MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones along with senior defensive lineman SirCalvin Wallace and senior running back Dami Ayoola met with the media Monday to discuss Saturday's win over Presbyterian and preview this weekend's Sun Belt road game at Idaho.

South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones
Opening statement: "We were glad to get the win [over Presbyterian; it's another step towards becoming bowl eligible.  I told the team yesterday that we've got to raise or level of play in these next two games to get into a bowl.  We have two really good teams that we have to play.  Our players and coach staff are very excited about those games and it's a good opportunity for our program."

On what Idaho does well: "Idaho is a good team.  Starting with their offense, they have a really good quarterback and do a great job with both the run and pass.  They throw the ball well and run it well, which poses problems when you are trying to stop both of them.  Defensively, I think they are very sound in what they do.  They don't do a lot of different things and probably don't blitz as much as some of the teams we've played, but they are very sound in what they do defensively."

On where Idaho has shown the most improvement over the last few years: "Really what you see different from Idaho from the last couple of years to now is really at the line of scrimmage in their offensive and defensive lines.  Both of them are better and that's where I feel their biggest improvement has been."

On the punting of Brandon McKee: "What Brandon has gotten better at this season is consistency.  He always had the ability to kick a 60- or 65-yard punt, but he's become more consistent.  He's done a great job of putting the ball inside the 10-yard line; he had two this past week at the one-yard line.  He's just become a more consistent guy out there."

On what having the NCAA waiver means: "With the NCAA giving us the waiver, which I felt was the right thing to do, it gives us the chance to go ahead and win these next two games.  We want to win every game we play anyway, regardless of what has happened and our guys are going to prepare to do that.  [Getting the waiver] doesn't change how we are going to prepare."

On if there is a sense of urgency that he's seen in the players as they head into these two final games: "There's no doubt about it.  The players understand what's at stake here and they know that they want to go to a bowl game; that's one of our goals that we had at the beginning of the year.  It's very exciting for our team to have this opportunity with other teams already out as they have already lost seven games.  We have a great opportunity ahead of us."


Defensive Lineman SirCalvin Wallace
On getting back to .500 with this past weekend's win and expectations going into the Idaho game: "It's great to be winning again.  Anytime you win is a good time.  We're just ready to keep on moving forward and just put ourselves in a good position to try to make sure we get to a bowl game, which is what we all want to do."

On playing in a dome and different environment along with the long road trip: "Regardless of whether it's in a dome or not, a field is a field.  The field is 100 yards long and it's got a logo on it; it's still a [football] field.  We're not focused so much on playing in a dome, we're just going to have to try to make sure that we focus on everything we have to worry about – the keys, reading the offense and making sure we are in the position we need to be in at the end of the day."

On where the team is mentally heading into these final two games: "Mentally, we know what's at stake.  We have a lot of seniors on the team that want to come out, finish great and go to a bowl game.  Since we lost to [Louisiana-] Monroe, we've been on a role; we've stepped up in practice and made sure that the intensity is there.  We are just making sure everything is getting done in a timely manner, because it's almost over.  Guys like me and Dami [Ayoola], we don't have much time left so we are just making sure that we take care of what we need to and put ourselves in the position that we need to be in."


Running Back Dami Ayoola
On getting back to .500 with this past weekend's win and expectations going into the Idaho game: "Getting back to .500 was huge for us, more so to get us on a streak.  We talk about having momentum work for us.  [The defense] feeds off the offense and the offense feeds off the defense.  The win that we got was just to get us going in a good direction and back where we need to be."

On playing in a dome and different environment along with the long road trip: "I feel it's the same.  You prepare every week like it's a championship week.  We know we are going to get everybody's best whether it's an FCS school, a non-conference school or a Sun Belt opponent.  We've lost some close ones, but I think we know what it's going to take to get a win."

On where the team is mentally heading into these final two games: "Having a lot of seniors on the team makes it really infectious to a lot of guys who might be young and in a position where they have to step up.  Guys like Bobby Flott and Jalen Thompson at corner will really have to play well this weekend against a pass-heavy offense.  It's just the attitude of the seniors permiating through the team, knowing that every moment is crucial from here on out."

On what he remembers about Idaho from the last time South played them: "I remember they were great up front on both sides of the ball.  Last year, we were able to do a lot of good things in space and this year we've got a lot of guys that can make plays in space."

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).

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