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Know the Foe: South Alabama

Know the Foe: South Alabama

Football Oct 22
By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

Another week brings another opportunity for ULM football to prove the skeptics wrong.

ULM (3-3, 1-2 Sun Belt) will face a rested team coming off an explosive offensive performance when South Alabama visits Malone Stadium on Saturday night. The Jaguars (4-2, 1-2 Sun Belt) amassed 545 yards of total offense while beating Georgia Southern, 41-14, on Thursday, Oct. 14.

Even on the heels of ULM's impressive 31-28 upset win over Liberty last weekend and with history on its side, odds makers have installed the Warhawks as 13.5-point home underdogs. ULM has never lost to South Alabama at Malone Stadium and holds a 4-3 lead in the all-time series. Kickoff for ULM's Homecoming game on Oct. 23 is 6 p.m.

"It doesn't take long for you to realize as a team, well no matter what you do, you're now a two-touchdown underdog against the next team," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "You're still just a team that has to find a way to win."

In addition to its first Sun Belt victory over Georgia Southern, South Alabama has wins over Southern Miss (31-7), Bowling Green (22-19) and Alcorn State (28-21) this season. The Jaguars suffered close losses to Louisiana-Lafayette (20-18) and Texas State (33-31, OT)

"They are trying to get to a bowl as well," Bowden said. "They've had some outstanding wins and you know they look at us as one they've got to have for their special season with their new coach. So, we know what they're thinking and we've got to feel the same way."

"It's another challenge and another first for us to be able to accomplish as a program, similar to Georgia Southern," first-year USA coach Kane Wommack said. "We had never beaten their program before and it was great to be able to go and accomplish that at home. Now, we go on the road trying to beat a Louisiana-Monroe team that is very difficult to play at their place, and we've never won there."

ULM's "Back Alley" defense intercepted Liberty star Malik Willis three times a week ago and faces another outstanding quarterback this week.

Jake Bentley, a former starter at South Carolina who transferred from Utah, had his best game to date as a Jaguar, by passing for a school-record 389 yards and three touchdowns and adding two scores on the ground against Georgia Southern. For the season, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback has completed 122-of-179 passes for 1,505 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions.

"He's played in a lot of games and he's found a home at South Alabama," Bowden said. "He's going to be comfortable in games and comfortable in the pocket. He's not going to face anything he hasn't faced before."

When Bentley airs it out, he's usually targeting 6-3, 190-pound junior receiver Jalen Tolbert, who made 11 catches for 174 yards and a touchdown against Georgia Southern. Tolbert has 36 receptions for 718 yards and seven touchdowns on the season.

"He can beat you himself," Bowden said. "That combination, you have to have a plan for."

With Bentley slinging it around against Georgia Southern, USA receiver Jalen Wade also had seven catches for 110 yards.

The Jaguars deploy multiple running backs and have three with more than 50 carries. Bryan Hill is USA's rushing yardage leader with 214 yards and three touchdowns.

USA offensive coordinator Major Applewhite has taken note of ULM's knack at forcing turnovers while prepping for the Warhawks.

"The stats will be misleading, but what isn't misleading is how many times they have taken the ball away," Applewhite said. "And what we have to do is play the way we did the other night, in terms of not giving up the ball. That gives you the best opportunity to win, then you have to go out and execute."

While the USA offense stole the headlines, the defense also was outstanding last week. The Jaguars held Georgia Southern to 233 yards, registered four sacks with seven tackles for loss, six pass break-ups and five quarterback hurries. USA ranks first in the Sun Belt and seventh nationally in pass efficiency defense.

This week, USA defensive coordinator Corey Batoon talked about the challenges of facing ULM's mobile quarterback Chandler Rogers, who is making strides with every start.

"He can extend plays and is probably a lot faster than some of the quarterbacks that we've seen," Batoon said. "He has top-end speed. (As a team) they have a lot of speed in the backfield with the quarterback and their running back Andrew Henry. One of the biggest challenges for us is going to be matching their speed on the perimeter. We are going to have to take great angles on (Rogers) and when he's extending plays trying to throw the ball, we're going to have to have great pursuit angles on him."

Freshman safety Yam Banks is the team's top tackler with 28 stops and four tackles for losses.

Overall, USA is holding opponents to 19 points and 297.8 yards per game.

"It's a tough place to play," Wommack said. "They play very well at home, sometimes it can be challenging with the travel in getting there and with the energy you have to create for your own sideline on the road as always. It will be a really good challenge for us. Our players need to show up in all four phases of our game; offense, defense, special teams but also the sideline is a phase of the game that we performed really well last week against Georgia Southern and we need to continue to do that."

Warhawk connections: USA offensive coordinator Major Applewhite said this week he remembers seeing ULM quarterback Chandler Rogers play in high school.

"I got to know Chandler when I was coaching in the state of Texas, and watched him up in the Mansfield area," Applewhite said. "I remember watching him in a playoff game. He can extend plays and is a dynamic player. Obviously, our job offensively is to possess the ball, stay on the field longer and take opportunities away from him from that standpoint."

South Alabama bits: Tolbert, who is averaging 19.9 yards per reception, is USA's career leader in receiving yardage with 2,384. … USA has 12 takeaways and nine turnovers this season. … USA defeated ULM 38-14 in 2020 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala. … In preseason polling, the Jaguars were picked third in the Sun Belt West Division. … Bentley was the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week for his latest performance.
 
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