LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
at
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Saturday, September 29 • 8 p.m. • CBS Sports Network
Carlisle-Faulkner Stadium (36,000/Momentum Turf)
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Television
CBS Sports Network — James Bates, Aaron Taylor and Evan Washburn
Louisville Radio
WHAS-AM 840 (flagship)
Sirius 134
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 30th meeting between Louisville and Southern Mississippi in a series that dates to the 1949 season … Louisville is 10-18-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles, but the Cardinals have won the last five in the series … The most recent meeting was Dec. 21, 2010, when Louisville was a 31-28 winner in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl … Louisville trailed 21-7 in the second quarter, but outscored Southern Miss 24-7 in the final 34:24.
19/17 LOUISVILLE (4-0)
Head Coach
Charlie Strong (Central Arkansas ’82)
11-6, second season at Louisville
11-7, second full season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Louisville plays the second of three consecutive road games with the trip to Southern Miss … The Cardinals opened the year with three straight wins at home before holding off Florida International 28-21 last week in Miami … Louisville is 4-0 for the first time since 2006, when the Cardinals won the BIG EAST title and finished 12-1 after a win against Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl … The current stretch is the first three-game road swing for Louisville since 2002 … The Cardinals have won four straight road games … QB Teddy Bridgewater has been the catalyst on offense … Bridgewater has completed 73.4 percent of his passes (91of 124) and has thrown for 1,049 yards and seven touchdowns with just two interceptions … Despite Louisville’s 91 completions, the Cardinals don’t have a receiver with more than 14 catches, though nine players have at least seven receptions … RB Senorise Perry is ranked fifth in the BIG EAST in rushing (85.0 ypg), while RB Jeremy Wright is seventh (76.2 ypg) … S Calvin Pryor has a team-high 28 tackles with an interception and three forced fumbles … S Hakeem Smith and CB Adrian Bushell have 21 tackles each.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (0-3)
Head Coach
Ellis Johnson (The Citadel ’75)
0-3, first season at Southern Miss
17-31, fifth season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Southern Miss is looking for its first win of 2012 after a 42-17 loss at Western Kentucky last Saturday … Southern Miss is off to an 0-3 start for the first time since 1976 … The Golden Eagles won the Conference USA title last season and set a school record for wins, finishing 12-2 after a victory against Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl … The Golden Eagles are 0-1 at home this season after dropping a Sept. 15 decision to East Carolina (24-14) … Southern Miss has been outscored by a 115-51 margin in its three games, including by a 56-7 margin in the third quarter … QB Chris Campbell has started two games and has thrown for 229 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, while QB Anthony Alford is a dual threat who has played in all three games with one start … Alford is the team’s second-leading rusher with 42.0 yards per game and two touchdowns, behind RB Desmond Johnson, who averages 55.0 yards per game … The defense is led by S Jamie Collins, an All-Conference USA Second Team choice last year who has a team-high 27 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss.
