What Major Applewhite and Todd Orlando said ahead of South Alabama's Sun Belt opener against ULM

South Alabama opens Sun Belt Conference play Saturday night when ULM visits Hancock Whitney Stadium for homecoming, and Major Applewhite used his weekly press conference to say he likes where this team is heading into league play — even at 2-2.

"I like this team," Applewhite said. "I'm not going to sit here and be over the top and sappy about it, but I like this team. I think there's a level of maturity and there's a level of listening and responding to things."

The quarterback situation remains in flux. Bishop Davenport, the starter through the first two games, is still working to return from an injury. Jared Hollins started both the Ohio and Kentucky games in his place and led a 41-36 home win over Ohio before the loss in Lexington. When asked how difficult Hollins has made the decision, Applewhite did not hesitate.

"He's played really well," Applewhite said. "... That's just part of the game. I don't care what sport it is. When you get your opportunity, go make the most of it."

Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando addressed the run defense, which gave up 390 rushing yards in last week's 45-21 loss at Kentucky, including three backs with 100-plus yards each. Orlando said the breakdowns are unlike anything he has experienced as a coach — but stressed they are correctable.

"I haven't been associated with before in my career in terms of some of the explosive plays that we're giving up, but just the amount of yards that we're giving up right now," Orlando said. "And it's fixable. It's just we have to be really, really locked in."

Full transcript

On the non-conference schedule testing the team:

Major Applewhite: "It's all about, it's really no different than in high school, right? When you've got your own district and you know everybody in your neighborhood and you know they know you, you know them, you want to go out and kind of see what you're really all about. And some of this is, this is 8, 10, 12 years ago these contracts are signed sometimes, in terms of who these teams are. Sometimes you think this team may not be very good and then all of a sudden they show up on your schedule, and somebody in 2017 scheduled them and then all of a sudden you're like, 'Oh my gosh, why do we schedule these guys?' Well, they weren't very good at that time, so you don't really have control over it.

"But the ability to play three teams — Southeastern's a team who has had nine, I think was three out of the last five years, had nine-win seasons. Ohio, three out of the last four years, 10-win seasons. Kentucky, an SEC program — Will has done a great job with his staff. He's done a great job assembling his roster. He's got some good pieces and he's going to continue to build that.

"But it just challenges you. It tests your mettle, kind of figure out where you're at. Helps you, it helps expose you in a lot of ways, which is good to learn those things about your football team before you get into conference play. And that's what we talked about Sunday was, we got exposed in some areas. And that's a good thing that we were exposed. Now, what do we do with that lesson? How do we improve that as coaches, play callers, assistant coaches and players alike?"

On avoiding the pattern of playing flat at home after a road game, referencing last year's Coastal Carolina loss after playing Auburn and the Central Michigan game after beating Oklahoma State:

Major Applewhite: "Yeah, I don't think we'll be flat. We just didn't play well against Coastal. They hadn't done anything and then they end up going to a bowl game, and that's the thing about the Sun Belt is every game is winnable. Every game is losable if you want to look at it that way, too. You just got to go back to what you need to focus on and what you need to work on.

"I think there's a pride in this team right now and having won two games at home defending their home field advantage and defending their home field. And so we've talked about being 3-and-0 at home. I don't think that's something we spent a lot of time on in the last five years that I've been here in terms of just talking about Hancock Whitney Stadium and what our crib means to us and how we want to play in it and the style of play that we want to have in it. But those are things that are really kind of hard to put your arms around because it's different teams, different complexions of teams, different experiences at different positions.

"I don't use too much information from three years ago or even last year in terms of how this team will respond. I think we've got a totally different ball club. I was telling him yesterday, I like this team. I'm not going to sit here and be over the top and sappy about it, but I like this team. I think there's a level of maturity and there's a level of listening and responding to things. When coaches are asking things of you, and when they're asking you to pay attention to things, you're not just listening, you're hearing what we're saying. And I think they're poised, ready to have a great week of practice and then we'll go play Saturday night."

On the quarterback situation with Bishop Davenport working to return and how well Jared Hollins has played:

Major Applewhite: "He's played really well. I mean, that's just part of it. That's just part of the game. I don't care what sport it is. When you get your opportunity, go make the most of it. And he did a great job day before yesterday, did a great job the week before. He's prepared that way.

"Bishop's trying to get back as healthy as he can, and we want to make sure that we're not putting someone out there that's not ready to go. But I think it's a blessing for us as a team, just having been through this before when I was working with Carter and Dez, there was Gio, there's times where all three of those guys had to play in a season. So to get your feet wet, get starts, get experience, and play well and develop that kind of confidence, I think it's a good thing for this entire football team to have two guys that are ready to go play."

On where the team stands heading into conference play at 2-2:

Major Applewhite: "There's a lot of stuff to work on. We're 2-and-2. Not to be smart-aleck, we're 2-and-2 and we haven't won anything yet. Even if we went 4-and-0 in non-conference, we still hadn't won anything. We've found some good things that we do well and some things that we need to emphasize and get better at. Continue and improve in those areas and we found some things that we're not very good at that we've got to spend a lot of time and attention towards those things.

"I was talking to the team yesterday. I was like, if you ever take inventory of yourself, like we got to do better in the second half. We haven't played well to start off a third quarter yet. Maybe one side of the ball's done something, but as collectively as a team putting together a special teams play, a defensive series, an offensive series to start the second half, that's something that we need to focus on because a lot of these games that we're getting ready to go play are going to be one-possession ball games. And people talk about the final four and the first four. We haven't played well in the final four — in terms of the first four minutes of the second half, or excuse me, the first four minutes of the third quarter."

On the second-half momentum drop at Kentucky, specifically the run game and a botched snap:

Major Applewhite: "The running of the football — they were able to run the ball. And then offensively, I think we go out and we get our first drive, we get a first down, and then we get in a situation where we're using a hard count and we felt like we had a guy offsides, we snap the ball, we don't get the penalty, but we don't catch the snap and then now we're in second and forever. And so then now we've got to punt back to a team that's kind of established momentum at the end of the half and to start the second half.

"We need to play well on the defensive side of the ball in terms of stopping the run and then we need to be able to put two first downs together. And that's something we talk about as an offense. At bare minimum, you need to get two first downs when you go out there. Obviously, the goal is to score and touchdowns and not field goals, but we need to get two first downs and flip the field."

On what he's seen from ULM:

Major Applewhite: "I see a good ball club. I see nine starters returning. I know some guys have been banged up and been injured. I know people look at records, but most people don't know what they're looking at, to be honest with you. They don't. And this is a good ball club. They've got two good quarterbacks that can play. They've got a multitude of backs. They've got receivers outside. They can make plays on the perimeter.

"They present a lot of issues with what they do schematically defensively with their front and their secondary. You go back and look at the overtime game against Lafayette. They're taking Texas State towards the end of the season to the fourth quarter at their place. So there's an overtime game at Lafayette. There's a fourth-quarter game against Texas State. Last week kind of got away from them and when you play Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State, that's going to be a tough one within itself. But they had UAB on the ropes at their place in Birmingham. They're a very good football team.

"You just cannot in this league look at the first four games and try to draw conclusions about what you're getting ready to go play. I was telling the team yesterday — I love my 10-year-old to death, but he's like, 'Well, y'all scored more points than A&M in the first half, so that means y'all —' I'm like, 'You can't think like that. It ain't transitive, Nash.' It doesn't work like that. Each opponent's its own opponent, and each game's its own game. I don't really put a whole lot of time into what's happened in the past. I know this is going to be a very good football team, very well-coached football team that comes in here Saturday, and we need to be prepared to go play our best."

Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando on ULM's system and the conference opener:

Todd Orlando: "They got a system. They've got athletes, quarterback's athletic. But it's the system — went back and watched them versus us in '24 and '25 and a lot of similarities in terms of what they do. They're committed to running the football and we got to get better at stopping the run game. And they can take big shots down the field.

"It's for everybody's standpoint — they've gone through their games, we've gone through our games, and now we're in conference play, so it's clean slate for everybody. I know our guys are excited to get going. Got a four-game resume — we have to be more consistent defensively, but been through some really good teams, too. So it's a good matchup. We're back at home, which is awesome. Homecoming, which is for us a big deal to represent the people that have gone to school here. Excited about the challenge."

Orlando on fixing the explosive plays in the run defense:

Todd Orlando: "It's assignment. That's essentially what you saw on the tape — fundamentals, what you saw on tape. We've got to get more consistent. That's our biggest problem right now. Our biggest problem is making sure the guys are locked in doing their jobs at a high level. And then obviously from a standpoint of the tackling, it's got to be better in space.

"You work on it, you go into it. Kentucky's a real good team. I think you're going to find that out next couple weeks when they start going against people, and they did similar things to A&M, which is not an excuse, but they're talented. We have to get better at doing our jobs at a higher level. And the consistency part of it, we want to get this thing flipped and get it to where we wanted to get to. It's the only way it can happen. Good old-fashioned work. We sat down right in this room and we talked through every one of those plays assignment-wise. Who's supposed to be here? This is what should be done. Just so there's some clarity because I'm one of those guys. I don't make excuses. If it wasn't a great call, I'll own it. I'll eat it right in front of everybody.

"But putting them together, you get ownership to everybody in that room saying like, if we don't play completely together, this is what it can look like. But we got to get this fixed. I haven't been associated with before in my career in terms of some of the explosive plays that we're giving up, but just the amount of yards that we're giving up right now. And it's fixable. It's just we have to be really, really locked in. And this is a team that's going to run the football now. They're going to watch that tape and they're going to feel they can have the same results and we got to get it shored up to make sure it's not out there again on Saturday."