MOBILE, Ala. – Many firsts have been recorded in the University of South Alabama football program’s initial season-plus since it took the field last fall.  Another milestone is set to be recorded Thursday night as year two comes to a close.

Twelve Jaguars will be recognized prior to the 6 p.m. kickoff against Arkansas-Monticello at Ladd-Peebles Stadium as USA holds its first-ever Senior Day.  The Jags will be looking to complete their second straight undefeated season after holding off Henderson (Ark.) State — like UAM, a member of the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference — 37-31 on Homecoming weekend.

It will be the third home game in a row for the Jaguars, who have an all-time mark of 13-0 in Mobile.

“We’re going to honor our seniors Thursday night, and it’s going to be a special night for a bunch of great young men who have come into this program and provided leadership and maturity to our program,” USA head coach Joey Jones commented.  “We’re looking forward to it, and we just want to end it on a good note. We’ve had a great year, and we just need to finish up on a strong note.

“A short week is very hard to deal with, though, especially from a coach’s standpoint because of the time to prepare,” he continued.  “The more you think about something, the better plan you have for it.  Now we’re rushing our plan up by two days and, therefore, we spent extra hours on it Sunday night and Monday.  We’ve done a lot to alleviate the amount of time we’re on the field for the players, but you still have to work; you want to make sure you spend enough time on your opponents, but you also want to save their legs.”

Tickets for the contest can be obtained by calling the USA Athletic Ticket Office at (251) 461-1USA (1872) before 5 p.m. Wednesday, in person at the Mitchell Center ticket office— located on campus and open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. — or by going to www.usagameday.com on the web.  They will also be available at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium ticket office beginning at noon on the day of the game.

The stadium parking lot will open via the Lott Street entrance and tailgating will begin at noon, while stadium gates will be opened at 4 p.m.  The Jaguar Prowl will start at the northeast end of Ladd-Peebles Stadium when the Jaguars arrive at 3:40 p.m.

Shuttles from the Bel Air Mall — with continuous service until 90 minutes after the completion of the game — are slated to start running at 3 p.m. from the south parking lot behind Target and JC Penney.  The cost is $2.50 for a round-trip ride.

On the day prior to the contest, Jones will address USA fans at the “Jag Lunch,” which will take place starting at 11:30 a.m. at Wintzell’s Oyster House on Airport Boulevard.

USA is coming off a school-record 542-yard performance on offense in its win over HSU.  C.J. Bennett completed 20-of-26 passes for 280 yards, adding two second-half touchdowns on one-yard sneaks, while T.J. Glover recorded team-high totals with five receptions for 78 yards as part of an effort that included a career-best 189 all-purpose yards.  Kendall Houston led the Jags’ ground attack for the third time in four weeks with 140 yards and a score on 27 carries.

Bennett is completing 63.1 percent of his attempts entering play, and needs just 33 yards to throw for 1,000 on the season.  Houston is averaging 6.3 yards per rush and leads the team with nine touchdowns after his fourth 100-yard effort of the fall.  Courtney Smith paces the receiving corps with 27 catches, 451 yards and five touchdowns, while Bryant Lavender has added 16 receptions for 276 yards and Jeremé Jones has caught multiple passes in each of the last four outings.

As a team, the Jaguars are averaging 42.4 points and 444.1 yards per contest; that includes better than 200 yards per game both on the ground and through the air.

Attempting to slow down that attack will be a Boll Weevil defense that is surrendering nearly 375 yards and 28 points on average, though the unit is forcing more than two turnovers per outing.  Vincent Jackson has recovered three fumbles — he also ranks second on the team with 60 tackles — while both Augustus Ashley and Marcus VanBuren have intercepted a pair of passes.  Royel Johnson has a team-high 80 total stops, with Joe Accelus posting 7½ tackles for loss to pace the unit.

UAM has split four contests since quarterback Scott Buisson (144-of-244, 1,963 yds, 15 TDs, 7 INTs) returned from an injury that forced him to sit out the first two games of October, including a 47-0 loss to Henderson State.  Jywin Ceasar leads the team with 42 receptions for 529 yards and six scores, but the Boll Weevils are expected to be without the services of second-leading receiver DJ Stephens (28-524, 3 TDs), who is averaging 18.7 yards per catch.  Nakita Myles has run for 610 yards and seven touchdowns and is averaging better than five yards per attempt, and Buisson has added 376 yards rushing as well.

The Boll Weevils average 23.5 points and 363 yards per contest.

“They run the football more than Henderson State. This team is more balanced, and the best thing they do is run the football,” explained Jones.  “They have a quarterback who is a dual-threat guy, they are really efficient on offense with him.  He’s the whole key to their football team — as he goes, they go.  The biggest key is that we have to stop him defensively.”

Enrique and Tyrone Williams both posted a career-high nine total stops in last week’s victory to lead USA, which is allowing just under 13 points and 250 yards per game though the last two opponents have posted more than 30 points.  The former has a team-leading 42 tackles this fall, and he has also broken up three passes.  Justin Dunn — who was credited with six stops against the Reddies — has made 34 tackles and Ken Barefield has added 30.  The unit has forced 23 turnovers in its first nine outings, with Anton Graphenreed becoming the ninth Jag to intercept a pass after accomplishing the feat in the first quarter against HSU.

Scott Garber boosted his season average to 41 yards per kick after his two punts last time out covered 58 and 60 yards; the latter was the longest of his career.  Fourteen of his 30 kicks this fall have been downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.  Lawson McGlon kicked three field goals in last weekend’s victory — the third time in the last four contests he has converted more than one — and has now made 11 of his 15 attempts (73.3%) on the season.  And Glover is averaging better than 28 yards per kick and 17 yards per punt return.

“It’s over for me after Thursday night,” stated Smith.  “I don’t get a chance to work out with my teammates again, so I’m just taking it day by day.  I just know that I want to win and be 17-0.”

“I’m excited about this Thursday night game,” added Dunn.  “It’s possibly the last game of my career, but we’re just going to go out there and try to get a victory and stay undefeated.  It’s been a long, hard season, but we still have one left to get.”

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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