If South Alabama is playing on a Thursday night, the scoreboard operator becomes the busiest person in the building.
South Alabama (4-2, 2-0 Sun Belt) continued its stellar start to the 2026 campaign, toppling Arkansas State 56-49 in the highest-scoring game of the season. The 105 combined points were also the most in an FBS regulation contest since Sept. 21, 2024.
For South Alabama, it was just another ordinary Thursday night.
Thursday night South Alabama is joining the likes of second half Alamo Bowl TCU or Space Game UCF or Alamodome conference game UTSA as college football's best situational teams. Since Major Applewhite took over as head coach for the 2024 season, the Jaguars are 4-0 on Thursday nights.
South Alabama has been so exceptional that this 56-point road outing at Arkansas State actually decreased the team's Thursday night scoring average under Applewhite from 57.7 points per game to 57.3. Here are Applewhite's four Thursday night entries:
Sept. 12, 2024: South Alabama 87, Northwestern State (FCS) 10
Sept. 19, 2024: South Alabama 48, Appalachian State 14
Oct. 23, 2025: South Alabama 38, Georgia State 31
Oct. 8, 2026: South Alabama 56, Arkansas State 49
That's an average score of 57.7 to 26.0. And most impressively, all three Sun Belt matchups in that timeframe were road games for the Jaguars.
A quick glance at the box score may have some wondering how South Alabama managed 56 points in Jonesboro on Thursday. Arkansas State outgained the Jaguars 516-372. South Alabama finished 3-of-10 on third down and only finished 6-of-10 through the air with 76 passing yards.
One, South Alabama turned its third down woes into fourth down successes, finishing a perfect 4-of-4 on fourth down attempts. Also, not only did the Jaguars win the turnover battle 3-1, but each takeaway prove monumental. All three Arkansas State turnovers positioned South Alabama within 30 yards of the end zone, and the offense capitalized with a touchdown all three times. The game's biggest swing occurred late in the second quarter when the Red Wolves turned it over on back-to-back plays, flipping a 21-21 ballgame into a 34-21 Jaguars lead in under 25 seconds of action.
South Alabama also scored on special teams, as Keenan Phillips recorded a 100-yard kick return touchdown in the late first quarter. In addition to his special teams score, Phillips recorded 157 rushing yards and three offensive touchdowns in the victory.
At 4-2, South Alabama is off to its best start since 2022 when it won a program record 10 games. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, they do not have another Thursday night matchup on the docket this year. But Thursday night South Alabama is becoming a force, one known for creating havoc on the road and spitting out points like it's nobody's business.
