Game 11
South Alabama Jaguars (4-6, 3-4 Sun Belt) vs. Troy Trojans (4-5, 2-3 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020 • 1 pm CST • Hancock Whitney Stadium • 25,450 capacity/FieldTurf
Mobile, Ala.
Media Information
Television
ESPN3
J.D. Byars (pxp)
Pat Greenwood (analysis)
Radio
USA Football Radio Network
(flagship 96.1 FM/Sports Talk 99.5 FM in Mobile)
JT Crabtree (pxp)
Chris May (analysis)
Tommy Hicks (sidelines)
On the web
• Live Twitter updates available at:
@WeAreSouth_FB
• Live stats available at:
http://statb.us/b/314122
• Live audio available at:
http://www.iheart.com/live/995-the-jag-mobile-7117/
Game/Promotions Information
• Special: The "Battle For The Belt" presented by Drive Safe Alabama; Senior Day: ceremony honoring 15 individuals will begin approximately 25 minutes prior to kickoff
• 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 — 112th
Troy
Associated Press — n/a
Coaches — n/a
Sagarin — 102nd
Series History
Overall: Troy leads 5-3
In Mobile: Troy leads 3-1
In Troy: Series tied 2-2
Neutral: n/a
Series Streak: Troy — 2 (2018-19)
First Meeting: Troy, 31-10, on Sept. 29, 2012, in Mobile
Last Meeting: Troy, 37-13, on Oct. 16, 2019, in Troy
The Coaches
South Alabama
Steve Campbell (Troy '88)
Record at USA — 9-25 (3rd season)
Career Sun Belt record — 6-17
Career NCAA record — 69-48 (10th season)
Career record — 168-78 (22nd season)
Record vs. Troy — 0-2
Troy
Chip Lindsey (Alabama '97)
Record at Troy — 9-12 (2nd season)
Career Record — same
Record vs. USA — 1-0
Opening Kick
• The Jaguars close out the regular season against Troy in the team's annual "Battle For The Belt."
• It's the first time since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2012 that South will face the Trojans in its regular-season finale.
• USA will recognize 15 seniors on the field during a pregame ceremony on Saturday.
• Jag safety Tré Young committed to Troy coming out of Mobile's McGill-Toolen Catholic High, but instead attended East Central (Miss.) C.C. for two years before transferring to South.
• Not only are Jaguar head coach Steve Campbell and coordinators Kenny Edenfield and Greg Stewart Troy graduates, Edenfield served as an assistant coach for the Trojans from 2008-17.
South Alabama-Troy Series Notes
• The Jaguars faced Troy in their first-ever Sun Belt game on Sept. 29, 2012, in Mobile.
• The "Battle For The Belt" was conceived in 2015 in an initiative spearheaded by both school's Student Government Associations.
• South's lone win at home in the series was a 27-13 decision on Oct. 24, 2014.
• After scoring 27 or more points in each of the first three meetings, the Jags have been held to 24 points or fewer in every contest the last five seasons.
• USA has allowed the Trojans an average of 13 points in its three victories but surrendered 33.6 points in its losses in the series.
Notes From The Last Troy Meeting
• Troy's 28 first downs were the most allowed by the Jaguar defense a year ago.
• It was the first time in program history that USA's opponent did not punt in a game.
• Cephus Johnson's 38 pass attempts were not only the most by a Jag quarterback in 2019, it was the highest total recorded in the category since Cole Garvin threw 45 times in a 24-19 defeat of Arkansas State on Nov. 11, 2017.
• LB Riley Cole led all players in stops for the first time since the Jaguars' 2017 opener at Ole Miss, with the total the highest of his career until he was credited with 12 tackles at Southern Miss in this year's season debut.
• Fellow linebacker Kelvin Johnson was the only member of South's defense to post 10-plus stops in consecutive contests a year ago after reaching double digits against the Trojans.
Notes On Campbell's Coaching/Playing Career
• Campbell's 168-78 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).
Torch Song Trilogy
Jalen Tolbert recorded a career-best 10 receptions for a school game-record 252 yards — the third-highest total in Sun Belt Conference history — and three touchdowns to lead the Jaguars to a come-from-behind victory at Arkansas State. The junior posted all three scores in the second half after South fell behind by 10 points; he reached the end zone from 42 and 37 yards out in the third quarter to put the Jags back in front, and after the Red Wolves regained the lead in the final period his 51-yard touchdown catch put USA up for good. Not only was it his second 100-yard game of the season, with the effort Tolbert became the school's season record holder with 993 receiving yards this fall while tying the school standard with eight touchdown catches on the year.
Twice Is Right For Tolbert
Tolbert was selected the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week following his performance on Saturday, the second time this fall he has been recognized; he earned the award on Sept. 7 after the Jags defeated Southern Miss to begin the campaign. He's the first individual from the program to collect multiple weekly honors from the league in the same season since Tra Minter did so in 2018, but the first-ever to be named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions.
Littles Comes Up Big
DL Jeremiah Littles was credited with five stops in South's win at A-State, including a career-best three behind the line of scrimmage with a sack. All three of the senior's stops for loss came in the second half, highlighted by a sack of Layne Hatcher on the final play of the day with the Red Wolves at the USA-6 attempting to tie the game and send it to overtime. It was the first time a Jaguar has recorded three tackles behind the line since Chason Milner accomplished the feat in a Sept. 15, 2018, victory over Texas State.
Safety With Numbers
Junior Keith Gallmon paced all players last time out with 11 tackles, adding a pass defensed in the final minute two yards shy of the goal line as the Red Wolves attempted to rally and tie the contest. It was Gallmon's third outing this season — and fourth since the start of last year — with a double-digit stop total, while it marked the third occasion this fall that he has paced the squad in the category after turning the trick twice during the 2019 campaign.
Quarterbacks Shine At Arkansas State
It took two Jaguar quarterbacks to combine to throw for 387 yards and four scores in the victory in Jonesboro last weekend, with Desmond Trotter accounting for 242 of those on 16-of-22 passing and Tanner McGee going 6-of-8 for 145 yards in relief after the sophomore starter was injured in the second half. It was the second-highest passing total in school history behind the 471 yards South recorded at Troy on Oct. 5, 2013 — that was also the last time before Saturday, when Ross Metheny (236) and Brandon Bridge (235) accomplished the feat, that a pair of Jags have thrown for more than 100 yards in the same contest.
Pair Make the Grade
Two members of South's offensive line posted their best marks of the year in the victory over the Red Wolves, with Trey Simpson grading out at 91 percent overall and 95 on assignments while Brian Ankerson received an 87 percent overall grade as well. Simpson's mark was one point shy of equalling the best by a Jaguar this fall — Reggie Smith graded out at 92 percent at Louisiana Nov. 14 — and Ankerson was credited with a season-high eight pancake blocks, one short of his career-best total recorded at Georgia Southern in 2018.
Rising To The Occasion Against the Red Wolves
A pair of Jaguar defenders had their best day of the season last time out, Kelvin Johnson and Devin Rockette. Johnson had seven tackles this year entering play at Arkansas State last weekend, but filling in for an injured Cole the junior linebacker finished one shy of matching his previous career high after posting nine on Saturday. Coming into the contest, Rockette had never been credited with more than three stops in 28 career appearances but he doubled that output with six against the Red Wolves.
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—
