MOBILE, Ala. – As the University of South Alabama football team closes out the first half of its 2016 schedule, it's only fitting that the Jaguars are challenged with a task it has yet to complete.

Having picked up both the program's first-ever win over a Southeastern Conference opponent as well as its first defeat of a nationally-ranked team in the opening five weeks of the campaign, the Jags will visit an Arkansas State squad that has won each of the four match-ups between the two schools since South began Sun Belt Conference play.  The contest in Jonesboro will kick off at 6 p.m. (CDT) and be broadcast live on ESPN3 with coverage also available via the iHeartRadio app — which can be accessed for free worldwide — and local radio stations WRKH 96.1 FM and 99.5 The Jag.

Last time out, the Jaguars (3-2, 0-2 Sun Belt) earned a 42-24 victory over 19th-ranked San Diego State, with the win coming a month after USA walked out of Starkville with a 21-20 decision over Mississippi State.  In between, however, the Jags dropped league contests to Georgia Southern and Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Red Wolves (1-4, 1-0 SBC) snapped a four-game losing streak last week with a 27-26 defeat of GS, their 10th win in a row in conference action dating back to November 2014.

"Our guys understand that we are 0-2 in the conference and that even though we have won some big games, conference play is important," South head coach Joey Jones said.  "We're playing a team in Arkansas State that won the conference championship last year and their first [Sun Belt] game this year, it will be a great challenge for us to go up there and beat a really good football team."

In the victory over SDSU, the Jag defense surrendered just 316 total yards including only 159 through the air.  Not only does the unit lead the league in the latter category — ranking among the top 10 nationally — it stands second giving up 376.2 yards per outing and is also among the top five in scoring (27.2) and pass efficiency (137.01 rating) defense.

Kalen Jackson is atop the SBC with 7½ tackles for loss this fall, with Randy Allen and Roman Buchanan ranked in the top 10 as well in the category with 6½ and six stops behind the line, respectively.  Allen is tied for the conference lead with five sacks in five games, posting 23 total tackles to lead the USA defensive line, while Buchanan and Jackson share the team lead with 38 stops apiece.   Jeremy Reaves — who paced the Jaguars against the Aztecs with seven tackles — has 34 stops on the year, and he also has four pass break ups and an interception to rank among the Sun Belt leaders in passes defensed.  Neiko Robinson and Jalen Thompson were credited with six tackles each in the SDSU contest, with the latter breaking up a career-best two passes as well.

ASU is averaging just under 390 yards of total offense per outing in 2016, and less than 135 rushing, but against the Eagles last week the Red Wolves racked up 525 yards.  Warren Wand nearly doubled his season average of 73.6 yards per game rushing with 140 and a touchdown, and Johnston White gained 126 of his 149 yards this fall in that contest, but it was quarterback Justice Hansen who was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after he threw the game-winning touchdown to Omar Bayless with nine seconds remaining in regulation.  For the year, Hansen has completed 59-of-101 passes for 928 yards and six scores.

"One thing I noticed was they ran the ball a lot better," Jones observed.  "They did a good job in their run game, changing a couple of things in their scheme, and just executed better on the field running the ball.  That was huge for them."

Blake Mack is the team's leading receiver with 22 catches for 389 yards, with Cam Echols-Luper recording 11 receptions for 211 yards and Kendall Sanders chipping in with 10 for 139.

The Red Wolves are scoring less than 19 points per game, and have converted 23.9 percent on third downs while turning the ball over 12 times.

After recording 40-plus points in back-to-back outings against NCAA Division I opponents for the first time in school history — the Jags had 41 in a win over Nicholls prior to defeating the Aztecs — South is posting 27.2 per outing.  USA is third in the Sun Belt in passing offense, averaging nearly 275 yards per game, ranking among the top five in both third-down conversions (38.4%) and red zone offense (81.8%) while holding the ball for more than 32 minutes per contest, which stands third in the Sun Belt.

With Dallas Davis (90-of-155, 1,130 yds, 5 TDs) sidelined against SDSU due to injury, Cole Garvin started at quarterback for South and proceeded to complete 16-of-21 attempts for 242 yards and three scores; for those efforts he was chosen the SBC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 3.  The trio of Gerald Everett (26-393, 3 TDs), Josh Magee (22-259, 2 TDs) and Kevin Kutchera (16-316, 1 TD) all rank among the top 10 in the league in receiving yards per game, with the first two also near the top of the conference in receptions per contest.  While the Jaguars are rushing for just over 105 yards per outing, the team has scored seven times on the ground with Tyreis Thomas (38-161) reaching the end zone three times, and Xavier Johnson (52-176) and Dami Ayoola (25-81) crossing the goal line twice apiece.

The Red Wolves are giving up 34 points per contest, more than 220 yards on the ground and better than 240 via the pass, but the unit limited GS to just 162 yards rushing and 365 overall in picking up their first win of the year.  Xavier Woodson-Luster leads the team with 46 stops, Justin Clifton has been credited with 41 tackles and three passes defensed, and Kyle Wilson had posted 40 stops including five behind the line of scrimmage.  Blaise Taylor and Chris Humes have broken up five and four passes, respectively, while both Chris Odom and Ja'Von Rolland-Jones have been credited with a pair of sacks.

"I think their defensive front is what stands out to me most on their team, they are really good against the run," said Jones.  "They have good athletes everywhere, when you look at them on special teams and guys covering on kickoffs you see 11 guys running down there who are 6-3, 215-230 [pounds] and they can all run.  That's from years and years of having good recruiting classes, they are very athletic."

The four meetings between the two programs have provided a variety of outcomes.  The first and most recent match-ups — which the Red Wolves claimed by scores of 36-29 and 49-31, respectively — have been high-scoring affairs, while in 2013 ASU scored with six-and-a-half minutes to go to pull out a 17-16 win in Mobile.  Last fall, the Jaguars held a 31-20 advantage with just over 13 minutes to go in the contest, but the Red Wolves scored four touchdowns in the next five-and-a-half minutes, with the last two coming from the defense, to earn their fourth straight victory in the series.

When asked if last season's game will affect the Jags in this year's contest, Jones responded, "Not really.  Whether we won or lost has no effect on this team.  We've got a team that is sticking together, that's one thing we've been focused on.  We've had four games come down to the wire and won three of them.  Our guys are focusing on ourselves.

"They know it's an Arkansas State team that's been dominant in our conference, but focusing on ourselves is what is going to help us win."

And if the Jaguars can accomplish that task on Saturday, it will provide another program highlight in a season that's already seen two goals reached just now approaching the halfway mark.

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

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