While Southern Mississippi's defense has been downright awe-inspiring this season, coach Jeff Bower has been disappointed in the offense.

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And heading into the Liberty Bowl game, he'll have himself to blame if things don't go as he hopes.

Bower last week "reassigned" offensive coordinator Larry Kueck, and will call the plays himself in the New Year's Eve game against BYU.

"We've got to work that out," Bower said. "I'm going to have a lot to do with it."

Kueck had spent three years on Bower's staff at USM, and after two wildly successful offensive seasons, the Eagles won primarily with defense in 1999. "Jeff fired me Christmas Eve afternoon," Kueck said.

"You have to get a comment from him (Kueck) on that," Bower said later. "My focus is on the players and everything we have to do to get ready for the ballgame."

That ballgame is one of only three bowl games set to pit league champions, joining the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl.

The Liberty Bowl brings C-USA champion Southern Miss and Mountain West Conference champion Colorado State together to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

The Golden Eagles should feel right at home in Memphis. They have won five straight in Memphis, including a 20-5 win over the hometown Tigers this season.

The Eagles are making a school-record third-consecutive bowl appearance. The last time they played in the Liberty Bowl in postseason was 1997 when they beat Pittsburgh 41-7 in the most lopsided game in Liberty Bowl history.

Bower says this team might be the best one he's had in nine years in Hattiesburg. He'll wait until after the Liberty Bowl to say whether it is better than that 1997 squad that went 9-3, 6-0 in C-USA.

"I'd say up to this point it is, (but) I'll hold my final vote until after the bowl game," he said.

"The team two years ago really took care of business in the bowl game and got themselves ready, prepared hard and were ready to play that game. There's an opportunity, and I don't make a big deal out of the rankings during the season, but it is the end of the year. It's a credit to this football team to be recognized as the 13th and 14th ranked team in the country.

Southern Miss' vaunted defense will have to deal with CSU running back Kevin McDougal, whose 116.4-yard rushing average ranks him 14th nationally. The Golden Eagles are eighth in Division I-A with 91.5 rushing yards allowed per game.

Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick is 57-26 in seven seasons, and this year his Rams are 8-3 and tri-champs of the first-ever Mountain West Conference race. They've won five straight games and are 8-3, and they, too, will have to contend with a 1,000-yard back -- Southern Miss sophomore Derrick Nix, who is 30th in Division I-A averaging 95.8 rushing yards per game.

The Personnel File

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Derrick Nix, sophomore running back. Averaging 95.2 yards a game, Nix became the first Southern Miss back to rush for 1,000 yards his freshman and sophomore seasons.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Adalius Thomas, senior defensive end. With nine sacks this season, Thomas ends his career as the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year -- and with 34.5 career sacks.

COACH: Jeff Bower, 58-43-1 in nine seasons. Bower, a former Southern Miss player and assistant, is 33-6 at M.M. Roberts Stadium, 21-2 in Conference USA and one win shy of tying Reed Green with 59 wins, second-best in school history.

Noteworthy

ALL-STARS: A school-record five Golden Eagles will play in the Senior Bowl. They are: WR Sherrod Gideon, WR Todd Pinkston, DE Adalius Thomas, LB T.J. Slaughter and CB Terrance Parrish.

TOUGH NON-LEAGUE SLATE: Despite a brutal nonconference schedule, which included back-to-back road games at Nebraska and Texas A&M, Southern Miss logged its sixth consecutive winning season. Although they lost tight games to the Cornhuskers and Aggies, the Eagles' signature defense held the two Big 12 powers to just one combined offensive touchdown.

SUPER SOPH: Sophomore quarterback Jeff Kelly was one of the team's big question marks, taking over for veteran Lee Roberts. Kelly surprised everyone by completing 153 of 260 passes for 2,062 yards and 21 touchdowns, good for No. 2 on Southern Miss's single-season touchdown passes chart.

A Look Ahead

Here's a glance at who the Golden Eagles will have to replace in the starting lineup next season.

OFFENSE: Wide receivers Sherrod Gideon and Todd Pinkston, and offensive lineman Shedrick Blackmon. Gideon and Pinkston combined for 88 catches for 1,477 yards. Blackmon was a four-year letterman.

DEFENSE: Defensive end Adalius Thomas, linebacker Ty Trahan, cornerback Terrance Parrish. Thomas is the school's career sack leader, while Trahan returned two interceptions for 53 yards and one touchdown this season and Parrish had three picks for 6 yards and one TD.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Punter Jamie Purser, who averaged 42.1 yards per punt.