Football To Begin Two Game Homestand Against Tulsa

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Tulsa Notes

Football To Begin Two Game Homestand Against Tulsa

Senior quarterback Dustin Almond has thrown two touchdowns in each of the team's games this season, and enters the Tulsa game off a career-high 324-yard passing performance against East Carolina.

Senior Antwon Courington is the team's leading receiver, with 18 receptions for 249 yards. He caught a 74-yard touchdown against East Carolina for the team's longest offensive play of the season.

Senior Kevis Coley leads the Golden Eagle defense with 28 tackles on the season.

HATTIESBURG, Miss.? The Southern Miss football team begins a two-game homestand Saturday, hosting Tulsa in a 7 p.m., contest. The game will be televised on CSTV.

This will be the fifth meeting between the two schools, but the first time in 11 years. Southern Miss has won two of the past three meetings. The two teams will meet for the third time in Hattiesburg on Saturday. Southern Miss has won the two previous meetings in Hattiesburg, a 47-29 victory in 1994 and 33-24 victory in 1992. Tulsa claimed the first meeting 13-10 in Tulsa in 1991, before the two schools tied 30-30 in 1993.

The Golden Eagles are back on a normal routine, after seeing their season get delayed two times because of Hurricanes. Southern Miss was to open its season Sept. 4 against Tulane, but Hurricane Katrina forced that game to be moved to Nov. 26. The team got its season underway on Sept. 10 against Alabama and McNeese State on Sept. 18, before its Sept. 24 game with Houston was moved to Nov. 13 due to Hurricane Rita.

Southern Miss enters the game with a 2-1 overall record, 1-0 mark in Conference USA. The Golden Eagles have won two consecutive games, defeating McNeese State 48-20, before opening Conference USA with a 33-7 victory at East Carolina last weekend.

The Golden Eagles have accumulated 1,148 yards of total offense (375 rushing, 773 passing), and average 382.7 yards of total offense per game (125 on the ground and 257.7 passing), which ranks No. 61 nationally and No. 6 in league play. Southern Miss also averages 34 points a game, which ranks No. 27 nationally and tops in Conference USA, and has converted on 20-of-42 in third down conversions (48 percent).

In the East Carolina game, senior quarterback Dustin Almond finished with the seventh best performance in school history, in completing 23-of-34 passes for a career-best 324 passing yards and two touchdowns. In the team?s three games this season, Almond has tossed two touchdowns in each game.

On the year, Almond has thrown for 696 yards, completed 52-of-86 passes for six scores, against three interceptions. He currently ranks No. 7 in Conference USA in passing yards per game (232.0), No. 3 in passing efficiency (144.5) and No. 8 in total offense (208.7).

Redshirt sophomore Larry Thomas leads the running backs with 57 carries for 218 yards, averaging 3.8 yards per carry and 72.7 yards per game, ranking No. 68 nationally and No. 5 in league action. He had the second best performance of his career against East Carolina, finishing with 80 yards on a career-high 23 carries. Thomas posted the first 100-yard rushing game of his career against McNeese State, recording 22 carries for 115 yards.

Senior Antwon Courington recorded the second 100-yard receiving game of his career against the Pirates, finishing with five catches for a career-high 115 yards. He scored his career long touchdown on a 74-yard pass from Almond against East Carolina, for the team?s longest offensive play so far this season. He has caught a pass in 25 consecutive games, and has 18 catches for 249 yards and three touchdowns on the year. Courington ranks No. 36 nationally in receiving yards per game (83.0) and is tied for 36^th in receptions per game (6.0).

Junior Anthony Perine finished with a career-high six receptions against East Carolina, and ranks second on the team with 10 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Tavaress Williams scored the first rushing touchdown of his career on a 13-yard reverse fun.

Senior punter Luke Johnson has punted only twice in the last two games, once each against McNeese State and East Carolina. On the year, he has 10 punts for 450 yards, averaging 45.0 yards per punt. Johnson ranks No. 2 nationally in net punting (42.0) and leads Conference USA in that category.

Junior kicker Darren McCaleb is Conference USA?s current Special Teams Player of the Week, following his performance against the Pirates. He tied a school record with four made field goals against East Carolina (45, 43, 21 and 32 yards), matching Chris Seroka against Memphis in 1988 and Rex Banks against Georgia in 1984. He also set a school record for most points in a game by a kicker with 15. McCaleb ranks No. 23 nationally in scoring (10.0), which ranks second in Conference USA. He also ranks No. 7 nationally in field goals per game (2.0), also ranking second in league play in that category. McCaleb has made 6-of-7 field goals on the season, including a long of 45 yards.

Senior John Eubanks leads the team with seven kickoffs for 174 yards, averaging 24.9 yards per return. He has a long return of 70 yards against McNeese State on the year.

Defensively, the team limits opponents to 363 yards of total offense a game (125 rushing, 238 passing). On the year, the defense has 191 total tackles (129 solos, 62 assists), 17 tackles for loss, five sacks, four interceptions, seven pass breakups, seven fumble recoveries and five forced fumbles.

Senior Kevis Coley leads the team with 28 total tackles (17 solos, 11 assists), and also has 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery on the year. His twin brother Trevis ranks second on the team with 22 total tackles (17 solos, five assists). Junior Caleb Hendrix has a team-high two fumble recoveries, while Robert Henderson has a team-best two sacks. Henderson and redshirt junior Wayne Hardy are tied for the team lead with three tackles for loss. Trevis Coley, sophomore Brandon Sumrall, Eubanks and redshirt freshman Gerald McRath each have single interceptions. McRath returned his 32 yards for the team?s first touchdown of the year against Alabama.

Tulsa stands 2-3 overall, 1-1 on the season. The Golden Hurricane began their season against two teams that have been nationally ranked in 2005, in Minnesota and Oklahoma, falling in both contests, 41-10 and 31-15 respectively. The team bounced back with two wins, defeating North Texas 54-2 and Memphis 37-31 in overtime, before falling to Houston in their last game, 30-23. Tulsa had an opportunity to send the game into overtime, but turned the ball over at the Houston five-yard line to clinch the game for the Cougars.

The team has amassed 1,894 yards of total offense (720 rushing, 1,174 passing), averaging 378.8 yards per game (144 rushing, 234.8 passing), ranking No. 64 nationally and No. 7 in Conference USA in total offense. Tulsa averages 27.8 points per contest and converts on 41-of-86 on third down (48 percent).

Quarterback Paul Smith has completed 84-of-139 yards for 998 yards and seven touchdowns against two interceptions. He has a passing efficiency rating of 134.48, which ranks No. 34 nationally and No. 3 in Conference USA. He also averages 199.6 passing yards per game.

Tulsa has four running backs with over 100 yards of rushing yards. Uril Parrish leads the running backs with 215 total yards on 56 carries. Brandon Diles has 28 carries for 182 yards and two touchdowns, while Tarrion Adams has 140 yards and two scores. Cauvey Jackson also has two touchdowns and 107 rushing yards on the year.

Garrett Mills has a team-high 38 receptions for 480 yards and four touchdowns, and averages 96 yards per game, ranking No. 21 nationally and No. 2 in league action in receiving yards per game. He also ranks No. 9 nationally and No. 2 in Conference USA in receptions per game (7.60).

Punter Chris Kindred has 27 punts for 1,090 yards, averaging 40.4 yards per punt. Place-kicker Brad DeVault has connected on 7-of-8 field goals, including a long of 52 yards. Ashlan Davis has returned 13 kickoffs for 276 yards, averaging 21.2 yards per return.

Defensively, Tulsa limits opponents to 378.4 yards of total offense per game (226.6 rushing, 151.8 passing). The unit has 349 total tackles (200 solos, 149 assists), 33 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, six interceptions, 16 pass breakups, five fumble recoveries and seven forced fumbles. The defense also has one blocked kick and a safety.

Bobby Blackshire leads the defense with 42 total tackles (23 solos, 19 assists). Anthony Germany has a team-high seven tackles for loss, and is tied for the team lead with two sacks with teammates Moton Hopkins and Chris Chamberlain. Nick Graham has a team-best four interceptions on the season.

Following the Tulsa game, Southern Miss hosts UCF in the team?s homecoming game. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Football To Begin Two Game Homestand Against Tulsa

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