NEW ORLEANS -- Southern Mississippi's defense nearly made up for all the
points it allowed.
Southern Miss forced four turnovers and turned three into touchdowns as the
Golden Eagles beat Tulane 56-24 on Saturday for their fifth straight victory.
"They did a good job of moving the ball on us, but we made some big plays
defensively," said Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower, whose team hadn't allowed
more than 19 points in a game this season.
The Golden Eagles (5-1, 2-0 in Conference USA) took advantage of two
interceptions and a fumble by Tulane quarterback Patrick Ramsey.
Leo Barnes made both interceptions, setting up the first of Dawayne Woods'
three touchdowns and scoring on a 27-yard return. Roy Magee recovered Ramsey's
fumble and ran 38 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.
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| Dawayne Woods runs for 143 yards and three touchdowns to help Southern Miss defeat Tulane.(AP) | |
"We're just trying to show everyone that we're one of the top defenses in
the country," Barnes said. The Golden Eagles were the top-ranked scoring
defense in the nation (seven points per game) and No. 1 in Conference USA in
total defense (235 yards per game).
On the first possession of the game, Barnes intercepted Ramsey's pass, and
two plays later Woods ran 33 yards for a touchdown.
Magee's return after recovering Ramsey's fumble gave the Golden Eagles a
14-0 lead with 8:24 left in the first quarter.
Ramsey came back on the ensuing possession to throw a 30-yard touchdown pass
to Zander Robinson to cut the lead to 14-7.
Southern Miss came right back with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Kelly
to Shawn Mills to make it 21-7 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.
After Seth Marler kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Green Wave (3-3, 1-2),
Barnes intercepted another pass and ran 27 yards for a touchdown and a 28-10
lead with 8:22 left in the second quarter.
"When you come out and have the amount of unforced errors that we had in
the first quarter and second quarter it kind of snowballed on us," Tulane
coach Chris Scelfo said. "We knew they were a good football team, but we gave
them every gift early on and that really put us behind the eight ball."
Woods, from nearby Slidell, La., rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns
on 20 carries. He also returned a kickoff 53 yards to set up a touchdown.
"It was real exciting playing here because a lot of my family and people I
went to school with came to watch me," Woods said. "We practiced all week
on hitting the holes and our cutbacks and we came out and did it."
Kelly completed 15 of 24 for 224 yards with one touchdown and one
interception for Southern Miss. Mills caught seven passes for 151 yards and two
touchdowns.
Ramsey was replaced by J.P Losman for the final three series of the first
half after being shaken up. Ramsey started the second half before giving way to
Losman late in the third quarter.
Ramsey finished 12 of 28 for 158 yards with one touchdown and two
interceptions. Losman was 10 of 22 for 102 yards.
Southern Miss, which led 28-10 at halftime, quickly extended that lead by
taking the second-half kickoff and driving 91 yards in six plays to Woods'
13-yard touchdown run.
Kelly's 62-yard touchdown pass to Mills pushed the lead to 42-10 with 6:34
left in the third quarter.
Tulane's Kris Coleman scored on a 1-yard run with 11:00 left in the game,
the first rushing touchdown allowed by the Golden Eagles in 36 quarters dating
to last season.
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