In the highest scoring matchup between two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools since September 2024, Arkansas State fell 56-49 to the South Alabama Jaguars (USA) by leaving 21 points on the board due to crucial errors.

After the first quarter began with an A-State punt, USA started their possession at their own 17-yard line after a false start penalty. They didn’t stay on their own side of the field for long as the Jaguars rushed a total of 36 yards in two plays, getting them to A-State’s 47-yard line.

Only two of the four passing attempts were complete on the Jaguars’ opening drive. Albeit the completed attempts were short screen passes to the nearest receivers. Their incomplete passes included a throwaway ball toward the sideline and an overthrown pass with A-State safety Brandon Greil a good two or three yards behind the intended receiver. 

The Jaguars scored after a long possession following these incomplete passes and a few 10+ yard runs, bringing the score to 7-0 as the Red Wolves turned back to offense.

South Alabama’s fourth penalty of the quarter and quarterback Trey Owens’ 24-yard pass to tight end Tyler Little were the stars of the Red Wolves’ first touchdown drive, which culminated in a 1-yard rush by running back Timothy Carter, tying up the game with a minute left in the first.

The first of many mistakes occurred on the following kick return as USA running back Keenan Phillips ran for a 100-yard touchdown. A-State cornerback Marquis Williams was the only player who even came close to tackling him but tripped over himself instead, showing the holes in the special teams defense.

Head coach Butch Jones said he was extremely disappointed by the lapse in the special teams defense on this play.

“I want to say that’s the first one we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Jones said. 

The Red Wolves’ second quarter started with three long-balls for two different receivers. A 23-yard pass to Jaylen Bonelli, including 11 yards after the catch, pushed their field position forward. Hunter Summers had two of his nine catches during the possession as well, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to finish out the drive. 

After forcing the Jaguars to punt, A-State made another strike to put themselves ahead of USA. Running back Ezell Jolly was the main source of momentum on their third touchdown with multiple double-digit yard runs to push the Red Wolves forward.

The game started to take a less than ideal slide for the home team in the Jaguars’ following possession. 

A-State committed back-to-back 15-yard pass interference penalties before USA quarterback Jared Hollins took a page out of A-State’s book and recorded a 36-yard pass. From there, Phillips punched in another score for the Jaguars, tying the game at 21-21.

After getting leverage in the race for the lead, USA’s defense caused havoc for A-State’s offense. On the second play of the following drive, a lapse in the Red Wolves’ offensive line opened up the gates for the Jaguars’ defense to get a strip-sack on Owens. 

Owens said he shouldered the blame for the major error, noting his lack of perception on the play.

“I didn’t see it. Thought it was blocked up. I think we look back to the film. He blocked, dropped, and then blocked again. And I was about to throw it and just got hit. I couldn’t see it. It’s my fault,” Owens said. 

With great field position following the fumble recovery, USA found the end-zone and took the lead back at 28-21.

On the first play of the possession Owens looked for an open receiver, found one and threw the ball but it was immediately deflected and intercepted for a sense of deja-vu and another Jaguars possession starting in the redzone. 

At least South Alabama missed, and doink, the extra point here. 

A-State responded with a 36 second, four play, pass-heavy possession. Summers caught a 35-yard pass then a 20-yard in the end zone to end the half to bring the score 34-28 Jaguars.

Summers continued to find success outside of the first half as he ended the night with 145 receiving yards and two touchdowns, matching career highs in both categories. 

The highest scoring first half of the 2026 season didn’t go in A-State’s favor with plenty of mistakes down the field. Adding insult to injury, the Jaguars started with the ball to start the second half, putting the already struggling defense out early. 

The second half began with yet another South Alabama score after just three plays followed by a two-point conversion, making that missed extra point a moot point.

Jones said the second half produced an outcome he had not seen in the entirety of his lengthy coaching journey.

“21 to 14 with six minutes to go in the second quarter and the last six minutes and the first minute and a half, the start of the second half, we’re outscored 28 to seven,” Butch said. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like that in my career.”

A-State got the ball back and made their way into the South Alabama red zone. However, a pass intended for Solomon Baggett was swiftly intercepted by cornerback Damyrion Darby and ran 58-yards, setting up a touchdown to put the Red Wolves down 21 points.

After falling upon a rough streak on offense, A-State cut the lead to a two possession game with their own score.

However, that moral victory wouldn’t last as a 42-yard touchdown run by Phillips to start the fourth quarter brought the score to 56-35. 

The Red Wolves were forced to punt early in the fourth but the Jaguars would take another page out of A-State’s book for the night and fumble the ball in prime field position for the opposition. 

Shortly after, A-State capitalized on the mistake and set up tight end Jabari Bush for his first collegiate touchdown. The A-State defense proceeded to force the Jaguars to punt for the first time since the second quarter.

The Red Wolves turned around and scored again with an Owens one-yard rush to make it a one score deficit, leaving the rest of the game in the hands of the defense with under seven minutes to play.

The Jaguars ran the ball each play for a few yards on the next drive, but enough to only have one 4th-and-1 conversion. Unfortunately for A-State’s defense, South Alabama converted and made their way to the paydirt, ending the game 56-49.

A-State’s offense focused primarily on the air game, finishing with 418 passing yards compared to the Jaguars’ 76. The ground game was more of the Jaguars’ style as they were heavily productive against the Red Wolves offense. Phillips led the effort by singlehandedly recording 157 rushing yards with 8.3 yards per carry.

As a team, the Red Wolves had 98 rushing yards by the end of the night where they averaged only 3.6 yards a carry. Owens led the team with 28 total yards for 11 attempts. 

Meanwhile, the mistakes in each unit overshadowed the offensive output. Coach Butch Jones said although the team possessed competitive stamina throughout the game, the team still didn’t produce the way they should have. 

“I will work every day to get this shit fixed because it is unacceptable with our performance, the way we played defense, the way we tackled, not taking care of the football and the special teams aspect,” Butch said. “I am responsible for all of it.”

However, Owens also led the FBS in passing yards with 415 and a completion rate of 32/43 for the division’s week six action. Despite the success in gaining yards for the team, he was the only quarterback mentioned in the top five list to record two or more interceptions. 

“We know we have explosive receivers. I trust them,” Owens said. “We have a lot of confidence through the air, and it felt comfortable this week. And we also ran the ball well, so we just feel very very good. I gotta limit the turnovers.”

Owens and the rest of the Red Wolves will spend their extra time granted by the early Thursday game preparing for their matchup against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Looking for their first conference win, the Red Wolves are 4-11 against the Eagles with their most recent matchup ending in a loss at home. 

Their next home game will be A-State’s Homecoming on Oct. 24 against Georgia State with a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.

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