MOBILE, Ala. – Kenneth Gainwell and Kylan Watkins each rushed for over 100 yards while Brady White passed for three scores on Saturday to lead Memphis to a 42-6 non-conference football victory over the University of South Alabama at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Gainwell posted 145 yards on 16 carries with Watkins running 11 times for another 113 as the Tigers (3-0) rushed for 213 yards in the contest.  White was 12-of-20 passing for 209 yards as well, while JJ Russell posted seven stops and Austin Hall recovered a pair of fumbles — one which he returned for a touchdown — as UofM limited the Jaguars (1-2) to 248 yards of total offense.

Tylan Morton and Kawaan Baker combined for a 74-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to help South avoid the shutout.  DJ Daniels and Keith Gallmon were credited with eight stops each for the Jags defense to lead all players in the category.

Memphis 42, South Alabama 6
South Alabama/Memphis photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-The Tigers outgained the Jaguars by nearly 100 yards in the opening quarter after posting 152 yards of total offense.
-Memphis had 245 rushing yards in the opening half and held a 327-93 edge in total offense the first 30 minutes of the contest.
-The only points of the third quarter came when the Tigers took the second-half kickoff and marched 63 yards in just over a minute capped by a four-yard scoring pass from White to Antonio Gibson.
-The Tigers' 12 points in the fourth quarter were all accounted for by the defense and special teams.
-Memphis was 7-of-15 converting third downs — and was successful on its only fourth-down attempt as well — while holding the ball for nearly 32 minutes.
-With the Jaguars' touchdown coming on the long pass from Morton to Baker, South's offense did not reach the red zone in the contest.

NOTES
-It's the second straight year that the Tigers have defeated the Jags in non-conference action after earning a 52-35 win in Memphis last September.
-UofM's 312 yards on the ground were the 10th-highest total posted against South's defense in the program's record book.
-It was the first time the opposition has had two 100-yard rushers since New Mexico State accomplished the feat in the 2016 regular-season finale.
-In addition to recording the first interception of his career, Gallmon also posted a career-high tackle total.
-Daniels was also credited with a career-best number of stops, and with one of those behind the line of scrimmage the senior has now posted 2½ in USA's first three contests this fall after making a pair of tackles for loss in 32 appearances his first three years in the program.
-Baker's touchdown catch was the longest of his career and it tied the sixth-longest pass play in school history as he has now led South in receiving yards in all three contests thus far this season.
-It was also the longest play from scrimmage for South this fall.
-LBs A.J. DeShazor and Kelvin Johnson both finished the day with a six stops for the Jag defense; it was a season-high figure for the former — who also ran back a fumble 30 yards — and a career-best total for the latter.
-Jalen Tolbert recorded a career-high four catches, leading all players in the category for the first time in his career, while finishing with a season-best 37 yards.
-Cephus Johnson paced the Jaguars with 37 yards rushing, marking the first time that a quarterback has led the team on the ground since Evan Orth ran for 74 yards in 2018 season opener against Louisiana Tech

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell
Opening statement: "We had a hard time running the ball and we had a hard time stopping the run. If you aren't able to run the ball, you become one dimensional on offense. We had a chance to hit a play or two early and we didn't, so all they [Memphis] did was tighten up defensively, and we struggled to run the ball. Memphis rushed the ball for 312 yards and we were only able to rush it for 101 yards and most of that I believe came in the fourth quarter. We got beat on the line of scrimmage."   
On losing Tra Minter: "It hurt because we are a young football team. Tra is someone we look to for a lot of leadership on offense. Jared {Wilson] stepped up for us a little bit, but it hurt to lose Tra because he does a lot for us. That was a blow for us. In order to be a really good team like Memphis, we have to grow up and mature, and we will. The young guys are getting experience though and I want it to happen for them right now. I thought we might be closer to having that happen today, but it obviously didn't. We're going to get there though."
On the disappointing things in the game: "The things that were disappointing to me today were the scoop and score, the late pick and the bobbled snap. Those things didn't cost us the game because it was well decided by then, but I didn't want to see those things happen. I wanted us to make somebody beat us today and they did that."
On the play of the defense: "I thought they played hard and battled, but I'm used to them slamming the door. They kept it from getting way out of hand [in the first half]. They played hard, did some good things and got off the field, but for the standard for what we have set over there defensively, we didn't play like we wanted too."

Senior S DJ Daniels
On the defensive performance: "We just got beat at the line of scrimmage. We had plays that we could have made in the secondary; I had a play I could have made. When those opportunities come, you just have to take advantage of them."
On moving forward: "We came in with the mindset to win, and played on both sides of the ball until the clock hit zero."

Senior OL Troy Thingstad
On the offense's performance: "We need to prepare better. I haven't looked at the film yet, but we need to get to the linebackers more. There were a couple of times I felt Cephus [Johnson] and Tylan [Morton] had a chance to make a ball downfield if we give them maybe a couple of more seconds instead of the standard three." 
On moving forward: "I remember as a freshman, it was a lot easier to get over this (loss). As a senior, I will sit down and probably spend two nights on the film and try to study everything we can to get better. It really won't go away until Sunday; I can't move on with it until we get back to practice."

Memphis head coach Mike Norvell
Opening statement: "Obviously, I'm really pleased with our football team. Our focus was, no matter what it took, we wanted to be 1-0 today. I thought our guys did a great job from last week to this week in our focus and in the things we're doing leading up to kickoff. We went out there and played well in all phases. There were some mistakes that we had that we have to clean up. I don't know that we saw our absolute best performance, but our guys did what was necessary to put ourselves in a position to be successful. That's a good football team we just played. They're a team that has a lot of talent and they're great coaches. We were able to get our momentum going a little bit, our guys capitalized on that and made some great plays. I'm really pleased with our guys coming out on the road and being able to start the road schedule 1-0. That sets us up to go into conference play against a great opponent that we know quite a bit about. We're excited where we are right now."
On Brady White's performance: "I thought it was OK. It was probably wasn't the best performance he had. He missed some throws that he usually makes, had a couple of errant ones that got away from him. He did what we needed him to do to win the game, but there were some things we definitely have to clean up."
On the Memphis defense: "I'm really pleased with what I'm seeing from those guys on the defensive side of the ball. Today we played with a lot of energy. We've got some speed on that side, we have some talented guys that have really grown up over the years and some new additions that have come in that are making an impact, which is great to see. Our leadership is tremendous, our defensive coaches, led by Coach Fuller, put together a wonderful plan. The guys buy into it and they go out and execute it. I'm really excited about the potential we have, but we know we have to continue to grow and get better."

Up next: South returns to action Saturday when it faces UAB in Birmingham with kickoff slated for 2:30 p.m. (CST) on the NFL Network.

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).

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