Arizona Bowl capsule

ARIZONA BOWL

South Alabama (6-6) vs. Air Force (9-3), 5:30 p.m., American Sports Network

KEY STORYLINES:

1. South Alabama came out strong with a win at Mississippi State in its season opener but did not win another road game the rest of the way and had to scramble to become bowl eligible. The Jaguars picked up a victory in their regular-season finale over New Mexico State to earn a spot in the Arizona Bowl against Air Force in Tucson, Ariz. The Falcons won five straight to close out the regular season, including a 27-20 triumph over then-No. 19 Boise State in the finale.

2. South Alabama is making the second bowl appearance in school history and is looking for its first win after falling to Bowling Green in the 2014 Camellia Bowl. The Jaguars showed an ability to get up for big games this season with the win over Mississippi State – the Sun Belt’s lone triumph over an SEC team in 2016 – and a 42-24 thrashing of then-No. 19 San Diego State at home on Oct. 1. Each of South Alabama’s final three losses and four of the six came by seven or fewer points.

3. Air Force hit a lull with three straight losses at the beginning of conference play but churned out the yards on the ground in the final five games. The Falcons are third among FBS teams with an average of 322.8 rushing yards and are averaging 34.3 points. Air Force is appearing in a bowl game for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons under head coach Troy Calhoun and is searching for its fourth win in that span.

ABOUT SOUTH ALABAMA:

Head coach Joey Jones led the Jaguars’ transition to the FBS in 2012 and is confident despite being an underdog against Air Force. “We’re going out there to win a bowl game, first and foremost,” Jones told reporters. “Yes, we’re going to have some great dinners and we’re going to do some sightseeing, and that’s a great experience, but we have to get the guys to understand it’s time for business, and when we get away from those events we have to be ready to practice and ready for meetings.” Jones, whose team already beat one Mountain West opponent this season in San Diego State, will lean on junior running back Xavier Johnson, who collected career highs of 154 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season finale.

ABOUT AIR FORCE:

The Falcons excel at the option attack and totaled 35 rushing touchdowns in the regular season from eight different players. Jacobi Owens led the team with 785 yards but was one of four rushers to total at least 600 on the season and tied for fifth with three TDs as Timothy McVey paced the team with 10 rushing scores. Air Force is led on defense by senior safety Weston Steelhammer, who became the first player in school history to be named first-team All-Mountain West three years in a row after leading the team with 75 tackles and boosting his career total to 17 interceptions with six more this season.