New Orleans is a great town, to say the least. The Crescent City has been home to a number of events throughout history and many surrounding college football. Since 2003, the city has been home to two bowl games in the Superdome, a situation many cities have embraced the past few years. The R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, with conference ties to Conference-USA and the Sun Belt Conference being represented by Southern Mississippi and Troy University respectively.
This was not the marquee game many remember as the Allstate Sugar Bowl, which takes place on January 2nd. This has no Bowl Championship Series (BCS) implications. These were not major conference foes. This was not a game that will see the payout exceed 17.5 million. This was football between neighboring states. This was a game that would head to overtime and have the Golden Eagles defeat Troy, 30-27.
The storylines were endless. The Troy Trojans were synonymous for squandering leads. Look no further than earlier this season. The Trojans were leading defending National Champion LSU 31-3 midway through the third quarter. LSU won 40-31. Troy also lost a heartbreaker to Louisiana-Monroe, 31-30 but rallied late in the season to win the Sun Belt Championship. Against the Eagles, Troy would see its 10-point lead in the second half evaporate. After USM continued to mount a comeback, trailing 27-24 with 5 minutes to go in regulation, it was the Golden Eagle defense that began to rise. Yes, that USM defense that has been average, at best, this season. USM head coach Larry Fedora has heard the critics. So has defensive coordinator Todd Bradford. Let’s not be oblivious to the fact, both inherited a team depleted by graduation. Not to mention, they recruited only a handful of the present roster.
The Eagles held and forced the game into overtime, as Billy Barefoot sealed the win with a 39-yard effort. The game was not without a loss. Freshman All-Conference wide receiver DeAndre Brown broke his leg midway through the 1st quarter, which required an extensive surgery. It was reminiscent of the injury sustained by Joe Theisman on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants in 1985. Not for the faint of heart.
Fortunately, the Hattiesburg American reported on Tuesday the surgery went as expected and Brown is slated to make a full recovery. The Ocean Springs native is looking at six-month’s in rehabilitation and should be ready for fall camp.
What looked like a season marred with tough losses and lackluster production from the defense was put aside this past Sunday night. Larry Fedora has withstood his rocky inaugural season to end on a winning note. Quite the cap to head into the offseason, as the Golden Eagles have extended the streak to 15 winning seasons.
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