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News Nuggets, 10.08.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Golden Eagles claw out overtime win over Houston

HATTIESBURG — Damion Carter came on in an emergency and saved Southern Mississippi's perfect start.

Carter, the Golden Eagles' backup quarterback, threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Otho Graves in overtime, giving Southern Mississippi a 35-29 victory over Houston on Thursday night.

It was just Carter's third pass of the season, and his only attempt of the game, but it helped Southern Miss win its fourth straight to start the season, the first time the Golden Eagles have done that since 1981. Southern Miss has won 12 straight in Conference USA play since 2002.

``Being the No. 2, you know you're always only one play away,'' Carter said. ``I try to go out there with the same poise and confidence that Dustin goes out there with and be a team leader.''

Southern Miss (4-0, 3-0 C-USA), which blew a 14-point lead and trailed for most of the second half, forced overtime on starting quarterback Dustin Almond's 18-yard touchdown run with 1:22 remaining and Anthony Harris' game-tying 2-point conversion run.

Almond pulled a hamstring in his left leg on the TD run, forcing Carter into the game.

Carter ``was really cool. I think he cherished the opportunity to go in there and make some plays,'' Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower said. ``We wanted to run our offense and do the things that Damion does best.''

Southern Miss got the ball first in overtime and scored when Carter rolled right and hit Graves, who made a fingertip grab in the back of the end zone. Dustin McCaleb's extra-point was blocked.

``I don't know how I managed to get one leg in, but I made a big play,'' Graves said.

Houston then advanced to the Southern Miss 15 before faltering with two plays for negative yardage, a false-start penalty and two incompletions.

``We should have had some momentum entering the overtime (because) we got the blocked extra point,'' said Kendal Briles, Houston's backup quarterback-turned-multipurpose threat and the son of coach Art Briles.

Southern Miss fans stormed the field after Kevin Kolb's final pass sailed out of the end zone.

Kolb was 19-of-36 for 345 yards and a touchdown for the Cougars (1-5, 1-2), who rallied from a 21-7 deficit and led 29-21 before Almond's touchdown run.

``I thought we had it wrapped up, because our defense was playing well,'' Kendal Briles said.

Vincent Marshall had four catches for 190 yards, turning several short slants into long gains for the Cougars, who haven't beaten Southern Miss since 1996.

``To play that hard and then lose, it hurts,'' Marshall said.

Briles — used by his father as a multipurpose threat — caught 10 passes for 101 yards, and ran for 24 yards and a touchdown.

``The only way we're going to feel good is if we had one more point than they had, and we didn't have that tonight,'' Art Briles said. ``They did what they had to do on defense to win the game, and we didn't.''

Houston had 518 yards to the Golden Eagles' 338.

Southern Miss — which entered giving up an average of 148 passing yards — allowed more than that (206) by halftime.

Almond was 16-of-28 for 169 yards with a touchdown to Antwon Courington for the Golden Eagles, who scored three of the first four times they touched the ball.

``We just cannot keep getting behind early like that, because it takes so much energy to catch up that it drains you a little bit,'' Art Briles said.

John Eubanks returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown for the Golden Eagles.

Dustin Bell had field goals of 37, 39 and a school-record 53 yards for Houston.

ESPN2 HD to debut with C-USA doubleheader

Conference USA will be a part of ESPN's plans to debut ESPN2 HD, its second high-definition sports service.

The enhanced network's debut will feature a basketball doubleheader involving three of the league's teams on January 6, 2005. One of the games will pit host Cincinnati against DePaul, while the other matchup will pair visiting Memphis against Texas of the Big 12 Conference.

The plans for the network's rollout were announced this week by Bryan Burns, an ESPN vice-president for strategic business planning and development.

ESPN’s two high-definition services — ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD — will distribute 85 live, high-definition telecasts in their first 85 days of operation. Among the events to be televised in the HD format will be college football games and men’s and women’s college basketball contests.

In 2005, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD expect to offer viewers 6,000 hours of originally produced high-definition programming and 2,000 original programs.

The federal official in charge of oversight of the nation's public airwaves sees the networks' embrace of high-definition technology as a positive development.

“The announcement of the January 6 launch date for ESPN2 HD demonstrates ESPN’s continued commitment to the digital transition,” said Michael Powell, Chairman of the Federal Communications Committee. “With the launch of its second high-definition service, ESPN has set a pace I hope more networks will follow in the critical months ahead.”

ESPN's management indicates it believes the adaptation of the technology by the industry will grow.

“There is now no doubt that HDTV is the future of television in the United States,” said Burns, the ESPN vice-president. “Our commitment to ESPN HD, ESPN 2 HD and the thousands of hours we are producing in this exciting new format underscores our commitment to this exciting new opportunity.”

All high-definition programming on ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD will be delivered to cable systems and satellite providers in the 720p high-definition format.

Based in Bristol, CT, ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

Compiled from a Conference USA 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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