. However two snaps later the Bulldogs would intercept the Ross Metheny pass and return it 66 yards to set up a field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
Both of the Jags scoring drives would come in the second half, both drives marching over 70 yards and spanning at least five minutes each. Metheny would lead the first scoring drive that covered 71 yards in 13 plays, but the Jags would not be able to punch the ball into the end zone from inside the five yard line and would settle for a 22-yard field goal.
Around midway through the fourth quarter Bennett would guide the offense on a 12 play 78 yard scoring drive that would be capped off by an 18 yard touchdown pass to Greg Hollinger.
Jereme Jones broke the record previously held by Courtney Smith by catching a pass in his 18th consecutive game. Jereme was quoted after the game saying, “It’s special because it puts me up there with one of the best receivers [in school history], but I’m more focused on the win-loss record. We took a huge step forward, playing with a nationally-ranked SEC team. We fought with them. It’s disappointing we couldn’t come out with the win, but we’re a work in progress.”
“We have to grow from this,” coach Jones stated. “We have to get better. We’re brand new and we’re trying to learn and find our way through it, but I was proud of what we did. We learned some things offensively. We moved the ball pretty good, but we threw a couple of interceptions in the red zone and we have to find a way to run the football down in the red zone. We have to get that done. Defensively, I thought we fought hard the whole game. Special teams weren’t as good tonight as it has been. Our coverage wasn’t that great. We gave them good field position a couple of times on kickoffs.”
The Jags return home to host their first Sun Belt game when they face the Troy Trojans at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 2:30pm.
On the third down play on Mississippi State’s first possession, defensive end Anthony Taylor went down in extreme pain. Trainers from both teams cared for him and appeared to place an air splint on his right leg. We were not able to get any information about his status.
Jaguar Gameday Information
The Jags are on the road in Starkville, MS to take on #23 ranked Mississippi State. Kickoff tonight at Davis Wade Stadium is set for 6:00pm.
Viewing options: In local areas in Mississippi and Alabama it will be available on Pay Per View. Nationally, it will be available to areas that are not in the black-out zone on ESPN3.com. Play-by-play can be heard on WNSP 105.5 FM in the Mobile area or online at www.wnsp.com or on your smartphone using the Tune-In radio app. WNSP’s pre-game will begin at 5pm.
Jaguar Nation members who are going to the game, be prepared for lots of Cowbells used by the MSU fans. Gates will open at Davis Wade Stadium at around 3:45pm (2:15 minutes before kickoff). This is a “White Out” by Mississippi State fans, however the Bulldogs will be wearing their traditional Maroon home colors on the field. We encourage Jaguar Nation to wear BLUE.
Thunderjags will have coverage of the game on twitter if reception permits.
Go Jags! Beat State!
Know Your Stadiums: Davis Wade Stadium
Davis Wade Stadium on the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. Image from Hailstate.com.
Mississippi State plays at their on-campus stadium named Davis Wade Stadium located in Starkville Mississippi. It was originally built in 1914 as Scott Field and named after Don Magruder Scott, an Olympic sprinter and one of the schools first football stars. The playing surface is still named Scott Field. It is the second oldest FBS stadium in college football.
Capacity has expanded several times throughout the years. Originally the 1914 stadium sat 20,000 fans. It now seats 55,082 with a record attendance of 58,103 on November 14, 2009 versus the University of Alabama.
In the fall of 2008, construction completed on a $6.1 Million 112 foot wide by 48 foot tall HD LED video system that is the second largest HD video board in college football behind the one at the University of Texas’ Stadium.
It was announced earlier this year that the University will expand the stadium by 6,255 seats to make the official attendance 61,337. The expansion will begin after the 2012 season and is expected to be finished in time for the 2014 season.
The university along with Populous, a world-renowned sports architecture firm, are working on long-term expansion and renovation plans. Their current renderings suggest that the stadium could one day hold up to 75,000 spectators.
The stadium is named after Floyd Davis Wade Sr. who made the latest expansion possible through donations for the project that was completed in 2002.
One of the most unique and criticized traditions by Mississippi State fans is the cowbell. Despite SEC rules and NCAA rules barring artificial noisemakers at games, Mississippi State fans continue to bring cowbells to Bulldog games.
The origin of the cowbell remains unclear, but records show it being introduced in the late 1930s and early 1940s which coincided with the “golden age” of Mississippi State football prior to World War II.
Popular legend has it that a jersey cow wandered onto the playing field during a home game against arch-rival Ole Miss. The Bulldogs soundly defeated the Rebels in that game and MSU fans immediately adopted the cow as a good luck charm. It is also said that students continued to bring a cow to football games for a while until the practice was discontinued in favor of the cowbell. By the 1950s and 60s, the cowbells were quite common and known as a symbol of Mississippi State.
The cowbell popularity grew rapidly during the long time when MSU football was unsuccessful. In the 1960s, two MSU professors obliged some students by welding handles on the cowbells so they could be rung easier and louder. By 1963, the demand for handled cowbells could not be filled by home workshops by themselves. The Student Association bought bells in bulk and the Industrial Education Club agreed to weld on handles. Then in 1964 the MSU bookstore began selling these handled cowbells with a portion of the profits returning to student organizations.
Cowbells decorate offices and homes of MSU alumni and are even passed down through generations of fans. Many different styles of cowbells are available with full Bulldog figurine handles and bulldog images painted on the cowbell.
In 1974 the SEC adopted a rule against artificial noisemakers that make it illegal to bring them to games. MSU fans were very creative in finding ways to circumvent the rule and continued to bring them to games. The ban stayed in effect until 2010.
That spring, the 12 schools of the SEC agreed to a compromise on artificial noisemakers and acknowledged the role cowbells play in the history of MSU. An amended rule was created that allowed cowbells into the stadium for the first time in 36 years. Due to fans’ adherence to the rules outlined by the conference, the “cowbell rule” will continue to allowed with specific restrictions.
However the NCAA rules still forbid artificial noisemakers.
Below is a rendering of what Davis Wade Stadium may look like after the upcoming expansion is completed.
Image from clarionledger.com.
Jags Will Face South Alabama’s First Offensive Coordinator Les Koenning In Starkville
When Coach Joey Jones was hired to start the football program at the University of South Alabama, his first hires was his offensive and defensive coordinators. He hired former Prattville High head coach Bill Clark as his defensive coordinator. But Jones also hired Les Koenning as his offensive coordinator.
I remember seeing Coach Jones and Coach Koenning around campus before their first signing class and before they even had the football fieldhouse. Koenning was hired exactly two weeks after Coach Jones was hired.
But Koenning wouldn’t be at South long. Sylvester Croom had resigned after five seasons at the head coach of Mississippi State. They then hired Dan Mullen, who was serving as the offensive coordinator at Florida under Urban Meyer at the time.
In December of 2008, Mullen hired Koenning away from South to be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Mississippi State. Koenning previously coached at Mississippi State during the late 80s as a receivers coach. He was replaced by eventual MSU head coach Jackie Sherrill after the 1990 season.
Coach Jones then hired Coach Greg Gregory prior to the Jaguars first spring practice in 2009.
Though Coach Jones is familiar with Koenning and his style of play-calling, but he does not think it will be an advantage for his team in Saturday’s game in Starkville. “I don’t think it will help 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,” Jones said. “They are doing things differently than when he was here.”
Saturday’s game in Starkville will be the first of a three game series between the Jags and the Bulldogs. The Jags will host the Bulldogs in Mobile for a game on September 13, 2014 as the Jags first SEC opponent in Mobile. Then the Jags will travel to Starkville a second time for a September 10, 2016 game.
Jags have four other SEC teams on their future schedules. Next season the Jags travel to Knoxville to play Tennessee, then in 2014 they play at Georgia, at LSU in 2016 and at Ole Miss in 2017.
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.