South Alabama treated the Sun Belt Conference preseason favorite like just another also-ran on Thursday night.
The Jaguars pounded Appalachian State 48-14 at sold-out Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, N.C., in perhaps the most significant conference road win in program history. South Alabama (2-2 overall, 1-0 Sun Belt) rolled up 320 rushing yards and played mostly lockdown defense to beat the Mountaineers (2-2, 0-1) for the first time since 2014.
“I think everybody on our team knew they were capable of this, but to be able to come do it on the road against a quality opponent — a traditional really good program, kind of the standard bearer for our conference along with a couple of other schools — there’s a lot of excitement in our locker room,” first-year South Alabama head coach Major Applewhite said. “There is a lot of time left in the season, but it’s great that we all came tonight and had this type of win.”
Gio Lopez accounted for 259 yards and three touchdowns for South Alabama, rushing for 105 yards and a TD and throwing for 154 and two scores on 16-for-24 passing. Freshman running back Fluff Bothwell added 116 yards and two scores on 14 carries for the Jaguars, while Kentrel Bullock and Iverson Celestine also ran for touchdowns and DJ Thomas-Jones and Jamaal Pritchett both caught scoring passes.
South Alabama’s defense held App State and Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Joey Aguilar down for much of the night and forced a pair of turnovers in the red zone. The Mountaineers’ twos touchdowns came on a Hail Mary on the final play of the first half, and against the Jaguars’ second-team defense with 52 seconds left in the game.
It was the second straight blowout Thursday-night victory for South Alabama, which set a Sun Belt Conference scoring record in an 87-10 victory over Northwestern State on Sept. 12. The Jaguars’ 135 points the last two weeks are a conference record over a two-game span.
“It means a lot, going to somebody else’s house and not just winning, but executing all game,” Lopez said. “It was a good team win for our first road win of the season.”
South Alabama — a seven-point betting underdog coming into the night — led 28-7 after a nearly perfect first half. The Jaguars drove 75 yards to the end zone on their first possession, ending with a 10-yard pass from Lopez to Thomas-Jones and a 7-0 lead at the 11:59 mark of the first quarter.
South Alabama scored again after forcing an App State punt, this time on a 22-yard touchdown run by Bothwell to make it 14-0 with 7:10 left in the first. The Jaguars drove 95 yards in 13 plays for their third score, a 31-yard run by Lopez with 5:30 remaining in the first half.
South Alabama turned away App State at the goal line late in the half, as Jordan Scruggs intercepted Aguilar at the 1 and returned the ball to the Mountaineers’ 5. Two plays later, Bullock scored on a 2-yard run and it was 28-0.
“We were in a zone, where I have to play in between the No. 1 and No. 2 receiver,” Scruggs said of his interception and 96-yard return. “I just read the quarterback’s eyes and made a play. I tried to score, but I got too tired and he caught me.”
App State got on the board in dramatic fashion on the final play of the half. Aguilar threw deep and Dalton Stroman came down amid two South Alabama defensive backs for a 47-yard touchdown and a 28-7 halftime score.
South Alabama’s defense forced App State into a turnover on downs to start the second half and turned it into immediate points for a 34-7 lead. Lopez hit Pritchett, who dove into the end zone for an 18-yard score with 11:08 left in the third (Laith Marjan’s extra point hit the upright).
After an App State punt, South Alabama scored another touchdown. Lopez hit Jeremiah Webb for 22 yards on third-and-11 and Bothwell burst into the end zone from 14 yards out to put the Jaguars up 41-7.
Bothwell has rushed for 359 yards and six touchdowns on 37 carries this season, an average of 9.7 yards per attempt. He credited the Jaguars’ offensive line of tackles Jordan Davis and Malachi Carney, guards Kenton Jerido and Reed Buys and center Malachi Preciado for blowing big holes in the App State defensive front all night.
“Every week, the offensive line, they create a lot of gaps for our running backs,” Bothwell said. “So I give them props, every time we get inside the (end) zone, just let them know that they did what they were supposed to do.”
South Alabama pulled most of its offensive starters with 10:15 to play, but still got into the end zone again. Celestine scored on a 6-yard run with 4:15 remaining for the Jaguars’ final points.
App State scored the game’s final points with 52 seconds left when Marquel Haywood ran in from 2 yards out. The touchdown came only after South Alabama was called for pass interference on fourth-and-goal.
Aguilar finished the night 21-for-40 for 266 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Blayne Myrick led the Jaguars’ defense with nine tackles, while Courtney McBride had a sack, Aakil Washington and Carlos Johnson had two quarterback hurries each and Darius McKenzie had a fumble recovery.
South Alabama stays on the road next week, playing at LSU on Sept. 28. That game kicks offs at 6:45 p.m., with television coverage on SEC Network.
