Southern Mississippi 12 ... Alabama 45 ... Final from Tuscaloosa

[Rolltide4ever]

Alabama and Southern Miss. were old rivals before the SEC added Arkansas and South Carolina in 1992. Alabama has a record of 36 - 3 - 2 against the Golden Eagles.
The game has a 5:00pm kick off on ESPN2. 
On Nov. 13th 1982 Southern Miss. came into BDS and upset the Crimson Tide that day
38 - 29. And the Golden Eagles ended a 57 game home winning streak for Coach Bryant one of the longest home game winning streaks in the country at the time.
After the game Coach Bryant said "There was a great deal of character on that field today."They are for real, no doubt about it. This was no fluke."
I remember leaving BDS that day just stunned. In my life time ( at that point ) Alabama had never lost a game inside BDS ( back in those days Alabama played their big games , Auburn , Tennessee , Nebraska , USC , Notre Dame and so on at Legion Field in Birmingham ) so the loss in BDS was new to me. I will never forget that game Alabama had the worse case of the fumbles I have ever seen from a Alabama team that day.
And Southern Miss. had a great defense that year.  I have often wondered if this game didn't play a big role in Coach Bryant stepping down as Head Coach at Alabama.
In 1982  Alabama lost to Tennessee in Knoxville 35 -28  then later lost to LSU in B'ham
20 - 10 then came the loss to Southern Miss at BDS. Then we lost to Auburn in B'ham
23 - 22  We ended the 82 season with 3 losses in a row.With the losses to our biggest rivals back then Tenn. and Auburn then to loose inside BDS may have shown Coach Bryant it was time to hang up his Hounds Tooth Hat. After the loss to Auburn Coach Bryant announced he would no longer be the head football coach at Alabama.
The 82 team did go on to beat Illinois in one of the coldest Liberty Bowl games I have ever been in. They beat a very talented Illinois team that cold night 21 - 15.
I feel the loss to Southern Miss that year really made up Coach Bryants mind to retire
coupled with the losses to Tenn. and to Auburn just cemented the deal for him. 

[jbcarol]

Saban wants Alabama players to tap into 'beast mode,' no matter circumstances

"Everyone wants to be the beast -- you've heard that one before -- until you have to do what the beast do," Saban said. "Well, when it gets hot outside and you have to practice in pads and take a lot of reps, you either have beast mode or you don't have it. All right? We had some guys that had it and some guys didn't.

"We have to get that corrected so we can get everybody doing what they need to do so they can get better individually and we can get better as a team."

Wide receiver Chris Black said "guys were cramping up left and right" after the Crimson Tide practiced for two hours in swampy 93-degree heat. Black hails from Jacksonville, Florida, but said there's never a point where a player truly gets used to practicing in those sorts of conditions.

"It's just mental," Black said. "But at the end of practice, it kind of takes a toll on your body."

During a brief Wednesday press conference, Saban wasn't in the mood for excuses...

[jbcarol]

Andrew Gribble @Andrew_Gribble  ·  3h

Nick Saban says Alabama has 'a lot less selfishness' than teams of recent past http://ow.ly/BqrHF

"I think it shows in how they play," Saban said. "That doesn't always equate to how we execute but the effort, the toughness, the enthusiasm, has really been good. That's what's helped this team improve and get better and we need to continue to do that."

Saban's praise started with Alabama's seniors, whom he described as a "really good group." He singled out three of them: quarterback Blake Sims, offensive tackle Austin Shepherd and tight end Brian Vogler.

In regards to Sims, Saban once again highlighted his enthusiastic reaction to Jacob Coker's first touchdown pass of the season last week against Florida Atlantic.

"Blake Sims is probably as well-liked as any guy on our team," Saban said. "I think that his character and enthusiasm and how he puts the team first is so evident.

"Jake Coker throws a touchdown pass last week and the first guy to give him a big bump is Blake. Happy, excited that the guy did well. I think he's that way about our whole team."

RELATED: Saban explains biggest challenge facing Jacob Coker (access to link at link above)

During the preseason, multiple players said there was a concerted effort to establish more unity after a 2013 season that, from start to finish, was rife with rifts between older and younger players. The bonding activities ranged from cookouts to video games to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  15h

Matching up: No. 2/3 Alabama vs. Southern Miss http://ow.ly/BrNgu

MATCHUP TO WATCH: Southern Miss vs. Alabama's second-team defense

If this one gets out of hand like Las Vegas oddsmakers expect, Alabama's young defensive players will receive the playing time they missed last week because of the bad weather. The snaps are valuable on this end of the field as numerous players, such as Brown, Evans, sophomore linebacker Tim Williams and more could potentially work themselves into more prominent positions by the end of the season. These kinds of opportunities won't be around when Alabama opens SEC play...

[jbcarol]

So. Miss 3  Bama 0  11:35 1st

[jbcarol]

Michael Casagrande @ByCasagrande  ·  3m
Alabama is losing to Southern Miss.

[jbcarol]

Michael Casagrande @ByCasagrande  ·  2m
Alabama isn't losing to Southern Miss anymore.

[jbcarol]

USM 3  Bama 7  7:42 1st

[jbcarol]

USM 3  Bama 14  8:43 2nd

[jbcarol]

Kenyon Drake, 1 yd TD run.

[jbcarol]

So. Miss. 3  Bama 21  5:36 2nd

[jbcarol]

Bama muffed it on a punt (don't want to be that guy).

It is under review.

[jbcarol]

USM 6  Bama 21  1:31 2nd

[jbcarol]

Halftime in Tuscaloosa

So. Miss. 6  Bama 21

[jbcarol]

USM 9  Bama 35  5:12 3rd

[jbcarol]

USm 9  Bama 42  13:48 4th

3 rushing TDs for Drake

[jbcarol]

So. Miss. has a FG in each quarter

USM 12  Bama 45  6:03 4th

[jbcarol]

USM 12  Bama 52  Final

[jbcarol]

Some in-game and post-game thoughts from Cecil Hurt of career highlights and events that may affect Bama down the road:


Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  14h
With that 17-yard reception, Amari Cooper (2072 career yards) moves past Ozzie Newsome into 3rd on Alabama's all-time list.

Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  14h
Yeldon hangs on to ball, not mouthpiece.

Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  12h
TJ Yeldon is on the sideline in uniform but hasn't played in this half.

Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  12h
I think I am right ( you'll correct me if not) but Yeldon hasn't been in since the hit that knocked out his mouthpiece (or helmet fragment)

Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  13h
if the directive was not to show much before the Florida game, Alabama is succeeding.

Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  12h
By rule, Nick Perry will miss the first half of next week's Alabama-Florida game.

Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  11h
Saban: Eddie Jackson has a bruised quad, Yeldon a strained hamstring. Says he doesn't think they are serious.

Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  11h
Saban: Losing Nick (Perry) for a half next week will create some situations for us. We're getting a little thin.

Cecil Hurt @CecilHurt  ·  11h
Saban: "I don't question the (targeting) call against Nick Perry.... It is the rule."