NEW ORLEANS BOWL PREVIEW
December 21st, 2008 by Daniel Freer
Two evenly matched teams will square off in the Superdome on Sunday night in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The Troy Trojans and the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles will face each other on ESPN at 8:15PM.
Both teams will feature skill-position talent…familiar to fantasy players…but just under the radar to the average college football fan. With this bowl game being the only one scheduled for December 21st, it will be exclusive college football prime-time for players like USM junior RB Damion Fletcher (photo, thanks IconSMI), who has rushed for over 1000 yards in each of his eligible seasons.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (Head Coach: Larry Fedora)
The Golden Eagles (6-6), who about five weeks ago looked like they will be watching bowl games back home instead of playing in one, have reeled off four straight wins, including one over eventual CUSA champ East Carolina. In that four game span, USM has totally clicked on both sides of the ball, especially on offense.
The main cog of the USM offense is RB Damion Fletcher, who ran for over 1200 yards and 9 TDs in 2008. Fletcher’s numbers in 2008 are actually down from his 2006 and 2007 seasons, mainly due to missing some action because of injuries. When healthy, Fletcher allows USM to control the ball on the ground.
But, in their late-season run, the Golden Eagles had some other players who stepped up their game. QB Austin Davis threw for over 2800 yards and 21 TDs…adding nearly 500 yards rushing and 9 rushing TDs. Davis had a 7 TD (6 rush, 1 pass) game vs UAB in early November…a game where Fletcher left early due to injury. WR DeAndre Brown, a blue-chip true-freshman, lived up to all his prep billing and became the top target for Davis, finishing with over 1100 yards receiving and 12 TD catches.
USMs defense, after struggling early in the season, gave up only 35 total points during the four-game winning streak.
TROY (Head Coach: Larry Blakeney)
The Trojans (8-4), champions of the Sun Belt Conference, have the offensive guns to match USM. RB DaJuan Harris led the Trojans in rushing with 1025 and 11 TDs…and rushing for over 600 yards in the last five games. Harris’s numbers are even more impressive since the Trojans offense is a pass-first spread offense.
Trojan QB Levin Brown took over the starting role after Jamie Hampton went down with a season-ending injury. What Brown did for Troy: 1775 yards passing and 14 TDs. His top target was WR Jerrel Jernigan, who had over 800 yards receiving and 3 TD receptions in 2008.
Defense and special teams are a mainstay for the Trojans, and consistently excel in that area. According to the Vince Mullins BlitzIndex 2008 Prebowl BlitzIndex Worksheet – Google Docs the Trojans are #21 in the nation in total defense. And, arguably, the top kicker in the Sun Belt this season was PK Sam Glusman
INTERESTING…
The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans has been a historic football venue for many teams…with Southern Mississippi and Troy being no exceptions.
The first time the huge Superdome roof (and its attachments) were ever compromised…were compromised by USM alum and legendary punter Ray Guy…who during an NFL game while playing with the Oakland Raiders, hit the overhead ceiling scoreboard with one of his punts. Having personally been inside the cavernous Superdome a few times…hitting that roof is no easy task
In the 2006 New Orleans Bowl at the Superdome, Troy won its first-ever bowl game with a 41-17 win over Rice. Since moving to Division I-FCS earlier this decade, this will be Troy’s third overall bowl game…and second New Orleans Bowl.
IN SUMMATION…
Both teams display top offensive talent, with enough defense to keep games from being track meets. On paper, this is an evenly matched game, but the hotter team at the moment is Southern Mississippi…who have mauled its last four opponents. Troy has survived their fourth-quarter meltdown at LSU earlier in the season (blowing a 28-point lead) to finish up their season with a conference-title clinching win…but USM has had the better late-season run.
PREDICTION:
Southern Miss 34 Troy 28
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