South Alabama

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Sun Belt · Major Applewhite, year 3 (12-15) · Hancock Whitney Stadium · 25,450 · 15,087 avg in 2026

The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The model#64 CFB ZeitgeistSP+ #106 (-11.4) · FPI #101
The marketSouth Alabama by 4.5vs Ohio · our model 63% South Alabama · a number, not a pick

LastL 24–28 at Tulane · Sat Sep 12 · Bishop Davenport 296 pass yds, 2 TD, 50 rush yds

Nextvs Ohio · Sat Sep 19 · 7 pm ET · Hancock Whitney Stadium · South Alabama by 4.5 · series 0-1 · Game preview

Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2

Zeitgeist statureRegional Program III#169 all-time– holding
one line from Regional Program II
The era · 2014 through 2025

The CFP Era

12 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.

Era record 63-85 12 seasons
Best season 10-3 2022
TRAJECTORY · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program Quality AP Rank (inverted) CFP Appearance
'14'16'18'20'22'24NOW
CHAPTERS · 12 seasons · tap to open the archive
'14 6-7 '15 5-7 '16 6-7 '17 4-8 '18 3-9 '19 2-10 '20 4-7 '21 5-7 '22 10-3 '23 7-6 '24 7-6 '25 4-8

South Alabama's 2014–2025 record is 63-85. The era is still being written; the CFP line is the one the program is arguing for.

Era win %
.425
Ranked seasons (AP)
0/12
Best AP finish
—

Program outlook

South Alabama played its first football game in 2009. By 2024, it had a bowl win over Western Michigan and a 7-6 record. In 2025, Major Applewhite's second year went 4-8. A program this young doesn't have the luxury of setbacks feeling normal yet.

Read the full essay — 3 more paragraphs

Almost everything in the South Alabama record book is a 'first.' First game, first bowl trip, first win, first on-campus stadium — Hancock Whitney Stadium opened in 2020 after a decade of sharing Ladd-Peebles with the city. The Jaguars are one of the youngest programs in major-college football, which means the history is still being written and the fans who have followed from the beginning remember all of it: Joey Jones starting from nothing in 2009, the climb to the Sun Belt, Gerald Everett becoming the program's first marquee NFL Draft pick, Jalen Tolbert following him.

Applewhite's 2024 debut went 7-6 with a bowl win and the program's credibility was real. The 4-8 step back in 2025 (3-5 Sun Belt West) was the kind of regression that hits a young program differently than it would an established one — there's no forty years of winning history to absorb the fall. The fanbase split is between patience and alarm: one side says a program this young needs room to develop and a bad year is part of the building; the other tasted the 2024 bowl and won't accept it as the ceiling.

The 2026 question is the simplest one in Mobile: can Applewhite get back to the bowl? The Sun Belt conference title — the first in program history — remains the explicit target. A program writing its record book from scratch is at its best when it has something to write.

On the field

A modern Sun Belt spread identity still defining itself — South Alabama is young enough that its scheme fingerprint isn't fully inherited; it's being built. The Gulf Coast recruiting base around Mobile gives the Jaguars access to talent that flows into the SEC and beyond, which means the ceiling on the roster is real even if the program is still figuring out how to build around it consistently. Applewhite's background is offensive-line-driven and quarterback-centric; the 2026 version of the scheme will reflect his third year of implementation.

program outlook · as of 2026-06-14

All-time record · South Alabama

South Alabama has won 42% of its games since 2011 — 52% at home, 30% on the road.

76-107 all-time · 16 seasons · 2011–2026

Home 43-39
Away 26-62
Neutral 7-6
36% 2010s
50% 2020s

Coaching Era · South Alabama

Major Applewhite

Major Applewhite in year 3 of the rebuild. The methodology is taking shape.

Era Major Applewhite · 2024–presentPrev: Kane Wommack (2021–2023)DC: co-Jason Washington / Todd OrlandoPrev DC: co-Jason Washington / Will Windham (2025)
The full CFP-era story →The full coaching lineage →
3 years · era

Program memory

What this program never forgets

Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.

2009

The first game

South Alabama plays the first football game in school history, beginning a program from a blank page

2020

Hancock Whitney Stadium opens

The Jaguars open their own on-campus stadium after a decade sharing Mobile's Ladd-Peebles — a young program finally putting down roots

2024 bowl win

Major Applewhite's debut season ends with a bowl victory over Western Michigan — the program's strongest recent statement

Moment of the season — so far · South Alabama · 2026

Won 39-14 vs SE Louisiana

Week 1 of 2026. A statement margin. Recruiting boards re-rendered overnight.

Decisive Margin

NFL Draft Pipeline

2022–2023

South Alabama has sent 2 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — none in the first round.

Thin. Roster development still maturing.

2 picks · 0 in round 1
#88 Jalen Tolbert Wide Receiver · 2022 · Dallas · #9/468 final season
#155 Darrell Luter Jr. Cornerback · 2023 · San Francisco · #199/322 final season

More in this tab

Ladder finishHow far up the ladder this season got.

Season standing · 2026 · 1-1

South Alabama is 1-1 and unranked in the season's first weeks.

Even or better through the season's first weeks. The resume is still forming.

Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Coaching historyEvery hire and departure on record, not just the current era.

Coaching history

  • Hired Major Applewhite2024
  • Kane Wommack departs22-16, 3 seasons
  • Steve Campbell departs9-26, 4 seasons
  • Hired Steve Campbell2018
  • Hired Kane Wommack2021
  • Joey Jones departs29-46, 6 seasons
  • Hired Joey Jones2012
Coordinator lineageOffense and defense under each coordinator.

Unit lineage

South Alabama’s offense and defense, by coordinator

FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.

Offense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014 · Bryant Vincent (interim) / Robert Matthews2015–2017 · Bryant Vincent2018–2020 · Kenny Edenfield2021–2023 · Major Applewhite2024 · Rob Ezell2025 · Paul Petrino
Defense2014–2026
2014201620182020202220242026
2014–2015 · Travis Pearson2016–2017 · Kane Wommack2018–2020 · Greg Stewart2021–2023 · Corey Batoon2024 · Will Windham2025 · co-Jason Washington / Will Windham2026 · co-Jason Washington / Todd Orlando
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customsThe gameday customs unique to this program.

Rituals

Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.

2009 Program Founding

since 2009

more

South Alabama football began in 2009 — one of the most-recent FBS-level program creations in CFB history. The program went FCS independent 2009-2011, FBS independent 2012, then Sun Belt 2013. The 2009 founding-from-scratch + rapid ascent to FBS make USA's institutional story unique.

Hancock Whitney Stadium 2020 Opening

since 2020

more

Hancock Whitney Stadium (built 2020) — South Alabama's first dedicated on-campus stadium — replaced decades at Ladd-Peebles Stadium (a shared off-campus venue). The 25,450 capacity + Mobile geographic setting + on-campus location + corporate naming-rights modernity create a venue distinct from the post-2009 founding era.

Mobile, Alabama Gulf Coast Identity

since 1963

more

South Alabama's Mobile, AL location + Gulf Coast regional identity + competition with Alabama / Auburn / Ole Miss / Mississippi State + the Senior Bowl host city create a unique geographic catchment. The program's positioning + the Senior Bowl proximity + Hancock Whitney corporate naming anchor identity.

Cultural identityWhat college football loses if this program didn't exist.
BowlsEvery bowl this program's played, and how it did.

Bowl / Postseason Ledger

Recent postseason (2014-2024): 2-3

Most recent: 2024 — win 23-30 (away). Last 5 postseason: 2-3.

20242023202220162014
Reddit blowupsThe plays that blew up on r/CFB.

r/cfb moments

250
[Postgame Thread] UAB Defeats South Alabama 42-10
Sep 2020 · r/cfb
152
[Postgame Thread] WKU Defeats South Alabama 44-23
Dec 2022 · r/cfb
135
[Game Thread] South Alabama @ Appalachian State (7:30 PM ET)
Sep 2024 · r/cfb

All-time top community posts · ranked by upvotes

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