MOBILE, Ala. – In the estimation of University of South Alabama football head coach Joey Jones, the best thing for his program would be to suffer a case of amnesia this week.

Forget the second-half rally for a historic 21-20 victory at Mississippi State on the opening weekend of the season.  Forget the first two meetings with its next opponent, Georgia Southern — two years ago the Eagles defeated the Jaguars 28-6 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, following up last fall with a 55-17 win in Statesboro.

"We're going to focus on us and forget about all that stuff," said Jones.  "We have a level-headed team, guys we can trust.  Our motto this week is 'Relentless Execution' and to focus on being completely zoned in on how you are going to play, especially against their offense.  This week comes down to relentlessly knowing it inside and out, and keeping it simple so we can play."

When the Jags and Eagles meet in Mobile Saturday at 6 p.m. (CDT), it will not only be USA's home opener but the first Sun Belt Conference contest for both.  The game can be seen live on the American Sports Network, and it will be available on both 99.5 The Jag and WRKH 96.1 FM as well as for free worldwide as part of the iHeartRadio app.

Both USA and GS enter the match-up with 1-0 records, as the Eagles began the campaign with a 54-0 defeat at home of Savannah State.  What's different is how the two offenses were successful in moving the ball.

Dallas Davis was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after completing 24-of-34 pass attempts for 285 yards in his first-ever start at the collegiate level, finishing the contest with 308 yards of total offense.  He connected with five different individuals on multiple occasions, with Gerald Everett matching a career high with eight catches for 95 yards and Josh Magee supplying a career-best seven receptions for a game-high 113 yards.  Each had a touchdown in the second half as the Jaguars posted all 21 of their points after the intermission, with the latter getting South on the board five minutes into the third quarter before the former provided the game-winning score with 57 seconds remaining in regulation.

Kevin Kutchera added three catches for 56 yards — including one for 37 yards to convert a third down on the game-winning drive — while Xavier Johnson also had three receptions and Tyrone Williams recorded two.

Tyreis Thomas accounted for 83 of the Jags' 94 yards on the ground on just 10 carries, highlighted by a career-long 37-yard run from the USA-1 to spark the team's second scoring march, which covered 99 yards in just over four-and-a-half minutes.

The Eagles, on the other hand, outgained their first foe 605-114, which included running for 420 yards.  Demarcus Godfrey led the way with 124 yards on 14 carries, with Wesley Fields chipping in with 87 yards and Matt Breida 68 as both reached the end zone once.  GS also had a pair of quarterbacks gain more than 50 yards on the ground, as Kevin Ellison posted 57 and Favian Upshaw recorded 53.

Upshaw was 7-of-10 passing as well for 115 yards while accounting for four scores — two rushing, two through the air — and Ellison completed all five attempts for an additional 70 yards.  Montay Crockett led the team with three receptions for 73 yards, adding 73 yards on four punt returns, while Fields and Myles Campbell both had a pair of catches for 35 and 24 yards, respectively.

"All of the above," Jones responded when asked about his biggest concern facing the Eagle offense.  "They have two quarterbacks and two running backs who can fly and they throw it a little bit more now.  We have to make sure we don't let them get easy pitches out there where they can run around the corner with nobody there, we can't give that up; we have to tackle well on the perimeter because they can make you miss and pay.

"We have to make sure we are real sound defensively."

Roman Buchanan earned SBC Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors for the Jaguars after leading all individuals with a career-best 12 tackles, which included one for a loss of four yards; he also was one of three USA defenders to break up a pass.  Kalen Jackson supplied nine stops, Devon Earl and Jeremy Reaves were credited with seven tackles each, while the trio of Randy Allen, Chason Milner and Darrell Songy each finished with five stops.

The Jags surrendered 382 yards, but only 177 of those and three points in the second half.

Linebackers Ironhead Gallon and Ukeme Eliqwe paced GS with six and five tackles, respectively, with the latter credited with 1½ of those for loss.  The Eagles had a total of 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage, limiting SSU to only 34 yards rushing and 80 passing.

"Their front seven are real good," Jones explained.  "Their linebackers are better than they were last year — Eliqwe is great, he's an NFL guy, and Gallon is a real good football player.  And they are big inside and athletic on the ends."

This is Parents' Weekend at South, with tickets still available to be purchased in advance of the contest either by visiting www.usajaguars.com on line or calling the USA Athletic Ticket Office at (251) 461-1USA (1872); the cost is $25 for sideline seats and $20 for those in the end zone.  The first 5,000 fans to enter Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday will receive a shaker and offer for free lemonade courtesy of Raising Cane's, and 2,500 schedule magnets will be distributed on the West side of the venue following the game.

The stadium parking lot will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, with a ticket window on each side of Ladd-Peebles opening up at 3 p.m.  Round-trip shuttles will be running from the Shoppes at Bel Air located behind J.C. Penney beginning at 2 p.m. until 90 minutes after the conclusion of play, with the cost for a round-trip ticket $2.50; children five years old and younger can ride for free.

At the stadium, the "Jag Prowl" — the arrival of the team on site — is slated for 3:30 p.m., 30 minutes after the start of "FanFest" in Jag City; pregame festivities in the East parking lot will include a live band, plus food from Raising Cane's and Sonny's BBQ.  And, stadium gates will open at 4 p.m., two hours prior to kickoff.

If the Jaguars want to open the year 2-0 for the first time since 2011, they might want to forget the recent past.

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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