By By Stan Caldwell / EMG sports writer
Sept. 3, 2002
HATTIESBURG After reviewing the tapes of Saturday's 55-7 victory over Jackson State, University of Southern Mississippi head coach Jeff Bower liked much of what he saw, but said his team has plenty of room for improvement.
Indeed, there is no question about that. The win over the Tigers was merely a warm-up for this week's game against the University of Illinois.
Saturday's contest is one of those "name" games, a rare visit to M.M. Roberts Stadium from a nationally-recognized program. Kickoff for the nationally-televised contest on ESPN2 will be at 11 a.m.
The Fighting Illini were upset losers Saturday, dropping a 33-20 decision to Missouri at St. Louis, but Bower said that shouldn't be considered evidence of a weak foe coming to town.
Bower said USM needs to work on consistency on both sides of the ball. Both he and defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix pointed to some missed tackles, missed assignments and substitution problems as areas in need of correction.
Illinois returns 15 starters from last season's team that finished 10-2. The USM brain trust says fans should expect to see speed, speed and more speed from the Illini.
Illinois has three receivers who were impressive Saturday against Missouri. Junior Brandon Lloyd had eight catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns and senior Greg Lewis had five catches for 70 yards. Senior Walter Young only caught three balls for 31 yards, but at 6-5, he makes an inviting target.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles had a very balanced performance against the Tigers. USM ran the ball 38 times and threw 31 passes in piling up 478 yards of offense. Redshirt freshman Micky D'Angelo made his first start Saturday, and had a solid effort, completing 13-of-23 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown.
USM also got good work from its running game. Senior Derrick Nix ran 16 times for 77 yards and scored three touchdowns, and caught two passes for 73 yards. Freshman Anthony Harris had 11 runs for 52 yards and three more scores.
Nix earned Offensive Player of the Week honors, as voted by the Eagle coaching staff. Sophomore linebacker Michael Boley was named Defensive Player of the Week, after getting 13 hits, nine tackles and a sack. Sophomore Seth Cumbie was Special Teams Player of the Week