Thursday night's matchup between South Alabama and App State will feature the top-two passing offenses in the Sun Belt Conference. App State averages 321.3 yards per game through the air while the Jaguars throw for 305.0 yards per contest.
South Alabama's game at App State on Thursday night will be the only college football game in the country that night. The game will be featured on ESPN.
For the first time since 2022, South Alabama scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams. While the Jaguars scored plenty of touchdowns on offense, linebacker Chrystyile Caldwell scored on a 30-yard interception return and wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett returned the first punt of the game 62 yards for a score.
Seven carries is all it took for true freshman running back Fluff Bothwell to run for 143 yards and two touchdowns in South Alabama's win over Northwestern State. Quarterback Gio Lopez's four touchdown passes against Northwestern State tied the school record for the most in a single game
QUOTES
"Excited to go play App State. It's a great program with a lot of history. Coach Clark's done a great job, obviously playing for the Sun Belt Conference Championships last year. He's a former player who knows what it means to be there in Boone and coach the Mountaineers. We have a really tough task in front of us on Thursday, but one we're looking forward to."
Head Coach Major Applewhite on the tough, upcoming matchup against App state"I think he played well. I thought he competed well. It was a strange game, but he did what he did and helped lead the offense."
Offensive Coordinator Rob Ezell on Gio Lopez's performance against Northwestern State
"The best thing I think about games like that, is it gives you confidence moving forward. Now they know that they can play at a high level and they've put good things on tape. Now it's just continuing to build off of that."
Defensive Coordinator Will Windham on the confidence boost the defense got from last week's win
ABOUT APP STATE
The Mountaineers enter Thursday's matchup with a 2-1 record. App State beat ETSU to open the season before falling at Clemson. In their most-recent Matchup, the Mountaineers knocked off East Carolina, 21-19. Shawn Clark is in his fifth year as head coach of the program and owns a record of 37-19. Joey Aguilar quarterbacks App State and has thrown for 964 yards and five touchdowns through three games.
SERIES HISTORY
App State leads the all-time series between the two schools by a count of 4-1. The Jaguars won their first-ever meeting against the Mountaineers in 2014, but App State has responded with four-consecutive victories.
LAST TIME OUT
South Alabama Football set new school and Sun Belt Conference records for points scored in a game Thursday night when it dominated Northwestern State, 87-10, at Hancock Whitney Stadium for the first victory of the season.
It was a total team effort for the Jags Thursday as they scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams. Wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett returned the first punt of the game 62 yards for a touchdown while linebacker Chrystyile Caldwell tallied a 30-yard pick six. The offense produced 10 total touchdowns on the night, and kicker Laith Marjan chipped in a field goal from 28 yards out.
South Alabama's defense was dominant on the night, forcing four takeaways while only allowing 237 yards of total offense. Jaden Voisin started the takeaway party with an interception in the first quarter, giving him seven for his career. True freshman Amarion Fortenberry then recorded his first-career interception before Caldwell's pick-six. True freshman Julien Demby finished the night by recovering a fumbled snap. Maurice Strong set a career-high with a game-high seven tackles on the night to pace the Jags' tough front-seven.
Offensively, USA was hot right from the start as quarterback Gio Lopez connected with wide receiver Jeremiah Webb for a 39-yard touchdown strike on South's first play of the game. Lopez would go on to finish the night with 257 yards passing and four touchdowns while completing 15-of-19 attempts. Tight end DJ Thomas-Jones recorded the third multi-touchdown game of his USA career with a pair of touchdown grabs, and Pritchett added an offensive score to his special teams touchdown.
The Jaguars won the game in the trenches Thursday as they rushed for 363 yards and six touchdowns on the night. True freshman Fluff Bothwell recorded the first 100-yard game and first multi-touchdown game of his career with 143 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. He was joined in that feat by fellow running back Kentrel Bullock, who tallied 102 yards and two touchdowns on the night. PJ Martin also pitched in his first score of the year to go with 72 yards while Jarvis Durr found the end zone for the first time in his career.
