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Nov. 20, 1999 SportsLine wire reports |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Brant Hanna kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:07
remaining following a fake punt to lift No. 18 Southern Mississippi to a 30-27
victory over Louisville on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles held Louisville to three second-half points and got their
running offense into gear to clinch the Conference USA championship and earn a
berth in the Liberty Bowl.
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Game summary T O P N E W S
Facing a 4th-and-5 from the Louisville 37, Southern Miss lined up to punt, but punter Jamie Purser threw to Shawn Mills for a 26-yard gain down to the Louisville 11. Four plays later, Hanna kicked the winning field goal.
Louisville went four plays and out on the next drive and Southern Miss (8-3, 6-0 Conference USA) ran out the clock to capture the conference title outright for the second time in three years.
The Cardinals (7-4, 4-2) dropped into a tie for second in the conference with East Carolina. Louisville will have to wait for an invitation to either the Mobile Alabama Bowl or the Humanitarian Bowl, reserved for the league's second- and third-place teams.
Louisville quarterback Chris Redman threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns in his final home game. But he also had two interceptions, a fumble and was briefly shaken up in the first half.
Southern Miss fell behind 27-17 when Louisville backup kicker Robert Walker booted a 45-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.
The Eagles closed the gap on their next drive, capped by Jeff Kelly's 10-yard TD pass to Todd Pinkston to cut the Louisville lead to 27-24. Dawayne Woods reeled off runs of 11, 11 and 12 yards.
Redman's fumble while he was being sacked by John Nix set up the Eagles' next score, a 40-yard field goal by Hanna that tied it at 27 with 6:41 remaining.
Redman connected with Jackson for two first-half TDs, including a 16-yarder moments after Redman allowed a Southern Miss score when linebacker Ty Trahan picked off a pass and ran 53 yards untouched to make it 7-3 Southern Miss.
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| Zek Parker jets up the field enroute to a 94-yard kickoff return for touchdown.(AP) |
Louisville's maligned defense, giving up 30 points and 400 yards per game, didn't allow a Southern Miss first down until 10:40 left in the second quarter when Kelly scrambled 16 yards.
Three plays later, on 3rd-and-10, Kelly connected with Pinkston for a 39-yard pass to the Louisville 19. Two plays later, Derrick Nix ran 4 yards for a TD and Southern Miss led 14-10.
Louisville regained the lead at 17-14 when Zek Parker took the ensuing kickoff and raced 94 yards for a touchdown. Parker, who ran back a kickoff 97 yards for a TD earlier this season, raced up the middle and then veered to the right, easily outrunning the Southern Miss kicker.
After a Southern Miss punt, Louisville drove the length of the field, keyed by Redman's passing and Frank Moreau's running. Moreau sprang loose for a 15-yard run to get Louisville away from its goal line. Two plays later, Redman hit Jackson for a 70-yard touchdown pass for a 24-14 Louisville lead.
Southern Miss answered with a 29-yard field goal by Hanna just before the half to narrow Louisville's lead to 24-17 at halftime.
Louisville scored first when Walker booted his first collegiate field goal, a 31-yarder.
Redman completed 24-of-42 passes, while Kelly hit on 14-of-31 passes for 139 yards.
Nix gained 90 yards on 24 carries for Southern Miss, while Moreau finished with 74 yards on 21 carries.
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