South Alabama Football: Jaguars facing do-or-die season in 2020

South Alabama football is putting pressure on third-year head coach Steve Campbell to build some momentum in 2020 or it’ll be looking for a new coach.

A program under fire is not an easy situation to deal with. The South Alabama Jaguars are entering into their third season with their second-ever head coach in program history in Steve Campbell. If the Jaguars underperform once again, they may find themselves rebuilding their program yet again.

In the first 10 seasons of the program, the Jaguars flourished under head coach Joey Jones. They appeared in two bowl games in 2014 and 2016 with Jones at the helm. When it was time for the Jaguars to move on from Jones, they decided to hire Campbell from Central Arkansas.

In the two seasons with Campbell as head coach, the Jaguars have accumulated a 5-19 record including a 3-13 record versus Sun Belt teams. In the previous season, the Jaguars accounted for a 2-10 overall record (1-7 in Sun Belt). South Alabama experienced significant problems on both sides of the ball.

They encountered a tough and grueling schedule for 2019 but they could not find some form of consistency to finish games. Campbell knew that the Jaguars could have held on to beat Georgia Southern (lost 20-17) and Texas State (lost 30-28).

This season, the Jaguars will have another chance to escalate themselves into a more productive team in the Sun Belt. They have never finished higher than third place in the Sun Belt West, excluding the 2013 season when they finished tied for second place.

South Alabama is looking for results on the field to match the intensity, media publicity, and the significant recruiting off the field. It finished seventh place of all Sun Belt teams in the 2020 recruiting class, which is the highest they accounted for in years.

Athlon Sports projects South Alabama to finish 4-8 (3-5) and this is not too much of a reach for a more experienced team. It will need to solve some position battles for the 2020 season.