University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Faces No. 24 Tennessee in Road Opener
9/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss football team is set to face No. 24 Tennessee in its road opener, Saturday, with a 6 p.m. CT contest at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
This week's game will be televised on a pay-per-view basis by VideoSeat in the state of Tennessee and on ESPN Game Plan throughout the remainder of the country. Fans in the Hattiesburg area can listen to the game on the flagship station, WXRR 104.5 FM, one of the affiliates around the state, or by logging onto Southern Miss.com.
The Golden Eagles (1-0) make their fifth trip to Knoxville this weekend as the Volunteers (0-1) hold a 4-0 overall advantage in the series. All four previous games have been played at Neyland Stadium. The last visit from the Golden Eagles came in 2000, and a Southern Miss fourth-quarter rally fell short with the Vols hanging on for a 19-16 decision.
Southern Miss is coming off a 35-13 victory against Tennessee-Martin last weekend at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at "The Rock."
Senior quarterback Jeremy Young makes his 16th career start for the Golden Eagles, as he threw for 115 yards against UTM on 11-of-26 passing. He connected with senior wide receiver Chris Johnson on a 3-yard pass for his lone passing touchdown. On the ground, Young rushed for 55 yards on eight carries and recorded his fifth career rushing touchdown.
Sophomore Damion Fletcher makes his 13th start at running back for Southern Miss after notching his eighth 100-yard rushing game with a 156-yard performance against Tennessee-Martin and reaching the 1,500 mark for career rushing yards. He led the running back unit with 15 carries and averaged 8.2 yards per rush with one touchdown. Fletcher is followed in the depth chart by sophomore Tory Harrison and freshman V.J. Floyd. Harrison tallied 39 yards on 12 carries, while Floyd recorded 43 yards on nine rushes.
Freshman wide receiver Torris Magee currently leads the Golden Eagles in receiving numbers, finishing with 56 yards on five catches with a long of 21 yards. Senior Chris Johnson and freshman Johdrick Morris each have two catches, Johnson with 36 yards and a touchdown and Morris with 19 yards.
Defensively, Southern Miss is led by redshirt sophomore linebacker Gerald McRath, who has 11 tackles, including five solo stops and a tackle for loss. Senior defensive back Brandon Sumrall notched six solo tackles and a pass breakup against UTM, while senior defensive back LeVance Richmond and junior linebacker Tokumbo Abanikanda have each recorded five stops.
The Volunteers, led by 16-year Head Coach Phillip Fulmer, enter the contest 0-1, following a 45-31 loss to California last Saturday. The team is led by senior quarterback Erik Ainge, who notched 271 yards on 32-of-47 passing, for a 68.1 percentage and three touchdowns.
Junior tailback Arian Foster paces the UT ground game after recording 89 yards on 13 carries, while sophomore tailback Montario Hardesty rushed for 27 yards on nine carries.
Leading the receiving unit are senior tight end Chris Brown and junior wide receiver Lucas Taylor. Brown finished the season opener with 54 yards on seven receptions and a team-leading two touchdowns. Taylor landed 103 yards on six catches, with a long reception of 43 yards.
Defensively, junior linebacker Jerod Mayo headlines the Vols with 10 tackles, including nine solos and one tackle for loss. He is followed by senior defensive back Jonathan Hefney and freshman Eric Berry. Hefney tallied eight tackles with four solo stops, and Berry finished with seven tackles and three solos.
