MOBILE, Ala. – With four games remaining in the regular season, one of the University of South Alabama football team's preseason goals is still well within reach.

Fresh off its first Sun Belt Conference win of the season last weekend, USA (4-4, 1-4 Sun Belt) will look to move one step closer towards earning a postseason bowl berth Saturday when the Jaguars travel to league foe Louisiana-Monroe (2-6, 1-3 Sun Belt).  Kick off between the two clubs is set for 4 p.m. (CDT) at JPS Field at Malone Stadium and can be seen and heard nationally on ESPN3 and via the iHeartRadio app, respectively.  The match-up will also be available locally on the radio on WRKH 96.1 FM and 99.5 The Jag.

Heading into the home stretch of the season, Saturday's 13-10 victory over Georgia State definitely provided a boosts to the club.

"Pretty much every game we've played in this season has been a close one," said senior safety Devon Earl.  "It's good to play well in crunch time and come out with a win.  We've been a confident team all year and getting the win Saturday just boost our confidence even more heading into these last four games."

Of South Alabama's four losses, three have been 10 points or less.  Jaguar head coach Joey Jones sees Saturday's win also providing another benefit.

"Let's face it, a win heals all — when you play well and lose it still hurts, that win always helps.  But on the flip side of that, it's a great time for teachable moments knowing that we didn't play great 100 percent of the time," Jones said.  "There were plays that we didn't make and mental errors in the game that we have to fix.  If we keep minimizing those mental errors then we are going to have a chance to be a really good football team.  It's really good for the confidence, but it's also a good time to teach these guys moments in the game where they can do better."

South Alabama trailed coming into the final quarter against the Panthers, but scored 10 points over the final six minutes, 11 seconds and picked up the three-point victory after Gavin Patterson's 30-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.  The fourth-quarter comeback marked the third time this season that USA has rallied when trailing entering the final 15 minutes of regulation.

The Jaguar offense enters the contest versus ULM averaging 351.4 total yards of offense, 235.6 passing yards and 22.1 points per outing.  In its last outing, USA had 306 yards of total offense, which was led by mainly by the Jag rushing attack.  South Alabama ran for 182 yards and a 4.2 yards per carry average against the Panthers.  Xavier Johnson paced the group with 83 yards on 18 carries, while senior back Tyreis Thomas had 48 yards on 10 carries and a score.  Thomas' run from two yards out with six minutes remaining capped off a 14-play, 92-yard drive that tied up the contest at 10-10.  

Johnson leads South Alabama's ground game as he has rushed for 368 yards on 86 carries this season and five touchdowns.  The 5-foot-11 junior is also a threat in the kick return game as he has returned one for a touchdown this season and is averaging 26.1 yards per opportunity.  He ranks fourth in the SBC in all-purpose yards, averaging 93.7 per contest.

Another key for South Alabama in the win over GSU was the punting of senior Brandon McKee.  All four of McKee's punts were downed inside the 20-yard line with the Panthers starting drives on their own 12, 16, 19 and nine yard lines.  Georgia State was unable to cross the GSU-30 on each of those possessions before giving the ball back to USA.  For his effort, McKee was selected the Sun Belt's Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday.  McKee has now had 16 punts downed inside the 20-yard line this season.

Coming into Saturday's game against the Warhawks, Dallas Davis has thrown for 1,595 yards and connected on 125 of his 215 pass attempts for USA.  Davis has a passing efficiency rating of 124.1 and is averaging 236.5 total yards of offense this season.   Helping Davis out in the receiving game this season are seniors Gerald Everett and Kevin Kutchera.  Everett leads the SBC averaging 77.0 yards per outing in his eight contests this season.  He paces the squad with 38 receptions and 616 yards this fall to go along with his four touchdowns.  Kutchera is eighth in the league averaging 52.4 yards per game and is third on the Jag roster with 21 catches while his 419 yards are second-most.  Davis is likely to have another weapon at his disposal against the Warhawks as Josh Magee is expected to return to action.  Magee — who has 25 catches for 286 yards and two scores — missed the game against Georgia State with an injury.  

After allowing nearly 600 yards of offense to Troy the previous week, the Jaguar defense bounced back against the Panthers giving up just 240 yards of total offense — and only 87 total yards over the final 30 minutes of play.  Georgia State had just 127 yards on the ground and 113 yards through the air against South Alabama.  

The South Alabama defense still ranks in the top five of the Sun Belt in passing (first, 170.6 yards per game), total (second, 375.4 ypg) and scoring defense (fourth, 23.9).  Roman Buchanan continues to lead the club with 56 total tackles, while Jeremy Reaves is second with 50 stops.  As he has done for a majority of the season, senior defensive end Randy Allen continues to lead the league in sacks (eight) and tackles for loss (14), which also ranks eighth and fourth in the NCAA, respectively, in those categories.  Allen also has three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries on the year — one of which came against GSU — to go along with his 45 total tackles.

Reaves is among the conference leaders in passes defended entering action this weekend ranked eighth with five passes broken up and two interceptions.  The junior corner back also has 4½ stops behind the line of scrimmage.  Darrell Songy is fourth on the squad with 48 stops and four tackles for loss.

For the second-straight week, South Alabama will face an opponent with an uncertain situation at quarterback.  Sophomore quarterback Garrett Smith has connected on 103-of-179 pass attempts for 1,545 yards.  Smith is averaging 206.2 yards per game and has a passing efficiency of 124.4.  Smith ranks third in the conference in total offense with 257.5 ypg and is also a threat to run as he is eighth in the SBC in rushing with 51.3 ypg.  He has thrown for nine touchdowns and ran for three others.  

However, Smith has been out of action since suffering an injury during the Texas State game on Oct. 15.  In his absence, ULM has rotated two quarterbacks —Will Collins and Caleb Evans —who have combined to throw for 407 yards on 35-of-67 attempts in the two-plus games.  The duo has recorded two touchdowns while also throwing five interceptions during that time.

Marcus Green leads the club with 26 receptions and has 257 yards and three touchdowns in his eight games.  Green ranks eighth in the SBC in al-purpose yards averaging 89.9 per contest.  Xavier Brown and R.J. Turner are the big threats though for the Warhawks as they have 364 and 342 receiving yards, respectively.  Brown is averaging 20.2 yards per reception this season and has three scores, while Turner is averaging 18.0 yards per catch and one score.  

On the ground, Ben Luckett has paced the club as he has rushed for 409 yards on 102 carries with four scores.  Smith is second on the ULM roster with 349 yards and three scores.

ULM has struggled on the defensive side of the ball this season, allowing 50 or more points in four of its eight games and allowing 34 or more in six.  The Warhawks are 10th in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 42.4 ppg.  Louisiana-Monroe is also ninth in total defense (488.4) and 11th in rushing defense (275.4).  ULM fell 51-10 at Arkansas State in their last outing and gave up 434 yards of total offense to the Red Wolves.  ASU quarterback Justice Hanson was 21-of-36 and threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns.  Chad Voytik also threw for a score.

Sophomore linebacker David Griffith leads the squad with 57 total stops, 9½ of which have come from behind the line of scrimmage, which is third-best in the Sun Belt.  Nick Ingram (38½) and Cortez Sisco (37) are second and third, respectively on the club in stops, while each also has 2½ tackles for loss.  Ingram has also broken up four passes on the year.  Justin Backus leads the team and is tied for second in the SBC in passes defended with seven passes broken up and an interception.

Chase Day has 46 stops on the year, 6½ of which have come behind the line.  Day, along with Tre' Hunter and Caleb Tucker also lead the team with two sacks each.

Despite the record, Jones has like what he's seen on film from Saturday's opponent.

"I'm real impressed with their offensive line running the football, they've got big, strong guys who run the zone play extremely well," Jones noted.  "They are down to their second quarterback, who is playing well.  Defensively they are a man-coverage team, they will blitz, they have a lot of movement on the front.  They are more athletic but smaller on the defensive front, so they are moving them a good bit.  They do a great job scheme-wise.  We are obviously going to have to run the ball, but we're going to have to make some plays down the field as well.  We are going to have to throw the ball and catch it and make some big plays against man coverage."

The meeting will only be the third ever between the two clubs as each has one on its home field.  ULM defeated the Jags 38-24 in Monroe back on Oct. 27, 2012, while South Alabama won 36-14 in Mobile on Nov. 23, 2013.

Winning on the road in the Sun Belt isn't an easy task, but if the Jaguars are able to carry the momentum from last Saturday and meet the challenge, they will be one step closer to achieving one of their remaining goals — bowl eligibility.

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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