Week 10 Preview: South Alabama
After beating Marshall in dramatic fashion and handling James Madison during Homecoming in Statesboro, the Eagles traveled to Virginia to face Old Dominion. Old Dominion started fast and never let off the gas as they handled Georgia Southern 47-19 on Thursday night. The Eagles will need to have a short memory going forward as they face a South Alabama team that is 4-4 (3-1 SBC) in Mobile on Saturday. Like the Eagles, the Jaguars of South Alabama had a difficult out-of-conference slate with LSU, Ohio and North Texas. Kickoff between the Eagles and Jaguars is set for 7:30 EST and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
Offensively, South Alabama is led by RS Freshman QB Gio Lopez who is a dynamic athlete that protects the ball, makes good decisions, and can make defenses pay through the air or on the ground. In seven games this season, Lopez has completed 128 out of 200 passes for 1,632 yards and 13 touchdowns. In those 200 passing attempts, he has thrown just one interception. On the ground, he is the team’s third leading rusher with 55 carries for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns. In terms of play calling, the Jaguars have a balanced attack, as seen by the 291 runs compared to 246 passing attempts. On the ground, South Alabama uses RB Fluff Bothwell and RB Kentrel Bullock interchangeably and both have 85 carries on the season. The two running backs have combined for 1,085 yards this season as Bothwell has 580 yards and Bullock has 505 rushing yards. As a team, the Jaguars average 216.3 rushing yards per game, so the front seven of the Georgia Southern defense will have to be disciplined in gap and player assignments. South Alabama uses quite a bit of pre-snap motion and misdirection in the offense so if an Eagles defender gets caught with their eyes in the backfield, the offense will make them pay.
South Alabama has one dominant receiver and several others that have contributed this season. WR Jamaal Pritchett, a senior from Jackson, Alabama, leads the way with 50 catches for 662 yards and 6 touchdowns through the first eight games of the season. Behind him, just two guys have more than 200 receiving yards this season: WR Jeremiah Webb and WR Devin Volsin who have 276 and 260 receiving yards respectively. QB Gio Lopez has undoubtedly has a favorite receiver in Prtichett, so the Eagles secondary will need to be on their A-Game to slow him down. With Lopez being a true dual threat quarterback, getting pressure on him but ensuring containment is of paramount importance. If he sees a running lane, he is not afraid to pull it down and take off downfield.
Defensively, South Alabama typically runs a 4-2-5 scheme that keeps five defensive backs on the field. The defensive unit is led by LB Blayne Myrick who has 58 tackles, 5 TFL and 1 sack through the first eight games. The defense only has 11 sacks on the season, but they have several players capable of wreaking havoc on the quarterback at any given moment. The team is led in sacks by Atlanta, GA native, LB Courtney McBride, Jr. (3), and the hometown guy, DL Tyler Thomas (2). The defensive backfield seems to be the strength of the unit as they have 11 interceptions so far this season. With five defensive backs on the field, it is tough to find space and the Eagles quarterbacks will need to make sound decisions to prevent South Alabama from getting extra possessions for their high-powered offense.
In the kicking game, K Laith Marjan is 15 out of 16 on extra point attempts and 11 out of 12 on field goal attempts with his longest made field goal being from 49 yards. P Aleksi Pulkkinen, from Helsinki, Finland, has punted the ball 28 times for an average of 41.86 yards so far this season. In the kick return games, the Jaguars do not attempt returns often, but Savannah, Georgia native Shamar Sandgren has 7 returns with an average of 16.57 yards per return. On punts, South Alabama is more likely to attempt a return with RB Jamaal Pritchett back deep. He has returned 9 punts this season and averages 21.89 yards per return including a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown against Northwestern State. Eagles punter, Alex Smith, will need to be sure that he places the ball well and with plenty of hang time to ensure the coverage team has time to get to the deep man and prevent any game changing returns.
Eagles Win If:
1) They contain QB Gio Lopez
We saw last week what happens when a good mobile quarterback faces an undisciplined defense, so the Eagles must clean up their scheme and game plan to ensure that does not happen again
Putting pressure on the quarterback is great as long as the defense does not give Gio Lopez running lanes to make plays with his legs
After watching the game last week, the Eagles will likely have a QB Spy on Gio Lopez on most plays
2) They win the turnover battle
We say it every week, but the Eagles must do a better job of protecting the ball. The Jaguars have only turned the ball over four times so far this season, so it is extremely important to limit extra possessions for their high-powered offense.
3) They have more than 125 rushing yards
South Alabama gives up 133.25 rushing yards per game and the Eagles will need to get close to that number to keep the defensive backfield honest
With South Alabama playing five defensive backs most of the time, finding throwing windows can be tough so the Eagles must establish a ground game to take some pressure off of the quarterback
