ESPN College Football

Nevada Wolf Pack (7-5) vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (11-2)

Dec. 24, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Nevada take: Coming off a 13-1 record-breaking season, the Wolfpack started this season 6-3 and in control of the Western Athletic Conference, looking to clinch their second straight conference title. Then they blew a 20-3 home lead to eventual conference champion Louisiana Tech, and they lost by four at Utah State the next week, too. Running back Mike Ball was kicked off the team prior to the Utah State team for violating team rules. He had 704 yards and three touchdowns and was a force on kickoff returns as well.

A brutal four-game road stretch to open the season -- which included games against Oregon and Boise State -- led to a 1-3 start, with the lone win coming by three at San Jose State.

Freshman Cody Fajardo emerged as the starting quarterback over Tyler Lantrip and has completed better than 71 percent of his passes for 1,647 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for 680 yards and 11 touchdowns. Nevada scored at least 37 points in five straight games with Fajardo under center. After two straight losses, the Wolfpack closed the season with a 56-3 win Saturday over Idaho. Their rushing offense, keyed by Chris Ault's vaunted pistol attack, ranks eighth nationally. They averaged more than 522 total yards per game, good for fifth nationally.

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Southern Miss take: There's a reason Larry Fedora's name has been mentioned so often for other job openings. He had already led the Golden Eagles to their first 10-win season since 1952 and only their third in school history. It then all culminated with a 49-28 thrashing of undefeated Houston in Saturday's Conference USA title game, giving the Golden Eagles their first-ever 11-win season.

Southern Miss is going bowling for the 10th straight year, the longest active streak in the conference. That is thanks in large part to the play of quarterback Austin Davis, who has re-written the school record books and threw four touchdown passes in the victory over the Cougars. He now has the single-season school record for touchdown passes (28) and passing yards (3,331).

Ronnie Thornton's 26-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday was Southern Miss' eighth pick-six of the year, an NCAA record. The defense's quick adjustment to first-year coordinator Dan Disch and his 4-2-5 look has paid dividends early.

"We knew in making that change that there wouldn't be time for a learning curve so we told the kids, 'There is not time for a learning curve you’re going to have to spend whatever free time you have learning this system as quickly as possible,' " Fedora said last week. "They all bought in. They were excited about it and they learned it very quickly you have to give credit to Dan Disch and the defensive staff for making things simple."

1. Arkansas rushed for only 102 yards on 33 carries (3.1-yard avg.) Saturday in its 51-7 defeat of Missouri State. You’d think that Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino would take advantage of a lesser opponent to work out the kinks. Nope. “I’m not patient enough to just sit there and keep calling runs,” Petrino said. “When you see what you’re seeing out there on the field, I just say to myself, ‘Just throw it. What am I doing? Just throw the ball.’” You think practice today and Wednesday will be tough?

2. Southern Miss had three huge special teams mistakes, which isn’t unusual in Week 1. But the Golden Eagles beat Louisiana Tech, 19-17, because of their kicker. Preseason All-American Danny Hrapmann? Not exactly. Backup kicker Corey Acosta made field goals of 25 and 42 yards in the fourth quarter after Hrapmann cramped up. Hrapmann returned to make the 49-yard game-winner with 2:32 to play.

3. Lee Roy Selmon, who died Sunday at age 56, is being mourned as a legend by two universities. In the '70s, Selmon and his two brothers served as the foundation around which Barry Switzer built the first two of his three national champions at Oklahoma. And South Florida remembers Selmon as the athletic director who shepherded the Bulls into the FBS. That shows that Selmon is mourned for the person he was, not merely because he made a lot of tackles.

1. Sitting in the nosebleeds Tuesday night in Hartford to see the UConn women break the UCLA men’s record with their 89th consecutive victory made me reflect on the longest football winning streak. Oklahoma set the record of 47 straight from 1953-57. We were fortunate to see both Miami and USC reach 34 straight wins in the last decade. Both lost heart breakers in a national championship game. Given the way players leave early for the NFL, the Sooners’ record seems inviolate.

2. The bad news in watching bowl offenses is that they may suffer from a lack of rhythm borne of not playing for several weeks. The good news is that the nagging injuries in young bodies have had time to heal. Quarterbacks such as Denard Robinson of Michigan and Taylor Martinez of Nebraska have begun to look like themselves in practice leading to their bowl games next week. In their case, health is a great lubricant for offensive rust.

3. I like how Louisville spotted Southern Mississippi a 14-0 lead in the first 5:00; how the Cardinals scored 31 points; only 10 of them on drives of more than 37 yards; how Jeremy Wright returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score; how corner Johnny Patrick blocked a Southern Mississippi field goal; how the punt team pinned Southern Miss at its 2 with :07 to play; and how Louisville didn’t lead the Beef O’Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl until the fourth quarter but won, 31-28, giving Charlie Strong a 7-6 record and a big boost into 2011.

1. Southern Mississippi had three football players shot early Sunday morning, not that you would know that from the university press release. It said they “were injured in an off-campus incident.” Lifting weights on their own time? Hit while helping little old ladies cross Hwy. 98? No and no. Someone shot them. The university issued a news release that omitted the most important piece of news.

2. If No. 14 Oklahoma wins at Baylor, and No. 19 Texas A&M loses against No. 8 Nebraska -- in other words, if the BCS standings are accurate -- then the Bedlam game, when the Sooners play at No. 10 Oklahoma State on Nov. 27, will be for the Big 12 South championship. But that’s a bigger if than it may seem. Oklahoma is 1-2 in non-neutral-site road games this year and only 14-10 in the opponent’s stadium over the past six seasons.

3. The Heisman Trophy has never emphasized character in its vote. The Doak Walker Award, however, has done so since its inception 20 years ago. The point is that I’m a lot more inclined to vote Oregon tailback LaMichael James higher on my Heisman ballot than my Walker ballot. That's because James was suspended for one game after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge stemming from a fight with his former girlfriend. Of the 10 semifinalists, three will go to the ESPN College Football Awards Show in December. I voted James fourth.

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It’s amazing, but we’re just a couple of months from the start of fall camps. And that means were just a couple months away from lighting some fires under various coaches' seats to get them to win now or else.

But why wait?

I thought I‘d assess the temperature of the various coaches in my leagues to see where they stand heading into 2010 and what they need to do to ensure their employment in 2011.

Needs to win right away

Mike Price, UTEP: Price has become a bit of a fixture in this particular position on the hot seat list. He was given a vote of confidence at the end of last year, but that was because he still has players such as quarterback Trevor Vittatoe and running back Donald Buckram on his roster. But they’re gone after this season, so Price needs to make something out of this year or else.

Neil Callaway, UAB: Callaway is 11-25 in his three seasons as UAB’s head coach and the Blazers have not won more than five games in any of his seasons. In all fairness, Callaway did have to deal with scholarship losses thanks to NCAA APR sanctions that came down prior to his arrival. But with Joe Webb gone and the team looking for an offensive spark this year, the administration and fans could get antsy.

Seat could get toasty midseason

David Bailiff, Rice: I honestly think Bailiff has nothing to fear, but last season’s 2-10 campaign was pretty brutal, especially after the 10-3 season in 2008. But Bailiff has some key transfers this season, including running back Sam McGuffie, who could end up being the best player in the conference. Another 10-win season might be a stretch, but the Owls should get into bowl contention.

Bob Toledo, Tulane: Toledo took a tough job four years ago as Tulane was still rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina and was displaced because of other hurricanes. He also has to deal with a tough academic standard, which often hampers recruiting. Still, Tulane has some fertile recruiting ground with Louisiana and Texas and should be better than its 3-9 record a year ago.

Chillin’ in a lounge chair

Kevin Sumlin, Houston: Sumlin’s Cougars provided some thrills last year with wins over Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Mississippi State en route to a 10-win season, but they struggled at the end of the season and failed to win the conference title or the bowl game. Still, Sumlin’s coaching job in just two years has made him one of the hottest up-and-comers, and Houston will want to hold onto him as long as it can.

June Jones, SMU: Jones has started SMU on the road back to prominence, which has its administration and fan base in a frenzy. The school bumped up his salary last year and the expectations for a nine or 10-win season, a division title and possible league title are high. Jones won’t be chastised if they don’t achieve all of those goals, but he has to continue to show improvement.

George O’Leary, UCF: Remember when folks were calling for O’Leary’s job? Yeah, those days are gone and now many think the Knights could be the team to beat in the East Division and perhaps the conference. The defense has been stout, but the Knights need to show some progress on offense to live up to the expectations.

Todd Graham, Tulsa: I think it’s fair to call last year’s 5-7 finish a fluke. Graham acknowledged that he underestimated the loss of some of his seniors after the 2008 season and the lack of depth on the offensive line. However, Tulsa doesn’t lose much offense from a year ago, and if the O-line and quarterback G.J. Kinne can progress, the Golden Hurricane could be right back in the conference title hunt.

Larry Fedora, Southern Miss: Fedora missed an East Division title by five points last season and those five points were the theme that drove the Golden Eagles this spring. Southern Miss will once again be at the top of the East Division and will probably battle UCF for the division title. Fedora has kept the bowl streak alive, but now it’s time to push his squad forward.

New coach, jury is still out

Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina: McNeill took over a team that lost 28 seniors from last year and he’s installing a new offense and defense. Now, it’s tough to rule out the back-to-back conference champions, but it’s hard to see this as anything but a rebuilding year.

Larry Porter, Memphis: Porter is another coach who lost several key contributors. He’s breaking in a new quarterback and a new running back in a new system. He has a little more pressure on him to build quickly with possible expansion looming, but it will take some time to get this team back in contention.

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San Diego State coach Brady Hoke explains the trials he faced when he first became the Aztecs coach.

Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora challenged his team, which has failed to win a conference championship since 2003.

Evan Mohl of The Daily News of Galveston County writes that Houston fans shouldn’t be waiting for the Cougars to join a big conference.

TCU coach Gary Patterson donated $1,500 to a 2011 Super Bowl initiative to get kids more involved in the community.

I’m a joiner and this morning I saw that the other bloggers were writing about the teams from their conferences that had the best chance of going bowling this year. So, I thought I’d join in.

Obviously, I have more conferences, so I’ll break this down over a few posts throughout the rest of the week. I’ll go in alphabetical order, so let’s start with Conference USA.

C-USA announced last month that it will have six guaranteed bowl spots and an agreement with the new Dallas Football Classic to participate in that game should be the Big Ten or Big 12 be unable to provide a team. The Liberty Bowl takes the conference champion and then teams are dispersed with the help of the league office.

I’m not going to pick the exact bowls but rather the teams I think will be bowling at the end of the year.

COUNT ON IT

• Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles have missed the postseason just once this decade, so there’s no reason to think they’re going to slip now. Yes, there are questions on the offensive line, but this team should be challenging for a conference title by the end of the season.
• Central Florida: The Knights rebounded from a tough 2008 to nearly play in the conference title game in 2009. This year, the defense looks stout and the offense seems to have found a quarterback in Rob Calabrese that can help expand their game. Running back is a huge question mark with Brynn Harvey out for nonconference play, but several other options seemed to step up during the spring.
• Houston: The Cougars seemed to hit a wall at the end of last season, but with nearly everyone returning from that team, they’ll be the favorites to win C-USA West in the fall. The question will be whether they learned from last year’s mistakes to put themselves in better bowl position this year.
• SMU: Dare I say that SMU is back? The Mustangs will be young again, but I think coach June Jones has found something in quarterback Kyle Padron and the Mustangs will once again be in a bowl hunt. I think the ‘Stangs have the best chance to give Houston a run for the West Division.
• Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane had a down year in 2009, but I think that was an aberration. Coach Todd Graham acknowledged he underestimated the loss of some players heading into last year, but with most of the 2009 squad returning for 2010, he feels confident his team can rebound. Much of Tulsa’s success will depend on the offensive line, which was really shaky a year ago.

MOST LIKELY

• UTEP: The Miners have the talent to make a bowl game, especially with quarterback Trevor Vittatoe and running back Donald Buckram back, but the consistency is something that needs to come along. The Miners have a new defensive coordinator, which should alleviate the need to get into shootouts with opponents.
• Marshall: It’s hard to say what a team will look like with a new coach and several of the top offensive weapons gone, but coach Doc Holliday does have some gems on his roster that could get this team to six wins. However, the nonconference schedule is a bear and the Herd has to play at Southern Miss, ECU and SMU.

OUTSIDE SHOT

• East Carolina: The Pirates lost more starters to graduation than any other team in the country. Combine that with trying to learn a new offensive and defensive system and it seems like a rebuilding year.
• Rice: Last year was a tough transition for Rice after losing almost all of its offense from 2008. This year should be better with some new quarterback choices, experience and running back Sam McGuffie available to play. The Owls could easily go 2-2 during nonconference play and have SMU and Houston at home, but there’s a tough road stretch during late October and early November that will get them a bowl berth.

WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR

• Memphis: New head coach Larry Porter inherited a lot of potential, but it won’t be easy to put that together in a year. There are a lot of questions for this Memphis team, especially at running back, the position that carried the offense a year ago.
• UAB: Quarterback Joe Webb was the Blazers’ all-everything player a year ago and now that he’s gone, no one has stepped up to fill that gap. Coach Neil Callaway has been looking for players to help out for the past few years and has had little luck finding someone to emerge. That will continue as the Blazers struggle in 2010.
• Tulane: I thought the Green Wave would be better in 2009, but that didn’t happen and I don’t have a lot of confidence for 2010. They lose top players Jeremy Williams and Andre Anderson and are still looking for consistent play from both sides of the ball.

2008 overall record: 7-6

2008 conference record: 5-3 (third C-USA East)

Returning starters
Offense: 4, defense: 9, punter/kicker: 2

Top returners
QB Austin Davis, QB Martevious Young, WR DeAndre Brown, WR/RB/Returner Tracey Lampley, C Cameron Zipp, DL Anthony Gray, DL Cordarro Law, LB Martez Smith, LB, Korey Williams, DB C.J. Bailey, DB Justin Wilson, P Peter Boehme

Key losses
RB Damion Fletcher, OL Kyle Burkhart, OL Ryan Hebert, TE Leroy Banks, WR Gerald Baptiste, WR/Returner Freddie Parham, LS Cody Tawater, DS Andy Hill, DB Andre Watson, DB Eddie Hicks

2009 statistical leaders (* denotes returners)

Rushing: Damion Fletcher (1,015 yards)
Passing: Martevious Young* (1,861 yards)
Receiving: DeAndre Brown* (785 yards)
Tackles: Korey Williams* (121 tackles)
Sacks: Korey Williams*, Cordarro Law* (7.5 sacks)
Interceptions: Eddie Hicks (5 INTs)


Spring answers

1. Unexpected running back depth: Losing the top two rushers from a year ago didn’t seem to faze the Golden Eagles this spring as they found more running back depth than they’ve had in some time. V.J. Floyd, Kendrick Hardy, Tracey Lampley and Desmond Johnson all played well this spring and will all have the chance to compete in the fall.

2. Defensive line gets better: The Eagles returned all of their starting defensive linemen from a year ago and they continued to get better in the spring led by end Cordarro Law, who had 11 tackles, including five sacks.

3. Kicking woes fixed: Going into spring, coach Larry Fedora said the kicking game was going to be the focus. Southern Miss missed 10 extra points last season and six field goals. Justin Estes and Daniel Hrapmann struggled with consistency and Fedora challenged both players to get better this spring. It seemingly worked as the kicking game was much better during the spring. Hrapmann surged into the top kicking spot and Matthew Little looks like he’ll add quality depth.


Fall questions

1. Offensive line still incomplete: Southern Miss is still trying to fill four positions on the offensive line and had some success during spring ball. Center Cameron Zipp is the only returning starter and Fedora leaned on the experience of junior college players Lamar Holmes and Jason Weaver to jump-start the line this spring.

2. Lots of RBs, but who will start? While the Eagles did find running back depth, it didn’t find a definitive replacement for the school’s all-time leading rusher, Damion Fletcher. V.J. Floyd will probably open the year as the starter, but Kendrick Hardy might ultimately be the team’s future as a big, bruising back.

3. Quarterback conundrum: Last year’s starting quarterback, Austin Davis, suffered a foot injury, which kept him out the whole season. Martevious Young did an admirable job in Davis’ absence and took the lead this spring. It’s unclear what Davis’ role will be when he gets back, especially since he’s missed so much time and Young has played so well.

Troy’s quarterback battle is definitely down to two, but coach Larry Blakeney is going to let the competition continue to fall camp.

Marshall defensive players are trying to make emotion and intensity a staple of their everyday routine.

Louisiana-Monroe coach Todd Berry wasn’t pleased with the way his team returned from spring break.

Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora is happy his team is out of spring football with no serious injuries.

Western Kentucky coach Willie Taggart is placing high expectations on his new team and it’s responding well this spring.

Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora said after Saturday’s spring game that he’s not ready to name a definitive starter to replace Damien Fletcher at running back, but he feels good about all four of the top competitors.

V.J. Floyd, Kendrick Hardy, Tracy Lampley and Desmond Johnson all have been competing for the starting role. Floyd came into spring football as the leader because of experience and with his performance on Saturday, seemed to tighten his grip on the job.

Floyd led all running backs with 12 rushes for 83 yards and five catches for 112 yards and a 70-yard touchdown reception.

But the biggest surprise of the spring was the emergence of redshirt freshman running back Kendrick Hardy, who led the Gold team in rushing with 10 carries for 32 yards and had a 37-yard touchdown reception. Hardy started to catch on midway through spring practices and has seemingly gotten stronger as the weeks progressed. Hardy is the biggest of the backs and gives the Golden Eagles a different look in their running game.

Many anticipated Hardy being a factor last year after being a highly touted recruit, but he was redshirted and now seems to have matured into the player many thought he could be.

“He’s been doing that all spring," Fedora said. "He runs hard. He adds another dimension to what we do offensively because of his size, his speed and how hard he runs.”

Although Floyd was consistently the best running back throughout spring ball, Fedora wanted to look at film and the rest of spring before he made a final decision. That decision likely will not be set in stone until the first game in September, but with what all four have shown during spring practices and during competition last season, it appears as though Fedora can’t go wrong regardless of who he chooses.

“We’ll see. We’ll have to evaluate it,” Fedora said of naming a starting running back. “I can tell you this: All four of those guys have been working their butts off and have shown a lot of promise through spring in flashes. Even Desmond and [Tracy Lampley] have done some really good things. I think right now, we have four that we can count on. That’s a great thing for us to get through the season.”

Florida International’s spring game not only signified the end of spring football, but a time for FIU to move on after the death of running back Kendall Berry.

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Southern Miss had a special guest at spring practice Monday.

Former Southern Miss and NFL icon, Brett Favre, spoke to the team for about 10 minutes after its two-hour practice as a special surprise for the Golden Eagles.

“He was just talking about what it was like to play here and what it meant to play here, on that practice field and in that stadium,” coach Larry Fedora said. “You could’ve heard a pin drop out there. Everyone was glued in and listening to what he had to say. You don’t get many opportunities like that to get to listen to the greatest quarterback that ever played the game. He said a lot of things that were on his heart. It was good.”

Favre spent practice standing on the sidelines watching and talking with Fedora. He didn’t offer any suggestions to the quarterbacks.

Although Favre didn’t mention his NFL plans for the 2010 season (and Fedora said no one asked), he did mention that he’d like to see his alma mater play a little more.

"He said ’I might be out here watching you in the fall, but there are no early commitments to that, though,’" quarterback Martevious Young said.

Southern Miss football coach Larry Fedora has dismissed senior offensive lineman Trevor Newsom from the team for a violation of team policy.

Newsom, a transfer from Itawamba Community College in Mississippi, joined the squad in 2009 and played nine games for the Golden Eagles last season.

Fedora did not elaborate on the reason for the dismissal.

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