Unlike the past five years, South Alabama is already assured that Saturday’s regular-season finale against Old Dominion will not be the Jaguars’ last game of the season.
The Jaguars (9-2, 6-1 Sun Belt Conference) host the Monarchs (3-8, 2-5) in an 11 a.m. opener on Senior Day at Hancock Whitney Stadium. South Alabama still has an outside chance to clinch the Sun Belt West Division title (the Jaguars need to win and first-place Troy needs to lose to Arkansas State), but coach Kane Wommack said Monday his team wasn’t focused on results.
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“I’m proud of our process,” said Wommack. “I am proud that this team is making our process a reality. We’re not talking about records or bowl games or conference booths, but what I think we’ve done is solidify the process of why we do things the way we do here, day in, day out. The reason we are in this position is because we are so relentless in the detail and accountability required to make this vision a reality. We all want to be 9-2 and win conference championships and go to bowl games, all of those things are great.
“When we put our heads on our pillows, we might dream about these things, but they are not talked about in our building. Part of the success we see on the pitch is because we’re so relentless in our process and don’t let the results affect how we do things.”
South Alabama set two enviable program records with Saturday’s 27-20 win at Southern Miss. The Jaguars have now won six Sun Belt games and five away games for the first time in their 13-year history.
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Wommack said the win over the Golden Eagles was a mix of good and bad. On the plus side, South Alabama has reduced its penalties — it’s only been flagged five times. On the negative side, the Jaguars turned the ball over three times.
“I think what pleases me most about our team is our ability to respond, no matter what adversity seems to be in store for us,” said Wommack. “We have maturity on our sidelines at the moment with an expectation that even if we’re not playing our best football, we’ll just get the job done. When you look at this in a street setting, these things are hard to do. A lot of teams can’t do that, and I think it indicates a great team when you’re not able to do your best and still find a way to get the job done. I am very satisfied with our team in this respect.”
The Jaguars won again despite playing without leading rusher La’Damian Webb, who was out with an ankle/foot injury. Freshman Braylon McReynolds stepped in for Webb, ran for 100 yards for 15 carries and caught three passes for 66 yards.
South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley also played injured for much of the game after making a hard shot after a touchdown pass in the second quarter and finishing for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Wommack said he’s optimistic Webb will play Old Dominion and fully expects Bradley to be in the lineup as well.
“He hurt at halftime, I could see that, but he came in and played hard,” said offensive coordinator Major Applewhite. “He did the cliché of being a badass quarterback and finishing the game. He played a lot better in the second half and I’m just proud of him. There were also so many other guys who were ailing, the quarterback gets a thing and everyone’s talking about how tough he is, but we’ve had guys with dislocated elbows and sore knees and stuff like that. But he did a great job coming in in the second half and playing well.
Old Dominion has lost five straight games since Coastal Carolina’s only loss of the season on Oct. 15 and currently sits bottom in the Sun Belt East. The Monarchs also beat Virginia Tech, losing a close game to Virginia earlier in the season, but are a different team now due to widespread injuries on offense.
ODU ranks 10th out of 14 Sun Belt teams in total offense and 13th in total defense, allowing for nearly 450 yards per game. The Monarchs rank 117th out of 131 FBS teams in that category and have given up 34 touchdowns in 11 games.
“I think this is a very dangerous team,” said Wommack. “…This is a team that beat a Power 5 opponent earlier in the season. Coastal Carolina, who secured the Eastern Division 9-1, and their only loss is against Old Dominion. This is a team that can do it. They have a lot to offer from the quarterback position, and defensively they can do a number of things with the pressure they bring. They are very stingy down there and we need to be able to score points in those situations.”
Saturday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+.