Preview: South Alabama Returns Home To Host Texas State
Kickoff: Saturday, November 12, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Brandon Crum
South Alabama (7-2, 4-1 SBC) returns home after back-to-back road contests. It’ll be the first home game since the loss to rival Troy in the ‘Battle for the Belt.’ The road trip began with a 31-3 thumping of an ailing Arkansas State team. It wrapped up last week with a major gut-check of a game against Georgia Southern where the Jags came from behind to win 38-31.
It gave the Jags their first win in Statesboro, Georgia.
Against Georgia Southern, the Jags fell behind by two scores before the halfway mark of the first quarter. Carter Bradley’s first pass attempt was tipped, intercepted, and returned for a touchdown less than a minute into the game. Then a 50+ yard touchdown run on Georgia State’s first offensive possession.
In all they allowed 21 points in the first quarter but only allowed 10 points the rest of the way and only seven points in the second half.
The Jags trailed 31-17 around midway through the third quarter but from there it became the La’Damian Webb show. Webb would score all three of the Jaguars touchdowns down the stretch. He finished with 247 yards rushing with four touchdowns on 35 carries. He set single game records for yards and attempts and tied a record for touchdowns in a game.
It also marked his second-consecutive Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Louisiana-Lafayette had Troy 17-0 at halftime, however the Trojans managed to fight their way back and score the game winning touchdown with five seconds left. The Trojans continue to hold onto the Sun Belt Conference West lead over the Jags due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
While the Jags may not control their destiny in the Sun Belt Conference West division race, they control what happens in the next game.
That next game is Texas State.
Texas State (3-6, 1-4 SBC)
Bobcat head coach Jake Spavital is in his fourth season at the helm. He is 12-33 overall and 8-21 in conference play. The Bobcats upset the Jags in overtime last season 33-31. The Bobcats scored a game-tying touchdown with :17 left in regulation to force overtime.
In overtime both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime. Texas State missed a field goal and forced a fumble in the second overtime. Both teams failed to convert their two-point conversions in the third overtime. Then in the fourth overtime the Bobcats convert first, but Jake Bentley’s pass attempted fell incomplete for the loss. The Bobcats would finish the season 4-8 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Offense
This is the third season that Spavital is calling the plays on offense.
On the season the Bobcats are averaging 22.6 points, 330.7 total yards, 242.3 passing yards, 88.3 rushing yards, and 30:37 time of possession per game.
They are converting 52-of-138 (37.7%) of their 3rd down attempts and have converted 4-of-16 (25%) of their 4th down attempts on the season. While they are scoring well when they get into the red zone, they are only coming away with touchdowns 2/3rds of the time. Of their 27 trips, they’ve scored 24 times with 16 being touchdowns.
Quarterback Layne Hatcher’s name should be familiar. He transferred to Texas State after spending the previous three seasons at Arkansas State. In 32 career games and 16 starts the threw for 7,427 yards and 65 touchdowns. He is currently 4th all time in Arkansas State history in career passing yards, 3rd in career passing touchdowns, and 4th in completion percentage (61.6%).
So far this season Hatcher is 215-of-337 (63.8%) for 2,181 yards and 18 touchdowns with 8 interceptions.
The Bobcats top receiver is Ashtyn Hawkins with 56 catches for 587 yards and 7 touchdowns. The next closest receiver in receptions is Julian Ortega-Jones with 28 catches for 266 yards and a touchdown in eight games played. The next closest receiver is yardage is Marcell Barbee with 21 catches for 299 yards and a touchdown in eight games played. Only four other receivers have caught double-digit passes on the season. But a total of 18 players have caught passes on the season.
Lincoln Pare, another name that may be familiar, also transferred to San Marcos from Arkansas State. He leads the rushing attack with 458 yards on 120 carries with three touchdowns. Calvin Hill adds 333 yards on 76 carries with a touchdown in seven games played. Jahmyl Jeter has 108 yards on 35 carries and a touchdown in eight games.
Defense
Jake Spavital’s brother Zac, is the defensive coordinator for the Bobcats. He has helped the Bobcats to ranking among the nations top 50 teams in forcing turnovers in 2020. They were a top 25 pass defense in 2019 when they allowed an average of 199.3 passing yards per game that season.
This season the Bobcats are allowing an average of 24.9 points, 358.9 total yards, 239.7 passing yards, and 119.2 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 48-of-132 (36.4%) of their 3rd down attempts and 9-of-19 (47.4%) of their 4th down attempts on the season. While opponents have been in the red zone 30 times on the season, they have scored points in 24 of those trips and 18 of those scores were touchdowns.
London Harris leads the team with 64 total stops, 30 of them solo, with two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. Levi Bell leads the team with 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, and six quarterback hurries from the defensive line. Jordan Revels had 55 total tackles, 21 solo, 9 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 7 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery from his outside linebacker position. Defensive lineman Nelson Mbanasor has 8 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Bell and Mbanasor are co-leaders in sacks.
Kordell Rodgers leads the team with 4 interceptions of the teams 10 total interceptions.
Special Teams
Seth Keller is the team’s primary placekicker. He is 9-of-11 with a long of 41 yards and has converted all 23 extra point attempts. Mason Shipley made his only kick attempt on the season from 54 yards.
Seamus O’Kelly is averaging 41.9 yards per punt with a long of 68 yards, 8 kicks of 50+ yards, 28 fair catches, nine downed inside the 20.
South Alabama (7-2, 4-1 SBC)
The Jags locked in the programs first-ever winning season since transitioning to the FBS ranks. But head coach Kane Wommack does not want to just get back to a bowl game. Anytime the subject is mentioned he tells people that he wants it to be an expectation that South Alabama is going to a bowl game year after year.
As players continue to build upon coach Wommack’s process-oriented approach, the results are showing up on the field.
And in the win-loss column too.
Offense
After the big offensive day against Georgia Southern, the Jags are now averaging 32.3 points, 432.9 total yards, 265.4 passing yards, 167.4 rushing yards, and 32:22 time of possession per game.
They are converting 58-of-131 (44.3%) of their 3rd down attempts and 6-of-13 (46.2%) of their 4th down attempts.
Across their 30 trips into the opponents red zone, the Jags have scored points 34 times, with 26 of them being touchdowns.
La’Damian Webb is closing in on a 1,000-yard season. He has 896 yards on 163 carries with 13 touchdowns on the season. He is averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Omni Wells is next in the Jaguars stable of running backs with 175 yards on 39 carries. Marco Lee has 157 yards on 44 carries with four touchdowns. Braylon McReynolds has 150 yards on 28 carries.
Carter Bradley is 188-of-289 (65.1%) for 2,281 yards, 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on the season.
Jalen Wayne leads the receiver trio with 670 yards on 46 catches with 7 touchdowns. Caullin Lacy leads the trio with 48 catches for 615 yards and three touchdowns. Devin Voisin, who has emerged as a clutch receiver, has 467 yards on 38 catches with a touchdown.
Defense
The Jags SwarmD defense has picked up where they left off last season with impressive national defensive rankings.
The rushing defense ranks 5th, 6th national in 3rd down conversion percentage defense, tied 18th in scoring defense, 12th nationally in red zone defense, T-19th in turnover margin, and 19th in time of possession.
On the season the Jags defense is allowing on average 19.1 points, 302.4 total yards, 217.3 passing yards, and 85.1 rushing yards per game.
Opponents are converting 33-of-119 (27.7%) of their 3rd down attempts and 10-of-18 (56.6%) of their 4th down attempts. Also, of opponents 26 trips into the red zone, they came away with points on 19 of those trips and only 12 of them were touchdowns.
James Miller continues to lead the defense with 51 total stops, 28 solo, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two quarterback hurries. Trey Kiser is second with 47 total stops, 33 solo, with six tackles for loss and two sacks with a fumble recovery.
CJ Rias and Jamie Sheriff co-lead the team with four sacks each. Though Rias leads the team with eight tackles for loss.
Yam Banks leads the team and is tied for the national lead with five interceptions on the season.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo remains perfect on the season by making his 12th field goal attempt of the season against Georgia Southern. Guajardo has only missed one of his 34 extra point attempts on the season.
Jack Brooks is averaging 42.1 yards per kick with a season long of 58 yards and 14 kicks downed inside the 20.
Keys to the Game
Establish the Run
I can hear you now, “but they’ve been running the ball great the last two weeks, why is it key for this game?”
Well, despite their record, the Texas State defense is a very strong unit. Are they a Troy caliber defense? I don’t think so. But they have enough talent on that side of the ball to give me some concern because it stacks up a little bit like Troy.
Troy was able to just smother us defensively. None of our running backs could find room to run, their defensive speed closed any hole, and La’Damian Webb wasn’t at full health either.
However, over the last two weeks, we’ve established that either Webb is back at full strength or very close to it. We’ll need him, the rest of the running back corps, and the offensive line to play up to the task at hand.
Play Disciplined
Last week was another game with 13 penalties for 118 yards assessed on the Jags. As a team that prides itself on being very physical, it also comes with penalties. However, the number of unsportsmanlike penalties needs to be reduced. Plus you just cannot commit some of those penalties in certain situations.
Dontae Lucas being ejected for an unsportsmanlike penalty is completely avoidable. He is suspended for this game against Texas State. Actions have consequences. Thankfully the penalty didn’t seem to hurt the team against Georgia Southern. The offense was able to continue their domination against the Eagles with Kent Foster in as his replacement. That also goes a long way to show how much this staff has been able to turn around this offensive line in only their second season.
The worst penalties for the Jags have been offensive penalties that get them off schedule. When you dig yourself into a 1st & 15 or 1st & 20 situation, those have often been drive killers.
Staying Healthy
Like all teams, the Jags have had their share of injuries and have managed to continue to play at a high level. Coach Wommack and his staff have done a good job with player rotations and preparations. When a player has been forced out of a game, the “next man up” has been well prepared and has not had a significant drop-off in terms of play.
With three weeks left in the regular season, and still the hope for a spot in the conference championship game, health down the stretch will be key.
Seeing many key starters still playing at the end of the Arkansas State game was a little disconcerting. But at the end of the game, you could see Carter Bradley limping as he was jogging towards the locker room. The 2021 season was hampered down the stretch by an injury to starting quarterback Jake Bentley.
With La’Damian Webb’s workload the last two weeks, and dealing with flu-like symptoms last week, I hope they manage his workload in practice accordingly. He has had 68 carries and 409 yards rushing over that stretch. That is 41.7% of his carries and 45.6% of his rushing yardage for the season over the last two games alone.
Thankfully Braylon McReynolds is on track to clear the concussion protocol for the game on Saturday to hopefully give some additional help in the backfield.
Prediction
The Bobcats rallied and got us in overtime last year in San Marcos, TX. Actually, San Marcos is another place we’ve never won at on the road. But that will have to wait until next year to be settled. Conversely, the Jags have never lost to Texas State in Mobile either (two wins at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and one at Hancock Whitney Stadium).
The Jags are a solid 16.5-point favorite to win according to the different handicapping websites. Combine that with South Alabama’s strong play at home and Texas State’s poor play on the road and I understand why the line is set where it is.
I say the Jags win but I don’t think they cover the 16.5. I think the Bobcat defense will do just enough to keep the Jags under that line.
Go Jags!
Preview: South Alabama Travels To Georgia Southern
Kickoff: Saturday, November 5, 3:00pm
Venue: Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro, Georgia
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
#5 Jersey: Trey Kiser
South Alabama earned a decisive 31-3 win over Arkansas State last Saturday. But it was a bit more than just another win for the Jaguar football program. It was the sixth win of the season, which marks FBS Bowl Eligibility. A feat that has not been accomplished since 2016.
While six years doesn’t sound like a long time, in football terms it feels like an eternity.
La’Damian Webb started the game with a bang, reeling off a 69-yard run on the opening offensive play of the game. He finished the game with 162 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns. He ran all 11 plays on the Jags final offensive possession, which ended with a score, late in the fourth quarter. That was good enough to earn him Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Jags defense turned in a stellar performance too.
They held the Red Wolves to only 158 yards of total offense and -19 yards rushing. Only 3 of their 15 offensive possessions gained over 12 yards of offense. Five of their possessions finished with negative yardage.
But there’s a few things to work on from this game too. The Jags committed seven first-half penalties, but only one after halftime. Two of them were false starts when they were pinned deep at their own 2-yard line. No other Jaguar running back rushed for more than 12 yards. Webb shouldered the workload, but after Webb went out with an injury earlier in the season Omni Wells and Marco Lee came in rushed for season highs. Where did they go?
Now the Jaguars must turn their attention to Georgia Southern. Last season they broke through and won their first game ever against the Eagles 41-14, in Mobile. Now they get to follow up last seasons win with a trip to Statesboro to see if they can notch their second against the Eagles and their first in Statesboro.
Georgia Southern (5-3, 2-2 SBC)
Georgia Southern had been a long-time powerhouse in the FCS ranks. In 2014 they moved up to FBS and joined the Sun Belt Conference and proceeded to go undefeated 8-0 in conference play their first season. Their success put them as only the third team in the modern era to win a conference title in it’s first FBS season, and the first to ever go undefeated in conference play in their first FBS season. However, they were unable to go to a bowl game due to transition rules and the NCAA denied a waiver request by the school as well. (Also the Sun Belt Conference did not have a Conference Championship Game at that time either.)
In 2017 the Eagles hit their low point with a 2-10 season. But a 52-0 win over the Jags in Statesboro in the next to last game of the season led to South Alabama head coach Joey Jones to not be retained. Georgia Southern took the interim tag off of Chad Lunsford, who took over the head coaching duties for the Eagles mid-season. In 2018 they went 10-3 with a win over then #25 ranked rival Appalachian State and a bowl victory over Eastern Michigan.
In 2019 and 2020 they posted 7-5 records. The beginning of 2021, after a 1-2 start, the Eagles fired Lunsford and finished 3-9.
Former USC head coach Clay Helton was hired and immediately went to work overhauling the Eagles offense. Georgia Southern had been known as a triple-option powerhouse for many years in FCS and again in FBS.
Helton’s transition has been pretty successful too.
Offense
Helton and offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis’ offensive scheme see them throw the ball over an average of 45 times per game. Nealy 60% of their offensive plays have been pass plays so far this season.
Ellis came to GSU after helping Western Kentucky to a Conference USA championship in 2021 where their offense ranked 2nd in FBS with 44.2 points per game, 2nd in total offense (535.3 yards per game), and led the nation with 433.7 passing yards per game (41.1 yards above the 2nd ranked team). They had 92 offensive plays of 20+ yards with 24 going for touchdowns.
The Eagles offense is averaging 36.9 points, 494.5 total yards, 338.0 passing yards, 156.5 rushing yards, and 29:29 time of possession per game. They are converting 71-of-130 (54.6%) of their 3rd down attempts and 8-of-15 (53.3%) of their 4th down attempts on the season. They have committed 13 turnovers on the season, only one of them have been a fumble.
Of the Eagles 34 trips into the red zone, they have scored on 32 of those trips with 23 of them being touchdowns.
Kyle Vantrease, a transfer from Buffalo, is 232-of-374 (62%) passing on the season for 2,704 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
While they have lots of numbers for their receivers, Khaleb Hood is their leading receiver with 53 catches for 609 yards and two touchdowns. Derwin Burgess Jr has 45 catches for 546 yards and five touchdowns. Jeremy Singleton has 46 catches for 497 yards and two touchdowns. Amare Jones has 35 catches for 483 yards and six touchdowns. The last receiver with double-digit receptions is Jalen White with 18 for 183 yards and a touchdown.
Jalen White leads the rushing attack with 678 yards on 132 carries with nine touchdowns. Gerald Green has 404 yards on 71 carries with six touchdowns.
Head coach Kane Wommack and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon have their hands full with this passing offense. But they use the rushing attack to open up their passing game.
Defense
As much as the offense takes, the defense allows almost as much.
On average the Eagles defense allows 30.4 points, 480.9 total yards, 270.1 passing yards, 210.8 rushing yards, and 30:31 time of possession per game. Opponents are converting 42-of-106 (39.6%) of their 3rd down attempts and 7-of-12 (58.3%) of their 4th down attempts.
The defense has taken the ball away 11 times on the season, only three of them have been fumble recoveries.
Of their opponents 35 trips into the red zone, they have only scored on 25 of them with 18 of them being touchdowns.
Special Teams
Alex Raynor has attempted all but one of the team’s field goal attempts. He is 12-of-14 on the season with a long of 45 yards and has only missed one of his 36 extra point attempts. Michael Lantz attempted one from 50+ yards but was unsuccessful.
Anthony Beck II has punted 26 times with an average of 44 yards per kick with 11 downed inside the 20, six kicks of 50+ yards with a long of 59.
South Alabama (6-2, 3-1 SBC)
Offense
The Jags are now averaging 31.6 points, 422.8 total yards, 274.5 passing yards, 148.3 rushing yards, and 31.46 time of possession per game this season. They didn’t have a particularly good game on 3rd down so their conversion rate on the season is now 50-of-116 (43.1%) and their 4th down conversion rate is 5-of-12 (41.7%) on the season.
They didn’t give the ball away last weekend so they hold fast with only 7 offensive turnovers, two of them being fumbles. Of 33 trips to the red zone, they have scored 28 times with 21 of them being touchdowns.
Carter Bradley saw all the action against the Red Wolves and is now 172-of-262 (65.7%) for 2,088 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. Most of the passing plays against the Red Wolves were short and towards the perimeter due to the rainy conditions. They wanted to limit the possibility of a wet ball being tipped or slipping through a receivers hands and being intercepted.
Jalen Wayne leads the way receiving with 642 yards and six touchdowns on 43 catches. Caullin Lacy is right behind him with 582 yards and three touchdowns on 45 catches. Devin Voisin has 425 yards on 36 catches with a touchdown.
Webb has 649 rushing yards on the season on 128 attempts with nine touchdowns. Then there’s a big dropoff to the next rushers: 157 yards by Omni Wells, 152 yards for Marco Lee but he has four touchdowns. True freshman Braylon McReynolds, who made his return to the lineup after missing a couple games, has 108 yards on 22 carries this season as a true freshman.
Defense
After the big effort last week, the Jags statistics are looking great this year. They are now ranked 4th in FBS in rushing defense, 16th in scoring defense, 8th in 3rd down conversion defense, and 18th in first down defense.
The defense is allowing an average of 17.6 points, 294.5 total yards, 209.8 passing yards, 84.8 rushing yards, and 27:36 time of possession per game.
Opposing offenses are converting 29-of-107 (27.1%) of their 3rd down attempts and 10-of-17 (58.8%) of their 4th down attempts.
Defensively they have taken the ball away 16 times, 7 fumbles and 9 interceptions.
James Miller leads the team with 44 total stops, 24 solo, with 4 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Jaden Voisin has 43 total stops, 25 solo, with 4 tackles for loss and an interception.
CJ Rias leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss with Trey Kiser right behind him with 5 TFL’s. Jamie Sheriff, with his effort against ASU, leads the team with for sacks. Rias is right on his heels with three sacks. Yam Banks continues to lead the team with four interceptions.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo only saw action in extra point attempts, where he made all four. He is still a perfect 11-of-11 on the season with a long of 48.
Jack Brooks, who wore the honorary #5 jersey, is averaging 41.88 yards per kick this season. He has 14 downed inside the 20. Although he had one mishap against Arkansas State, when a snap got away from him and he was taken down without being able to punt the ball away.
Keys to the Game
Fast Start
When the Jags get off to a fast start against a team, they seemingly cannot be stopped. Through eight games, when the Jags lead after the first quarter, they are 6-1. They jumped out to a 14-3 lead over Arkansas State and never looked back. They were up 14-0 over Louisiana Tech and also sailed to a 38-14 win. Also, against Central Michigan, they jumped out to a 20-7 lead and a 31-10 halftime lead as they cruised to a 38-24 win, though CMU scored two late touchdowns to make it seem much closer than it was. The lone loss was to UCLA where they held 10-6 lead after the first quarter.
The Jags recipe for success is to jump on their opponent early and seize the momentum. This has really helped this team go from a bad road record team to sitting at 3-1 in road games this season, the first time a Jags team has won three road games in a season since 2014. Until this season the Jags had only won three road games in total in the previous four seasons. They were winless on the road for two seasons in 2018 and 2019.
It would be nice to jump out to a fast start on Saturday in Statesboro.
Defensive Front Play
The Jags have allowed several explosive plays through the air on defense. Explosive plays are not an official stat, so their definition varies by team. Some consider an explosive pass play to be 15 yards or more, others define it as 20 yards or more.
The Jags secondary hasn’t been the strongest unit, but they aren’t slouches either. Offenses are throwing the ball more over the last several years than they have in years before so defensive secondaries are under more pressure than ever before. But the Jags defense has turned teams one-dimensional with their 4th ranked rushing defense.
The Jags lost preseason honoree Keith Gallmon to injury in preseason camp. Darrell Luter has been hampered by a wrap on one of his hands. Transfer Jamar Richardson missed time with an injury. The latest injury to affect the secondary was to transfer Marvin Martin, who was rushed to the hospital by ambulance after a hit during practice. News has been positive for Martin, it remains unknown if his playing career is over but the current focus is on his health and wellbeing.
Last week against Arkansas State, a fairly prolific passing team, the Jags defensive front generated a ton of pressure on a quarterback that wasn’t 100% and playing in the rain. They generated four sacks in the game with numerous quarterback hurries.
But they shut down the run and made Arkansas State one dimensional.
Coach Wommack and coach Batoon have a goal to shut down the Georgia Southern rushing attack. The Eagles establish the run early to then open up the passing game.
Strong play by the defensive front, particularly the defensive line, to shut down the run and also in generating pressure on the quarterback will be key to limiting the Eagles scoring opportunities.
The Jags will definitely be without linebacker Quentin Wilfawn as coach Wommack announced that he will miss the remainder of the season with a neck issue that will require surgery. However, they say he will have eligibility for the 2023 season and will be able to return along with Keith Gallmon.
Turnovers
Any time you play on the road, turnovers are a key part of the game. You’re playing in a hostile environment and a turnover can give momentum to your opponent and energize their fans.
South Alabama has been quite greedy with turnovers. With a +9 turnover margin (16 takeaways to 7 giveaways) the Jags often win the turnover battle. However, defensive coaches have been encouraging the defense that they should be generating more turnovers. Look for the Jags to be eager to give the ball back to their offense more down the stretch. This weekend would be a great time to get that ball rolling with more momentum in the closing month of the regular season.
Prediction
The spread has been a consistent with the Jags as a 3.5 to 4 point favorite over the Eagles.
The Eagles are 3-0 at home this season with a 45-38 win over then #25 ranked James Madison just a couple of weeks ago. They also notched a 45-42 win over Power 5 Nebraska in week 2. Add in that they were on a bye last Saturday; the Jags will be facing a rested Georgia Southern team in a very tough environment.
Coach Wommack and his staff always has his team ready to play. They have turned the overall culture around very quickly and the road game culture is paying off so far this season.
This is a very winnable game, but it also has me nervous. I feel that it’s going to be an interesting and exciting game, but I feel that the Jags win a very close game. Possibly too close for comfort.
Go Jags!
Jags Use Fast Start And Five Turnovers To Down Louisiana Tech 38-14
The Louisiana Tech’s quarterback, Parker McNeil, will have nightmares this week and the antagonist will be Yam Banks after he accounted for three take-aways and a touchdown as South Alabama wins 38-14.
The Jags improve to 3-1 on the season, half way to bowl eligibility and their non-conference slate complete. Louisiana Tech falls to 1-3 on the season.
South Alabama came out quick. It looked like Braylon McReynolds had taken the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, but a personal foul for an illegal backside block negated the score
But the Jags had already seized the momentum.
It only took the Jags six plays to cover 80 yards and put up the opening score of the game. Jalen Wayne caught back-to-back passes for 19 and 18 yards. Then La’Damian Webb reeled off a 25 yard run to put South Alabama in the red zone. A couple plays later Carter Bradley found Lincoln Sefcik for a 3 yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0.
The defense held the Bulldogs to a three-and-out and no offensive yards.
Then the special teams came up with a big play, and this one counted. Caullin Lacy caught the put on the right side of the field, weaved his way through the Bulldog coverage, and took it to the house to put the Jags up 14-0 after only 3:50 off the clock.
Louisiana Tech finally got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter on a 52 yard touchdown pass to Smoke Harris after he got behind a Jaguar defender to make it 14-7.
The South Alabama defense took the Bulldog score personally. On the next four possession the Jags would force turnovers.
The Jags answered with a 24 yard Diego Guajardo field goal for a 17-7 lead which would hold up till halftime. Ke’Shun Brown helped to preserve it with one of the Bulldogs four interceptions in the game.
The Jags were back on the scoreboard less than a minute into the second half.
On 2nd and 6, McNeil threw a pass toward the right sideline but Yam Banks was in position for the interception and was able to return it 24 yards for a touchdown to go up 24-7.
On the third play of the ensuing possession, Jamie Sheriff got a 14 yard sack on quarterback Matthew Downing and jarred the ball loose. Yam Banks covered it up for the recovery.
On 3rd & 8, Bradley tossed the ball to Caullin Lacy who took it in from 19 yards out to extend the Jags lead to 31-7 at the 11:06 mark in the third quarter.
The Jags would get on the board one last time to start the fourth quarter. After driving down to the Bulldogs 28 yard line as the third quarter expired, Bradley tossed the ball to Webb on the first play of the final stanza and he found pay dirt for a 38-7 with 14:42 left in the game.
La Tech put together an 8 play, 80 yard drive to put their final points of the game on the scoreboard with 10:59 left in the game.
The Jaguar reserves nearly added a score with seconds left in the game but a flag for holding kept them off the scoreboard one last time.
“That was a statement game in my mind,” head coach Kane Wommack said after the game. “I’m really pleased with where we are to the point. We’ve got to continue to work the momentum and build the consistency in our program that we’re looking for.”
“Are their plenty of things to get better off from this game,” Wommack asked. “Absolutely,” he answered.
On the drive that yielded the final points for Louisiana Tech, a very questionable call was made by the officials. Defensive end Brock Higdon beat his man and as he was running around the blocker, was seemingly shoved towards the quarterback. McNeil just got the ball away before Higdon’s shoulderpads hit his derriere from behind. After the play was over the officials stopped the game to review the play and eventually ejected Higdon for targeting on the third down play.
When the official announced the penalty, coach Wommack let loose with a barrage of words towards the officials. He had only said a couple words when they tossed a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct on the coach.
“There are times where you’ve got to send a message to your football team, that their head coach is going to stand up for them when they’re playing their tails off at the end of the game,” Wommack explained. “The call was the call. They had their reasons for the call and I’m not going to argue it, but my job is to stand up for my football team when our guys are playing hard, and that’s exactly what I did. Not going to apologize for that. However, certainly I recognize that that’s unprofessional, but a message had to be sent.”
Due to the targeting ejection occurring in the second half, Higdon will have to sit out the first half of the Jags next game at Louisiana-Lafayette. However Wommack indicated that he will use the NCAA’s new appeal process for targeting suspensions if, after they review the game film, they believe it is warranted.
After the game Yam Banks said that, after the UCLA loss, they were locked in all week during practice. “Coaches told us we’re too good not to be taking the ball away from people,” Banks explained. “That was our main focus this week.”
South Alabama
The Jags put up 389 total yards of offense, 214 through the air and 175 on the ground. They had 23 first downs and went 5-of-10 on 3rd down situations. They were 3-of-4 on scoring in the red zone, the only time they didn’t score was the final possession of the game.
South Alabama came out on the short side in time of possession with only 28:51 of possession time.
Bradley Carter went 14-of-21 for 178 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Desmond Trotter was 3-of-4 for 36 yards in relief late in the game.
La’Damian Webb rushed for 75 yards on 14 carries. Braylon McReynolds added 51 on seven carries.
Caullin Lacy led the Jags receiving corps with 3 catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. Wayne had two receptions for 37 yards, he caught two passes in the first possession of the game and would not catch another pass for the rest of the game.
Webb and Sefcik both caught one pass in the game but both went for touchdowns.
Jamie Sheriff led the defense with 5 total tackles, two solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble. Trey Kiser had five tackles, all solo, with 1 tackle for loss which was a sack.
Yam Banks finished the game with only one tackle but collected a pair of interceptions, one ran back for a touchdown, and a fumble recovery and three pass break-ups.
South Alabama finished the game with 14 penalties, eight of them in the first half, for 131 penalty yards.
La Tech
The Jags defense allowed 308 total yards of offense, 251 yards passing and 57 yards rushing. The Bulldogs had 17 first downs, went 3-of-12 on 3rd down and 2-of-3 on 4th down attempts. The Bulldogs only scored on one of their three trips into the red zone.
Parker McNeil went 19-of-34 for 251 yards, two touchdown, two sacks and four interceptions.
Tre Harris led all receivers with six catches for 85 yards. Smoke Harris had four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Griffin Hebert caught five passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Greg Garner rushed seven times for 51 yards. Marquis Crosby had 10 carries for 21 yards.
Next Game
South Alabama will travel to Lafayette to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns to open Sun Belt Conference play. Kickoff is scheduled for 4pm on Saturday, October 1 at Cajun Field.
Preview: South Alabama Host Nicholls State In Season Opener
Kickoff: Friday September 3, 4:00pm
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium – Mobile, AL
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 96.1 fm The Rocket, Sports Talk 99.5 fm, iHeartRadio App
#5 Jersey: Keith Gallmon
Thunderjags Twitter: @USAThunderjags
Game one of the 2022 season is finally here. The time has come for me to dust off my notepad and get back to writing again. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write, or that I didn’t have ideas, but it’s just been a busy off-season for this member of the Thunderjags crew. So kick back and read through this rather lengthy preview. Because not only do I preview Nicholls State (I know they prefer to drop the “State” from their preferred reference, but that’s the name of your school), but basically introduce you to the fresh new faces that help to comprise the 2022 Jaguar football team. In an age where it’s encouraged to include a few photos, maybe a couple videos, an instagram reel or two, and the obligatory tiktok video, you the faithful Thunderjags reader will be treated to almost three thousand words of South Alabama football.
The Season Is Here
After a spirited 2021 season under first year head coach Kane Wommack, the Jaguar fans are looking forward to what the 2022 season has to offer. Last year was a marked improvement over the last few seasons.
It’s hard to point to last season and say there were disappointments.
The team improved their record to 5-7, the most by a South Alabama team since 2016. They had several opportunities throughout the season to win games but just came up on the short end of the scoreboard. A missed field goal in the waning minutes of the Ragin’ Cajun game. A four-overtime loss at Texas State. Then an overtime loss to Coastal Carolina in the season finale. The Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State games were decided by two points each. A seven point loss to Troy, which also an illegal hit on Jake Bentley that injured him and the team for the rest of the season, then a six point loss to Coastal Carolina (where Bentley returned but clearly wasn’t fully healthy) demonstrates how the Jags have closed the gap against some of the Sun Belt Conference foes.
I guess the feeling of having bowl eligibility within your control and not being able to grasp it can be a little disappointing, even if nagging injuries contributed to it. But the returning Jaguars have instead channeled that into motivation.
“Our best days are ahead of us,” is one mantra you will hear Coach Wommack say from time to time.
Season two of Coach Wommack’s tenure will start to display results on Saturday. The 2022 season really got into full gear after the final whistle of the Coastal Carolina game in 2021. He and his staff have put lots of hard work into what the program will be in 2022 and the next few years through recruiting, spring practice and preseason camp.
The staff had some great talent leave the program through graduation. A few of the most notable departures from the 2021 team are Jalen Tolbert, Jake Bentley, Tre Young, Devin Rockette, Chris Henderson, Kareem Walker, Jamal Brooks, Shawn Jennings, Christian Bell, and Ja’Chai Baker. The Jaguar staff brought in new faces to help fill those positions and to further bolster the roster in positions of need.
A mixture of true freshmen, junior college transfers, and players from the transfer portal joined the program this year. Carter Bradley, who was named the starting quarterback, transferred from Toledo.
DaMarcus Thomas (tight end), Jalen Jordan (cornerback), and Jamar Richardson (wide receiver) all transferred in from Ole Miss. Dontae Lucas, an offensive lineman, transferred from Florida State and will also start. James Miller, an inside linebacker, rejoins coach Wommack from Indiana to play for him again as a starter. Marvin Martin, a safety, transferred in from Kansas State and will start in place of the injured Keith Gallmon who was lost for the season due to a torn pectoral muscle requiring surgery. PJ Dixon, offensive lineman, from Jacksonville State will start. They also added Jacob Meeks, a placekicker, from Texas Tech.
The running back position has had an almost complete makeover. Terrion Avery and Bryan Hill are the only returners in the Jaguar backfield. They added La’Damian Webb from Jones (Miss.) College, Omni Wells from Mississippi State, and Marco Lee from Virginia Tech.
There were some surprises when the two-deep roster was released for the first game of the season. Webb will start at running back, Jalen Jordan will start over CJ Thompson, though Thompson took the majority of reps throughout the spring and preseason camp with the first-string. Former walk-on Reggie Smith will start at right guard with Anterrious Gray, who started at the same position last season, being listed as second-string at left guard. Diego Guajardo remains the starting placekicker, however Jacob Meeks will handle kickoff duties.
Nicholls
Nicholls State is an FCS team that the Jags have hosted three times previously, all Jaguar victories. However, the last time they visited Mobile they took USA to overtime before the home team could prevail 41-40.
The Colonels finished the 2021 season with a 6-5 record overall and a 5-3 record in conference play. They earned a 45-42 win over #15 ranked Southeastern Louisiana to cap off the season. Also, earlier in the season, they put some pressure on Louisiana-Lafayette however the Ragin’ Cajuns were able to eek out a 27-24 win.
Head coach Tim Rebowe has lead the Colonels to five consecutive winning seasons, which is a first in program history. They also made three consecutive appearances in the FCS playoffs from 2017-2019. In 2018, the led the Colonels to their fourth FBS win, and their first over a power 5 team, when they defeated Kansas.
Offense
Nicholls State returns one of their more explosive players this year. Julien Gums was named to the Stats Perform FCS Walter Payton Watch List for his senior season. Over his career he has rushed for over 2,500 yards and 32 touchdowns. His 2021 season was cut short due to an injury in their second game. But he opened the season with a 139 yard, 19 carry performance against North Alabama, then had 105 yards on just six carries in the first quarter against Houston Baptist before his season ended unexpectedly. He is 1023 yards short of breaking the all-time rushing record and 3 touchdowns to break the all-time record for rushing touchdowns for the Colonels.
Colin Guggenheim also returns to the Colonels backfield. He rushed for 930 yards on 145 carries, to average 6.4 yards per carry, with 10 touchdowns. He finished the season with five consecutive 100-yard rushing performances while setting the schools single-season rushing record with 103.3 yards per game average. That includes three games where he had no carries, one single carry, and one game with only seven carries.
Offensively the Colonels had five players selected to the first-team All-Southland Conference preseason team, Guggenheim, tight end Lee Negrotto, receiver K.J. Franklin, center Evan Roussel, and placekicker Gavin Lesseigne. They also had two players named to the second team, quarterback Kohen Granier and offensive tackle Mark Barthelemy.
Franklin, a 5’9” junior receiver, enters the 2022 season 10th on the all-time receiving yardage list with 1,277 on 96 catches. He was the starting slot receiver and the primary punt returner.
Negrotto, a 6’3” 225lb sophomore tight end, finished his freshman season as a second-team member of the All-Southland Conference team. He was the primary receiving tight end and finished fourth on the team with 235 yards on 20 catches and had at least one catch in nine games in the fall.
Lasseigne, a junior placekicker, enters the season 12th on the all-time scoring list and is five extra points away from setting the all-time record. He also finished the 2021 season on the All-Southland Conference Second-Team after ranking 4th in the conference in scoring and leading the league with 11 field goals on 13 attempts. He make all three attempts in the season finale, including a career long 45-yarder in the win. He was also 46-of-47 for PATs on the season.
Granier, a senior, served as backup quarterback before starting the final two games of the 2021 season, but played in a total of eight games. He was 46-of-84 for 616 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. With Franklin, he has two other pass catchers returning who have caught 15 or more passes last season.
The Colonels averaged 33.4 points, 493.2 yards of total offense, 246.5 passing yards, and 246.7 rushing yards last season.
Defense
The Colonel defense only had one preseason All-Southland Conference first-team selection in defensive lineman Perry Ganci. Linebacker Hayden Shaheen and defensive back Jordan Jackson were second-team selections.
Ganci, a 6’2” 260lb junior, finished his sophomore season fifth in the conference with 9.5 tackles for loss and tying for fourth in sacks with 6. For the season he had 34 total tackles, 24 solo, with a season high of seven against North Alabama with 3 TFL’s and 2 sacks. He was named to the All-Southland First Team, All-Louisiana Second Team, and Southland All-Academic teams.
Shaheen, a 6’ 215lb sophomore, started all 11 games last season and finished second on the team with 56 total tackles, 36 solo, and 6.5 for loss (13th in the conference), with a fumble recovery and an interception. He finished the season with selections to the All-Southland Second Team, and Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-America Third Team.
Jackson, a 5’10” 170lb junior, played in all 11 games last season with 25 tackles (23 solo) with a career high five against Southeastern. He had two pass breakups and one interception, that he returned for a 44 yard touchdown.
The defensive unit allowed an average of 28.6 points, 385.9 total offensive yards, 246.4 passing yards and 139.5 rushing yards per game last season.
Special Teams
As mentioned previously, Lasseigne was 11-of-13 on field goals and 46-of-47 on PATs last season. Though his career longest kick is 45 yards, he was 3-for-3 from 40-49 yards out and 2-for-2 from 30-39 yards out.
Punter Craig Walker, a junior, averaged 38.1 yards per punt. In his 33 kicks last season he had 14 fair catches, 10 downed inside the 20 and one kick of 50+ yards.
Walker handled 67 of the 70 kickoffs with 15 touchbacks but he also had 5 kicks go out of bounds. Lasseigne appears to only handle onsides kicks.
USA
Offense
Beginning with the offensive line, the Jags have lots of new faces slated to start for the Jags, with three of the five listed at over 300lbs. James Jackson, who started 7 of the eight games he appeared is back at center. Trey Simpson, who started all 12 games last season in multiple positions on the offensive line, is listed as the 2nd string center.
Antawn Lewis, who started in all 11 games he appeared in, is slated to start at right tackle with Josh McCulloch, who started in one game and appeared in four, as his backup.
PJ Mixon (left tackle, Jacksonville State), Dontae Lucas (left guard and Florida State) are all newcomers to the program. Reggie Smith (right guard, walk-on) only previously saw action on field goal and PATs in 2020 and played in three games on the offensive line in 2021.
Anterrious Gray played in 11 contests, starting 10 of them last year, is listed as the second-string left guard. True freshman Adrien Strickland is listed as the second-string left tackle to start the season.
Moving out from the offensive line, the Jags have two sets of tight ends listed. Lincoln Sefcik is listed as one starter with DJ Thomas-Jones as his backup. They tend to be more of the big, pass catching type of tight ends the Jags have had success with over the years. Brandon Crum is listed as the starter with Jacob Hopper as his backup on the other list. They tend to be more of the blocking type of tight ends that came to be part of the offense over the Campbell era.
Sefcik earned third-team all-Sun Belt Conference, second-team all-league by Pro Football Network, and third-team all-conference by Phil Steele, and honorable mention all-SBC from Pro Football Focus last season. He caught 32 passes for 218 yards and five touchdowns to lead his position group in all three categories. He ranked in the top 10 in the conference in total touchdown catches by a tight end and had the most since Gerald Everett’s eight in 2015.
Crum caught nine passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. He saw action in 10 games, with four consecutive starts in October. He posted a career high three catches and 31 yards against Arkansas State with his lone touchdown.
The starting receiver are Jalen Wayne at the X and Devin Voisin at the Z receiver positions and Caullin Lacy at the H, or as some will call the slot receiver. Wayne was honored with a number of accolades in 2021, honorable mention all-Sun Belt Conference selection, second-team all-SBC from Pro Football Network, fourth-team all-conference by Phil Steele Publications. Last season he had 53 catches for 630 yards and two touchdowns. The sixth-year “super senior” will look to make his name as the Jags #1 receiver this season. Voisin played in four games last season but did not record a catch. Lacy played in 11 games last season, he started six of them including the first two games of the season, he caught 41 passes for 291 yards and added 26 yards rushing on 10 carries.
La’Damian Webb beat out Terrion Avery as the starting running back on the depth chart. Webb had been healing some injuries in the spring and preseason camp but looks to be ready to go now. Webb rushed 221 times for 1,399 yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged over six yards per carry and just under 140 yards per game and just over six yards per carry.
Carter Bradley was named the starting quarterback over Desmond Trotter. Bradley spent the previous four seasons with the Toledo Rockets. In 2021 he played in eight games as they posted a 7-5 record. He went 77-of-130 for 972 yards and four touchdowns. He went 18-of-28 for 221 yards and a touchdown against #7 Notre Dame in a three point loss.
The Jaguar offense only averaged 24.9 points per game last season, something the staff look to improve upon this season. In doing so they averaged 367.4 total yards, 256 passing yards, and 111.4 rushing yards per game.
Defense
Similarly, the Jaguar defense returns several from last year.
Starting up front, Jamie Sheriff is back from injury and starting at Bandit end with Brock Higdon as his backup. Nose guard Wy’kevious Thomas , who started all 12 games last year, is also back as a starter with Brock Higdon as his backup. Charles Coleman, who started nine of the 12 games last season, is set to start at defensive tackle this season with Ed Smith listed as his backup.
At Wolf linebacker CJ Rias is starting with DK Bonhomme or Lamondre Brooks listed as backups. Rias played in 11 games last season. Transfer James Miller is starting at Mike linebacker with Ke’Shun Brown listed as backup. Quentin Wilfawn is starting at Stinger linebacker with Trey Kiser listed as backup.
Husky (nickel) safety is Yam Banks with Tremel States-Jones listed as backup. Jamar Richardson is starting field corner with Ricky Fletcher as backup. Darrell Luter is the starting Boundary corner with Marquise Robinson as his backup. Transfer Jalen Jordan is starting at Rover with CJ Thompson as his backup. Transfer Marvin Martin is starting at Free safety in place of the injured Keith Gallmon, with Jaden Voisin listed as backup.
The defense allowed an average of 26.4 points per game, which included the 60 points that Tennessee put up on the Jags in Knoxville. That breaks down to 354.7 total yards, 208.4 passing yards, and 146.3 rushing yards per game on average.
Special Teams
Diego Guajardo and Jack Brooks return at the starting placekicker and punter. Transfer Jacob Meeks will handle kickoff duties over Diego this year.
Caullin Lacy and true freshman Braylon McReynolds are listed as the kick returners for the Jags.
Keys to the game
Control the game
The Jags need to come out and take control of the game from the opening kickoff until the final whistle. They need to prove that they are an FBS team playing against an FCS team.
The Colonels under coach Rebowe have played FBS teams very tough. They defeated Kansas a few years ago, they put a scare into Louisiana-Lafayette and defeated #15 Southeastern Louisiana in the season finale.
Stop the Run
Nicholls State have two talented running backs on their roster and they will look to use them. It’ll be up to the defensive front to keep them contained. Their offense is very balanced, but if they can take away two of their big playmakers at running back then the Jags can upset their offensive balance and get them off their rhythm.
Establish the Run
Last season the Jags did not particularly run the ball well. With an average of 111.4 yards per game over the season, it’s pretty obvious. With a new running back room, the Jags intend to change that. Nicholls will be a good test to see how well they do behind a rebuilt offensive line.
Prediction
Nicholls State is a good FCS team that South Alabama should defeat. Should. But the last two meetings between the two schools have been much closer than anticipated and for comfort. Going to overtime in 2016 and needing to stop a game-winning two-point conversion attempt twice was anything but comfortable.
They have risen to the occasion when facing FBS and strong FCS opponents. They would like nothing else but to start the 2022 season with an upset win over an FBS team. Let them get that next Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe if they want it so bad.
I think the Jags will play this game close to their vest and try not to show a lot on film for Central Michigan and UCLA to see in preparation.
Vegas Insider has South Alabama favored by 10 points. I think the final score will be a little closer. I’m thinking 34-27.
If you made it all the way through, I hope you enjoyed this read. I’ll make sure to be more concise going forward. You can blame my editor.
Go Jags!