Southern Miss Football

With Hawaii not bowl eligible, the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl picked the Southern Miss and Nevada to play each other on Christmas Eve. The 11-2 Golden Eagles are a six point favorite over the 7-5 Wolf Pack per the Las Vegas odds.

Nevada lost a bunch of offensive talent from last year’s 13-1 squad but it hasn’t lost much in terms of offensive production. The Wolf Pack are averaging over 522 yards per game including over 250 yards rushing.

The problem is that their best running back Mike Ball was kicked off the team last month but Lampford Mark has been sensational as his replacement, going for over 100 yards in the last five games in Chris Ault’s signature “Pistol” offense. Watch out for Rishard Matthews at receiver because he is averaging 113 yards per game.

Nevada ranks right in the middle of the country in terms of defense though defensive end Brett Roy has 10 sacks and 21 total tackles for a loss.

Southern Miss is one of the most balanced teams in the country and has no glaring weakness. The offense runs through do-it-all quarterback Austin Davis who has 3,300 yards passing and 330 yards rushing. It averages 37 points per game while holding opponents to just 21.

On defense, the big play maker is linebacker Jamie Collins who has 94 tackles including 21 for a loss and 6.5 sacks. He also has eight pass breakups and an interception return for a touchdown.

The Golden Eagles have given up some big point totals to some explosive offenses and had trouble with Navy’s triple option but with so much time to prepare for the Pistol, expect them to get a solid win over the Wolf Pack and to cover.

Honolulu—Sheraton Hawaii Bowl executives announced on Sunday that the University of Southern Mississippi has accepted an invitation to the 10th annual Christmas Eve Bowl on ESPN.

The Conference USA champion Golden Eagles will face the University of Nevada Wolf Pack from the Western Athletic Conference.

“It is with great pleasure that I am able to invite the five-time and current Conference USA champions University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles to a well-deserved bowl appearance in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl,” Executive Director David A. K. Matlin said in a press release.

“The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl has enjoyed great quarterback play over the past nine years and we are especially excited at the opportunity to showcase Southern Miss’ Austin Davis to the nation via ESPN on Christmas Eve. Congratulations to Coach Fedora and the entire Southern Miss community on a championship season.”

After stunning the University of Houston on Saturday 49-28—ruining the Cougars' dreams of an undefeated season and Bowl Championship Series invitation—Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora said his team deserved the chance to play in a BCS bowl game.

“We’ve got 11 victories and a conference championship. We just beat an undefeated team ranked No. 6 in the BCS standings. This team deserves to be in a BCS bowl game,” Fedora said.

Southern Miss wouldn't be so lucky; but the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is happy to have them.

The Golden Eagles will be making their first appearance in the Dec. 24 bowl, while the Wolf Pack are making their third.

“We are pleased to reward our football coaches and our student-athletes with a trip to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl” said Southern Miss Director of Athletics Richard Giannini. “I would like to congratulate Coach Fedora, our assistant coaches, and players who made this recording-setting year possible. 

"We are very proud of what we have accomplished this season and we look forward to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. It is our hope that we will be able to have a strong contingent of Golden Eagle fans to be able to make the trip and share in the celebration of this truly exceptional year.”

Southern Miss finished the regular season 11-2 and are ranked No. 21 and 22 in the Coaches and AP polls, respectively. They also finished 21st in the final BCS Standings, five spots out of the top 16 which would have led to an automatic BCS bowl bid.

“I am extremely excited for this football team and coaching staff to have this opportunity to make our first trip to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl,” Fedora said. 

“This is a tremendous trip for this Conference USA championship team that reached new heights this season and we are thrilled about the opportunity to face a very talented Nevada squad.”

Kickoff for the 2011 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is Saturday, Dec. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/3 p.m. HT, on ESPN from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Tickets are available by calling 808-548-BOWL or online at www.sheratonhawaiibowl.com.

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles were looking to make a big jump in the final interaction of the BCS rankings following their victory over the Houston Cougars in the Conference USA title game. In the end, that didn't happen.

They didn't even jump the Cougars.

This was quite a knock at the Golden Eagles who handled the Cougars with relative ease. The Cougars did finish the season 11-1 while the Golden Eagles finished at 10-2. They beat them 49-28, proving that the Cougars needed some real competition to prove that they deserved to be undefeated and poised for a potential at-large BCS bid.

It is similar to the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal. The Ducks defeated the Cardinal and won the Pac-12 title, but still the Cardinal were put above them in the final rankings because they had less losses.

The Eagles did move up three spots, but that was nothing in comparison to the Cougars who slid back 11 spots. There is no doubt that the Eagles deserved to be high and in position to play in a better bowl game then the Hawaii Bowl.

Coach Larry Fedora had this team going in the right direction, especially with that final record of 10-2. There is no doubt that losses to Marshall and UAB killed them, but the victory over Houston should have been enough to launch the team into the Top 20 and above their Conference USA foes.

Quarterback Austin Davis has thrown for 3,331 yards with 28 touchdowns, and has this Eagles offense heading in the right direction for their bowl game. There is nothing that the Eagles can do now besides win and prove that they deserved to be higher in the rankings.

If they can win over the Nevada Wolf Pack in Hawaii, they will be able to prove the naysayers wrong.

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles were looking to make a big jump in the final interaction of the BCS rankings following their victory over the Houston Cougars in the Conference USA title game. In the end, that didn't happen.

They didn't even jump the Cougars.

This was quite a knock at the Golden Eagles who handled the Cougars with relative ease. The Cougars did finish the season 11-1 while the Golden Eagles finished at 10-2. They beat them 49-28, proving that the Cougars needed some real competition to prove that they deserved to be undefeated and poised for a potential at-large BCS bid.

It is similar to the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal. The Ducks defeated the Cardinal and won the Pac-12 title, but still the Cardinal were put above them in the final rankings because they had less losses.

The Eagles did move up three spots, but that was nothing in comparison to the Cougars who slid back 11 spots. There is no doubt that the Eagles deserved to be high and in position to play in a better bowl game then the Hawaii Bowl.

Coach Larry Fedora had this team going in the right direction, especially with that final record of 10-2. There is no doubt that losses to Marshall and UAB killed them, but the victory over Houston should have been enough to launch the team into the Top 20 and above their Conference USA foes.

Quarterback Austin Davis has thrown for 3,331 yards with 28 touchdowns, and has this Eagles offense heading in the right direction for their bowl game. There is nothing that the Eagles can do now besides win and prove that they deserved to be higher in the rankings.

If they can win over the Nevada Wolf Pack in Hawaii, they will be able to prove the naysayers wrong.

Following their defeat of the Houston Cougars in the Conference USA title game, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles are heading Hawaii to play the Nevada Wolf Pack in the Hawaii Bowl. Many will be upset, as it seems that the Eagles should have had a shot at a better bowl game with their defeat of the Cougars.

Against the Wolf Pack, the Golden Eagles should find themselves walking out of this matchup easily. They should be the heavily favored team, and it would be quite a shock if they dropped this game. Coach Larry Fedora has turned this Golden Eagles team into a team to reckon with, and he will continue to do so by handling the Wolf Pack relatively easily.

The Golden Eagles are averaging 37.8 points per game, while the Wolf Pack have been allowing 25.3 points per game. There is no doubt that Nevada had a tough schedule this year, but after allowing 69 points to the Oregon Ducks, a team like the Golden Eagles should be able to score plenty on them.

The Eagles put up 49 points on the previously undefeated Cougars in their conference title game, and they are riding high right now. Nevada just won't be able to handle the Eagles in this bowl game. Nevada did score 56 points on Idaho, but that was really their only high scoring game. 

Every other game for the Wolf Pack was extremely close, especially those where they scored high. In the end, they won't be able to keep up with the scoring of the Golden Eagles.

The Wolf Pack will come in tough and with high hopes, but the better team will come out of this game with a victory. There is no doubt that team will be the Golden Eagles.

No. 17 Baylor and No. 24 Southern Miss didn't squander a golden opportunity to skyrocket up the rankings late in the season.

Robert Griffin III and Baylor took on a tough Texas defense and made it look foolish, hanging 48 on the Longhorns in a blowout victory.

Baylor sustained tough losses against Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in a span of four games that had some believing RGIII and Baylor were all smoke and mirrors.

After taking down Oklahoma and torching Texas to complete a four-game winning streak to close out the season, Griffin is right back in the Heisman race and nobody wants to see Baylor in a bowl game.

Baylor was the top-ranked three-loss team in the nation coming into this game. While it didn't make sense to have the Bears ranked ahead of the two-loss teams that are in the top 15, this performance caps off a series of statement victories that justify a big jump in the rankings.

Southern Miss wasn't on anyone's radar before today. The two-loss Conference USA team rolled into the Conference USA Championship game with a couple of bad losses and an undefeated Houston team staring the Eagles in the face.

They didn't flinch and beat the Cougars on both sides of the ball from start to finish.

Case Keenum walked into this game a Heisman Trophy candidate and by the end of it, he had officially fallen off the radar.

Austin Davis threw four touchdowns in a 21-point statement win. The shoe was on the other foot, as Houston couldn't keep up with Southern Miss' passing game and Keenum had zero time to pick apart the Golden Eagles' secondary.

Some questioned whether or not they were worthy of being in the top 25. Nobody is questioning them now. Critics who say this loss says more about Houston than it does about Southern Miss are kidding themselves.

These were two monster wins by two teams who refused to stop competing all season long. Going out with a bang is going to allow them to make a late push up the rankings and close out the season the right way.

Lost in the madness of all the BCS chaos is the fact that the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles are making a late charge up the rankings and will look to add to their impressive resume against the UAB Blazers this week.

The Golden Eagles are riding an eight-game winning streak into this game. They can win the Conference USA East division and are jockeying for position in the Top 25 rankings. They have been led by a dynamic offensive attack that averages nearly 37 points per game.

The Blazers have been a much different story this season. They started out the season on a six-game losing streak, though they have bounced back to win two of their last four games. This is their bowl game and they want to put on a good show in front of a hometown crowd.

Where: Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama

When: Thursday, Nov. 17 at 8:00 p.m. ET

Watch: Local Broadcast

Listen: WXRR 104.5 Rock 104 (Southern Mississippi);

Betting Line: Southern Mississippi (-23)

Southern Mississippi Injury Report

Questionable: RB Kendrick Hardy (Shoulder), OL Thomas Edenfield (Leg)

Out: LB Korey Williams (Knee)

UAB Injury Report

Questionable: DL Tyler Peppers (Undisclosed), RB Pat Shed (Knee)

Out: QB Bryan Ellis (Head)

Key Storyline: Will UAB Be Able To Contain Southern Mississippi’s Potent Offensive Attack?

UAB has had its share of struggles on both sides of the ball this season, ranking 114th in scoring offense and 113th in scoring defense. If this team wants to have a chance in this game, the defense has to step up and force turnovers. If they don’t, this one will get out of hand early.

Southern Mississippi has scored at least 30 points in seven of 10 games played. The offense has the ability to strike fast, so there is no wiggle room for UAB’s defense. The odds are against it happening, but stranger things have happened.

BCS/Top 25 Implications

Southern Mississippi has not gotten talked about a lot this season, but this is a quality team. They are going to need a lot of things to go right if they want to sneak into a BCS game, but the possibility is still there if they win out and a number of teams lose.

More realistically, the Golden Eagles should be happy with being ranked No. 20 in the BCS and enjoy the ride that they are on right now because this is a special season for the players and the program. They have already clinched a bowl berth, so they are just jockeying for position now.

What They Are Saying

Southern Mississippi head coach Larry Fedora is starting to get questions about a possible BCS game for his team if they win out and a few other things fall into place, but he does not want to look too far ahead. 

From the Clarion Ledger: 

"You won't hear me say it, I'll promise you that," Fedora said. "The only words you'll hear from my mouth this week are about UAB."

"Obviously, we know what he (sic) possibilities are, but we gotta take care of a lot of business, and that business starts at UAB Thursday night," Davis said. "I don't have a lot of good history with UAB, especially over there on a Thursday night."

Southern Mississippi Player To Watch: RB Jamal Woodyard

The Golden Eagles have a fairly balanced attack on offense, but they do prefer to run the ball to set the pace for the game.

Woodyard has been the No. 1 running back for this team most of the season, and he has shined in that role. He has just 83 carries for 545 yards and three touchdowns thus far.

They like to spread the wealth, so Woodyard will have to make the most of the carries that he does get. He has done that all year long and against a porous defense, should be able to do it again.

UAB Player To Watch: QB Jonathan Perry

No one on the UAB offense has stood out this season, but Perry had a brilliant game last week against Memphis with 410 yards passing and four touchdowns. He will need to have that kind of performance again if the Blazers want to pull off the upset.

Prior to the Memphis game, Perry had just three touchdown passes compared to seven interceptions. He has to be efficient and give his receivers the chance to make a play in order to give his team a chance to stay in the game.

Key Matchup: Jonathan Perry vs. Southern Mississippi Secondary

Throughout the article we have been saying that UAB’s offense has to score in order to keep up with Southern Mississippi. Perry is the key to everything; when he plays well, the team has a chance to win.

Unfortunately there have been more bad days than good ones for Perry and UAB this season, so it will be up to him to establish a rhythm early in the game just for his confidence and to prove that he can do it.

If Southern Mississippi is able to force Perry into making mistakes, a real possibility given his numbers, this game will get out of hand quickly and UAB will be forced into playing a style that it is not comfortable with.

Prediction

Southern Mississippi is too strong, too deep and too motivated to lose this game.

Golden Eagles 41, Blazers 13

Southern Miss has entered the top 25 this week with an 8-1 record, and takes on Conference USA rival UCF on Saturday night.

The Golden Eagles are in first place in the East division of Conference USA, just one game ahead of East Carolina and Marshall.

UCF is 4-5 thus far this season and have not been a consistent team.

Southern Miss is looking to climb up the polls and that challenge starts this week against UCF, let's look at everything you need to know about this game.

When: Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. EST

Where: M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Watch: CBSSN

Listen: Southern Miss IMG Sports Network

Betting Line: Southern Miss -9 (according to Bodog.eu)

Southern Miss is a good offensive team and average just under 38 points per game. Last week they scored 48 points in a win against East Carolina.

Against an inferior UCF defense, Southern Miss should be able to cover this spread easily. The Golden Eagles have beaten better teams by more than 10 this season.

Key Storyline

Despite an impressive 8-1 record, Southern Miss is still fighting to win the East division of Conference USA.

Winning the conference would allow the Golden Eagles to earn a bid to a good bowl game, and would complete a goal they set at the beginning of the season.

Who might not play for Southern Miss

Kendrick Hardy (RB) is questionable for Saturday's game against UCF with a shoulder injury. He has been out of action since Week 6.

Who might not play for UCF

Khymest Williams (WR) is questionable for Saturday's game against Southern Miss with an arm injury and has missed the last two games.

BCS/Top 25 implications

Southern Miss is currently ranked No. 22 in the BCS standings, and while they won't make a BCS bowl game this season, they certainly have a good chance to move up in the top 25 of the AP poll with some more wins.

UCF is not a factor in the BCS or a weekly top 25 poll.

What they're saying

Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora spoke in a CBS article about his team being ranked for the first time in the AP poll since 2004.

"It's good to be noticed," Fedora said. "Our guys have a special type of chemistry that comes with a lot of maturity. We're excited, but we also understand there's a lot more that we want to accomplish. There are plenty of teams that were in the AP poll earlier this season that have fallen out of it."

Southern Miss player to watch

Quarterback Austin Davis has thrown for 2,147 yards this season with 18 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.

He's played well for the Golden Eagles this season and is a major reason why they average 37.6 points per game.

Davis will have a very good game on Saturday against UCF.

UCF player to watch

Quarterback Jeff Godfrey has thrown just one interception in the four wins for the Golden Knights this season.

When he plays well the UCF offense is capable of beating just about every team in Conference-USA.

Key Matchup

The UCF defensive line must get to Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis and force him into making some bad throws.

If Davis has a lot of time to sit in the pocket and find the open receiver, the Golden Eagles offense will cruise to an easy win.

On the hot seat

UCF coach George O'Leary needs to win this game for the Golden Knights to have a shot at playing in a bowl game this season.

UCF is 4-5 so far this season and have three games to get two wins in order to become bowl eligible.

Prediction: Southern Miss wins 38-17

The Golden Eagles offense is too good for the UCF defense to contain and playing at home as a ranked team will give Southern Miss the energy it needs to get a big win on Saturday.

The 22nd-ranked Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles look to stay atop the Conference USA East this weekend as they host the Central Florida Knights. 

The Golden Eagles have won seven in a row while Central Florida is coming in off a loss to Tulsa. 

Where: M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

When: Saturday, November 12, 8:00 PM ET

Watch: CBS Sports Network

Listen: Check here for Central Florida and here for Southern Mississippi. 

Betting Line: Southern Mississippi -9

Key Storyline

Southern Mississippi is in the AP Top 25 for the first time in seven years and they are looking to keep it that way against a Central Florida team that has yet to win on the road this year. 

Who Might Not Play for Central Florida

Khymest Williams (arm), Questionable

Who Might Not Play for Southern Mississippi

Kendrick Hardy (shoulder), Questionable

Thomas Edenfield (leg), Questionable 

BCS/Top 25 Implications

At 4-5, UCF isn't anywhere near the Top 25 polls, but if they manage to win two of their last three they can still make it to a bowl game. 

Southern Mississippi, on the other hand, is 22nd in the BCS Rankings and 25th in the AP Top 25. They have complete control of the C-USA East and look primed to meet up with Houston in the championship. 

What They're Saying

Southern Mississippi head coach Larry Fedora said he expects the UCF defense to challenge his team. Central Florida is giving up just 287 yards per game, the fifth best in the country.

Alan Hinton points out that Southern Miss is an exciting team to watch, as they make lots of big plays.

Central Florida Player to Watch

Jeff Godfrey. The sophomore quarterback does a little bit of everything, as he's thrown for over 1,600 yards and rushed for another 384 (including sacks). He's only thrown for four touchdowns, but he's managed to run in nine. 

Godfrey also loves to spread the ball around, as he's completed at least 20 passes to five different receivers but hasn't completed 30 to any of them.

Southern Miss has been terrific against the pass, so it will be interesting to see if Godfrey can get going through the air. 

Southern Mississippi Player to Watch

Austin Davis. The quarterback on the other side is also quite exciting. Davis is much more of a polished passer, as he's completed 64 percent of his throws for 18 interceptions and eight interceptions. 

He also has the ability to run. Davis has racked up 217 yards, including two touchdowns. 

Key Matchup

Davis and the USM pass attack against Central Florida's pass defense. UCF's defense is giving up a completion rate of just 53 percent and is holding opponents to 5.8 yards per pass. That is 13th and seventh best in the nation, respectively.

If Southern Miss wants to get going at home, they'll need to be able to throw the ball against this stout defense. 

On the Hotseat

George O'Leary. UCF may start getting spoiled as they went 8-5 in 2009 and 11-3 last year, including a bowl win over Georgia.

If they don't make a bowl this year, O'Leary might start sweating a little bit. 

Prediction

UCF 17, Southern Miss 27