Southern is still trying to solve the problems in a new attack system

Lake Charles – Southern’s offense wasn’t as balanced as some might have hoped early in the season. In their Week 1 loss to McNeese, the Jags had fewer than 200 total offensive yards.

Offensive coordinator Mark Frederick emphasized the run game this offseason, but Southern was only able to rush for 66 yards against the Cowboys.

Quarterback Noah Bodden also showed flashes of skill and talent, but costly turnovers and missed targets sometimes cost the Jags.

Bodden completed 12 of 26 pass attempts for 118 yards and intercepted one ball in the red zone, which could have given Southern more points.

The Jags struggled to score in the red zone, aside from their lone touchdown in the second quarter.

“We blew some chances, but again, you know, he did some good things. But you know, when you’re in the red zone, or green zone, as we call it, we’ve got to finish. You can’t give the ball away, but at the same time, you know, make some plays, keep some things alive. There’s times where you see us do some good things and we have some explosive plays. And then, you know, there’s times where, you know, we’re still, it seems like we’re still trying to work out the kinks sometimes. But I mean, we just have to execute mental things, you know, guys trying to make plays, guys trying to make plays. So the effort is there. We just have to trust what we see,” head coach Terrence Graves said after the season-opening loss.

Southern will have to go back to the drawing board and get its act together offensively in preparation for its season opener against Savannah State on Saturday.

That game kicks off at 6 p.m. ET at AW Mumford Stadium. It won’t be televised, but fans can stream the game live on HBCU Go.