News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

11.08.05: Holland beefs up rivalries with Wolfpack, Hokies ... ECU's Lee makes semifinal cut for Groza Award ... C-USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.07.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.06.05: Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.05.05: Litke: Politically correct or not, blacks run faster ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.04.05: Throat-slash gesture nets trouble for Callahan ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.03.05: Green Wave's road trip to Navy on the house ... Tulane coming home for C-USA hoops schedule ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.02.05: Fledgling FIU program lands series with Miami ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

11.01.05: Fledgling FIU program lands series with Miami ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.31.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.30.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.29.05: Wake football team loses four to suspension ...
C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.28.05: UTEP QB Palmer gaining his own slice of respect ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.27.05: Renewal of USM-NCSU series set for television ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.26.05: Pirate basketball set for lights, camera, action ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.25.05: Stokes' first squad opening act for Homecoming ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.24.05: College Football Headliners: Stars & Storylines ... Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.23.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.22.05: C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.21.05: ECU injury report a mixed bag for U of M game ... NCAA tinkers with experimental basketball rules ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

10.20.05: Storm-weary Tulane blown off course again ... Video company repents for N.C. State incident ... C-USA Football Standings, Scores & Schedule

HUNTINGTON, WV — Darren McCaleb kicked a 34-yard field goal in overtime to lift Southern Mississippi to a 27-24 victory over Marshall on Tuesday night.

Southern Miss (5-3, 4-1 Conference USA) blew a double-digit lead for the second straight game. Unlike a 21-17 loss at North Carolina State on Oct. 29, the Golden Eagles recovered.

Marshall failed to score in overtime when freshman David DeFatta's 27-yard field goal attempt bounced off the left upright.

Southern Miss' Jasper Faulk blocked DeFatta's 24-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the fourth quarter. DeFatta had replaced Ian O'Connor earlier in the game after O'Connor had a field goal blocked and had a kickoff go out of bounds.

Southern Miss is 2-1 during a stretch of four straight road games and moved within a win of first-place Central Florida in the East Division. The Golden Eagles must play at Houston on Sunday, a game postponed from Sept. 24 because of Hurricane Rita.

League newcomer Marshall (4-5, 3-3) was eliminated from the East race and is one loss away from its first losing season since 1983.

The Thundering Herd has fallen twice at home this season, the first time that's happened in a decade. It was only the ninth home loss for Marshall since its stadium opened in 1991.

Marshall trailed 24-10 before backup quarterback Jimmy Skinner led the Thundering Herd to two fourth-quarter touchdowns in place of Bernie Morris, who left the game with an injured foot.

Shaun Lauzon was ruled out of bounds when he caught a 10-yard pass from Skinner in the end zone, but a replay official ruled it a touchdown. It was the fifth play to be overturned by the booth in the conference this season.

Marshall's Chris Royal then returned a punt 33 yards to the Southern Miss 30, and Ahmad Bradshaw eventually scored from 1 yard out to tie it at 24-24 with 8:32 left.

Southern Miss' Dustin Almond completed 17 of 28 passes for 224 yards but was limited to 59 yards after halftime.

Almond threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Pedi Causey in the second quarter and his 32-yard pass to Anthony Perine helped set up Cole Mason's 2-yard TD run at the end of the third.

Southern Miss' Larry Thomas ran for 115 yards on 24 carries, including a 3-yard TD.

(Through games of Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005)

CONFERENCE USA STANDINGS

EAST DIVISION

TEAM                  C-USA ALL
Central Florida        5-1   6-3
Southern Miss          4-1   5-3
Memphis                3-3   4-4
Marshall               3-3   4-5
UAB                    2-3   4-4
East Carolina          2-3   3-5

WEST DIVISION

TEAM                  C-USA ALL
Texas-El Paso          5-1   7-1
Tulsa                  4-2   5-4
Houston                2-3   4-4
Southern Methodist     2-4   3-6
Tulane                 1-5   2-6
Rice                   0-5   0-8

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE/SCORES

[C-USA teams in bold; ECU opponents in red.]

TUESDAY, NOV. 8

Southern Mississippi 27, Marshall 24 (OT)

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9

West Virginia at Cincinnati 7:30 pm

SATURDAY, NOV. 12

   Memphis at Tennessee 2:00 pm
   East Carolina at Tulsa 3:00 pm
   Tulane at Rice 3:00 pm
   Central Florida at UAB 4:00 pm
   Texas Southern at Texas-El Paso 9:05 pm
   Miami (FL) at Wake Forest 3:30 pm

LAST WEEK'S SCORES

[C-USA teams in bold; ECU opponents in red.]

TUESDAY, NOV. 1

UAB 37, Memphis 20

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2

West Virginia 45, Connecticut 13

SATURDAY, NOV. 5

   Southern Methodist 27, Rice 7
   Central Florida 31, Houston 29
   Texas-El Paso 41, Tulsa 38
   Navy 49, Tulane 21
   Clemson 49, Duke 20
   Georgia Tech 30, Wake Forest 17

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.