Defense Continues to Play Well for Football
10/31/2018 5:27:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss defense continues to be stingy week after week this season.
The Golden Eagles rank No. 8 nationally in total defense as they limit their opponents to 287.3 yards a game this season. In fact, the Golden Eagles have held opponents this fall to under 225 total yards three times, including an average of 199.0 yards per contest over the last two games.
Southern Miss also ranks No. 6 in the FBS in passing yards allowed per game (164.3), 25th in scoring defense (20.1) and 26th in rushing yards allowed (123.0).
Some Golden Eagles that have helped make that happen include senior defensive back Picasso Nelson, Jr., who returned to the program after his original senior year was pushed back due to a preseason injury in 2017.
Nelson, Jr. has not disappointed by tallying a team-best 38 tackles with 2.5 for loss. Fellow defensive back, Ky'el Hemby, ranks second with 33 and a team-high tying two interceptions, while linebacker Racheem Boothe has collected 30 stops, including five for loss.
Another senior, linebacker Sherrod Ruff, paces the squad with 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks after collecting 5.5 tackles for loss over his six total stops at Charlotte. Ruff's TFL sum marked the third-most ever produced by a Southern Miss player in a single game, only behind the seven notched by Roy Magee (Houston/2000) and T.J. Slaughtler (Texas A&M/1999).
On the defensive front, redshirt sophomore Jacques Turner has the most stops among the interior lineman with 21, while LaDarius Harris is next at 15.
The defense faces another tough foe this weekend in C-USA East rival Marshall as the head to The Rock for a 2 p.m., CT contest. The game will be shown on Stadium on Facebook as well as be heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network.
Tickets can be bought for the contest by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office weekdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. On game day, the M.M. Roberts Stadium ticket box office will open at 11 a.m., on the Southwest corner of the venue.
The Golden Eagles rank No. 8 nationally in total defense as they limit their opponents to 287.3 yards a game this season. In fact, the Golden Eagles have held opponents this fall to under 225 total yards three times, including an average of 199.0 yards per contest over the last two games.
Southern Miss also ranks No. 6 in the FBS in passing yards allowed per game (164.3), 25th in scoring defense (20.1) and 26th in rushing yards allowed (123.0).
Some Golden Eagles that have helped make that happen include senior defensive back Picasso Nelson, Jr., who returned to the program after his original senior year was pushed back due to a preseason injury in 2017.
Nelson, Jr. has not disappointed by tallying a team-best 38 tackles with 2.5 for loss. Fellow defensive back, Ky'el Hemby, ranks second with 33 and a team-high tying two interceptions, while linebacker Racheem Boothe has collected 30 stops, including five for loss.
Another senior, linebacker Sherrod Ruff, paces the squad with 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks after collecting 5.5 tackles for loss over his six total stops at Charlotte. Ruff's TFL sum marked the third-most ever produced by a Southern Miss player in a single game, only behind the seven notched by Roy Magee (Houston/2000) and T.J. Slaughtler (Texas A&M/1999).
On the defensive front, redshirt sophomore Jacques Turner has the most stops among the interior lineman with 21, while LaDarius Harris is next at 15.
The defense faces another tough foe this weekend in C-USA East rival Marshall as the head to The Rock for a 2 p.m., CT contest. The game will be shown on Stadium on Facebook as well as be heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network.
Tickets can be bought for the contest by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office weekdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. On game day, the M.M. Roberts Stadium ticket box office will open at 11 a.m., on the Southwest corner of the venue.
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