New Orleans Bowl
Sunday, Dec. 20
Southern Miss. (7-5) vs. Middle Tennessee (9-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Line: Southern Miss by 3 1/2.
Series Record: first meeting.
What’s at Stake
Southern Miss is a respected mid-major. Middle Tennessee would like to be one, too. Knocking off the Golden Eagles would be a great way for the Blue Raiders to finish off their best season since joining the top tier of college football for the 1999 season.
Key Matchup
DeAndre Brown vs. bad memories. In last year’s New Orleans Bowl, the Southern Miss receiver sustained a horrific broken leg that left part of it hanging at a 90-degree angle. He returned this season to lead the Golden Eagles with 43 catches for 720 yards and 7 TDs.
Player to Watch
Southern Miss’s Damion Fletcher needs 63 yards rushing to be the ninth player in major-college history to run for 1,000 yards in all four seasons of eligibility.
Figures
n average of 79.4 that’s ahead RB D.D. Kyles’ 74.7. … The Golden Eagles are making their second straight appearance in the New Orleans Bowl and fourth in the last six years. They’ve been to eight straight bowls and 12 in 13 years. … MTSU’s only other bowl appearance was in the 2006 Motor City Bowl, where the Blue Raiders lost to Central Michigan.
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