MOBILE, Ala. — While three of his top seniors sat behind him with disheveled looks on their faces, coach Frank Solich looked at peace with the disappointing result of his team’s first bowl appearance in 38 years.
Sure, the Bobcats, on this particular night, looked more like one of the teams from years past in a 28-7 GMAC Bowl loss to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. And sure, his team’s performance did little to nothing in representing all that it had accomplished during a regular season filled with distractions.
Solich, a veteran to both winning and losing bowl games, made it a point that his team — particularly the three seniors sitting behind him — had no reason to hang their heads.
“They have been a great team for us,” he said referring to senior captains, quarterback Austen Everson and linebackers Tyler Russ and Matt Muncy. “I think our seniors should be congratulated.
“Coming from a background of not having many wins at Ohio University, they did a great job of getting this team ready to go this year and enabled us to take steps forward.”
In making steps forward, however, comes the occasional step backwards, and there was no misinterpretation that Sunday night’s performance was a step in the right direction. The Bobcats were simply overmatched at every spot by the Golden Eagles, a team the Bobcats hope to resemble in the upcoming years.
“I think we’ve taken steps,” Everson said. “Whether it be small, like getting nine wins or just being here. I think those are the small steps in getting Ohio University to where Southern Miss. is.”
The Golden Eagles victory Sunday night was their third consecutive bowl victory. Southern Mississippi has appeared in bowl games in nine of the last ten years.
Throughout a scoreless first quarter, the Golden Eagles appeared to shed the pre-game jitters that come to teams in bowl games much more effectively than the Bobcats, holding Ohio to 34 yards of total offense. Although they were unable to put any points on the board in the first 15 minutes, the Golden Eagles established what they wanted to accomplish at the offensive end, using a balanced attack to control field position.
After Ohio punter Matt Lasher’s third punt of the contest pinned the Golden Eagles to their own 10-yard line, Southern Mississippi mounted their first of three long scoring drives, capped by a 43-yard touchdown run by backup running back Tory Harrison. After a three-and-out by Ohio, Southern Mississippi took control of the contest, using big plays in the passing game to set up running back Damion Fletcher for a 2-yard punch-in.
Southern Mississippi linebacker James Denley’s 12-yard interception return for a touchdown off Ohio backup Brad Bower with 1:13 remaining in the half ended a quarter that left the Bobcats flustered.
“It was really a frustrating ballgame for us in the first half,” Solich said.
Making matters more frustrating was a 17-play, 80-yard drive Southern Mississippi used to end any hopes of a comeback, leaving the Bobcats in a 28-point hole with just five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“Even though we were up 21-0 at halftime we talked about going out there and really making a statement in the second half,” Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower said.
A 13-yard touchdown toss from Everson to tight end Thomas Christy kept the Bobcats from being shut out in a bowl game for a second consecutive time, a lone positive on a night full of negatives.
Reader Comments
Submit a comment to The Post