MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama plays its first game at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday night, hosting Tulane in the debut of the Jaguars’ new on-campus home. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
The Jaguars enter the game as 10.5-point underdogs to the Green Wave.
A Smaller Crowd Than Planned
The opening had been expected to draw a full house of about 25,000 fans. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance will be limited to about 6,000, with spectators spread throughout the stadium.
Leaving Ladd-Peebles
The new stadium ends South Alabama’s run at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the Jaguars’ home for the previous 10 seasons. Ladd-Peebles opened in 1948 with a 14-14 tie between Alabama and Vanderbilt. It has hosted the Senior Bowl since 1951 and has been home to Mobile’s annual bowl game since 1999.
Playing at the city-owned stadium allowed South Alabama to build other football facilities before taking on a stadium project. The program has added a field house and natural grass and synthetic turf practice fields, and it recently completed a covered practice facility, which keeps the team from moving indoors to the basketball gym during Mobile’s frequent storms.
Game Information
- Opponent: Tulane Green Wave
- Site: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile
- Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CDT Saturday
- Television: ESPN2
- Expected attendance: about 6,000 under COVID-19 limits
Update
South Alabama enters the stadium opener after beating Southern Miss in its season opener on national television. The win ended the Jaguars’ nation-leading road losing streak and their streak of season-opening losses, and, counting last season’s finale, gave South Alabama its first two-game winning streak since 2017. The new stadium cost about $78 million. Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson resigned a few days after the loss.
In the opener, Jalen Tolbert scored on a 73-yard catch-and-run on South Alabama’s third offensive play. Desmond Trotter threw two interceptions, one while being hit, but the Jaguars did not lose a fumble. South Alabama did not punt, but it missed a field goal and an extra point, botched another extra-point attempt and had two kickoff returns that did not reach the 15-yard line. A late field goal helped put the game out of reach.
Scouting Tulane
Saturday is Tulane’s season opener. Willie Fritz is in his fifth season with the Green Wave, who went 7-6 last season. Fritz is 23-27 at Tulane, with records of 4-8, 5-7, 7-6 and 7-6 and bowl wins in each of the last two seasons, after taking over a program that went 3-9 in each of the two previous seasons. He previously coached Georgia Southern for two seasons, going unbeaten in Sun Belt play in the Eagles’ first conference season, though they were ineligible for a bowl as an FBS transitional program. His Georgia Southern teams beat South Alabama twice by a combined 83-23.
Offensive coordinator Will Hall’s first Tulane offense last season ranked 22nd nationally in total offense and 30th in scoring, and its 449.3 yards and 33.1 points per game were the third-most in school history. Quarterback and leading rusher Justin McMillan is gone from a team that averaged 243 rushing yards per game. Southern Miss transfer Keon Howard is the likely starter; in four games in 2019, he completed 13 of 18 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score. Tulane’s top returning wide receiver caught 13 passes last season.
Six Tulane players ran for at least 250 yards last season. Corey Dauphine, who ran for 575 yards and seven touchdowns, is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Freshman Tyjae Spears is expected to take on a lead role. Amare Jones ran for 371 yards and four touchdowns while averaging more than 6 yards per carry, caught 34 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns, and has averaged 24 yards per kickoff return and nearly 10 yards per punt return over his first two seasons.
Tulane returns seven defensive starters from a unit that ranked fourth in the American Athletic Conference in total defense and allowed 26 points per game. Patrick Johnson led the team with four sacks after recording 10.5 the previous season. Safety Chase Kuerschen led the team with 76 tackles, linebacker Marvin Moody returns, and former Florida State recruit Kyle Meyers is likely to start at cornerback. Tulane intercepted 12 passes last season and forced 17 fumbles but recovered four, including one over its final 11 games. During last season’s regular season, Tulane was 6-0 when it gained at least 7 yards per play and 0-6 when it did not.
