Southern Mississippi (5-4, 3-2) at Marshall (5-4, 3-2)
Noon, Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,019, FieldTurf), Huntington
TV: none.
Line: Southern Miss by 3.
Series: Southern Miss leads 3-1.
Last game: Marshall 34, Southern Miss 27, Sept. 20, 2008 at Hattiesburg, Miss.
Tickets: Plenty available, $22-32.
Weather: Mostly clear, temperature 68 at kickoff.
On the spot
Kellen Harris, Marshall middle linebacker: He's not expected to be the standout of the Herd's linebacking corps, as that honor goes to Mario Harvey. But here's a little-recited stat from the UCF game: Harris was in on just one tackle, and backup Tyson Gale had none.
DeAndre Brown, Southern Miss wide receiver: We've heard about the five-star prospect who stayed home, and he has shown glimpses of that expected brilliance. But in the past two games, Southern Miss has scored 86 points despite Brown getting put to sleep - six catches, 47 yards.
Stats 'n' such
Southern Mississippi (5-4, 3-2) at Marshall (5-4, 3-2)
Noon, Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,019, FieldTurf), Huntington
TV: none.
Line: Southern Miss by 3.
Series: Southern Miss leads 3-1.
Last game: Marshall 34, Southern Miss 27, Sept. 20, 2008 at Hattiesburg, Miss.
Tickets: Plenty available, $22-32.
Weather: Mostly clear, temperature 68 at kickoff.
On the spot
Kellen Harris, Marshall middle linebacker: He's not expected to be the standout of the Herd's linebacking corps, as that honor goes to Mario Harvey. But here's a little-recited stat from the UCF game: Harris was in on just one tackle, and backup Tyson Gale had none.
DeAndre Brown, Southern Miss wide receiver: We've heard about the five-star prospect who stayed home, and he has shown glimpses of that expected brilliance. But in the past two games, Southern Miss has scored 86 points despite Brown getting put to sleep - six catches, 47 yards.
Stats 'n' such
In the stat rankings: MU's Cody Slate remains the top receiving tight end in major-college football with 48 catches for 582 yards . . . Darius Marshall has slipped to second in the C-USA rushing stats, averaging 129 yards per game to Texas-El Paso's Donald Buckram at 131.2. USM's Damion Fletcher is fifth at 91.8. Marshall is also second in scoring, with 66 points in his eight games, and second in all-purpose yardage (181.0) . . . MU's Craig Ratanamorn (11-11 FG, 22-22 PAT) remains the nation's most perfect kicker. USM's Eddie Hicks leads the league in interceptions (five).
Team-wise, Marshall is tied for first in scoring defense (21.0) and is second in pass efficiency defense (118.0 rating) and time of possession (31:16). Southern Miss leads the league in kickoff returns (25.6) and is second in scoring offense (33.9), total offense (428.6), rushing offense (200.6) and rushing defense (118.6). Both teams are tied for second in allowing touchdowns in the red zone (50 percent). At the other end, Marshall is 12th in kickoff returns (19.4) and first downs (17.1), while Southern Miss is last in PAT kicking (82.1 percent),
Milestones: Marshall is seventh on MU's all-time rushing list and needs 142 to tie John Zontini's recognized 2,900 . . . Slate is eighth on the receiving yardage list, 152 behond No. 7 Troy Brown. Slate's next touchdown catch would tie him for fourth with Brown (24) . . . Albert McClellan needs two sacks to reach 23, which would tie him with Cecil Fletcher and John Duncan for fourth . . . With 26 carries, Fletcher would become the C-USA leader in attempts, surpassing the 969 by Memphis' DeAngelo Williams. Fletcher remains 1,005 behind Williams in the yardage category.
Quote
"We knew exactly where we were at after the East Carolina game as a program talent wise. We felt like we have a chance to run the table. The lesson learned last week was to play 60 minutes, not 58. And it is a valuable lesson to learn. Our guys are great. I think they are fine, just fine." - Offensive tackle Daniel Baldridge on the Herd's 19-16 overtime loss at ECU last year
Over-unders
200 Rushing yardage for Southern Miss, which has topped this figure three games in a row and five times this season. Marshall's defensive average is down to 162.2 yards, including that 444-yard stampede by Virginia Tech.
12 Double-digit gains for Marshall, either by rushing or passing. The Herd had just eight against UCF, seven of them in the first half.
17,500 Today's attendance, which will be the "tickets out" figure. MU's figures have appeared legitimate this season, especially in comparison to schools such as Tulane, who take padding that number to new levels.
Completely useless trivia
This year's Brett Favre item: Head on over to Packertime.com, and you can still buy a Favre-autographed Southern Miss No. 4 black jersey, complete with certificate of authenticity including Brett's tamper-proof hologram, all for the bargain price of $549.95. Shipping's on the house. (As a bonus trivia item, No. 4 has been out of commission at Southern Miss since 1993.)
Next
Marshall is home again next week, playing coach June Jones and the resurgent Southern Methodist Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Southern Miss is plotting a "blackout" the same day at M.M. Roberts Stadium, welcoming Tulsa in a 7:30 p.m. game on CBS College Sports.
- By Doug Smock
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