I had the pleasure of watching USM down a bad Alabama team in 2000. However, thats a rare circumstance....can anyone tell me why we almost always lose to the storied programs? Alabama, Tennessee, Nebraska....you would think this day in age that recruiting can only help a team so much...its not like the athletes going to these other schools are light years ahead of our guys performance wise...so is it a mental thing or what?

Personally, I think depth is an issue. The other is coaching. I think that the head coaches making the big bucks including the assistants are typically better.

UAB beat LSU @ LSU in 2000. We lost to Georgia by 3 @ Georgia last year although we were driving on them at the end of the game. We had it down to their 40 yard line (field goal range) before two plays killed us - a five yard penalty and a twelve yard sack.

We got destroyed by Florida (much faster speed wise) and South Carolina (physically beat us on the line).

Very good question. I honestly thought you guys would beat Alabama last year.

Puff

I agree w/Puff. It is a depth issue, look at how many games we are in up until late in the 3rd & 4th qtr then we lose it. Penn St & Nebraska's 3rd stringers are just as good as our 1st string.

Now why we lose to SEC schools is different. I'm sorry but I can't count the number of times we have played @ an SEC school that when the game is close we start racking up mythical penalties. Marvin Young's KO return last year is a perfect example vs bama. USM is the ONLY team I have ever sceen get flagged for having 10 men on the field.

Besides the officiating, I think it is a mental thing with Alabama - we basically go over there with the attitude of "how are we going to lose this year?" and it kills us. Another reason I'm glad to see the series ending.

Southern Miss Alum Wrote:Besides the officiating, I think it is a mental thing with Alabama - we basically go over there with the attitude of "how are we going to lose this year?" and it kills us. Another reason I'm glad to see the series ending.

Always being the away team doesn't help either.