South Alabama went down in defeat to a “peer” program once again on Saturday, losing 27-20 at Ohio to fall to 0-2 this season.

Major Applewhite’s Jaguars played without starting quarterback Gio Lopez, who was dealing with a turf toe injury suffered last week vs. North Texas. South Alabama had opportunities to tie the game or take the lead in the second half, but could not cash in.

South Alabama drops to 0-2 after 27-20 loss at Ohio

The Jaguars have a short week before hosting Northwestern State on Thursday. Before that, here are 5 takeaways from the loss to the Bobcats:

1. Jaguars’ offense lacked consistency without Gio Lopez

Bishop Davenport played fairly well in his first extended action for South Alabama, but was nowhere near the dynamic force that Lopez is when healthy. Davenport missed a few open throws, and was late with some others that might have been bigger plays. The Jaguars also didn’t take many shots downfield in the passing game, something they’ve done with regularity the last three years.

2. Fluff Bothwell is the best running back on the team

Starting running back Braylon McReynolds didn’t play due to injury, so Bothwell moved up to No. 2 behind Kentrel Bullock. It’s starting to look like the talented freshman should be No. 1, however. He’s just a different kind of runner than anyone else on the South Alabama roster, and the Jaguars probably wasted some opportunities to use him more early in the game. Once Ohio got up by two scores, the running game went away.

3. Defense was better but still not good enough

The Jaguars weren’t completely helpless against the Bobcats, though they still allowed three killer scoring drives. Ohio took control with a pair of long touchdown marches, one right before the half and one right after. Then they killed most of the fourth quarter with a 13-play field-goal drive. The Jaguars did make a few big plays — including a sack/fumble in the third quarter — but couldn’t get off the field when it mattered most against an offense that wasn’t exactly dynamic.

4. Special teams again have a bad day

Other than placekicker Laith Marjan, South Alabama’s kicking game has been pretty horrid this year. A fumbled punt in the second quarter gifted a touchdown to Ohio after the Jaguars’ defense had made a stop. Kick coverage has also been suspect this year, as were kick returns on Saturday. The Jaguars would have been better off just fair-catching all kickoffs instead of trying for a return and winding up with the ball short of their own 20. Aleksi Pulkkinen made his first appearance at punter and had an up-and-down day in windy conditions.

5. It’s getting difficult to find 6 wins on this schedule

South Alabama is sitting at 0-2 despite being favored in both of its games this season. The Jaguars will almost certainly win Thursday vs. FCS opponent Northwestern State, which lost at home to Prairie View on Saturday. But then come consecutive road games against Sun Belt preseason favorite Appalachian State, SEC power LSU and much-improved Arkansas State. The Jaguars will be hard-pressed to enter the nationally-televised Oct. 12 “Battle for the Belt” with Troy at better than 1-5, and thus will struggle to be bowl-eligible for the third straight year.

NEXT UP: South Alabama hosts Northwestern State at 6:45 p.m. Thursday. That game will be streamed live via ESPN+.

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com. Letters are lightly edited for clarity.

On Ohio State football

To the editor: It’s always great to watch the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe. Been doing it since the late 1950s, but (Saturday) seemed different. Granted, it was extremely hot in the sun, but the length of the game was disconcerting. It took at least an hour for the first quarter to end.

I’m a longtime Archie Griffin fan, having watched him many times excel in the Horseshoe and enjoyed his being honored for all he has and continues to accomplish for Buckeye nation, but the other timeouts interrupted the football experience.

I worry, as baseball has had to change and shorten its game, that college football could be facing the same challenge. Our grandkids were excited to see their first Buckeye game, but it was a long day at times for them. Not to take away from those deserving recognition, but most of us are there to watch and support Buckeye football action.

Than Johnson, Urbana

To Than: I’ve found mismatches seem too long and great games seem too short. Also, the day goes a lot quicker at home when you can change channels to another game during those long timeouts.

To Brian: I wonder if Appalachian State or Ohio State have ever pursued a game with the other, which would still be a curious pairing even though it’s been a while. Surely schools such as next week’s opponent, Marshall, like Memphis, Tulane, Colorado State or Temple could be found that would come to Ohio Stadium without expecting a return game and would be better matchups than what we’ve been seeing. 

Dennis Singleton, Dayton 

To Dennis: If that happened, Appalachian State would have no bigger fan base than the one in Ann Arbor that day.

To the editor: We only read when one of the football Buckeyes gets arrested by the police. Then we scream, cry and carry on about those faithless heathens. Well, many Buckeyes are true believers despite the violent nature of football. Witness Master Teague, Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, J.T. Tuimoloau bringing 10,000 Bibles to distribute and sharing their faith on the OSU campus. While I don’t share their religious beliefs, I think these players are people we can believe in and can be called campus heroes.

Michael Oser, Columbus

More from the Mailbox

Reader takeaways on Michigan’s Connor Stalions; and what would Bo think?

Loyal Crew fan won’t stand for Haslams moving game to Cleveland

Reader wants to hear less from Pete Rose; and what’s with recruiting rankings?

Reader’s baseball Hall of Fame story takes a twist, featuring Al Oliver

Columbus Crew’s Aidan Morris misses 2024 Olympics, Ohio state football and more

Pete Rose was a great Ohioan, but what about Mike Schmidt, Cy Young?

Don’t forget Ohio State football’s surprise 2-way player under Woody Hayes

Recalling memories of the great Willie Mays, Bill Walton

Jack Nicklaus has the fame, but Scottie Scheffler has the cash

Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts

Denzel Burke, a first-team All-Big Ten performer with an interception and nine pass breakups in 2023, was ejected for targeting after a hit he delivered to Broncos running back Jaden Nixon.

Ohio State CB Denzel Burke is disqualified after he’s called for targeting here.

Jermaine Mathews Jr. is coming in for Burke. pic.twitter.com/fHE5yiM3Ra

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) September 8, 2024

Advertisement

Burke will be out for the remainder of the contest but will not have to serve a first-half suspension against Marshall, Ohio State’s next opponent, since he was ejected in the first half of Saturday’s game against Western Michigan.

Burke started his season hot with a fantastic interception against Akron, but he gets a slight detour in trying to prove he’s the nation’s best with a Week 2 ejection.

Jermaine Mathews Jr., who had 13 tackles, three pass breakups and a pick-six as a freshman in 2023, replaced Burke in the Buckeyes’ defensive lineup.