MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama football worked on two-minute drills in Thursday’s practice as the Jaguars prepared to host Lamar, the team they shut out 26-0 in Beaumont, Texas, last season.
Lamar Arrives After Lopsided Opener
Lamar comes to Mobile after beating Texas College 58-0 in its season opener. Last season’s loss to South Alabama was the only game in which the Cardinals were held scoreless.
The Jaguars play their home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Jones: Players Understand the Stakes
Head coach Joey Jones said his team has shown it understands the level of focus the game requires.
“They understand where we are and they understand how big this game is and they understand how good Lamar is going to be, so I think they have definitely picked things up a good bit in practice,” Jones said.
Two-Minute Work
Thursday’s practice included extended two-minute drill work between the offense and defense. The offense converted late on third-and-long and on a fourth-and-short before the drill ended with a field goal.
“You never know who to pull for – you want the defense to stop them and the offense to score,” Jones said. “But the bottom line is the offense made some big throws late on third-and-long and then on a fourth-and-short and made a big play. We ended up kicking a field goal at the end. It was a good drill.”
Sagarin Ratings
South Alabama moved up in Jeff Sagarin’s computer ratings and now sits one spot behind Sun Belt member Middle Tennessee, which is 116th. The Jaguars are rated ahead of Indiana (119), UNLV (120), Army (122), future opponent Kent State (124), Tulane (138), UC Davis (152), Memphis (154), Lamar (162), Samford (174) and Georgia State (184).
Sun Belt teams in the ratings include Troy (84), Florida International (108), Middle Tennessee (116), Arkansas State (125), Florida Atlantic (135), Louisiana-Lafayette (137), Louisiana-Monroe (139), Western Kentucky (163) and North Texas (172).
Update: Kickoff Set for 4 p.m.; A Look Back at Last Season’s Meeting
Kickoff for Saturday’s rematch with Lamar at Ladd-Peebles Stadium is set for 4 p.m.
South Alabama’s 26-0 win in Beaumont last season was the Jaguars’ first true road game. The Jaguars scored first on a fumble returned for a touchdown about four minutes into the game, and Lawson McGlon added a field goal late in the first quarter. McGlon kicked another field goal midway through the third quarter, Ellis Hill caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Brennan Sim, and McGlon closed the scoring with two fourth-quarter field goals.
Kendall Houston, making his first start after Brandon Ross suffered a season-ending knee injury, rushed for 166 yards on 21 carries, an average of 7.9 yards per carry. Courtney Smith led the receivers with seven catches for 59 yards, and C.J. Bennett completed 13 of 16 passes for 109 yards.
South Alabama outgained Lamar 376-160, won time of possession 34:21 to 25:39 and won the turnover battle 4-1, recovering four of the Cardinals’ five fumbles. The Jaguar defense held Lamar quarterback Andre Bevil to 105 passing yards on 15-of-30 passing, limited the Cardinals to 56 rushing yards on 27 carries and allowed just two third-down conversions in 13 attempts. The South Alabama offense, however, converted only one of 14 third downs.
“They played us really well last year,” head coach Joey Jones said. “I thought we had a good day offensively, but we didn’t score much. We need to be able to punch the ball in the end zone more and our kids are fully aware of that.”
Jones said he expects a different Lamar team in its second season. “They are a much-improved ball team,” he said. “They brought in some really good players on their offensive line and shored up some things. They’re trying to run the football more, you can tell they have really spent some time on their running game. They will be a much more balanced team offensively. And defensively they are more athletic, especially inside. They have some defensive tackles who are very good football players.”
In its 58-0 opening win over Texas College, Lamar ran 53 times for more than 200 yards and finished with 320 yards of total offense.
