By By Stan Caldwell / EMG sports writer
Sept. 17, 2002
HATTIESBURG As expected, Jeff Bower had plenty of good things to say about his University of Southern Mississippi football team after reviewing the films from Saturday's 33-14 victory over Memphis.
The Golden Eagles, 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Conference USA, were dominant in every phase of the game against the Tigers, racking up 524 yards of offense while holding Memphis to 283 yards.
The key for the Golden Eagles was a dominant running attack featuring senior tailback Derrick Nix' run for 196 yards and freshman Anthony Harris picking up 121 yards. In all, USM ran for 356 yards on the ground.
Nix ran for 175 yards in the first half before sitting out most of the fourth quarter with a slight shoulder injury. But Harris came on and ran 15 times for 84 yards in the final period.
Defensively, bandit end Terrell Paul had a particularly good game against Memphis. Paul, a 6-3, 240-pound junior from Troy, Ala., spent much of the night disrupting the Tiger offense. It was his sack that pushed Memphis back to its 2-yard line late in the second quarter, setting up a safety on the next play.
The Golden Eagles came out of the Memphis game relatively injury-free. Nix should be fine with his shoulder, and quarterback Micky D'Angelo was pronounced good to go after suffering a slight concussion in the second half. Reserve linebacker Dillon Cleckler and reserve tight end Stuart Floyd will return to the practice field after missing last week's game.
The Golden Eagles will need all the healthy bodies they can muster this week, as they prepare for their annual trip to play the University of Alabama. Saturday's game at Tuscaloosa, Ala., will kick off at 6 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.
Klenakis thinks his big guys up front may be up to the challenge after watching that unit completely dominate Memphis, so much so that the entire offensive line earned Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Rover Alex Ray was named Defensive Player of the Week after recording two tackles and two assists, plus he caused a fumble and had an interception.
Kicker Jacob Matlock of Clarkdale and East Mississippi Community College was the Special Teams Player of the Week. In his first action as a Golden Eagle, Matlock had three kickoffs for touchbacks and had an assist on a tackle.