By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southern defense has made a living out of big stands in its last two games.
Saturday, the Jaguars stuffed Florida A&M for a 1-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 at the Southern 25-yard line with five minutes left in the third quarter to propel SU to a 33-27 victory in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge at Legion Field.
The stop was reminiscent, though less dramatic, than the fourth-and-inches stop made at the SU 2 with 1:43 left in the game to preserve the Jaguars’ 21-17 Bayou Classic win in November.
Still, Southern was supposed to be vulnerable to this kind of play. The Jaguars had lost five defensive linemen since the spring and were especially thin inside at tackle. They were supposed to wear down this late in a game, right?
Instead, they proved themselves. Twice, really, because Sylvester was held to 1 yard while going inside on the previous play, a third-and-2.
“We stood up to the challenge,” defensive tackle Dwayne Charles said.
Charles led the surge inside, as Florida A&M running back Phillip Sylvester went to his right. Meanwhile, defensive end Vince Lands, who was in on the Grambling stop (holding up Grambling’s Ab Kuuan until free safety Jarmaul George could apply the boom), grabbed Sylvester from behind.
“The tackle blocked down and I fought over it,” Lands said. “He (Sylvester) tried to cut it back and I made sure he couldn’t get the first down.”
The other similarity to the Bayou Classic stop besides Lands being in on the play was that SU’s defense showed one look to coax the opponent into going a certain way.
This time, in fact, SU’s staff called for the Jaguars to line up where they were at the snap, only the players took it on themselves to run the ruse, at first lining up in their base defense another way.
“They thought we were out-flanked, and they checked into it,” Graves said. “And right before the snap, the defense shifted to that side. That was a testament to (the defense).
“We called it, but instead of the defense just lining up, the guys showed one thing and then slanted to what was called.”
Trick or not, SU then still had to make the play.
“We read the flow,” Charles said. “We fired off the ball, going hard and made the play, got our offense back on the field.”
The stop preserved a 26-20 lead with 5:06 left in the third quarter. Southern’s offense then put together its longest and best sustained drive, 76 yards in 14 plays. Darren Coates’ 1-yard plunge gave SU a 33-20 lead with 14:11 left.
Graves and George, a team captain, went into halftime upset after the defense gave up two big plays, a 45-yard Sylvester TD run (on second-and-10) and a 40-yard Leon Camel TD pass (on a third-and-9) in the second quarter as the Rattlers took a 20-12 lead.
“I told those guys, we knew we had let them in the ballgame,” Graves said. “I challenged those guys, and those guys stepped up and answered.”
How well did the Jaguars answer the challenge? Southern came up with that big stop and made two big interceptions on three consecutive series.
First, George’s interception set up the Jaguars at the FAMU 24. SU got the go-ahead score, at 26-20, three plays later. Then there was the stop. Glenn Bell’s interception in the end zone (on an underthrown pass from the SU 39) kept the Rattlers from getting back in the game.
“Now we now we can close out games and get the victory,” George said.
With limited depth up front and no seniors among its linebackers or line, Southern’s defense relied on mixing schemes — from heavy fronts to three-man fronts — and using speed from all 11.
FAMU was 2-of-14, including 0-for-7 in the second half, in converting third downs.
“That was the game plan,” Graves said. “Our intent was to come out and give them a lot of different looks. We have some athletes on this team. We said coming in, we didn’t want to make any excuses. We were going to deal with the personnel we had.”
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southern defense has made a living out of big stands in its last two games.
Saturday, the Jaguars stuffed Florida A&M for a 1-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 at the Southern 25-yard line with five minutes left in the third quarter to propel SU to a 33-27 victory in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge at Legion Field.
The stop was reminiscent, though less dramatic, than the fourth-and-inches stop made at the SU 2 with 1:43 left in the game to preserve the Jaguars’ 21-17 Bayou Classic win in November.
Still, Southern was supposed to be vulnerable to this kind of play. The Jaguars had lost five defensive linemen since the spring and were especially thin inside at tackle. They were supposed to wear down this late in a game, right?
Instead, they proved themselves. Twice, really, because Sylvester was held to 1 yard while going inside on the previous play, a third-and-2.
“We stood up to the challenge,” defensive tackle Dwayne Charles said.
Charles led the surge inside, as Florida A&M running back Phillip Sylvester went to his right. Meanwhile, defensive end Vince Lands, who was in on the Grambling stop (holding up Grambling’s Ab Kuuan until free safety Jarmaul George could apply the boom), grabbed Sylvester from behind.
“The tackle blocked down and I fought over it,” Lands said. “He (Sylvester) tried to cut it back and I made sure he couldn’t get the first down.”
The other similarity to the Bayou Classic stop besides Lands being in on the play was that SU’s defense showed one look to coax the opponent into going a certain way.
This time, in fact, SU’s staff called for the Jaguars to line up where they were at the snap, only the players took it on themselves to run the ruse, at first lining up in their base defense another way.
“They thought we were out-flanked, and they checked into it,” Graves said. “And right before the snap, the defense shifted to that side. That was a testament to (the defense).
“We called it, but instead of the defense just lining up, the guys showed one thing and then slanted to what was called.”
Trick or not, SU then still had to make the play.
“We read the flow,” Charles said. “We fired off the ball, going hard and made the play, got our offense back on the field.”
The stop preserved a 26-20 lead with 5:06 left in the third quarter. Southern’s offense then put together its longest and best sustained drive, 76 yards in 14 plays. Darren Coates’ 1-yard plunge gave SU a 33-20 lead with 14:11 left.
Graves and George, a team captain, went into halftime upset after the defense gave up two big plays, a 45-yard Sylvester TD run (on second-and-10) and a 40-yard Leon Camel TD pass (on a third-and-9) in the second quarter as the Rattlers took a 20-12 lead.
“I told those guys, we knew we had let them in the ballgame,” Graves said. “I challenged those guys, and those guys stepped up and answered.”
How well did the Jaguars answer the challenge? Southern came up with that big stop and made two big interceptions on three consecutive series.
First, George’s interception set up the Jaguars at the FAMU 24. SU got the go-ahead score, at 26-20, three plays later. Then there was the stop. Glenn Bell’s interception in the end zone (on an underthrown pass from the SU 39) kept the Rattlers from getting back in the game.
“Now we now we can close out games and get the victory,” George said.
With limited depth up front and no seniors among its linebackers or line, Southern’s defense relied on mixing schemes — from heavy fronts to three-man fronts — and using speed from all 11.
FAMU was 2-of-14, including 0-for-7 in the second half, in converting third downs.
“That was the game plan,” Graves said. “Our intent was to come out and give them a lot of different looks. We have some athletes on this team. We said coming in, we didn’t want to make any excuses. We were going to deal with the personnel we had.”
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