South Alabama is 4-1 for the first time as a full-fledged FBS program, and has an open date this week before hosting Louisiana-Monroe and Troy in a six-day span beginning Oct. 15.

Kane Wommack’s Jaguars will return to practice on Wednesday, but will mostly use the bye week to rest and recuperate, as well as to as get the jump on preparation for the upcoming two-game home stand. Several key injured players, including tight end Brandon Crum, linebacker Quentin Wilfawn and cornerback Jamar Richardson, are expected to return to full activity in the next several days.

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With the season not quite halfway over, but hitting a little bit of a pause, here are grades for the Jaguars through the first five games of the season.

Offense

The Jaguars made major upgrades through the transfer portal at a number of key positions, including quarterback (Carter Bradley), running back (La’Damian Webb) and on the offensive line (Dontae Lucas, PJ Mixon), but they’ve also seen continued improvement from a number of veterans such as wide receivers Jalen Wayne, Caullin Lacy and Devin Voisin and offensive linemen Reggie Smith and Joshua McCulloch.

Webb has been a revelation, well on his way to the best running back season in program history. And Bradley has the type of big arm to keep defenses honest.

The overall production has been solid if not spectacular, but given the Jaguars’ offensive struggles across the board in recent years, they are a much more dangerous team than they’ve been in some time. Some points must be taken off due to consistency issues — dropped passes, penalties, forced throws — but overall, South Alabama’s offense is getting the job done.

Grade: B

Defense

There have been some key additions in spots — Richardson, linebacker James Miller, safety Jalen Jordan — but this is mostly the same cast of characters who put one of the best defenses in the Sun Belt Conference on the field a year ago. A very deep defensive line in particular gives the Jaguars an edge up front over most opponents.

After a somewhat slow start, the takeaways and other explosive defensive plays have come in bunches in recent weeks. The Jaguars’ aggressive style leads to getting burned on occasion, but more often than not they are able to limit the big plays.

South Alabama seemed to wear down in the second half vs. UCLA — and especially vs. Louisiana. That’s the only thing keeping this from being a perfect grade.

Grade: A-

Special teams

Kicker Diego Guajardo has been near-perfect this season, with his lone miss an extra point vs. Central Michigan that clanked off both uprights. His 43-yard, game-winning field goal vs. Louisiana probably would have been good from 10 yards more.

For the first time in a while, South Alabama is dangerous on kickoff and punt returns. Lacy ran a punt back for a touchdown vs. Louisiana Tech, while Braylon McReynolds had a kickoff touchdown called back by penalty in the same game.

Punter Jack Brooks has been steady, though the coverage team has been less-than-great. And let’s not even talk about the fake field goal vs. UCLA.

Grade: B

Overall

Given South Alabama’s near misses in 2021, its overall talent upgrade and its favorable schedule, many predicted something of a breakthrough this season. As much as he tried to minimize those expectations over the summer, Wommack has fully embraced what is shaping up as a special year for the Jaguars.

The near-miss at UCLA stings now, and could be felt even more so if South Alabama continues to win. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s possible — even likely — the Jaguars will be favored in every game they play the rest of the way.

The Troy game on Oct. 20 looms extremely large, with the winner probably the favorite to win the Sun Belt West Division championship. A trip to Georgia Southern on Nov. 11 is likely the biggest obstacle after that between South Alabama and a double-digit win total.

It’s been a fun season already, but the Jaguars need to finish the job to make it truly one to remember.

Grade: A-