GAME 5
South Alabama Jaguars | 3-1, 0-1 Sun Belt
at
Texas State Bobcats | 1-3, 0-0 Sun Belt
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021 | 6 pm (CDT)
San Marcos, Texas | Bobcat Stadium
30,000 capacity | FieldTurf
Media Information
Television
ESPN+
Brant Freeman (pxp)
Keith Moreland (analysis)
Koral Riggs (sideline)
Radio
USA Football Radio Network
(flagship 96.1 FM/Sports Talk 99.5 FM in Mobile)
J.D. Byars (pxp)
Pat Greenwood (analysis)
Tommy Hicks (sidelines)
On the web
• Live Twitter updates available at:
@WeAreSouth_FB
• Live stats available at:
http://statb.us/v/sala/353624
• Live audio available at:
https://www.iheart.com/live/sports-talk-995-7117/
The Rankings
South Alabama
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 115th
Texas State
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 160th
Series History
Overall: Series tied 3-3
In Mobile: USA leads 3-0
In San Marcos: TXST leads 3-0
Neutral: n/a
Series Streak: USA — 1 (2020)
First Meeting: TXST, 33-31, on Oct. 26, 2013, in San Marcos
Last Meeting: USA, 30-20, on Oct. 17, 2020, in Mobile
The Coaches
South Alabama
Kane Wommack (Southern Mississippi '09)
Record at USA — 3-1 (1st season)
Career record — same
Record vs. TXST — 0-0
Texas State
Jake Spavital (Missouri State '08)
Record at TXST — 6-22 (3rd season)
Career Record — same
Record vs. USA — 1-1
Opening Kick
• USA plays its first road game in Sun Belt Conference action when it travels to take on Texas State on Saturday night.
• It will be the first time in nearly a month that the Jaguars play away from home after winning at Bowling Green on Sept. 11 in their only other road contest thus far this season.
• The Jags last won back-to-back away games in the same year in 2015 after recording victories at San Diego State (Sept. 19) and Troy (Oct. 3) that fall.
• After defeating Arkansas State in its final road game of 2020, South is looking to win consecutive conference contests away from home for the first time since picking up victories at Idaho and Appalachian State on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4, 2014.
• USA's last win in Texas came in an Oct. 8, 2011, 30-27 double-overtime decision at Texas-San Antonio.
South Alabama-Texas State Series Notes
• Neither program has claimed a victory on the road in the first six meetings in the series.
• Three of the last four contests between the two teams have been decided by 10-plus points.
• The winning squad has recorded 30 or more points in all but one match-up.
• The Bobcats claimed the initial meeting in San Marcos after Jason Dann connected on a 41-yard field goal with just four seconds remaining in regulation.
• The last contest at Texas State — a 30-28 decision in favor of the Bobcats — was also decided in the final minutes after the Jags missed a 28-yard field goal with 68 seconds left in the contest.
Notes From The Last Texas State Meeting
• The Jaguars posted season-high totals in first downs, rushing attempts, total plays and time of possession.
• It was the fewest rushing yards given up and the lowest average gain per play allowed by USA's defense last fall.
• The Bobcats were the only team last year to not force the Jaguars into committing a turnover.
• Junior Jalen Tolbert's game-best nine catches were a career-high total at the time as he became the seventh individual in program history to record 10-plus touchdown receptions.
• Diego Guajardo became the first Jaguar kicker in over three years to connect on three field goals in a game as he began a streak of converting eight straight attempts over a five-week span.
Notes On Wommack's Coaching/Playing Career
• Wommack, 34, became the third head coach in program history and youngest at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level when he was hired on Dec. 12 last year.
• He was one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, given to the top NCAA FBS assistant coach in the nation, in 2020 after helping Indiana go 6-2 overall while finishing 12th in the final Associated Press poll.
• In addition to serving as the Hoosiers' defensive coordinator — the youngest in the Power Five — the last two years, Wommack was also defensive coordinator for the Jags in 2016 and '17 as well as at Eastern Illinois for one season prior to his first stint in Mobile.
• The Jaguars allowed over 10 points fewer per outing than the previous campaign his first year on the staff, the fifth-best improvement in the NCAA FBS that fall.
• After beginning his collegiate playing career at Arkansas in 2006, Wommack was a fullback and tight end at Southern Miss for three years — helping the Golden Eagles to a postseason bowl appearance each fall — before receiving his degree from the school in 2009.
#SwarmD Shows Up In Sun Belt Opener
The Jaguar defense gave up less than 300 yards for the third time in four outings this season after limiting Louisiana to only 283 in last weekend's Sun Belt Conference opener, which included surrendering just 58 through the air to a unit that came into play averaging over 270 passing yards per contest. Not only was it the fourth fewest yards passing allowed by South since the program's inception — and the least it has given up since November 2015 — but the Cajuns' 23 minutes and 13 seconds time of possession was the ninth-lowest figure recorded by an opponent as well.
Tolbert Tops 2,000
After leading all players with 143 yards on six receptions in the Jaguars' match-up with Louisiana, Tolbert became the first player in school history to surpass 2,000 receiving yards. It was the fifth time in his career that the junior has posted 100-plus yards receiving in a contest, moving him within one of the all-time mark at South, as he has now accounted for half of the team's gains of 20 or more yards this fall after recording catches of 61, 49 and 20 yards against the Ragin' Cajuns.
Big Night For Brooks
Senior ILB Jamal Brooks was one of three Jags to finish with four stops, with that total including a career-best two behind the line of scrimmage on the first two snaps of the second quarter that led to a missed field goal with USA already trailing by 14 points. Coming into the contest, the transfer from Missouri had been credited with a pair of tackles for loss in his first three games combined.
Hill Country
For the third time in as many outings the Jaguar offense featured a different leading rusher with Bryan Hill recording a game-high-tying 81 yards and two scores on 22 carries against the Ragin' Cajuns. After not seeing action in either of USA's first two games, Hill — who joined the program in the spring as a transfer from Tuskegee — has now gained 132 yards over the last two outings.
Here's Looking At Luter
Darrell Luter Jr. was credited with four unassisted tackles last time out; it wasn't just the second week in a row he has recorded a season-high total in the category, but the most solo stops he has posted since joining the program in 2020. The junior cornerback also broke up a pass, his sixth of the season, to remain first in the Sun Belt and 10th nationally in the category.
Wayne Warming Up
Junior Jalen Wayne caught five passes for 56 yards — highlighted by a season-long 34-yard gain to help move the Jags into field goal range in the final minutes of regulation — against the Cajuns, making it the second week in a row that he has finished with season-best figures in both categories. He totaled 46 yards in South's first two outings of the season, but over the last two games the wide out has recorded 107 yards on nine receptions.
Thomas Surpasses 2020 Totals
DL Wy'Kevious Thomas has finished with at least three stops in each of USA's first four games after posting three including recording the Jaguars' lone sack in the match-up with the Cajuns. Through four outings, the redshirt freshman has been credited with 15 tackles, three stops behind the line of scrimmage and 1½ sacks — each of those figures are higher than his totals in 11 appearances during the 2020 campaign.
Safety Shares Team-High Tackle Honors
After finishing with four stops, including his first behind the line of scrimmage since South played host to Tulane on Sept. 12 last fall, it marked the first time in 25 appearances over the last two-plus seasons that Tré Young has paced the Jags or shared team-high honors in the category. The senior safety has now recorded four or more tackles in three of the first four contests this year after making three stops in his last five appearances combined a year ago.
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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—USA—
