https://youtu.be/Z9UhsP0ifAo
Following their heartbreaking 32-31 loss to the UCLA Bruins last weekend in Pasadena, CA, the South Alabama Jaguars return home for the first time in a couple of weeks. Head Coach Kane Wommack says the feeling inside the building is a sense of urgency.
“You can sit there and look at that game, and say that was a freebie, we took our shot, and all of those other things, but we should’ve won the football game. Plain and simple. We did not execute well enough and we lost the game because of that.”
“This is a massive week for us. For our program. To show we can go on the road for a couple of weeks, that we can show up and be a responsive football team after a tough loss. And that consistency, if we can build that in our program, we will take a massive step forward as football team.”
I may disagree and it may only be degree or two between “should’ve vs could’ve”, but I certainly like the sentiment from Kane Wommack.
I know coaches, players and staff only look at the next game, but I’m a radio guy, so I am looking ahead. Putting the Louisiana Tech game in the win column, South Alabama may be playing their biggest game ever, in two weeks, when they travel to Lafayette to play the Cajuns.
From the moment Wommack arrived in Mobile, he has stated the Cajuns have set the standard in the division and conference, and the Jaguars are trying to reach that level of play. Should the Jaguars win that game, (it appears South Alabama is better than Louisiana so far this season, not by a wide margin, but better), the schedule is in the Jaguars favor to have an historic season.
Following the Cajuns game, South Alabama hosts ULM & Troy, and while the Battle for the Belt is a rivalry game, the Jaguars will be favored to win the game at home.
The next two games are on the road against Arkansas State, never easy to play in Jonesboro, AR and in Statesboro, GA against Georgia Southern. The Eagles already have a win against Nebraska on their ledger. I’ll even give South Alabama a loss to Georgia Southern.
But two of the final three games are at home with the one lone road trip to Hattiesburg to play Southern Mississippi. And while Will Hall may have the Golden Eagles heading in the right direction, it’s still going to be a long trip.
So the reason behind Kane Wommack’s and the team’s sense of urgency, they know they let a game against UCLA slip away. But they also know what lies ahead. An opportunity for the South Alabama Jaguars to set a new standard. For themselves and the Sun Belt Conference.