The Jaguars will be looking to bounce back from a Sun Belt opening loss to JMU when they invade Monroe Saturday night. South has not lost back-to-back Sun Belt Conference games since the 2021 season when it ended the year with consecutive setbacks to App State and Coastal Carolina.
South Alabama is the best team in the country in the red zone, scoring on 100 percent of its trips inside the 20-yard line. The Jags are one of just seven teams so far this year to be perfect in the red zone, and one of two teams from the Group of Five.
USA quarterback Carter Bradley has now thrown a touchdown pass in 11-straight games dating back to last season and 16 of his 18 contests as a Jag
"Experiences allow you to be better prepared the next time. We've got some guys on our team who have gone over there before and played and been in those moments like in 2021 that we had. I've been there twice and had really tough moments once in 2016 and then obviously in 2021. My job is to kind of set the tone for how challenging an environment it is to go over and play."
-Head coach Kane Wommack on South Alabama's struggles in Monroe
"Love the way the guys fought. Love the way the guys came back down 21, but just way too inconsistent. Eyes in the wrong place, drops, we had some penalties, we didn't convert on a fourth down. Just way too inconsistent when our defense needed us."
OC Major Applewhite on the team's performance at James Madison
"I thought the kids played hard, I thought they battled back. I thought they executed for a large part of the game, but those large explosion plays, you can't get those back when they score. You certainly can't give up touchdowns on those. That was the disappointing thing. I was very happy with how hard we played."
-DC Corey Batoon on the defensive output against JMU
ABOUT ULM
The Warhawks are .500 on the year after winning their first-two games before dropping the last two. ULM started off the season with wins over Army and Lamar before defeats to Texas A&M and App State. Terry Bowden coaches ULM, and is in his third season with the program. He holds a record of 10-18 at the school.
Jiya Wright plays quarterback for ULM, and has thrown for 432 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He has also rushed for 143 yards and a score. Hunter Smith and Isaiah Woullard are a one-two punch at running back with 258 and 247 yards apiece, respectively. Tyrone Howell is the favorite receiving target on the team with 234 yards and four touchdowns to date. Defensively, ULM is led by Michael Batton who has 35 total tackles. Ja'Terious Evans has also intercepted two passes for the Warhawks.
SERIES HISTORY
ULM owns an advantage of 5-4 in the all-time series between the Jaguars and Warhawks. The Jags have never beaten the Warhawks in Monroe. South Alabama won last year's matchup in Mobile, 41-34.
LAST TIME OUT
After falling behind by 21 early in the fourth quarter, South Alabama rallied to make it a one-score game, but could not find the end zone on its last drive as James Madison held on to win 31-23 Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth Stadium.
The Jags had several bright spots in the losing effort, including the receiving duo of Caullin Lacy and Jamaal Pritchett who both had big games. Lacy caught six passes for 132 yards, including a 55-yard connection with Carter Bradley in the fourth quarter to set up a La'Damian Webb touchdown run and pull South within a single score. Pritchett caught three passes for 65 yards, and scored his first touchdown in a USA uniform on a 48-yard bomb from Bradley.
On the defensive side of the ball, South Alabama held James Madison to 2-of-14 on third down conversions, and 0-of-2 on fourth downs. Jaden Voisin also produced a takeaway for the Jags by intercepting a pass to set up the USA offense in plus territory. It was the explosive plays of JMU that haunted the Jags, though, as the Dukes scored three times from 44 yards out or further. Trey Kiser led the attack for South with eight total tackles, including three tackles for loss. Wy'Kevious Thomas also played a good game with six tackles, including 1.5 for loss and half a sack.
