MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama closes its regular season Friday against Texas State at Hancock Whitney Stadium with a chance to keep its Sun Belt Conference West Division title hopes alive.
The Jaguars (6-5, 5-2 Sun Belt) secured bowl eligibility last Saturday with a win at Southern Miss. To claim the division, South Alabama must beat Texas State (6-5, 4-3 SBC) and get help from Louisiana-Monroe against in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette. Both Sun Belt division races will be decided this weekend.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, giving both teams one fewer day of preparation. The game is Senior Day for South Alabama, which returns home after two straight road games. Texas State is listed as a 1.5-point favorite.
Kinne’s Rebuild at Texas State
Texas State is in its second season under head coach GJ Kinne. In his first season, the Bobcats won an FBS program-record eight games and earned their first bowl berth, beating Rice 45-21 in the Servpro First Responders Bowl in Dallas for their first bowl victory. The program had not posted a winning season in nine years before his arrival.
Kinne brought in 53 scholarship newcomers and 71 new players overall in the spring and summer of 2023. That season opened with the program’s first win over a Power Five opponent, at Baylor, and the Bobcats tied for second in the West Division. Texas State improved its scoring offense by 15 points per game, the largest gain in the nation, and finished 14th nationally in scoring and total offense.
The Bobcats enter Friday after a high-scoring loss to Georgia State, which was 3-8 entering that game.
Bobcats Offense
Texas State ranks first in the Sun Belt in scoring offense and total offense, third in passing offense and fourth in rushing offense.
Quarterback Jordan McCloud, a transfer from James Madison, has completed 226 of 327 passes (69.1 percent) for 2,672 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has also rushed for 249 yards and six touchdowns.
Joey Hobert leads the team with 59 catches for 581 yards and seven touchdowns. Jaden Williams has a team-high 644 receiving yards on 48 receptions with six scores. Kole Wilson has 40 catches for 567 yards, and Chris Dawn Jr. has 30 receptions for 370 yards and six touchdowns.
Ismail Mahdi leads the ground game with 844 yards on 163 carries. Torrance Burgess Jr. has 344 yards, and Lincoln Pare has 315 yards and five touchdowns.
Bobcats Defense and Special Teams
Texas State leads the Sun Belt in forced fumbles and ranks third in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and passing defense.
Jordan Polk leads the Bobcats with 56 tackles, and James Neal has 47. Kalil Alexander has a team-high 5.5 sacks with seven tackles for loss, and Steven Parker leads with nine tackles for loss and has five sacks. Trez Moore has two interceptions.
Kicker Mason Shipley has made 11 of 15 field goals with a long of 60 yards and 44 of 46 extra points. Lars Rau and David Nunez have shared punting duties.
Jaguars Offense
South Alabama ranks third in the Sun Belt in scoring, rushing and total offense. Nationally, the Jaguars are 25th in rushing and scoring offense and 23rd in total offense. They have thrown only three interceptions, third-fewest in the country, have lost just eight turnovers and rank sixth nationally in punt return average at 17.5 yards.
Quarterback Gio Lopez has completed 189 of 288 passes (65.6 percent) for 2,367 yards, 17 touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 436 yards and six touchdowns.
Jamaal Pritchett went over 1,000 receiving yards against Southern Miss, becoming the fourth Jaguar in five seasons to reach that mark and the third player in program history to do it, joining Caullin Lacy and two-time 1,000-yard receiver Jalen Tolbert. Pritchett has 81 catches for 1,041 yards and eight touchdowns. Jeremiah Webb has 27 receptions for 414 yards, and Devin Voisin has 28 for 332.
Fluff Bothwell leads the rushing attack with 753 yards and 11 touchdowns on 106 carries, and Kentrel Bullock has 684 yards and six scores.
South Alabama will be without offensive lineman Reed Buys, who tore his ACL against Southern Miss.
Jaguars Defense and Special Teams
The Jaguars rank second in the Sun Belt in rushing defense and fourth in third-down, red-zone and scoring defense. Nationally, South Alabama is 18th in interceptions with 13 and 40th in turnovers gained with 17. The Jaguars are plus-9 in turnover margin, while Texas State is minus-5, having thrown 11 interceptions and lost eight fumbles.
Blayne Myrick leads the team with 82 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks. Jordan Scruggs and Jaden Voisin each have 60 tackles. Courtney McBride Jr. has four sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Voisin leads the team with four interceptions. Wesley Miller has three, including a pick-six last week, and Lardarius Webb Jr. has two.
Punter Aleksi Pulkkinen averages 40.7 yards with 16 punts downed inside the 20 and a long of 67. Kicker Laith Marjan has made 15 of 16 field goals, with his only miss from beyond 50 yards.
