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HATTIESBURG- Southern Miss gave coach Larry Fedora an extension after his first-year season (2008) following a strong finish.
The extension pushes his contract to four years through 2012, the most allowed under state law. It must still be approved by the College Board. Financial terms have not been completed.
Southern Miss has set records for ticket sales under Fedora.
Since 1991, Southern Miss has toppled Alabama twice, plus Auburn, Georgia, Illinois (twice), Oklahoma State (twice), LSU, Nebraska and Virginia Tech. (These are all in the post-Brett Favre era, if you're wondering.)
Did you know...
Southern Miss is one of four schools in the nation to have at least 14 consecutive winning seasons.
Southern Miss’s graduation rates have continually improved and the program was nationally recognized by the American Football Coaches Association in four of the past five years.
Southern Miss players have earned All-American honors 44 times, including at least on All-American in each of the past 11 years.
Southern Miss has had nine freshman All-Americans in the past 11 years.
In the rout of Memphis, Southern Miss advances to the Conference USA Championship game hosted by Houston. The Eagles have not held a 10-2 record since 1988. This is the third ten win season.
All bowl projections are showing Southern Miss playing in the Liberty Bowl vs an SEC team, whether the Eagles win the championship game or not.
Give ' em Hell Eagles!
UAB Preview
Eagles claim C-USA East Title
The Golden Eagles averaged 32.9 points (with 50 offensive touchdowns), 181.4 rushing yards and 235.0 passing yards per game on offense. USM finished third in C-USA in total defense and scoring defense and ranked second against the run. The biggest weakness was the kicking game, where Justin Estes and Daniel Hrapmann combined to miss 10 extra points.
Things got so bad, in fact, that Southern Miss attempted two-point conversions exclusively in the bowl game.
2009 Season in a nutshell
The No. 22 Golden Eagles can secure the division title with a ninth consecutive victory overall when they try to avoid a third straight loss to host UAB on Thursday night.
Southern Miss (9-1, 5-1) moved within a victory of the school's first 10-win season since 1988 after it held off Central Florida for a 30-29 win Saturday. The Golden Eagles need a victory in either of their two remaining games to clinch the East Division and secure a spot in the Conference USA championship game for the second time.
Southern Miss lost 34-20 to Houston in the 2006 title game.
"That's been our goal all year, to win the East," coach Larry Fedora said. "We're close. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're in the fourth quarter of our season, and we understand that."
Though Southern Miss has averaged 41.1 points during its eight-game winning streak, it has dropped the last two meetings with UAB (2-8, 2-5) after winning the previous nine in the series. The Golden Eagles lost 30-17 in Birmingham in 2009 and fell 50-49 in double-overtime to the Blazers last season.
"They know how important each (game) is," Fedora said. "The great thing about being in this situation is that you make the next game the biggest game of the year. And that's where we are right now."
Southern Miss senior Austin Davis ranks 25th in the nation with 2,511 passing yards and has thrown at least one TD pass in nine straight games. He went 26 of 48 for a season-high 364 yards and two TDs as the Golden Eagles racked up 519 yards against UCF.
Davis has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 622 yards with four touchdowns in the two losses to UAB, but he's also thrown three interceptions in those games.
Senior Ryan Balentine caught six of Davis' passes last Saturday for a season-high 122 yards while Danny Hrapmann kicked five field goals. Bruce Johnson and Chris Briggs each caught a touchdown pass for the Golden Eagles, who have set a school record with TDs scored by 21 different players.
UAB is looking to snap a five-game skid against ranked opponents since beating then-No. 24 UTEP 35-23 on Nov. 19, 2005.
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