BATON ROUGE, La. — South Alabama takes a two-game winning streak into Tiger Stadium on Saturday night to face No. 14 LSU in the second game of a three-game road trip.
The Jaguars (2-2) have outscored their last two opponents 135-24, including a 48-14 win at Appalachian State on Thursday, Sept. 19, in Boone, N.C. LSU (3-1) opened as a 21.5-point favorite and will have an open date after Saturday’s game.
LSU is the highest-ranked opponent South Alabama has faced since playing No. 10 Oklahoma State in 2017 and the first ranked opponent the Jaguars have played since No. 25 Louisiana-Lafayette in 2020.
LSU’s Start
LSU opened the season with a narrow loss to USC in the Vegas Kickoff Classic, then beat FCS Nicholls 44-21 after leading only 23-21 early in the third quarter. The Tigers won 36-33 at South Carolina and beat UCLA 34-17 last week, holding the Bruins scoreless in the second half after a 17-17 halftime tie. Saturday’s game is the second of a three-game LSU homestand.
Brian Kelly is in his third season at LSU after 12 seasons at Notre Dame, where he went 92-40 after 22 wins from the 2012 and 2013 seasons were vacated because of academic misconduct. Kelly is 23-8 overall and 13-4 in SEC games at LSU and 286-104-2 in his 34th season as a head coach. He previously coached Grand Valley State (118-35-2, 1991-2003), Central Michigan (19-16, 2004-06) and Cincinnati (34-6, 2006-09).
Tigers Offense
Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has completed 113 of 160 passes (70.6 percent) with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Tight end Mason Taylor leads LSU with 25 catches for 237 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Anderson leads the team with 298 receiving yards on 21 catches, and Kyren Lacy has a team-high five touchdown catches among his 20 receptions for 245 yards. CJ Daniels has 17 catches for 199 yards, and Zavion Thomas has 10 catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
Josh Williams leads the rushers with 134 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. Caden Durham has 116 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, Kaleb Jackson has 95 yards on 26 carries and John Emery Jr. has 61 yards on 10 carries.
Tigers Defense and Special Teams
LSU has forced nine fumbles and has six takeaways, with a plus-3 turnover margin. Whit Weeks leads the defense with 30 tackles, and Greg Penn III has 24 tackles and a forced fumble. The Tigers have 12 sacks; Bradyn Swinson leads with five sacks and two forced fumbles, and Sai’vion Jones has four sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Zy Alexander and Jardin Gilbert have LSU’s two interceptions. Linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Peyton Todd has handled most of the punting, averaging 40.7 yards per punt, and Blake Ochsendorf averages 37.7 yards on three punts. Kicker Damian Ramos has made 5 of 6 field goals with a long of 45.
Jaguars Rolling After 0-2 Start
South Alabama lost its first two games before beating Northwestern State and Appalachian State. Major Applewhite is in his first season as head coach, with Rob Ezell as offensive coordinator and Will Windham as defensive coordinator.
The offensive line, which lost several players during preseason camp, controlled the line of scrimmage against Appalachian State. The defense, which returned two starters, pressured Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar throughout last week’s game after generating little pressure in the first two games.
South Alabama is plus-5 in turnover margin, with two lost fumbles, one on a muffed punt, and seven takeaways (four interceptions and three fumble recoveries).
Offense
Quarterback Gio Lopez, who has recovered from a turf toe injury, has completed 57 of 92 passes (62 percent) with nine touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.
Jamaal Pritchett leads the receivers with 26 catches for 354 yards and four touchdowns. Devin Voisin has 16 catches for 206 yards, Jeremiah Webb has 10 catches for 185 yards and a touchdown and tight end DJ Thomas-Jones has six catches for 52 yards, three for touchdowns.
True freshman Fluff Bothwell leads the team with 359 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 37 carries, and Kentrel Bullock has 204 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries. Both have run for 100 yards in each of the last two games.
Defense and Special Teams
Linebacker Blayne Myrick leads the team with 34 tackles, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Jordan Scruggs and Jaden Voisin have 21 tackles each. Scruggs was named Sun Belt Player of the Week after a 96-yard interception return at Appalachian State that ended with a horse-collar tackle short of the end zone. Voisin, Amarion Fortenberry and Caldwell Chrystyile each have one interception. Jordan Norman, Maurice Strong Jr., Courtney McBride Jr. and Tyler Thomas have one sack apiece.
Punter Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 38 yards on nine punts, with five downed inside the 20, and Jack Martin averages 45 yards on three punts. Kicker Laith Marjan has made 5 of 6 field goals with a long of 39, missing only from beyond 50 yards, and 17 of 18 extra points. Pritchett averages 28 yards on seven punt returns, including a 62-yard touchdown.
Road Trip Continues
South Alabama’s Thursday night win at Appalachian State came in front of a loud crowd at Kidd Brewer Stadium. After Saturday, the Jaguars travel to Arkansas State to continue their three-game road swing.
