Southern Miss Papajohns.com Bowl Postgame Quotes
12/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 22, 2007
Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati
Papajohns.com Bowl
Dec. 22, 2007
Legion Field/Birmingham, Ala.
(Attendance - 35,258)
* Today's captains for Southern Miss were No. 6 Brandon Sumrall, No. 10 Jeremy Young, No. 24 Gerald McRath and No. 75 Chris Clark. Southern Miss won the toss and deferred to the second half. Southern Miss defended the south endzone in the first quarter.
* Jeff Bower will finish his Southern Miss head coaching career in the same stadium in which it began 17 years ago. Bower took over the Golden Eagles program during the 1990 All-American Bowl at Legion Field, a 31-27 loss to North Carolina State. His Southern Miss career record 119-83-1.
* Southern Miss made its second trip to Legion Field in Birmingham. They defeated UAB 37-7 earlier this season.
* Today's game is the second time this season the Golden Eagles have faced an opponent that was ranked in the top 25, Tennessee was ranked No. 24 when they defeated the Golden Eagles 39-19 on September 8.
*Shawn Nelson caught his fifth TD of the season with 5:23 left in the first quarter, an 11 yard pass from Jeremy Young, capping a five-play 59-yard drive which took 1:55.
*The TD was set up by a 40 yard run by Damion Fletcher two plays prior to the TD, which was the longest rush of his career.
* Young has thrown at least one TD pass in eight-of-nine games this season.
* With a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, today was the seventh time that Southern Miss has shut out their opponent at the end of the first quarter. Southern Miss went on to win the other six games.
* Southern Miss finished 4-3 on the season when they score first in the game.
*On the first play of the second quarter senior defensive back LeVance Richmond picked off his third pass of the season and seventh in his career.
*It was the fifth consecutive game that Southern Miss has intercepted a pass and fifth consecutive game in which they have forced at least two turnovers.
*Justin Wilson intercepted his second pass of the season with 10:20 left in the second quarter.
* In the second quarter sophomore running back Damion Fletcher took an eight-yard run up the middle to surpass the 1,500-yard mark for the season, becoming only the second Southern Miss player to ever go over the 1,500 yard mark in a single season. Another sophomore Sam Dejarnette was the other player in 1982, who ended the season with 1,545.
*Southern Miss attempted a fake punt at the start of the third quarter, which was unsuccessful. It was the first fake punt the Golden Eagles attempted all season. The Golden Eagles also attempted a onside kick in the fourth quarter but was unsucessful.
*Damion Fletcher went over 100 yards rushing in a game with a nine yard carry in the third quarter, for the ninth time this season and the 16th time in his career to surpass the century mark.
*With a six-yard-rush in the third quarter, Damion Fletcher tied the Southern Miss single season rushing record of 1,545 yards. On the next possession he took a second down run for two yards to the right side for the school record. Fletcher ended the year with a Southern Miss single-season record of 1,586 yards.
*Jeremy Young ran one-yard around the left end capping a 80-yard TD drive for his fourth rushing TD on the season and ninth rushing TD in his career.
*Jeremy Young completed a five yard TD pass to Chris Johnson, his first catch since breaking his arm against Marshall on October 21. Capping an 11 play 76 yard drive.
*Young moved into 5th place on the Southern Miss career touchdown passes list with 23.
*Brandon Sumrall picked off his team leading sixth pass of the season and 12th of his career in the fourth quarter.
* The three interceptions is the most ever in a bowl game for Southern Miss. The previous high was two, which was accomplished five different times, most recently in 2007 GMAC Bowl.
* Southern Miss rushed for 217 yards in the game, the highest total in Southern Miss Bowl history. The previous high was 192 vs. Arkansas State in the 2005 New Orleans Bowl.