MOBILE, Ala. – Earlier this season the University of South Alabama football team picked up its first-ever victory over a Southeastern Conference opponent, defeating Mississippi State on the road to open the year.  A month later, the Jaguars have an opportunity to record another historic moment in the program's relative infancy.

That would be a win over a top-25 team, as San Diego State — USA's opponent on Saturday — will be the first nationally-ranked squad the Jags will ever face at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CDT), with ESPNEWS broadcasting the match-up live nationally.  Radio coverage can be found on both WRKH 96.1 FM and 99.5 The Jag locally, with the contest also available for free worldwide via the iHeartRadio app.

The Aztecs, winners of all three of their games to open the season — including a 45-40 victory over Cal in week two — are 19th in this week's Associated Press rankings as well as 24th in the Amway Coaches poll.

Last fall, in the first meeting between the two in San Diego, the Jaguars emerged with a 34-27 overtime victory.

"I don't know if we take anything from the win," said USA head coach Joey Jones.  "It was a great win, obviously, but I think what we took from it was the experience of playing against them, knowing some things about them now that we didn't know before we got out there.  We know some of their personnel a little better having played against them, some of those guys are back.  It was a big win, but here we are in 2016 and it's a new year."

Tickets can be purchased for the contest by either going on-line to www.usajaguars.com or calling the USA Athletic Ticket Office at (251) 461-1USA (1872).  The cost is $25 for tickets on the sideline and $20 for end zone seats.

The stadium parking lot is slated to open at 8 a.m. for those interested in tailgating, and a window will be available for game-day ticket purchases on each side of the stadium at 4 p.m.  "Fan Fest" will also get underway at 4 p.m. in the Jag City section of the lot, with live entertainment as well as free food and beverage compliments of Sonny's BBQ and Raising Cane's.  The team will arrive and the "Jag Prowl" is set to get underway at 4:30 p.m., with the stadium opening at 5 p.m.

Round-trip shuttles — providing service from 3 p.m. until 90 minutes after the end of the game — will run from the Shoppes at Bel Air located behind J.C. Penney.  The cost for a round-trip ticket is just $2.50, with children five and under able to ride for free.

The Aztecs come into the contest 3-0, having defeated Northern Illinois 42-28 on the road in their last outing Sept. 17.  In fact, they have won their 13 straight contests dating back to last fall — the second-longest active streak in the nation — including five in a row away from home.

The Jaguars (2-2) enter play having won their most recent game as well.  Dallas Davis connected with Tyrone Williams with 16 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, where Xavier Johnson scored his third touchdown of the game before SirCalvin Williams preserved a 41-40 victory over Nicholls by stopping the Colonels' second two-point attempt.  In the game, USA held a 510-230 advantage in total offense as Johnson finished with a season-best 256 all-purpose yards.

"In a lot of ways I really thought we got better as a football team last week, though I think people may question that," explained Jones.  "Offensively and defensively we definitely improved, there's no doubt about that.  We ran the football better and our offensive line came off better, we had a great emphasis on that.  I think our run-stopping defense was much better, we filled our gaps better.  We became a better team in a couple of areas."

The Jags are among the top five in the Sun Belt Conference in passing (second, 151.25 yards per game), total (second, 391.25 ypg) and scoring (fourth, 28 ppg) defense, with the duo of Kalen Jackson and Roman Buchanan each recording 33 stops in the first three outings of the year; the latter is tied with Randy Allen for the team lead with five tackles for loss, with the former posting 4½ as well.  Allen was credited with two sacks and two forced fumbles — both of which USA recovered, with the second leading to a field goal — as the unit surrendered only 69 passing yards to the Colonels.

Jeremy Reaves has contributed 27 stops, with 2½ of those behind the line of scrimmage, and a team-high four passes broken up, while Darrell Songy has chipped in with 24 tackles after pacing the Jaguars last time out with a career-best nine.

South will be facing an SDSU offense that is averaging 39.3 points and 442.7 yards per contest, including rushing for more than 260 per game.  Donnell Pumphrey leads the country in rushing yards (599, with seven touchdowns, on 73 carries) and rushing yards per game (199.7), having rushed for more than 200 yards in each of the Aztecs' last two outings.

"He kind of reminds me of Reggie Bush, he is that type of back," Jones observed.  "He is what I call a one-step cutter, he can be running full speed and it only takes him one step to change direction at a great angle.  He doesn't have to chop his feet and have a rounded angle.  He takes one step and he is going in a different direction really quick, he can cut on a dime as some people say.  He has the speed to take it home, if you miss him and he gets out in the open field he can score from 60, 80 yards out.  He's a guy who can make big plays."

Christian Chapman has completed 41-of-67 attempts for 538 yards and six scores also, with Mikah Holder and Eric Judge catching 10 passes each for 242 and 106 yards, respectively.

USA is now averaging 394.8 yards per game after its season-high performance in the win over Nicholls, as well as 23.5 points per contest.  That includes throwing for better than 280 yards per game as Davis has amassed 1,130 yards through four games, connecting on 90-of-155 passes with five scores.  Gerald Everett leads the Jags with 21 receptions for 290 yards and two touchdowns, with Josh Magee adding 176 yards on 16 catches.  Both Kevin Kutchera and Williams have caught 13 balls, with the former collecting 260 yards and the latter 126.

Johnson (52-176) and Tyreis Thomas (27-128) both have scored twice on the ground for the Jaguars as well, with Johnson pacing the team after his first 100-yard effort of the season.

SDSU's defense has given up just 102.7 yards rushing and 373.7 total on average while opponents have scored nearly 23 points per outing.  The unit has seven takeaways — including six on interceptions from five individuals — 17 passes broken up, 16 quarterback hurries  and seven sacks through three contests.  Calvin Munson's 34 stops are more than twice as many as any other individual on the team, although Alex Barrett has been credited with four sacks among his 13 tackles.  Damontae Kazee has intercepted two passes and defended three others, while Derek Babiash and Barrett have recorded five and four passes broken up, respectively.

The South Alabama football program took advantage of its first opportunity of the season to notch a milestone moment.  Will the second be far behind?

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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