MOBILE, Ala. – After knocking off West Alabama 20-10 to extend its winning streak to 18 games, University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones sat down with the media Monday to recap Thursday’s win and preview Saturday’s matchup with Lamar.

A few highlights from Monday's press conference are below.

Head coach Joey Jones
On the West Alabama game:
“It was a win and we played well in a lot of ways. But we also didn’t play what I call South Alabama football, in that we had four turnovers in the first half and three or four unnecessary penalties. I didn’t think we played extremely great in special teams. We had some good things and some negative things, but the good thing is most of them are fixable and we can get to work on those. If we are going to be a good football team at all, we have to do better in those areas. It’s something that we always preach, and we certainly talk about it the day before the game. Those are some things we haven’t done much of in the past, and we need to correct them.”

On the second half of the UWA game: 
“We didn’t run block well the first couple of drives. We came out and had some penalties and turnovers, so we never got consistent play the first half. In the second half, we took out some of the mistakes and the offensive line got cranked up a little bit. They put themselves into another gear and the running backs came in and had a really good half. That kind of thing happens sometimes in the first ball game. You do the best you can to the speed of the game, but it’s just not the same as in the game. That’s not an excuse, but that just sometimes happens.”

On Lamar:
“They are a much-improved ball team. They won 58-0 last week, and they have everyone back on their team. They brought in some really good players on their offensive line, and shored up some things. They’re trying to run the football more. You can tell they have really spent some time on their running game. I thought one of the negatives last year was they were really good throwing the football but didn’t run it as well. I think they knew that, and they have really developed their running game. They will be a much more balanced team offensively. And defensively, they are more athletic especially inside. They have some defensive tackles who are very good football players. They played us really well last year. I thought we had a good day offensively, but we didn’t score much. We need to be able to punch the ball in the end zone more [this year], and our kids are fully aware of that.”

On preparing for an experienced team like Lamar:
“We really don’t change anything about how we prepare other than we look at our opponent week-to-week. Our kids realize that they [Lamar] will be a much-improved football team. From year one to year two, we became a much better football team and likewise with them. I think they have had our game circled, and our kids realize that as well.”

On the team’s focus this week:
“One thing I have always talked about is that we are going to play the next play and play the next game. We are going to move on. We’re going to learn from it, but not dwell on things. We’re not going to change what we’ve done in practice. We know our kids, and I feel like they are going to get it straightened out. I think we were ready to play. Our kids were focused on what they were doing; sometimes you just make mistakes in games. That’s just going to happen and you have to learn to deal with it.”

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-