MOBILE, Ala. – Many coaches, regardless of sport, preach to their teams that the next game is the biggest of the year.  But coming off back-to-back losses — including a 28-6 defeat at the hands of Georgia Southern in its Sun Belt Conference opener last weekend — there is truth behind those words when University of South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones uses them.

If the Jaguars (1-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) want to hold on to hopes of claiming the league crown at the end of the season, it is imperative to pick up a win Saturday when they visit Idaho (0-3, 0-1 SBC).

Kickoff for the contest in Moscow, which will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3, is scheduled for 4 p.m. (CDT). 

"It's obviously a big game this week," he explained Monday at the program's weekly press conference.  "Idaho is scoring a lot of points, and really playing better defense as I have watched them throughout the year.  Our focus is on that.  I told the guys yesterday [Sunday] that last week doesn't mean anything.  We have to move forward; that's the way life is.  I wish we would have played a little better.  We did some really good things and did some bad things, but our kids are playing their tails off.

"They're playing with great effort.  We're going to fix some things this week and get ready to play."

Once again, senior linebacker Maleki Harris is contributing to the USA defense in numerous ways.  He collected 10 stops last time out against the Eagles — the first time in his career he has posted double digits in the category in consecutive outings — including two for a loss and also intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter.  He enters the match-up with the Vandals ranked sixth in the conference in tackles with a team-leading 9.3 per game and stands third in the league with 1.33 stops behind the line of scrimmage per contest; Harris also has two forced fumbles and a pass defensed to his credit in the Jags' first three outings of the season.

"I'm listening to my coaches, they are putting me in a good position," he said.  "They are giving us a good game plan each week, and they have us prepared for every game.  It's just a matter of going out there and making sure I do everything they coach me on and just follow what they tell me to do."

Terrell Brigham has added 23 tackles and a league-best 5 passes defensed for the Jaguars, including recording a career-high-tying 11 stops to lead the squad in the Georgia Southern game, while Jerome McClain and Theo Rich are pacing the unit up front with 14 and 13 total tackles, respectively.  In the secondary, Roman Buchanan has supplied 14 stops and Montell Garner 11, with the latter also adding an interception and three other passes broken up.

Through three outings, USA is allowing 403.67 yards and 25.33 points per game, ranking as high as fourth in the Sun Belt statistics giving up 174.67 yards per contest passing.

"I feel like our defense is as good, if not better, than last year; we're playing at a higher level," observed Harris.  "I feel like our secondary is playing better than they were last year.  Our linebackers are playing well, and our defensive line is talented and has depth.  Defensively, I feel like we're on pace to pick up where we left off last season."

The Jags will look to get on track offensively against an Idaho squad that is surrendering nearly 40 points and 510 yards per game, which includes allowing more than 220 yards per contest on the ground and 285 through the air after suffering a 36-24 defeat at Ohio last weekend.  Jayshawn Jordan and Marc Millan lead the team with 26 and 25 tackles, respectively, with Millan also second on the squad with four stops behind the line, one fewer than Quayshawne Buckley.

The Vandals' offense is led by redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Linehan, who has completed almost 60 percent of his passes (86-of-144) for 1,039 yards and eight scores — he leads the Sun Belt in both passing average and total offense.  Joshua McCain has caught 20 balls for 371 yards, accounting for five touchdowns as well, to top the league in receiving yards per contest and stand second in catches per outing, with Deon Watson (19-211, 1 TD), Justin Podrabsky (17-145, 1 TD) and Richard Montgomery (16-207, 1 TD) also adding double-digit reception totals thus far on the year.

Jerrel Brown has gained 168 yards rushing and is averaging 4.4 yards per attempt, but Idaho enters play averaging just 75.67 yards per game on the ground.

"Offensively, their quarterback is a very talented player," Jones commented.  "He stands in the pocket, has a good arm and understands where to go with the ball.  Defensively, they have improved; they were giving up some points early in the year, but their coaching staff has done a good job of simplifying their scheme.  They are much more sound right now.

"It's going to be a tough ball game, it always is," he continued.  "This conference has a lot of good teams, and we have to be ready for each one.  But we have to get better ourselves and concentrate on that, more so than concentrating on Idaho."

USA comes into the weekend with an average of 10.67 points and 329.33 yards per contest after having scored nine points in a pair of home games the last two weeks.  Jay Jones and Kendall Houston have rushed for 150 and 102 yards, respectively, while Jeremé Jones (12-107) and Shavarez Smith (11-139, 2 TDs) are the team's leading receivers.  Brandon Bridge has thrown for 513 yards and run for another 63 as well.

Against the Eagles, Smith matched a season high with four receptions and set another after collecting 69 yards; that included a 28-yard touchdown reception from Bridge with the Jags facing fourth-and-six late in the second quarter.  It's the fifth time in the last seven games that the senior has scored.

In his first season as the Jaguars' punter, Brandon McKee is averaging 40.72 yards per kick and has had nine downed inside the opposition's 20-yard line.  T.J. Glover ran back two kicks for 55 yards in the GS contest — highlighted by a 38-yard effort in the second quarter, the longest for USA this fall — and added a pair of carries for 16 more to become the first player in program history with 3,000 all-purpose yards in a career.

A win for the Jags would be their second straight on the road in Sun Belt play, and their third in a row away from home overall, dating back to a 38-17 victory at Georgia State last November, which would be big for the program as it looks to even its record.

Regardless of the results, however, the contest is of the utmost importance to USA because it's the next one.  All one has to do is listen to the Jaguars' head coach to understand that.

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—