I’ve never known Southern Miss to sidestep major football opponents. In fact, Jeff Bower has watched for opportunities to take on heavyweights, so the fact that he’ll be sending his Golden Eagles of 2000 into heavy combat early isn’t surprising.

This fall USM will take on Tennessee Sept. 2, then after an open date come back with Alabama and Oklahoma State. To be sure, that’s heavy combat early.

True, the Eagles warmed up last season by thrashing Tulane 48-14 and NW Louisiana 40-6, then Top Five Nebraska had all kinds of trouble taking them 20-13. Fact of the matter, the Eagles all but caught the Cornhuskers. Texas A&M managed a 23-6 victory in College Station, but the Eagles started a run after that.

East Carolina, which would win nine games and lose but two in ’99, then fell to USM&160;in a key Conference-USA contest 39-22, and then unbeaten (in conference games) Eagles added five more league victories over the season, before playing Colorado State in Memphis’ Liberty Bowl.

So USM fears nobody when it comes to NCAA 1A football, although it’s forced to play a few not-so-strong opponents every season – more than wanted. The Eagles, in fact, would even like to play Ole Miss and MSU.

This fall, which will be here sooner than you think, following Tennessee, open date, Alabama and Oklahoma State, the Golden Eagles grapple with Memphis, South Florida, Tulane, then rest again before Houston, Louisville, UAB, Cincinnati, and East Carolina. Then more than likely they’ll play for the USA title.

Shooting for a Top 10 rating early, there’s a good chance the Tennessee and Alabama games will be televised. That’s Sept. 2 and 16, respectively. Future USA members Oklahoma State and S. Florida are Sept. 23 and Oct. 7 opponents, the latter in Hattiesburg.

Georgia and LSU, according to coach Bower, cancelled games with the Eagles, and that led to lesser-known opponents at this time for them.

But Bower and his Golden Eagles, again, fear none of them. They would, in fact, rather be playing an even harder schedule, including more than four home games.

…HURRIED HASH: The basketball Tigers of LSU are a rugged bunch. They had to be to nip the Ole Miss Rebels 64-60 last Saturday down in Baton Rouge. The Rebels, you see, are a rugged bunch as well…But the John Brady-coached Bengals have simply been all over their opponents defensively all season. If you just stop and think about it they have roughed up most opponents, as regards &uot;banging&uot; tough all the way. Look at the Tigers’ 25-4 (12-4 in the Southeastern Conference) season record here at tournament time, and you’ll see that the Tigers’ hard-nosed play all season has impressed me, plus many others.

…Here’s requested additional details on the 1954 (not ’53) Natchez High-Jackson Central Big Eight basketball championship game in Hattiesburg: Clyde Adams hit a jumper to start NHS’ scoring (Clyde, incidentally, did not commit a foul during the entire tournament, during which NHS’ fifth and coach Claude Porter’s first Big Eight basketball titles were won). At any rate, I can tell you that after Adams’ first bucket, Louie Brown twisted one home, then Bill Williams hit a long set shot. Then Tony Byrne launched his record-setting 42-point rampage with one of his patented fast breaks – and again for a quick 10-2 Rebel lead, which Natchez stretched to 79-59 by the end… Steady Louie Brown had six field goals and 18 points, Williams scored 12 and Adams and Donald Brown four and three, respectively…Some kind of great season for the Rebels, I must admit.