MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones, linebacker Kalen Jackson and offensive lineman Joseph Scelfo met with the media Monday to recap last week's Arkansas State game, as well as preview this weekend's contest with Texas State.

South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones
On Texas State:
"With Texas State being 1-4, if people think this is a game that we are just going to show up and win that's ridiculous.  With the teams they've played — Florida State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Southern Miss — they have had a tough schedule and a tough road.  They are very good on offense, but they lost their defensive coordinator a couple of weeks ago and are trying to fix things.  I know (head coach) Dennis Franchione very well, he's a great competitor who is going to have his team ready so we are looking forward to a great ballgame."

On how the team has handled the loss to Arkansas State:
"Any competitor is going to hurt when you lose.  But the thing I pull from is that we went to San Diego State, called timeout with three seconds left and our kicker comes through in the clutch to make a 46-yarder to tie the game and we beat them in overtime.  Then we go to Troy and face a hostile environment — the put the fence around their field and challenged us all week long — and late in the game, when it's fourth-and-one, we stop them.  We get the ball and it's fourth-and-two, we make it.
"We're not reinventing the wheel on how to win a ballgame; we've done that all year long.  I've tried to put it in perspective for them.  When you go through a season there are going to be times when you do make mistakes and lose ballgames, you saw that this weekend across the country."

On Cody Clements:
"He's fine.  As you can see, he loves to win and he doesn't want to let anybody down — that's what I like about him.  He is the ultimate competitor, you can win all day with him.  He cares about the team first and he wants to perform well, and when he doesn't he takes it upon himself.  That's not the truth, I'm going to take all the blame as the head coach, but he's a competitor and a winner and we have 100 percent confidence in him."

On the Texas State offense:
"They are as diverse on offense as any team that we've played; by that I mean they run a lot of schemes and that they are unique in what they do.  They will run a lot of play-action pass where their quarterback will jump up and throw the ball at the last second, he gets to the line of scrimmage and there will be a running back or a receiver or a tight end running down the field and if your defensive back loses his eyes and they get it to that particular guy it's a touchdown or a large gain.  They hurt us with that last year, and scored a 40-yarder against Louisiana-Lafayette the other night doing the same thing.
"They keep you on your toes.  They are very well coached with very good quarterback."

On the USA running game:
"If you look at the games we've won we have run the ball well.  We didn't run the ball well against Arkansas State.  In the fourth quarter when you are ahead you have to run the football to run the clock, and we didn't do that.  But we ran the ball well against San Diego State and against Troy, and that translated into wins, so we know that we have to be able to run the football.  Our coaches know that and our players know that."

Linebacker Kalen Jackson
On this weekend's game with Texas State:
"We have used these few extra days to get healthy. They (Texas State) do a lot of things similar to Arkansas State, but we will be better prepared this week."

On bouncing back from the ASU game:
"We will use the last game as a learning experience, because we played well for three quarters but we have to finish. We have to finish as a team. Everybody has to do their job, and I think we will put it together as a team this week and do great things."

On Texas State's offense:
"They use a lot of different formations to try and confuse you. They just try to mess with your mental state, but with the couple of days that we had off we should be able to adjust and make sure they don't out-think us. We are just going to play our game – play South Alabama football and go downhill and make plays."

On things you have to do to correctly to finish and win a game:
"From a defensive standpoint, we are going to have to focus. That is the main part of the job. We just have to know that we are never out of a game – a game is never won too early. You just have to finish everything you do."

Offensive lineman Joseph Scelfo
On this weekend's game with Texas State:
"We feel pretty good. We have used these two days of extra practice to our advantage scheme-wise. They (Texas State) had some trouble with their defensive coordinator, so they changed a lot of things defensively. We have used this week to really get a feel for them."

On bouncing back from the ASU game:
"It was definitely frustrating the day after the game, but we realize that we have to play South Alabama football for four quarters. As an offense, we have to produce more throughout the whole game and not just for a quarter or two. We just have to get back on track, and we are; we have put that behind us. We played hard, but we just have to come out with a win. We have to put that much more work into it during the week for preparation on Saturdays."

On having an off weekend following last Tuesday's contest:
"I would have preferred to have played Saturday, but you have to take advantage of it when it comes. You get extra days of practice, and getting healthy is a big thing too. We just have to get fully healthy on both sides of the ball and get ready to go for Texas State this weekend."

On Texas State:
"They return some guys from last year, so a lot of us up front offensively remember them. We watched the film from last year, as well as some from this year. With the change in defensive coordinator, it kind of changed up their scheme a little."

On things you have to do to correctly to finish and win a game:
"You have to be disciplined all game because it will pay off. Every yard you can gain is critical. And you just have to play physical football the whole game. Somebody is going to give, that's what the game is up front. The main thing is, (offensive coordinator) Coach (Bryant) Vincent says it best, 'It doesn't matter what the score is at halftime.' That's one thing we have focused on this year. It doesn't matter what the score is going in at halftime, it's how we finish."

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