South Alabama
South Alabama is 4-5 and No. 107 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 10.6 points below an average FBS team. Last game: lost 28-26 at Louisiana in Week 10.
Week 11: vs Troy, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why South Alabama is No. 107
- South Alabama's rating is −10.6: the machine's estimate that South Alabama is 10.6 points worse than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 107 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at −10.5, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 0.1.
- The biggest weekly moves: +1.9 after Week 2 (L 24-28 at Tulane) and +1.3 after Week 6 (W 56-49 at Arkansas State).
- Its record is 4-5. The 5 losses were to No. 33 Kentucky, No. 80 Louisiana Tech, No. 88 Louisiana, No. 94 Tulane, No. 119 Marshall, by 10.4 points on average. The 4 wins came by 13.5 points on average; the best was over No. 97 Ohio. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 95 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 106 App State (−10.6); just below is No. 108 Florida International (−10.6).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Major Applewhite is in his 3rd season at South Alabama (since 2024). This season: 4-5. At South Alabama overall: 15-19, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 138-237 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 1855 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 12-5 |
| Yards per attempt* | 7.9No. 46 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 10.1%No. 78 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 4.5%No. 48 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 397-1864 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.7No. 49 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 13.9%No. 69 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 15.2%No. 34 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 32.4No. 41 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.91No. 66 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 40.0%No. 74 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 68.8%No. 35 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 7No. 23 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 32.2No. 122 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 6.88No. 134 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 8.5No. 134 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 5.4No. 133 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 5.7%No. 73 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 12No. 58 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 42.3%No. 111 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Jared Hollins82-156, 1195 yds, 9 TD, 4 INT
- Bishop Davenport56-81, 660 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
- Keenan Phillips116 carries, 595 yds, 6 TD
- PJ Martin125 carries, 589 yds, 7 TD
- Trae'von Dunbar64 carries, 342 yds, 4 TD
Receiving
- Brendan Jenkins33 catches, 552 yds, 3 TD
- Anthony Eager23 catches, 488 yds, 6 TD
- Jeremiah Jones-Thomas24 catches, 268 yds, 1 TD
Tackles
- Cole Blaylock46
- Jordon Williams41
- Dallas Young37
Sacks
- Xavious Anderson Jr.3
- Christian Ross2
- E'Mauri Smiley2
Interceptions
- Damyrion Darby3
- Jaylen Moson2
- D.J. Moore1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Jared Hollins6 games156 attempts66%
- Bishop DavenportMost passes in the last game3 games81 attempts34%
Carrying
- PJ Martin9 games125 carries40%
- Keenan Phillips9 games116 carries37%
- Trae'von Dunbar9 games64 carries21%
Catching
- Brendan Jenkins9 games33 catches24%
- Jeremiah Jones-Thomas8 games24 catches17%
- Anthony Eager7 games23 catches17%
- Rod Gibbs8 games15 catches11%
Tackling
- Cole Blaylock7 games46 tackles8%
- Jordon Williams8 games41 tackles7%
- Dallas Young8 games37 tackles7%
- Jayvon Henderson8 games36 tackles7%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 39–14 vs SE Louisiana. SE Louisiana is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 2 L 24–28 at Tulane. The run defense gave ground: Tulane got 7.3 yards a carry, 3.4 over what it usually gains.
- Week 3 W 41–36 vs Ohio. The passing game was the strength: 9.6 yards an attempt, 2.8 more than Ohio usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 4 L 21–45 at Kentucky. The run defense gave ground: Kentucky got 9.3 yards a carry, 5.6 over what it usually gains. Its fewest yards a carry of the season.
- Week 5 W 52–35 vs UL Monroe. The passing game was the strength: 16.9 yards an attempt, 9.7 more than UL Monroe usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 6 W 56–49 at Arkansas State. The pass defense gave ground: Arkansas State got 9.7 yards an attempt, 1.9 over what it usually gains. The machine had Arkansas State by 3.3 (59%), so this was a win it did not see coming; South Alabama won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 8 L 13–20 at Marshall. The passing game struggled: 4.5 yards an attempt, 3.6 less than Marshall usually allows. Its fewest yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 9 L 20–35 vs Louisiana Tech. The pass defense gave ground: Louisiana Tech got 11.4 yards an attempt, 3.8 over what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 10 L 26–28 at Louisiana. The run defense gave ground: Louisiana got 7.1 yards a carry, 2.8 over what it usually gains.