2008 Southern Miss Golden Eagles - Rec. Class

Southern Miss Golden Eagles 2008 Head Coach: Larry Fedora

Southern Miss Golden Eagles

2008 Recruiting Class

Star of the Class

DeAndre Brown WR 6-6 208 Fr. Ocean Springs, Miss./Ocean Springs
A Parade All-American who tallied 31 catches for 625 yards last season for Coach Todd Mangum and totaled 1,800 all-purpose yards ... Named to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio and caught a touchdown pass in the game ... Rated in the Top 10 nationally as a wide receiver including No.3 by Scout.com  ... Tabbed as top player in the state by Rivals ... Ranked No. 13 by Scout, No. 22 by Rivals and No. 23 by ESPN ... Named by the Clarion-Ledger as a member of their Dandy Dozen, first team All-State and the No. 1 Most Wanted recruit in the state ... First team all-state by the Mississippi Association of Coaches and all-South State by the Sun Herald ... Scored on a 55-yard pass from fellow signee Bret Jefcoat in the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Classic in Mobile in December.

Potential Instant Impact Players

Willie Packer DT 6-1 275 Fr. Moss Point, Miss./Moss Point
Named Defensive MVP for the Gulf Coast Region by the Sun Herald ....Collected 90 total tackles, 20 for loss, five forced fumble and three recovered fumbles for the Class 4A South Finalist at Moss Point High ... Played for Coach Jerry Alexander ... Also named to the first team All-Region 7-4A squad, 1st Team All-State in Class 5A, 2nd Team All-State by the Clarion-Ledger and participated in the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Classic in which he tallied 2.5 tackles for loss and six hurries ... Ranks No. 23 by Scout.com.

Bo Tillman DT 6-6 295 Fr. Meadville, Miss./Franklin
Recorded 85 tackles, 10 sacks and two fumble recoveries en route to being named the Region 7-3A Defensive Player of the Year ... Saw action for Coach Grady McCluskey at Franklin High School which won the state championship in 2006 and reached the final in 2007... Named to the Daily Leader All-Area team and the Natchez Democrat All-Metro team ... A first team 3A all-state honoree by the Mississippi Association of Coaches as well as an All-State pick by the Clarion-Ledger ... Also ranked No. 31 nationally at his position and No. 22 by Scout.com.

Rest of the Class
Bud Barksdale DB 6-0 190 Fr. Batesville, Miss./South Panola
Rolando Barragan DT 6-3 295 Jr. Inglewood, Calif./Morningside/El Camino CC
Darius Barnes DE 6-4 235 Fr. Memphis, Tenn./Westwood
R.J. Brown OL 6-3 300 Jr. McLain, Miss./Greene County/Jones County JC
Kyle Burkhart OL 6-4 280 Jr. Kinsley, Kan./Kinsley/Dodge City (Kan.) CC
Nick Chartain OL 6-5 325 Fr. Baton Rouge, La./Desire Street Academy
Terrance Conner DE 6-4 234 Jr. Clarksdale, Miss./Coahoma County/Coahoma CC
Austin Davis QB 6-2 205 Fr. Meridian, Miss./West Lauderdale
Joe Duhon OL 6-3 284 Fr. Lake Charles, La./Washington-Marion Magnet
Jamison Hughes DB 6-1 200 Fr. Oxford, Miss./Oxford/Ole Miss (Have to sit out 2008)
Bret Jefcoat QB 6-1 200 Fr. Fulton, Miss./Itawamba AHS
Demsond Johnson RB 5-11 190 Fr. Yazoo City, Miss./Yazoo City
Jonathan Massey TE 6-3 250 So. Gautier, Miss./Gautier/Copiah-Lincoln CC
Jordan McNair WR 6-2 170 Fr. Port St. Joe, Fla./Port St. Joe
Freddie Parham WR 5-11 180 Jr. Margaret, Ala./St. Clair County/East Central CC
Quentin Pierce ATH 6-0 175 Fr. Mobile, Ala/Davidson
Terrance Pope DT 6-1 280 Fr. Batesville, Miss./South Panola
Kendrick Presley DB 6-1 195 Fr. Kosciusko, Miss./Kosciusko
Austin Quattrochi OL 6-3 265 Fr. Marietta, Ga./George Walton
Marcal Robinson DB 6-0 165 Fr. Prichard, Ala./Vigor
Joel Ross DT 6-1 300 Fr. Houma, La./Vandebilt Catholic
Quin Sanford OL 6-1 295 Fr. Batesville, Miss/South Panola
Josh Tillman DE 6-5 245 Fr. McCall Creek, Miss./Franklin
Ronnie Thornton LB 6-3 215 rFr. Miami, Fla./Killian
Andre Watson DB 5-10 180 Jr. Ocean Springs, Miss./Ocean Springs/Miss. Gulf Coast CC
Bruce Wilbourn WR 6-0 185 Fr. Sardis, Miss./North Panola

- 2007 USM Season
- 2007 USM Preview
- 2006 USM Season

2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 9-3
2007 Record: 7-6

Sept. 1 UT Martin W 35-13
Sept. 8 at Tennessee L 39-19
Sept. 15 at E Carolina W 28-21
Sept. 22 at Boise State L 38-16
Oct. 3 Rice L 31-29
Oct. 13 SMU W 28-7
Oct. 21 at Marshall W 33-24
Oct. 28 UCF L 34-17
Nov. 3 at UAB W 37-7
Nov. 10 Memphis L 29-25
Nov. 17 at UTEP W 56-30
Nov. 24 Arkansas St W 16-10
PapaJohns.com Bowl
Dec. 22 Cincinnati L 31-21

2007 Recap

Recap: The past year marked an end of an era in Hattiesburg, as head coach Jeff Bower was forced from the sidelines after 17 mostly successful seasons.  Southern Miss’ recent inability to extend beyond mediocrity peaked in 2007, a disappointing 7-6 campaign that began with lofty goals and expectations for a Conference USA title.  The Golden Eagles were never able to deliver as the league favorite, playing poorly at home and lacking the punch on defense that used to be the bedrock of the program’s identity.        

Offensive Player of the Year: RB Damion Fletcher

Defensive Player of the Year: LB Gerald McRath

Biggest Surprise: In a pivotal game for both schools, Southern Miss erupted for 42 second-half points to blow past UTEP at the Sun Bowl and remain alive for bowl eligibility.  Led by the running of Fletcher, it was a highly uncharacteristic performance by the Eagle offense, which registered its biggest outburst in almost six years.   

Biggest Disappointment: Southern Miss gave an early indication of what kind of a season it was going to be when it inexplicably lost at home to winless Rice, a three-touchdown underdog.  The Eagles rallied for 22 fourth-quarter points in front of a stunned crowd, but fell two points short in a sobering and ominous outcome.

Looking Ahead: The job of bringing Southern Miss into the 21^st century belongs to Larry Fedora, an energetic offensive innovator that’ll try to do in Hattiesburg what Brian Kelly is doing at Cincinnati.  Fedora’s one-back, no-huddle offense will be slow out of the gate in 2008 unless a reliable passer can be developed in the offseason.

Dec. 22
2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl
Cincinnati 31 ... Southern Miss 21
Cincinnati QB Ben Mauk overcame a rough start to throw four touchdown passes including two to Dominick Goodman in the second quarter, and put the game away late in the third quarter with a ten-yard scoring pass to Antwuan Giddens. Bearcat corner DeAngelo Smith came up with three interceptions, including one to stop the final USM drive, but the Golden Eagles had their moments with Jeremy Young throwing two short touchdown passes and running for a one-yard score. The two teams combined for seven sacks, 17 penalties and seven turnovers.
Offensive Player of the Game: Cincinnati QB Ben Mauk completed 30 of 52 passes for 334 yards, and four touchdowns with three interceptions
Defensive Player of the Game: Cincinnati CB DeAngelo Smith made five tackles, broke up a pass and picked off three passes
Stat Leaders: Cincinnati - Passing: Ben Mauk, 30-52, 334 yds, 4 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Ben Mauk, 12-41. Receiving: Dominick Goodman, 7-95, 2 TD
Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 18-32, 122 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 29-155. Receiving: Damion Fletcher, 7-50
Thoughts and Notes ... Southern Miss played hard in head coach Jeff Bower's final game. The defense was flying around against the run, and QB Jeremy Young tried to do his best to keep the team in the game, but Cincinnati was simply the better team. QB Ben Mauk overcame his rough patches, settled down, and showed why he took the team from good to great this year. ... A ten-win season in Brian Kelly's first season has set the bar high. Now Cincinnati has to use a win like this, a relatively easy one over an overmatched team, to go into next year with even more of an attitude. This team should win games. This program should be able to beat average ones when it's not playing its sharpest or its best. ... Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher will be overshadowed next year if UCF RB Kevin Smith returns as expected, but he's every bit as good. He got a bit banged up early against the Bearcats, but he was able to still carry the offense as both a runner and a receiver. He gained 155 rushing yards, and led the Eagles with seven catches for 50 yards, while UC only gained 71 net yards rushing.

Nov. 24
Southern Miss 16 ... Arkansas State 10
Southern Miss got three Justin Estes field goals in the second half and a one-yard Damion Fletcher scoring run in the second to get by Arkansas State and get a bid to the Papajohns.com Bowl. Arkansas State managed a 24-yard Josh Arauco field goal and a three-yard Brandon Thompkins scoring run in the third, but got a fourth quarter field goal blocked and stalled on a final drive deep in USM territory.
Player of the game: Southern Miss LB Gerald McRath made 17 tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss
Stat Leaders: Arkansas State - Passing: Corey Leonard, 9-23, 118 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Reggie Arnold, 13-87. Receiving: Brandon Thompkins, 3-37
Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 13-24, 123 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 27-133, 1 TD. Receiving: Torris McGee, 3-22
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... A week after the offense was so explosive and effective against UTEP two weeks ago, it didn't do nearly enough against Arkansas State and had to rely on the defense to pull out the win. Jeremy Young was decent throwing the ball and Damion Fletcher did a great job of pounding away, but to get to eight wins with a victory in the Papjohns.com Bowl, the offense will have to be more effective.

Nov. 17
Southern Miss 56 ... UTEP 30
Damion Fletcher ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns including scores from three and 13 yards out as part of a 42-point second half run. Tory Harrison ran for two short scores and Jeremy Young connected on two big pass plays hitting Gerald Baptiste for a 53-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half, and Torris Magee for a 55-yard score later in the third quarter. UTEP got two Marcus Thomas touchdown runs and a 77-yard Joe West catch in a 20-point second half. USM finishes with 363 rushing yards and 568 yards of total offense, and the two teams combined for 23 penalties for 204 yards.
Player of the game: Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher ran 34 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 10-22, 205 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 34-211, 3 TD. Receiving: Gerald Baptiste, 4-74, 1 TD
UTEP - Passing: Trevor Vittatoe, 19-42, 290 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Marcus Thomas, 22-106, 2 TD. Receiving: Joe West, 7-153, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The Southern Miss offense obliterated UTEP in the second half with a brilliant performance from the offensive line paving the way for big gain after big gain. Jeremy Young wasn't accurate, but he connected on the two big pass plays to blow the game wide open. Cutting down on the penalties, with 12 for 114 yards, will be a must to close out. The run defense needs to stuff Arkansas State next week to close out with a streak of three wins in the final four games, but if the offense plays like it did this week, a win won't be a problem.

Nov. 10
Memphis 29 ... Southern Miss 26
Martin Hankins connected with Carlos Singleton on a 52-yard touchdown pass with 1:04 to play, after getting the Tigers close with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Earnest Williams with 4:21 to play, to pull off the shocker. Southern Miss got two Justin Estes field goals and an 82-yard Brandon Sumrall interception return for a touchdown in the second half, but couldn't hold on late with the Tigers holding on to the ball for 12:32 in the fourth. Hankins finished with four touchdown passes, but Memphis only ran for 26 yards.
Player of the game: Memphis QB Martin Hankins completed 35 of 48 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns and two interceptions
Stat Leaders: Memphis - Passing: Martin Hankins, 35-48, 396 yds, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Joseph Doss, 13-13. Receiving: Duke Calhoun, 8-124, 1 TD
Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 11-17, 123 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 21-97, 1 TD. Receiving: Torris Magee, 4-76, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Forget about any dreams of winning the Conference USA title, thanks to losses to UCF and Memphis in the last three weeks, USM needed to fight for a bowl game. It'll get eligible with UTEP and Arkansas State up next, but the defense has to be more consistent, and the offense has to find Damion Fletcher again. Fletcher has been fine, but he hasn't been the special back who dominated throughout the first part of the season. Jeremy Young was effective throwing the ball, but he didn't get any of the big plays needed to put the game away.

Nov. 5
Southern Miss 37 ... UAB 7
Jeremy Young returned from injury and threw two second quarter touchdown passes to Ed Morgan to go along with three Justin Estes field goals and four-yard scoring runs from Tory Harrison and Damion Fletcher on the way to a 37-0 lead midway through the third quarter. UAB finally got on the board with a 32-yard scoring run from Sylvester Mencer, but only ended up with 244 yards of total offense.
Player of the game: Southern Miss QB Jeremy Young completed seven of 16 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns, and ran seven times for 58 yards.
Stat Leaders: Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 7-16, 95 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Antwain Easterling, 16-85. Receiving: Ed Morgan, 3-47, 2 TD
UAB - Passing: Sam Hunt, 11-26, 125 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Joseph Webb, 6-26. Receiving: Sylvester Mencer, 4-65, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... It's not like Jeremy Young had the passing game humming against UAB, but moving the ball with his legs as well as his arm, with two early touchdown passes, helped put the game away, and it showed how well he leads the offense. Now the hope has to be that he's back in time to lead the way to three more wins to have a shot of winning the East. Help is needed against UCF, but USM has the head-to-head tie breaker with East Carolina. There's no reason the Golden Eagles should lose to Memphis or UTEP if Young and RB Damion Fletcher are on.

Oct. 28
UCF 34 ... Southern Miss 17
Kevin Smith set the UCF rushing record, but he got his work in with 43 carries and two short touchdown runs. Southern Miss scored first on the first of two short Tory Harrison scoring runs, but four turnovers proved costly with UCF capitalizing on all of them. Michael Torres hit two field goals and Kyle Israel threw two eight-yard touchdown passes with the second helping the Golden Knights pull away in the second half. UCF held on to the ball for 36:33.
Player of the game: UCF RB Kevin Smith ran 43 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: UCF - Passing: Kyle Israel, 12-16, 162 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Kevin Smith, 43-175, 2 TD. Receiving: Rocky Ross, 4-40
Southern Miss - Passing: Stephen Reaves, 20-29, 144 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 19-134. Receiving: Torris Magee, 6-40
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Southern Miss can't turn the ball over. The Rice game proved that, and now this week's loss to UCF shows just how fragile the team is when it makes mistakes. The defense is almost never able to pick up the slack when the offense makes mistakes, and while the offense is partially to blame for the loss, the defense was the bigger problem. UCF's Kevin Smith rumbled for yard after yard, and the USM D failed to come up with the necessary stop. Now there's no margin left for error in the Conference USA race needing to win out and get some help.

Oct. 21
Southern Miss 33 ... Marshall 24
Damion Fletcher ran for two first quarter touchdowns and Torris McGee caught an 85-yard touchdown pass as USM jumped out to a 21-0 lead. But Marshall fought back, despite turning it over four times, the Herd pulled within two in the fourth quarter on a 47-yard Darius Passmore catch. But the USM offense went back to work, going 91 yards in 13 plays with Fletcher scoring from two yards out to put it away.
Player of the game: Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher ran 30 times for 152 yards and three touchdowns, and caught four passes for 34 yards
Stat Leaders: Marshall - Passing: Bernard Morris, 20-38, 309 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Darius Marshall, 14-62, 1 TD. Receiving: Darius Passmore, 5-105, 1 TD
Southern Miss - Passing: Stephen Reaves, 23-30, 310 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 30-152, 3 TD. Receiving: Torris Magee, 7-156, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The coaching staff can't be happy with the way Marshall got back in the game and had its chances to pull off the stunner, but when the offense absolutely needed a key drive at the end, it got it. Damion Fletcher might be the best back no one's heard of, and he deserves to be the front-runner for Conference USA Player of the Year. If he outduels UCF's Kevin Smith next week, he might be.

Oct. 13
Southern Miss 28 ... SMU 7
Southern Miss blew up in the second quarter with 21 points on a 28-yard Shawn Nelson catch, a 19-yard Chris Johnson run, and a three-yard Damion Fletcher score win with ease. Stephen Reaves added a seven-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. SMU didn't get on the board until late with a 16-yard DeMyron Martin catch. 
Player of the game: Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher ran 19 times for 108 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: SMU - Passing: Justin Willis, 19-31, 191 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Justin Willis, 20-85. Receiving: Emmanuel Sanders, 4-47
Southern Miss - Passing: Stephen Reaves, 18-26, 206 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 19-108, 1 TD. Receiving: Shawn Nelson, 5-81, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Southern Miss overcame the ugly loss to Rice with a fantastic defensive performance against SMU, keeping the offense off the board until the outcome had already been decided. Stephen Reaves was efficient and effective, doing what he had to do to take some of the focus off the running game. While the UCF game should be tough, and going to UTEP won't be a walk in the park, there's no reason the Golden Eagles shouldn't win the rest of its games.

Oct. 3
Rice 31 ... Southern Miss 29
Rice forced seven Southern Miss turnovers was up 31-7 in the fourth quarter, but needed to bat down a late two-point conversion attempt to preserve the win. Jarrett Dillard caught two seven yard touchdown passes, and Justin Hill ran for a 54-yard score on the way to the big lead, but the Owls were held to just 236 yards of total offense and couldn't stop USM late. The Golden Eagles scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, getting two, two point conversions after short touchdown runs, but they couldn't convert on a third after an eight-yard Shawn Nelson scoring grab. They got the ball one more time with 1:21 to play, but lost a fumble.
Player of the game: Rice S Andrew Sandejo made 5.5 tackles, forced a fumble, broke up a pass, and picked off two others.
Stat Leaders: Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 9-20, 67 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Justin Hill 12-100, 1 TD.  Receiving: James Casey, 2-16
Southern Miss - Passing: Stephen Reaves, 24-33, 231 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 23-142, 2 TD. Receiving: Chris Johnson, 7-51
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Could the loss of Jeremy Young to a sprained ankle really mean that much? It's not fair to pin the Rice disaster on Stephen Reaves, but he couldn't stop turning the ball over, and the Owls took advantage of almost all of them. Needless to say, this is the ultimate disaster for USM. In a tight race, it couldn't afford to come out sloppy, and while it showed it was obviously the more talented team, it didn't matter. The hole was dug too deep. Now come two other league lightweights, SMU and Marshall. Focus shouldn't be a problem.

Sept. 27
Boise State 38 ... Southern Miss 16
It was the Ian Johnson show, as the Bronco running back ripped off touchdown runs from 12, 22 and two yards out, and Southern Miss didn't have an answer. Down 28-3 late in the first half, the Eagles appeared to take the momentum with a one-yard Damion Fletcher touchdown run in the final minute, and then marched on a 75-yard drive to open the second half, with a 23-yard touchdown catch from Shawn Nelson. But the extra point hit the upright, and nothing else went right from there. The Broncos started off the scoring with two Taylor Tharp touchdown passes in the first quarter.
Player of the game: Boise State RB Ian Johnson ran 22 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns and caught three passes for 80 yards
Stat Leaders: Boise State - Passing: Taylor Tharp, 19-27, 307 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ian Johnson, 22-111, 3 TD. Receiving: Ian Johnson, 3-80
Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young 13-23, 190 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 21-83, 1 TD. Receiving: Chris Johnson, 5-71
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The Southern Miss defense was hardly the Southern Miss defense against Boise State. The defensive line got pushed around, the tackling was poor, and just when it seemed like there was a chance to turn things around for good early in the second half, it got marched on. The offense was decent, but it had to press after it became obvious the defense wasn't going to be able to get the job done. Now comes the easy part against Rice, SMU and Marshall. This has to be when the Eagles go on a big run.

Sept. 15
Southern Miss 28 ... East Carolina 21
Jeremy Young ran for two touchdowns from one yard out in the fourth quarter, with the second one coming with 32 seconds to play, to give Southern Miss the tough road win. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead on a 28-yard touchdown catch from Shaun Nelson and a two-yard Damion Fletcher run, but East Carolina adjusted and controlled the third quarter with 21 points. Pat Pinkney threw two touchdown passes and Dominique Lindsay ran for a one-yard score, but the Southern Miss defense stiffened in the fourth quarter.
Player of the game: Southern Miss QB Jeremy Young completed 18 of 28 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown with an interception, and ran 11 times for 20 yards and two scores.
Stat Leaders: East Carolina - Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 20-33, 203 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chris Johnson, 13-45. Receiving: Dwayne Harris, 4-55, 1 TD
Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 18-28, 237 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 27-111, 1 TD. Receiving: Chris Johnson 6-61
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... While the Golden Eagles are still all about the defense and the running game, QB Jeremy Young continues to improve and is starting to do more and more to become a playmaker, and not just a caretaker. Against East Carolina, he did a nice job of coming up with just enough good throws to provide balance, and that'll continue to be the key. As long as defenses can't focus on Damion Fletcher, the offense will move. Defensively, Gerald McRath came up with a huge game against the Pirates and continues to be a tone-setting playmaker.

Sept. 8
Tennessee 39 ... Southern Miss 19
Southern Miss got up 16-10 late in the first half on three field goals and a 69-yard Chris Johnson touchdown catch, but Tennessee got a touchdown in the final minute on a five-yard catch from Josh Briscoe, and then the rout was on. The Volunteers went on a 29-3 run with Arian Foster running for two touchdowns and Daniel Lincoln connecting on field goals from 36 and 47 yards out. The Golden Eagles were held to 90 rushing yards and turned it over three times.
Player of the game: Tennessee RB Arian Foster ran 23 times for 125 yards and two scores
Stat Leaders: Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 19-36, 254 yds, 1 TD, 1 TD
Rushing: Jeremy Young, 9-48. Receiving: Chris Johnson, 8-127, 1 TD
Tennessee - Passing: Erik Ainge, 23-36, 276 yds, 2 TDs
Rushing: Arian Foster, 23-125, 2 TDs. Receiving: Austin Rogers, 7-112, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Southern Miss can't beat good teams like Tennessee without Damion Fletcher running well. Jeremy Young did a decent job throwing the ball, but after getting the lead, the ground game couldn't get the offense moving, and it couldn't stop the bleeding once the Vols started to roll. There wasn't enough defensive pressure on Erik Ainge, and he was able to pick apart the secondary in the second half. Against a good East Carolina defensive line next week, the Golden Eagles have to get Fletcher going early and have to keep feeding him.

Sept. 1
Southern Miss 35 ... UT Martin 13
UT Martin held a 6-0 lead off two Tom Hansen field goals into the second quarter, and then Southern Miss went on a 35-point run with Chris Johnson scoring from 14 and three yards out and Jeremy Young, Damion Fletcher, and Marcus Raines each scoring from close range. Marcus Dawson got into the end zone for UTM from three yards out with 5:21 to play.
Player of the game: Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher ran 19 times for 156 yards and a touchdowns
Stat Leaders: UT Martin - Passing: Dexter Anoka, 12-23, 129 yds
Rushing: Jessie Burton, 1-31. Receiving: Josh Chapman, 3-28
Southern Miss - Passing: Jeremy Young, 11-26, 115 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 19-156, 1 TD. Receiving: Torris Magee, 5-56
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Southern Miss beat UT Martin by converting third downs. USM was 11 of 19, UTM was three of 13. The defense allowed yards, but it basically stiffened when it had to. While Damion Fletcher ran well and Jeremy Young kept the chains moving, the passing game wasn't nearly crisp enough. If it's going to struggle with UT Martin, it's going to have a nightmare of a time with Tennessee.