Game 9
South Alabama Jaguars (3-5, 2-3 Sun Belt) vs. Georgia State (3-4, 2-4 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 • 3 pm CST • Hancock Whitney Stadium • 25,450 capacity/FieldTurf
Mobile, Ala.

Media Information
Television
ESPNU
Mike Couzens (pxp)
Rocky Boiman (analysis)

Radio
USA Football Radio Network
(flagship 96.1 FM/Sports Talk 99.5 FM in Mobile)
J.D. Byars (pxp)
Pat Greenwood (analysis)
Tommy Hicks (sidelines)

On the web
• Live Twitter updates available at: @WeAreSouth_FB
• Live stats available at: http://statb.us/b/315495
• Live audio available at: http://www.iheart.com/live/995-the-jag-mobile-7117/

Game/Promotions Information
• Special: Salute to Service Game, Presented by Saad Healthcare
• Giveaway: none
• Water Policy: No bottles of water or soft-sided coolers will be allowed into the stadium
• Clear Bag Policy: Click usajaguars.com/clearbag for all information
• Stadium Chairs: Portable stadium chairs 16" wide and smaller (with or without backrest) are allowed at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Larger chairs will be denied.
• Tickets: Single game tickets are not on sale for 2020 as Hancock Whitney Stadium is at capacity due to social distancing requirements
• Home and Visitor Player Pass List: Tickets will be at the East ticket booth adjacent to Gate 1
• Shuttles: A free shuttle will provide service from the Gamma parking lot to the stadium; continuous service begins two hours prior to kickoff and will continue until 90 minutes after game
• Parking: Opens three hours prior to kickoff
• Gates: Open 90 minutes prior to kickoff

The Rankings
South Alabama
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 118th
Georgia State
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 104th

Series History
Overall: Series tied 4-4
In Mobile: USA leads 3-0
In Atlanta: GSU leads 4-1
Neutral: n/a
Series Streak: GSU — 2 (2017-19)
First Meeting: UUA, 39-34, on Oct. 30, 2010, in Mobile
Last Meeting: GSU, 28-15, on Nov. 23, 2019, in Atlanta

The Coaches
South Alabama
Steve Campbell (Troy '88)
Record at USA — 8-24 (3rd season)
Career Sun Belt record — 5-16
Career NCAA record — 68-47 (10th season)
Career record — 167-77 (22nd season)
Record vs. GSU — 0-1

Georgia State
Shawn Elliott (Appalachian State '96)
Record at GSU — 19-25 (4th season)
Career Record — 20-30 (5th season)
Record vs. USA — 2-0

Opening Kick
• USA returns home for the first time in 28 days to play host to the Panthers.
• It's the only time that the Jaguars will be at home in November; South has an 8-5 record — including a 7-4 mark in Sun Belt Conference play — in the month in Mobile dating back to the 2013 campaign.
• The Jags are looking for three wins in a row at home for the first time since earning three straight victories in Mobile from Oct. 29-Dec. 3, 2016.
• With a victory, the Jaguars would also match their longest home winning streak in conference action; they won three straight Sun Belt outings in Mobile from Oct. 18-Nov. 15, 2014.
• USA is also aiming to win three league games in a season for the first time since 2017.

South Alabama-Georgia State Series Notes
• The two teams have split six contests in Sun Belt play dating back to the 2013 season.
• The Jaguars have claimed all three match-ups in the series at home, including a 13-10 decision on Oct. 29, 2016, the last time they met in Mobile.
• Three of the first four games in the series, and five of all eight match-ups between the two programs, have been decided by just one score.
• That includes all three meetings in Mobile, which the Jags have earned by five points or less.
• South scored 30 or more points in three of the first four contests but have been limited to 15 or fewer in each of the last four meetings.

Notes From The Last Georgia State Meeting
• Jaguar RB Tra Minter finished with 127 all-purpose yards to end the day as the school's all-time leader in the category.
• After catching one pass in his first 10 games at South then-freshman TE Brandon Crum had career highs with three receptions and 51 receiving yards.
• It was the sixth time last fall that Nick Mobley paced the Jags in tackles, making him the first USA linebacker to accomplish the feat since Enrique Williams in 2013.
• Devin Rockette accounted for the Jaguars' lone takeaway of the afternoon with the first interception of his career.
• Jack Brooks' 49.6 punting average — a mark that ranks fourth in the program's record books — is still the best of his career in a game.

Notes On Campbell's Coaching/Playing Career
• Steve Campbell's 167-77 mark as a head coach includes going 33-15 over four years at Central Arkansas from 2014-17, where he guided the Bears to back-to-back NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances before taking over at South Alabama.
• 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 20 seasons no team coached by Campbell finished below .500 prior to the 2018 campaign.
• 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.

Making Tackles From The Middle
Mobley posted a double-digit tackle total last weekend, making it the first time he has recorded 10 or more since the Jags began the campaign with a win at Southern Mississippi on Sept. 3; it was the sixth occasion he has achieved the feat in his career.  The junior added his first interception as a member of the program as well, picking off a deflected pass in the end zone on the Ragin' Cajuns final offensive snap of the first half.

Kawaan Climbing
Kawaan Baker moved into the top five on the school's all-time all-purpose yardage list with his first reception at Louisiana, finishing with 85 total yards on the afternoon and 2,597 in his career as he passed former WR Jeremé Jones with the effort.  After hauling in a game-high six balls for 43 yards and a score the senior is now among the top 10 on South's season record list for receptions — he has a career-best 41 this fall — while his next touchdown catch will tie him with Jones for the all-time mark in that category as well.

The Break Up
In addition to making seven tackles against the Ragin' Cajuns, Keith Gallmon equaled a career high — first recorded in the Jaguars' win over Texas State Oct. 17 — with three passes broken up.  The junior safety is now tied for fifth in the category on USA's season record list with nine this fall, while he is one of four individuals in the league with a double-figure passes defensed total when including his interception at Georgia Southern last month.

Catching On
With five catches for a game-best 64 yards last time out, Jalen Tolbert entered the top 10 all-time at South in receptions, passing both Danny Woodson II and Josh Magee to move into ninth place as he now has 76 in his career.  It was the fifth occasion in eight outings this fall that the junior has paced the Jaguars in receiving yards, moving him past Wes Saxton into seventh place on the school's season record list with 666 on the year.

Avery Emerges In Lafayette
Junior Terrion Avery gained 62 yards on 14 rushes in the match-up with the Ragin' Cajuns, making it the first time this season an individual other than Carlos Davis has paced South's attack on the ground.  Avery finished the day with career-high totals in both attempts and yards after entering play with 17 carries for 57 yards in the Jags' first four Sun Belt contests.

More Contributions From Cade
WR Cade Sutherland matched Tolbert with five catches at Louisiana, a career-high total surpassing the four receptions he had in the Jaguars' 2019 debut at Nebraska.  The junior had two catches — both against Texas State last month — in USA's first five outings this year but in the last three weeks he's posted 10 for 79 yards, making it the first time in his career that Sutherland has caught multiple balls in three straight contests.

Deflections From DBs
In addition to Gallmon's performance, three other Jag defensive backs were credited with deflecting passes against the Ragin' Cajuns with Davyn Flenord supplying a career-best two, and Devin Rockette and Keon Voisin breaking up one apiece.  Their efforts gave South a season-high seven passes defensed in the game, its highest total in the category since recording eight in a season-ending victory over Arkansas State last fall.

Penalties Not The Problem
USA has been called for five or fewer penalties in each of the last four contests, the first time that's happened since turning the trick from Oct. 3-Nov. 9 a year ago, after being flagged five times for 40 yards in Lafayette.  The Jags enter play against the Panthers ranked second in the conference and among the top 25 in the country with averages of 4.63 penalties and 41.13 penalty yards per outing.

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 the 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

—USA—