First off, this will be the Herd's first trip back to Mobile, AL since it's 2001 Miracle in Mobile and the 2002 pasting of Dave Ragone and the John L. Smith led Louisville Cardinals (although it leaked out at halftime to his players, families, etc. that he was leaving for the Michigan State job --- pretty ugly situation). However, the Jaguars don't play at Ladd-Peebles stadium - the site of the bowl games. They instead have their own new on-campus stadium (opened in 2020).
Offensively, the South Alabama is a better more balanced version of Georgia Southern. They have a 6th year QB (he played 4 years at Toledo before playing the past two at USA) and two good backs playing behind a very veteran offensive line.
Wide receiver Caullin Lacy is the guy to watch out wide as he already has 71 catches for 1,096 yards on the season and close to 2,000 yards over the past two seasons. Jamal Pritchett is also dangerous with 650 yards and close to 15 yards per catch.
Defensively, this is probably the 3rd best unit in the conference behind JMU and Troy....which is nothing to be ashamed of. They are led by their linebacking corp (3 of them already have over 60 tackles and a third linebacker has 42 stops and 2 sacks).
Their 25 sacks on the year is spread out over 13 different players, so they don't have one dominating pass rusher but there is strength in numbers.
On paper, this looks like a looooong evening for the Herd. This is probably the 3rd best offense we'll face all season and the 2nd or 3rd best defense.
So how the heck have they lost 5 games?
Three of those losses (Tulane, JMU, Troy) are either in the Top 25 or will be in a couple of weeks. They lost to Louisiana by going -5 in turnovers in that game including a scoop-and-score fumble. The Central Michigan loss is the real head-scratcher. They essentially let CMU's QB & RBs pick up 3 yards every down and they kept converting 3rd downs and 4th downs (a combined 10 for 17 on conversions). They left WR Jessie Prewitt III open the whole game (10 catches for 142 yards) and the Chippewas chewed up the clock and went on an 11 play 75 yard drive that punched in the game winner with 13 seconds left.
This is a good extremely veteran group we're playing Saturday. They showed against Oklahoma State what they're capable of. They also showed against Louisiana and Central Michigan what they're capable of.
Offensively, the South Alabama is a better more balanced version of Georgia Southern. They have a 6th year QB (he played 4 years at Toledo before playing the past two at USA) and two good backs playing behind a very veteran offensive line.
Wide receiver Caullin Lacy is the guy to watch out wide as he already has 71 catches for 1,096 yards on the season and close to 2,000 yards over the past two seasons. Jamal Pritchett is also dangerous with 650 yards and close to 15 yards per catch.
Defensively, this is probably the 3rd best unit in the conference behind JMU and Troy....which is nothing to be ashamed of. They are led by their linebacking corp (3 of them already have over 60 tackles and a third linebacker has 42 stops and 2 sacks).
Their 25 sacks on the year is spread out over 13 different players, so they don't have one dominating pass rusher but there is strength in numbers.
On paper, this looks like a looooong evening for the Herd. This is probably the 3rd best offense we'll face all season and the 2nd or 3rd best defense.
So how the heck have they lost 5 games?
Three of those losses (Tulane, JMU, Troy) are either in the Top 25 or will be in a couple of weeks. They lost to Louisiana by going -5 in turnovers in that game including a scoop-and-score fumble. The Central Michigan loss is the real head-scratcher. They essentially let CMU's QB & RBs pick up 3 yards every down and they kept converting 3rd downs and 4th downs (a combined 10 for 17 on conversions). They left WR Jessie Prewitt III open the whole game (10 catches for 142 yards) and the Chippewas chewed up the clock and went on an 11 play 75 yard drive that punched in the game winner with 13 seconds left.
This is a good extremely veteran group we're playing Saturday. They showed against Oklahoma State what they're capable of. They also showed against Louisiana and Central Michigan what they're capable of.
| Marshall (5-5) | South Alabama (5-5) | |
| PPG | 24.4 (83rd) | 29.9 (49th) |
| Points Allowed | 28.9 (94th) | 21.1 (37th) |
| Total Offense | 359.9 (85th) | 423.0 (40th) |
| Rush Offense | 129.0 (97th) | 164.6 (58th) |
| Pass Offense | 230.9 (59th) | 258.4 (42nd) |
| Offensive Pass Effic | 122.95 (98th) | 144.81 (41st) |
| 3rd Down Offense | 31% (120th) | 43% (38th) |
| Total Defense | 381.5 (72nd) | 324.2 (25th) |
| Rush Defense | 165.2 (94th) | 124.8 (35th) |
| Pass Defense | 216.3 (50th) | 199.4 (31st) |
| Defensive Pass Effic | 125.03 (42nd) | 138.96 (90th) |
| 3rd Down Defense | 31% (18th) | 34% (29th) |
| Turnover Margin Per Game | -1.10 (128th) | -0.20 (80th) |
| Penalty Yards Per Game | 55.8 (85th) | 59.7 (103rd) |
