Jackson Free Press

Southern Miss plays Virginia Saturday in the most important game for the Golden Eagles in several years.

The game (2:30 p.m., Hattiesburg, CBS College Sports, 1180 AM/103.3 FM) is important because Virginia is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Bowl Championship Series league. A BCS team is one of college football's haves. Non-BCS teams, like USM, are have-nots.

What makes this game unusual is that the Golden Eagles are expected to win. On Tuesday, most odds makers listed USM as a 16.5 point favorite. USM is 7-19 against BCS teams since the BCS began in 1998. Their last win over a BCS team was in 2006, when the Eagles beat North Carolina State (another ACC school.)

USM coach Larry Fedora downplayed the BCS angle during his weekly news conference on Monday.

"I don't know how much our guys look at (conference affiliation)," Fedora said. "…We really try to concentrate on ourselves and what we have to do. We know that (Virginia) will be a good football team."

Actually, Larry, Virginia is a terrible football team. The Cavaliers are 0-2, including an embarrassing home loss to William & Mary, a I-AA team. The Associated Press predicts that Virginia coach Al Groh will be the first coach fired this season.

The Golden Eagles are 13th in the nation in total offense. Virginia is 112th. The Eagles are ninth in total offense. The Cavaliers are 71st.

USM quarterback Austin Davis and running back Damion Fletcher have been better than ever in the first two games. And USM fans were thrilled to see superstar receiver DeAndre Brown playing last Saturday for the first time since suffering a stomach-turning leg injury in last year's New Orleans Bowl. Just as important is the USM defense, which has given up just 16 points in two games.

Houston, one of USM's Conference USA rivals, has already been a BCS buster this season. The Cougars upset fifth-ranked Oklahoma State last week. That victory propelled Houston to a No. 21 ranking in this week's AP Top 25. The Cougars play Mississippi State in Starkville on Oct. 10.

That's the kind of victory that could help Houston earn a spot in a BCS bowl, provided the Cougars go undefeated. Non-BCS teams Hawaii and Utah crashed the BCS' postseason party the last two seasons.

After Virginia, USM will hit the road to play another BCS team: Kansas. The Golden Eagles will be underdogs in that game. USM wants to crash the BCS' party, too. There's only one way to do that: Beat BCS teams.

What We Learned
Auburn 49, Mississippi State 24: It's going to be a long season for the boys from Starkville. … Bulldog fans won't see highly touted freshman Tyler Russell starting at quarterback anytime soon. Spies in Starkville tell Doctor S that Russell is a long way from being ready to run the offense.

Millsaps 27, Belhaven 10: The Blazers need to stop being so generous. Belhaven turned over the ball eight times. Aside from the turnovers, the teams played fairly even. … The Majors' all-purple uniforms look good, but they make the Doctor hungry for grapes.

Tennessee State 14, Jackson State 7: That's seven straight losses for the Tigers to historic nemesis TSU. … JSU has used three quarterbacks in two games and none of them can move the offense. Coach Rick Comegy's quarterback mind games may have backfired.

Southern Miss 26, UCF 19: It was a good performance in bad uniforms. The Golden Eagles wore their ugly-ass all-black unis again. Groan.

Cumberlands 55, Mississippi College 26: MC had better hope that Cumberlands is a lot better than the top teams in the ASC. Otherwise, the Choctaws are in big trouble.

Ole Miss: The Rebels picked a good week to have a flu epidemic. Ole Miss had an open date.

Saints 45, Lions 27: New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees can play a little, can't he?

Friday Night TV Lights
Top-ranked Madison Central's game at Clinton on Sept. 25 will be broadcast on Ch. 3. The game is part of series of rivalry games to be televised on a statewide network as part of Cellular South's "Y'all vs. Us" series.

Other games scheduled for broadcast: Oct. 2, Olive Branch at South Panola; Oct. 9, Meridian at Oak Grove; Oct. 23, West Jones at Wayne County; Nov. 6, Biloxi at Gulfport.

This Week's Winners
Celebrating this week will be Millsaps, Belhaven, Southern Miss, Delta State, Mississippi College, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. If your team is not on this list, brace yourself for disappointment.

Previous Commentsshow

Dr. S., The level of contempt you show Southern Miss is striking. Your tone throughout this piece is negative and using "Larry" when referring to our coach is impolite, at best. What really irritates me, though, is that your writing style does not merit the arrogance. In one sentence you write the following: "in the most important game" "for the Golden Eagles" "in several years". Using three prepositional phrases, especially in such a short sentence, is a clear sign of weak writing. Try this instead: Southern Miss will play Virginia Saturday for the year’s most important game. Or: Southern Miss will host Virginia Saturday for their biggest game this year. The point is, you want to be as concise as possible so that your readers can quickly determine the article’s argument. Obviously, this particular work has no argument. It’s only purpose, that I can see anyway, is to mock the Golden Eagles. Please remember that in order to produce a clever article you first must learn to write cleverly. Keep up the good work!

j.Kelley

Sep 18 2009

It's exciting to host UVA tomorrow at The Rock. Hope that the weather cooperates and that our defense shines like it did last week and that Davis and Fletcher and Brown and the rest of the offensive gang "sock-it-to-em." It is very interesting that the odds makers have selected our non-BCS Eagles as likely winners over UVA, a BCS team. When you boil it all down to where the cow ate the cabbage, another indication that the BCS system is flawed, dissing teams like USM before the first whistle blows. I shan't, however, get bogged down in that hole today; too busy deciding whether to wear a gold or black shirt tomorrow and how many donuts to buy for our tailgating brunch. GO EAGLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

J.T.

Sep 18 2009

J.Kelley, are you by chance the quarterback I used to cheer for at the USM games? Go Eagles!

J.T.

Sep 18 2009

No. I was just competent enough to play tennis for my high school. I will be at the game Saturday, though. I'm hoping for a big crowd and a big win. Southern Miss...To The Top!

j.Kelley

Sep 18 2009

Okay. See you at The Rock, J.Kelley. To the Top!!!!

J.T.

Sep 18 2009

Southern Mississippi is the best football team in Mississippi right now. Ole Miss is over-rated and will likely lose this weekend. They're already making excuses about the players being sick. If you got to make excuses when you play little teams that supposedly don't have a chance against you, what will they do when they finally play somebody? Mississippi State is going to get much better and give Ole Miss a sour egg a__whipping in November. You can believe that!

Walt

Sep 18 2009

USM is the only 2-0 Division 1 school in the state! I'm somewhat surprised about the spread over Virginia, but the Cavaliers are a bad team. I believe a loss to USM is THE nail in the coffin for Al Groh. I'd expect either a firing or resignation by Monday morning. I don't see Ole Miss losing at all to Southeast Louisiana. This isn't Appalachian State v. Michigan. It'd be great if could happen, though.

golden eagle

Sep 18 2009

Walt- I know you hate Ole Miss but get real they are a good football team, they aren't making excuses about being sick, they were all sick after the Memphis game two weeks ago. I really expect them to finish 10-2 for the year at the worst, and will probably beat SE La worse than they beat Memphis. I honestly don't see State winning another game this year.

BubbaT

Sep 18 2009

Walt- seems like you were very wrong about NE LA beating Ole Miss. I am very surpised State beat Vandy. Good game Golden Eagles.

BubbaT

Sep 19 2009

Man alive, what a knock down drag out ballgame. I was exhausted when the last whistle blew and so darn proud of the Eagles to come back from a deficit at the half and topple UVA. UVA is nobody's pushover. Don't you believe it. They have a terrific QB and a receiver that can catch a ball if it is within sight. The second half USM's defense kicked behind and the fans were in the game so loudly that I think it was a factor. Kansas, here we come. Go Eagles!!!!!

J.T.

Sep 19 2009

I don't think I've been as proud of USM as I was yesterday. To be down 17 points twice and still come back is a true testament of a winning team. Playing Kansas will be a bit of a challenge as they are a pretty well-oiled machine, but I just hope the Eagles can at least give them a game.

golden eagle

Sep 20 2009

Golden, I so agree with you "To be down 17 points twice and still come back is a true testament of a winning team." And that ". . .Kansas will be a bit of a challenge as they are a pretty well-oiled machine. . ." I noticed they rose in the polls this week to #20. If the offense can click and our defense can play the heads up ball we played the last half yesterday, we'll have a ballgame on our hands. Go Eagles!!

J.T.

Sep 20 2009

To The Top!

bill_jackson

Sep 20 2009

Finally got to see Ole Miss play. They are gigantic or at least they looked that way against that little team. The do seem to have a very good team. I'll reserve further judgement until they play someone their size or quality. I'm happy for Southern Miss. God help JSU, Alcorn and Valley. They may not win a game. They may even tie when they play each other. The Pittsburg Steelers lost due to a sorry a__ field goal kicker. I wanted both the Giants and Cowboys to lose. I hate both of them, but found myself pulling for the Cowboys in the end.

Walt

Sep 21 2009

baquan2000, my fingers are crossed as the Eagles fly into the Jayhawks. There ought to be lots of squawking goin' on. Go Eagles!

J.T.

Sep 22 2009

The Pittsburg Steelers lost due to a sorry a__ field goal kicker. I couldn't believe that. Jeff Reid is usually money when it comes to field goals. But since his two field goals was the difference between a win and a loss for the Steelers, I'm happy he missed them.

golden eagle

Sep 22 2009

Ole Miss is getting their first test this week, should be a good game. They should win if they play good. Hope they get their punter problems worked out, cause if he punts like he did against NE La, SC will put points on the board real quick.

BubbaT

Sep 22 2009

Have you heard? USM and Mississippi State will be playing against each other. A press conference tomorrow will reveal all the details.

golden eagle

Sep 23 2009

Man, hell must have froze over for MSU to finally play USM.

Ironghost

Sep 23 2009

Heard that, also heard the rumor it won't be till the 2014 season. Lots of State fans are upset don't want to play Southern(scared?), but playing Southern make more sense to me than playing JSU or another Div II school.

BubbaT

Sep 23 2009

Both MSU and UM have been scared of playing Southern for years and years now. I'm surprised to see it change now.

Ironghost

Sep 24 2009

Ole Miss and State need to play Southern, but they need to get rid of the Div II schools. If anyone of them by some chance finished out the season in the top 3 of the BCS they aren't ever going to get into the Championship game based on their strength of schedule with the Div II schools on it.

BubbaT

Sep 24 2009

If I am not mistaken only one each of USC's and Florida's fluff opponents are Div II schools. The others Div I schools, bigger than Div II but not in the BCS so the BCS computer ranks them as harder to beat than a Div II schools. You right about Bama, even if they do beat SC that's going to be a good one, they came close last year.

BubbaT

Sep 24 2009

Florida and USC play at least 2 fluff games every year and are in the Hunt. The one thing that will help Ole Miss, they have to win out! Unless Mississippi is the only undefeated team left, their out-of-conference schedule could hurt them. Playing two Division 1-AA teams (now called Football Championship Subdivision or FCS) in Southeast Louisiana and Northern Arizona could really put a drag on their strength of schedule.

golden eagle

Sep 24 2009

If I am not mistaken only one each of USC's and Florida's fluff opponents are Div II schools. Actually, 1-AA. USC's non-conference opponents this year are all 1A: San Jose State, Ohio State and Notre Dame. The Pac-10 plays a nine-game conference schedule (thus everybody plays everybody), which is why they only play a three-game OOC schedule.

golden eagle

Sep 24 2009

My oh my what a ballgame in Kansas today. I--and lots of other USM fans and the team--wanted a win today. We didn't get the highest score. We got a BALLGAME and 28 points to Kansas's 35. And, we ruffled up that marvelous quarterback of theirs on occasion. I suspect the whole KU team was glad when the last whistle blew. And our offense and defense can be very very proud of themselves. Go Eagles!!!!!!!!

J.T.

Sep 26 2009

USM gave one heck of an effort, to lose only by seven. Kansas was at one point was a 14-point favorite. Just imagine if Austin Davis would've not fumbled the ball and got a TD out of it and kick a field before halftime instead of turning it over on downs.

golden eagle

Sep 26 2009

baquan2000, I agree that Brown is still not totally back to himself. Maybe his playing will strengthen him up and by later in the season, e.g., Houston, on Halloween [is there a message there?] he will be rockin'; honestly, I can't believe that he is back at all with the break he had. Shows tremendous determination.

J.T.

Sep 28 2009

I wouldn't have dropped Mississippi that far down the poll. It's not like they lost by 39 the way California did. Heck, Penn State lost at home to an unranked Iowa team and only dropped about ten spots.

golden eagle

Sep 28 2009

Joke of the day: Q: What is the difference between Brett Favre and Ole Miss? A: Favre is still #4 today.

Jeff Lucas

Sep 28 2009

Jeff: Baad Joke. :)

Ironghost

Sep 28 2009