University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Battle for the Bell Series Returns This Weekend to Hattiesburg
9/14/2023 2:46:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss and Tulane celebrate the 45-year anniversary of the first meeting between the two schools in football this weekend.
The rivalry renewal takes place this Saturday, Sept. 16, at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium in a 3 p.m. contest. The game can be seen via ESPNU, as well as heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss Sports Network. Tickets are also still available for the game by going to SouthernMissTickets.com.
The teams meet for the 34th time in a series that dates back to Oct. 13, 1979. Southern Miss holds a 24-9 advantage, which includes a win in last year's contest, 27-24, in New Orleans. That snapped a two-game losing streak to the Green Wave.
That initial meeting, back in 1979, saw the Green Wave winning a close contest, 20-19, en route to a 9-3 season and a Liberty Bowl berth versus Penn State. Down late in that affair, the Golden Eagles returned a kickoff that was sent to Ricky Floyd, who lateraled the football across the field to Marvin Harvey which allowed him to race down the sidelines to the Green Wave 10. A clipping penalty, though, brought the ball back to the Southern Miss 30. Southern Miss again moved down the field and attempted a 41-yard field goal as time was expiring. Unfortunately, the attempt was missed wide right, setting the stage for some wonderful matches between the two schools.
The duo played again the following year in the Louisiana Superdome, which also served as the first-ever televised game on ABC for the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss outscored the Green Wave 11-0 in the final quarter, which included a 10-yard pass from Reggie Collier to Marvin Harvey with a subsequent two-point conversion throw between the two players, before Winston Walker made a 36-yard field goal with 31 seconds left which proved to be the game winner.
Those two games started a string of contests between the respective schools, which sit just over 100 miles away from each other, every year from 1979-2006.
Some highlights from those early games included a 99-yard kickoff return by Sam Dejarnette in a 22-10 win in 1982, as well as the debut of Brett Favre during the 1989 campaign that saw the Golden Eagles rally for a 31-24 triumph at The Rock.
The two teams began playing as southern independents before both joined Conference USA for the 1996 season. A one-yard Eric Booth touchdown rush late gave the Golden Eagles their first-ever victory in a CUSA contest 31-28 that season, as both schools returned interceptions for touchdowns in the affair. Southern Miss went on to an 11-2 record against Tulane in CUSA games.
One of those two losses came in 1998, a 21-7 setback in New Orleans, as Tulane worked its way to a perfect 12-0 season, but Southern Miss went on to win the next three and nine of the last 10 games as league opponents.
The next year, the rivalry added a trophy, and the "Battle for the Bell" was born allowing an even additional amount of incentive in the competition.
Southern Miss has won 12 of 16 games played in both Hattiesburg and New Orleans, but dropped the only contest not played on campus, the 2020 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, as the Golden Eagles fell 30-13. It was the first meeting between the old foes since the Green Wave's final season in CUSA.
Tulane then won again the following year in Hattiesburg as the teams added each other due to non-conference games being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic that saw schedules get reworked and programs either canceling or delaying their seasons.
Current Golden Eagle coach Will Hall was the offensive coordinator for the Green Wave in the school's last two wins over Southern Miss. In his first meeting in the game on the other side, Hall led the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind victory at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans. A blocked field goal and an interception return for a touchdown by Eric Scott, Jr., helping the Golden Eagles best its old rival.
This year's meeting is the second of a current four-game series which also sees the two universities playing back in New Orleans in 2026 and in New Orleans in 2007.
The rivalry renewal takes place this Saturday, Sept. 16, at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium in a 3 p.m. contest. The game can be seen via ESPNU, as well as heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss Sports Network. Tickets are also still available for the game by going to SouthernMissTickets.com.
The teams meet for the 34th time in a series that dates back to Oct. 13, 1979. Southern Miss holds a 24-9 advantage, which includes a win in last year's contest, 27-24, in New Orleans. That snapped a two-game losing streak to the Green Wave.
That initial meeting, back in 1979, saw the Green Wave winning a close contest, 20-19, en route to a 9-3 season and a Liberty Bowl berth versus Penn State. Down late in that affair, the Golden Eagles returned a kickoff that was sent to Ricky Floyd, who lateraled the football across the field to Marvin Harvey which allowed him to race down the sidelines to the Green Wave 10. A clipping penalty, though, brought the ball back to the Southern Miss 30. Southern Miss again moved down the field and attempted a 41-yard field goal as time was expiring. Unfortunately, the attempt was missed wide right, setting the stage for some wonderful matches between the two schools.
The duo played again the following year in the Louisiana Superdome, which also served as the first-ever televised game on ABC for the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss outscored the Green Wave 11-0 in the final quarter, which included a 10-yard pass from Reggie Collier to Marvin Harvey with a subsequent two-point conversion throw between the two players, before Winston Walker made a 36-yard field goal with 31 seconds left which proved to be the game winner.
Those two games started a string of contests between the respective schools, which sit just over 100 miles away from each other, every year from 1979-2006.
Some highlights from those early games included a 99-yard kickoff return by Sam Dejarnette in a 22-10 win in 1982, as well as the debut of Brett Favre during the 1989 campaign that saw the Golden Eagles rally for a 31-24 triumph at The Rock.
The two teams began playing as southern independents before both joined Conference USA for the 1996 season. A one-yard Eric Booth touchdown rush late gave the Golden Eagles their first-ever victory in a CUSA contest 31-28 that season, as both schools returned interceptions for touchdowns in the affair. Southern Miss went on to an 11-2 record against Tulane in CUSA games.
One of those two losses came in 1998, a 21-7 setback in New Orleans, as Tulane worked its way to a perfect 12-0 season, but Southern Miss went on to win the next three and nine of the last 10 games as league opponents.
The next year, the rivalry added a trophy, and the "Battle for the Bell" was born allowing an even additional amount of incentive in the competition.
Southern Miss has won 12 of 16 games played in both Hattiesburg and New Orleans, but dropped the only contest not played on campus, the 2020 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, as the Golden Eagles fell 30-13. It was the first meeting between the old foes since the Green Wave's final season in CUSA.
Tulane then won again the following year in Hattiesburg as the teams added each other due to non-conference games being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic that saw schedules get reworked and programs either canceling or delaying their seasons.
Current Golden Eagle coach Will Hall was the offensive coordinator for the Green Wave in the school's last two wins over Southern Miss. In his first meeting in the game on the other side, Hall led the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind victory at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans. A blocked field goal and an interception return for a touchdown by Eric Scott, Jr., helping the Golden Eagles best its old rival.
This year's meeting is the second of a current four-game series which also sees the two universities playing back in New Orleans in 2026 and in New Orleans in 2007.
Players Mentioned
DB
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