GAME 11
South Alabama Jaguars | 5-5, 2-5 Sun Belt
at
Tennessee Volunteers | 5-5, 3-4 SEC

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Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021 | 6:30 pm (CST)
Knoxville, Tenn. | Neyland Stadium
102,455 capacity | Bermuda Hybrid Grass

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Media Information
Television
ESPNU
Clay Matvik (pxp)
Rocky Boiman (analysis)

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/353529
• 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 — 133rd
Tennessee
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 35th

Series History
Overall: UT leads 1-0
In Mobile: n/a
In Knoxville: UT leads 1-0
Neutral: n/a
Series Streak: UT — 1 (2013)
First Meeting: UT, 31-24, on Sept. 28, 2013, in Knoxville
Last Meeting: UT, 31-24, on Sept. 28, 2013, in Knoxville

The Coaches
South Alabama
Kane Wommack (Southern Mississippi '09)
Record at USA — 5-5 (1st season)
Career record — same
Record vs. UT — 0-0

Tennessee
Josh Heupel (Oklahoma '01)
Record at UT — 5-5 (1st season)
Career Record — 33-13 (4th season)
Record vs. USA — 0-0

Opening Kick
• The Jags conclude non-conference play with Saturday's trip to Knoxville to take on the Volunteers.
• This is the last of three straight road games for the Jaguars.
• It's the latest South will play its final non-conference game since facing Navy on Nov. 28 in the 2014 regular-season finale.
• Since beginning play in the Sun Belt Conference, USA has gone 4-0 in non-league contests just once, accomplishing the feat in 2016 with victories over Mississippi State, Nicholls, nationally-ranked San Diego State and Presbyterian.
• The Jags are making their first trip to the Volunteer State since visiting Memphis on Sept. 22, 2018.
• First-year Vol assistant Jerry Mack was the Jaguars' wide receivers coach during the 2012 and '13 seasons.

South Alabama-Tennessee/SEC Series Notes
• The Vols claimed the only other match-up between the two teams in 2013.
• South has a 1-5 mark all-time against Southeastern Conference opponents, with all but one of those games on the road.
• Tennessee is one of two members of the league's East Division that the Jags have faced, as they visited South Carolina the following fall after the first contest against the Vols.
• The win at Mississippi State — a 21-20 decision in which the Jaguars recovered from a 17-0 halftime deficit — came on Sept. 3 in the 2016 season opener.
• USA is not slated to face another SEC foe until visiting LSU on Sept. 28, 2024, and it also has future dates scheduled against Auburn (9/13/25) and Kentucky (9/26/26) as well as two meetings with Ole Miss (9/2/28 in Oxford and 9/1/29 in Mobile).

Notes From The Last Tennessee Meeting
• The Jaguars' rally from a 24-point deficit fell short when Brian Randolph intercepted a Ross Metheny pass in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the UT-8 with just under two minutes left in regulation.
• South set a school game record for pass attempts in the contest, a figure that still stands second to this day.
• USA recorded a season-high interception total while matching the most takeaways it would finish with in a game that season.
• It was the most rushing yards allowed by the Jag defense at the time in the program's record book.
• Rajion Neal's rushing total —  the most ever by an opposing player at that point against South — still ranks 10th on the opponent game record list.

Notes On Wommack's Coaching/Playing Career
• Kane 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.

Take That
South matched a season high for the second time in three weeks after recording four takeaways at Appalachian State last weekend as the Jags have now forced 22 turnovers this year, a total that ranks fourth on the school season record list.  It's the first time the Jaguars have posted 20 or more takeaways since the 2017 campaign, Wommack's second season as the program's defensive coordinator at the time.

Pair Of Corners Climb Lists
Two of those four takeaways came on interceptions by Darrell Luter Jr. and Devin Rockette, as the Jags have picked off at least one pass in eight of 10 contests this fall.  Luter Jr. now stands tied for second on USA's season record list as well as second in the conference with four interceptions this year, with the effort also moving the junior into the top-10 all-time at USA in the category also.  With his second pick in three weeks, Rockette — who also broke up a pass for the second time during that stretch — moved into the top five on the school's career interception list with five in his time with the program.

Three More Marks For Tolbert
After catching seven passes for 108 yards against the Mountaineers — both game-high totals — junior wide receiver Jalen Tolbert set three more school records with his fifth 100-yard effort of the campaign and eighth of his career.  Tolbert finished the day with 65 receptions for 1,140 yards on the year, surpassing marks in both categories he established last fall, while he also eclipsed Jeremé Jones to become the school's all-time leader with 161 catches.  He enters the UT game third nationally in receiving yards although he has 10 fewer receptions than any of the other four individuals who have recorded 1,100-plus yards this season.

Double Digits For DeShazor
The App State contest marked the first occasion that A.J. DeShazor Jr. has posted a double-figure tackle total since achieving the feat in the Jaguars' 2020 finale against Troy.  It was the third time in the last four contests that the junior has posted nine or more stops, as with the performance he moved into the top 10 on South's career tackles list one shy of reaching 200.

Hitting The 3,000-Yard Mark Twice In Two Weeks
One week after going over the 3,000-yard mark in total offense, sophomore Desmond Trotter threw for 226 yards in the match-up with the Mountaineers to become the fourth quarterback in program history to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a career as well.  Trotter also moved into the top five at USA for touchdowns responsible for last time out after hitting Jacob Hopper on a 27-yard pass in the second quarter to account for the Jaguars' only score of the afternoon.

Safety Adds To Stop Total
S Keith Gallmon Jr. was credited with six stops in the App State game — all solo, a season-high total — to post his highest figure in the category since finishing with seven at ULM on Oct. 23, and he also broke up his first pass of the year.  With the effort, the junior climbed into fifth place on the school's career record charts with 130 unassisted tackles since the start of the 2018 campaign.

Hop To It
Hopper's touchdown catch was the first of his career, making him the fourth different Jaguar tight end to reach the end zone this fall; the unit — which also includes Brandon Crum, Lincoln Sefcik and Trent Tyre — has now combined to score six times this year after the position group contributed five total touchdowns over the last four seasons.  Hopper finished the App State contest with 42 yards on a pair of receptions after entering play with four catches for 30 yards in his first 19 appearances at South.

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 the 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

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