The Massacre at the Rock:Golden Eagles fly high in win over Jaguars

The University of Mississippi (USM) Golden Eagles showed all muscle against the Jaguars this past Saturday in Hattiesburg, MS.
This matchup proved to be a learning experience for Jaguar football and quite a show for the 24,337 spectators as the Jags left M.M Robert stadium also known as, The Rock, with little or no offensive production.
The Jags netted only 140 yards, 2 turnovers, and minimal defensive stops. The Golden Eagles mustered up 477 yards of total offense.
Rewinding back to their first game against South Carolina State, the Jags kept a steady pace on offense with 297 total offensive yards. The Jags scored two touchdowns early in the first half and maintained good defensive pressure.
The Jags’ biggest problems entering the USM game was that the starting Quarterback, Austin Howard, went down hard with a knee injury in week 1.
“We’ve got three quarterbacks that we’ve got to get ready to play and (Howard is) not one of them,” said Southern coach Dawson Odums. “He’s day-to-day, he’s rehabbing, we’re trying to get him back healthy, but as of right now he’s out.”
Without their veteran QB, Southern’s offense showed very few flashes which hindered their production. The Jags had six consecutive stalled drives.
Starting for the Jags was second string freshman quarterback, Glendon McDaniel.
This was McDaniel’s first college career start against what will probably be Southern’s toughest matchup this season.
Southern’s first offensive drive started slow as kicker/punter, sophomore Taylor Merritt, bobbled a long snap when punting the ball away.
The ball was recovered by a pack of USM defenders in the endzone for the Golden Eagles’ first touchdown of the evening.
After that play, both Southern’s offense and defense play spiraled downhill.
The Jags only had 3 first downs compared to USM’s 15 first downs in the first half alone. Then Southern had only 34 yards total in the first hald of play. Penalties were also a major factor, as the Jags got called for 4 penalites in the first half.
Southern defense simply had a hard time defending the Golden Eagle’s rushing attack which rallied up 44 rushes for 197 yards.
They allowed 316 total in the first half on top of having multple illegal substitution calls. The Jags had a total of 8 penalties costing them 68 yards.
By the half USM was just getting warmed up as they scored 35 unanswered points.
At the start of the second half, the enthusiasm of the defense sparked by holding the USM offense to just 10 more points. Unfortunatley, the offense still couldn’t find the rhythm.
The pocket kept collapsing, and the Jags had to answer to the USM blitz packages. McDaniel showed alittle poise, but only could find his receivers either by under throwing them by five yards or over throwing them by 10.
Trying to find an offensive spark, Coach Odums replaced McDaniel with freshman, Darquez Lee, who showed a little productivity, but it simply wasn’t enough to reach the endzone. Lee threw a 31 yard bomb to Jamar Washington, but USM challenged and the completion was reversed. USM also managed to sack the quarterback duo three times.
At the end of the game the Jags left the field as the school with alot to contemplate going into next weeks game.
This was the chance to prove that not only could they play a team outside of the SWAC and have a decent showing, but also to try and beat USM who has never lost to a SWAC team since the school was founded. Now the Jags will have that one “L” on the record sheets and the constant reminder of what they could have done differently.
When asked how can the Jags improve for next week, senior running back Herbert Edwards, said, “We just have to get better, get back to the drawing board, and stay healthy.”
Hopefully this loss can motivate the Jags to pick up the pace against UT-San Antonio next week in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamo Dome.
Though this single defeat doesn’t define them as competitors, this should be Southern’s wake up call.
SWAC play is right around the corner. Let’s Go Jaguars!

Gallery • 1 Photos

Southern Mississippi’s Collin Kilcrease blazes past sophomore linebacker

Kyle Mcgregor on Saturday, September 9. in M.M. Roberts Stadium.

JULIAN ALVAREZ/DIGEST

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