University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
50 Years of The Rock – TCU 2003
8/27/2026 10:00:00 AM | Football
Editor's Note: Renasant Stadium celebrated its first 50 years for the 2025 season since its completion for the 1976 season that opened with a Sept. 25 game against Ole Miss. This summer, we will look back at some of the stadium's best moments over the last half century.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss upended Top 10 foe TCU 40-28 on a Thursday night, Nov. 20, during the 2003 campaign in front of a national ESPN audience on its way to earning its fourth Conference USA championship in eight seasons in the league.
Southern Miss went on to win the next week at East Carolina 38-21 to go 8-0 in league play to capture the league crown outright, besting the Horned Frogs by a game in the final league standings.
The win marked the first-ever for the Golden Eagles in their home stadium over a ranked opponent. The win over the No. 9 Horned Frogs also marked the fourth-highest ranked team Southern Miss has ever beaten.
The two teams combined for 707 yards of total offense, and the visitors accounted for 429 of those. The Eagles rushed for only 51 yards and passed for another 227, while the Horned Frogs ran for 169 yards and passed for 260. TCU drove 87 yards in 16 plays with its first possession to take its only lead of the game, 3-0. Southern Miss responded with a quick three-play, 70-yard drive to take a 7-3 lead.
Another TCU field goal cut that margin to 7-6, but Southern Miss then seemingly put the game out of reach by reeling off 21-straight points to take a 31-6 lead with 3:46 remaining in the third period. TCU, though, refused to quit and used a couple of recovered on-side kicks, two quick drives, and two-point conversions following each to cut that margin to 31-28 with 6:55 left in the game.
Southern Miss added a little cushion with freshman Darren McCaleb's second field goal of the game, for a 34-28 lead. TCU then got the ball back with 3:05 left, and 78 yards away from what could have been a winning touchdown. But that's when the Southern Miss defense turned in yet another outstanding play when Greg Brooks sacked TCU quarterback Brandon Hassell and forced a fumble that was recovered by Rod Davis at the Horned Frogs' 11-yard line.
From there, it took Southern Miss just three plays to push in the touchdown that clinched the game, on a two-yard Anthony Harris run, and push the lead to 40-28, with 1:31 left in the game.
Heroes were plentiful for the winners. Dustin Almond had his fourth-straight outstanding game, completing 14-of-23 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He threw one interception but made outstanding play after outstanding play to push his team to victory. Harris led Southern Miss rushers with 47 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. Marvin Young led Golden Eagle receivers with six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. DaRon Lawrence added three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown and Antwon Courington had two for 25 yards and the third touchdown.
While the offense was taking advantage of almost every available opportunity, the defense turned in its usual outstanding performance. In addition to the fumble recovery that led to the game-clinching touchdown, Davis led the Eagles with 14 tackles, a total that included five solos and one tackle for a loss. Four other Southern Miss players finished with double-digit tackles, including Alex Ray with 13, Michael Boley with 12, including two sacks and three tackles for loss, Etric Pruitt, who had 12 stops, a tackle for loss, and an interception that he returned 32 yards, and Trevis Coley, who finished with 10 tackles, had one for a loss and the other Southern Miss interception.
Terrell Paul accounted for two sacks, and Brooks added the big one that forced the fumble late in the game.
The win was the fifth of six straight-wins for the Golden Eagles in a row at the time, before they fell to Utah 17-0 in the Liberty Bowl on December 31. Southern Miss finished 9-4 that season.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss upended Top 10 foe TCU 40-28 on a Thursday night, Nov. 20, during the 2003 campaign in front of a national ESPN audience on its way to earning its fourth Conference USA championship in eight seasons in the league.
Southern Miss went on to win the next week at East Carolina 38-21 to go 8-0 in league play to capture the league crown outright, besting the Horned Frogs by a game in the final league standings.
The win marked the first-ever for the Golden Eagles in their home stadium over a ranked opponent. The win over the No. 9 Horned Frogs also marked the fourth-highest ranked team Southern Miss has ever beaten.
The two teams combined for 707 yards of total offense, and the visitors accounted for 429 of those. The Eagles rushed for only 51 yards and passed for another 227, while the Horned Frogs ran for 169 yards and passed for 260. TCU drove 87 yards in 16 plays with its first possession to take its only lead of the game, 3-0. Southern Miss responded with a quick three-play, 70-yard drive to take a 7-3 lead.
Another TCU field goal cut that margin to 7-6, but Southern Miss then seemingly put the game out of reach by reeling off 21-straight points to take a 31-6 lead with 3:46 remaining in the third period. TCU, though, refused to quit and used a couple of recovered on-side kicks, two quick drives, and two-point conversions following each to cut that margin to 31-28 with 6:55 left in the game.
Southern Miss added a little cushion with freshman Darren McCaleb's second field goal of the game, for a 34-28 lead. TCU then got the ball back with 3:05 left, and 78 yards away from what could have been a winning touchdown. But that's when the Southern Miss defense turned in yet another outstanding play when Greg Brooks sacked TCU quarterback Brandon Hassell and forced a fumble that was recovered by Rod Davis at the Horned Frogs' 11-yard line.
From there, it took Southern Miss just three plays to push in the touchdown that clinched the game, on a two-yard Anthony Harris run, and push the lead to 40-28, with 1:31 left in the game.
Heroes were plentiful for the winners. Dustin Almond had his fourth-straight outstanding game, completing 14-of-23 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He threw one interception but made outstanding play after outstanding play to push his team to victory. Harris led Southern Miss rushers with 47 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. Marvin Young led Golden Eagle receivers with six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. DaRon Lawrence added three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown and Antwon Courington had two for 25 yards and the third touchdown.
While the offense was taking advantage of almost every available opportunity, the defense turned in its usual outstanding performance. In addition to the fumble recovery that led to the game-clinching touchdown, Davis led the Eagles with 14 tackles, a total that included five solos and one tackle for a loss. Four other Southern Miss players finished with double-digit tackles, including Alex Ray with 13, Michael Boley with 12, including two sacks and three tackles for loss, Etric Pruitt, who had 12 stops, a tackle for loss, and an interception that he returned 32 yards, and Trevis Coley, who finished with 10 tackles, had one for a loss and the other Southern Miss interception.
Terrell Paul accounted for two sacks, and Brooks added the big one that forced the fumble late in the game.
The win was the fifth of six straight-wins for the Golden Eagles in a row at the time, before they fell to Utah 17-0 in the Liberty Bowl on December 31. Southern Miss finished 9-4 that season.
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