MONROE, La. — South Alabama opens Sun Belt Conference West Division play Saturday at Louisiana-Monroe, looking to stop a two-game losing streak at a stadium where the Jaguars have never won.
South Alabama (2-3, 0-1 Sun Belt) is 0-4 at Malone Stadium. The Jaguars lead the overall series 5-4, with all five wins coming in Mobile and all four losses in Monroe.
Explosive Plays a Problem
Since a 33-7 win at Oklahoma State, South Alabama has lost to Central Michigan and at James Madison. In those losses the defense gave up explosive plays and the offense struggled to move the ball consistently.
The Jaguars have allowed seven touchdown plays of more than 40 yards through five games, more than the six they allowed in all of 2022. Three came last week at James Madison on passes of 48, 44 and 66 yards. Central Michigan scored on a 70-yard third-down pass to start the fourth quarter, and Tulane had touchdown passes of 47, 47 and 48 yards in the opener.
“You can’t give up explosive plays for touchdowns,” head coach Kane Wommack said at his Monday news conference. “I think that put us in a really challenging situation. … We dug ourselves in a pretty deep hole, really defensively (against JMU) with those three explosive plays. We’re not going to reach our potential as a football team until we stop doing that.”
Against Central Michigan, South Alabama scored on its first two possessions for a 14-0 lead before going cold. James Madison led 14-0 in the first quarter and 17-0 before the Jaguars scored, and Tulane led 10-0 in the first quarter after South Alabama turned the ball over to open the game. James Madison’s defense recorded several sacks and batted passes at the line, one of which was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.
Familiar Threat in Howell
South Alabama beat Louisiana-Monroe 41-34 in Mobile last season, but receiver Tyrone Howell caught touchdown passes of 75 and 83 yards — the two longest plays the Jaguars allowed all season — and finished with 244 yards and three touchdowns. Howell had three touchdown catches last week in a 41-40 loss to Appalachian State decided by a field goal on the final play.
“Tyrone Howell is probably the best receiver we faced a year ago and he had a career day against us,” defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said. “We understand how good he is, because we saw it live last year. So it will be a tremendous challenge for us.”
ULM Offense Improved
Louisiana-Monroe (2-2, 0-1 Sun Belt), coached by Terry Bowden, rehired offensive coordinator Matt Kubik, who held the job through 2019, after Rich Rodriguez left after one season to become head coach at Jacksonville State. The Warhawks gained 471 yards against Appalachian State and rank second in the Sun Belt with 205.5 rushing yards per game.
ULM averages 21 points, 343.8 total yards and 138.3 passing yards per game. The Warhawks have converted 14 of 52 third downs (26.9 percent) and 5 of 7 fourth downs.
Quarterback Jiya Wright has completed 35 of 64 passes for 432 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, and has rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Herring is 16-of-30 for 121 yards and a touchdown in two games. Howell leads the receivers with 23 catches for 234 yards and four touchdowns, and Dariyan Wiley has nine catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Smith has rushed for 258 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, and Isaiah Woullard has 247 yards and a touchdown on 39 carries.
Warhawks Defense and Special Teams
Michael Batton leads ULM with 35 tackles, and Simion Hines has 23. James Smith leads with 2.5 sacks and four tackles for loss. AJ Watts and Ja’Terious Evans have two interceptions each. Kicker Derek McCormick is 3-of-4 on field goals, with his only miss blocked, and Braxton Guilbeau averages 38.96 yards per punt.
South Alabama by the Numbers
South Alabama averages 27.6 points, 380 total yards, 231.2 passing yards and 148.8 rushing yards per game, and has converted 45.7 percent of third downs. Carter Bradley has completed 97 of 149 passes (65.1 percent) for 1,153 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. Caullin Lacy has 32 catches for 567 yards and five touchdowns, Jamaal Pritchett has 17 catches for 226 yards and scored his first career touchdown last week, and Lincoln Sefcik has nine catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. La’Damian Webb has 376 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 64 carries, Kentrel Bullock has 247 yards and a touchdown, and Marco Lee Jr. has 111 yards and a touchdown.
James Miller leads the defense with 31 tackles, and Trey Kiser and Jaden Voisin have 30 each. Kiser leads with five tackles for loss, Jamie Sheriff and Brock Higdon have two sacks each, and Yam Banks, Marquise Robinson and Voisin each have an interception. Diego Guajardo is 5-of-6 on field goals with a long of 42 yards, and Jack Martin averages 40.68 yards per punt.
The Jaguars came out of the James Madison game without major injuries. Left tackle Josh McCulloch is doubtful, and Adrien Strickland, who was poked in the eye against James Madison but returned to the game, is expected to play. South Alabama has a lighter schedule next week after five consecutive weeks of games.
South Alabama is a 10.5-point favorite.
