Game 2
South Alabama Jaguars (0-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
at Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018 • 7 pm CDT
Boone Pickens Stadium (56,790 capacity/AstroTurf)
Stillwater, Okla.
Media Information
Television
Fox Sports Net
Mark Followill (pxp)
Brian Baldinger (analysis)
Lesley McCaslin (sidelines)
Radio
USA Football Radio Network
(flagship 96.1 FM/99.5 FM The Jag in Mobile)
J.D. Byars (pxp)
Pat Greenwood (analysis)
Tommy Hicks (sidelines)
On the web
• Live Twitter updates available at:
@WeAreSouth_JAGS
• Live stats available at:
http://statb.us/v/sala/228580
• Live audio available at:
http://www.iheart.com/live/995-the-jag-mobile-7117/
The Rankings
South Alabama
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 139th
Oklahoma State
Associated Press — RV (27th)
Coaches — 23rd
Sagarin — 14th
Series History
Overall: OSU leads 1-0
In Mobile: OSU leads 1-0
In Stillwater: n/a
Neutral: n/a
Series Streak: OSU — 1
First Meeting: OSU, 44-7, on Sept. 8, 2017, in Mobile
Last Meeting: OSU, 44-7, on Sept. 8, 2017, in Mobile
The Coaches
South Alabama
Steve Campbell (Troy '88)
Record at USA — 0-1 (1st season)
Career record — 159-54 (20th season)
Career Sun Belt record — 0-0
Record vs. Oklahoma State — 0-1
Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State '90)
Record at OSU — 115-53 (14th season)
Career Record — same
Record vs. USA — 1-0
Opening Kick
• South faces the Cowboys for the second year in a row as part of a three-game contract that will see the Jags return to Stillwater on Sept. 16, 2023.
• OSU is the first of four opponents the Jaguars will take on this year who received votes in the preseason Associated Press poll.
• This contest begins a stretch that will see South play four of its next five outings on the road.
• The Jags look to end a three-game road losing streak, as their last win away from home came on Oct. 11 last year at Troy in the "Battle For The Belt."
• Oklahoma State if one of two teams USA will face this fall that first-year mentor Steve Campbell coached against during his tenure at Central Arkansas; in the second game of his second season, the Cowboys defeated the Bears 32-8 in Stillwater after scoring 15 unanswered points in the last 18½ minutes.
Notes From The Last Oklahoma State Meeting
• Four of the Jaguars' 12 offensive possessions ended with South recording negative yardage — three of those were three-and-outs while the other was one snap to end the opening half.
• USA had a chance to get on the scoreboard with just over a minute to go in the first half after putting together a seven-and-a-half minute march, but missed a 31-yard field goal attempt.
• Matt Ammendola converted a 53-yard field goal 66 seconds later for the Cowboys, the second-longest ever made by a USA opponent.
• OSU's 29 first downs were the most allowed by the Jag defense all last year.
• It was the first of eight games last fall that South rushed for less than 100 yards.
Notes On Campbell's Coaching/Playing Career
• Campbell's 159-54 mark as a head coach includes going 33-15 over the last four years at Central Arkansas, where he guided the Bears to back-to-back NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances.
• He has led two programs to national championships — Delta (Miss.) State in 2000 at the NCAA Division II level and Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. to the 2007 National Junior College Athletic Association crown.
• In 19 seasons no team coached by Campbell has finished below .500.
• Campbell has coached on the staffs of Pat Dye (Auburn graduate assistant, 1988-89) and Jackie Sherrill (Mississippi State assistant, 2003).
• Campbell and Jaguar coordinators Kenny Edenfield and Greg Stewart were teammates on Troy's 1987 NCAA Division II national championship squad.
Baker Has Big Night Against Bulldogs
WR Kawaan Baker tied a school record with three touchdowns in the South's season-opening matchup with Louisiana Tech, reaching the end zone twice on runs and once on a pass from Cole Garvin. He posted the team's first points of the year on a 28-yard run midway through the second quarter, added a three-yard reception in the third quarter then closed out the scoring with a four-yard run that drew the Jaguars within one score with just over a minute remaining in regulation. It was the first time a Jag has scored on a rush and reception in the same game since current Los Angeles Rams TE Gerald Everett turned the trick on Oct. 13, 2015, against Arkansas State.
Lawrence Leads Way Defensively
S Nigel Lawrence matched a career high with 12 stops in the Jaguars' season debut, leading all players in the contest. It was the second straight outing the senior has been credited with a double-figure tackle total after posting 12 in the finale a year ago at New Mexico State, and the fourth time in his career he has accomplished the feat.
A Solid Special Teams Performance
Ray Guy Award candidate Corliss Waitman had an average of 48 yards per punt against Louisiana Tech in the Jaguars' season opener, with his lone effort inside the Bulldog 20-yard line setting up South's first score on its next possession on a 35-yard touchdown drive. The senior had two kicks over 50 yards, recording a net average of 48 yards per punt — none were returned — to help USA rank fourth nationally in the category. He also executed a successful onside kick following the Jag's first score of the game, and on four other kickoffs his efforts allowed the Bulldogs to average just 19 yards per return.
Orth Off The Bench
Redshirt senior QB Evan Orth came on in the final quarter and in two possessions led the Jags on a pair of touchdown drives. In addition to completing 4-of-6 pass attempts for 44 yards, he paced USA with 74 yards rushing as he contributed to both the team's biggest play rushing — a 59-yard effort that was the longest by a South quarterback since Brandon Bridge recorded a 65-yard gain on Oct. 18, 2014, against Georgia State — and passing following a 21-yard toss to Jamarius Way. In fact, it was the third straight contest dating back to last season that the Jaguars have been led on the ground by a quarterback.
Take This, Take That
In accounting for the first two takeaways posted by the Jag defense this fall, both Chris Henderson and Jay Woods recorded the first interceptions of their careers. The latter broke up another pass as well in his first-ever collegiate appearance, making him one of seven defenders in the Sun Belt Conference with multiple passes defensed the opening weekend of the season. Thanks to their efforts, South stands second in the league and among the top 15 in the country with three turnovers gained.
Career Night For The Crew
Lawrence wasn't the only USA safety to equal or set a career-high tackle total in the opening contest of the season. Fellow starters Malcolm Buggs and Tobias Moss chipped in with six stops each to match standards first set a year ago, while backups DJ Daniels and Sterrling Fisher were credited with a career-best six and four tackles respectively. Daniels contributions came not just on defense — where his first-ever tackle for loss on third down helped end LA Tech's opening drive after crossing midfield — but on special teams, as he recovered USA's first onside kick and made stops on the Bulldogs' final two kickoff returns.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
—USA—
