University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Key C-USA East Division Contest at Marshall This Weekend
11/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 13, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss travels to Marshall for a key Conference USA East Division football matchup, Saturday, in Huntington, W.Va.
Game time is set for 3:30 p.m., CT at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on the Marshall campus. There is no television for the contest, but the game can be seen online at SouthernMiss.com for those All Access members and heard on the Southern Miss ISP Sports Network.
The Golden Eagles (5-4, 3-2 C-USA) and Thundering Herd (5-4, 3-2) are two of four teams, along with UCF and UAB, which are one game behind division leader East Carolina.
Along with battling for an East Division crown, the two teams also are vying to reach their sixth victory to earn bowl eligibility. A win for the Golden Eagles would make them bowl eligible for the 16th-straight season. Southern Miss has garnered a bowl berth in 11 of the last 12 seasons.
The game features two of the better running backs in the league as Southern Miss will send senior Damion Fletcher against the Thundering Herd's Darius Marshall. Fletcher paces the Golden Eagle running game with his 91.8 yards per game average.
Fletcher, the school's all-time rushing leader with 5,021 yards, has helped the squad to No. 19 national ranking in rushing offense at 200.6 yards per game. Southern Miss has rushed for over 200 yards five times this season, including in each of the last three games.
The Thundering Herd's Marshall has rushed for 1,032 yards leading their squad at 129 yards per contest. Southern Miss' defense ranks No. 37 nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 118.6 yards per game.
MU also features one of the premier tight ends in college football in Cody Slate. The Golden Eagles will have to stop the team's top leading receiver, Slate, who has posted 582 receiving yards on 48 catches.
Southern Miss has forced at least one turnover in each of the last four games and has posted a takeaway in 20 of 22 games during the Fedora era. Senior defensive back Eddie Hicks, who leads current active C-USA players in interceptions with 13, has recorded a pick in each of the last three games.
This will be the fifth meeting with Thundering Herd with the Golden Eagles leading 3-1 in the overall series. Southern Miss is 2-0 in games played in Huntington and had won the first three contests played in the series before dropping a 34-27 decision at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at Roberts Stadium last season.
