MOBILE, Ala. — Overall records can be deceptive.  For proof of that, look no further than the University of South Alabama football team’s upcoming opponent.

“FIU’s team and their record don’t match up,” stated USA head coach Joey Jones.  “They are a very good football team, there is no doubt about it; when I look at them on film, I don’t see a 1-8 team at all.”

Florida International enters Saturday’s contest 1-8 overall and 0-5 in the Sun Belt, though the Golden Panthers were the preseason favorite in the Sun Belt Conference at the league’s media day in July after finishing 8-5 and playing in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl in 2011.

While the Jaguars are 2-6 and 1-3 in conference action coming in as well, they averaged 30 points per contest last month including posting a season-best 37 in a three-point double-overtime victory in their last appearance at Ladd-Peebles Stadium against Florida Atlantic.

“I think that it’s two things,” Jones explained of the unit’s performance in October.  “Number one, it’s just the maturity of the offense; it’s a new system for us, the players are starting to learn the system better.  Second, I think that settling on a quarterback has really helped — Ross [Metheny] has come in and done a great job with leadership and managing the game.

“We’ve had one turnover in the last three games on offense, that’s something we talked about after we played Troy and had four turnovers.  I don’t want to say that we have fixed it, but we have definitely gotten better with taking care of the football, and that’s a big reason why we are having more success.”

The Jaguars and FIU will kick off at 2:30 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The stadium parking lot is slated to open at 8 a.m. for individuals interested in tailgating, with gates scheduled to open at 12:30 p.m.  The team’s entrance to the stadium, the Jaguar Prowl, will begin at 12:10 p.m. while working its way through the south parking lot.

Tickets — which are available for as low as $10 — can be purchased in advance by either ordering online at www.usajaguars.com or calling (251) 461-1USA (1872) prior to noon on Friday.  The stadium ticket office will open at 9:30 a.m. on the day of the game as well.

Round-trip shuttle service will run from the Bel Air Mall parking lot south of Target and J.C. Penney beginning at 10:30 a.m.  Shuttles provide continuous loop service to and from the stadium until 90 minutes after the end of the contest at a cost of $2.50 per person.

Former baseball players Juan Pierre and P.J. Walters, along with former tennis players František Babej (pronounced FRAN-tee-sheck bah-BAY) and Cindy Summers, will be recognized on the field at halftime of the contest after being inducted into the USA Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday morning.

Jaguar fans are encouraged to wear blue, as USA will wear its navy jerseys and pants in this contest.

Demetre Baker posted the first 100-yard game by a Jag running back in 2012 last weekend in USA’s 38-24 loss at league-leading Louisiana-Monroe, carrying 14 times for 115 yards; that included a 61-yard dash on the team’s first scoring drive, the longest play from scrimmage this season.

Metheny also supplied the Jaguars’ longest pass play of the year on their final possession that produced points with a 48-yard completion to Greg Hollinger.  The junior quarterback amassed 226 yards of total offense against the Warhawks, completing 21-of-41 attempts for 211 yards and adding 15 yards on the ground.

The trio of Jeremé Jones, Bryant Lavender and Gabe Loper each recorded multiple receptions in the ULM game, with Jones posting a USA season-high seven catches for 62 yards and two scores.  Lavender added six catches and Loper had three including one for a 23-yard pick up as USA finished the night with 360 yards while averaging 5.2 yards per snap.

Baker stands fourth in the Sun Belt with 68.9 yards per outing, and Metheny is 10th in the league in both total (132 ypg) and passing (123.1 ypg) offense.  Jones has 25 catches for 285 yards to pace the squad in both categories, and he has scored five touchdowns to tie the school season record as well.

The Jags held ULM below 200 yards in the second half last time out, giving up a total of 420 in the contest, as the unit ranks third in the SBC surrendering 368.5 yards per outing.

Enrique Williams collected a game-high 11 stops against the Warhawks — his third game in a row with 10 or more tackles — and Jake Johnson added nine with two behind the line of scrimmage.  With 77 tackles, the latter leads the league with 9.63 per game, while the former is on top of the statistical rankings in conference-only contests averaging more than 10 stops against league foes.

Johnson has recorded 10½ stops behind the line of scrimmage, ranking second in the conference with 1.31 per outing, with Pat Moore and Alex Page standing second and third, respectively, in sacks — the two have combined for 9½, with Page’s five the second-highest total in the SBC as well as the most posted in school history.

Golden Panther quarterback Jake Medlock has completed 126-of-216 pass attempts for 1,710 yards and nine scores despite missing two-and-a-half contests due to an injury.  Backup E.J. Hilliard is completing 68.3 percent (43-of-63) of his attempts for 419 yards, but has three interceptions against two touchdowns.

Wayne Times paces the team’s receivers with 49 catches for 471 yards, while Willis Wright is averaging 23.7 yards per reception with a team-high 474 yards.  Kedrick Rhodes and Darian Mallory have supplied 409 and 344 yards, respectively, on the ground, helping FIU average 140 per contest rushing.

Johnathan Cyprien leads the team with 74 tackles — he’s broken up three passes and intercepted two others as well — with Winston Fraser collecting 66 stops and Jordan Hunt 55.  Ten of Tourek Williams’ 32 total tackles have come behind the line, and Greg Hickman has added six stops for loss.

The Golden Panthers’ last three games have been decided in the final moments.  Middle Tennessee scored a touchdown with 36 seconds remaining on Oct. 13 for a 34-30 win in Miami, while the following week Troy kicked a field goal with 11 seconds to go for a 38-37 come-from-behind win.  Last week against Western Kentucky, FIU advanced to the Hilltopper 21-yard line before time expired in a 14-6 loss.

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—