What Major Applewhite said before South Alabama’s game vs. Ohio

South Alabama lost to Tulane 28-24 in Week 2, and Major Applewhite is not interested in moral victories. But the head coach found something in the film he considers foundational. “I think it was the belief in the team,” Applewhite said this week. “The team’s belief in each other, the way those guys were playing for each other. That’s the only way you’re going to get to a championship level.”

The Jaguars led 10-0 at Yulman Stadium before Tulane rallied behind a 214-yard rushing performance from Jaylin Lucas. Applewhite pointed to three or four plays that separated his team from a road victory and was blunt about the finish. “When our best was required, we didn’t play our best in the last four minutes,” he said. He was encouraged by the return of wide receiver Anthony Eager, who caught a 43-yard touchdown, and said the offense needs to expand its receiver rotation to five or six players.

South Alabama (1-1) hosts Ohio (1-1) on Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium — the first meeting between the programs in Mobile. Quarterback Bishop Davenport made his first career start against the Bobcats in 2024 and has grown since. Applewhite said Davenport has known since January he would be the starter and is “playing with a great deal of confidence right now.” He described Ohio as fundamental, disciplined and “accustomed to winning” — a team that played Nebraska tough for three quarters and won over Jax State in four overtimes last week with its third quarterback.

Full transcript

On the team’s response after the Tulane loss

“There’s always an accountability after the game. I’ve done this for a long time and played it myself. After a loss, it’s my fault, it’s my fault, it’s my fault. Is that where we’re at on Monday? Is that where we’re at on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday? Or is that just the thing to say in the locker room when everybody’s staring each other in the eyeballs? The accountability as coaches and players throughout the week — tighten the screws on the things that we need to do to improve and close those kind of ball games.”

“There were some bright moments in that ball game. I’m not into moral victories, but I am into building a culture and an expectation for how we want to play. I felt like several times it was on display in terms of our team just laying it on the line, the energy from the beginning to the end. Some great defensive plays, some great offensive plays, great special teams plays. But ultimately, when our best was required, we didn’t play our best in the last four minutes. When you have talented teams and good teams that you leave around, that can happen. You also have to capitalize on those opportunities in those first 56 minutes to kind of separate the score and put your opponent in a different situation where they have to call it different.”

On the best takeaway from the Tulane game

“Just the mentality in which we played. Coming out fast — we asked the kids to come out fast and we asked them to play for 60 minutes, and they did. They came out fast. It was 10-nothing. I wish it was 14 to see where that game could have gone. We just didn’t play our best football at the very end — defensively, special teams and offense — to be able to close that.”

“If you’re asking what’s the one thing that I take out of the game, I think it was the belief in the team. The team’s belief in each other, the way those guys were playing for each other. That’s the only way you’re going to get to a championship level — if you have guys playing for each other. And it’s really damn hard to do that nowadays in this world, in terms of what we’ve got and what you can go after. I’m very pleased with the way they play for each other. We’ve just got to do a better job as coaches and players in terms of finishing the ball game the right way.”

On reviewing the Tulane film

“Disappointing — the run, the big runs. That’s something that’s never going to be acceptable here. Got to clean up, got to get off blocks, got to make plays in space. We know how dynamic [Jaylin] Lucas was coming into the game.”

“Love the fight. That was the one thing that was super impressive to me. At no point during the course of that game did they not believe they were going to win. We just had to make some more plays at the tail end of the game. We give up a deep switch, get hit on a route, get the ball back to our offense with a chance to win it. Come back into the building, reassess. I think there truly is a belief here that we can win games like that on the road, and we just keep pushing forward. They’re excited about this weekend coming up. Excited because we got a really good ball club, and we’re starting to figure things out.”

On what needs to be fixed going into the Ohio game

“It’s just growth. There’s a ton of stuff on that film communication-wise and execution-wise. But once again, it goes back to the culture of the program, the way that they competed. There’s a ton of positives that come out of that game. Unfortunately, we lost the ball game, but to me, it wasn’t one of those things where we clawed back and it was relatively close and everybody’s claiming we had a chance to win it. We were winning the ball game. Our goal was to start fast. It was 10-nothing on the road, very first time out as a crew.”

“Now it’s to the point where we’ve got to really lock in. Our challenge to these players was do a little bit more — preparation, taking care of their bodies. All those little things that go into finding those handful of plays. There were three or four plays in that ball game that if we perform better, we win that ball game. But that’s the game itself. How do you fix that stuff? You spend a little bit more time at your craft and at your body so you can make those plays when they show up.”

On Anthony Eager’s return and the wide receiver rotation

“It’s great to have Anthony back in the lineup. Experience is hard to mess with. Guys like [Brendan Jenkins] and [Jeremiah Jones-Thomas] — they’ve played a lot of ball. It’s tremendous when you can have some experience out there on the field, guys that you have a lot of confidence in to be able to execute the way that you need things to be executed.”

“We’ve got to get more guys in a rotation at that group. We really do. We’ve got to be able to play five or six. There’s some things that we need to do as coaches and players to step up and help improve that rotation and keep guys fresh throughout the season.”

On Bishop Davenport’s growth since the 2024 Ohio game

“So much more familiarity and comfort. He’s known since January he was going to play in this game, whereas he didn’t know that until the Sunday after North Texas [in 2024]. He’s a lot more comfortable in his skin, in terms of what he’s got offensively, what his skill set is. He’s playing with a great deal of confidence right now, and it’s fun to watch. We just need to keep preparing and playing at that level in practice and expect those results on Saturday.”

On Ohio’s defense

“They play ball the right way. They’re fundamental. There’s not a lot of bust. People have the right leverage. I always like watching defenses and seeing how people pursue to the ball. You see defensive linemen, backside defensive ends, backside backers, backside corners pursuing to the football, and that’s a culture thing. You have to respect that, and I do. There’s great ball players, too.”

“There’s this misconception in football that there’s speed in the south and size in the north. I see really good athletes. I see really good athletes at linebacker. I see really good athletes on the edge, quickness and twitch inside. I see corners and safeties that can stay on top of things, that play with good instincts. And I see the same thing on the offensive side of the ball. They’ve got two, three really good wide outs. The slot really sticks out to me right off the bat. Two or three of the backs run really hard. All three of the quarterbacks were productive last week to help their team get into that four-overtime win. I just see a really good ball club, and it doesn’t really surprise me. That’s kind of what Ohio’s been as long as we’ve been playing them and even before that.”

On Ohio’s offense

“It’s a time-tested system. They’ve been in this offensive scheme for a while, and it wins championships. They’ve got a great staff. Tough kids up here. I grew up a little bit up the road in Western PA. Every one of those kids loves football. Every one of those kids is going to be tough, and they play the game the right way. They’re impressive on tape.”

“They’re a lookover team. Essentially, they take a look at what you do, go to package plays together, look over to the sidelines, make sure they’re in the right one, and they give themselves an opportunity to always be in a good play. That can be difficult at times, but it gives you a little bit of a schematical advantage to make sure that you’re having good number count in the run game, being able to throw the football with efficiency.”

“They play great on defense, and that’s why they win championships and compete for them. They’re accustomed to winning, too. They played Nebraska toe-to-toe until they got to the fourth quarter and just ran out of some gas. Last week, they came in there with the third quarterback and found a way to win a ball game. They’ll be confident coming here, and we’re excited to play.”

On injuries

“We have to give the injury report on Wednesday night and Friday. Now that it’s kind of that way of doing things, more of the NFL style, it’s allowed us as coaches to not have to talk about injuries. So we could just talk about the game.”