MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama will host Arkansas State on Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium for its annual homecoming game, seeking a third consecutive win over the Red Wolves and a step closer to bowl eligibility.
The Jaguars (4-3, 1-3 Sun Belt) are coming off a loss at Louisiana-Monroe. Arkansas State (1-6, 0-3 Sun Belt) lost 28-27 to Louisiana-Lafayette last week in its first game after an open date. South Alabama is a 9.5-point favorite.
Last season, South Alabama won in Jonesboro for the first time in four tries. That victory gave the Jaguars their first two-game winning streak against Arkansas State and their third win in the last four meetings. Arkansas State leads the all-time series 6-3.
Loss at Louisiana-Monroe
Louisiana-Monroe (4-3, 2-2 Sun Belt) totaled 554 yards against South Alabama, including 369 passing yards, in last Saturday’s win. Rich Rodriguez is the Warhawks’ offensive coordinator.
South Alabama opened the second half with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game. The defense then stopped Louisiana-Monroe on fourth-and-3 at the Jaguars’ 34-yard line, and the offense needed four plays to cover 66 yards, scoring on a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert. Louisiana-Monroe answered with a touchdown drive on the ensuing possession to tie the game and controlled the remainder of the contest.
Arkansas State Under Butch Jones
Arkansas State is in its first season under head coach Butch Jones, the former Tennessee head coach who most recently worked as an analyst at Alabama. Jones replaced Blake Anderson.
The Red Wolves have lost several close games, falling 55-50 to Memphis, 41-34 at Tulsa and 28-27 to Louisiana-Lafayette. They have also lost 52-3 to Washington, 59-33 to Georgia Southern and 52-20 to Coastal Carolina. Their win came against Central Arkansas.
Red Wolves Offense
Arkansas State averages 29.6 points, 436.3 total yards, 348.6 passing yards and 87.7 rushing yards per game. The Red Wolves have converted 36 of 99 third-down attempts (36 percent) and 1 of 7 fourth-down attempts. Their quarterbacks have been sacked 26 times for 140 yards in losses, an average of 3.7 sacks per game. Arkansas State has 11 turnovers: seven interceptions and four lost fumbles.
The Red Wolves have used two quarterbacks, and each has missed one game. James Blackman has completed 109 of 184 passes (59.2 percent) for 1,334 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Layne Hatcher has completed 78 of 139 (56.1 percent) for 1,106 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Corey Rucker leads the receivers with 35 catches for 550 yards and eight touchdowns. Te’Vailance Hunt has 32 catches for 511 yards and four touchdowns, and Jeff Foreman has 24 catches for 419 yards and two scores. Four other receivers have more than 100 receiving yards.
Three running backs have similar workloads. Lincoln Pare has 205 yards and a touchdown on 41 carries, Johnnie Lang has 172 yards on 44 carries and Alan Lamar has 120 yards and a touchdown on 40 carries. Lamar leads the team with 900 all-purpose yards, including 690 on kickoff returns and a 93-yard return for a touchdown against Tulsa.
Arkansas State has rushed for more than 100 yards twice this season: 194 yards against Central Arkansas and 113 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Red Wolves Defense and Special Teams
Arkansas State is allowing 44 points, 578.6 total yards, 288 passing yards and 290.6 rushing yards per game. Opponents have converted 36 of 87 third downs (41 percent) and 5 of 6 fourth downs.
Georgia Southern ran for 503 yards against the Red Wolves, averaging 9.9 yards per carry. Coastal Carolina rushed for 294 yards, Louisiana-Lafayette for 424 and Tulsa for 308. Louisiana-Lafayette threw only 20 passes last week and closed the game with an 18-play, 88-yard drive that took 10:26 off the clock.
Safety Elery Alexander leads the defense with 50 tackles, 31 solo, a sack and two fumble recoveries. Linebacker Caleb Bonner has 39 tackles.
Kicker Blake Grupe has made 22 of 23 extra points and 10 of 12 field goals with a long of 50 yards against Tulsa. Punter Ryan Hanson averages 43.3 yards on 42 punts, with nine of 50 or more yards, a long of 60, 16 inside the 20 and no touchbacks.
Jaguars’ Injury Situation
Running back Kareem Walker and receiver Caullin Lacy returned from injuries against Louisiana-Monroe. Hadon Merchant suffered a knee injury early in that game and is expected to miss time, possibly the remainder of the season. Josh McCulloch was injured in practice the week before the Louisiana-Monroe game and his status for Saturday is uncertain. Jamal Brooks left the game against the Warhawks several times but continued to play.
Offensive lineman James Jackson could return this week, which would allow Trey Simpson to move back to left guard.
South Alabama Offense
The Jaguars average 28.9 points, 390.7 total yards, 263 passing yards and 127.7 rushing yards per game. They have converted 38 of 101 third downs (38 percent) and 11 of 17 fourth downs (65 percent), including a fourth-and-3 touchdown near the goal line last week. South Alabama has scored on 26 of 31 red zone trips, with 22 touchdowns. Jaguars quarterbacks have been sacked 14 times for 88 yards.
Quarterback Jake Bentley has completed 152 of 220 passes (69.1 percent) for 1,825 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Jalen Tolbert leads the receivers with 46 catches for 873 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 124.7 yards per game and 19 yards per catch. Jalen Wayne has 29 catches for 343 yards and two touchdowns, Lacy has 27 catches for 223 yards and tight end Lincoln Sefcik has 12 catches for 114 yards and three touchdowns.
Terrion Avery leads the rushers with 286 yards and a touchdown on 73 carries. Bryan Hill has 224 yards and three touchdowns on 57 carries in five games, and Walker has 211 yards and four touchdowns on 58 carries in four games.
South Alabama Defense and Special Teams
South Alabama allows 22.1 points, 334.6 total yards, 204.6 passing yards and 130 rushing yards per game, ranking tied for 43rd, tied for 35th, 40th and tied for 40th nationally in those categories. The Jaguars’ 13 takeaways are tied for 24th nationally.
Keith Gallmon and Yam Banks share the team lead with 34 tackles each, 20 of them solo. Gallmon has 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery, and Banks has four tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. CJ Rias leads the team with three sacks, and Tre Young leads with two interceptions.
Punter Jack Brooks averages 41.9 yards on 31 punts with a long of 54, eight downed inside the 20 and six of 50 or more yards. Kicker Diego Guajardo has made 22 of 24 extra points and 8 of 12 field goals with a long of 48, missing one attempt in each of the last four games.
Closing Stretch
After homecoming, South Alabama plays three straight road games at Troy, Appalachian State and Tennessee before closing the regular season against Coastal Carolina at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The Jaguars need two more wins to become bowl eligible.
