MOBILE, Ala. – Having dropped two straight games to open November, University of South Alabama head coach Joey Jones and the rest of the football program might not be excited to rush back on the field.  But the Jaguar mentor is taking a different tact with Texas State coming to Mobile for USA's final Sun Belt Conference contest of the season.

"I'm looking forward to this week; it's a big week for our football program," he commented.  "Our players understand what's at stake here, but the biggest thing for me is this is a real-life example of what you need to do when you get kicked in the gut.  I've watched our players the past couple of days, and I know how we will respond.  I'm looking forward to this ballgame."

What's at stake potentially is one of three guaranteed bids to a postseason bowl game available to Sun Belt schools, with both the Jags and Bobcats searching for the first in their program's history.  Each enter play 5-4 overall, with USA carrying a 4-3 league mark and TSU at 3-2 in conference action.

Available tickets can be obtained in three ways for Saturday's match-up, which will kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 6:30 p.m.  Individuals may go to tickets.southalabama.edu on the web, call (251) 461-1USA (1872) or visit the Mitchell Center Box Office from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Thursday.  Sideline tickets can be purchased for $20, with end-zone seats available for $10.

Tailgating in the stadium parking lot is slated to begin at 8 a.m., with the box office window scheduled to open an hour later for those looking to purchase tickets on site.  USA's arrival, the Jag Prowl, will start at 4:15 p.m., and stadium gates are set to open at 4:30 p.m.

Shuttles providing round-trip service — at a cost of $2.50 per person — will begin running at 2:30 p.m. from the Bel Air Mall South parking lot until 90 minutes after the conclusion of the game.

In addition to recognizing the Jaguars' Sun Belt Conference champion men's cross country and soccer squads, USA will also be celebrating Hall of Fame weekend; four individuals — Ronnie Powell (baseball, assistant coach, 1987-06), Henry "Dock" Richardson (baseball, 1965-68), Shaun Rothuysen (men's soccer, 1993-95) and Virgil Stanescu (men's basketball, 1999-01) — are slated to be inducted earlier in the day as the Class of 2014.

For those not in attendance, the game will be available nationally on ESPN3 as well as via the iHeartRadio platform.

The Jaguars come into play ranked second in the conference in scoring (23.44 ppg), third in pass (201.33 ypg) and fourth in total defense (377.33 ypg).  Theo Rich has been credited with at least one tackle for loss in five of the last six outings, standing sixth in the SBC in the category with 1.11 per game as well as third with nearly a sack per contest.  Terrell Brigham — who has already equaled a season career high with 71 stops — is tied for ninth in the Sun Belt in tackles per game, and he's also one four Jags among the top 10 in the conference in passes defended sitting tied for fifth with seven in nine contests; Montell Garner (first, 1.00 pg), Maleki Harris (ninth, 0.75 pg) and Qudarius Ford (10th, 0.71 pg) are the others.

USA has rushed for more than 200 yards in all four of its SBC victories this fall, averaging just under 185 yards per game on the year.  Kendall Houston paces the squad with 450 and a score on 86 attempts, and Xavier Johnson has added 366 while carrying 66 times — both are averaging better than five yards per run.  Shavarez Smith enters play seventh in the league in receiving yards per game, having caught 36 passes for 531 yards and six scores — all team-leading totals — while Brandon Bridge is eighth in both passing yards (182.13 pg) and total offense (214.38 pg) in the Sun Belt.

Texas State is fourth in the league averaging 444.22 yards and 31.89 points per contest, and is gaining 227.33 yards per outing on the ground.  Robert Lowe (120-633) and Terrence Franks (86-567) have combined to post 1,200 yards, with each scoring seven touchdowns while ranking among the top 10 in the conference in rushing.  Quarterback Tyler Jones stands third in total offense, averaging 257.44 yards per outing having completed 181-of-279 (64.9%) attempts for 1,911 yards and 17 scores while gaining 406 to go along with fourth touchdowns on the ground.

Bradley Miller (34-344, 1 TD) paces a quartet of Bobcats who have caught a minimum of 20 passes and reached the end zone at least once this fall; Ben Ijah (23-237, 3 TDs), Brandon Smith (23-232, 1 TD) and Jafus Gaines (22-289, 4 TDs) are the others.

David Mayo headlines a defense that is surrendering nearly 28 points and 440 yards per game with 129 total tackles, leading the country with 14.33 per contest.  Michael Odiari has been credited with 10½ stops behind the line and 7½ sacks — he's in the top five in the Sun Belt in both categories — among his 60 tackles, while Craig Mager has defended eight passes and Germod Williams is tied for the league lead with four interceptions.

"They are a much-improved team.  [Head] Coach [Dennis] Franchione has done a great job with them," stated Jones.  "Offensively they can run it and throw it.  They have a quarterback who can do both; he was a freshman last year and he didn't throw quite as much.  But now that he has a year of experience, he is throwing the ball more and they can trust him doing it. They are very effective on offense.

"Defensively, Coach John Thompson has been around a long time.  He coached at Alabama and Arkansas State, and he knows what he's doing.  I have coached against him for about three years now, so we know what we're getting into there.  They are very well-coached, so it's going to be a good ballgame.  It's two very similar teams, and I think it's going to be a knock-down, drag-out."

In last year's meeting, the first ever between the two schools, Jason Dann converted a 41-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to lift the Bobcats to a 33-31 win in San Marcos.  But it's not revenge that's on Jones' mind, it's the possibilities a sixth win could provide.

"On the positive side, here we are in a game that's going to determine whether or not we can go to a bowl," he observed.  "We've put ourselves in a position to do that.  Had we lost some other games earlier in the year, we might be out of the race.  But we're in the race right now to get into a bowl game, and it's exciting to know that we can win this one and get to our first ever."

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).

—USA—