MOBILE, Ala. – Many supporters and fans of the University of South Alabama football team have pointed to this weekend’s game at North Carolina State as a pivotal moment in the program’s history. After all, it will mark the first time in two-plus seasons and 20 games that the Jaguars will take on an opponent from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA I-A) level.
But for those within the program, the approach is that this is just another week and one of 10 games on the schedule.
“We’re going to prepare for them just like any week. It’s just like any other game,” senior tight end Kevin Helms observed. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we think they’re the best team. We’re going to prepare like they’re the No. 1 team in the country.”
“They’re our first [Football] Bowl Subdivision team, but it’s just another team,” added Jake Johnson, the junior inside linebacker. “We’re going to practice like we normally do, we’re not going to treat it special, we’re not going to get overhyped and use all of our emotions up during the week of practice. We’re going to practice like we normally do, with the same intensity, drive and motivation.”
As far as the staff and players are concerned, the only difference for the Jags will be in the number of people attending the contest and the level of noise they create. ““I think the biggest difference is that we’re going into a stadium that will probably have 60- to 70,000 people at the game. The crowd noise can be a different factor,” said head coach Joey Jones. “Other than that, our preparation will be the same. We prepare for every game the same way. You want to go out and gain the respect of whoever you play against; our goal each week is to gain the respect of our opponents by how hard and smart we play, and by the discipline with which we play.
“Our kids are excited about playing in an environment like that. I think that anytime you have a game like this, the emotional level is always going to be up.”
Kickoff at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh — in what will be the first of three straight games on the road for the Jaguars over the next four weeks — is at 5 p.m. Central time. USA fans attending the game are encouraged to wear white; for those not in the stands, the contest can be seen live on ESPN3.com.
While the staff and student-athletes are treating it like any other week, there’s no denying that the Jaguars will be tested on Saturday. The Wolfpack enter play averaging 235.5 yards per game through the air and 371 total on offense, while defensively they have limited their first two opponents to just 106 yards per outing rushing. Plus, NCSU has a height advantage while outweighing the Jags at most positions in the physical matchup between the two squads.
“Offensively, they have a great quarterback who is 6-foot-6 and can throw it; he has an extremely good arm,” Jones explained. “They have playmakers on the outside to get it to, a good running back and big offensive linemen — they have some real weapons on offense. Defensively, they are a very well-coached football team with good players running around who know how to play. They really get after it.”
“The biggest thing when you play a team like that is how they execute during a game,” said Johnson in comparing the Pack to USA’s previous opponents. “We’ve played some good teams since I’ve been here at South Alabama, but when you play a team like North Carolina State, their execution is going to be perfect. I like that better because I can read their linemen better. That’s the biggest thing for me — everything is smoother because they’re so well coached.”
That’s not to say that the Jags won’t be ready for the challenge. Behind the efforts of C.J. Bennett (9-of-14 passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns) and Demetre Baker (13 carries for 82 yards and a score), USA rang up 349 yards of total offense Saturday in a 30-8 victory over Lamar while playing turnover-free football. Kendall Houston chipped in with 43 yards on 13 attempts, reaching the end zone for the sixth straight game dating back to last fall, while Bryant Lavender (three catches for 41 yards) and Corey Waldon (two receptions for 47 yards including a 10-yard touchdown catch) paced the receiving corps.
The key was a 20-point outburst in the second quarter, as the Jaguars held the ball for over 18-and-a-half minutes while outgaining the Cardinals 145-41 before the break.
The Jag defense made that lead stand up, with most starters departing late in the third quarter with USA holding a 37-2 advantage. Enrique Williams was one of three players to lead the unit with five tackles; two of those were for a loss, and he also recovered a fumble with the unit’s back against the goal line on LU’s opening drive of the third quarter. Johnson and Charles Harris matched that tackle total, while both Andy Dalgleish and Damond Smith were credited with four stops.
In a 34-27 Atlantic Coast Conference loss at Wake Forest last weekend — the Wolfpack’s first of the year — Mike Glennon threw for 315 yards and three scores while completing 24-of-41 attempts in trying to lead N.C. State back from a 27-6 deficit midway through the third quarter. Curtis Underwood collected 56 rushing yards and James Washington added 49 as the Pack finished with 424 yards of total offense.
On the other side of the ball, though, NCSU allowed the Demon Deacons to record 438 yards on the day including 337 through the air. Earl Wolff paced the team with 10 total tackles, with Audie Cole supplying seven including one behind the line of scrimmage to go along with a forced fumble. Terrell Manning posted one-and-a-half tackles for loss among his six stops as well.
Niklas Sade converted both his field-goal attempts and Wil Baumann averaged 41.8 yards per punt — three of his four kicks ended inside the WF-20 — while the Jags’ Jordan Means hit from 22 yards on his first field-goal try of the season against LU.
“Coach [Tom] O’Brien has done a heck of a job getting that program going, so I have a lot of respect for him and what he has done,” Jones stated.
Although the Jaguars head into the N.C. State game with the mindset not to change their approach, that doesn’t mean that everyone in the program doesn’t see the contest as an opportunity. “It will show us who we really are and what kind of teammates we have on our team. We’ll see who has the heart and who is really a football player,” Helms commented. “I hope the recruits and fans can see what kind of a team we are. Coach Jones preaches ‘be physical, be tough and be nasty,’ and hopefully we can go out and show everybody what kind of team we are.”
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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