The Washington Huskies and Southern Miss Golden Eagles square off in Dallas, TX, for the Heart of Dallas Bowl title on December 26.
Chris Peterson’s Washington Huskies have had their struggles this season, but got a much-needed win over in-state rival Washington State to become bowl eligible on the final day of the season.
Southern Miss reached the Conference USA title game this year, after amassing only four wins in their last three campaigns in all. Looking to erase the memory of the 0 – 12 season in 2012, the Eagles are in search of only their fourth double-digit win season since 1912.
Bowl: Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl
Teams: Washington Huskies vs Southern Mississippi Eagles
Date/Time: December 26, 2015 – 2:20 PM EST on ESPN
Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas TX
Vegas Line/Total: Washington -8.5 / O/U 55
Written by: Erik the Hun
6 – 6 Record – 7 – 5 Vs Spread Over – Under: 4 – 8 11/21/15 @ Oregon State W 52-7 W -14 O 48 11/14/15 @ Arizona State L 17-27 L 2.5 U 51 11/07/15 Utah L 23-34 L -3 O 43 10/31/15 Arizona W 49-3 W -6 U 57 10/24/15 @ Stanford L 14-31 L 14.5 U 47.5 10/17/15 Oregon L 20-26 L -2.5 U 59 10/08/15 @ USC W 17-12 W 17 U 59.5 09/26/15 California L 24-30 L 1 U 59.5 09/19/15 Utah State W 31-17 W -7 O 45.5 09/12/15 Sac. State W 49-0 W -30.5 U 61 09/04/15 @ Boise State L 13-16 W 12 U 54 |
9 – 4 Record – 10 – 3 Vs Spread Over – Under: 5 – 8 1/28/15 @ Louisiana Tech W 58-24 W 5 O 62 11/21/15 Old Dominion W 56-31 W -21.5 O 60 11/14/15 @ Rice W 65-10 W -7.5 O 60.5 10/31/15 Texas El Paso W 34-13 L -24 U 59 10/24/15 @ Charlotte W 44-10 Week 8 W -14.5 U 64 10/17/15 UT San Antonio W 32-10 W -7.5 U 57.5 10/09/15 @ Marshall L 10-31 L 3 U 58 10/03/15 N. Texas W 49-14 Week 5 W -14.5 U 66.5 09/26/15 @ Nebraska L 28-36 W 20.5 U 64.5 09/19/15 @ Texas State W 56-50 W 1.5 O 67 09/12/15 Austin Peay W 52-6 W -35.5 O 49.5 09/05/15 Mississippi State L 16-34 W 21 U 62 |
Jan. 2, 2015 – Cactus Bowl – Washington 22 – 30 Oklahoma State Dec. 27, 2013 – Fight Hunger Bowl – Washington 31 – 16 BYU Dec. 22, 2012 – Las Vegas Bowl – Washington 26 – 28 Boise State Dec. 29, 2011 – Alamo Bowl – Washington 56 – 67 Baylor Dec. 30, 2010 – Holiday Bowl – Washington 19 – 7 Nebraska |
December 22, 2007 – PapaJohns.com Bowl – S. Miss 21 – 31 Cincinnati December 21, 2008 – New Orleans Bowl – S. Miss 30 – 27 Troy OT December 20, 2009 – New Orleans Bowl – S. Miss 32 – 42 Middle Tennessee December 21, 2010 – Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl – S. Miss 28 – 31 Louisville December 24, 2011 – Hawaii Bowl – S. Miss 24 – 17 Nevada |
Washington Outlook:
In Chris Peterson’s second season, the Huskies managed to get to the .500 mark (6-6), by relying on a stout defense that yielded only 17.8 points a game, good for 12th in the country. The Huskies reached this game even though their starting quarterback Jake Browning missed the last two games due to injury. Washington will, once again, call upon its stifling defense to quell a Southern Miss passing attack that comes into the game ranked 12th in the country.
Even though Chris Peterson’s high-flying air attack that he brought from Boise didn’t take flight, Washington managed to get to the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl on average play from his signal caller Jake Browning. Browning completed 334 passes for 2671 yards and threw for 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Freshman Myles Gaskin was a one-man show in the backfield in 2015. He had over 75 percent of the Huskies’ carries. Gaskin accumulated 201 carries 1121 yards, averaging 5.6 a carry and 10 touchdowns. Dwayne Washington helped ease the load a little with 47 carries of his own, averaging six yards a carry and four scores.
Washington’s receiving core was average at best. No wideout collected more than 50 catches during the season. Jaydon Mickens, Joshua Perkins and Dante Pettis combined for 111 receptions for 1451 yards and six touchdowns. Six other Husky receivers managed to pull in at least one touchdown.
All year long the staple of this team’s success has been its defense. Washington ranked in the top 15 in scoring and 28th in total defense, giving up only 350 yards a game. Sidney Jones lead a middle-of-the-pack secondary (56th against the pass) with four interceptions. The defense will be tested once again, as Southern Miss is putting up 40 points a contest.
Southern Mississippi Outlook:
Southern Miss was picked to finish in the back half of the Conference USA standings in 2015, but a potent offense and timely defense reversed that prediction, and they, instead, finished in the front half. A well-balanced, potent offensive attack led the Golden Eagles to average over 500 yards a game in total yards, and 12th in the country through the air.
Southern Miss was led by Junior Nic Mullens. Mullens was impressive, throwing for over 4000 yards (4145), and recording 36 touchdowns with 12 picks. The Southern Miss offense needed an influx in production in 2015, and Mr. Mullens answered admirably.
Running the football on a team that put up gigantic numbers through the air can often produce backs whose numbers are average at best, but this was not the case this year for this team. Senior running back Jalen Richards, and back field mate Ito Smith, provided one of the nation’s best combinations. Richards rambled for 1098 yards at a 5.9 yards a clip, and reached paydirt 14 times. Not to be out done, Ito Smith pitched in an impressive 1088 yards, on 155 carries, averaging a stellar 7.0 yards per touch, and had eight touchdowns to show for his effort.
Three receivers for this offense that scored at will put up outstanding numbers as a unit. This unit was led by senior Michael Thomas, who brought in 62 balls for 1201 yards, for a whopping 19.4 yards a catch, and 12 TDs. Casey Martin led the team with 74 receptions, and had 855 yards to show for it, and put the ball beyond the threshold seven times. D.J. Thompson, the third option, was solid, catching 52 balls for 743 yards and another six touchdowns.
The Golden Eagles defense was ranked in three of the top four major categories. This crew held opposing runners to 140.8 yards a game (34th), and limited teams to a little over 24 points a game. The Golden Eagles were susceptible through the air this year, giving up 223.3 yards a game. Senior Kalan Reed was the standout in the secondary, swiping four balls out of the air.
Match-up Analysis & Prediction
Analysis:
The Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl pits a high-powered offense from Southern Mississippi against a hard-nosed Husky defense from the Northwest. Although the Huskies have been very good on defense, their mediocre offense will need to step it up. The Golden Eagles of Southern Miss showcase a 4000 -yard passer and two 1000-yard backs and a 1000-yard receiver. It’s the Huskies defensive strength versus the high-octane offense of The Golden Eagles. This game should showcase plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and make for a competitive match-up.
Prediction:
To get further analysis from Ej the Rainmaker and Erik the Hun, check out our audio preview of the Bowl using the audio file below…
