Well, Troy lost 30-27 in the end. Trojans made several mistakes - a few dropped passes and some pressure got through the line. I’ve got a couple of videos for you.
Of note, center Danny Franks didn’t play much of the fourth quarter, Blakeney said he got knocked out, so he was woozy. The line didn’t do as well when he left the game. Blakeney said the blocked field goal came from penetration through the right side, he thought.
VIDEO 1 - We talk with senior Gerald Tate after the game. Great guy, I’ll miss covering him and he said he wants to get into coaching.
VIDEO 2 - Running back Nate Nolin talks (of note, this was the serious conversation. He was the first guy I saw and gave some good stuff. The “Get Nate Nolin the ball campaign” continues through 2009)
Posted by Drew Champlin on 12/21 at 11:51 PM
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9:43 p.m. - Attendance 30,197 a New Orleans Bowl record
HALFTIME - USM hits a FG to end the first half, it’s 17-17. USM’s offense is wearing out Troy’s defense at the moment, so we’ll see what kind of adjustments Troy makes in the second half. This team is a little better than that Rice team in 2006. Won’t be able to blog any more because of deadlines but will send out twitters when applicable.
8:43 p.m. - Sam Glusman hits a 20-yard FG after Troy stalled inside the 5. Harris almost lost his second fumble and Troy threw away a touchdown opportunity by not getting the ball to Nate Nolin on 2nd and goal.
8:14 p.m. - USM responds well after Brown’s injury, getting some quick hitters on the soft coverage. That QB Austin Davis looks pretty good. He’s been on the money almost all night. 14-14 with 14:25 left.
8:09 p.m. - First quarter finally ends. The longer the game goes, the harder it is to get better stuff for the print edition. Thankfully I’ve got a blog and can get some type of video reaction. Troy 14-7
8:02 p.m. - I said Nate Nolin would score, but they ran some questionable play on first and goal. But, on third down, Brown to Burton for a 4-yard TD. The pass was first ruled incomplete but reviewed and overturned. 14-7 Troy still in the first quarter. 12th Trojan to catch a TD pass, tops in the nation.
7:43 - USM receiver DeAndre Brown goes down in the end zone on an incompletion. His leg isn’t supposed to bend like that and they had the stretcher out almost immediately. Do not watch the replay if you’re faint of heart like me and say your prayers for the kid. The injury looked like it happened before he even jumped in the air. Maybe on the plant.
7:28 p.m. - That again was quick. USM answers on a 64-yard TD pass on a flea flicker. Not sure who blew coverage but Senior Bowl-bound Sherrod Martin was chasing.
7:23 p.m. - That was quick. Jorrick Calvin forced a fumble on an option pitch and basketballed it to himself and scored from 17 yards out. 7-0 Troy. The fastest score in NOBowl history.
7:12 p.m. - Troy captains are Sherrod Martin, Tavares Williams, Dion Small and Chris Jamison
6:58 p.m. - Just learned that USM will be charged a timeout for wearing gold uniforms. They’re supposed to wear white. It will happen after kickoff in the first half.
Taken my seat at the Superdome, as the band is piling in and we’re hearing some southern blues/gospel/jazz. It’s a good setting. Fans aren’t in yet, but I have met some faithful readers at the team hotel and I’m appreciative of that. I had another Ho reference, this time a “This is Mrs. Ho, she’s been having a great time here.“ I hope Mr. Ho recovered from a long night out the past two nights and is here.
I’m going to try to have a pregame clip, but no game chat. Too late of a start. Any questions, feel free to leave on the blog.
6:30 p.m. - Southern Miss, is gold on gold as far as uniforms. Troy is cardinal on cardinal. A colleague said USM looks like the golden bananas out there. His words, not mine.
HERE is the pregame VIDEO. Excuse the amateur camerawork. The interview at the end is with junior defensive end MARIO ADDISON, who is redshirting this year.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 12/21 at 05:22 PM
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Drew’s pick: In Mr. Ho fashion, I’ll go Troy 19-15 (seriously I’ll say Troy by 7 or 10). Kirk Herbstreit picked Troy to win and put 23 (of 34 total bowls) confidence points on it. He got all four bowl picks right yesterday. I missed three of four. We’ll see who we need to trust. Probably not me.
Check back here before the game and I might have a little video update posted. Definitely afterwards, though.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 12/21 at 10:14 AM
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I don’t start campaigns for Troy. No touting players for Heisman, Butkus, etc., but now is the perfect time for one.
You have a guy like junior Nate Nolin. He plays about 20-25 plays a game, yet many fans probably have no idea who he is. Why? He never gets the ball. He’s playing the Sean Dawkins role, but last year Dawk got the ball plenty of times. When No. 30 gets into the game, it’s pretty obvious what he’s doing. Blocking. There aren’t any run plays in the playbook for the former Graceville, Fla., star, and he hasn’t gotten the ball on pass plays.
So, we talked to a few of his teammates, offensive coordinator Neal Brown, and Nate Nolin himself on the prospects of getting him the ball in the New Orleans Bowl Sunday vs. Southern Miss. If it doesn’t happen, the campaign will continue through his senior year. To be fair, Nate has a tackle and three kickoff returns (on short kicks where they weren’t kicking to Jorrick Calvin).
The most troubling thing about this is that WES POTTER, the great offensive lineman that he is, has one catch this year (for minus-2 yards at North Texas). I don’t even think they throw Potter the ball during pregame walkthroughs the day before.
Let’s take a look. First, we talk to linebacker Bear Woods. The two used to be called twins, but Nolin cut his hair before last year. Nolin also was a linebacker before he tore his ACL midway through last year and was needed in the H-back spot, where he is first on the depth chart but has zero touches.
Next, we talk to quarterback Levi Brown, who has thrown hundreds of passes (72 in one game, and not one to Nate Nolin) and defensive back Sam Sellers.
Then, we go over to the exercise bike where quarterback Tanner Jones is rehabbing his injured knee. No doubt if he was healthy he’d throw it to Nate more.
At the hotel, we find Nate Nolin. He gives off the vibe of “I’m a team player, I’ll run through the goalposts if they ask me to,“ but we all know he’s thinking selfish, and for good reason.
Now, I’ll say in the elevator, I saw running backs coach Chad Scott. I didn’t get video on him, but he said “Nate, man he had that kickoff return where all he had to do was put a move on the guy, but he tried to run through him.“
Finally, the man that makes the decisions. Offensive coordinator Neal Brown gives his plans for Nate for this game and for the future.
We’ll see what happens in the New Orleans Bowl.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 12/20 at 05:04 PM
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Thanks to Patrick Magee of the Hattiesburg American
1. What changed for USM to go from 2-6 to getting to a bowl?
It really all comes back to the Southern Miss defense. The unit really was the main reason for the team’s five-game losing streak as it gave up too many big plays and committed numerous crucial errors.
The defense got off to a good start against UAB and sparked as big a turnaround as I’ve seen for a unit. The defense played very well down the stretch, but Troy will be the best offense USM has faced since the Rice game.
The biggest change was just more experience on the field for a young defensive line and the Eagles got a big boost of confidence in the 70-14 win over UAB.
2. Do you think the players look at Troy as being inferior because they come from the Sun Belt?
I’m sure they view the Sun Belt as inferior, but they understand the SBC is getting better with each season. Southern Miss has had a lot of success against the Sun Belt Conference with a 55-15-1 record against SBC squads. But games in recent years with Arkansas State have been tough contests and Troy is viewed a notch above most other teams in the SBC.
3. What are USM’s strengths? Weaknesses?
The Golden Eagles’ strengths have to be the dynamic performers on the offensive side of the ball. Quarterback Austin Davis and receiver DeAndre Brown are both excellent freshmen and appear to have big careers ahead of them. Running back Damion Fletcher rarely has a bad game and tight end Shawn Nelson has the ability to pull off a huge game on any given day.
The weaknesses remain on the defensive side of the ball where the potential remains that the struggles could return. The defensive line continues to have problems with getting pressure on the quarterback so Levi Brown may have a good deal of time to throw the ball on Sunday.
4. What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed from this team compared to one of Jeff Bower’s teams?
The biggest difference is on offense where coach Larry Fedora implemented his no-huddle version of the spread. The Eagles can put up big numbers and by the time Sunday’s game will be over, they’ll own a good chunk of the school’s offensive records. Bower preferred a run-first offense that controlled the clock. This offense can score very quickly, especially when the ball is in the hands of Brown.
5. Predict a score and explain
I predicted a score of USM 28, Troy 27 earlier this week in the Hattiesburg American, but I basically would call this game a coin’s toss. It could go either way and I expect the game to be decided in the fourth quarter.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 12/20 at 12:42 PM
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