South Alabama is Week 3 College Football Cheez-It/FWAA Team of the Week

September 19, 2023 by FWAA

The South Alabama Jaguars scored on their opening possession and never trailed in a 33-7 win at Oklahoma State, gaining 6.3 yards per play while rolling up 395 total yards en route to their first win over a Big 12 opponent and second over a Power Five opponent. For the victory and those accomplishments, South Alabama earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week honor, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.

South Alabama (2-1) imposed its will with 243 rushing yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Quarterback Carter Bradley was an efficient 10-of-16 passing for 152 yards and threw two touchdowns to Caullin Lacy, who finished with five catches for 104 yards with the two scores. Lacy scored the game's first touchdown on a 39-yard catch-and-run over the middle, and he and Bradley connected again on a 59-yard deep ball right before the half to send the Jags into the locker room up 23-0.

“We were able to establish the run early, which gave us some one-on-one shots. We liked some matchups against a couple of their DBs, and we were able to get those matchups early,” said head coach Kane Wommack. “I think the nice thing is we knew we were very capable of coming in here and executing at a high level and physically putting a team away."

The Jaguars only allowed Oklahoma State 94 rushing yards and 3.2 yards per play overall and provided key plays at key moments. With the Jags starting to build momentum early, Marquise Robinson came away with an interception deep in Oklahoma State territory which set up a 17-yard La'Damian Webb touchdown on the next play. The Jaguars' defense harassed the OSU backfield with four sacks and an additional five hurries.

Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.

This is South Alabama’s second national team of the week honor. The first came in the opening week of the 2020 season with a 32-21 win at Southern Miss that snapped the Jaguars’ 15-game losing streak.

The Jaguars host Central Michigan in a 5 p.m. ET game on ESPN+ on Saturday.

The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 16 were:

• Florida (2-1): The Gators topped No. 11 Tennessee, 29-16, their 10th straight home win in the series and 17th in the last 19 meetings as tailback Trevor Etienne averaged 7.5 yards per carry in a career-high 172-yard night, including a 62-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Florida defense earns a nod as well as the Gators won their Southeastern Conference opener for the first time since 2020.
• Miami (Ohio) (2-1): Miami claimed the Battle Bell for the first time since 2005, beating Cincinnati 31-24 in overtime as Joe Wilkins Jr.'s eight-yard touchdown catch in the extra frame was enough after Yahsyn McKee sealed it with an interception on Cincinnati’s possession. McKee forced overtime by blocking a field goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Miami won an overtime game for the first time in program history behind Brett Gabbert’s 237 passing yards and three touchdowns.
• Missouri (3-0): Harrison Mevis booted an SEC-record 61-yard field goal as time expired, ending a come-from-behind 30-27 victory over No. 15 Kansas State at a sold-out Faurot Field. Mizzou, 3-0 for the first time since 2018, has now won 16 straight nonconference games at home, two shy of the school record. Mevis' kick is the second longest in MU annals to Tom Whelihan's 62-yarder against Colorado in 1986. Brady Cook had the best game of his career, completing 23-of-35 passes for a career-high 356 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Luther Burden III. 

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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, visit sportswriters.net.

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2023 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman (Chair)
Travis L. Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Scott Farrell, collegepressbox
Bryan Fischer, FOX Sports
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Nate Mink, Syracuse Post-Standard
Ben Portnoy, The State
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Publications
Dusty Thibodeaux, WarhawkReport.com
Ryan Thorburn, Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune
John Wagner, County News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group