USM coaching staff analyzes game

By By Stan Caldwell / EMG sports writer
Sept. 24, 2002
HATTIESBURG Jeff Bower and his University of Southern Mississippi coaching staff spent most of Sunday watching a horror show, as they analyzed tape from Saturday's 20-7 loss to Alabama.
Predictably, Bower was pretty critical of his team's performance when he met with the media Monday at his weekly press conference.
Bower pointed at the flurry of mistakes in every phase of the game that cost USM its first defeat after three wins to open the season. The Golden Eagles had five turnovers and nine penalties against the Tide, which they simply couldn't afford against what will more than likely be the best team they face this season.
Nevertheless, the USM brain trust saw a few positives come out of the game. One was the play of the defense in the second half, when the Eagles held the Tide to just two field goals,and scored USM's only touchdown on a 53-yard interception return by Michael Boley.
USM coaches were particularly happy about the defensive stand at the end of the game, when Alabama recovered a fumble at the USM 1-yard-line and failed to score on three running plays.
However, USM's offense was unable to do anything against the rugged Bama defense. The Golden Eagles only made 10 first downs, only netted 35 yards on the ground and completed just 8 of 27 passes for 110 yards. It was a complete breakdown offensively, so much so that an Offensive Player of the Week was not chosen.
Boley earned Defensive Player of the Week honors after finishing with 10 tackles, five assists and the interception return for a touchdown. Chris Johnson was Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 22.6 yards on five kickoff returns, including a long return of 35 yards.
One other piece of good news for USM was the fact that the Eagles came out of the game pretty well as far as injuries are concerned.
Reserve tackle Neal Mead suffered a slightly sprained knee, starting guard Jeremy Parquet came away with a hip flexor, punter Mark Haulman suffered a shoulder sprain and tailback Derrick Nix was one of several players, including nose tackle Skylor Magee, suffering from a stomach virus. All are expected to be ready for Saturday's Conference USA game at Army.
The Golden Eagles will welcome the appearance of the Cadets on the schedule at this juncture of the season. Army is 0-3 overall and 0-1 in C-USA after losing to Louisville Saturday 45-10.
This will be the longest road trip on the Golden Eagles' schedule, but Bower said his team will prepare like it always does on the road. And after the loss to Alabama, he expects his team to be well-focused.