MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones met with the media Monday to discuss Saturday's conference game at Idaho and preview this weekend's regular-season home finale against New Mexico State.

South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones
Opening statement: "This certainly is a do-or-die game for us as far as getting into a bowl game.  The plus side for us is that we do have that opportunity; there are a lot of teams right now that are out [of a bowl game].  You look at Notre Dame, UCLA, Oregon and Oregon State and you can go on down the list; all of those schools are out.  South Alabama and UL Lafayette have a chance as they are the last two teams that can become bowl eligible.  We have a great opportunity in front of us and getting to a bowl game was one of our goals coming into the season.  We're excited about the fact that we have that chance and we need to play well this week in order to get into a bowl game."

On New Mexico State's offense: "They are probably one of the best offenses in the league; they've done really well this season offensively and they score a lot of points.  Two weeks ago they scored 50 on Texas State.  Their quarterback [Tyler Rogers] is a key component of their offense.  Right now he's hurt, but I know that they will do everything they can to get him ready, so I expect him to play.  [Larry] Rose is a great running back and [Sun Belt Offensive] player of the year last year.  They have a real effective offense."

On Steven Foster and his loss: "Steven Foster is what South Alabama [football] is all about.  He's been here five years and is just a great person and a really good football player.  He always has a smile on his face and we'll miss him, there's no doubt about that.  Hopefully he can give us some leadership on the sideline even though he's not able to get out there on the field."

On where the team is heading into this game: "We've lost the last two games by seven points each; lost in double overtime to [Louisiana-]Monroe and then 38-31 against a really good Idaho team.  I think there are things we could have done [Saturday] to win the game and there are no excuses for that, but overall I thought we played pretty well and just came up a little short.  We had a chance to score there late getting the ball at the 28 with 30 seconds left.  We returned a punt for a touchdown and got it called back on a penalty which hurt us.  We've got to make those plays to win.  I'm really proud of our team though.  

"We've talked about their character and how we always fight back; we're right there.  We've won a lot of close games and we've lost close games; I feel the key to this whole deal is our lack of depth on the offensive and defensive lines.  When you don't have all of you bullets in your gun, it's hard to run away and beat a team.  With all of the guys hurt on the defensive line, we just don't have the depth we've had in the past right now.  On the offensive line we have three guys out.  Overall, I think we're playing well, we just don't have as many bullets in our gun as we had early in the year."

On what he's told the seniors and the rest of the team as they head into Saturday's game: "If you look at Steven Foster, he's done.  They look at him and realize that it could be over on the first play of the game.  The biggest thing that the guys have to understand, and I've talked to the seniors about this, is they want to go out and change this program for the better – which was a goal of theirs at the beginning of the year – and win a bowl game is still an achievable goal.  That's something that they can achieve which no one else here has done.  

"Of all the new programs that have started in the last 30 years, which I think is nine, none of those have won a conference championship and only two of those teams have had a winning record and that's South Alabama and South Florida.  [Our seniors] have done some good things during their time here.  I know 6-6 doesn't sound good at times, especially in the state of Alabama, but in reality, this group of guys have done some really good things and I'm proud of them.  To be able to get to a bowl game and win it would definitely be a feather in this senior class' cap if they were to be able to make that happen.  I think the rest of the guys on this team want to make that happen for them.  It's like I told the players, this isn't about me because I've ridden that horse; I've been in this game a long time.  It's not about me, it's about our players, especially our seniors.  I think that everyone in the program really wants it for those guys."

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