The Associated Press
HATTIESBURG, – For the first time in 18 seasons, Southern Mississippi had a rookie head coaching roaming the sidelines.
Fortunately for the Golden Eagles, they had a veteran in the backfield.
Junior tailback Damion Fletcher rushed for a career high 222 yards and two touchdowns as Southern Mississippi (1-0) won Larry Fedora’s debut as a head coach 51-21 Saturday night over Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1) before a crowd of 32,792 at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Fedora, formerly the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma St., replaced longtime Golden Eagles head coach Jeff Bower and watched as his team rolled up 633 yards of total offense.
“That’s just one down and a bunch to go,” Fedora said. “We did some good things offensively and on defense we created some opportunities for us to take advantage of. That’s always a good combination.”
Fletcher picked up 184 yards on 16 carries and had two scores in the first half, as USM (1-0) took a quick 21-0 lead and went on to a 34-14 halftime advantage.
The Golden Eagles would rush for 406 yards in the win.
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