Friday, September 3, 2010
Sometimes the grass is just not greener
So I watched the University of Southern Mississippi get taken behind the woodshed by the Old Ballcoach and South Carolina. I grew up watching USM really compete in games like these and occasionally pull of the upset. Mostly they played tough and even in defeat they gave major conference opponents a true battle. They were once such a tough team that they had problems scheduling major conference opponents. Lately it hasn't been that way and I can't say that I'm remotely sad about it. You see, I believe that USM gave Jeff Bower a raw deal. Bower was loyal and successful but apparently his offenses didn't score enough points for some alumni. So USM nudged aside a good coach in search of some offensive firepower. If more offense is really what they wanted, they got it. Too bad you need to play defense to actually win football games. The former coach in me is smiling (Actually he is laughing his ass off). The Golden Eagles have not stopped anyone since Bower left. Scoring is way up but scoring defense is way down. That has led to back to back 7-6 seasons. Granted, Conference USA is not the SEC so the Eagles have a chance to recover. However, their defense is a sieve so they will have to rely on outscoring opponents yet again this season. It will be interesting to see how the season goes for them. One thing is for certain, I bet Fedora won't be as cocky as he was all summer. Getting embarassed on national TV has a way of adding a touch of humilty to an individual.
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Southern Miss made a huge mistake by giving Jeff Bower the boot. This is a position I've taken since the day I heard that USM was looking at other coaches.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jeff Bower was at Southern Miss, the defense was known as The Nasty Bunch and the offense got the job done. The Defense was amazing at 3rd down stops and just hard hitting defensive plays! The Nasty Bunch has since left the building!
The Nasty Bunch was a product of Bower's coaching of superior players that later became all-star coaches. During the Nasty Bunch era, USM's defense was being coordinated by Coach Tyrone Nix, a former USM player. Tyrone Nix left USM for bigger and better opportunities. He excelled... AT SOUTH CAROLINA. Though he's been gone from SC for a year now, I know that his coaching and teaching of the SC Defense is still sticking with them. His legacy definitely still lives on at Southern Miss.
This was not meant to be a love letter to Bower or Nix, so I will move on. Jefferies is an amazing target. Seems like he had a good head, good feet, and good hands--hope he makes it to the NFL.
USM's defense was over-matched. Our small and fast corners just couldn't stop the receivers--and later they couldn't stop the run because they were so concerned with the pass threat. Offensively, USM's play calling was terrible. I am not sure that there was any other play in the playbook than a swing pass to the right. Oh yeah, there was... Swing pass to the left! By the end of the 1st quarter, it was clear to me that that play was not working. But, Fedora is patient I guess. In fact, he's still waiting on that play to work!
We have good players, they just were not being used. With the loss of All-Star RB Damien Fletcher, USM should have been prepped in the running game. Our best receivers should not have been on the sidelines watching the game. QB Austin Davis should probably become back-up. All that said, we saw what second string receivers and QBs can do. Fedora needs to put the first string out there!
Southern Miss was outmatched and outcoached. USM has proven in the past that they can be a contender and hang with or beat great teams. Last night, was not proof of that. There's still a whole season to play and USM will be fine. This is just an eye-openener for the 2 SEC teams on our future schedules--Ole Miss and Miss State. USM will be ready for them. In the meantime, I will arrange a meeting between Fedora and Sean Peyton. Maybe, Peyton will share a few plays with Fedora.
It's tough behind that woodshed, but at least we weren't alone. THE Ohio State University had Marshall, a fellow C-USA team, back there with us!
REGARDLESS OF LAST NIGHT... I AM READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!
-- The Taminator