MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama will host Georgia Southern on Thursday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, with both Sun Belt Conference teams looking to snap two-game losing streaks and earn their first conference victory of the season.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Central. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU, with radio coverage on 99.5 FM The Jag in the Mobile area and worldwide on the iHeartMedia app. Oddsmakers list the Jaguars as 12-point underdogs.
Jaguars Coming Off Loss to Louisiana-Monroe
South Alabama scored first against Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday but fell behind as the game went on. Running back Tra Minter rushed for 150 yards, and quarterback Cephus Johnson added 72 rushing yards. As the Warhawks built their lead, the Jaguars were forced to throw more often and finished with fewer than 60 passing yards.
The South Alabama defense stopped ULM on its first possession, but the Warhawks later produced several big plays and converted key third downs and two fourth downs on drives that ended in touchdowns. Several of the Jaguars’ leading tacklers in the game were members of the secondary.
The Thursday night game gives South Alabama a short week to prepare.
Eagles Bring Triple Option to Mobile
Georgia Southern is 1-3 and lost its conference opener to Louisiana-Lafayette 37-24 last Saturday. The Eagles’ only win came against FCS opponent Maine. South Alabama’s lone victory this season also came against an FCS team.
The Eagles run a triple-option offense and have averaged just under 202 rushing yards per game through four games while attempting only 41 passes.
Redshirt junior quarterback Shai Werts was injured in the season opener against LSU and missed the next two games. He returned against Louisiana-Lafayette, rushing for 93 yards and completing 6 of 12 passes for 37 yards while being sacked three times.
Junior running back Wesley Kennedy III is set to return after serving a four-game academic suspension.
Series History
South Alabama is 0-5 all-time against Georgia Southern. In 2017, a winless Georgia Southern team led by interim head coach Chad Lunsford, coming off an open week, defeated the Jaguars 52-0. It was the first shutout loss in South Alabama program history.
Since that game, South Alabama has gone 4-14, with two of those wins coming against FBS opponents.
