Instant analysis: Middle Tennessee 42, Southern Miss 32
December, 21, 2009
12/21/09
12:09
AM ET
By
Graham Watson | ESPN.com
Middle Tennessee proved that the Sun Belt Conference might not be the weakest conference after all.
Behind the stellar play of quarterback Dwight Dasher, the Blue Raiders overcame a 14-0 first quarter deficit to dominate Southern Miss and win 42-32 and notch their first R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl title.
Middle Tennessee (10-3) becomes the first ever 10-win Sun Belt team while a member of the FBS.
How the game was won: Middle Tennessee quarterback Dwight Dasher took the game over in the second half and willed his team to a victory. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin called a great game and the Blue Raiders defense showed Southern Miss a handful of looks, which kept them off guard and out of sync. The defense started limiting big plays and forcing turnovers to turn the game around.
Stat of the game: Southern Miss’ vaunted running game was basically ineffective against a Middle Tennessee front that came into the game among the nation’s best in tackles for loss and sacks. The Golden Eagles had just 123 yards on the ground.
Player of the game: Middle Tennessee quarterback Dwight Dasher showed off both his arm and legs against a decent Southern Miss secondary. Dasher, who suffered a couple different leg injuries in the game, put the Golden Eagles on his back after they fell into a 14-point hole. Dasher accounted for 364 of the Blue Raiders 455 total yards of offense. He also had four touchdowns.
Unsung hero of the game: Middle Tennessee backup quarterback Brent Burnette came on late in the third quarter for Dasher, who suffered an ankle injury, and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Chris McClover for what would have been the game-winning score had the Golden Eagles not tacked on a late touchdowns. Burnette completed 2-of-3 passes for 45 yards.
Best call: Middle Tennessee’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Southern Miss 48-yard line late in the fourth quarter set up an 18-yard pass from Dasher to Desmond Gee that put the Blue Raiders in scoring position. The Blue Raiders would eventually score.
Record performance: With 162 yards passing and 202 yards rushing against Southern Miss, Dasher became just the ninth player in FBS history to have 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing. Dasher finishes the year with 2951 passing yards and 1,1,54 rushing yards.
Behind the stellar play of quarterback Dwight Dasher, the Blue Raiders overcame a 14-0 first quarter deficit to dominate Southern Miss and win 42-32 and notch their first R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl title.
Middle Tennessee (10-3) becomes the first ever 10-win Sun Belt team while a member of the FBS.
How the game was won: Middle Tennessee quarterback Dwight Dasher took the game over in the second half and willed his team to a victory. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin called a great game and the Blue Raiders defense showed Southern Miss a handful of looks, which kept them off guard and out of sync. The defense started limiting big plays and forcing turnovers to turn the game around.
Stat of the game: Southern Miss’ vaunted running game was basically ineffective against a Middle Tennessee front that came into the game among the nation’s best in tackles for loss and sacks. The Golden Eagles had just 123 yards on the ground.
Player of the game: Middle Tennessee quarterback Dwight Dasher showed off both his arm and legs against a decent Southern Miss secondary. Dasher, who suffered a couple different leg injuries in the game, put the Golden Eagles on his back after they fell into a 14-point hole. Dasher accounted for 364 of the Blue Raiders 455 total yards of offense. He also had four touchdowns.
Unsung hero of the game: Middle Tennessee backup quarterback Brent Burnette came on late in the third quarter for Dasher, who suffered an ankle injury, and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Chris McClover for what would have been the game-winning score had the Golden Eagles not tacked on a late touchdowns. Burnette completed 2-of-3 passes for 45 yards.
Best call: Middle Tennessee’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Southern Miss 48-yard line late in the fourth quarter set up an 18-yard pass from Dasher to Desmond Gee that put the Blue Raiders in scoring position. The Blue Raiders would eventually score.
Record performance: With 162 yards passing and 202 yards rushing against Southern Miss, Dasher became just the ninth player in FBS history to have 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing. Dasher finishes the year with 2951 passing yards and 1,1,54 rushing yards.
Graham Watson | email
College FootballWatson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Missouri Tigers and the Big 12 Conference for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She also covered college football recruiting for the Dallas Morning News.
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