Jags Jungle panel picks: Troy at South Alabama

South Alabama is in the throes of a midseason swoon after suffering its third straight defeat, the most recent being a close-run affair at Louisiana-Lafayette that ended 28-26. Not usually what one wants when entering a game against their biggest rival, especially if that rival holds a significant upper hand in the series.

Can the Jaguars break their losing streak and take a huge step toward bowl eligibility and salvage their season?

Let's see what the Jags Jungle panel has to say:

Doug Konkel

I know there are reasons to not believe in South Alabama in this game, but, by God, there are a lot of reasons to believe in the Jags as well. For one thing, despite the loss against ULL, it would be disingenuous to say that they did not look better in that game than they had in the previous two. The defense may not have been the Steel Curtain, but they held the Cajuns to their season-low in offensive points scored in Sun Belt games while the offense showed some of their old grit with Bishop Davenport at the helm. Meanwhile, the Trojans come to Mobile in less-than-blazing hot status themselves, having lost three of their last four with the one win I would classify as fluke over JMU as the Dukes gifted them five turnovers and 71 very costly penalty yards in the 24-21 overtime contest. Also, while football isn't math, it is worth noting that South Alabama and Troy have three common opponents (ULM, ULL and Louisiana Tech) with the Jaguars going 1-2 and the Trojans 0-3 with scoring marks of 98-98 and 37-95, respectively. Troy has ongoing issues at center due to injury that has severely impacted their running game as their yards per carry has dropped from 3.8, to 3.3 to 1.5 in their last three games and while they seem to have landed on Tucker Kilcrease as their quarterback for the moment, the passing game has been unable to fully compensate for it. Defensively they are not quite the same team as last year, but still very good as they generate a big number of negative plays between turnovers caused (15), tackles for a loss (six per game) and sacks (two per game), the main reason they lead the conference in red zone defense. Intensity will be high for this game, as always, so I think it will come down to which team can keep their heads and keep turnovers and penalties to a minimum. I think that team will be South Alabama. Put me down for a 28-17 Jaguar win and impromptu parade of the Belt around campus afterwards.

Tres Harrison

South Alabama's downhill skid continues after a crushing 28-26 loss to ULL. The game was winnable but it seems we decided to get greedy in waning moments and it cost us. Now, the Battle for the Belt is upon us, and this one is big. Both teams enter at 4-5 and 2-3 in the conference. The teams both seem pretty similarly stacked on paper, and both are trying to make a push to bowl eligibility. If the Jags are going to win this game, some things need to happen and they need to happen fast. Special teams has got to make sure they don't allow a huge kick return at the start of the game again, defense has got to shore up against the run and offense needs to function consistently and finish drives with points. That's really it. Play better and score more.

South has consistently allowed teams to run all over us while we're on defense. Secure tackling is paramount. The Trojans are also a little turnover prone. Coming up with some takeaways is going to be a focus in a rivalry game. Offense is… just going to have to figure out how to be consistent. Too many times the Jags have had good drives ended with unnecessary penalties, off-target passes, dropped catches and inconsistency in rushing production. Our offense is going to need to show up ready to pad their stats on Saturday.

The defense on Saturday looked pretty solid. Offense is still lifeless. That does not matter. I do not care. I despise Troy. I hate Troy more than anything. I do not care that we seem to have no real offensive identity. I do not care about what any statistics say. I despise the Trojans more than numbers can quantify. South wins in a no doubter. 56-10 GO JAGS!

Caleb Seaver

A few weeks into the season with both teams playing well against SEC teams and looking decent in the nonconference, many Sun Belt fans in general may have circled this game as a pivotal one in the Sun Belt West. Oh how quickly things can change. South Alabama has now lost three in a row looking for any answers on offense. Troy was swept by all three Louisiana schools. Now both teams are fighting for bowl eligibility and to not finish last in the west. However, despite the lower stakes, both teams will be fired up for this one. Troy won the last meeting, but South won the last time it was played in Mobile. Troy leads the all-time series 10-4. South Alabama has really struggled against Troy lately, but this is the time to pick up a win. Troy's offense has not been good, the passing game is abysmal and the running game is average at best. Tucker Kilcrease has been the starter, but has struggled with accuracy and completing passes down the field. The run game has been OK, using a committee of backs, and the offense as a whole has turned it over a lot lately. On defense they have been very good, excelling at stopping the run game. The problem is, the defense typically doesn't score many points. For South Alabama they need answers on offense as well. Bishop Davenport has taken over at quarterback, but they have not been able to run the ball at all. For a team that relied very heavily on the run, they have been stopped the past few weeks and will have to make an adjustment to the game plan to find success. Bishop played OK last week, but the passing game is still a struggle. The defense after an abysmal week against Louisiana Tech played decent against Louisiana. They were able to really shut down the pass game but really struggled against the run. Both sides of the ball are really banged up for the Jags, 17 players named on the injury report. The Jags will really have to make adjustments and overcome some injuries in this one. As for the game itself, a tough one to predict. Both teams have some glaring issues, neither offense is playing well, but both teams will wake up for this one. My pick, despite my hatred for the East Alabama Cow College, is Troy. I predict they win an ugly, sloppy game 16-13.

South Alabama and Troy kick off from Hancock Whitney Stadium at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday. You can catch the neutral television broadcast led by Pat Greenwood on ESPN+ or hear the South Alabama broadcast on the Jags Radio Network with JT Crabtree and Company.

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