The Book 2008 Football

[NOCajun]

_ Considering the one-sided'ness of our extensive history of playing each other, I think you should respect us now. But you're welcome to act like an arrogant jerk if you want. After all, your team is coming off of that impressive 3 win season! _

The only ARROGANT JERK I've seen on this board, from the moment you first appeared on it, has been YOU. The CAJUNS have not yet earned your respect, but that's about to CHANGE.

18 HOURS, 40 MINUTES TO GEAUX!!!

[MetryCajun]

_ Considering the one-sided'ness of our extensive history of playing each other, I think you should respect us now. But you're welcome to act like an arrogant jerk if you want. After all, your team is coming off of that impressive 3 win season! _

Umm...this game cannot come soon enough. We know, you have the better team historically. We are also well aware of our 3 win season(unlike you we saw the games).
I get the feeling you are not satisfied with the amount of praise we are heaping on USM and your all-world assistant ,turned head coach. As someone who has followed college football for a while I can inform you that you will never get the praise from other fans that you crave. Every team you play this year will think they are better than you. If they lose to USM opposing fans will not credit you, they will lament the mistakes they made.
This is how life is as a mid-major.

[GoEagles]

_ Mr. 2 million a year and his potent offense went against a Rice team with some experience at key positions tonight and it got ugly, and the scoreboard lit up.

I'm interested to see if Fedora's offense will have some kinks to workout in their first action against a defense they haven't seen. We will also have a new offense to work into but I'm sure at first sign of trouble we'll see Dez and Fenroy do their thing.

I am a big fan of a runn game as apposed to pass, this will be great. Not to mention alot of other good RB matchups we see this season. _

This difference is that USM is loaded with talent, while SMU is in shambles. We made the coaching change before we let our program get run into the ground. The talent is in place. We just needed a coaching staff that knows what to do with it in the modern era. Bower was a good coach. He was just stuck in the past. His offense just wasn't up to par any longer. Despite that, we won 7 games last year. SMU won 1. Big difference.

[GoEagles]

_ Arrogance is coming to someone else's board and proclaiming resounding victory with a team that has quite a few questionmarks over another team with history telling you nothing of what future outcomes will be, moron. You claim you will kill us because of what happened ten years ago, or for that fact 5 years ago when none of these players were even here. Get a grip. You want to show a lack of class, go ahead, just don't come here and start crap.

We respect USM a lot. However, that attitude that is portrayed by some of their fans is quite humerous. I hear this same stuff from LSU fans, not people who's team hasn't exactly burned up their mid-level conference for some time and has the nerve to look down on other programs. _

We've EARNED the right to be confident. ULL has not. You can pretend that the past doesn't matter, but intelligent people know otherwise. You're still having the same losing seasons as you always have. You're still getting trounced by every decent team you play. Until that changes, you can't toss the past aside and pretend that everything is rosy.

[byxeagle]

If you are on campus tomorrow and visit the Barnes and Noble bookstore, be sure to look up on the wall and see the reproduction of a Southern Miss vs. ULa-La program. It is one of many program reproductions you will find on the wall at the back of the building.

[byxeagle]

Interesting to note that the captains on the defensive side of the ball relish the "Nasty Bunch" moniker that USM defenses in the past earned. They feel that their goal this year is to earn back the name "Nasty Bunch"

[Broadway Brett]

WE actually hope for a return to the Nasty bunch. At times last year the looked more like the BRADY BUNCH!

[MetryCajun]

_ This difference is that USM is loaded with talent, while SMU is in shambles. We made the coaching change before we let our program get run into the ground. The talent is in place. We just needed a coaching staff that knows what to do with it in the modern era. Bower was a good coach. He was just stuck in the past. His offense just wasn't up to par any longer. Despite that, we won 7 games last year. SMU won 1. Big difference. _

It is not a given that your coaching change will be sucessful. Look at Nebraska (Solich), TexasA&M (Slocum), and LSU(Mac). These were sucessful(winning) coaches that could not win the "big one". They also ran conservative offenses their fans despised. Once the alums ran the coach off they brought in new schemes. The result were disasterous. I am not saying this will happen to USM, but history says it will.

[ulforlife]

_ If you are on campus tomorrow and visit the Barnes and Noble bookstore, be sure to look up on the wall and see the reproduction of a Southern Miss vs. ULa-La program. It is one of many program reproductions you will find on the wall at the back of the building. _

Not too familiar with ULa-La, but I'm sure it's nice whatever it is!

[Turbine]

_ We've EARNED the right to be confident. ULL has not. You can pretend that the past doesn't matter, but intelligent people know otherwise. You're still having the same losing seasons as you always have. You're still getting trounced by every decent team you play. Until that changes, you can't toss the past aside and pretend that everything is rosy. _

I agree, the past does matter.

Whenever UL has had a running quarterback . . . it has owned USM.

1920's Keener Cagle

late 80's Brian Mitchell

2008 Mike Desormeaux

See you tonight.

[byxeagle]

Well whatever it is that you are called. ULa-La is what I refer to you as just as some of your fans have refferred to us as SMU.

[NewsCopy]

  LAFAYETTE — Any illusions about what the University of Louisiana faces today against Southern Mississippi can be dispelled by looking at the last few scores between the teams.

UL has been outscored 186-13 in the last four meetings against USM, which hosts the Cajuns at 6 p.m. today at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

The Cajuns season opener might be even more difficult, since Southern Miss has a new coach for the first time since 1991. That means UL might be somewhat initially unfamiliar with USM’s tendencies.

Former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora was named USM’s coach earlier this year, replacing Jeff Bower.

Not knowing what the Eagles might do offensively and defensively has made preparations more complex, UL coach Rickey Bustle said.

“It’s hard right now because we have no film on them. It’s easy for (USM) to get film on us and see what we do and I know they have done that,” Bustle said.

The rest of the story

By BOB ARDOIN
Special to The Advocate

[NewsCopy]

  Even with Hurricane Gustav threatening the Gulf Coast, UL's football team will take the field tonight for its season opener against Southern Miss.

The Ragin' Cajuns open the 2008 season at 6 tonight against the Golden Eagles at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss.

"Everything is still set for 6 p.m., and we don't anticipate any changes," USM athletic director Richard Giannini told The Daily Advertiser on Friday. "We don't feel the need to change the game time after all the indications from talks we've had with weather and state officials."

Giannini insisted there has never been any consideration to reschedule the game - even after LSU moved up today's game against Appalachian State to 10 a.m. from 4 p.m.

The rest of the story

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • August 30, 2008

[NewsCopy]

 HATTIESBURG — Legendary college football coach Lou Holtz was always known as a guy who liked to talk up his opponents in over-the-top fashion.

When he finished a press conference, you would think the next game, no matter the opponent, would almost be insurmountable for his team.

Holtz has some close company in Southern Miss linebacker Gerald McRath. By the time game day has arrived, he believes the opponent has taken on almost mythic proportions.

That's just a part of the way he mentally readies himself for what's going to happen on Saturdays.

"You can't expect bad from a team because they're not expecting bad from themselves," McRath said. "They're expecting nothing but the best. So you have to expect nothing but the best. Just preparing and watching what teams are capable of doing, you really have to humble yourself. When you're looking at things that way, humbling yourself and just expecting the best, you prepare and work even harder."

The rest of the story

Patrick Magee • Hattiesburg American • August 30, 2008

[NewsCopy]

  As Larry Fedora goes into his first game as the head coach at Southern Miss today against Louisiana-Lafayette, he's not concerned about the no-huddle spread offense or an inexperienced defense.

Fedora is more interested in the Golden Eagles' frame of mind as they open their season against the Ragin' Ca juns at 6 p.m. in renovated Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg.

"I really believe you play the game hard, you play aggressive, and it doesn't matter when you play or who you play, or what the weather is like," said Fedora. "You should play the game one way and I don't care if people say it's a big game or not.

The rest of the story

By KIM SHUGART
Sports Reporter