South Alabama is enjoying its best season since its football program was formed five years ago.
The Jaguars have beaten three FBS teams, the most in any season since it debuted in 2009, and they have the conference’s leader in total offense in quarterback Ross Metheny as well as a defense that leads the league in sacks and tackles for losses.
“Their talent isn’t a question,” said Arkansas State Coach Bryan Harsin, whose Red Wolves play the Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
But getting to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Sun Belt Conference has put Coach Joey Jones through a gamut of emotions.
The Jaguars already have beaten Tulane, which leads Conference USA, and Western Kentucky, which was picked among the top half of the Sun Belt Conference before the season. They also had the ball inside Tennessee’s 10-yard line in the final minute of their 31-24 loss earlier this season in Knoxville, Tenn.
Three of South Alabama’s losses have come after the Jaguars gave up points with 7 seconds or less, and South Alabama still had a chance at Tennessee until Metheny threw an interception into the end zone with 1:51 left.
“It just rips your guts out,” said Jones, a former Alabama wide receiver who is the only coach the program has known. “Our kids have bounced back. They’re probably more resilient than [the coaches] are.”
The latest loss might have been the toughest.
South Alabama rallied from a 27-17 deficit in the fourth quarter Saturday against Texas State with a pair of passes from Metheny to Danny Woodson II to take a 31-30 lead with 1:32 left. But the Jaguars allowed Tyler Jones to complete a 51-yard pass to Ben Ijah on fourth-and-24 that set up Jason Dann’s 24-yard field goal with 4 seconds left that sent South Alabama home with a 33-31 loss.
That loss followed a season-opening setback to Southern Utah in which South Alabama gave up a last-second field goal, and a loss to Troy in which Eric Thomas wrestled a touchdown catch away from two defenders with 7 seconds left.
“It’s amazing,” Jones said. “It’s kind of a year that I’ve never seen. … It’s not like it’s a huge fix.”
The biggest encouragement lies in a roster that, for the first time since the program was founded, is starting to produce seasoned players familiar with South Alabama’s current level and system.
Led by Metheny, a two year starter at quarterback who leads the Sun Belt in total offense with an average of 267.3 yards per game, South Alabama has eight players on offense with 14 or more career starts and seven players on defense with at least 15 starts.
Defensive linemen Alex Page and Romelle Jones have 34 and 26 starts, respectively, and have combined for 8 ½ sacks. South Alabama’s 18 sacks is tied for the most in the league.
Jones might not play Saturday because of a knee injury, Al.com reported, but depth has provided South Alabama a level of competitiveness that it didn’t have a year ago in its first season as a Sun Belt member, when it lost seven games by 10 or more points.
”When you sit back and look at it, we’re a much better football team than we were last year, no doubt in my mind,” Jones said. “We’re getting better, and we’ve just got to keep working.”
Up next ARKANSAS STATE AT SOUTH ALABAMA
WHEN 6:30 p.m. Central Saturday WHERE Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.
RECORDS Arkansas State 3-4, 1-1 Sun Belt; South Alabama 3-4, 1-2 RADIO KFIN-FM, 107.9, in Jonesboro; KKSP-FM, 93.3, in Bryant/Little Rock
Sports, Pages 19 on 10/30/2013