MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama returned to the practice field Sunday night to begin game-week preparations for Saturday’s trip to Tennessee, following a three-day break from Thursday through Saturday.
The South Alabama-Tennessee game kicks off at 11:21 a.m. Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville and will be televised by the SEC Network, seen on UTV44 in the Mobile area.
Seniors Set the Tone
South Alabama’s seniors challenged the underclassmen to come back from the break ready to work, and the seniors met teammates at the practice field gates Sunday to repeat that message before the session.
The team will take its customary Monday off and resume practice Tuesday.
Scouting the Volunteers
Tennessee is in the middle of a demanding stretch. The Volunteers lost at No. 2 Oregon in Eugene and at Florida in Gainesville on Saturday. After hosting South Alabama, Tennessee faces No. 9 Georgia and No. 12 South Carolina.
Jaguars head coach Joey Jones said he watched Tennessee over the weekend and came away impressed with the work of first-year Volunteers coach Butch Jones.
“(Tennessee) coach (Butch) Jones has done a great job, first of all,” Joey Jones told AL.com. “They are very well-coached and they play hard. I thought they went out against Florida and really played hard. You can tell, I know when I watch a team play what the coaches have done and they are well coached and they were getting after it. I’m very impressed with them in watching them play.”
“They’ve gotten better as the season has gone along. They’ve obviously played some really good teams,” he said. “Florida is a top 10 team and has one of the best defensive fronts that I’ve seen in college football. They do a great job at Florida and Tennessee, from what I saw was, in the second half they never let up. You could tell the intensity level was there. They’re a very good football team.”
Preparing for the Noise
Neyland Stadium seats more than 100,000. To prepare for the crowd noise, South Alabama practices daily with loudspeakers turned to full volume playing music and other noise, Jones said. For the last two weeks, the Jaguars have also been practicing to Tennessee’s signature song, “Rocky Top.”
Broadcast Information
The Joey Jones Show will air at 10:30 a.m. Saturday on UTV44 as the lead-in to the SEC Network broadcast of the game.
Update: South Alabama and Tennessee by the Numbers
South Alabama (2-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) shares first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with Arkansas State (2-2, 1-0) entering the week. Texas State is 2-1, Louisiana-Monroe 2-2, Louisiana-Lafayette 1-2 and Georgia State 0-4, all without a league game, while Troy and Western Kentucky are each 2-2 and 0-1.
Over the weekend, Mississippi State beat Troy 62-7, Western Kentucky defeated Morgan State 58-17, Louisiana-Lafayette won 35-30 at Akron, Memphis beat Arkansas State 31-7 and Baylor defeated Louisiana-Monroe 70-7. Jacksonville State, coached by former South Alabama defensive coordinator Bill Clark, beat Georgia State 32-26.
National Rankings
- Total offense: South Alabama 65th; Tennessee 103rd
- Scoring offense: South Alabama 61st; Tennessee 59th
- Passing offense: South Alabama 59th; Tennessee 114th
- Rushing offense: South Alabama 72nd; Tennessee 46th
- Total defense: South Alabama 52nd; Tennessee 82nd
- Rushing defense: South Alabama 23rd; Tennessee 75th
- Scoring defense: South Alabama 79th; Tennessee 73rd
- Kickoff returns: South Alabama 17th; Tennessee 29th
- Team sacks: South Alabama 25th; Tennessee 77th
- Turnovers gained: South Alabama 72nd; Tennessee 3rd
- Turnover margin: South Alabama 68th; Tennessee 29th
- Fewest penalties per game: South Alabama 89th; Tennessee 2nd
Among Sun Belt teams, South Alabama ranks first in total defense, kickoff returns, punt return defense, passing yards per completion and team sacks.
Individual Rankings
Quarterback Ross Metheny ranks 21st nationally in passing efficiency and 57th in total offense. Kicker Aleem Sunanon is 18th in field goals per game, and T.J. Glover is 17th in kickoff returns. On defense, Qudarius Ford is 15th in passes defended, Alex Page is 22nd in tackles for loss and Romelle Jones is 27th in sacks.
