Golden Eagles getting ready for bowl game

While the 2003 AXA Liberty Bowl is more than three weeks away, the Southern Miss football team has already begun its postseason preparations.

Conference USA champion Southern Miss (9-3, 8-0 Conference USA) completed the second of 15 postseason practices, with a late afternoon workout Sunday at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

The Golden Eagles will take on Mountain West Conference champion Utah Dec. 31 in the AXA Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn.

Southern Miss head coach Jeff Bower, recently named Conference USA Coach of the Year, has been pleased with the work from his players in the weekend practices.

"It was good," Bower said. "The attitude has been good. We are just trying to polish up our skills. All of these postseason practices are important. You want to go out there and improve in what you are doing."

The weekend practices were the first for the Golden Eagles since winning their fourth Conference USA championship in a 38-21 win over East Carolina, Nov. 29.

"We are just going against each other now," Bower said. "There is no game plan. We are just trying to stay sharp because we didn't practice for a week. We are just trying to hone our skills and get better each day."