Troy bowl madness

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Trojans ready for Golden Eagles





The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl was the destination and the Troy Trojans met their mark. Now head coach Larry Blakeney and his Trojans will try to bring back a second New Orleans Bowl trophy in three years.

?The New Orleans Bowl is where we wanted to be from the outset, no questions,? Blakeney said. ?And that is where we are going.?

However, Blakeney hopes the Troy section of the Louisiana Superdome will be packed with the fans that were disappointed about last year.

?I have heard thousands of people, when we had eight wins and not in the New Orleans Bowl and lost to FAU, say, ?Hey man I had my reservations I want you to carry us back there,?? he said. ?Well, we are back there. I challenge all of them to go with us and have a good time with us in New Orleans.?

Blakeney said none of this season would have been possible if not for the dedication of his players.

?We have had guys step it up all over the field to make it happen for this football team,? Blakeney said. ?They all were not perfect, but they all did a great job when you go back and consider the games all these guys on this team have helped us win.?

Blakeney said his Trojans have fought through a lot of adversity to get to this point in the season and they are looking to finish the job tonight.

?Being able to be mature enough to handle two long open dates was hard for them,? Blakeney said. ?But they always came right back and got right back to work and picked up where they left off. These and coaches ought to be commended for those type of interruptions in a normal flow of a football season.?

And with all that comes the opponent, the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.

?We are excited to play Southern Mississippi, a team that we have always thought about getting on the schedule if we could and it has never been able to be worked out,? Blakeney said. ?But here we are in a bowl against them and they are a very good Conference USA opponent.?

The New Orleans Bowl traditionally pits a Sun Belt champion against a Conference USA team and in 2006 the Trojans destroyed Rice to the tune of 41-17.

?I was excited then and I am excited now for this program, this university, our people and our team,? Blakeney said. ?I am tickled to death to go with this group anywhere.?

The Trojans have outscored their last two opponents 83-12 and are firing on all cylinders.

DuJuan Harris ran all over the University of Louisiana Ragin? Cajuns Nov. 22 for 234 yards.

Levi Brown threw for three touchdowns to clinch the outright Sun Belt Championship for the Trojans in the 35-9 win over Arkansas State Dec. 6.

Blakeney said this solid play could bode well for the Trojans heading into the final game of the year if they can keep it going.

?We have to make it translate into the bowl game,? Blakeney said. ?And the way you make it translate is the way you prepare. How you take care of yourself is key. You have to get your rest and we are through with finals now, thank goodness. Playing well can translate into the bowl if we continue build those last two wins.?

 

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Gone bowlin': Eagles make time for fun





The Southern Miss football team went through its first practice at Tulane on Thursday in preparation for Sunday's New Orleans Bowl, and coach Larry Fedora walked away upbeat.


"It was good," Fedora said. "It was the last real work day. Tomorrow will be spent polishing things up, but it was a good practice today. Definitely better than yesterday."

New Orleans offers plenty of recreational activities and the first opportunity to relax and enjoy the bowl experience took place Thursday night as USM and Troy went bowling at Mid City Lanes.

"They had fun yesterday when we got there, had fun last night," Fedora said. "We had fun this morning going to meetings. They'll have fun (Thursday night) when they get to have the 'Rock 'N' Bowl' deal."

New Orleans native Gerald Baptiste was glad to be back on familiar ground.

"It feels good to be home," Baptiste said. "As soon as I got here, I took a deep breath of fresh air."

Baptiste is confident his teammates will behave themselves in his hometown.

"We'll do a little bit of this and a little of that, but it'll be good clean fun," the junior receiver said.





Two won't play

Fedora gave out a bit of sad news on Thursday when he announced that senior receiver Ed Morgan and junior defensive lineman Terrance Conner were not academically eligible to play in the bowl game.

Both Morgan and Conner were left behind in Hattiesburg Wednesday while their teammates rode the bus to New Orleans.

It has to be particularly disappointing for Morgan, who is a Thibodeaux, La., native. He spoke earlier this week about how much he was looking forward to playing in front of friends and family at the Superdome.

"It's unfortunate," Baptiste said. "Me and Ed came in together. With this being his senior season, you kind of wanted to see him off in a good way. That wasn't the way to end his career.

"I wish him luck, but it's unfortunate it happened like it happened. But he controlled that situation."

Morgan started eight games this season and caught 14 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown. Conner, a transfer from Coahoma Community College, had three tackles as he saw action in nine games at defensive end.





Two of a kind

USM's Gerald McRath and Troy's Boris Lee both lead their teams in tackles this season, and Fedora sees some real similarities between the two players.

"They're a lot alike," Fedora said. "They both run really well and he looks like he has a passion for the game. I don't know what his leadership abilities are, but he plays like him."

Lee, who said he is unfamiliar with McRath, has 113 tackles while McRath has pulled down 126 opponents.

"I run to the ball," Lee said. "I'm not a big, hard hitter or a mean linebacker. I just love contact and love to make plays whether in coverage or in the run game. I just love to make plays and be around the ball every play."





High-scoring affair

Both Southern Miss and Troy come in with potent offensive attacks, but USM freshman quarterback Austin Davis thinks his team can handle the game whether the scoreboard is lit up or it's a defensive battle.

"I think that's one of the great things about this offense," Davis said. "We can get in a shootout and compete. But at the same time when the defense is playing good, we can slow the game down and run the ball and control the game. We think we can do both.

"To be honest, the last couple of games, our defense played so well we were just trying to control the game and not let them get the short field."

Troy's biggest offensive output is 65 points against Alcorn State while Southern Miss put up 70 against UAB.

"It doesn't matter, we'll take a 3-0 win or 75-70 win," Davis said. "We'll just see how the game goes and play it by ear."