MOBILE, Ala. – If there is any lingering disappointment for the University of South Alabama football team, the Jaguars will have little time to dwell on it.  That's because the two stated goals of the program in the preseason — a Sun Belt Conference championship and postseason bowl victory — are still alive.

The first step in reaching that objective comes on Saturday, when the Jags and Georgia Southern meet in the league opener for both.  The contest, which will be broadcast across the country on ESPN3, kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.  It's the first time since the start of the 2012 campaign that USA will play back-to-back home contests, while it marks the third time in as many seasons that the Jaguars will begin conference action at home.

The stadium parking lot will open at 8 a.m. for those interested in tailgating, with gates set to unlock at 4:30 p.m.  Tickets for the game still remain, and can be purchased by visiting tickets.southalabama.edu, calling (251) 461-1USA (1872) or visiting the Mitchell Center Box Office from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Thursday; the cost is $20 for sideline seats and $10 to sit in the end-zone sections.

Shuttles will begin running from Bel Air Mall South parking lot at 2:30 p.m., with the cost $2.50 per person for round-trip fare, and the team's arrival — the Jag Prowl — is slated for 4:15 p.m. on the South side of the stadium.

Both squads enter play coming off losses to schools from "Power Five" conferences last weekend, after Mississippi State defeated USA (1-1) in front of a program-record 38,129 in Mobile and GS (1-2) fell to Georgia Tech on the road.  While MSU broke open the contest with 21 points in a five-minute stretch of the second quarter against the Jaguars, the Eagles came back from a 35-10 halftime deficit to take a three-point advantage in the opening minutes of the final period before the Yellow Jackets scored with 23 seconds remaining in regulation for the victory.

"It was a great atmosphere, one I will never forget," Jaguar head coach Joey Jones said of last weekend's game.  "I told the team we had great effort, it was off the charts offensively, defensively and on special teams.  We were facing a team that was probably a little bigger than us — I think most people probably saw that if they were at the game.  You have to play very disciplined football and not make any mental mistakes when you play a team like that if you want to win, so it is up to us to fix that; it is about us."

Maleki Harris was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after posting a game- and career-best 14 stops to go along with a pair of forced fumbles against the Bulldogs, tying him for the team lead with 18 tackles through two contests with Davin Hawkins, who recorded nine for the second straight week.  Terrell Brigham also collected nine tackles — the senior is the only other Jag in double figures in the category on the year with 12 — and broke up two passes, as he enters play tied for the lead nationally with 2.50 defended per game.

Seniors Jerome McClain and Montell Garner were credited with a season-best six stops in the MSU contest, and Roman Buchanan had five leaving the trio with nine on the season.  Jesse Kelley supplied a career-high-tying five tackles last time out and Theo Rich chipped in with four, including two for loss and the team's only sack of Dak Prescott.

USA enters play second in the SBC allowing 24 points per outing and third giving up an average of 176 yards per game on the ground.  The unit is allowing 395.5 yards per contest overall.

The Jaguars will be facing a unit that leads the league in rushing (364.3 ypg) and scoring (48 ppg) offense, while also standing second with an average of 550 yards per game.  Quarterback Kevin Ellison shared SBC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors after going 7-of-10 passing for 164 and carrying nine times for 107 more against GT, on the year he is averaging 215.3 yards of total offense per contest and has accounted for four scores.  Matt Breida paces the squad with 258 yards and five touchdowns rushing, with Zach Walker (11-156) and Kentrellis Showers (7-216, 3 TDs) leading the Eagles in catches and receiving yards, respectively.

"They are very good offensively, they can run the football extremely well and have good athletes," observed Jones.  "We have to be smart and disciplined on defense because they are very good at what they do.  It's not going to be a tough game schematically, we just have to line up and run our assignments; that's what it's going to come down to, because they are a very good offensive football team.  They will spread it out and throw it some when they have to, but they are mainly going to run the football."

The Jaguar offense recorded 288 of its 345 yards through the air against the Bulldogs, with Jeremé Jones leading the way after catching seven passes for 76 yards.  Wes Saxton added six receptions for 30 yards after being held without a catch in USA's season-opening win at Kent State the previous weekend.  Shavarez Smith and Danny Woodson II have caught seven passes apiece in two contests, while Marvin Shinn has had a reception for a gain of more than 20 yards in both outings.

Brandon Bridge is averaging 206 yards per game of total offense, with 364 of those coming while completing 36-of-64 pass attempts.  Jay Jones saw his streak of three straight 100-yard rushing efforts come to an end in the MSU game, but the senior still paces the Jags with 113 yards and two scores in two contests, while Kendall Houston has added 64 yards and Bridge 48.

The Eagles surrendered 364 yards rushing, 536 overall and 28 first downs last weekend, with 385 of those yards coming before the intermission.  On the season, they are allowing an average of 431.7 yards and 25 points per outing, with Antwione Williams leading the unit with 20 stops; half of those came against the Yellow Jackets.  Jonathan Battles has recorded three tackles for loss including a pair of sacks, while Nick Wright has broken up three passes.

The Jaguars began Sun Belt action last season with a 31-24 victory over Western Kentucky, scoring in the final two minutes to overcome an 11-point halftime deficit, going on to finish with a 4-3 mark in league play.

Last year's USA team proved resilient, staring down a 3-6 mark and responding by winning three straight contests to close out the season eligible to participate in a postseason bowl game.  In order to achieve that status again, the Jaguars will have to bounce back from their first disappointment of the fall.

Heading into this week's match-up with the Eagles, Jones is not worried about his program doing just that.

"If you're a competitor then you are going to bounce back, and our guys are," he explained.  "It was a game we would have loved to have won; we gave it our best effort and it didn't work out.  That's an SEC team that is pretty darn good, but I told the team Sunday we are going to move forward; that's the way life is.  One thing you learn in this game is you better have a short-term memory, you can't dwell on the past.  If you win a big game, you can't let that affect you either.

"So we just have to keep moving forward; we have a tough schedule ahead of us and tough teams to play.  It's a week-by-week thing for us, and we have to move on."

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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