MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama head coach Joey Jones accepted responsibility for the Jaguars’ lack of focus early in Saturday’s 33-25 loss at Kent State, saying at his Monday press conference that the team was not as locked in as it normally is when the game began.
“I don’t think we were really ready to play like we normally are, and that’s my fault,” Jones said. “I’ll take the blame for that.”
A Second-Half Rally
Jones said South Alabama made several critical mistakes early and fell into a hole in Kent, Ohio. At halftime, he said, the coaches told players to stick to their base plays and wait for a momentum-changing play. Once that play came, Jones said, the Jaguars played extremely well the rest of the way and had the ball in Kent State territory with a chance to tie the game at the end.
“A lot of teams could have folded at that point, but they came back and made a game of it,” Jones said. He compared the comeback to a game earlier in his career against Penn State, when his team rallied from a 34-7 deficit and nearly won.
Jones said his concern was whether the team had enough leadership on the sideline to stop the slide before a big play on the field forced the turnaround, and that sideline leadership is one area the staff has examined.
Staff and Senior Meetings
Jones said he held a long meeting with his staff to review every area of the program and also met with the senior class, which offered a couple of ideas he called good. “I think you dig deep when things like this happen, I think our kids will respond,” he said.
The Kent State game followed a road loss at North Carolina State the previous week, and the two defeats are the first in the program’s history. Jones said that while no one wants to lose, the team learned lessons by being “held to the fire” against two FBS opponents.
‘A Fire in Their Eyes’
Jones said many observers had looked at the schedule and predicted an 8-2 record because of the two FBS games. He said the Jaguars played both opponents tough, and that the experience has renewed the team.
“There is definitely a fire in their eyes right now that I hadn’t seen this year,” Jones said. He said the team will grow more from the two losses than it would have from a lopsided win over a weaker opponent.
Jones said the team must come out ready to play in each of its final six games, and that in recent weeks it focused too much on opponents rather than on its own execution. He said he expects the players to carry that lesson forward.
Open Week Arrives at the Right Time
South Alabama has an open week before its next game. Jones said the break could not have come at a better time after back-to-back road trips involving air travel. “Things may have been different had we played N.C. State or Kent State at home,” he said. “We’ve just got to respond.”
South Alabama plays its home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.
