Post by ARod on Dec 20, 2005 11:39:41 GMT -5
Courtesy: Sun Belt Conference - Release: 12/20/2005
Courtesy of Dan McDonald, Lafayette Daily Advertiser
LAFAYETTE, La. -- Southern Mississippi is a 17-point favorite tonight, and there are lots of reasons why the Golden Eagles are a heavy choice over Arkansas State in the fifth annual New Orleans Bowl.
The Eagles are the bowl's defending champions, although this year's game bears little resemblance to the one played over 12 months ago in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina saw to that.
USM is a bowl veteran, having played in four straight bowl games and bowling for the eighth time in nine years. ASU is playing in its first-ever Division I-A bowl game.
Southern Miss has won the last three meetings between the clubs, albeit the two haven't met since 1980.
The Eagles' power ratings are higher. So is their strength of schedule.
Southern Miss has 12 straight non-losing seasons, including this year's 6-5 mark. ASU is also 6-5, but this is their first trip over .500 for a season since 1995.
But don't tell that to the underdog Indians.
"People have been picking against us all year," said ASU quarterback Nick Noce. "We know we have a challenge in front of us, but we've faced challenges all year."
They probably have. But when kickoff happens at precisely 7:06 p.m. tonight at the University of Louisiana's Cajun Field, an even bigger challenge will have been met.
When Katrina roared through New Orleans and the mid-Gulf Coast, it damaged the Superdome, ravaged the Crescent City and left the bowl-sponsoring Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation barely functional.
The organization was able to find a home for this year's game in Acadiana and have spent the last two months bringing together all the aspects of postseason football at an unexpected venue.
They pulled it off, and an ESPN national television audience will see the season's first bowl game and see that south Louisiana is still able to function.
"They deserve to be congratulated just for making this bowl work," said USM coach Jeff Bower. "They made it possible for these two teams to play an extra game."
Both teams were question marks in late November to reach the New Orleans Bowl - or any bowl. Both had to win season finales to finish 6-5 and bowl-eligible, USM topping Tulane 26-7 after losing three of its previous four and ASU taking a last-minute 31-24 win at North Texas after losing two of its last three.
The Indians also needed Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns to knock off Sun Belt Conference-leading UL Monroe in that final regular-season weekend, and the Cajuns more than obliged in a 54-21 rout. In fact, had ASU not rallied form a 10-point deficit against North Texas, it would have been the Cajuns making their first-ever Division I-A bowl appearance tonight.
ASU claimed the Sun Belt's berth as host in tonight's game, while USM grabbed Conference USA's tie-in and is one of six C-USA teams playing in bowl games.
The Eagles downed North Texas 31-10 in last year's game, with UNT going 1-3 as the only Sun Belt team to represent the league in the bowl in its first four years of existence. The opponent may be different, but the oddsmakers still like the Eagles in a big way.
That selection is mostly due to USM senior quarterback Dustin Almond, who threw for 2,607 yards and 21 touchdowns this year, and a defense that forced 31 turnovers this year to rank sixth nationally and includes Conference USA defensive Player of the Year Kevis Coley at linebacker.
"Almond's a very good quarterback," said ASU coach Steve Roberts, the Sun Belt's Coach of the Year. "He's the bulk of their offense, but they've also got a very powerful running game, and defensively they get after you. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterback to make solid and quick decisions, and that's something we will have to be prepared for."
ASU's Noce passed for 1,839 yards and 11 scores, both down slightly from 2004, but the Indian running game accounted for 200 yards per outing and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. That ground offense ranked second in the Sun Belt behind the nationally fifth-ranked Ragin' Cajuns, and tailback Antonio Warren rushed for 1,046 yards despite missing all of two games and parts of two others with an ankle injury.
"They run the ball well," Bower said, "and that's something we've been vulnerable to."
Strong safety Tyrell Johnson leads the Indian defense with 103 tackles, but two of ASU's top three tacklers are in the secondary - a disturbing fact given Almond's numbers as USM's quarterback starter for most of four seasons.
"His experience and what he's been through helps us," Bower said, "especially when you go through a year like we've had. Having experience at that position is a big plus."
Having defenders like Kevis Coley helps, too. He finished the season with 144 tackles at middle linebacker, and twin brother Trevis Coley was second with 99 at free safety.
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SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL
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Monday, Dec. 19, 2005 – 4:00pm-4:15pm Central
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The Sun Belt Conference Champion will play in the first Bowl Game of the year, the New Orleans Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 7:00pm on ESPN. This year's game will be played in Lafayette, Louisiana. Sun Belt Tri-Champ Arkansas State will face the University of Southern Mississippi, who is representing Conference USA.
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