MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama will try to extend a two-game winning streak and a two-game run of success against Georgia Southern when the Jaguars host the Eagles on Saturday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium in a Sun Belt Conference matchup between teams with 3-1 league records.
South Alabama (4-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) has won its last two games, both at home, and Saturday’s contest closes a three-game home stand. Georgia Southern (5-3, 3-1) arrives tied for first place in the Sun Belt East Division.
The Jaguars have won the last two meetings in the series. Those are South Alabama’s only victories in nine games against Georgia Southern.
Applewhite Jokes About Winning Three Straight
Dating to the 2023 season, South Alabama has tended to win and lose games in pairs, a pattern interrupted by the Jaguars’ victory in the 68 Ventures Bowl. Asked about that trend this week, head coach Major Applewhite answered with a laugh.
“This is about as much prosperity as we can handle,” Applewhite said. “So, everybody brace themselves it’s time to go win three in a row.”
Georgia Southern shares the East Division lead with Old Dominion, which holds the tiebreaker after beating the Eagles 47-19 on Thursday, Oct. 17. Because that game was played on a Thursday, Georgia Southern will have had a couple of extra days to prepare for Saturday.
South Alabama, which beat Louisiana-Monroe last week, remains in the race for the Sun Belt West Division.
Georgia Southern Under Clay Helton
Clay Helton is in his third season as Georgia Southern’s head coach. His first two Eagles teams each finished 6-7, with losses in the Camellia Bowl after the 2022 season and the Myrtle Beach Bowl after the 2023 season.
Helton came to Statesboro after 11 years at USC, where he began as quarterbacks coach under Lane Kiffin and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013. He served twice as the Trojans’ interim head coach before being named head coach. He went 46-24 as USC’s head coach, a tenure that included a victory over Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl.
Eagles Offense
Georgia Southern has become a pass-oriented team under Helton and offensive coordinator Ryan Aplin. The Eagles set numerous school passing records in 2022, and in 2023 they finished among the top 20 nationally in passing yards per game while breaking several of those marks again.
Quarterback JC French has completed 169 of 265 passes (63.8%) for 1,790 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He is also the team’s fourth-leading rusher with 138 yards and a touchdown on 68 carries.
Dalen Cobb leads the Eagles with 37 receptions for 434 yards and three touchdowns. Derwin Burgess Jr. leads the team in receiving yards with 440 on 35 catches, also with three scores. Josh Dallas has 25 receptions for 325 yards and two touchdowns, LV Bunkley-Shelton has 20 catches for 216 yards, and Tyler Fromm has 18 receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns.
Jalen White leads the ground game with 393 yards and seven touchdowns on 92 carries. OJ Arnold has run for 253 yards and three touchdowns on 43 attempts, and David Mbadinga has 145 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries.
Eagles Defense and Special Teams
Brandon Bailey is in his second season as Georgia Southern’s defensive coordinator. In 2023, the Eagles ranked in the top 30 nationally in interceptions, defensive touchdowns and tackles for loss. In 2022, Bailey was the youngest defensive coordinator in FBS at Buffalo, where his defense ranked seventh nationally with 28 turnovers forced and 13 interceptions, ranked second with 15 forced fumbles and finished fourth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense.
Redshirt senior linebacker Marques Watson-Trent leads the team with 77 tackles, 34 of them solo. He also leads the Eagles with 6.5 tackles for loss, has 1.5 sacks, and has forced four fumbles to go with two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. Junior defensive back Marc Stampley II leads the team with two sacks and seven pass breakups and is tied for the team lead with two interceptions.
Punter Alex Smith averages 43 yards per attempt with 15 punts downed inside the 20, 20 fair catches, five punts of more than 50 yards and a long of 63. Placekicker Gavin Stewart has made 7 of 9 field goal attempts with a long of 53 yards and 24 of 26 extra points.
South Alabama’s Offense
South Alabama leads the Sun Belt in rushing offense and scoring offense and ranks second in the league in total offense and time of possession. Nationally, the Jaguars rank 14th in rushing offense, 19th in total offense, 22nd in scoring offense and 29th in time of possession. They are second in the nation in fewest passes intercepted, with one, and fewest turnovers lost, with four, and third in punt return average at 21.5 yards.
Quarterback Gio Lopez has completed 128 of 200 passes (64%) for 1,632 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception. He is also the team’s third-leading rusher with 350 yards and four touchdowns on 55 carries, an average of 5.93 yards per carry that ranks 38th nationally.
Jamaal Pritchett, who had a career-high 11 receptions last week, leads the team with 50 catches for 662 yards and six touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 22 receptions for 260 yards. Jeremiah Webb has 17 catches for 276 yards and two touchdowns, and DJ Thomas-Jones has three touchdown receptions.
True freshman running back Fluff Bothwell leads the rushing attack with 580 yards and eight touchdowns on 85 carries. His average of 6.88 yards per carry ranks ninth nationally, and his rushing touchdown total leads all true freshmen in the country. Kentrel Bullock has 505 yards and five touchdowns, also on 85 carries.
The Jaguars have rushed for more than 300 yards in three of their four wins, including last week’s victory over Louisiana-Monroe, when South Alabama leaned heavily on its running game in the second half.
South Alabama’s Defense and Special Teams
Within the Sun Belt, South Alabama ranks second in rushing defense, third in third-down defense and red zone defense, fourth in scoring defense and first-down defense, sixth in fourth-down defense and seventh in total defense.
Linebacker Blayne Myrick leads the team with 58 tackles, 23 solo, along with a sack, five tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs is second with 41 tackles, 19 solo, plus an interception and a pass breakup. Courtney McBride leads the team with three sacks, and Tyler Thomas has two.
Jaden Voisin’s three interceptions lead the team and rank 14th nationally. Wesley Miller’s interception against Louisiana-Monroe gave him two for the season, tying him with Lardarius Webb Jr. for second on the team.
Punter Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 41.9 yards per kick with 13 punts downed inside the 20, 12 fair catches, two touchbacks, two kicks of 50 or more yards and a season long of 67. Kicker Laith Marjan has made 11 of 12 field goals (91.7%), with his only miss from 52 yards and a long of 49. He is 26 of 28 on extra points; one of the misses came against Louisiana-Monroe on a bad snap and hold. Pritchett averages 21.9 yards per punt return and has returned one punt for a touchdown.
Turnover Battle
Turnovers figure to be a factor. Georgia Southern’s defense has intercepted seven passes and recovered three of eight opponent fumbles. The Eagles’ offense has committed 13 turnovers, six interceptions and seven lost fumbles, and has fumbled 16 times overall, leaving Georgia Southern at minus-3 in turnover margin.
South Alabama has committed four turnovers, three fumbles and one interception, while forcing 14, including 11 interceptions, for a turnover margin of plus-11.
The Jaguars enter the game as 6.5-point favorites.
