MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama returns to the practice field Monday afternoon to begin preparing for Saturday’s road game at North Texas, two days after a loss to Florida International in which the Jaguars outscored the Golden Panthers in the second half but could not overcome a large halftime deficit.
The South Alabama North Texas matchup in Denton, Texas, is the first of three road games among the Jaguars’ final four contests.
Second-Half Push Against FIU
Head coach Joey Jones said the Jaguars dug themselves too deep a hole by allowing FIU to build a 28-7 halftime lead. After the break, South Alabama shut out the Golden Panthers and scored 13 points. A fourth-quarter field goal attempt bounced off the left upright.
The Jaguars finished with 458 yards of total offense, their highest total of the season. Red zone scoring remained an issue, as South Alabama came away with one touchdown on four trips inside the FIU 20-yard line.
The defeat was the fourth straight close game for the Jaguars, whose lone win in that stretch came in double overtime against Florida Atlantic.
Record and Remaining Schedule
The loss dropped South Alabama to 2-7 overall and 1-4 in the Sun Belt Conference and guaranteed the program’s first losing season. The 2012 season is the Jaguars’ first as a full member of the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Sun Belt.
Four games remain. Three of them are on the road, and the lone remaining home game is against Middle Tennessee in two weeks. The Jaguars’ final four opponents have a combined record of 15-20. Middle Tennessee is tied with Louisiana-Monroe for first place in the Sun Belt at 4-1.
Scouting North Texas
North Texas enters Saturday’s game at 3-6 overall and 2-3 in league play after a 37-19 loss to Arkansas State.
The Mean Green will be the second consecutive Sun Belt opponent for South Alabama that is leaving the conference after this season. Both North Texas and FIU accepted invitations to join Conference USA before the start of the football season.
Jaguars Look Ahead
Quarterback Ross Metheny said the team would review the FIU film and move on.
“We’re going to go back, look at this, make some corrections and focus on North Texas,” Metheny said. “North Texas has a good football team as well. We’re going to focus on ourselves and have a good week of preparation and go to Denton and do what we do.”
Jones, in his fourth season leading the program on the field, described the Sun Belt as balanced from top to bottom.
“There are a lot of good teams in this league and there’s not a lot of difference from the top to the bottom,” Jones said. “(FIU is) just as good as anybody and we’re playing close ball, but we just didn’t finish this game. We play North Texas (this) week and we’re going to try to go up there and get a win. It’s a tough conference.”
Update: Jones Seeks Four-Quarter Performance
As the week of preparation continued, Jones said the Jaguars have not yet put together a complete game. “We’ve played some good games, but I don’t know that we have played a four-quarter game yet, I really don’t,” he said. “I think we have played three quarters, we have played two, we have played three-and-a-half against Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State. We are doing some good things. For where we are in our program, we have to play four quarters to have a chance to win.”
South Alabama’s losses to FIU and Arkansas State were each decided by one possession, and the season-opening loss to UTSA came on a field goal in the final minute. The Jaguars’ first win over an FBS and Sun Belt opponent came in double overtime against Florida Atlantic.
“I think we have gained some respect from the other coaches and the teams we have played against,” Jones said. “That’s gratifying in some ways because when you walk across the field and shake a guy’s hand, you can tell that they respect what you are doing. But it still wasn’t a win on the scoreboard, and until we start getting some of those it’s going to sting.”
“We’re a much better football team now than we were the first year,” Jones said. “It’s probably the biggest improvement that any team we have had these first four years has made within the season. Is it showing up in the conference standings? No, because we still see some L’s over there on our side. Did we play really well? Yes, but this game is all about winning.”
More From the FIU Game
Ross Metheny set a South Alabama single-game record with 326 yards of total offense against FIU, throwing for 270 yards and rushing for 56. He opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Corey Besteda. The Jaguars averaged 6 yards per play, and the defense held FIU to 31 second-half yards and two first downs. South Alabama crossed midfield on three fourth-quarter drives and reached third-and-goal inside the 1-yard line before a false start pushed it back.
FIU finished with 334 yards. South Alabama ranks second in the Sun Belt in total defense, allowing 364.7 yards per game.
North Texas by the Numbers
North Texas averages 405.8 yards per game, including 175 on the ground, fourth in the conference in rushing. Brandin Byrd has 572 yards and two touchdowns on 152 carries, and Antoinne Jimmerson has 522 yards and five touchdowns on 105 carries; both rank among the league’s top 10 rushers.
Quarterback Derek Thompson has passed for more than 200 yards in seven straight games, including 316 against Arkansas State last week, and ranks fifth in the Sun Belt at 229.3 passing yards per game. The Mean Green are without Breland Chancellor, who suffered a season-ending injury after totaling 966 all-purpose yards, including 25 catches for 450 yards and five touchdowns.
North Texas allows 410 yards per game and more than 250 passing yards per game, and its last four opponents have averaged more than 315 passing yards.
“The thing that is dangerous about them is that they will run, run, run, run and all of a sudden run play action and throw it deep over the top,” Jones said. “We have to be smart and not give up the big throw. Our cornerbacks and safeties are really going to have to do a good job this week.”
“North Texas is a very physical team, they play power football offensively,” Jones said. “Defensively they don’t run a lot of things, but they do them extremely well. They have big guys up front who are 330 and 300 pounds inside. They play very good fundamental football and are very well coached.”
Kickoff in Denton is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on WNSP and streamed through the University of North Texas’ online video service.
