Southern safety Herman Brister provided a candid and damning perspective in the aftermath of the Jaguars 51-7 home loss to Nicholls on Saturday night in which the entire team appeared unprepared and uninspired.
Brister, a redshirt freshman Air Force transfer, indicated that Southern needed to be humbled because the Jaguars had underestimated the Colonels after still riding hight from its dramatic overtime win over Prairie View two weeks earlier.
“We needed this humbleness coming off the PV win,” an honest Brister said. “Coming back from Prairie View, we kind of got ahead of ourselves.
“We needed this loss to humble us.”
The Jaguars (2-3) definitely were quickly brought back down to Earth early in Nicholls, trailing 24-0 by the end of the first quarter and 51-0 at the end of the third quarter.
All the man does is catch TD passes
Quincy Brown from Pat McQuaide for a 24-0 first-quarter lead pic.twitter.com/QVfiHK8dIC
— Nicholls Football
(@Nicholls_FB) October 5, 2024
Nothing going right for Southern was an understatement.
Quarterback Noah Bodden, who has had a choppy season so far, threw two early interceptions. Even worse, the Jaguars were only able to rush for 28 yards. The defense could not grapple Nicholls quarterback Pat McQuaide, who tossed four touchdown passes that led the way in a 402-yard output for the Colonels.
The lack of execution on defense was something that perplexed Jaguars coach Terrence Graves, who said he and his staff made it a point of emphasis to highlight what Southern needed to be wary of leading up to Saturday’s game.
“The thing that’s frustrating is you coach guys, and put them in position and you look up and guys are not in position,” Graves said. “We have to fix that. We have to figure out why guys are not where they’re supposed to be and doing what they’re supposed to be doing at all times.”
Whatever the explanation for Southern enduring one of the program’s worst home defeats, Graves, said he will try to find a quick remedy.
“We definately got to sit down, cut this thing open, look at and fix this in a hurry,” he said.
