Southern Miss Notes from Conference USA Championship Game
12/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 2, 2006
*The Southern Miss captains were No. 47 Matthew Chatelain, No. 70 George Batiste and No. 35 Conrad Chanove.
*Despite the loss, the Golden Eagles will play in a bowl game for the ninth time in the last 10 years. Southern Miss will be making its first appearance in the GMAC Bowl since 2000, when they defeated TCU, 28-21. The GMAC Bowl is set for Sunday, January 7, 2007, at 7 p.m. The loss snapped a four-game Golden Eagle winning streak.
*Southern Miss surrendered its second-largest amount of total offense by allowing 443 yards. It was just the second time this season the Golden Eagles had given up over 400 yards of total offense. The other time was 453 yards in the loss to Tulsa.
*The Golden Eagles had a string of five consecutive 200-plus rushing yard games snapped, tallying just 163.
*Southern Miss' last touchdown, an eight-yard pass from Jeremy Young to Chris Johnson, consumed 16 plays and 81 yards. The 16 plays marks the most plays in a scoring drive for the Golden Eagles this season.
* Southern Miss scored on its opening drive in seven games this season, with touchdowns against Florida, Memphis, Tulane and Marshall, while kicking a field goal against North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and Houston in the championship game.
*Darren McCaleb connected on two field goals during the game, one from 30 yards and another from 31 yards. He is now 16-of-23 for the season and 69-of-87 in his career.
* Senior offensive lineman George Batiste made his 48th career start and the offensive line combined together now for 144 collective starting assignments.
* Jeremy Young notched his fourth rushing touchdown of the season, on an eight-yard run in the first quarter, making it the fourth of his career.
*Shawn Nelson recorded his longest reception of the season, a 45-yarder, coming from Jeremy Young. It was Nelson's second catch of 40 or more yards this season.
*Damion Fletcher recorded a career-high 36-yard rush. His previous high was a 33-yard rush against ECU. He rushed for a total of 90 yards against Houston in the championship game.
*Conrad Chanove rushed for a career-high 56 yards, surpassing his previous high of 55 yards against Va. Tech.
*Chris Johnson tallied his fifth touchdown catch of the season, an eight-yarder from Jeremy Young. The touchdown marked Johnson's sixth score of the season.
*Since 1946, the Golden Eagles have only played one other team twice in a season. The Golden Eagles defeated Memphis 20-14, Oct. 14, in Memphis, and 20-18 on Nov. 21, in Jackson.
*Southern Miss is now 7-4 against UH, including a 3-3 mark while playing in Houston.