2026 South Alabama
4–2 (2–0 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Major Applewhite. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat SE Louisiana 39–14Sep 5
By 25 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Tulane 24–28Sep 12
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs SE Louisiana | W 39–14 | 74% |
| Sep 12 | at Tulane | L 24–28 | 29% |
| Sep 19 | vs Ohio | W 41–36 | 45% |
| Sep 26 | at Kentucky | L 21–45 | 36% |
| Oct 3 | vs UL Monroe | W 52–35 | 79% |
| Oct 8 | at Arkansas State | W 56–49 | 44% |
| Oct 20 | at Marshall | Preview | 45% |
| Oct 31 | vs Louisiana Tech | Preview | 58% |
| Nov 7 | at Louisiana | Preview | 36% |
| Nov 14 | vs Troy | Preview | 61% |
| Nov 21 | at Southern Miss | Preview | 63% |
| Nov 27 | vs App State | Preview | 62% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
- Record
- 4–2
- Conference
- 2–0 shared first in Sun Belt Conference
- AP now
- Unranked
- Points
- 233–207
- Coach
- Major Applewhite
- Elo
- 1500 +40 this season
- SP+ rating
- -11.1 No. 111 of 138; offense No. 52, defense No. 136, special teams No. 123
- SRS
- −5.5 No. 91 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 79% of last season’s EPA, No. 14 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 77 roster talent No. 107 in FBS
- Defensive coordinators
- Todd Orlando and Jason Washington
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.26 | 44% | 1.38 | 16th of 138 |
| Defense | 0.31 | 53% | 1.45 | 132nd of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.18 off 0.23 def | 42% off 50% def | — | 26th off 134th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 46% | 9.4 yds | 9% | 3.30 | 11% |
| Defense | 55% | 8.1 yds | 14% | 3.00 | 16% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.4 | own 32 | 13% allowed |
| Defense | 4.8 | own 30 | 17% caused |
CORE rating -8.0, 99th of 138 (offense 7.2, defense 15.2).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Jared Hollins QB | 855 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Jared Hollins QB | 7 TD |
| Rushing yards | Keenan Phillips RB | 444 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | P.J. Martin RB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | Brendan Jenkins WR | 355 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Anthony Eager WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Cole Blaylock S | 42 tkl |
| Sacks | Damyrion Darby CB | 1.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Damyrion Darby CB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Antwon Thomas DE | ★★★ | No. 606 |
| Tomareo Johnson Jr. S | ★★★ | No. 1211 |
| Donovan Crow RB | ★★★ | No. 1336 |
| Lavonte Cole RB | ★★★ | No. 1358 |
| Dominic White WR | ★★★ | No. 1474 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
| Running backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.861 |
| Receivers | 5 | 3.0 | 0.854 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Defensive backs | 5 | 3.0 | 0.852 |
| Whole class | 26 | 3.0 | 0.851 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 116
The 2026 roster116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 53 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 12
The 2026 portal| Seidrion Langston LB | ★★★ | from  UL Monroe |
 Masey Lewis DE | ★★★ | from  McNeese |
 Shalik Hubbard OL | ★★★ | from  Monmouth |
 Andrew Hines DL | ★★★ | from  Eastern Kentucky |
 D.J. Moore S | ★★★ | from  Georgia Tech |
 Dylan Chiedo DE | ★★★ | from  Furman |
 Everett Hunter TE | ★★★ | from  Nicholls |
 Jaylen Moson CB | ★★★ | from  Utah |
 Dylan Freebury K | ★★★ | from  Colorado State |
 Khayree Lee Jr. OL | ★★★ | from  LSU |
 Christian Ross DE | from  Holy Cross | |
 Peyton Argent K | from  South Carolina |
Transfers out 30
 Ethan Hubbard OT | ★★★ | returned to  South Alabama |
| Jordan Davis OT | ★★★ | to  UCLA |
| Nehemiah Chandler CB | ★★★ | to  Florida State |
| Ty Goodwill S | ★★★ | to  Cincinnati |
| Achilles Woods DL | ★★★ | to LSU |
| Asher Hale OL | ★★★ | to  Baylor |
| Dominic Wiseman DL | ★★★ | to  Kentucky |
| Jeremy Scott WR | ★★★ | to  TCU |
| Kenton Jerido OL | ★★★ | returned to South Alabama |
| Malachi Preciado OL | ★★★ | to  Tulsa |
| R.J. Moss Jr. DL | ★★★ | to  Florida International |
| Trent Thomas TE | ★★★ | to  Tennessee |
And 18 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Sun Belt Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 James Madison | 4–0 | 7–0 | |
| South Alabama | 2–0 | 4–2 | |
| Louisiana Tech | 2–0 | 4–2 | |
| Louisiana | 2–1 | 5–2 | |
 Georgia Southern | 2–1 | 3–4 | |
 Georgia State | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
| App State | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
| Troy | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| Arkansas State | 1–2 | 3–4 | |
 Coastal Carolina | 1–2 | 2–5 | |
 Old Dominion | 1–3 | 2–5 | |
| Marshall | 0–2 | 3–3 | |
| Southern Miss | 0–2 | 1–5 | |
| UL Monroe | 0–2 | 0–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.