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O' Brady's Bowl: Louisville vs. S. Miss

Louisville and Southern Miss didn't play for conference championships this season, but both programs came closer than many outside of Louisville and Hattiesburg may have realized.

The Cardinals improved by two games, from 4-8 to 6-6, in a weakened Big East. Other teams may have had an edge in size or talent, but the Cardinals rarely were overmatched in their first season under coach Charlie Strong. Of their six losses, five came by eight or fewer points; in the lone double-digit loss - 20-3 to Pittsburgh - Louisville trailed by a field goal at halftime.

Southern Miss had a lot of close calls, too, on the way to an 8-4 season.

The Golden Eagles lost three Conference USA games by a combined eight points - 44-43 to East Carolina, 50-49 to UAB in double-overtime and 56-50 to Tulsa.

Both teams fit the stereotype of their respective conferences in 2010. Louisville plays solid defense and has one elite difference-maker on offense (running back Bilal Powell).

Southern Miss has a prolific offense, but its defense frequently resembles a sieve, meaning some high-scoring, back-and-forth games.

WHO GETS THE EDGE?

Louisville rush offense vs. Southern Miss rush defense: Despite being hobbled by injuries late in the season, senior Bilal Powell averaged 120.9 rushing yards per game. At 6-foot and 215 pounds, he's tough to bring down, and he plays behind one of the best lines in the Big East. Powell is playing about 90 minutes from his hometown of Lakeland, Fla. Louisville also has capable backups in true freshman Jeremy Wright and former starter Victor Anderson. Southern Miss has a highly ranked but inconsistent run defense. The Eagles held six opponents to fewer than 100 yards, but South Carolina, UAB and Tulsa were able to rush for at least 200 yards and four touchdowns each. Edge: Louisville.

Louisville pass offense vs. Southern Miss pass defense: Senior Justin Burke will start his fifth consecutive game in place of Adam Froman, who missed the last part of the season with a thigh bruise. Burke was 50-for-90 for 572 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions in his four starts. The Cardinals don't have a great receiving corps; it is led by freshman TE Cameron Graham. Southern Miss' pass defense has been awful recently. The Eagles allowed a combined 873 passing yards in the past two games (Houston and Tulsa) and 21 touchdown passes in the past seven games. Edge: Louisville.

Southern Miss rush offense vs. Louisville rush defense: Southern Miss has three capable backs. Freshman Kendrick Hardy (855 yards, seven touchdowns) became the feature back in the second half of the season. QB Austin Davis can move a little, too; he rushed for 436 yards and a team-leading 10 touchdowns. Louisville's run defense has struggled at times, but the Cardinals held Jordan Todman to a season-low 80 yards in a shutout of Connecticut. Edge: Southern Miss.

Southern Miss pass offense vs. Louisville pass defense: With touted junior WR DeAndre Brown injured for most of the season, Davis has spread the ball around. Four receivers (including Brown) have had a 100-yard game, seven have had at least one touchdown catch and six finished the regular season with at least 20 catches. That kind of spread offense could limit the impact of Louisville's top cornerback, Johnny Patrick, who had five of Louisville's nine interceptions this season. Edge: Louisville.

Louisville special teams vs. Southern Miss special teams: If the game comes down to a kick, Southern Miss will have an advantage with Groza Award finalist Danny Hrapmann, a junior who was 26-of-30 on field-goal attempts, including two of at least 50 yards. Reggie Hunt became the main kick returner in the second half of the season, and he is averaging 28.6 yards per return. Louisville's Doug Beaumont is one of the top punt returners in the country at 15.3 yards per return, with a touchdown. Both teams have been excellent in punt coverage but awful in kickoff coverage. Edge: Southern Miss.

Louisville coaches vs. Southern Miss coaches: Both coaches have guided their teams through adversity this season, particularly Southern Miss' Larry Fedora. On the field, both teams needed to overcome injuries to key players (Brown and starting LB Martez Smith for Southern Miss, Froman and Powell for Louisville). Each of Southern Miss' three C-USA losses was by a touchdown or less. Strong led one of the best turnarounds in the Big East by ending Louisville's bowl drought. Edge: Louisville.

X-factor: Both teams have had three weeks off, but the layoff may be more beneficial for the Cardinals. Burke wasn't the starter until the final month of the season, and the extra practice should help, especially against a defense that has struggled. Powell faced injury and illness in the last four games of the season, and presumably will be 100 percent.

Louisville will win if: The Cardinals need to win the game on the ground. It's a clich?but for these teams, it's true: The team that runs the ball will win. Southern Miss averaged 227.6 rushing yards in its wins and only 155 in its losses. The same is true for Louisville: The Cardinals rushed for 212 yards in wins and 149 yards in losses.

Southern Miss will win if: The Golden Eagles need to make Louisville face some third-and-longs. Sothern Miss' defense has struggled, for the most part, but there is an area where the Eagles have been the best in their league: third-down defense. Southern Miss led C-USA in that category, allowing opponents to convert first downs only 33 percent of the time.

EXPERT PICKS

Olin Buchanan: Louisville 24, Southern Miss 20
Tom Dienhart: Louisville 29, Southern Miss 27
David Fox: Louisville 24, Southern Miss 14
Mike Huguenin: Southern Miss 30, Louisville 24
Steve Megargee: Louisville 27, Southern Miss 20

Southwest Beef Symposium To Address Current Issues Facing The Industry

AMARILLO, TEXAS – The Southwest Beef Symposium, jointly hosted by the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service and Texas AgriLife Extension Service, is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 18-19, in the Grand Plaza Room of the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 S. Buchanan St., Amarillo.

The educational forum, tailored for beef producers, was established seven years ago to provide timely information annually about current industry issues and practical management. The event alternates between locations in New Mexico and Texas. NMSU hosted the event last year in Tucumcari.

“The symposium is an annual opportunity for beef producers to get a bona fide perspective of current issues facing the industry from nationally recognized speakers,” said Manny Encinias, NMSU Extension beef specialist.

Guest speaker Dennis Avery, director of the Center for Global Food Issues at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., will open the symposium on the topic of feeding the world.

“Dennis Avery is sure to provide a thought-provoking platform that producers will find beneficial,” Encinias said.

Avery served as agricultural analyst for the U.S. Department of State from 1980 to 1988, where he was responsible for assessing the foreign-policy implications of food and farm developments worldwide.

At the Hudson Institute, Avery continues to monitor developments in world food production, farm production demand, the safety and security of food supplies and the sustainability of world agriculture. As a staff member of the President’s National Advisory Commission on Food and Fiber, he wrote the commission’s landmark report, “Food and Fiber for the Future.”

The Jan. 18 program will begin at 1 p.m. with the Current Issues: Stand Up and Be Counted session, followed by an evening steak dinner. The Jan. 19 program will run from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and include a lunch sponsored by Hi-Pro Feeds.

In addition to Avery’s talk, the current issues section features discussions on “The Carbon Cycle and Beef Production” by Dr. Brent Auvermann, Texas AgriLife Extension; “Management Technologies and the Carbon Footprint of Beef Production” by Dr. Jim MacDonald, Texas AgriLife Extension; and “Management Technologies and Food Safety” by Dan Upson, Kansas State University.

“The second day of the symposium has always been focused on addressing timely management issues,” Encinias said.

The morning production session, Setting the Stage for the Next Five Years, will include talks on “Production Costs and Parameters for Cow-Calf Production in North Texas and New Mexico” by Stan Bevers, AgriLife Extension; “You and Your Heifers” by Rob Hogan, Texas AgriLife Extension; “Managing Fertility in Cows and Bulls” by Encinias and Bruce Carpenter, Texas AgriLife Extension; and “Cow Fertility in Arid Environments” by Milton Thomas, NMSU professor in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences’ Animal and Range Sciences Department.

The program concludes with the afternoon Stocker/Feeder Cattle production session addressing “Weight Considerations” by Ted McCollum, Texas AgriLife Extension; “Vaccine Technology: What is on the Horizon?” by Glenn Rogers, Pfizer Animal Health; and “Managing the Weight Gain in Stockers” by McCollum.

There is a $50 registration fee for the symposium. Checks should be made payable to SWBS Acct. #229100. For more information and to register for the program online, visit the Southwest Beef Symposium website at swbs.nmsu.edu. Registration forms can also be mailed to: Bruce Carpenter, Texas AgriLife Extension Center, Box 1298, Ft. Stockton, Texas, 79735.