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
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2007 USM Season
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2007 USM Preview
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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 21st
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.