MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football team will have little time to savor perhaps it best performance of the season.  Less than a week after defeating Henderson (Ark.) State, the Jaguars will play host to Mississippi Valley State Thursday night.

The contest, the second of three in a row at Ladd-Peebles Stadium to end the year for the Jags, will start at 6:30 p.m.  USA opened the season with a 20-10 victory over West Alabama in the only other Thursday game they have played this fall.

“It is a short week, and it changes your schedule somewhat.  There isn’t a lot of preparation time,” explained Jaguar head coach Joey Jones.  “We’re used to getting a lot of preparation time in for a team, but it’s something we have to deal with and fortunately the other team does as well; and they have to travel.  We feel good about it, and the coaches have done a good job simplifying the game plan.

“What you have to do is execute in a game like this.  You don’t want to put too much in and then the kids don’t get it and don’t perform well on Thursday night.”

“Not everyone is playing on Thursday so you’re really a main focus throughout the nation,” stated Anthony Taylor, a junior defensive end/outside linebacker.  “I think it’s a good opportunity to show everybody what we can do when we are put on a stage like this.  We will prepare and come out and give them a good show.”

Taylor had a goal-line interception early in the third quarter in last weekend’s 28-3 victory, the first of his career and one of a school-record seven takeaways by the Jaguar defense.  Anton Graphenreed, Desmond LaVelle and Enrique Williams also picked off passes, while Romelle Jones, Gabe Loper and Will Thompson all recovered fumbles.  USA surrendered just 55 yards rushing and 210 total, the fewest allowed by the unit in either category this fall.

Jake Johnson leads the Jags with 64 total stops and six-and-a-half tackles for loss, while Williams has been credited with four-and-a-half stops behind the line among his 47 tackles.  And the duo’s back-ups — Ben Giles and LaVelle — each were credited with five stops in the HSU win.  Charles Harris ranks second on the squad with 55 stops, Ken Barefield has 44 and Clifton Crews has made 25 tackles to go along with a team-high three forced fumbles.

USA stands 26th in total (319 yards per game), 27th in pass (181.63 ypg) and 32nd in scoring (21.63 ppg) defense nationally among 121 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision schools.

Demetre Baker collected a career-best 111 yards on 20 rushes against the Reddies last time out, scoring twice in the opening quarter to push a 3-0 lead to a 16-point advantage.  He’s second on the team with 490 yards — Kendall Houston has 15 more yards than the Georgia transfer — and has recorded 54 points on nine touchdowns to lead the squad in scoring.

C.J. Bennett has 1,435 yards of total offense this fall, completing 100-of-186 pass attempts for 1,359 yards and six scores after throwing for 101 yards in a half plus one series against HSU.  Both Bryant Lavender and Corey Waldon paced the USA offense with three catches last weekend, entering this contest first and third on the team, respectively, with 20 and 18 receptions.  The former also has posted a team-best 294 receiving yards.

The Jaguars are averaging nearly 25 points and over 340 yards per game coming into play Thursday.

Both Jordan Means and Scott Garber are among the country’s leaders in a statistical category; Means stands tied for 10th in field goals per contest as he has made 12-of-14 attempts in 2011 — that includes a career-high 3-of-3 performance in the win over HSU — while Garber is averaging 42.5 yards per punt to rank 14th.

The Delta Devils picked up their first victory since November 2009 with a 12-9 defeat of Texas Southern at home last weekend, accomplishing the feat despite gaining only 101 total yards.  They snapped a 19-game losing streak — moving to 1-8 on the year, 1-7 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference — one week after falling in overtime at Grambling.

MVSU is allowing 385.9 yards and 31.4 points per outing, with over 230 of those yards via the pass, although it surrendered just 165 yards to TSU; that figure included only 43 rushing yards.  Leployer Franklin has 60 stops and 13 tackles for loss to lead the team in both categories, adding six passes broken up and two forced fumbles, although five other individuals have picked up 40 or more stops this year — Marcus Thompson (53), Desmond Spivey (52), Armon Williams (48), Terrell Johnson (47) and Carlos Hollis (40).  Javaris Fritz has a team-best three-and-a-half sacks, with both Michael Boykins and Marquez Floyd intercepting two passes.

Rapheal Batiste paces the Delta Devils with 483 yards on the ground, with Brandon Stansell adding 373 and quarterback Marvin Pittman 292.  Pittman has completed 33-of-71 attempts for 305 yards and two touchdowns, while Garrick Jones is 59-of-116 passing for 744 yards and seven scores.  Paul Cox has team-high totals with 34 catches for 602 yards and three touchdowns, Kenneth Dabney has 27 receptions for 267 yards and Stansall 23 out of the backfield also.

The Delta Devils are averaging 136 yards per game both rushing and passing, scoring 16 points per outing.

Carlos Sanchez handles all the kicking duties for MVSU — he’s averaging 38.5 yards per punt, with 17 kicks downed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, has converted 6-of-10 field goal attempts and leads the Delta Devils with 34 points.

“They are athletic on both sides of the ball, and got their first win of the season last week,” Jones stated.  “They have a quarterback who is a tall, rangy guy who can run and throw — he is the key to their offense.  Defensively, they run a lot of different fronts and multiple blitzes so it’s making us simplify our game plan even more.  The biggest challenge for us is the multiplicity of what they do defensively.”

Gates will open at 4:30 p.m., with the USA athletic marketing department handing out white Jaguar rally towels and white Jaguar Thunderstix.  The parking lot will open at noon, while the Jaguar Prowl is slated to begin at 4:10 p.m. when the squad arrives at the Stadium.

Tickets for the game can either be purchased online at www.usajaguars.com or by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872) until 5 p.m. on Wednesday; the stadium ticket office will open at 1:30 p.m. on the day of the contest.  The cost for tickets starts as low as $10, although as part of high school student appreciation night all Baldwin and Mobile County public and private high school students will receive a free end zone ticket at all Ladd-Peebles Stadium ticket windows on the day of game only — additional tickets are $5.
 
With the Jags in their all white uniforms, fans are encouraged to wear white as well.

A shuttle from the Bel Air Mall — which will provide continuous loop service to and from the stadium — is available, with the cost $2.50 per person for a round-trip ticket.  It will run from the parking lot south of Target and J.C. Penney starting at 2:30 p.m. and provide service until 90 minutes after the end of the game.

“It’s been a while since we played on Thursday; the last time was against West Alabama,” freshman running back J.J. Keels explained.  “The practice week is very short, and we practice on days we normally do not practice.  The times are stricter, but we have more fans on a Thursday.

“I think this game is big.”

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).

—USA—