Louisville edged the Golden Eagles 25-23 at Papa John's Stadium Saturday night. Tori Harrision scored a late touchdown to give Southern Miss the lead with a couple of minutes remaining, but Louisville took the kickoff deep into USM territory and kicked a field goal with 30 seconds remaining to seal the win.
With Austin Davis out for the season with a foot injury, Martavious Young did a great job managing the offense and keeping the Golden Eagles in the game. Young has a rocket arm and appears to have more speed than Davis. With a few more reps, Young should do well this season.
Tori Harrison needs to be on the field more often. The combination of Harrison and Damion Fletcher could be a dangerous weapon down the stretch.
Where did the vertical game go this season? Another wide receiver needs to step up as a deep threat and help other receiver get open across the middle.
Once again, the defense did not have a enough pressure on the Louisville quarterback which left Cardinal receivers open for a majority of the game. It seemed that almost every time there was a third and eight or more, the Cardinals would easily pick up the first down. The defense needs to step it up.
Special teams cost the Golden Eagles the game again. The late kick return by Louisville set up the game winning field goal. Tracy Lampley seems to improve every week.
Southern Miss returns back to Hattiesburg this week to host Memphis in the "Black and Blue Bowl." This will be an interesting match up between two under-performing teams. Kickoff is set for 6pm.
Walk-on freshman punter Peter Wilkes will be laid to rest Wednesday near his hometown of Union City, Tennessee. Wilkes died of an accidental shooting while home last week on fall break. God bless Peter and his family.
