University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles rally for 23-20 win over Illinois
9/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Golden Eagles rally for 23-20 win over Illinois
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? After trailing for three quarters, Southern Miss rallied to score a go-ahead touchdown in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and held on to win, 23-20, over visiting Illinois, Saturday, at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Senior running back Derrick Nix led the Golden Eagle offense with 201 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 27 carries, including a 50-yard touchdown run that put Southern Miss (2-0) ahead, 23-17, with 12:55 remaining in the game.
?This was a good win for us, and I am real proud of our football team,? Southern Miss Head Coach Jeff Bower said. ?I thought we showed a lot of mental toughness in the game. We were very good on defense, and we ran the ball well on offense.?
Nix?s performance was his highest single-game rushing total since he ran for 217 yards against Nevada in 1998. It also marked the sixth-best performance by a Southern Miss rusher in school history.
The win also marked the 75th in Bower?s career and was improved Southern Miss to 2-0 over Illinois under Bower?s tenure
Illinois (0-2) opened the scoring with a quick touchdown in the first quarter. Eugene Wilson returned the first Southern Miss punt 70 yards for the score, giving the Illini the early lead
However, the Southern Miss defense answered two drives later, as it tallied a safety on the Illinois offense, making the score 9-2.
The score would remain the same over the next three drives, until Illinois? Mike Hall returned a fumble 30 yards for the touchdown. On the play, the Illini defense forced Southern Miss quarterback into a fumble. The ball was then picked up by Illinois? Taman Jordan and returned for 25 yards, until it was fumbled and picked up by Hall. After Peter Christofilakos made good on the extra point, Illinois had the commanding 14-2 lead with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter.
Then, Southern Miss offense went to work.
After five drives that ended in four punts and one fumble, the Golden Eagles put together a six-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with Nix?s 3-yard touchdown run with 46 second remaining in the opening quarter.
Illinois extended its lead, 17-9, a few minutes later, aided by Christofilakos? 19-yard field goal
Southern Miss countered on the next drive, as Marvin Young caught a D?Angelo pass and raced 44 yards untouched for the touchdown, capping a seven-play, 77-yard scoring drive
Neither team would score until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when Nix scampered for his second score of the afternoon, putting Southern Miss ahead to stay
Christofilakos inched Illinois a bit closer, connecting on a career-high 41-yard field goal with 9:47 remaining in the game
Nix led all players in rushing, while Illinois? Antoineo Harris followed with 162 yards rushing on 31 carries
D?Angelo finished with 171 yards and one touchdown on 14-of-26 passing for Southern Miss, throwing six of the passes to LeRoy Handy
Illinois combined to throw for 163 yards on 13-of-33 passing, with Dustin Ward leading the way with 87 yards passing on 5-of-10. Jon Beutjer completed 8-of-23 passes for 76 yards
Defensively, Etric Pruitt and Michael Boley led Southern Miss with 12 and 11 tackles, respectively. Pruitt also had two interceptions in the game, returning them for nine yards.
Southern Miss punter Mark Haulman tied a career high with 10 punts, averaging 44.1 yards per kick.
The Golden Eagles continue their three-game home stand as they host Memphis next week.
