MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama football enters an open week at 1-4 after three straight losses, and coach Joey Jones said the break will be used to evaluate the team, including whether to continue rotating quarterbacks.
The Jaguars are scheduled to practice through Wednesday, take a few days off and then return to a normal game-week routine to prepare for an Oct. 13 trip to Arkansas State.
Offensive Struggles
South Alabama threw for 59 yards in its most recent game, a loss to Troy. The offense has had difficulty sustaining drives this season. The Jaguars went 0-for-11 on third down against NC State and are 20-for-72 on third-down conversions through five games, a 28 percent rate.
The defense has held opponents to 23-of-69 on third down, or 33 percent, but has given up big plays, particularly through the air.
Penalties were also a problem against Troy. South Alabama was flagged 11 times for 102 yards in the first half and finished the game with 15 penalties for 142 yards.
“We’ve got to evaluate where we are and be true about what we’re doing wrong and what we’re doing right,” Jones told the Press-Register. “We’ve got to just give ourselves the best chance to win that we can. Right now we’re cutting a fine line. We kind of have to do everything perfect to win.”
Jones pointed to depth. “(Opposing) teams have more players than us right now, more depth. We’ve got some good players, they’ve just got more of them. They’ve been recruiting a lot longer. We’ve got to be razor sharp to be able to play with these teams and how we do that is something that we’ve got to decide in the next week or two.”
Quarterback Decision
C.J. Bennett started South Alabama’s first three games, and Ross Metheny has started the last two. Both have played in all five games.
Asked Saturday whether the Jaguars would stay with the two-quarterback system, Jones said the question would be addressed during the open week.
“That’s a good question. I don’t know if we’re hurting ourselves by doing it,” Jones said. “The bottom line is I haven’t thought at this time that anybody had really separated himself, that’s why we kept doing it. It’s something we’ve really got to look at the next two weeks. We have an off week next week and we’ve just got to make some decisions. We’ll do that here in the next few days.”
Next Up: Arkansas State
Arkansas State, the defending Sun Belt Conference champion, is 2-3 overall and 0-1 in league play. The Red Wolves’ previous head coach left for the same job at Ole Miss and was replaced by former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.
The game is the second of eight straight Sun Belt opponents for South Alabama to close the season. It also ends a four-game stretch that had been viewed before the season as the most difficult part of the Jaguars’ schedule.
Update: Quarterback Decision Expected by Wednesday
Jones said Monday that the staff was close to settling the quarterback question. “We’re going to make that decision – actually we’re formulating that decision as we speak – and I think by Wednesday we’ll definitely have an answer,” he said. “I think by the Wednesday practice we’ll make an announcement as to how we’re going to do it.”
C.J. Bennett has completed 59 of 95 passes for 543 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions, and he ranks second on the team in rushing with 134 yards on 28 carries. Ross Metheny, a transfer from Virginia, has completed 34 of 59 passes for 354 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions, and he has 7 rushing yards on 25 carries.
Trey Fetner, who played two snaps against Troy, will not be part of the competition for the starting job but could see situational use. Fetner scored South Alabama’s only touchdown against Troy on a 3-yard run and converted a fourth-and-1 on his other carry. “We’ll use him in the wildcat (offensive set),” Jones said. “He’s a good runner. He offers that and it would be good to expand on that package too.”
Injury Report
Safety B.J. Scott missed the second half against Troy with what was described as a mild concussion and is expected to be available at Arkansas State on Oct. 13. Before leaving, Scott made six tackles, five in the first quarter, and intercepted a pass on Troy’s first play from scrimmage. He also had a pass breakup, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries.
Defensive lineman Romelle Jones returned against Troy after missing the Mississippi State game and most of the NC State game, and defensive lineman Montavious Williams played about 10 snaps before turning his ankle. “Romelle Jones played (against Troy) but not at 100 percent,” Jones said. “Hopefully this will give him time to get his knee back 100 percent … Hopefully another two weeks and he’ll be ready to go and hopefully we’ll be back to 100 percent on defense.”
Jones on the Loss and the Break
“I didn’t sleep Saturday night. I’m hard on myself and I expect to win,” Jones said at his Monday press conference. “You can take adversity any way you want, you can pout about it or you can learn from it and get better. If we take the approach of learning from it, then we have a chance to get better. We’re going to keep fighting.”
“We need it,” he said of the open date. “Our guys are beat up. We’ve been through four-and-a-half weeks of camp and five weeks of games, you’re talking about nine weeks without a break.”
Update: Linemen Look Ahead to Arkansas State
At Monday’s press conference, Jones said South Alabama trailed Troy 24-10 at halftime and that he told players a scoring drive to open the second half would give them a chance to win, but the offense did not deliver after the break. He said the Jaguars ran the ball better in the first half and are still searching for an offensive identity, while the defense is keeping them in games.
Jones said the first five weeks have shown the team the depth of talent at the Division I level. “We have learned that we have to bring a team to the field that doesn’t have any weaknesses, and that’s what we are striving to get,” he said.
Senior defensive lineman Andy Dalgleish called the Troy game a heartbreaking loss at the start of a new rivalry. He said the open week is needed to get players healthy, particularly on the defensive line, and that the team must play more disciplined football after giving up the ball too often and allowing too many big plays.
Offensive lineman Melvin Meggs said the players must correct mistakes in the film room. “The level of competition we’ve been playing the last couple of weeks compared to the last couple of seasons has increased,” Meggs said. “So we just have to step up and rise to the occasion.”
