Game 3
South Alabama Jaguars (0-2, 0-0 Sun Belt)
vs. Texas State Bobcats (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Sept. 15, 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/228091
• 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
• 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, Mobile Popcorn 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 3:40 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 — 142nd
Texas State
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 192nd
Series History
Overall: TXST leads 2-1
In Mobile: USA leads 1-0
In San Marcos: TXST leads 2-0
Neutral: n/a
Series Streak: TXST — 1
First Meeting: TXST, 33-31, on Oct. 26, 2013, in San Marcos
Last Meeting: TXST, 36-18, on Oct. 24, 2015, in San Marcos
The Coaches
South Alabama
Steve Campbell (Troy '88)
Record at USA — 0-2 (1st season)
Career record — 159-55 (20th season)
Career Sun Belt record — 0-0
Record vs. Texas State — 0-0
Texas State
Everett Withers (Appalachian State '85)
Record at TXST — 5-21 (3rd season)
Career Record — 30-34 (6th season)
Record vs. USA — 0-0
Opening Kick
• Not only is this the Jaguars' Sun Belt Conference opener, its the first league game to be played this season.
• It's the third consecutive fall South will play a conference contest in September, and the fifth time it has happened in six years since the Jags made the move to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level.
• USA has a 2-5 all-time mark in Sun Belt games in September, including dropping four of five outings at home.
• The Jaguars are 13-11 all-time at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in league play.
• Bobcats wide receivers coach Ron Antoine was an assistant at South during the 2010 and '11 seasons.
South Alabama-Texas State Series Notes
• The home team has won each of the first three matchups between the two schools.
• The first two meetings were both decided by one score, including the Bobcats taking the first-ever game in the series on a 41-yard Jason Dann field goal with four seconds remaining.
• The Jaguars' lone win in the series was their sixth in 2014, making the program eligible to compete in a postseason bowl for the first time in school history.
• Texas State has scored 30-plus points in each of its wins but was held to 20 when USA won the matchup in Mobile in 2014.
• Six members of this year's team — Bull Barge, Sean Grayer, Nigel Lawrence, Deonta Moore, Gavin Patterson and Jalen Thompson — played for the Jags in the last meeting in the series.
Notes From The Last Texas State Meeting
• Thompson recorded the first interception of his career in the opening quarter, going on to finish the contest with a then-career-high five stops.
• Blake Dees paced the Jaguar defense with 15 tackles, which included matching a school game record with 12 solo stops.
• Offensively, the Jags got career-best totals from Tyreis Thomas with 84 yards rushing and Marvin Shinn with a game-high 94 receiving yards; all three of the latter's catches went for 20 or more yards.
• Robert Lowe led the Bobcats with 248 yards rushing on 30 carries, which is still an opponent game record.
• It was the first time during the 2015 campaign that South fell when outgaining the opposition — the Jaguars finished with a 468-424 advantage in total offense — and not committing a turnover.
Notes On Campbell's Coaching/Playing Career
• Campbell's 159-55 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.
Baker The Touchdown Maker
Sophomore Kawaan Baker has opened the season by scoring multiple touchdowns in back-to-back outings after accounting for both Jaguar scores at Oklahoma State, marking the first time a Jag has accomplished the feat since Xavier Johnson reached the end zone twice in consecutive contests against Alabama A&M and Idaho last September. Baker, who ended up leading the squad with 40 yards on the ground while adding a career-best four receptions for another 29, tops the Sun Belt and is ranked third in the country in scoring with an average of 15 points per contest.
Fisher Finds The Quarterback
Sterrling Fisher recorded half of South's four sacks against the Cowboys last time out, becoming the first Jag defender with multiple sacks in a game since Rocel McWilliams was credited with a pair in USA's win at Troy on Oct. 11 a year ago. They were the first two tackles for loss for the sophomore safety, who ended the night with a career-best six total stops; he now has 10 through the first two games of the season after collecting 14 in 12 appearances a year ago.
Get Behind The Line
Fisher wasn't the only Jaguar to post multiple tackles for loss in the OSU contest, as both Grayer and Taji Stewart finished with a pair as well. The latter is one of four defenders in the conference with three or more stops behind the line through the first two weeks of the season, while Grayer stands among the top 10 in the league also after matching his total in 12 outings last fall.
Show The Way
Jamarius Way paced South with five catches for 48 yards in the matchup with the Cowboys, the seventh time since the start of last season he has accomplished each feat. Not only did the senior wide receiver surpass 800 yards receiving since joining the program at the start of the 2017 campaign, he became the 10th individual in program history to record 50 or more receptions in a career — Way is one of just five players on the list to turn the trick in just two seasons.
Thrice Is Nice
In the second half last time out, Tobias Moss posted his first interception of the season while Barge tacked on the first of his career to help the Jag defense record three takeaways for the second contest in a row. It was the first time the unit has forced multiple turnovers in back-to-back outings since defeating Troy and ULM on Oct. 11 and 21 a year ago. Through two games South leads the Sun Belt with five passes picked off and six total takeaways, ranking second in the country in the former category — one behind national leader California — and seventh in the latter.
Daniels Getting Job Done
S DJ Daniels came into the year with 14 stops in 20 appearances over the last two seasons, and in the opening two outings of the campaign has nearly matched that total after tying a career high with six against the Cowboys. Not only has the junior been credited with a tackle for loss in both contests this fall, he forced and recovered a fumble that led to the Jaguars' second score last weekend.
All-Around Effort
Junior RB Tra Minter has finished with more than 100 all-purpose yards in each of the Jags' first two contests this season after recording 125 at OSU. He stands third in the category in the conference averaging 136 per outing while leading the league with a 24.9 average on kickoff returns. Minter has gained 287 yards running back kicks since the start of last season, a figure that ranks fourth on the program's all-time record list.
Mobley Makes Most Of Opportunity
With junior-college transfer Roy Yancey limited due to injury early in the season, redshirt freshman Nick Mobley has stepped in and posted 13 total stops in the first two games of the year. That included pacing all players with a career-high eight last time out against the Cowboys, the first time a freshman has led South in the category since Riley Cole shared team-high honors with eight in the 2017 opener at Ole Miss.
