GMAC Bowl Preview - Southern Miss vs. Ohio

Date: Sunday, January 7th

Location: Ladd-Peebles Stadium (40,646); Mobile, AL

Time: 8:00 p.m. (EST)

Television: ESPN

Records: Southern Miss (8-5 overall, 6-3 CUSA); Ohio (9-4 overall, 7-2 MAC)

Rankings: None

All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

Last Bowl Appearance:
Southern Miss – 2005 New Orleans Bowl – Arkansas State, W 31-19
Ohio – 1968 Tangerine Bowl – Richmond, L 42-49

All-Time Bowl Record:
Southern Miss – 7-7
Ohio – 0-2

Injury/Personnel Report:

Southern Miss
TB Damion Fletcher (high ankle sprain); probable
TB Tony Harrison (shoulder); probable/questionable
TB Conrad Chanove (knee); probable/questionable

Quarterback Jeremy Young and tight end Shawn Nelson have played through nagging injuries all season and should be ready to go when January 7 th gets here.

Ohio
S Stephen Jackson (knee); questionable
QB Austen Everson (ankle); probable

Southern Miss vs. Ohio – Series History and General Overview

The Bobcats and Golden Eagles have never met on the gridiron. That will change on Sunday, January 7th, when the programs meet in the next to last bowl game of the college football season, the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

Both teams finished runner-up in their respective conferences after losses in their league title games.

After a 2-3 start (which included losses to bowl teams in Rutgers (24-7) and Missouri (31-6)), the Bobcats won their last seven regular season games to secure their first bowl berth in nearly four decades. This included a 20-17 win at Big Ten foe Illinois. Central Michigan defeated them soundly, 31-10, in the MAC Championship game in Detroit.

Southern Miss won its last four regular season games, but then suffered a 34-20 setback at Houston in the Conference USA Championship game.

The formulas for success that head coaches Jeff Bower (USM) and Frank Solich (Ohio) have used are very similar. Both programs place an emphasis on playing solid defense while establishing its running attack.

While the teams are similar this year, they're very different with regards to the all-time success of their program.

Southern Miss will be playing in its 15th bowl game. The Golden Eagles have appeared in nine bowls over the last ten seasons under the guidance of head coach Jeff Bower. Bower, who is in his 16th season at the helm, is one of the longest tenured coaches in the nation.

Ohio will be appearing in a bowl for only the third time in the program's history and the first since the 1968 Tangerine Bowl. Second-year head coach Frank Solich, who posted a 58-19 record (.753 winning percentage) at his alma mater Nebraska from 1998 to 2003, has done a tremendous job in two seasons in Athens.

Southern Miss Offense vs. Ohio Defense

Advantage: EVEN

Southern Miss' offense, which averages 25.2 points and 334.7 yards per game, is heavily reliant on running back Damion Fletcher. The talented freshman rushed for 1,330 yards (110.8 ypg) and nine touchdowns to spearhead a Golden Eagles' rushing attack that averages 173.4 yards per contest.

Tory Harrison and Conrad Chanove have both proven to be capable back-ups, as they've each rushed for 258 yards.

Fletcher has helped take some of the load off of first-year starting quarterback Jeremy Young. Young, who has had a roller coaster debut to his Southern Miss' career, has shown flashes of brilliance. He has thrown for 1,609 yards and 12 touchdowns (compared to five interceptions) while completing 56.8 percent of his passes. The mobile signal-caller has also rushed for 232 yards and four touchdowns.

Fletcher and company have had the luxury of operating behind one of the top offensive lines in the league.

Young's top target in the passing game is tight end Shawn Nelson. Nelson hauled in 36 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns. Other threats in the Golden Eagles' aerial attack are Damion Carter (23 rec., 358 yards, 2 TDs), Chris Johnson (22 rec., 249 yards, 5 TDs) and Anthony Perine (20 rec., 202 yards, 1 TD).

Southern Miss will face a Bobcat defensive unit that ranked first in the MAC in points allowed, as they are surrendering only 17.3 points per contest. Ohio is giving up only 304.3 yards per game, which is over 150 fewer than opponents averaged in 2005. The Bobcats' improvement has also been aided by their ability to force 24 turnovers. Opponents are only converting 32 percent of their third downs.

Junior Landon Cohen and sophomore Jameson Hartke lead a stout defensive line. Cohen has registered 14 tackles for loss while Hartke has recorded 7.5 sacks.

The Bobcats also possess what may be the best combination of linebackers in the conference in Matt Muncy and Tyler Russ. Muncy, a two-time All-MAC selection at middle linebacker, has totaled over 300 tackles in his career. He has 14.5 tackles for loss this season, which ties him for fourth in the league. Russ, a second-team All-MAC performer, has 84 tackles and three interceptions.

Game-changing cornerback T.J. Wright (5'11”, 175) leads a solid Bobcats' secondary. The Beaumont, TX-native has three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 17 pass break-ups on the season. He now has 12 interceptions in his Ohio career.

Ohio Offense vs. Southern Miss Defense

Advantage: SOUTHERN MISS

Offensively, Ohio's success is generally going to be determined by the success of running back Kalvin McRae. The Bobcats, who averaged only 20.7 points and 280.7 yards per game, were 8-0 when their two-time All-MAC selection topped 100 yards. He rushed for 1,215 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2006 while becoming the first Ohio player to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in more than 30 years.

The Bobcats' passing game produced only 125 yards per contest and their top receiver was…you guessed it…Kalvin McRae. He caught 29 passes for 280 yards. They do have two speedy, underused threats in Scott Mayle (24 rec., 355 yards) and Chris Garrett (29 rec. 280 yards).

Under center, it will be either senior Austen Everson or junior Brad Bower. Everson has taken the majority of the snaps, but was relieved by Bower in the MAC title game after he aggravated a previous ankle injury. Everson, who is a dual threat, has thrown for 1,181 yards while running for 373 more. He has completed 56.2 percent of his passes, but has thrown seven interceptions compared to only six touchdowns.

First team All-MAC tackle Matt Coppage anchors a strong offensive line. Center J.J. Knabb has probably been the Bobcats next best lineman.

The Bobcats will need to have one of their best run-blocking performances of the season if an essentially one-dimensional Ohio offense is going to move the football against a strong Southern Miss' defense.

The Golden Eagles, which have made it habit of putting solid defenses on the field through the years, had the best scoring defense in Conference USA (19.5 ppg). They are allowing 314.5 yards per game and only 134 on the ground. Opponents have only managed to convert 31 percent of their third downs. They've been able to generate a strong pass rush, which has resulted in 24 sacks and a lot of interceptions.

The unit's leading tackler is redshirt freshman strong side linebacker Gerald McRath. McRath (6'3”, 215) has recorded 91 tackles, 51 of which have been solo.

Junior defensive end Robert Henderson (6'3”, 280) has provided 12.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

Caleb Hendrix leads the team with four interceptions.

Special Teams

Advantage: OHIO

Matt Lasher and Chris Garrett give the Bobcats the nod in this phase of the game.

Lasher handles all the punting and kicking duties for Ohio. He has connected on 13-of-18 field goals, but only has a long of 38. Punting appears to be his forte', as Lasher averages 39.9 yards per attempt. His more impressive stats are the 19 fair catches and 29 touchbacks he has forced. On kickoffs, 18 of his 59 attempts have resulted in touchbacks.

He will need to conclude the season with another superb punting performance to limit the effectiveness of Southern Miss' return man Jasper Faulk, who is averaging 8.6 yards per return.

The Bobcats' kickoff and punt coverage teams have excelled and Lasher's presence has been a great aid to those strong efforts.

Ohio's Chris Garrett boasts an impressive 15.3-yard average on punt returns, which ranks him first in the MAC and among the nation's best.

Southern Miss' punt team has shown some vulnerability, allowing over eight yards per return, and needs to improve on that if they want to slow down Garrett.

The Golden Eagles' punter Britt Barefoot has a 38-yard average and has forced opponents to start inside their own 20-yard line on 12 different occasions. Barefoot also handles the kickoffs and has produced 27 touchbacks in 68 attempts.

McCaleb has connected on 16-of-23 field goals for USM and has a long of 50 yards.

Intangibles  

Advantage: SOUTHERN MISS

Ohio obviously does most of the little things right or it would not win with its offensive production. Their coaching staff possesses a wealth of postseason experience and knows how to handle the weeks of bowl preparation. Frank Solich took Nebraska there on a regular basis and played for a national title against Miami while boss in Lincoln.

However, the Bobcat players haven't been through the routine before while all of Southern Miss' returning players have been to at least one bowl game. The Golden Eagles not only have that in their favor, but they're also a very disciplined football team. They're only committing 41 yards in penalties per contest.

Final GMAC Bowl Prediction

If you like defensive struggles where a premium is placed on running the football, special teams play and field position then this is likely to be your type of football game. Southern Miss will win this game because they are the more complete football team. The Golden Eagles throw the ball more efficiently than the Bobcats, which will present more holes for Damion Fletcher to run through compared to what his counterpart Kalvin McRae will have.

Ohio will hang tough in its first bowl game in nearly four decades, but the bowl-seasoned, more balanced Golden Eagles will prevail in Mobile.