Southern Miss Football Visits Tulane to Reclaim the Bell

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Southern Miss football travels to New Orleans on Saturday to take on Tulane at Yulman Stadium. The Golden Eagles aim to reclaim the ‘Battle for the Bell’ trophy in the 6 p.m. contest, which will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on the Southern Miss Sports Network or online at SouthernMiss.com.

The game is the 35th meeting between the two schools, dating back to 1979. Southern Miss holds a 24-10 series lead. The schools have played annually from 1979 through 2006, including as conference rivals in Conference USA. The series name, added before the 1999 season, honors the travel trophy — a large bell — symbolizing their rivalry. Southern Miss last rang the bell in 2022 after a 27-24 victory at Yulman Stadium.

In that 2022 game, Southern Miss was down 14-0 before rallying with two touchdown passes from quarterback Zach Wilcke, a 35-yard interception return by Eric Scott Jr., and a blocked punt by Jay Jones. Tulane won the following season’s rematch in Hattiesburg, 21-3.

Both teams are 1-2 this season. Southern Miss opened with a 49-3 win over Alcorn State, then lost at Auburn, 43-8, and fell at home to UConn, 48-20. Tulane, under first-year coach Will Hall, started with a 17-3 loss at Duke, then beat South Alabama 28-24 before losing last weekend at Kansas State, 31-20.

For Southern Miss, redshirt senior Landry Lyddy is expected to start at quarterback for the second time. He has completed 20 of 33 passes for 265 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Leading the offense is running back Steven Robinson, with 246 rushing yards and four touchdowns, plus one receiving score. Jamarice Wilder has 120 rushing yards, and Mario Sanders leads receivers with 233 yards on 16 catches.

Defensively, Mathis Haygood leads the team with 23 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, followed by Laquan Robinson with 20 stops. After Saturday’s game, Southern Miss will face Troy on Oct. 6 on ESPN2 in another road contest.

Source: Original Article