Southern Miss Faces Alabama in Rescheduled Football Game
11/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Southern Miss Faces Alabama in Rescheduled Football Game
Bowl decisions await for both Southern Miss and Alabama as they square off on Thursday, Nov. 29, at Legion Field (83,091) in Birmingham, Ala., at 6 p.m., central. The game will be aired on ESPN2.
The Crimson Tide (5-5) is attempting to become bowl eligible as Alabama is seeking its sixth win on the season, while the Golden Eagles (6-3) will try to enhance their postseason opportunities. Southern Miss is bowl eligible and has the possibilities of appearing in the GMAC Bowl, in Mobile, Ala., on Wednesday, Dec. 19, the galleryfurniture.com Bowl, in Houston, Texas, on Friday, Dec. 28, or the Motor City Bowl, on Saturday, Dec. 29, in Pontiac, Mich.
This contest was originally scheduled to be played on Sept. 15, but was postponed due to the tragic events associated with the terrorist attacks that occurred in the Northeast on Sept. 11.
Alabama leads the all-time series with Southern Miss, 29-6-2. The series began in 1947 with the Crimson Tide defeating the Golden Eagles, 34-7. Southern Miss won the last meeting, shutting out Alabama, 21-0, last year.
The last four games for Southern Miss have featured a consistent offense, as the Eagles produced a combined average 436.5 yards of total offense against Houston, Penn State, Tulane and East Carolina. Against the Pirates last weekend, Southern Miss compiled a season-best 195 rushing yards.
Jeff Kelly leads the Eagles offense with 2,150 passing yards on 171-of-289 (.592) passes. He has thrown for 12 touchdowns and surrendered seven interceptions.
Dewayne Woods picked up 106 rushing yards on 23 carries in the Eagles 28-21 win over East Carolina last Saturday, improving his season total to a team-best 503 yards on 124 carries. The senior has scored 12 times this year, nine rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns.
LeRoy Handy leads the team with 45 receptions for 645 yards, averaging 14.3 yards a catch.
Rod Davis is the Eagles? top tackler with 82 total stops, 55 solos and 27 assists. Roy Magee and Terrell Paul leads in tackles for loss with 10 apiece, and Paul holds the sack title with six quarterback sacks. Greg Brooks tops the interception chart with three, as well as the pass breakup list with 15.
Alabama features a quarterback tandem of Tyler Watts and Andrew Zow. Both have been effective signal callers, as Watts has thrown 94-of-172 passes for 1,325 yards with 10 touchdowns, and Zow claims 41-of-64 for 564 yards.
Zow was effective against Auburn, as the Tide claimed a 31-7 victory against its in-state rival on Nov. 17. He completed 22-of-29 passes for 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The senior was making his first start of the season after Watts was injured against Mississippi State. Both are healthy heading into Thursday?s game.
The Tide also claims a healthy duo in the running game with Ahmaad Galloway and Santonio Beard. Galloway is the season rushing leader with 755 yards on 150 carries, while Beard features 633 yards on 77 carries this year. Each has four rushing touchdowns.
In the last two games, the two backs combined for 59 rushing attempts for 492 yards and four touchdowns. Each had over 100 yards against Auburn, as Beard recorded 20 carries for 199 yards and Galloway finished with 14 carries for 127 yards.
Freddie Milons leads Alabama?s receivers with 34 catches for 583 yards, an average of 17.1 yards a catch. The senior is also averaging 23.4 yards on 16 kickoff returns.
Saleem Rasheed leads the team in total tackles with 103, including 67 solos and 36 assists. He is also the leader in tackles for loss with seven, while Kenny King holds the sack title with six.
Hirchel Bolden claims 10 pass breakups for the team?s best, and five Tide defenders ? Reggie Myles, King, Kindal Moorehead, Roberto McBride and Thurman Ward ? have one interception each to lead the team in swipes.