Starting Saturday at Marshall, the Southern Miss football team begins a three-game stretch which will decide the fate of its season.
If USM can win just one game, it can become bowl eligible. If the Eagles (5-4, 3-2) can take all three games, there is a good chance they will be playing in the Conference USA title game on Dec. 5.
?It is a three-game season for us,? coach Larry Fedora said during his Monday press conference. ?We know what has to be done in this stretch and our guys are familiar with it. They know that we?ve been here before and can do this and get this done. We?re going to do it by making sure we finish and focusing on one game at a time.?
If the Golden Eagles win over Marshall at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, it would be their first win away from Roberts Stadium this season. Fedora said he doesn?t plan on making any big changes when his team makes the long trip to Huntington, W.Va.
?We went back and broke down each and every game (on the road), and it was something different each game,? Fedora said about the four losses. ?We feel like we?re still playing good football. It?s not like we go on the road and don?t play good football. There was one game where we didn?t play well, but the others we just didn?t finish in the fourth quarter. We?ve got to do that.?
While the Eagles have struggled to close out contests, opponents have outscored USM by only a margin of 40-35 in fourth quarters on the road.
With the bye week following the 50-43 loss at Houston, Fedora and his staff had time to sit back and analyze the first nine games. While the Eagles have fallen short of lofty expectations so far, Fedora is not down on his team.
?I have to say there are more positives than negatives,? Fedora said. ?Obviously, we feel like every game that we were in was winnable. For whatever reason, the four games where we didn?t come out on top, it boils down to winning in the fourth quarter. That?s what we?ve narrowed it down to, just finishing the game. We felt like, on the other hand, in the five games that we have won, we have done that, each and every one of them. That?s going to be our big focus down the stretch ? finishing the game.?
Defense looks to rebound
The unit taking most of the criticism following the team?s 50-43 loss at Houston was the Golden Eagle defense. But defensive coordinator Todd Bradford said Monday that his players have put the 750 yards allowed behind them.
?We were obviously down after the Houston game,? Bradford said. ?We invested a lot in that game and didn?t play at the end of the game like we wanted to. It?s part of football and part of athletics is putting stuff like that behind you.?
?We came out to practice on Tuesday and got it behind us and started on Marshall. I just see us getting ready for Marshall. I haven?t seen any effects of the Houston game since Tuesday.?
- Injuries: Fedora said Monday that his team was in good shape after the bye week.
?We feel like we?re as healthy as we could possibly be going down the stretch.?
- Kicking game: The battle between Justin Estes and Daniel Hrapmann at kicker has not been resolved.
?We haven?t made a decision, but it?s still up for grabs,? Fedora said. ?We?ll work all the way through this week to make a decision.?
If USM can win just one game, it can become bowl eligible. If the Eagles (5-4, 3-2) can take all three games, there is a good chance they will be playing in the Conference USA title game on Dec. 5.
?It is a three-game season for us,? coach Larry Fedora said during his Monday press conference. ?We know what has to be done in this stretch and our guys are familiar with it. They know that we?ve been here before and can do this and get this done. We?re going to do it by making sure we finish and focusing on one game at a time.?
If the Golden Eagles win over Marshall at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, it would be their first win away from Roberts Stadium this season. Fedora said he doesn?t plan on making any big changes when his team makes the long trip to Huntington, W.Va.
?We went back and broke down each and every game (on the road), and it was something different each game,? Fedora said about the four losses. ?We feel like we?re still playing good football. It?s not like we go on the road and don?t play good football. There was one game where we didn?t play well, but the others we just didn?t finish in the fourth quarter. We?ve got to do that.?
While the Eagles have struggled to close out contests, opponents have outscored USM by only a margin of 40-35 in fourth quarters on the road.
With the bye week following the 50-43 loss at Houston, Fedora and his staff had time to sit back and analyze the first nine games. While the Eagles have fallen short of lofty expectations so far, Fedora is not down on his team.
?I have to say there are more positives than negatives,? Fedora said. ?Obviously, we feel like every game that we were in was winnable. For whatever reason, the four games where we didn?t come out on top, it boils down to winning in the fourth quarter. That?s what we?ve narrowed it down to, just finishing the game. We felt like, on the other hand, in the five games that we have won, we have done that, each and every one of them. That?s going to be our big focus down the stretch ? finishing the game.?
Defense looks to rebound
The unit taking most of the criticism following the team?s 50-43 loss at Houston was the Golden Eagle defense. But defensive coordinator Todd Bradford said Monday that his players have put the 750 yards allowed behind them.
?We were obviously down after the Houston game,? Bradford said. ?We invested a lot in that game and didn?t play at the end of the game like we wanted to. It?s part of football and part of athletics is putting stuff like that behind you.?
?We came out to practice on Tuesday and got it behind us and started on Marshall. I just see us getting ready for Marshall. I haven?t seen any effects of the Houston game since Tuesday.?
- Injuries: Fedora said Monday that his team was in good shape after the bye week.
?We feel like we?re as healthy as we could possibly be going down the stretch.?
- Kicking game: The battle between Justin Estes and Daniel Hrapmann at kicker has not been resolved.
?We haven?t made a decision, but it?s still up for grabs,? Fedora said. ?We?ll work all the way through this week to make a decision.?
