Looking Back at the 1996 Golden Eagle Football Season
9/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
The following is an excerpt from the book, Rock Solid, written by John Cox, the Southern Miss Voice of the Golden Eagles, on the 1996 C-USA inaugural season championship team. Copies of the book can be purchased at Barnes and Noble on the Golden Eagle campus. The 1996 team will be holding a 20-year reunion in conjunction with this weekend's game against Rice.
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The Golden Eagles opened on the road on August 31 in Athens against the University of Georgia Bulldogs and their first-year head coach, Jim Donnan. Although the Southern Miss squad did not cross the goal line, Lomoro's three field goals and a defense that limited the Bulldogs to just 50 yards rushing and recorded a safety secured an 11-7 victory for the Eagles.
The Golden Eagles tangled with No. 13 Alabama the following week at Legion Field in Birmingham in another classic battle between the two teams. Alabama won the game 20-10, with 27 of the two teams' points scored in the first half.
On September 14 the Golden Eagles opened up a two-game homestand, taking on the Utah State Aggies. The visitors grabbed the lead on their first possession by driving 65 yards for a touchdown less than four minutes into the game, but the Golden Eagles used a 17-point second quarter to claim a lead they never gave up. Kenney led the USM defense with 12 tackles, 3 of them for losses, and a sack in the 31-24 victory.
Next up for Southern Miss was Southwestern Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns were riding high, coming off a 29-22 decision over No. 25 Texas A&M, Southwestern Louisiana's first-ever win over a ranked team. But behind backup quarterback Chris Windsor's four-touchdown performance, the Golden Eagles scored 29 unanswered points in the second period to take a 35-7 halftime lead and rolled to a 52-27 win that upped the squad's record to 3-1. The Cajuns passed for 343 yards but netted only 35 rushing yards on 30 carries.
Back on the road on September 28, the Golden Eagles faced the Louisville Cardinals in USM's first Division I conference game. The Golden Eagles got out of the blocks quickly when defensive end Jeff Posey picked up a fumble by Louisville quarterback Chris Redman and returned the ball 27 yards to the Cardinal 14. A few plays later, a 33-yard Lomoro field goal gave Southern Miss a 3-0 edge. Later in the first quarter, special teams standout Karr Shannon blocked a Cardinal punt, and Chandler Smith returned the ball 13 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead. While Louisville outgained Southern Miss 395-218 in total yardage, the Cardinals could manage only -5 yards rushing, and constant pressure by the Eagle defense resulted in seven Cardinal fumbles (four of them recovered by Southern Miss) and two Redman interceptions. The 24-7 win made Southern Miss 4-1 overall and 1-0 in Conference USA.
The Golden Eagles next played at East Carolina in a Thursday night game on ESPN2. With a three-game winning streak and a week off to prepare for the game, Bower surprised the Pirates by giving quarterback Lee Roberts the first start of his career. Roberts quickly made the most of the opportunity: after missing on his first pass, he completed 13 straight throws, finishing the game at 14 of 16 for 229 yards, one interception, and one touchdown. The 13 straight completions and his .875 completion percentage set new Southern Miss single-game records. The Golden Eagle defense also did its best to make life miserable for the East Carolina offense, coming up with three interceptions and a fumble recovery and holding the Pirates to 112 yards rushing. With the 28-7 win, the Eagles improved to 5-1 on the year. Bower told the media after the game that Roberts "has been our most consistent performer and that's why he started today." The coach was pleased with his team's effort: "We played one of our most balanced games and I also thought the kicking game was solid. We made the big plays at critical times."
In a defensive battle typical of the Black-and-Blue Bowl, Southern Miss held Memphis to 97 yards on the ground and pitched a shutout in the 16-0 victory on October 19. The Eagles posted their fifth straight win, improved their record to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in Conference USA, and moved themselves into the AP poll at No. 24, their first appearance in the rankings since 1989.
According to Southern Miss defensive coordinator John Thompson, "The biggest reason we got a shutout was our offense. The offense really played well. We were unemotional on defense. I was disappointed in that aspect but it's hard to complain when you get a shutout."
The next week in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Southern Miss met Tulane in a Conference USA matchup. The Golden Eagles fell behind 21-7 early in the third quarter but rallied with a touchdown pass from Roberts to wide receiver Brandon Francis and a 20-yard field goal by Lomoro. Just before the end of the period, USM safety Jamaal Alexander intercepted a Xavier Salazar pass and returned the ball 50 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 24-21 lead.
Green Wave linebacker Derrick Singleton retaliated with his own interception return for a touchdown to give Tulane back the lead at 28-24 with just over 11 minutes to go. The Eagle defense dug in on its next series and forced Tulane to punt from deep in its own territory. Kendrick Lee returned the punt 29 yards to the Green Wave 14, and the Eagles were in business. Tailback Eric Booth scored from the 1-yard line with 6 minutes to go in the game, and Southern Miss had the 31-28 win.
Now 7-1 on the season and 3-0 in Conference USA, the Eagles moved up to No. 23 in the rankings before their Homecoming contest against conference foe Cincinnati, which had handed Southern Miss a 16-13 loss the previous year. The revenge-minded Golden Eagles scored 14 first-quarter points, limited the Bearcats to two third-period touchdowns and a field goal, and added a 29-yard touchdown pass from Roberts to Lee with five minutes remaining in the game to win 21-17. The victory moved USM to No. 20 in the AP poll.
The Golden Eagles traveled to Robertson Stadium to meet the Houston Cougars in a November 9 Conference USA contest. USM's string of strong defensive performances came to a sudden halt in a shootout in which the teams combined for 1,049 yards of total offense. The Eagles and Cougars traded points throughout the game, finishing the fourth quarter tied at 49 and setting the stage for the Golden Eagles' first sudden-death overtime game. The Cougars had the ball first in overtime and scored on a 12-yard run by Antowain Smith, his sixth touchdown of the day. The Eagles needed a touchdown to tie the game and force a second overtime, but Francis caught a swing pass in the left flat, was tripped up, and fell inches short of the end zone, leaving Houston with the 56-49 win. Roberts had an outstanding game, completing 22 of 36 passes for a school-record 398 yards and three touchdowns. Lee caught 1 0 passes for 260 yards, both USM records, and three touchdowns.
Southern Miss finished its first season in Conference USA with a 4-1 record.
The loss dropped the Eagles out of the rankings before their season-ending contest in Tallahassee against No. 3 Florida State. The Golden Eagles could not repeat the impressive offensive performance they had turned in the previous week but stayed close for two quarters before going scoreless in the second half, yielding 31 unanswered points to give the Seminoles the 54-14 victory.
Despite finishing the year with an 8-3 record, the Golden Eagles did not receive a postseason bowl bid. Houston had finished its Conference USA season by beating Louisville, making the Cougars and Golden Eagles conference co-champions with 4-1 records. Having defeated Southern Miss, Houston received the league's berth in the Liberty Bowl. The first true All-Conference USA team included Southern Miss standouts Lee, Kenney, Surtain, running back Eric Booth, offensive lineman LeRoy DeWitt, and linebacker Cedric Walthaw. Terrell played in the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic and the East-West Shrine Game, while Lomoro played in the Senior Bowl.