USM finally has home date

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

By KIM SHUGART
Sports Reporter

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Now that Southern Miss has proven it can win on the road with victories against Nebraska, Tulane and South Florida, USM finally gets the chance to play in front of friendly fans when it faces Houston on Thursday night at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

The Golden Eagles are off to a 3-0 start for the third time in the last four years and can become the first Southern Miss team to open the season with four straight wins since 1981 by beating the Cougars. The game is being televised nationally on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. Gary Bender and Craig James are the announcers.

Southern Miss was originally scheduled to play California in its first home game Sept. 16. The game was postponed because of Hurricane Ivan and has been rescheduled for Dec. 4.

"I'm sure the players are excited about it being our first home game, but I'm more concerned about us being ready to play," USM head coach Jeff Bower said on Monday.

"There's not much time to prepare. We had a good workout Sunday night. The players ran around pretty well and we'll have a physical practice today in full pads. We'll back off (Tuesday and Wednesday) to make sure they're ready for Thursday."

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