Game 1
South Alabama Jaguars (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)
at Ole Miss Rebels (0-0, 0-0 Southeastern)

Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 • 6:30 pm CDT
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field  (64,038 capacity/natural grass)
Oxford, Miss.

Media Information
Television
ESPNU
Anish Shroff (pxp)
Ahmad Brooks (analysis)
Roddy Jones (sideline)
Radio
USA Football Radio Network
(flagship 96.1 FM/99.5 FM The Jag in Mobile)
J.D. Byars (pxp)
Pat Greenwood (analysis)
Tommy Hicks (sidelines)
On the web
• Live Twitter updates available at:
@USAJaguarSports
• Live stats available at:
http://bit.ly/2vo469D
• Live audio available at:
http://www.iheart.com/live/995-the-jag-mobile-7117/

The Coaches
South Alabama
Joey Jones (Alabama '89)
Record at USA — 48-42 (9th season)
Career record — 51-49 (10th season)
Career Sun Belt record — 15-24
Record vs. Ole Miss — 0-0
Record vs. current SEC members — 1-4
• 1-2 vs. Mississippi State
• 0-1 vs. South Carolina
• 0-1 vs. Tennessee

Ole Miss
Matt Luke (Ole Miss '00)
Record at Ole Miss — 0-0 (1st season)
Career Record — same
Record vs. USA — 0-0

The Rankings
South Alabama
Associated Press — n/a
Amway Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 106th

Ole Miss
Associated Press — n/a
Amway Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 43rd

Series History
Overall: First meeting
In Mobile: n/a
In Oxford: n/a
Neutral: n/a
Series Streak: n/a
First Meeting: n/a
Last Meeting: n/a

Opening Kick
• The Jaguars open the season on the road against an opponent from the Southeastern Conference for the second year in a row having earned a 21-20 victory over Mississippi State in Starkville last fall.
• Ole Miss is the fourth different school from the league that South will face, as the Jags have also visited Tennessee (2013) and South Carolina (2014) in addition to playing a three-game series with the Bulldogs.
• This will mark the third time in the last four seasons that USA will open the campaign on the road after starting each of its first five years of competition at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
• Jaguar defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was a defensive graduate assistant at Ole Miss during the 2012 and '13 seasons, working under his father Dave who was the Rebels' defensive coordinator from 2012 until retiring at the end of last year.
• Also on the Rebels' staff during the 2012 campaign was current Jag assistant coach Tyler Siskey, who served that fall as the program's coordinator of recruiting development.
• First-year Ole Miss assistant coach Freddie Roach was a member of the South coaching staff during the 2013 and '14 seasons, working with Jag defensive ends and outside linebackers.
• Roach is the younger brother of Jaguar assistant coach Tim Bowens.

Fast Starts
The Jaguars have won three straight season openers following last fall's victory at Mississippi State, with two of those coming on the road.  Since the program's inception in 2009, South has won six of eight games to start the campaign while scoring a minimum of 20 points in each of those contests.  In fact, USA's two opening-day losses have been by a combined three points on field goals with 16 seconds (in a 33-31 defeat to Texas-San Antonio in 2012) and no time (in a 22-21 decision against Southern Utah in '13) remaining in regulation.

The Man
No Jag has received more preseason recognition that senior S Jeremy Reaves, who in addition to being named preseason first-team all-Sun Belt Conference by six different publications is on three different preseason watch lists (see box on page 4).  One of two juniors to be named first-team all league in 2016, Reaves needs just three tackles to become the fifth player in program history to record 200 in a career; he is already tied atop USA's all-time lists for forced fumbles (six) and passes broken up (14), and with his next interception he will move a tie for the lead in that category as well.

The Chase Is On
Senior Xavier Johnson — a second-team preseason all-Sun Belt pick as both a running back and return specialist — enters the 2017 campaign within reach of a pair of milestones in USA's record books.  With 363 yards rushing he will surpass Kendall Houston (2010-14) for the lead on the school's all-time list in the category, and he is 169 yards shy of moving into first in program history in all-purpose yards.  With his first 100-yard rushing game this fall Johnson will become the first Jaguar to reach double-digits in the category, and he also needs only 38 kick return yards to become the second member of the program to record 1,000 in a career.

Songy Seeks Century Mark Again
In his first season with the team, Darrell Songy recorded 100 total tackles to lead the squad in the category; that included posting his two best performances in the Jags' appearance in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl (16 against Air Force) and at SBC co-champion Arkansas State (14).  The senior linebacker is looking to become just the second individual in the history of the program to post 100 or more tackles in multiple seasons, as Enrique Williams accomplished the feat in 2012 and '13.

End Results
Last fall Randy Allen set school season records with 19 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 12 sacks, earning first-team all-conference honors and signing as a free agent with the National Football League's Baltimore Ravens.  Candidates to replace Allen's production include Finessé Middleton, who was also ranked among the top 10 in the conference in sacks after posting 4½ his first season as a Jag — nearly half (8½) of his 20 tackles were for loss — and Jimmie Gipson III, who was credited with 6½ stops behind the line including three sacks in 2014.

On The Receiving End
Another area USA is looking to replace significant production is in the passing game, with the team losing its top four pass catchers — Magee, Everett, Kevin Kutchera and Tyrone Williams — who combined to account for 67 percent of the Jaguars receptions a year ago and 75.9 percent of their yards receiving.  With the only two individuals coming back this fall who caught 10 or more passes a tight end (Maaseiah Francis, 18 for 261) and a running back (Johnson, 13 for 86) the Jags' depth chart at wide receiver entering the opener includes three players — Sa'Mory Collier, Sam Harris and Jordan McCray who combined to haul in 15 balls, two redshirts (Kawaan Baker and Jahmmir Taylor) and junior-college transfer Jamarius Way, who had 40 receptions for 594 yards and 11 touchdowns to be named first-team all-region at Ellsworth (Iowa) CC last season.

Fisher Heads Front Line
The only individual to start all 13 games a year ago on the offensive side of the ball is back this season, with Noah Fisher entering the campaign a preseason first-team all-conference pick by the league's coaches and media.  The junior left tackle paced the Jaguars with 36 cut blocks and added 30 knockdowns last fall while grading out at 85 percent overall.  Dominic Esposito is the only other USA offensive lineman with 10 or more starts to his credit after being on the field for the opening snap 12 times during the 2016 campaign.