We asked SMQ to give us a bit about the Southern Miss/Florida game on Saturday, and he responded with the depth, feel, and sheer volume you’ve come to expect from him. He’s also more than just a little invested, since he’s a USM alum and therefore sort of cares a bit about the game. Thanks to him, we now know that USM’s got a player who actually killed someone on their team. Get your knowledge on below:
1. You’re selling us on why we should quake in our boots at the mighty Golden Eagles: explain the one offensive and one defensive reason behind ourcringing, wobbly fear.
I wasn’t going to attempt to sell the team on its “giant killer” reputation, because I think that’s
overwrought, and much less likely to happen now than four or five years ago. If this were any year between 1997 and 2001, I’d be about three times as confident of a possible upset, and very assured of a respectable performance.
If you insist, though, the scariest proposition about Southern Miss is always the “giant killer” tag. USM’s gone on the road in the last ten years to beat Georgia, Alabama and Nebraska, taken out top ten, undefeated TCU at home, and played the hell out of Tennessee, Nebraska, and Alabama on the road and that very good 2004 Cal team in Hattiesburg in eventual losses. The list of big wins and near misses prior to the past few seasons is fairly epic.
You should really, really quake if Southern Miss does knock you out early on. The last two big “upset” road wins came over a highly-touted Alabama team that wound up 3-8 and an unranked Nebraska team that finished 5-6 (and, truth be told, dominated the USM game aside from
Joe Dailey being Joe Dailey on about half a dozen plays). The “marquee” wins in between were at home to defending Big Ten champ Illinois (final record: 5-7) in 2002 and No. 8 TCU to win the C-USA title in 2003. There’s much less to hang the hat on recently than we like to admit.
Last year’s team was about as lucky as it could be to extend the winning streak to 13 years. I was feeling the impending doom of 5-7 with this year’s team, but here are a couple reasons I1ve been feeling a little better:
Shawn Nelson: A 6-4, 230-pound sophomore tight end who’s definitely an SEC-caliber talent. Really a receiver at heart: the tight end has been forever an invisible blocker in USM1s offense, but Nelson was so good they got him involved often enough for him to lead the team in catches and touchdowns as a redshirt freshman. The receiving corps in general is pretty good, and Nelson’s the guy I want to see with the ball the most. “New Orleans Bowl MVP” may not have much cache, but he was it.
Damion Fletcher: Hate to mention him, because he’s an OMG Freshman!, and therefore inevitably overrated at this stage. But the last true freshman running back to play for Jeff Bower was Derrick Nix in 1998, and even if the undersized Fletcher is the stylistic antithesis
of the “Baby Bull,” he’s getting rave reviews from Bower in press conferences and will definitely play. This is a surprise, because freshman usually see very little playing time early on, he wasn’t all that highly recruited and the top two guys, Cody Hull and Larry Thomas, are back from last year (Thomas will start Saturday). It doesn’t take a whole lot to compete with that underwhelming combo, but the fact that Fletcher has asserted himself so quickly without
very high expectations might be a sign he’s a special player. I really have no idea.
Brandon Sumrall: I have a big soft spot, as all Eagle fans should, for Caleb Hendrix, who stepped in off the bench because of an injury in his first game after being moved from receiver to cornerback as a sophomore to miraculously knock away a sure game-winning
touchdown from Matt Herrian to preserve the Nebraska win, and hasn’t left the lineup since. That said, he and newly-installed starter Jasper Faulk are an iffy pair of senior corners, and adequate at best. The depth there is horrifying. Which brings me to Sumrall, the bright spot in the secondary at strong safety, where he made a ton of tackles, a couple big hits and
five interceptions in his first season as a starter. Another guy who’s good enough to start at some SEC schools.
What should not happen on Saturday, inshallah.
The linebackers: Humongous things are expected from undersized but fast outside guys Gerald McRath and Tokumbo Abanikanda. USM has had a different linebacker win C-USA Defensive Player of the Year in three straight seasons, and those two are going to be
counted on to continue that tradition. Both come in technically as new starters, but McRath supposedly was going to play a lot at a crowded position as a true freshman in 2004 but went down injured in the preseason, then came back to make six tackles and return an interception for a momentum-changing touchdown at Alabama, won conference Defensive Player of the Week, and broke his leg the following game against McNeese State; Abanikanda had a little hype as a true freshman, played very little, and made seven tackles and a sack in his first start in the bowl game. Not a sparkling resume, and the optimism might be a projection towards 2007 and 2008 rather than an immediate inducement to tremors from Florida fans, but last year’s starters, James Denley and converted fullback Wayne Hardy, are hopefully on the back burner
for the long haul. Recent developments could push McRath into the middle and keep Denley outside, which is less desirable.
The Middle of the Defense: The other linebacker in the starting mix is Marcus Raines, a physical beast with a manslaughter conviction for kicking a guy’s head in at age 17. (more…)
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