MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football team's most recent outing last Saturday — a 52-45 win over Idaho on Homecoming weekend — was a tale of two halves.

After being shut out for nearly 29 minutes before the intermission the Jaguars (4-4, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) posted 45 points after the break, resulting in the largest comeback in program history after the Vandals led by as many as 24 points in the second quarter.

At the same time that afternoon Louisiana-Lafayette (4-4, 3-1 SBC) was fashioning a rally of its own, getting field goals of 49 and 21 yards from Stevie Artigue in the final 16½ minutes to defeat Georgia State, 23-21, picking up its first road win of the season in the process.

Both squads will try to carry that momentum forward in a match-up with potential postseason bowl implications when the Ragin' Cajuns visit the Jags on Thursday.  Kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium is slated for 6:30 p.m., with the contest to be broadcast nationally on ESPNU and accessible for free worldwide via the iHeartRadio app.

Entering play, USA and ULL are two of five teams in the league with a record at or above .500; both schools have lost to Arkansas State — currently 5-0 in conference play, the last undefeated squad remaining — and have yet to face 4-1 Appalachian State.

Xavier Johnson played a key role in the Jaguar comeback, running back the second half kickoff 100 yards for a score before clinching the victory with a 61-yard touchdown run with just over five minutes remaining in the contest.  The sophomore finished with a school game record 289 all-purpose yards, including his third 100-yard rushing effort of the season, and currently leads USA with 651 yards on the ground and 901 all-purpose yards to rank among the top 10 in the Sun Belt in both categories.

Blake Dees also contributed, posting a school-record 20 total stops while forcing a fumble that Devon Earl picked up and ran back 57 yards for a score to draw the Jags within three points late in the third quarter; for his efforts, Dees was selected the conference's Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week.  He paces USA with 83 tackles in eight outings, and with three forced fumbles the senior stands among the top three in both in the SBC statistical rankings.

The Jaguar offense has recorded 400 or more yards in back-to-back contests, and is averaging more than 31 points per game in conference action.  Tyreis Thomas has gained 266 yards rushing in SBC play to go along with Johnson's 331, helping USA run for more than 185 per contest against league foes, while six of Gerald Everett's nine touchdowns have come in conference games; the latter is working on a streak of six straight outings with a score, tied for second longest in program history.  Cody Clements accounted for four touchdowns against the Vandals, two rushing and two passing, and has thrown for 1,707 yards and 12 scores overall this year.

Kalen Jackson and DeMarion Harper are both averaging at least one tackle for loss per contest in the Sun Belt — the former has 5½, the latter four — with Jackson posting 30 total stops and two interceptions as well.  On the year, Jeremy Reaves also ranks among the top 10 in the conference with 63 tackles, with Roman Buchanan supplying 52 stops and Earl 45.

Aleem Sunanon has made at least one field goal in each of the Jags' first eight games, converting 11-of-14 attempts in all, and in addition to leading the team with 56 points the junior is averaging 44.7 yards per punt.

The Ragin' Cajuns are averaging 402.6 yards per game but allowing 400.9, and have surrendered 30½ points per contest while scoring 29.2.

Elijah McGuire ranks in the top five in the SBC in rushing and all-purpose yards having gained 749 yards on the ground and 274 on pass receptions, and his 11 total touchdowns are among the top three in the league as well.  Last fall, in a 19-9 ULL win over the Jaguars in Lafayette, McGuire finished with 229 all-purpose yards despite being held to just 23 yards rushing through three quarters.

Al Riles (32-340, 3 TDs), Gabe Fuselier (27-268, 1 TD) and Jamal Robinson (23-370, 3 TDs) have all caught at least 20 balls for more than 250 yards, though ULL has used a pair of quarterbacks.  Jalen Nixon (74-of-140, 7 TDs, 810 yds pass; 52-368, 4 TDs rush) became just the second Ragin' Cajun ever to run and pass for more than 200 yards in a game against ASU, but last week Brooks Haack (63-of-104, 726 yds, 2 TDs) got the start and completed 18-of-25 attempts for 162 yards.

Dominique Tovell has seven sacks among his 11 tackles for loss — those figures rank first and second, respectively, in the SBC — while recording 46 total stops for the ULL defense, although Tracy Walker leads the squad with 58 stops to go along with four passes broken up.  Savion Brown has been credited with a team-best five passes defensed and recorded two of the Ragin' Cajuns' four interceptions on the season, while Zachary DeGrange has recorded 31 total tackles, four stops behind the line and four passes broken up.

"They're obviously very good," Jaguar head coach Joey Jones explained.  "They have big guys on the offensive and defensive line.  They have recruited well, and have some size.  Elijah McGuire is their best player on offense, he was voted the best player in the league last year.  We have to stop him, he's very explosive.  Defensively, they are big and very sound.  Our receivers are going to have to do a great job of getting off of man coverage and the offensive line has to do a great job of protecting our quarterback because they don't bring pressure."

Tickets can be purchased on-line at tickets.southalabama.edu, by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872) or by visiting the Mitchell Center Box Office in person between 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the cost $20 for tickets on either sideline and $10 for end zone seats.

The Ladd-Peebles Stadium parking lot will be available for those interested in tailgating starting at 8 a.m., with gates slated to open at 4:30 p.m. and the "Jag Prowl" — the team's entrance to the stadium, which runs through the South end zone tailgating area — expected to begin 15 minutes later.  The stadium ticket office will begin selling on site at 3:30 p.m.

Jaguar fans are allowed to bring reasonably sized chair backs into the facility.

Shuttles, which costs $2.50 per person to use with children five and under able to ride free of charge, will start running at 2:30 p.m. from the Shoppes at Bel Air located behind J.C. Penney, and will continue providing round-trip service until 90 minutes after the conclusion of the contest.

The home team has won each of the first three meetings in the series between the two schools, including USA's 30-8 victory on Dec. 7, 2013 in the season finale that made the Jaguars eligible for a postseason bowl in their first full-fledged year of NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision membership.

Can the Jags make it four straight wins for the host school when they face Louisiana-Lafayette Thursday night?  That will likely depend on which squad can best capitalize on the momentum built last time out.

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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