Nebraska Football: Huskers vs Golden Eagles, An Early Look at Southern Miss.

The Nebraska Football Program takes on a recent and familiar non-conference foe in the Southern Miss. Golden Eagles for the fourth opponent of the season.

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It has never been and easy task for the Nebraska football team to play against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the month of September when the game time begins before Noon central time. In 1999, Frank Solich and the fourth ranked Huskers met the un-ranked Golden Eagles for the very first time.

The game began at 11:30 am in Memorial Stadium as well as being televised on Pay-Per-View. The Huskers only scored one offensive touchdown that day with a failed two point conversion. The Huskers were the last t0 score that day, giving Nebraska the victory 20-13. Thank the heavens for the senior weak-side line backer, Julius Jackson, who scored the first touchdown of the day on a 16 yard fumble return, as well as a game winning 28 yard touchdown off an interception. The heavily favored Huskers only rushed for 119 yards while the Golden Eagles went 268 yards in the air.

Sep 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Bill Callahan on the sidelines during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

In the second “Before Noon” meeting with the Golden Eagles, things got even more ugly for the Huskers. The year was 2004 and the Golden Eagles traveled to Lincoln.

The Huskers had a new head coach and a new West-Coast offense, led by starting quarterback Joe Dailey. Nebraska outperformed the Golden Eagles offensively in a dominating fashion, yet a late 46 yard touchdown pass was all that Southern Miss needed to defeat Nebraska 21-17. This was the first loss for the Huskers in a dismal 2004 season that ended with a Husker record of 5-6 and for the first time since 1968, the Huskers were not invited to a bowl game.

The Cornhuskers lead the series against Southern Miss four games to one. In the other three games, the Huskers pretty much dominated Southern Miss, but none of those games were before Noon.

Guess what folks? The 2015 home game for the Huskers scheduled on September 26, is set for an 11:00 am kickoff. And Guess what else folks? We have a new head coach and the Huskers will be running a new offense. Nervous?

Southern Miss was not very good last season, finishing 3-9 for the season, 1-7 in conference. Their head coach Todd Monken has not fared much better, as his record since his inaugural season as a head coach beginning in 2013 is 4-20. I don’t believe a Husker coach would have even made it to 4-20 before being let go, but Southern Miss football is not Nebraska football. This will be a first ever meeting between Mike Riley and Todd Monken.

Southern Miss returns their starting quarterback in Nick Mullens who threw the ball for 2,470 yards, with a completion percentage of 59.7%, and was intercepted 9 times last season. The Husker defense could have a field day though, as Mullens was sacked 21 times last season and unless the Golden Eagle offensive line has fixed this problem, Mullens will probably see more of the same.

Nov 8, 2014; Hattiesburg, MS, USA; Southern Miss Golden Eagles head coach Todd Monken gestures to his team as they play against the Marshall Thundering Herd in the first quarter of their game at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden Eagles also return their leading rusher in Ito Smith. As a true freshman Smith ran for 536 yards, averaging 3.9 yards per carry, and scored 2 touchdowns. Smith also had 76 yards receiving on 8 catches, averaging 9.5 yards per catch.

Southern Miss also returns their leading receiver in Michael Thomas. Last season, Thomas had 41 receptions for 592 yards, averaging 14.4 yards per catch, and scored 5 touch downs. Neither Smith nor Thomas have stellar numbers but they are bringing back well needed experience for the 2015 season. The defensive side of the ball needs a lot of work as the 2014 opponents averaged 35.4 points a game against Southern Miss.

So back to my question above where I asked about being nervous, I can safely answer that I am not nervous at all about this game. The Huskers should win in big fashion, but in 2004 they should have probably won that game as well. I do not believe what happened to Callahan will happen to Riley this season, unless Southern Miss has made some miraculous transformation. This should be an easy win for the Huskers. Go Big Red!

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