College football in Alabama is celebrated in the context of two major powerhouse programs. That’s Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers. With incredible success over more than a century of competition each, it’s a no-brainer. But hundreds of collegiate athletes take the field for dozens of other programs within the state’s borders, often never getting the chance to put their skill and passion up against some of the very best from Tuscaloosa or the Plains. Here’s another highly anticipated game this weekend.
One of the state’s newest football programs may see a big change on Saturday. The University of South Alabama Jaguars from Mobile are heading to Auburn. It’s the fifteenth year for the Jags program. The game against the Tigers will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.
“This is great for us,” said Jaguars coach Major Applewhite. “We had a chance to go into Tennessee four years ago, won in Stillwater three years ago, and went to Baton Rouge last year. And this is as far as we've gone as a program and a campus since 15 years ago. We're playing in SEC stadiums now and that's awesome for our program.”
Games against top-tier FBS programs are great for recruiting, visibility, and for individual growth for the players. A common refrain among the team and coaches is that to be the best, you have to compete against the best. And in recent years they’ve done just that, playing away games against LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State. Applewhite points out the Jaguars won in major upsets during those last two.
“We need to continue to do that as much as we can play these type of ball games, because our fan base is growing,” he said.
It’s still early in the 2025 college football season. And, many teams are being criticized for bringing in programs which aren’t considered their equals — in terms of resources, recruiting and fanbase.
“It's definitely good for our players,” said Tre’ Williams. He’s the special teams coordinator and the outside linebackers coach for the Jaguars. He has plenty of experience competing on the Plains. A linebacker during his college days, Williams was a team captain and a second team All-SEC selection at Auburn during championship coach Gus Malzahn’s tenure in the 2010s. And he said he’s been telling his players all week that Saturday’s game is a major opportunity for them to earn a chance to compete at the next level.
“You want to go to the league?” Williams insists. “This is the closest you are going to get right now at this point. This is the best of the best. So if your goals and aspirations are to play in the NFL, understand that everybody's going to look like this.”
Auburn is currently number twenty four in the AP Top 25 ranking. Saturday’s game will also net the school one point three million dollars. And the Jags’s fanbase is raring to support their team, having gobbled up the school’s allotment of 3,000 tickets. School officials point to a robust alumni presence at such away games, which bolsters the players, their families and the 250-member Jaguar Marching Band. A massive Jaguar alumni event will be held in Montgomery on Friday night, after the team’s party bus makes the journey from Mobile.
Modern traditions have to start somewhere, and are often anchored in nostalgia while new experiences are being created. Coach Applewhite is a Louisiana native who played four years for the Texas Longhorns. He also was an analyst for Nick Saban during the Crimson Tide’s dynasty years. He says Saturday’s game has a throwback quality a lot of in-state fans will understand.
“For me, I'm like a kid. I feel like I'm waking up and watching a Golden Flake commercial lead into a Jefferson Pilot game,” Applewhite said. So I’m absolutely fired up about it. And I know the kids think, you're old and whatever, but it's an awesome deal to be able to play that 11:45 a.m. SEC game.”
