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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football team entered Saturday night's match-up with Louisiana-Lafayette with a mission in mind.  And it wasn't just to make sure 28 departing seniors would be honored properly.

"Our guys had a look in their eyes, they wanted to get to a bowl.  That was one of our goals this season," explained Jaguar head coach Joey Jones after the contest.  "It was the mindset ever since we were 3-6."

A pair of seniors on the defensive side of the ball help make that happen.  Enrique Williams recorded eight tackles and Pat Moore had a career-high seven with two for loss as the Jags earned a 30-8 Sun Belt Conference football victory over the Ragin' Cajuns at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. USA limited the Cajuns to just 95 yards through three quarters and 212 overall — the lowest allowed by the defense as well as the fewest ULL has gained this fall — while recording a season-high four takeaways.

With the win, the Jaguars (6-6, 4-3 Sun Belt) became eligible to compete in a bowl in their first season at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level with their third straight victory while defeating league co-champion ULL (8-4, 5-2 SBC) in the process.

"My hat's off to our defense," Jones said.  "They have played great all year, but especially these last three games — they have played lights out.  I'm really proud of those guys."

Williams paced the team for the sixth time this year, recording one tackle for loss and also breaking up a pass.  Moore was credited with a forced fumble and quarterback hurry as well, while Maleki Harris posted six stops, and Bryson James and Jerome McClain had five apiece.  Qudarius Ford and Charles Watson both intercepted passes, Charles Harris and Romelle Jones recovered fumbles, and Clifton Crews, Jesse Kelley and Alex Page each collected a sack to help the Jaguars surrender the fewest yards ever against an NCAA FBS opponent.

But it wasn't only the defense that sparked an early USA lead, special teams contributed as well as the Jags used a short field and two turnovers to build a 17-0 advantage in the opening quarter.  ULL, with the ball at its own-49 and facing fourth and six, opted to attempt a fake punt; Jalen Nixon's pass was broken up by Maleki Harris, giving USA possession in Ragin' Cajun territory.  Six plays and 25 yards later, Aleem Sunanon put the Jags up 3-0 with 40-yard field goal with just under six minutes left, the 10th in a row that the redshirt freshman has made.

Kendall Houston would score two touchdowns in a 76-second span, extending the lead to 17 points.  The first came from one yard after one play after Jay Jones carried for 22, the second was a four-yard score that came two snaps after a 24-yard completion from Ross Metheny to Wes Saxton.  After Sunanon's field goal, Romelle Jones recovered an Alonzo Harris fumble on the Ragin' Cajuns' initial play of the ensuing possession, and after Houston crossed the goal line the first time James forced a fumble on the kickoff that Charles Harris recovered for USA.

"It's pretty easy to move the ball when you get the ball at the 25 on the plus end every time you get the ball," commented ULL head coach Mark Hudspeth.  "The fake punt didn't work (for us) and we had a fumble and then an interception.  When you give a team like South Alabama great field position, it's not hard to move the ball."

Jay Jones recorded his second straight 100-yard effort, posting a career-high 105 yards on 19 carries, while Saxton paced all players with five receptions for 88 yards.

Sunanon tacked on a 19-yard field goal with 10-and-a-half minutes to go in the opening half, capping a 12-play, 83-yard march that took more than five-and-a-half minutes off the clock.  Metheny completed three passes for first downs on the possession, first hitting Bryant Lavender for 14 yards; he added a six-yard pass to Jeremé Jones on third-and-one at the UL-23, and two plays later connected with Saxton for a 11-yard pick up.

Metheny was 13-of-23 passing for 171 yards, and he rushed 16 times for 46 more, helping the Jags post 363 total yards.  USA held the ball for nearly 36 minutes, including over 20 in the second half.

A third Sunanon field goal — from 20 yards out with less than a minute left before the intermission — ended another drive of 10 plays, while with 16 seconds remaining Ford stepped in front of a Brooks Haack pass and returned the interception 42 yards to make it 30-0 at the half.  It was the first pick run back for a score by USA since Michael Wilson had a 75-yard return in a win over Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 2, 2010.

"Offensively, when we had those opportunities to punch it in we did," explained Joey Jones.  "It was just a total team effort — offensively, defensively and special teams.  We kind of got conservative in the second half because I didn't want to turn it over."

ULL avoided the shutout when Nixon found Ricky Johnson for a 47-yard touchdown pass with just under five minutes left in the game.

"We're a confident football team, and we know we're a good football team," Metheny explained.  "We just went and beat the conference champions, 30-8.  Three of our conference losses are by four points.  We've been playing at a high level; (the difference is) just a play here and there."

"For me, it was like a revenge thing," added Page.  "Last year we got embarrassed by them, and this year, they were just as good as last year.  They won the conference (regular season title) this year.  To knock them off shows how good we really are.  Earlier in the year, with a couple of wins, we would be in their position.  It means a lot to knock them off."

Justin Anderson's 12 total tackles led all players, with Boris Anyama collecting nine — including two behind the line — and Sean Thomas posting eight for the Ragin Cajuns.  Offensively, Harris carried 15 times for 60 yards, but three ULL quarterbacks combined to complete only 9-of-26 attempts for 143 yards.

The Cajuns, who had already accepted a bid to play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl last week, were without the services of starting quarterback Terrance Broadway.

The Jaguars' three-game winning streak to close out the regular season is their longest since claiming the first 19 contests in program history.

"I wish we had playoffs because we're pretty hot right now," observed Jones.  "We're 6-6 and bowl eligible, and there has to be somebody out there that would take this team in a bowl.  If you look at our story and how we came back at the end of the year in our first year in Division I, we would be a great story for some bowl somewhere.  There are some bowls that are going to miss out if they don't take us because we're playing really well right now.

"I'm so proud of our team and where we are.  We're so much better this year, and three or four times better than we were last year.  We've really improved. Our program is going in the right direction."

And if it was USA's final outing of the year, Jones is appreciate of the efforts of the seniors honored prior to the game, a group that included 15 who have been members of the program since it first stepped on the field in 2009.  "Their footprint is going to be forever remembered. They have set a standard for where South Alabama is going, and they can remember that the rest of their lives."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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