South Alabama had to put its last game in the rearview mirror quicker than most this week.
The Jaguars (0-2) are back in action at home at 6:30 p.m. Thursday vs. Northwestern State (0-2), the first of two straight Thursday night games and four overall this season that won’t take place on Saturday. South Alabama lost 27-20 at Ohio last Saturday, but has had to quickly turn the page to prepare for the Demons, an FCS program out of Natchitoches, La., that began the season with losses to Tulsa (62-28) and Prairie View (37-31).
“I think it is nice to have a short week to where you can get that last game off your chest,” wide receiver Devin Voisin said. “Especially going to this week, it’s quick turnaround. And you’re playing a team that might look at us like ‘oh, they’re 0-2, we have a chance.’ But the way we look at it is, we’ve been growing. So, I think this is another game we can step forward and prove ourselves.”
One drawback of the short week is less time for injuries to heal. Running back Braylon McReynolds, cornerbacks Ricky Fletcher and Reggie Neely and quarterback Gio Lopez were among those starters who missed the Ohio game, and all are at least questionable for this week.
Lopez sat out with turf toe, an injury that took place during the Jaguars’ Week 1 loss to North Texas. Head coach Major Applewhite said Monday the hope is to have Lopez back for Northwestern State, but his status is not yet known.
“There are degrees of turf toe,” Applewhite said. “So that obviously goes into the decision to not play last week, in terms of, ‘is it going to be a lot worse?’ Those are the things we’re monitoring in terms of his health.”
With Lopez out, sophomore Bishop Davenport made his first start behind center for the Jaguars. The former Utah State transfer played a solid game, completing 22 of 37 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown.
However, Davenport does not offer the dynamic run-pass combination of Lopez, who set South Alabama school records with 432 passing yards and 497 yard of total offense against North Texas. Nevertheless, offensive coordinator Rob Ezell said getting Davenport on the field in a meaningful way early in the season might be beneficial for the Jaguars long-term.
“I thought he played well,” Ezell said. “There’s probably four or five plays that and we like to have back; I think certainly though I could have helped him in those a little bit more. But he went out there and competed in a way that exemplifies what we want here. He played with toughness, he played with poise; he was certainly committed to the cause.
“I’m really proud of him. … he fact that he was able to play in the Ohio game, I think it’s going to be good. You try everything you can to simulate what it’s going to be like in a game with practice and scrimmages, but at the end of the day you’ve got to go out there and play, especially at that position. It’s going to pay dividends moving forward, for him and for us.”
South Alabama’s defense showed improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, allowing nearly 200 fewer yards and 25 fewer points vs. Ohio than it had vs. North Texas. The Jaguars also forced their first turnover of the season and allowed only a handful of explosive plays by the Bobcats’ offense.
South Alabama still struggled situationally, however, and gave up too many long drives. Ohio scored touchdowns just before the half and on the opening possession of the third quarter, which ultimately decided the game.
“It’s the old adage coaches always talk about, that middle eight — the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half,” defensive coordinator Will Windham said. “We gave up the two-minute drive, then we come back out and they have the long touchdown drive in the third quarter.
“The (South Alabama) offense leaves the field, it’s 10-10. The next time they touch the field, it’s 24-10. And that can’t happen. We’ve got to clean that up. And if we can do that, we’ve got a chance to win the ball game.”
Weather could also be a factor on Thursday night, with the remnants of Tropical Storm Francine likely to still be in the Mobile area. Forecasts call for heavy rains Wednesday and into Thursday morning.
Not that rain is anything new in Mobile or for South Alabama football. Applewhite said the Jaguars will and have incorporate potential bad weather into their practice routines.
“You live on the Gulf Coast, it could pop up any time,” Applewhite said. “So, we’ll take period of practice here or there where we wet the balls down, make sure the receivers, backs, centers, everybody is used to handling a wet football. We’ll do the same thing in the return game and with our snappers. We’ll work all those type of situations to make sure our guys are comfortable handling a wet football.”
Kickoff for South Alabama-Northwestern State is set for 6:30 p.m. at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game will stream live via ESPN+.
