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News Nuggets, 10.07.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Southern Miss road warriors back home for primetime

HATTIESBURG — Southern Mississippi waited longer than anyone else in the nation for a home game. The Golden Eagles still wish they had more time to get ready for it.

Southern Miss (3-0, 2-0 Conference USA) hustled through a short week to prepare for tonight's televised game with a struggling Houston team (ESPN2, 7 p.m.), five days after the Golden Eagles won at South Florida.

``We're excited about being at home for the first time, but I'm more concerned with getting ready to play,'' coach Jeff Bower said.

Southern Miss was supposed to play host to California on Sept. 16, but the threat of Hurricane Ivan forced officials to postpone it until Dec. 4, leaving the Golden Eagles as the nation's only major-college team with no September home games.

So, they've been road warriors, winning at Nebraska, Tulane and South Florida.

``We had pretty high expectations of how we should play on the road, and we have so far,'' Bower said. ``If you're going to be a good football team, you've got to be a good road team.''

Southern Miss players say there's too much on the line to look past Houston (1-4, 1-1), which was routed by Miami and Oklahoma, has lost its last two games by an average of 26 points and has dropped four straight to the Golden Eagles.

``You can't be overconfident,'' defensive lineman Chad Ruffin said. ``Even though they may have won one game, they still played Miami and Oklahoma, some real good teams. You just can't overlook them.''

The Cougars are scoring 17 points less per game than they did in earning a Hawaii Bowl berth last year. They're next to last in the league rushing offense, and leading rusher Anthony Evans is questionable after tearing a muscle in his calf two weeks ago.

Still, coach Art Briles has hope.

``We feel good about ourselves,'' Briles said. ``We realize there are a lot of minutes left on the clock before this season runs out.''

Houston's defense is tops against the pass, but is one of the league's worst at stopping the run — mainly because opponents rush the ball through the Cougars' porous defense twice as often as they throw.

``If we do our jobs right, we'll be good in the pass game,'' Southern Miss receiver Marvin Young said.

Louisville building $10 million baseball stadium

The University of Louisville announced it will stage a groundbreaking ceremony today for an elaborate new baseball facility which will be named Jim Patterson Stadium.

The groundbreaking event will be held at the stadium site, located off Central Avenue across the railroad tracks from Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

The stadium gets its name from the man who provided the lead gift for the $10 million facility, which will serve as home to the Louisville baseball team.

Site preparation for the stadium began in August and the Cardinals plan to open their 2005 baseball season in the facility, which will seat 2,500, including 1,500 chairback seats.

Locker rooms will be included in an existing neighboring building — once a home for American Air Filter — which will be refurbished to also include the baseball staff offices and indoor batting cages. The building will also house a facility operated by Jewish Hospital.

The center field wall will be 402 feet from home plate and will measure 330 feet down both on the left and right field lines.

Just as in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, the field surface will be FieldTurf with the exception of the pitching mound and home plate area. FieldTurf is a synthetic surface that its proponents claim replicates the look, feel, texture and playability of natural grass.

Compiled from a Louisville athletics report.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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