University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Come Home, Host Cincinnati For Homecoming
10/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Golden Eagles Come Home, Host Cincinnati For Homecoming
This weekend is Homecoming for the Golden Eagles, and the squad looks to overcome its 1-2 road swing over the past three contests as they host Conference USA foe Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m., at M.M. Roberts Stadium. The game will not be televised.
Southern Miss (4-2, 2-0 in Conference USA) trails Cincinnati (2-4, 1-1) in the overall series, as the Bearcats own a 6-5 advantage. The Golden Eagles won the previous three meetings before Cincinnati claimed a come-from-behind 27-24 win in 2000.
Both teams are looking for redemption, as the Golden Eagles were upset last week against South Florida, 16-13. Cincinnati has lost four of its last five games, including a 35-17 loss at Tulane last Saturday.
Derrick Nix continues to lead the Southern Miss offense. The redshirt senior has rushed for 744 yards on 115 carries and scored eight touchdowns on the year. Currently, he ranks 10th in the nation and first in C-USA in rushing. He is second in all-purpose yardage and fourth in scoring.
With his 126 yards against South Florida last week, he now has 3,134 yards rushing in his career. He passed former Southern Miss and NFL great Sammy Winder (1978-81) for second place on the Golden Eagle career rushing chart. Nix only needs 462 more yards this season to become USM?s all-time runner, passing Ben Garry (1974-77), who accumulated 3,595 yards.
Dustin Almond will make his first start as a Southern Miss quarterback. The redshirt freshman came in on the Eagle?s third possession of the South Florida game and remained in the contest, completing 24-of-39 passes for 258 yards, threw one touchdown and didn?t have any interceptions. On the year, Almond has completed 29-of-48 passes for 328 yards and one touchdown.
LeRoy Handy continues to be the leader of the Golden Eagles receiving corps. His six-game totals include a team-best 24 catches for 333 yards with a long reception of 47 yards. Chris Johnson is second with 19 catches for 179 yards, an average of 9.4 yards a catch and he has scored one touchdown. Marvin Young has 14 catches for 231, a 16.5 yard average and leads the team in receiving touchdowns with three.
The defense is ranked No. 6 in scoring defense, surrendering 13.8 points a contest, third in pass efficiency defense and 18th in pass defense, giving up 172.67 yards a contest, and 48th in total defense.
Linebacker Rod Davis is one of the top defensive players in the nation. In the latest national statistics, he is third in tackles for loss with 12.5, tied for 10th in quarterback sacks with six, tied for 11th in solo tackles with 48, ranked 21st in total tackles with 78 and 45th in the nation in interceptions with two.
Ettric Pruitt leads the team in interceptions with five and pass breakups with eight. He is tied for third in the nation in interceptions. Michael Boley is second on the team in tackles with 63 and also has 1.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and an interception, that he returned 54 yards for a touchdown at Alabama.
Cincinnati is a serious fourth-quarter threat. Many of its victories over the past few seasons have resulted from clutch fourth-quarter drives. The Bearcats have outscored their opponents 56-15 in the final period.
The Bearcats also own one of the nation?s top passing offenses as last year?s C-USA Newcomer of the Year Gino Guidugli is averaging 299.3 passing yards per game. The sophomore quarterback has completed 135-of-240 passes for 1,796 yards and 11 touchdowns.
DeMarco McCleskey has rushed 112 times this season for 511 yards and seven touchdowns. LaDaris Vann leads the Bearcat receiving corps with 43 catches for 533 yards and four touchdowns.
Doug Monaghan leads the Bearcats in tackles with 49 total stops. Antwan Peak is the sack leader with 4.5, and Tyjuan Hagler holds the tackles-for-loss lead with nine.
The Golden Eagles next game will be at TCU, on Wednesday, Oct 30, at 6:30 p.m., CT. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
