Papajohns.com Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati

Teams: Cincinnati vs. Southern Miss
Date: Dec. 22, 2007 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, Ala.

Analysis
The Papajohns.com Bowl will be the final game for veteran Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower, who was surprisingly fired late last month despite leading his alma mater to its 14th straight winning season. The Golden Eagles have won four Conference USA titles under Bower’s watch but none since 2003, and they have lost exactly five games in each of the past four seasons.

There is no coaching controversy at Cincinnati, where Brian Kelly led the Bearcats to a 9–3 record in his first season at the Big East school. The former Central Michigan boss helped jumpstart a UC offense that struggled to score points last year. The arrival of quarterback Ben Mauk, who transferred from Wake Forest, gave the Bearcat offense a big-play component that it lacked last season.

The UC defense once again was among the stingiest in the Big East thanks to its ball-hawking secondary, which intercepted a national-best 23 passes. Linebacker Corey Smith, safety Haruki Nakamura and cornerback Mike Mickens all played a key role in this unit’s success.

While Cincinnati made its living off the turnover (fourth in the nation in TO ratio), Southern Miss had trouble protecting the football. The Eagles, due in part to inconsistent quarterback play, committed 26 turnovers in 12 games, losing 13 fumbles and throwing 13 interceptions. And turnovers figure to be the difference in this game. Go with the Bearcats in a relatively comfortable win. 

Breakdown: Cincinnati
Campus Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Distance to Birmingham: 470 miles
All-Time Bowl Game Record: 4–4
2007 Season: 9–3, 4–3 Big East

NCAA Rankings (yards/points per game totals):
Rush Offense: 56 (154)
Pass Offense: 23 (282)
Scoring Offense: 14 (37)
Rush Defense: 15 (106)
Pass Defense: 105 (265)
Scoring Defense: T-11 (19)
Turnover Margin: 3 (1.42)

Additional Notes:
The Bearcats increased their scoring output from 21.1 to 36.8 points per game in their first year running Brian Kelly’s offensive attack. … Senior quarterback Ben Mauk, a transfer from Wake Forest, led the Big East and ranked ninth in the nation in passing efficiency. … All three of UC’s losses came by seven points or less — Louisville (28–24), Pittsburgh (24–17) and West Virginia (28–23). … Punter Kevin Huber led the nation with a 46.9-yard average.

Breakdown: Southern Miss
Campus Location: Hattiesburg, Miss.
Distance to Birmingham: 235 miles
All-Time Bowl Game Record: 8–7
2007 Season: 7–5, 5–3 Conference USA

NCAA Rankings (yards/points per game totals):
Rush Offense: 22 (200)
Pass Offense: 90 (194)
Scoring Offense: T-57 (28)
Rush Defense: 48 (140)
Pass Defense: 52 (224)
Scoring Defense: 38 (24)
Turnover Margin: T-74 (–0.17)

Additional Notes:
Southern Miss has a 7–7 all-time record against Cincinnati. The two teams were both in Conference USA from 1996, the year the league formed, until 2004, when Cincinnati bolted for the Big East. … Sophomore running back Damion Fletecher topped the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his two-year career. He ranked fourth in the league and 13th in the nation with a 119.3-yard average. … USM has won three straight bowl games. … The Eagles played one BCS conference foe this year, losing 39–19 at Tennessee in Week 2.

Cincinnati by 17

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