Scouting the St Petersburg Bowl: Southern Miss vs Louisville

Tempers are already flaring as the Big East’s Louisville Cardinals and Conference USA’s Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles prepare to meet in the third annual Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida. Each team was invited to a Beach Bash this past Sunday prior to the contest where they partook in multiple excursions with the fans. Apparently, the festivities culmited in near fisticuffs as the two teams competed in a dance off. The preceding storyline may actually be more interesting than the game Tuesday night as each team hovered near a .500 record all season.

3 Keys from the scouts

1. Maintaining discipline. It may not seem like much, and the story is relatively humorous, but if either of the teams allow its emotions to remain unchecked then it will affect the game itself. Neither team is known for its discipline on the field. Southern Mississippi is ranked 108th in the nation regarding penalties per game (7.67). Surprisingly, Louisville is slightly worse ranked 110th (7.83).

2. Covering the giants. Two of Southern Mississippi’s top targets, Johdrick Morris and DeAndre Brown (injured), are both 6-feet-3-inches or taller. Louisville counters with its own basketball-like player in 6-feet-8-inch (listed) target Jonathan Chichester. Unlike the Golden Eagles; Louisville can lessen the burden in coverage with one of the top senior cornerbacks in the country, Johnny Patrick.

3. Power of Powell. The Cardinals possess a ferocious running attack. Breakout senior performer Balil Powell is a dominant downhill runner who finished the regular season 10th in the nation in rushing with 1330 yards. Aside from Powell’s prodigious production, redshirt freshman Kelvin Bolden and senior Victor Anderson combined for 605 yards to accentuate their 215 pound battery mate. Southern Mississippi’s defense finished 13th in the country giving up a mere 133.33 yards per game, although four teams did manage 200 yards in their respective contests.

Bold Predictions

These two teams met a year ago with only two points proving the difference in Louisville’s favor. The same outcome is highly unlikely. Southern Mississippi has proven weekly it can light up the scoreboard amassing 40 or more points in seven of the team’s past eight games. Louisville does not have the same level of output offensively. Southern Mississippi 42, Louisville 28

Pro-Prospects

Southern Mississippi

Rnd Name Pos Num Yr Comments

5th Korey Williams OLB 42 4Jr Explosive linebacker that’s developing a complete game.

7-FA Quentin Pierce WR 85 3So Solid possession receiver with reliable hands.

FA Martez Smith OLB 32 5Sr Fast pursuit linebacker who plays with terrific speed and aggressiveness. Covers a lot of area on the field.

FA Justin Wilson S 8 5Sr Downhill safety with average instincts and ball skills.

FA Anthony Gray DT 95 5Sr Short, wide bodied blocker that commands double teams in the middle of the line. Does not always play up to his ability and often gives up on the action.

FA John Henderson DT 48 4Sr Wide bodied lineman who makes plays up the field or down the line in pursuit.

FA Jonathan Massey TE 19 4Sr Strong blocking tight end that does the little things well.

FA Johdrick Morris WR 83 5Sr

Louisville

Rnd Name Pos Num Yr Comments

4th Johnny Patrick CB 19 5Sr Developing cornerback whose game took off this season. Athletic and fast, he’s transitioned well to a fulltime corner.

4th Mario Benavides C 55 3So Quick, explosive blocker on the pivot that very effective in motion.

5th Bilal Powell RB 15 4Sr Large, north/south runner who took his game to another level this season.

6-7 Josh Chichester WR 11 4Jr Massive target learning to become a football player.

7-FA Doug Beaumont WR 27 4Sr Fundamentally sound receiver with one speed.

FA Brandon Heath OLB 5 4Sr Potential weak side/one-gap linebacker best in pursuit.

FA Victor Anderson RB 20 3Jr Resilient, straight line ball carrier that also excels as a pass catcher out of the backfield.