Southern Miss looks for first Tennessee win
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Southern Miss senior defensive tackle Sean Merrill will take the laid-back approach today against heavily favored Tennessee.
Despite the team being an 11-point underdog, the former D'Iberville star isn't fazed about playing the No. 24 Volunteers at Neyland Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., with the Volunteers holding a 4-0 career record against the Golden Eagles.
"We have to play like we're capable of playing and we can come out with the 'W,'" Merrill said. "It's the game of football. You have to execute to win. You have to line up and play the game. In football, you have to gain 10 yards to get a first down.
"On defense, you have to stop them from getting 10 yards. We're not looking at this game as being an underdog. We are ready to go."
Tennessee is 0-1 after a 45-31 loss at California. The Golden Eagles are 1-0 after a 35-13 home win against Tennessee-Martin.
"Southern Miss is a darn good football team, defending conference champions last year," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "They are a very challenging defensive football team. Their front, linebackers, secondary have all played together for a long time, as they have 10 returning starters on their defense. They make you work at it, which is kind of the norm this day and age."
Two keys to a possible Southern Miss upset concern the quarterback play of Southern Miss' Jeremy Young and Tennessee's Erik Ainge.
Against Tennessee Martin, Young completed 11 of 26 passes for 115 yards and added a 1-yard scoring run.
Erik Ainge, a senior, completed 32 of 47 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns.
"We have to throw it more," Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower said. "We just have to throw it more effectively. If we don't, we're going to get seven in the box and one-on-one coverage.
"We have got to get better throwing the football and catching."
The reason Southern Miss is emphasizing the passing game is simple: the Volunteers allowed 111 rushing yards on 27 carries against the Bears, but gave up 217 yards through the air.
To make matters worse, Tennessee has only allowed seven running backs to rush for 100 yards or more in the last 38 games.
In comparison, Damion Fletcher picked up 159 yards last week.
"Offensively, we've studied them all summer and been very impressed with their tailback," Fulmer said. "Somebody asked me who he reminds me of. He's not quite as big, but he is the same kind of runner as Arian Foster. He is able to break tackles and he's a real challenge for our defense."
Fulmer complimented Southern Miss' accomplishments, although he credits the Golden Eagles with some victories they did not get.
"I reminded the team that in the last 10 years, Southern Miss has beaten Alabama twice, Auburn, Nebraska, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech," Fulmer said. "So they know that we are facing another really fine football team, and that we'll have to play well to win the ballgame."
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