2000 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football
Mobile Alabama Bowl champion
Mobile Alabama Bowl, W 28–21 vs. TCU
ConferenceConference USA
Record8–4 (4–3 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorChris Klenakis (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorDave Wommack (2nd season)
Home stadiumM. M. Roberts Stadium
2000 Conference USA football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Louisville $  6 –1   9 –3  
East Carolina  5 –2   8 –4  
Cincinnati  5 –2   7 –5  
Southern Miss  4 –3   8 –4  
UAB  3 –3   7 –4  
Tulane  3 –4   6 –5  
Memphis  2 –5   4 –7  
Houston  2 –5   3 –8  
Army  1 –6   1 –10  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2000 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Golden Eagles were led by head coach Jeff Bower and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium. They were a member of Conference USA.

For the second time in three years, the Golden Eagles earned a preseason top 25 ranking, coming in at No. 23. Despite a season-opening loss to 13th-ranked Tennessee, the Golden Eagles recovered, winning the next 6 games, with 5 of those wins coming by 21 or more points, including a 21–0 shutout over 15th-ranked Alabama. Following a near-upset on the road against Houston, Southern Miss was ranked 13th in that week's AP poll, the school's highest ranking in nearly 20 years, when they were ranked 9th during the 1981 season. The Golden Eagles win streak ended that week against eventual conference champions Louisville, and they would go onto lose two more games to finish the regular season with a 7–4 record, 4–3 in Conference USA play. Despite the late season struggles, the Golden Eagles earned a trip to the Mobile Alabama Bowl, where they defeated 13th-ranked TCU, 28–21.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 26:45 pmat No. 13 Tennessee*No. 22
ESPNL 16–19108,064[1]
September 168:00 pmat No. 15 Alabama*No. 25
ESPN2W 21–083,091[2]
September 237:00 pmat Oklahoma State*No. 22
W 28–641,205[3]
September 302:30 pmMemphisNo. 21
FSNW 24–330,658[4]
October 76:00 pmSouth Florida*No. 17
  • M. M. Roberts Stadium
  • Hattiesburg, MS
W 41–726,559[5]
October 1411:00 amat TulaneNo. 16
FSNW 56–2427,645[6]
October 282:30 pmat HoustonNo. 14
W 6–317,565[7]
November 42:30 pmLouisvilledaggerNo. 13
  • M. M. Roberts Stadium
  • Hattiesburg, MS
FSNL 28–4931,667[8]
November 112:30 pmat UABNo. 25
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
W 33–30 2OT25,000[9]
November 1812:00 pmat CincinnatiNo. 24
L 24–2721,958[10]
November 2412:30 pmEast Carolina
  • M. M. Roberts Stadium
  • Hattiesburg, MS
FSNL 9–1425,152[11]
December 207:00 pmvs. No. 13 TCU*
ESPN2W 28–2140,300[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Roster

2000 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
G 73 Jeremy Bridges So
QB 17 Jeff Kelly Jr
G 76 Torrin Tucker Fr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 5 Greg Brooks Fr
LB 24 Rod Davis Fr
DT 98 John Nix Sr
CB 28 Etric Pruitt Fr
DE 96 Cedric Scott Sr
DT 78 DeQuincy Scott Jr
DT 90 Daleroy Stewart Sr
CB 19 Raymond Walls Sr
S 9 Chad Williams Jr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked.
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP23222525222117161514132524————
Coaches Poll252424—232118161514112220————
BCSNot released14——————Not released

References

  1. ↑ "Tennessee gets past Southern Miss 19–16". The Courier-Journal. September 3, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Tide not ready for prime time". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 17, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Southern fried". The Daily Oklahoman. September 24, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Eagles 'Rock' on". Hattiesburg American. October 1, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Kelly has hand in 5 TDs as No. 17 USM rolls 41–7". The Clarion-Ledger. October 8, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "USM pounds Green Wave". Daily World. October 15, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Hand it to the defense, Southern Miss hangs on to beat Houston". Hattiesburg American. October 29, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Cards in Happysburg". The Courier-Journal. November 5, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "USM escapes with 33–30 win". Enterprise-Journal. November 12, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Bearcats bowl over So. Miss". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 19, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Eagles finish with splat". The Clarion-Ledger. November 25, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Southern Miss at the buzzer 28–21". The Clarksdale Press Register. December 21, 2000. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.


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