MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama turns around quickly from a road loss at Texas State to host Georgia Southern on Thursday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium, still searching for its first win in the series.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, on ESPNU. The game will air on Sports Talk 99.5 FM, 96.1 FM The Rocket and the iHeartRadio app.
Late Collapse in San Marcos
South Alabama (3-2, 0-2 Sun Belt Conference) had rallied late in each of its first four games under first-year head coach Kane Wommack, winning three. At Texas State, the Jaguars led 17-7 at halftime and 24-10 early in the fourth quarter before the Bobcats scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Momentum shifted when a flea-flicker went wrong: running back Bryan Hill’s lateral intended for quarterback Jake Bentley was intercepted by a Texas State defender and recorded as a fumble.
Texas State gained 399 total yards and 212 rushing yards, both the most South Alabama has allowed this season. Before that game the Jaguars had allowed one fourth-quarter touchdown all season. A.J. DeShazor was disqualified for targeting in the second half and must sit out the first half Thursday.
AJ Phillips led South Alabama with 72 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, his first career scores as a Jaguar. Hill was held to 17 net yards on 13 carries.
Injury Report
Center James Jackson injured his right knee and will not play. Trey Simpson is expected to move to center, with Josh McCulloch at left tackle, Hadon Merchant at left guard, Anterrious Gray at right guard and Antawn Lewis at right tackle. It will be South Alabama’s sixth different starting offensive line in six games. Left tackle Ja’Chai Baker also missed time at Texas State.
Running back Kareem Walker, who missed the last two games, should return. Running back Terrion Avery, receiver Caullin Lacy, Baker, tight ends Trent Tyre and Lincoln Sefcik, and linebackers Chris Henderson, Shawn Jennings and Ke’Shun Brown were banged up but are expected to play. Junior college transfer Trey Kiser is likely to see more action at linebacker.
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern (2-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) dismissed head coach Chad Lunsford after a 28-20 loss to Louisiana dropped the Eagles to 1-3. They have since beaten Arkansas State 59-33 and lost 27-24 to Troy last Saturday, rallying from a 24-3 third-quarter deficit to tie the game with 6:08 left before Troy kicked the go-ahead field goal with 1:46 remaining. Quarterback Justin Tomlin threw his third interception of the game near midfield with 32 seconds left.
The Eagles average 24.8 points and nearly 381 total yards per game, with just over 253 rushing yards and 127.5 passing yards, though they ran for 82 yards and threw for 219 against Troy. They have converted 31.4 percent of third downs and 52.9 percent of fourth downs, and have scored on 14 of 16 red zone trips, eight times with touchdowns.
Logan Wright leads the backfield with 481 yards and five touchdowns on 66 carries, Gerald Green has 342 yards and five touchdowns, and Jalen White has 210 yards and two touchdowns. Tomlin has completed 38 of 77 passes for 458 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions, and Cam Ransom is 25-of-49 for 242 yards and a touchdown. Khaleb Hood leads the receivers with 22 catches for 230 yards.
The Georgia Southern defense allows 32.7 points and 483 yards per game, including 338.8 passing and 144.2 rushing. Opponents have converted 39.7 percent of third downs and 2 of 9 fourth downs. Safety Anthony Wilson leads with 34 tackles, and safety Justin Birdsong has 32. The Eagles are 2-0 when holding opponents under 100 rushing yards and 0-4 otherwise.
Anthony Beck averages nearly 45 yards per punt. Alex Raynor is 5-of-6 on field goals with a long of 42 yards, and freshman Britton Williams is 3-of-3 with a long of 49.
Series History
South Alabama has never beaten Georgia Southern. The first five meetings were decided by 22, 38, 15, 52 and 35 points, but the Eagles won the last two by a field goal in overtime in 2019 and by a touchdown last season.
Wommack said the defensive scheme he and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon run includes elements that naturally help against Georgia Southern’s option-based rushing attack. Kicker Diego Guajardo is 5-of-7 on field goals and 13-of-15 on extra points, and Jack Brooks averages 41.4 yards per punt.
South Alabama is a three-point favorite.
