RECAP
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BOX SCORE
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -- Southern Mississippi is taking full
advantage of its defensive dominance.
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| Jeremiah Bonds and the rest of the Memphis Tigers were unable to score a touchdown against Southern Miss. |
Dawayne Woods ran 52 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth
quarter and Brant Hanna kicked three field goals as Southern Miss
beat Memphis 24-3 on Saturday.
Southern Miss (3-1, 1-0 Conference USA) has not allowed a
touchdown since the third quarter of its season-opening loss at
Tennessee -- a span of more than 13 quarters that includes road
victories over Alabama and Oklahoma State.
"It was a good game and a good win for our program," said
Golden Eagles coach Jeff Bower, whose team has lost just one
conference game in the past three seasons.
"It was an excellent job by our defense, I think they played
really well throughout the entire game."
Memphis (3-2, 1-1) has lost seven straight against Southern
Miss, and last won in Hattiesburg in 1960.
Memphis' Neil Suber had little time to throw and was intercepted
three times. Leo Barnes picked off a pass and ran it back 31 yards
for a touchdown with 1:15 remaining to make a close game look like
a mismatch. Barnes had 16 tackles.
"My own goal is to be the No. 1 defense in the country,"
Barnes said after the Eagles' first home game of the season.
"We were very experienced so I don't think anything they could
do to us would surprise us," defensive tackle John Nix said.
"Trick plays won't work against this defense."
Suber was 23-for-38 overall. Memphis was held to only 34 total
yards in the first half.
The Golden Eagles, however, were almost as inept as the Tigers
on offense early in the first half. Despite good field position,
Southern Miss had to settle for three field goals.
The Golden Eagles had just 99 yards rushing.
"We're not happy how we're running the football," Bower said.
"That's pretty obvious, but I'll tell you where I am proud, I
don't think our players ever quit and we kept on being persistent
offensively."
After an 18-yard punt by Ryan White late in the second quarter,
Jeff Kelly got a first down on an 11-yard run to move the ball to
the Memphis 18.
Four plays later, Dannye Flowers could not make the catch on a
pass that hit him right in the hands. Hanna kicked a 24-yard field
goal to make it 9-0 at halftime.
Memphis got something going in the third quarter. Jeremiah
Bonds' 16-yard run with 4:28 remaining set up a 36-yard field goal
by Ryan White.
"It was a hard-fought game. They are really good. They made a
couple of plays when they needed to," Memphis coach Rip Scherer said.
"It was a 9-3 game and we couldn't make the play to get the game
turned."
Kelly was 15-for-30 for 163 yards passing.
There were three turnovers in the first five minutes.
Suber threw an interception on the opening possession. Glenn
Sumter returned the ball to the Memphis 37, but Southern Miss gave
the ball right back on the next play.
Derrick Nix caught a pass from Kelly and was tackled by two
Tigers, causing the first of his two fumbles. Nix's second fumble
was on a run with 9:44 remaining in the first quarter.
Nix later left the game with a high ankle strain.
