University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
The Golden Eagles and Bulls Tangle in Tampa
10/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
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The Golden Eagles and Bulls Tangle in Tampa
The Southern Miss football team (4-1, 2-0 in C-USA) will face a very challenging South Florida team (3-2), on Saturday, Oct. 12, in Tampa, Fla., at 6:05 p.m., central time. Fox Sports Florida will broadcast the game on a tape-delay basis. The game will be aired on Monday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m., CT.
This will be the Golden Eagles final non-conference game as South Florida becomes a football member of Conference USA in 2003. Southern Miss leads the series with South Florida, 1-0. The only game of the series was played in 2000 at Hattiesburg, Miss., with the Golden Eagles earning a 41-7 victory.
Last week was an off week for the Golden Eagles after playing at Army on Sept. 28. Southern Miss claimed a 27-6 victory over the Black Knights, but only held a 7-6 advantage at halftime. Defense once again played a key role for the Golden Eagles, who collected six interceptions and held Army to two field goals.
Senior running back Derrick Nix leads the Southern Miss offense. He has 618 yards on 94 carries and eight rushing touchdowns on the year. Averaging 123.6 rushing yards a game, Nix ranks 12th in the nation and first in Conference USA. He averages 142.6 all-purpose yards, ranking No. 2 in C-USA and No. 25 in the nation. He also ranks 20th in the nation, averaging 9.6 points a game.
Quarterback Micky D?Angelo claims 857 yards on 65-of-124 passes. He has thrown four touchdowns and three interceptions. LeRoy Handy leads the receivers with 19 catches for 254 yards. Marvin Young is a favorite for touchdown passes, as the sophomore leads with three.
Linebacker Rod Davis is the top tackler on the Golden Eagles defense. The junior claims 59 total tackles (40 solos, 19 assists) with 11.5 tackles for loss, six sacks and two interceptions. Davis also leads the squad in tackles for loss and sacks.
Etric Pruitt leads the country with five interceptions on the season. He finished with three swipes against Army two weeks ago. Pruitt also claims 48 total tackles (33 solos, 15 assists), two tackles for loss, a team-best eight pass breakups, one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles and one blocked kick.
Linebacker Michael Boley is second on the team in tackles, collecting 57 on the season (38 solos, 19 assists) with five tackles for loss, 1.5 quarterback sacks, two pass breakups and an interception.
South Florida holds a 12-game home winning streak, second only to Nebraska in current home streaks. The Bulls have been a worthy opponent against some of the top teams in the nation. They currently rank 10th in the nation in total defense.
The Bulls only losses were at Arkansas, 42-3, and at Oklahoma, 31-14, where they gave the Sooners an impressive performance, holding the Sooners to only 45 yards rushing and 239 yards of total offense. USF recorded 328 total offensive yards in the game.
Quarterback Marquel Blackwell is a key component to the South Florida offense. He leads the team in both rushing, 149 yards on 40 carries, and passing 1,054 yards on 109-of-190 passes. He has thrown for six touchdowns and three interceptions.
Hugh Smith is a favorite target of Blackwell?s. He claims 34 receptions for 274 yards. When it comes to hooking up for the score, seven receivers claim touchdown catches with DeAndrew Rubin leading the pack with two.
Rubin is also a threat on special teams as well. He averages 14.9 yards on punt returns with two touchdowns, and claims 24.2 yards a return on kickoffs. Overall, South Florida is fourth in the nation in punt returns.
Kawika Mitchell leads South Florida?s stout defense. He claims 54 total tackles (34 solos, 20 assists) with 13 tackles for loss and three sacks. Kevin Verpaele holds a team-best three interceptions, and Ron Hemingway claims four pass breakups to lead the team.
The Golden Eagles return home next week, hosting Cincinnati for homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m.
