MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football program's efforts to qualify for postseason bowl consideration will come down to its performance over a three-week stretch, but members of the team aren't looking that far ahead.

"This season has been a tough one with the ups and downs, but after this bye week, I really think that it's time to separate ourselves and play to the standard that we set for ourselves early on this season," senior linebacker Roman Buchanan said.  "If we just focus on ourselves, focus on what we have to do and concentrate on playing one game at a time, I think we'll be fine."

"It's very important to us, but it's also just as important to us as any of our previous games prior to this three-game stretch.  Although we've labeled it as that way, we are going to just approach it one game at a time," explained senior running back Tyreis Thomas.  "One thing our coaches have told us is that you can't start a run if you don't get the first one.  I don't see too much difference in the way our intensity level should be or what the coaches should be saying to us, but obviously, we understand that we've got to get some wins to help get us to the next level.  The intensity is already there in our minds, it's just about taking it one game at a time."

The first of the Jaguars' final three outings of the regular season will be on Saturday when they play host to Presbyterian, with the game slated to kick off at 6 p.m. (CST).  The match-up will be broadcast live on ESPN3, available on the iHeartRadio app and can be heard on both WRKH 96.1 FM and 99.5 The Jag locally.

USA was originally supposed to face Louisiana State in Baton Rouge in the last of its four non-Sun Belt Conference contests, with the schedule changed last month after LSU exercised its option to cancel the game in order to reschedule its match-up with Florida — the Gators were slated to face the Blue Hose in Gainesville Saturday — due to Hurricane Matthew.

The Jaguars enter play 4-5 overall following a 42-35 overtime defeat at Louisiana-Monroe Nov. 5, and have dropped three of four outings since beating nationally-ranked San Diego State.  PC is 2-8 coming into its season finale, and has lost four straight including a 45-10 decision at Kennesaw State in its last Big South Conference contest last weekend.

Tickets for the match-up are still available and can be purchased for only $10 in advance — children 18 and under will be admitted for free — by either visiting www.usajaguars.com online or contacting the USA Athletic Ticket Office at (251) 461-1USA (1872).  On Saturday, windows will open by Gates 1W and 3E at Ladd-Peebles Stadium for individuals interested in purchasing tickets on the day of the game.

Tailgating is slated to begin at 8 a.m. in the stadium parking lot, with a "Kids Zone" in Jag City on the East side of the facility starting at 3 p.m. and the "Jag Prowl" — the football team's arrival at Ladd-Peebles — getting underway in the Southeast corner of the lot at 3:30 p.m.  Stadium gates will be opened at 4 p.m. to the public.

Round-trip shuttles, for a cost of $2.50 per person (children five and under may ride for free), will begin running at 2 p.m. from the Shoppes at Bel Air located behind J.C. Penney and provide service until 90 minutes after the end of the contest.

The Jaguar offense is coming off a performance at ULM in which it recorded a season-high 516 total yards, with Dallas Davis accounting for a career-best 368 of those.  After throwing for 307 and rushing for another 61 — including a 55-yard touchdown run to get USA on the scoreboard just over five minutes into the action — the sophomore quarterback has completed 148-of-252 attempts for 1,902 yards and seven scores.

Senior Gerald Everett, who received an invitation to the 2017 Reese's Senior Bowl and was named a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award since the Jags' last contest, remains Davis' top target.  He leads the squad with 41 receptions for 637 yards and four touchdowns, ranking in both the top five nationally among tight ends and top five overall in the Sun Belt in catches and receiving yards per outing.  Josh Magee posted his second 100-yard receiving effort of the year after leading all players with seven receptions for 138 yards against the Warhawks, giving him 32 catches for 424 yards and three scores in 2016, and Tyrone Williams has now caught 23 balls for 256 yards after finishing with a career-best 67 last time out.

South scored four of its five touchdowns at ULM on the ground, however, with Xavier Johnson pacing the team for the third straight contest after finishing with a game-high 93 yards on 16 carries — the junior leads the Jags on the year with 434 yards and six touchdowns.  Thomas and Dami Ayoola have added 275 and 220 rushing yards this fall, respectively, with the former reaching the end zone five times and the latter on three occasions.

Buchanan was one of three Jaguars to record 10-plus stops in their last contest, posting 11 including two for loss as well as a forced fumble, and now has a team-leading 67 total tackles this season.  Darrell Songy and Devon Earl rank second and fourth on the squad with 59 and 55 stops, respectively; the latter was credited with a career-best 13 last time out to lead all players, the former finished with 11.  Jeremy Reaves not only is among the top 10 in the league with both three interceptions and nine total passes defended, he stands third on the unit with 58 tackles.  And Randy Allen remains ranked in the top 20 in the country in tackles for loss (14) and sacks (eight), having posted 53 stops overall.

As a unit, USA is surrendering less than 385 total yards and 26 points per contest, including leading the SBC giving up just over 182 yards per game passing.

The Blue Hose defense has allowed more than 430 yards and 30 points per outing in 2016.  The group is led by Grent Beidel, who has 67 total stops — with four behind the line including 2½ sacks — and a pair of interceptions.  Nick Moss has supplied 65 tackles, Khari Rosier has 57 with a team-leading eight for loss while Kamren Mack paces PC with four sacks.

Darrell Bridges has rushed 189 times for 697 yards and two scores, with Ben Cheek completing 84-of-149 pass attempts for 759 yards and a pair of touchdowns for a Presbyterian offense that is averaging just 9.1 points and 238.1 total yards per game.  DaShawn Davis has collected 41 receptions for 457 yards, with Daryl Wilson and Darquez Watson catching 22 passes each for 234 and 225 yards, respectively.

"Offensively they do a lot of things, they have a lot of schemes; it makes watching film a lot of work to make sure we get our kids ready to line up correctly," said Jag head coach Joey Jones.  "Defensively they are really good against the run inside.  We don't know as much about them or their personnel since we haven't played them before, but we will certainly need to have a good game plan to execute this week.

"I don't think we can overlook anybody," he continued.  "Every week there are upsets, some teams beating teams they shouldn't beat.  Our kids see that every week, so we have to get ready to go.  If we want to get into a bowl game this is a must game for us.  We have to be able to go play our kind of football, that's what it comes down to.  It doesn't come down to what they do, it comes down to what we do, and if we can just handle our jobs and do what we are supposed to do we should be in good shape."

For the Jaguars to achieve postseason bowl eligibility it will take one game at a time, beginning with one that was not on the program's schedule when it was originally released back in March.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—