MOBILE, Ala. – Coming off a loss to the defending conference champions with less than a week to prepare for the team's biggest rival might be of great concern to many college football coaches.  The University of South Alabama's Joey Jones is not in that group.

"We had a long meeting Sunday, I talked to them about where we were as a team," he said.  "We've probably played the toughest schedule through the first six games in our conference.  There hasn't been a game that we've been favored in this season other than the Nicholls State game and we've come through with a 3-3 record.  My challenge to the team was to be 1-0 each week for the rest of the year.  We're going to do everything we can to win this ball game and move on to the next one.  We have a chance to have a great year, we're a good football team.  We've played an extremely tough schedule and our guys know that, we could be anywhere from 1-5 to 5-1.  We've had a lot of close games, played teams tough and won some close games.  Our guys are continuing to fight through and I like where our minds are at right now.

"Obviously we have five days to prepare for our game against Troy," he continued.  "In some ways I feel it's better to have the short turnaround, I've never been high on having two weeks to prepare for a game; I think you can over-think things.  When you have four days to prepare, you get what you need to done in a simplistic way.  I think when we've played the best has been when we've had the simple game plans.  I think this is a good thing for us."

The Jaguars and Trojans will "Battle For The Belt" Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, with the match-up available across the country on ESPNU as well as the iHeartRadio app.  The game can be also heard locally on WRKH 96.1 FM and 99.5 The Jag.

While the Jags' 3-3 record includes victories over Mississippi State and then No. 19 San Diego State, USA is 0-3 in Sun Belt Conference action after falling 17-7 at Arkansas State Saturday night.  Troy — now receiving votes in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls — is 5-1 overall and on top of the league standings with a 3-0 SBC mark, carrying a four-game winning streak into the match-up following a 31-21 home win over Georgia State last weekend.

But in the series its South currently with a winning streak, having taken the last two contests between the two programs.  Gerald Everett scored twice and Kalen Jackson had a pair of interceptions as the Jaguars limited the Trojans to only 265 yards in a 24-18 decision in Troy last fall.  In the last meeting in Mobile in 2014, USA ran for 296 yards — Kendall Houston and Xavier Johnson both had more than 100 — in building a 24-6 advantage through three quarters before going on to win by two touchdowns.

"Troy is a much improved team," Jones said.  "Defensively is where they have really stood out.  They play good team defense and play hard.  Offensively, they have a really good quarterback in [Brandon] Silvers from our area down here, he throws the ball really well.  They also have a big running back in [Jordan] Chunn.  They have changed a little bit of what they do offensively, they aren't necessarily the big-play team that they might have been in the past.  They are kind of a ball-control team now, they really want those 15- to 20-play drives to try to eat up the clock; they're doing a good job of that in their run game and their quick throws from their quarterback."

The match-up on Thursday night pits the top-ranked offense in the Sun Belt against the conference's best defense.  The Trojans enter play averaging 39.2 points — nearly 10 more than the next team on the list, Georgia Southern — and 464.3 yards per outing, while the Jags are giving up 363 yards per game; that included holding ASU to just 297 total yards last time out.

USA's defense is the only unit in the SBC with three individuals averaging at least one tackle for loss.  Randy Allen leads not only the team but the conference with 11 after posting 4½ against the Red Wolves, with Jackson and Roman Buchanan supplying eight and six, respectively.  Jackson has 48 total stops and Buchanan 43 to pace the squad, with Darrell Songy adding 41, Jeremy Reaves 37, and Allen and Nigel Lawrence credited with 36.

Songy led all players with a career-best 14 tackles at ASU, Allen finished the night with 13 and Lawrence made 12 stops as well to give South three defenders with 10 or more tackles for the first time since November 2013.

Chunn has gained 673 yards and scored five times this fall for the Trojans, as he is atop the SBC rankings with 112.2 yards per game rushing.  Deondre Douglas (38-555, 3 TDs) and Emanuel Thompson (35-324, 4 TDs) are tied for first and third, respectively, in catches per contest, while Silvers is fifth in passing yards per game (239.8) and total offense (246.3) while completing 128-of-205 pass attempts for 1,439 yards and 14 scores.

Troy is second in the league in scoring defense allowing an average of 19.7 points per outing, also ranking among the top five in total defense giving up 383.5 yards per game; the Trojans are the only team in the league surrendering less than 100 yards per contest on the ground.  William Lloyd has 31 total tackles to lead the group, and Kris Weatherspoon has made 27 stops including 4½ behind the line.  Terris Lewis and Cedarius Rookard have been credited with 26 and 25 tackles, respectively, Jamal Stadom has 5½ stops for loss and Blace Brown is first in the league with four interceptions.

USA's offense is gaining just over 360 yards per game, with 261 of those coming via the pass.  Everett is in the top five in the Sun Belt in both catches and receiving yards per game having caught 31 balls for 518 yards and three scores — he became the first player in program history with more than 100 yards receiving in back-to-back outings after posting 125 at ASU — with Josh Magee (24-282, 2 TDs) seventh in the former category and Kevin Kutchera (18-327, 1 TD) seventh in the latter.  Johnson and Tyreis Thomas have rushed for 200 and 173 yards, respectively, with both reaching the end zone three times, while Dallas Davis stands third in the league in passing (255.2) and total (260) yards per game.

Tickets for the game — with the cost for sideline and end zone seats $25 and $20, respectively — are still available and can be obtained by visiting www.usajaguars.com online or contacting the USA Athletic Ticket Office at (251) 461-1USA (1872).  Game day ticket purchases can be made starting at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday at booths near Gates 1W and 3E.

Shuttles will be providing round-trip service from the Shoppes at Bel Air located behind J.C. Penney beginning at 2:30 p.m. and run until 90 minutes after the conclusion of the contest, with tickets available for only $2.50 and children five and under able to ride for free.

Those interested in tailgating will be able to access the Ladd-Peebles Stadium parking lot 8 a.m., with the "Jag Prowl" going through the lot starting from the Southeast corner of the facility at 4 p.m. when the team arrives on site.  The #Thursday Tailgate — featuring free food from 21 local vendors and a free concert performed by the country music band High Valley — gets underway at 5 p.m. behind the East stands.

The Jaguar Marching Band will also have a canned food drive to support Feeding the Gulf Coast, with the group accepting donations at each stadium entry gate from 4:30 p.m. until the conclusion of the opening quarter.  Individuals who contribute will receive a voucher for four general admission tickets to USA's regular-season finale at Ladd-Peebles Stadium against New Mexico State on Saturday, Dec. 3.

Looking to move on from its most recent performance, the South Alabama football team won't have to work hard to stay focused on its next opponent even if it has less time to prepare.  Rivalry games tend to have that effect.

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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