The margin for error is much smaller, but all hope is not yet lost in 2017 for the South Alabama Jaguars.
USA (3-5, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) must win three of its final four games to reach a bowl game for the second straight year and third time in four years. That challenge begins at 3 p.m. Saturday when Louisiana-Lafayette (3-4, 2-2) visits Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Asked Monday if he felt a "sense of urgency" at this point in the season, Jaguars head coach Joey Jones answered in the affirmative.
"I always feel urgency," Jones said. "In this business you always feel that; if you don't, you don't need to be in it.