University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Open Season Saturday at Home against UL Lafayette
8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 26, 2008
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The cry over last spring and this summer in Golden Eagle country has been "Sound the Attack."
Well, "the attack" is here and the Golden Eagles open the 92nd season of their football history this Saturday when they entertain Louisiana-Lafayette in a 6 p.m., contest at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at Roberts Stadium.
The 51st meeting between the two schools also opens the Larry Fedora era on the Southern Miss campus as well as the newly expanded stadium at "The Rock."
Southern Miss leads the series with UL Lafayette 38-11-1 and has won the last seven and 10 of the last 11 meetings with the Ragin' Cajuns. This will also be the 23rd time UL has ventured to Hattiesburg and the Golden Eagles hold a 21-1 advantage in the series in games played in the Hub City.
Overall, Southern Miss holds a 60-30 record in season openers (no score was reported for the 1916 opener against Poplarville High School) and is looking for its second-straight victory in its first game of the year after defeating Tennessee-Martin 35-13 at "The Rock" to open the 2007 season.
The Ragin' Cajuns, under seventh-year head coach Rickey Bustle, finished last season 3-9 but ranked among the nation's leaders in at 251.6 yards per game.
"They were ranked high in the country last year in rushing and their running back has a chance to break all of their rushing records there," said Fedora. "He is probably 5-9, 190 lb., that has really good speed and they get the ball to him. Between him and the quarterback (Michael Desormeaux), they are the keys to their offense, and they do a lot of really good things with their quarterback."
The top threat for the Cajuns on offense is Tyrell Fenroy who needs 65 yards to pass former Cajun great Brian Mitchell as the school's all-time rushing leader. The 2007 Sun Belt first-team player currently has 3,271 yards for his career.
The Golden Eagles feature a solid running back of their own in junior Damion Fletcher. The Biloxi, Miss., native needs just 26 yards to become the fourth Southern Miss rusher to reach 3,000 yards for his career. He also needs 622 yards to become the school's all-time leading rusher. Fletcher currently sits behind Ben Garry (3,595), Derrick Nix (3,584) and Sammy Winder (3,114) on the school's rushing ledger.
Southern Miss will either start redshirt sophomore Martevious Young or redshirt freshman Austin Davis at quarterback this Saturday.
"The team is comfortable with seeing either guy out there," Fedora added, having not named a starter as of Tuesday for this weekend's game. "So it's not like it will be something new for them."
The Golden Eagles also feature 2007 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Gerald McRath. The redshirt junior from Powder Springs, Ga., led the team with 139 tackles last season including a 21-stop performance versus UCF.
Bustle, who has accumulated a 26-44 record over his six seasons with the Cajuns, things the opener is a big game for both teams.
"It is an important game for everybody," Bustle said. "This is going to be a tough, tough game for us because there is no question Southern Miss is a heck of a football team. This gives us a chance to put our team out there against a quality team and see how we stack up."
Tickets still remain for the contest Saturday and can be purchased at the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., through Friday and will be open from 10 a.m. - 3p.m. on Saturday. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or online at SouthernMiss.com.
