NOTEBOOK: USM's Thomas makes play of the day
Southern Miss receiver Mike Thomas has made some fine plays during his nearly two-year Golden Eagle career.
But in the second quarter of Saturday’s game at Louisiana Tech, the senior made everyone’s jaws drop – an acrobatic, one-handed grab in the back of the end zone, squeezing one foot in bounds before coming down out of bounds.
On third-and-6 from the Bulldog 7-yard line, quarterback Nick Mullens gave Thomas a look prior to the snap.
“Me and Nick caught each other's eye, and he gave me the signal,” Thomas said. “I was like, ‘Yes!’ The defender was heavy inside, he threw a back shoulder and I just went up with the hand. Y’all saw what happened after that.”
Thomas’ touchdown catch gave the Golden Eagles a 21-3 lead.
“He’s a handful,” Southern Miss head coach Todd Monken said. “They decided at times they wanted to press him and Nick’s excellent placing the ball. Wherever he thinks he’s got a winner, I mean, you saw it. Back shoulder, down low, up high. That’s the key to it. The ability to place the ball away from the defender.
“Those guys are on the same page a lot of the time.”
Mullens said Thomas’ catch was awesome.
“I tried to give him a chance,” he said. “But he bailed me out. I’ve got all the faith in the world he’ll make the play.”
Plenty of support
More than 2,000 Southern Miss fans made the trek to Louisiana Tech for Saturday’s game, helping neutralize the Bulldogs’ home field advantage.
The announced attendance at Joe Aillet Stadium was 19,028.
“To have that many people drive over and be that loud and to have the band members come and be a part of this,” Monken said. “I promise you, that plays a big part in a team’s success. Feeling like you’ve got a backing. We had that today. That’s why I want to be the head coach here.”
Start fast
One of the goals of all college football teams is a fast start.
Southern Miss failed at that Saturday against Louisiana Tech, but so too did the Bulldogs, thanks to Golden Eagle middle linebacker Brian Anderson. Louisiana Tech’s first offensive drive started out well, as the home team marched to the Southern Miss 47-yard line. But on third-and-8, Anderson made an open-field stop on quarterback Jeff Driskel that saved a successful third-down conversion.
The Golden Eagles responded, scoring a touchdown on the visitors’ ensuing offensive series.
Big plays
Southern Miss entered play Saturday with the most explosive plays of any FBS team in the country.
That trend continued against Louisiana Tech, as the Golden Eagles used four such plays to initially dent the scoreboard. Nick Mullens completed four passes on Southern Miss’ first scoring drive, all four of which were for 20 yards or more.
The touchdown pass was a 22-yard completion to Jalen Richard.