MOBILE, Ala. – After sweeping a pair of road contests against NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponents to extend its streak to 14 straight victories, the University of South Alabama football team returns to Mobile to open a season-ending, three-game homestand this weekend.
First up for the Jags — who are 7-0 after coming from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat UC Davis 24-21 last time out — is another first-year FCS program, Georgia State. Guided by former Alabama, Georgia Tech and Kentucky head coach Bill Curry, the Panthers (5-3) saw a four-game win streak snapped at Old Dominion last weekend after they fell 34-20 to the Monarchs.
Saturday’s match-up at Ladd-Peebles Stadium will kickoff at 4 p.m.
“I have a lot of respect for coach Curry. He’s been very successful in all of his tenures, but he is also a great person,” stated Jaguar head coach Joey Jones. “He is a guy who is good for the game, a man of great character; I respect him a lot and look forward to playing on Saturday.
“He is going through what I went through last year, putting a team together the first time and going through the highs and lows of putting a program together. But I respect his coaching ability and respect him as a person.”
In the win at UCD, the Jags got off to a quick start and posted a strong finish to defeat the preseason favorite in the Great West Conference, which had picked up a 14-13 victory at NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision member San Jose State earlier in the month. USA went ahead 14-0 in the first eight-and-a-half minutes on a 10-yard touchdown run from Kendall Houston and Courtney Smith’s 13-yard scoring reception from Brennan Sim, but after surrendering 21 unanswered points the Jaguars had to rally. Smith caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Bennett with five-and-a-half minutes left in the contest to put the Jags back in front, after which the USA defense stopped two Aggie drives as Jake Johnson recorded a sack before Anthony Taylor had two on UCD’s final possession; the last forced the Ags to settle for a 34-yard field to tie the game, which was wide right.
Johnson is one of four Jaguars with 20 or more tackles on the season — he has 22 total, including a team-high-tying three sacks — as the defense is allowing just 7.3 points and 213.3 yards per outing, and less than four yards per play. Enrique Williams paces the unit with 31 stops, Justin Dunn has 26 and Ken Barefield 20. Logan Bennett and Romelle Jones share the team lead with five tackles behind the line of scrimmage, while Taylor has four stops for loss among his 16 total after sharing team-high honors with a career-best six in the UC Davis win. Jerron Mitchell also had six tackles against the Aggies, and he has four stops behind the line this fall.
Smith caught five passes for 94 yards total last weekend, scoring multiple touchdowns for the first time since USA defeated Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy on Oct. 31 a year ago. He has 22 receptions for 360 yards and five scores — all totals that lead the team — with Corey Waldon (12 for 237) and Bryant Lavender (11 for 170) also recording double-digit catch totals in 2010. And, Jeremé Jones added a career-best four receptions for 35 yards last time out.
Jag quarterbacks combined to complete 22-of-33 attempts for 238 yards; Sim was 13-of-18 for 116 yards and Bennett connected on four of his last five attempts to finish 7-of-13 for 105 more.
Kendall Houston leads the Jaguar rushing attack with 472 yards and seven touchdowns on 66 carries, although Santuan McGee paced USA with 53 yards against the Aggies after picking up 49 in the final 15 minutes.
T.J. Glover helped spark last weekend’s win with 150 all-purpose yards, which included running back three kicks for 93 yards and a pair of punt returns for another 43. His 34-yard punt return in the opening quarter set up Smith’s first touchdown reception while he took the kickoff after UCD went ahead 21-14 43 yards to lead to Jordan Means’ 39-yard field goal on the final play of the third period.
Scott Garber also contributed on special teams with four punts for an average of 40.2 yards per kick, with three of those ending inside the 20-yard line. He is averaging 40.1 yards per punt for the season, with 14 of his 26 kicks downed inside the opposition’s 20.
“I thought it was the biggest win in our program’s short history. UC Davis is a very good football team that is well-coached,” Jones observed. “I will remember that game for a long time. I think it was one of the most exciting games I have ever been around.”
“It was a great experience for our football team,” junior defensive back Jerron Mitchell added. “Just being down showed how we handle adverse situations, and I think that brought us together as a team. Up until this point, we really didn’t know how we would handle a nail-biter or having to fight until the end. But I think the coaches did a great job of preparing us for four quarters of football and emphasizing that they were a great football team with a lot of tradition that would fight us until the end.
“We got just that and we came out on top, so it was exciting”
GSU lost its first game in over a month despite outgaining ODU 477-381; quarterback Drew Little was 32-of-53 for 414 yards in the contest, with Danny Williams making 11 catches for 102 yards to pace the Panther receiving corps. For the season, Little is completing 63.7 percent of his passes, and has racked up 1,630 yards and 14 scores. Williams has a team-leading 42 receptions for 497 yards, with Sidney Haynes adding 231 yards on 19 catches .
Although the Panthers rushed for just 58 yards last weekend, Kelton Hill has gained 358 yards and Travis Evans has posted 286 for an attack that averages over 135 yards per outing on the ground.
The GSU defense — paced by Fred Barnes’ 58 total stops — is allowing 327.1 yards per game, including only 149.4 per contest through the air. Brandon Jones has added 51 tackles and broken up four passes, Louie Muasau has 45 stops and Jake Muasau’s 38 tackles include a team-best seven behind the line of scrimmage.
Iain Vance leads the team with 64 points, hitting 28-of-29 extra points to go along with 12-of-14 field-goal attempts, while Bo Schlechter is averaging 44.3 yards per punt.
“Georgia State is another well-coached football team,” commented Mitchell. “They are anxious to win just like we are. You get everybody’s best shot week in and week out being an undefeated team. We can’t take anyone for granted.”
Game week activities begin Wednesday when Jones speaks at the “Jag Lunch,” which begins at 11:30 a.m. at Wintzell’s Oyster House on Airport Boulevard.
On Saturday, another “White Out” will be in effect at Ladd-Peebles Stadium; the Jags will wear all white for the second time this season, and students will receive free white rally towels (and/or) white thundersticks at entrance 2E of Ladd-Peebles Stadium. All gates will open at 2 p.m., though tailgating in the stadium parking lot is slated to begin at 8 a.m. — that will include “Trunk or Treat” from 1-3 p.m., with fans encouraged to decorate their tents and hand out candy to children in celebration of Halloween.
Shuttles, which cost just $2.50 for a round-trip ticket , will provide continuous service from noon until 90 minutes after the end of the contest from the south parking lot of the Bel Air Mall behind Target and JC Penney.
Tickets for the Georgia State game can be purchased online at www.usagameday.com, by visiting the Mitchell Center ticket office on campus between the hours of 10 a.m.-5 p.m. during the week or by calling the USA Athletic Ticket Office at (251) 461-1USA (1872) prior to noon on Friday.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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