Game 1
South Alabama Jaguars (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)
vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 C-USA)

Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 • 6 pm CDT
Ladd-Peebles Stadium (33,471 capacity/FieldTurf)
Mobile, Ala.

Media Information
Television
ESPN+
J.D. Byars (pxp)
Pat Greenwood (analysis)
Lauren Estes (sidelines)
Radio
USA Football Radio Network
(flagship 96.1 FM/99.5 FM The Jag in Mobile)
JT Crabtree (pxp)
Chris May (analysis)
Tommy Hicks (sidelines)
On the web
• Live Twitter updates available at: @WeAreSouth_JAGS
• Live stats available at: http://statb.us/b/228090
• Live audio available at: http://www.iheart.com/live/995-the-jag-mobile-7117/

Game/Promotions Information
• Special: Fans will receive free stadium clear tote bags and Greer's football magnet schedules
• Jag Night on Dauphin: Parade and pep rally on Dauphin Street ending at Moe's Original Bar B Que, 7-10 pm Friday
• 2009 inaugural Jaguar football team reunion weekend, members will be recognized on the field at halftime.
• Clear Bag/Water Policy: Click http://jaguarathleticfund.com/clear for all information
• Tickets: $25 sideline, $20 end zone ticket price; available online at www.usajaguars.com or by phone by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872)
• Shuttles: The Wave shuttle service starts from Shoppes at Bel Air (pick up from JCPenney/Target parking area) 4 hours prior to kick; $2.50 round trip; continuous service until 90 minutes after game
• Student Shuttles: Free shuttle service for students begins 3 hours prior to kickoff from the dining gall on campus
• Parking: Opens at 8 am
• FanFest: Begins at 3 pm; live music and free food samples from vendors including Raising Cane's, Texas Roadhouse, Beef O'Brady's and Sonny's BBQ; join JT Crabtree and Joe McNulty during the pre-game radio show at the Tuff Shed Tailgate Party; pick up free 2018 Fall Events Guide from The Mobile Rundown along with a free hand fan from Hansen Heating & Air
• Jag Prowl: Begins at 4:40 pm from the Southeast corner of the Ladd-Peebles Stadium parking lot
• Gates: Open two hours prior to kickoff

The Rankings
South Alabama
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 140th

Louisiana Tech
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 88th

Series History
Overall: LA Tech leads 1-0
In Mobile: n/a
In Ruston: LA Tech leads 1-0
Neutral: n/a
Series Streak: LA Tech — 1
First Meeting: LA Tech, 34-16, on Sept. 30, 2017, in Ruston
Last Meeting: LA Tech, 34-16, on Sept. 30, 2017, in Ruston

The Coaches
South Alabama
Steve Campbell (Troy '88)
Record at USA — 0-0 (1st season)
Career record — 159-53 (20th season)
Career Sun Belt record — 0-0
Record vs. Louisiana Tech — 0-0
Louisiana Tech
Skip Holtz (Notre Dame '86)
Record at LA Tech — 38-28 (6th season)
Career Record — 126-99 (19th season)
Record vs. USA — 1-0

Opening Kick
• For the first time in 10 seasons — a stretch that includes 102 games — Jaguar football will be coached by someone other than Joey Jones after Steve Campbell was hired to lead the program on Dec. 7.
• South will open the year at home for the first time since 2015.
• This match-up is the second half of a home-and-home series with Louisiana Tech.
• The Jags will play fellow Conference USA members Alabama-Birmingham (2019-20), Southern Mississippi (2020-21) and North Texas (2024-25) in two-game series over the next seven years.
• As part of a reunion weekend honoring the Jaguars' inaugural 2009 squad, members of the team will be recognized on the field at halftime.

Notes From The Last Louisiana Tech Meeting
• South's defense surrendered just 78 yards in the second and third quarters to help cut a 10-point deficit to one heading into the final period.
• The Jaguars' final two possessions of the third quarter began in Bulldog territory but ended in three-and-outs.
• Gavin Patterson accounted for the Jags' final nine points after tying a career high with three field goals.
• Nigel Lawrence shared game-high honors with eight tackles, marking the first time in his career he led USA in the category.
• WR Sam Harris caught five passes for 59 yards to record career-best totals in both categories at the time.

Notes On Campbell's Coaching/Playing Career
• Campbell's 159-53 mark as a head coach includes going 33-15 over the last four years at Central Arkansas, where he guided the Bears to back-to-back NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances.
• He has led two programs to national championships — Delta (Miss.) State in 2000 at the NCAA Division II level and Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. to the 2007 National Junior College Athletic Association crown.
• In 19 seasons no team coached by Campbell has finished below .500.
• Campbell has coached on the staffs of Pat Dye (Auburn graduate assistant, 1988-89) and Jackie Sherrill (Mississippi State assistant, 2003).
• Campbell and Jaguar coordinators Kenny Edenfield and Greg Stewart were teammates on Troy's 1987 NCAA Division II national championship squad.

Opening Notes
• The Jaguars are 6-3 in their opening game of the season since the program's inception in 2009.
• That includes a 4-2 record when kicking off the campaign in Mobile.
• This marks the first time the Jags will begin the season at home against a current NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.
• South dropped a 33-31 decision to current Conference USA member Texas-San Antonio on a field goal with 16 seconds remaining to kick off the 2012 schedule, although at the time the Roadrunners were in the second year of their transition to the NCAA FBS level.
• Arguably the most significant victory in program history came in a season opener after the Jaguars rallied for a 21-20 win at Mississippi State to begin the 2016 campaign.

Barge Looks to Build On Fast Finish
Senior LB Bull Barge already ranks among the top 10 on the school's all-time list with 167 tackles in his first three years as a Jaguar, with a career-high 77 of those coming a season ago.  That included posting 40 stops in the last four games after being inserted into the starting lineup, highlighted by a career-best 13 — tying for the most by an individual on South's defense all year — in a Senior Day defeat of Arkansas State that led to his earning Sun Belt Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors.

Watch Way
In his first season as a Jag, Jamarius Way recorded totals 47 catches for 762 yards that not only were good enough to earn second-team all-league recognition but also rank among the top 10 on the school's all-time record list.  After posting his three best single-game yardage totals over the last five outings of the season, including putting together consecutive games with 100-plus yards against Georgia State and Louisiana, the senior wide receiver has been named to the Reese's Senior Bowl and Biletnikoff Watch Lists.

Punter Has Plenty Of Preseason Honors
Way isn't the only member of the program who is on multiple preseason watch lists as Corliss Waitman was selected for inclusion on the Reese's Senior Bowl and Ray Guy Award Watch Lists during the preseason.  Those aren't the only accolades the senior punter has received, as he was chosen to preseason All-America teams by both SI.com and Athlon after setting the school season record with a 45.24 average — which led the Sun Belt and was among the top 10 in the nation — during the '17 season.

Special Teams Special
Both Jaguar kickers were first-team all-Sun Belt selections a year ago as Patterson joined Waitman after he connected on six more field goals than his first season handling USA's placekicking duties while increasing his conversion rate by more than 20 percentage points.  Should the preseason first-team all-conference honoree record 70 or more points for the third straight season, he'll become just the second individual in program history to post 200 or more points in a career.

Turner Tabbed For Preseason Accolades
Tyree Turner was named preseason second-team all-league by the Sun Belt's coaches and selected media members over the summer.  In addition to closing in on 100 career tackles — the interior lineman begins the campaign needing 20 stops to hit that mark — Turner will move into the top 10 in the program's record books with two more sacks and also is within reach of making the top 10 in stops behind the line as well.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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