STATESBORO, Ga. — South Alabama, bowl eligible for the first time since 2016, travels to Georgia Southern on Saturday looking for its first win in Statesboro.
The Jaguars (6-2, 3-1 Sun Belt) are 3.5- to 4-point favorites against the Eagles (5-3, 2-2 Sun Belt), who are coming off an open date and are 3-0 at home this season.
South Alabama beat Georgia Southern 41-14 in Mobile last season for its first win in the series.
Webb, Defense Lead Rout of Arkansas State
South Alabama clinched bowl eligibility with a 31-3 win over Arkansas State last Saturday. La’Damian Webb opened the game with a 69-yard run on the Jaguars’ first offensive snap and finished with 162 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. He carried on all 11 plays of South Alabama’s final scoring drive late in the fourth quarter and was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week.
South Alabama’s defense held Arkansas State to 158 total yards and minus-19 rushing yards. Only three of the Red Wolves’ 15 possessions gained more than 12 yards, and five ended with negative yardage. The Jaguars recorded four sacks.
South Alabama committed seven penalties in the first half and one in the second, including two false starts while backed up at its own 2-yard line. No other Jaguars running back gained more than 12 yards. Quarterback Carter Bradley threw mostly short passes toward the perimeter because of rainy conditions.
Georgia Southern’s History and Transition
Georgia Southern moved from the FCS to the FBS and joined the Sun Belt in 2014, going 8-0 in conference play in its first season. The Eagles became only the third team in the modern era to win a conference title in their first FBS season and the first to go unbeaten in league play in that first season. They were not bowl eligible under NCAA transition rules, and the NCAA denied the school’s waiver request.
Georgia Southern went 2-10 in 2017, a season that included a 52-0 win over South Alabama in Statesboro, after which the Jaguars did not retain head coach Joey Jones. Chad Lunsford, who had taken over as interim coach midseason, was named head coach and led the Eagles to a 10-3 record in 2018, including a win over then-No. 25 Appalachian State and a bowl victory over Eastern Michigan. Georgia Southern went 7-5 in 2019 and 2020. Lunsford was fired after a 1-2 start in 2021, and the Eagles finished 3-9.
Former USC head coach Clay Helton was hired and has moved Georgia Southern away from the triple-option offense it ran for years.
Eagles Offense
Under Helton and offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis, Georgia Southern throws an average of more than 45 passes per game, nearly 60 percent of its offensive plays. Ellis came from Western Kentucky, where the 2021 Conference USA champions ranked second in the FBS in scoring (44.2 points per game) and total offense (535.3 yards per game) and led the nation with 433.7 passing yards per game.
The Eagles average 36.9 points, 494.5 total yards, 338.0 passing yards and 156.5 rushing yards per game. They have converted 71 of 130 third downs (54.6 percent) and 8 of 15 fourth downs and have scored on 32 of 34 red zone trips, with 23 touchdowns. Georgia Southern has 13 turnovers, only one on a fumble.
Quarterback Kyle Vantrease, a Buffalo transfer, has completed 232 of 374 passes (62 percent) for 2,704 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Khaleb Hood leads the receivers with 53 catches for 609 yards and two touchdowns. Derwin Burgess Jr. has 45 catches for 546 yards and five touchdowns, Jeremy Singleton has 46 catches for 497 yards and two scores and Amare Jones has 35 catches for 483 yards and six touchdowns.
Jalen White leads the rushing attack with 678 yards and nine touchdowns on 132 carries and has 18 receptions. Gerald Green has 404 yards and six touchdowns on 71 carries.
Eagles Defense and Special Teams
Georgia Southern allows 30.4 points, 480.9 total yards, 270.1 passing yards and 210.8 rushing yards per game. Opponents have converted 42 of 106 third downs (39.6 percent) and have scored on 25 of 35 red zone trips. The Eagles have 11 takeaways.
Kicker Alex Raynor has made 12 of 14 field goals with a long of 45 and 35 of 36 extra points. Punter Anthony Beck II averages 44 yards on 26 punts with a long of 59.
Georgia Southern beat Nebraska 45-42 in its second game and defeated then-No. 25 James Madison 45-38 two weeks ago.
South Alabama Offense
The Jaguars average 31.6 points, 422.8 total yards, 274.5 passing yards and 148.3 rushing yards per game. They have converted 50 of 116 third downs (43.1 percent) and have scored on 28 of 33 red zone trips, with 21 touchdowns. South Alabama has seven turnovers and a plus-9 turnover margin.
Bradley has completed 172 of 262 passes (65.7 percent) for 2,088 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. Jalen Wayne has 43 catches for 642 yards and six touchdowns, Caullin Lacy has 45 catches for 582 yards and three touchdowns and Devin Voisin has 36 catches for 425 yards and a touchdown.
Webb has 649 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 128 carries. Omni Wells has 157 yards, Marco Lee has 152 yards and four touchdowns and true freshman Braylon McReynolds, who returned from injury last week, has 108 yards on 22 carries.
South Alabama Defense and Special Teams
South Alabama ranks fourth in the FBS in rushing defense, eighth in third-down defense, 16th in scoring defense and 18th in first-down defense. The Jaguars allow 17.6 points, 294.5 total yards, 209.8 passing yards and 84.8 rushing yards per game, and opponents have converted 29 of 107 third downs (27.1 percent). The defense has 16 takeaways: seven fumbles and nine interceptions.
James Miller leads the team with 44 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, and Jaden Voisin has 43 tackles, four tackles for loss and an interception. CJ Rias leads with 5.5 tackles for loss and has three sacks, Trey Kiser has five tackles for loss, Jamie Sheriff leads with four sacks and Yam Banks leads with four interceptions.
Kicker Diego Guajardo is 11 of 11 on field goals with a long of 48. Punter Jack Brooks averages 41.88 yards per punt with 14 downed inside the 20.
Injuries
Head coach Kane Wommack announced that linebacker Quentin Wilfawn will miss the remainder of the season with a neck issue that requires surgery; Wilfawn will have eligibility to return in 2023. Safety Keith Gallmon was injured in preseason camp and is also expected back next season. Defensive back Darrell Luter Jr. has played with a wrap on one hand, and transfer Jamar Richardson has missed time. Transfer defensive back Marvin Martin was taken to a hospital by ambulance after a hit in practice; reports on his condition have been positive.
Fast Starts and Road Success
South Alabama is 6-1 this season when leading after the first quarter. The Jaguars led Arkansas State 14-3, Louisiana Tech 14-0 and Central Michigan 20-7 after one quarter; their lone loss when leading after the first quarter came at UCLA, where they were ahead 10-6.
The Jaguars are 3-1 in road games this season, the first time since 2014 that South Alabama has won three road games in a season. The program won a total of three road games in the previous four seasons and went winless on the road in 2018 and 2019.
