Michigan
Jaguar buzz: South Alabama faces Western Michigan in Salute to Veterans Bowl
WHAT: IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl — South Alabama (6-6) vs. Western Michigan (6-6)
WHEN: Saturday, 8 p.m.
WHERE: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery
SERIES: First meeting
TV: ESPN
LINE: South Alabama by 7.5
THIS GAME WILL DETERMINE: If the Jaguars or Broncos finish the season with a winning record.
Voisin twins playing together for final time at South Alabama
THREE THINGS TO LOOK FOR
1. Old coaching colleagues clash
South Alabama’s Major Applewhite and Western Michigan’s Lance Taylor were both members of Nick Saban’s first Alabama staff in 2007, Applewhite as offensive coordinator and Taylor as a graduate assistant. Applewhite has previous head-coaching experience at Houston, where as Taylor is in his first job as the head man. It’s also a homecoming for Taylor, who grew up in Mobile County and played at Alabama.
2. Who will play, who will sit out?
It’s a bowl game, so you never really know until kickoff who’s going to play and who’s not. We do know South Alabama running back Fluff Bothwell is taking transfer portal visits, so he’s not playing in the game. Other Jaguar players who have entered the portal may or may not play on Saturday. Western Michigan tight end Bosma Blake is also in the portal. In addition, quarterback Gio Lopez continues to battle a season-long issue with turf toe.
3. Can Jaguars handle this MAC team?
South Alabama has had mixed results vs. teams from the Mid-American Conference over the years, pounding Eastern Michigan 59-10 in last year’s 68 Ventures Bowl, but also losing regular-season games vs. Ohio and Central Michigan in the last two years. Western Michigan is by all accounts a typical run-first Midwestern team, which should bode well for a Jaguars defense that has trouble against the pass.
KEY MATCHUP
South Alabama running backs vs. Western Michigan front 7
The Broncos allow 186 yards per game on the ground and have given up 26 touchdowns. The Jaguars’ running game isn’t what it has been without Bothwell and with Lopez likely not at 100%, but Kentrel Bullock will have a chance to shine. We might also see some younger backs take on a larger role for South Alabama.
BY THE NUMBERS
3-12 — The combined record of the two teams all-time in bowl games. South Alabama is 1-3, while Western Michigan is 2-9.
The Wolverine Football Recruiting
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Michigan is recruiting a talented group of quarterbacks for the 2028 cycle. Here’s a look at the Wolverines’ top targets.
Dusty May is leaving Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks. What now?
Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia breaks down the “shocking” news of Michigan basketball coach Dusty May leaving for the NBA.
At the University of Michigan’s board of regents meeting on Thursday, June 25, interim president Domenico Grasso addressed the departure of former Michigan basketball coach Dusty May, calling the move a “bellwether” for college athletics.
May, who had reportedly agreed in principle to a contract extension with the Wolverines but had yet to sign it, left the program on Monday, June 22. One day later, he was in Brooklyn for the NBA Draft where his Dallas Mavericks selected his former player, Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr., with the No. 9 overall pick.
“Our current system is in dire need of clarity and equitable reform,” Grasso said at the regents meeting. “Coach May told me that among his reasons for leaving were uncertainties and pressures involving the transfer portal and NIL support for student-athletes.
“He and I agree that the future of college sports is headed in the wrong direction.”
While Grasso did say the new “Protect College Sports Act” could provide “greater stability, clearer national standards and more consistent rules” to college athletics, he also said it has “deeply concerning provisions.”
“Rather than looking to conferences such as the Big Ten as models of athletic and academic excellence, it imposes restrictions that disproportionately affect the institution,” he said. “Among the most troubling provisions are targeted limits on conference expansion and realignment, as well as harmful restrictions on student athletes’ ability to benefit from additional NIL opportunities. These measures will reduce universities and conferences’ flexibility to adapt to changing conditions for student innovative opportunities.
“We want what’s best for the Big Ten and for Michigan. We are not going to sacrifice competitive advantage that we built for more than a century. We stand ready to work with legislators on a bill that will establish a system in which every university can compete and thrive for generations to come.”
May spent just two years in Ann Arbor but made a lasting mark on the program. He went 64-13 during his time, won the 2024-25 Big Ten Tournament championship, the 2025-26 Big Ten championship and finished his time in Ann Arbor defeating UConn, 69-63, to win the national championship on Monday, April 6.
“When my family and I came to Ann Arbor two years ago, we hoped we could help bring Michigan basketball back to where it belongs,” May said in a goodbye statement to U-M. “This wasn’t an easy decision. An opportunity came along that was right for my family and something I felt I needed to pursue, but that doesn’t change how much these last two years have meant to us.
“Thank you for trusting us, believing in us and making these last two years so much fun. It was an honor to coach at Michigan and wear the Block M.”
On Tuesday, June 23, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel officially announced assistant basketball coach Mike Boynton Jr. would be appointed as interim head coach.
That set a clock for the transfer portal to open for U-M players on Friday, July 24, 31 days after Boynton’s appointment as interim.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
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