MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama will close its non-conference home schedule Saturday when the 2-0 Jaguars host Alcorn State at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The Braves, from Lorman, Mississippi, are 1-1 and compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18. The game will stream on ESPN3, with radio coverage on Sports Talk 99.5 FM, 96.1 FM The Rocket and iHeartRadio.
South Alabama enters off a win over Bowling Green that improved the Jaguars to 2-0 in the first season under head coach Kane Wommack. After Saturday’s game, the Jaguars have an open week before beginning Sun Belt Conference play against Louisiana-Lafayette.
A Familiar Opponent Type
Alcorn State marks the fourth time in five seasons that South Alabama has hosted a SWAC opponent. The Jaguars defeated Alabama A&M, Alabama State and Jackson State from 2017 through 2019.
Grambling had been scheduled to play the first game at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Sept. 12, 2020, but that game was canceled when the SWAC moved its season to the spring because of COVID-19.
Including a 2011 victory over Mississippi Valley State, South Alabama is 4-0 all-time against SWAC teams. The Jaguars have outscored those opponents 162-24, averaging 40.5 points per game and scoring at least 35 points in each meeting.
South Alabama’s most recent shutout came against Alabama A&M on Sept. 16, 2017, a 45-0 victory. Against Jackson State on Sept. 7, 2019, the Jaguars set a school single-game rushing record with 413 yards. Tra Minter ran for 189 yards and totaled 275 all-purpose yards in that game, both of which rank second in school single-game history.
Alcorn State Braves
Alcorn State is led by fifth-year head coach Fred McNair, who holds a 31-20 record with the program. McNair played professionally in the Canadian Football League, the World League of American Football and the Arena Football League. His brother, Steve McNair, is the most notable Alcorn State player to reach the NFL.
The Braves were forced to miss two days of practice this week because of COVID-19 after their part-time athletic trainers tested positive before last Saturday’s game. The team held a walk-through Tuesday with help from campus nurses and returned to normal practice Wednesday.
Braves Offense
Alcorn State is averaging 13.5 points per game, with 179 passing yards and 155.5 rushing yards for 311 total yards per game. Of the team’s three touchdowns, two have come through the air and one on the ground.
The Braves are converting 25 percent of their third-down attempts but have converted four of seven fourth-down tries. They have allowed four sacks, fumbled twice and lost one. Alcorn State has scored on four of eight red zone trips, three of them touchdowns.
Two running backs have surpassed 100 rushing yards. Niko Duffy has 131 yards on 26 carries, an average of 5 yards per attempt, and Stadford Anderson has 128 yards on 11 carries in one game, including a long run of 68 yards.
Felix Harper is the only Alcorn State quarterback to record statistics this season. He has completed 30 of 50 passes for 358 yards and has 50 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
J. Anthony leads the Braves with 95 receiving yards on six catches. LeCharles Pringle has a team-high eight receptions for 84 yards, and Manny Jones has 78 yards on four catches. Seven other players have caught passes.
Braves Defense
Alcorn State is allowing 16.5 points per game, with opponents averaging 139 rushing yards and 188 passing yards. The Braves have three takeaways, two interceptions and one fumble recovery, and have recorded 11 tackles for loss, including five sacks.
Opponents have converted 13 of 31 third-down attempts and one of four fourth-down attempts against the Braves.
Defensive back Juwan Taylor leads the team with 18 tackles, 11 of them solo. Fellow defensive back Keyron Kinsler has 16 tackles, five solo, and an interception.
South Alabama Jaguars
In last week’s win over Bowling Green, the Jaguars fell behind early. A high snap on South Alabama’s opening possession led to a blocked punt that went out of the back of the end zone for a safety. After another three-and-out, a 23-yard punt by Jack Brooks gave Bowling Green the ball at the South Alabama 38-yard line, but the Jaguar defense stopped a fourth-and-1 run to take over on downs at its own 29.
Later in the first quarter, a Bowling Green linebacker intercepted a pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. The extra point attempt went wide right, leaving South Alabama behind 8-0. The Jaguar offense found more success after the first quarter.
Offensive coordinator Major Applewhite continued to lean on the running game, and it produced more in the second half. Terrion Avery carried much of the load on the game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter, and Kareem Walker also found running room after halftime.
Jaguars Offense
Through two games, South Alabama is averaging 335.5 total yards, with 72.5 rushing yards and 263 passing yards per game. The Jaguars have converted 10 of 30 third-down attempts, or 33 percent, and one of two fourth-down attempts. They have turned the ball over twice, once on a fumble and once on an interception.
Jake Bentley has taken every snap at quarterback, completing 46 of 68 passes for 526 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Avery leads the rushing attack with 94 yards on 30 attempts, and Walker has 58 yards on 30 carries. Jalen Tolbert leads the receivers with 263 yards on 12 catches, and Caullin Lacy has 13 receptions for 130 yards. Walker and Trent Tyre have caught the Jaguars’ two touchdown passes.
Jaguars Defense
South Alabama is allowing 13 points per game. Opponents are averaging 220.5 passing yards, 67 rushing yards and 287.5 total yards.
The Jaguars have six takeaways, recovering three of six opponent fumbles and intercepting three passes. Opponents have converted 4 of 27 third-down attempts, or 15 percent, and two of four fourth-down attempts. The defense has 10 tackles for loss, including seven sacks.
Tre Young and Yam Banks lead the team with 10 tackles each. Young has seven solo stops and Banks has six.
FCS Upsets Around the Country
FBS programs facing FCS opponents have stumbled in recent weeks. Jacksonville State defeated Florida State last weekend, while earlier this season Montana upset No. 20 Washington and East Tennessee State beat Vanderbilt 23-3. Appalachian State, then an FCS program, defeated No. 5 Michigan in 2007 before joining the Sun Belt and the FBS.
Forecasts for Saturday in Mobile call for a 25 to 50 percent chance of rain.
Update: Alcorn State’s Athletic Trainer Shortage
Earlier in the week, Saturday’s game was still officially on but its status was uncertain because Alcorn State lacked athletic trainers. The Braves were not permitted to practice Monday or Tuesday after the team’s part-time athletic trainers tested positive for COVID-19. NCAA rules do not allow teams to practice without medical staff on site.
According to people who spoke with USA TODAY on condition of anonymity, Tuesday’s football activities were “limited to a walkthrough where University-employed nurses – not a certified athletic trainer – were allowed to pass out ice bags.”
“We’ve got a big game (at South Alabama) that’s going to make the university money, and we can’t go out and get treatment for the young men and women,” Alcorn State coach Fred McNair said, according to Football Scoop. “This is something that needs to be fixed. This is an administration issue.”
According to USA TODAY’s sources, Alcorn State hired a full-time athletic trainer at the end of January, but that trainer left in July for a private-sector health care job. The athletic department used two part-time trainers instead of hiring a replacement, and both tested positive before the Braves’ game against Northwestern State. The trainer who left in July returned temporarily to work that game but told the staff Sunday that he would not be able to return Monday. No Alcorn State players or coaches had tested positive.
Alcorn State did not play a 2020 season, opting out while most of the FCS played in the spring of 2021. The decision was framed as a response to COVID-19 concerns, though USA TODAY’s sources said upperclassmen chose not to play because the school lacked a full-time strength coach and athletic trainer during the pandemic.
Under the game contract, South Alabama would be owed $360,000 in liquidated damages if the game is not played.
