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FLORENCE, Ala. --     Although the University of North Alabama made the move to Division I and FCS football in 2018, Saturday's game against Campbell will be the Lions' first official Big South Conference game as UNA hosts the Campbell Camels.

    Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. at Braly Stadium.

    UNA played its first season in the FCS as an independent, then moved into the Big South Conference in 2019. But the Lions games against league opponents in 2019 did not count in the conference standings and UNA was not eligible to compete for the conference title.

    The same would have been the case in the 2020 Spring Big South season, but UNA had chosen to play a Fall schedule instead and did not face any conference opponents last season.

    Now with the creation of ASUN Conference football, UNA will move its football program into the ASUN as well in 2022, so this season marks the Lions last in the Big South. At its summer meetings, the league voted to allow UNA to compete for the Big South title and six of the Lions' seven games against Big South schools will count in the conference standings.

    Having faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation to this point, this game is a chance for a fresh start for North Alabama and the opportunity to compete for a conference title for the first time in four seasons.

    "This will be the first time since 2017 that we will be playing a football game that counts in conference standings," said UNA head coach Chris Willis. "We can't go to the playoffs, but we can have a say in how it all plays pout and I'm excited about seeing what we can do.

    "We played a very difficult four-game non-conference schedule and we had a chance to win two of those, but we didn't," Willis added. "Our attitudes and effort have been great. We just have to learn how to turn the page after a bad play and refocus. Our mindset has got to change. I have never been a part of something like this, but winning would heal a lot.

    " It's not about who we are playing. It's about us," Willis added. "We've got to just take one week at a time."

    UNA begins a stretch of four straight games against Big South opponents before a bye week.

    The Lions begin that stretch against a 1-2 Campbell team that will be the first opponent that the Lions have seen that isn't ranked or receiving votes in the FCS poll.

    Campbell fell to Liberty and Elon before pounding non-scholarship Presbyterian 72-0 two weeks ago. The Camels will be the second straight opponent that the Lions will face that will have had two weeks to prepare for UNA.

    Also, North Alabama's last win at Braly Stadium came against Campbell in 2019 in the last meeting between the two schools.         Joe Gurley kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Lions to a 25-24 win.

    To date, the 2021 season has been a tale of two halves for the Lions.

    UNA has led in three of its four games in the second half before letting them slip away.

    The Lions have only been outscored 47-38 in the first half this season, but 80-28 in the final two periods.

    Turnovers have also been critical in all four games. UNA has allowed a defensive score on a turnover in all four games, with three interception returns for touchdowns and two fumble returns for TDs.

    Opposing offenses have scored 11 touchdowns against UNA, while the Lions have scored nine on offense. But the five TDs by the opposing defenses have helped swing all four losses so far in 2021

    The Lions have used four quarterbacks already this season. Jaylen Gipson won the starting job and had two starts before being injured. Blake Dever then stepped up to start the last two weeks and alternated plays at times with Caleb Pope. Rett Files also got into the mix last week at Nicholls.

    The UNA ground game has shown improvement with the addition of freshman ShunDerrick Powell and the addition of a running threat with Pope under center.

    The receiving corp has been solid with Cortez Hall, Dexter Boykin, Parker Driggers and Corson Swan all recording 10 or more catches so far this season.

    Defensively, linebacker Caleb Dawson leads the team in tackles with 25 total stops.

    Wallace Cowins leads the team with three tackles for loss and defensive back K.J. Smith leads the conference in interceptions with three.

    UNA senior punter Joe Gurley continues to lead the Big South Conference in punting with a 43.8 average.