University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Returns Home for Third-Straight Game for C-USA Opener versus Rice
9/21/2018 4:21:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss plays three home games in a row to start the season for the first time since 2009 when they open Conference USA play this Saturday in a 6 p.m., contest against Rice in Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
The game can be seen on many personal devices via ESPN+ premium service, as well as be heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network.
The Golden Eagles (1-1) enjoyed an extra open week last Saturday when they were originally scheduled to travel to Appalachian State last weekend, but that game was canceled due to the arrival of Hurricane Florence.
Coach Jay Hopson's squad now sets their sights towards a team Southern Miss has beaten three consecutive times to tie the overall series, which dates back to 2007, at four games apiece.
This season, the Owls enter Hattiesburg with a 1-2 record under first-year coach Mike Bloomgren, having defeated Prairie View A&M 31-28 in their opening game before dropping a home contest to Houston 45-27 and suffering a 43-29 road loss at Hawai'i.
The Owls use as strong running attack that has netted them 201.3 yards per game on the ground, while allowing a total of 480.7 total yards on defense.
Emmanuel Esukpa leads the Rice run game with 356 yards, averaging 119.3 yards per contest. The Owls on defense have been led by Dylan Dilcox, who has 21 stops for Rice this fall.
For the Golden Eagles, their defense will counter with the third-best unit in the nation in third down allowed percentage (19.2 percent), along with 13th for net passing (146.5 ypg) and total defense (276.5 ypg).
Offensively, the Golden Eagles have been led by sophomore quarterback Jack Abraham, who has thrown for 620 yards and six tournaments with two interceptions and a 71.2 percent completion rate. Senior quarterback Kwadra Griggs, who was reinstated by the university late last week will also be available for the Southern Miss offensive attack.
After this contest, the Golden Eagles take to the road for two-straight contests, including its last non-conference tilt at Auburn next Saturday. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
The game can be seen on many personal devices via ESPN+ premium service, as well as be heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network.
The Golden Eagles (1-1) enjoyed an extra open week last Saturday when they were originally scheduled to travel to Appalachian State last weekend, but that game was canceled due to the arrival of Hurricane Florence.
Coach Jay Hopson's squad now sets their sights towards a team Southern Miss has beaten three consecutive times to tie the overall series, which dates back to 2007, at four games apiece.
This season, the Owls enter Hattiesburg with a 1-2 record under first-year coach Mike Bloomgren, having defeated Prairie View A&M 31-28 in their opening game before dropping a home contest to Houston 45-27 and suffering a 43-29 road loss at Hawai'i.
The Owls use as strong running attack that has netted them 201.3 yards per game on the ground, while allowing a total of 480.7 total yards on defense.
Emmanuel Esukpa leads the Rice run game with 356 yards, averaging 119.3 yards per contest. The Owls on defense have been led by Dylan Dilcox, who has 21 stops for Rice this fall.
For the Golden Eagles, their defense will counter with the third-best unit in the nation in third down allowed percentage (19.2 percent), along with 13th for net passing (146.5 ypg) and total defense (276.5 ypg).
Offensively, the Golden Eagles have been led by sophomore quarterback Jack Abraham, who has thrown for 620 yards and six tournaments with two interceptions and a 71.2 percent completion rate. Senior quarterback Kwadra Griggs, who was reinstated by the university late last week will also be available for the Southern Miss offensive attack.
After this contest, the Golden Eagles take to the road for two-straight contests, including its last non-conference tilt at Auburn next Saturday. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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