College Football News Preview 2020: South Alabama Jaguars Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The South Alabama Jaguars Offense
Get the chains moving. And to do that, complete more than 53% of the passes.
The Jaguars were in several games and had several chances to come up with wins, but they simply couldn’t keep the offense working.
The time of possession battle was a problem, and that was partly because the offense was miserable on third downs, finishing 124th in the nation converting just 31% of the time.
The Jaguars lost to Georgia Southern by three – they failed to convert on any of their ten third down chances. They failed to hit 32% in eight of the last nine games, and failed to get past 25% in five of those.
But that’s nothing new.
South Alabama hasn’t averaged 40% or better on third downs since 2013.
Biggest Key To The South Alabama Jaguars Defense
Toughen up against the run. Most Sun Belt teams had problems against good ground games – USA allowed 192 yards per game and still managed to finish sixth in the league in run D.
There were bright spots.
The defense stuffed Nebraska in the opener and held two other teams to under 100 yards, but Memphis, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State are still running. All three pounded out over 300 yards without too much of a problem.
The program has lost 14 in a row when it has allowed 200 rushing yards or more after being ULM in the middle of 2017. It all ties together.
Stop the run, control the tempo, stay in more games. Easy peasy.
Key South Alabama Jaguars Player To A Successful Season
DT Gi’Narious Johnson, Jr.
The ends will work themselves out, but the nose has to be a rock. The 6-0, 300-pound former JUCO transfer was a good get for the program, and he turned into a decent backup on the nose with 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He’s not the 325-pound space-eater that Sean Brown was, but he has to play big as the new anchor on the inside.
Key Game To The South Alabama Jaguars Season
Troy, Oct. 3
The two Sun Belt schools only about 170 miles apart is the conference opener for each of them. It’s also a must win for both programs coming off of rough years.
Troy came up with a 37-13 whacking of the Jaguars last year, and this time around it’ll be coming off a two-week break. 3-5 in the series, South Alabama has to take down every early home game with a brutal finishing kick to deal with.
– South Alabama Jaguars Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 South Alabama Fun Stats
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 114 – South Alabama 34
– Field Goals: Opponents 20-of-28 – South Alabama 8-for-13
– Punt Return Average: Opponents 12.7 – South Alabama 3.4