Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 13

FOKF INSIDE: Baseoall 2B USM recap Football 5B Sunday, September 28, 19971 David Lanier. Sports Team Leader 584-3119 E-mail address: HBAmericanaol.com ON USM FOOTBALL WW MM? DAVID LANIER i 1 1 a Eagles' miscues allow Tide to roll TV. tl I inn' i Jf- By TIM DOHERTY AMERICAN Sports Writer BIRMINGHAM, Ala. The last thing the University of Southern Mississippi could afford to do against the University of Alabama Saturday was make the kind of costly mistakes that had cost the Golden Eagles so dearly against the Tide in years past. Instead, USM found itself telling yet another tale of frustration after the Golden Eagles gave away not only the football, but eventually the game.

The Golden Eagles committed four turnovers that led directly to 13 Alabama points as the No. 21 Tide pulled away in the second half to take a 27-13 victory over USM before an announced 83,091. "How many turnovers did we have?" USM coach Jeff Bower asked afterward. "Four, five? Pitiful. That's pitiful.

"You can't do that and expect to win. You just can't. It's very disappointing." USM (2-2) saw a two-game winning streak snapped as it lost to the Tide for the sixth consecutive time. Alabama (3-1) bounced back from a 17-16 loss to Arkansas to improve its on-field record against the Golden Eagles to 28-4-2, including a 12-1-1 mark at Legion Field. "This was a big win for our football team and for our said first-year Alabama coach Mike DuBose.

"I'll tell you this, it's going to be a whole lot easier to sleep this Saturday night than it was last Saturday night." USM quarterback Lee Roberts INSIDE Atter a promising tirst half, the Golden Eagles offense struggled down the stretch In a 27-13 loss to No. 21 Alabama. For a look at the aame's numbers, see. Page 3B likely will have crimson-and-white nightmares for a while. Robert was involved in all four miscues, fumbling twice after being sacked and throwing two fourth-quarter interceptions.

While USM's defense limited Alabama to 105 yards on the ground, the Tide gouged the nation's sixth-ranked pass defense for a trio of big plays and did not commit a turnover. "We just shot ourselves in the foot," said Roberts, who was 21-of-40 for 226 yards with a touchdown. "We gave them two turnovers, on our side of the field, and, a team like Alabama is going to punch some of those in." USM wide receiver Sherrod Gideon came up with his second consecutive big game, grabbing seven passes for 132 yards. Gideon, who had nine catches for 179 yards against Nevada last week, became the first Golden Eagle to post back-to-back receiving games and joined Louis Lipps as the only USM players with three 100-yard days. See EAGLES, 3B 'V TOUGH YARDAGE: University of through the University of Alabama The Associated Press Southern Mississippi running back Kelby Nance (32) tries to break defense during first-half action Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.

Pass play, turnovers that follow, doom USM Eagles can't keep making late mistakes BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Southern Mississippi coaches and players could look at film and rehash plays from now until next year's game with Alabama and still not see any moves or changes in strategy to rationalize the Eagles' fourth-quarter blowup Saturday. 1 The problem was with concentration, which leads to lack of execution and, against Alabama, produces another loss in a game that could have been won. i vtuujuu oaj ib was a lain ui concentration, but our focus wasn't as good as it should have been," USM quarterback Lee Roberts said after the Eagles' 27-13 fall-from-ahead loss to No. 21 Alabama their 16th straight loss to a nationally ranked team.

I Lee, if the focus isn't all there, then there is no concentration, and there is no chance of beating the Tide, which lives on the philosophy of bumbling offensively and giving opponents reason to kind of nod off when the game is on the line. Alabama's plan worked again, with the Tide scoring three times after USM turnovers, including a back-breaking touchdown after a busted blocking assignment and a Roberts fumble at the Eagles' 20-yard line. USM was more or less comatose the rest of the way. Late-game funk The Eagles bobbled kickoffs, blew coverages and threw inter-, ceptions over the final quarter and change, playing bad enough "pitiful," USM coach Jeff Bower called it to get exactly what they deserved. On most plays, USM looked like the better team.

It ran toe ball better, threw the ball better, tackled better and kicked better. But then, on the critical plays down the stretch, with a win in sight, the Eagles looked like well, they just looked. "It's frustrating," Bower said, his eyes far from glazed over. "We're just not able to play consistent football. That's what's so frustrating.

We're playing well. We're fine. Then we let a rusher free, we don't cover and we bust some assignments." USM has 13 turnovers in four games. The Eagles had 20 all of last season. "Those are the things that keep you from winning the I.

game," said Bower, who already is thinking about next Saturday's Conference USA opener against I Louisville. "If we want to win the I conference, we're going to have to do better than that." Much better. Even Louisville and East Carolina and Cincin- nati can hammer you with your own turnovers. For Alabama, it's I an art. It's a tradition it's a way of football.

"i "Alabama always finds some way to win," USM receiver Todd Pinkston said. "You can't do any- I thing when they make the big plays. They made the big plays, and we lost our poise. We lost our poise in the second half and had some turnovers, and they took over." I Earth to Eagles USM shouldn't lose its poise k- against Alabama or anyone else. The Eagles should have gotten I past the ga-ga stage over playing a in front of 75,000 fans a long ft time ago.

Rowdy crowds i shouldn't bother them. They shouldn't get intimidated by ranked opponents, Still, it's obvious, they do. USM handled Alabama just fine, It couldn't handle itself, though. David Lanier Is sports team leader for the Hattlesburg Amer-lcan. He may be reached at 584-3119 or 1-800-844-4326.

12 SCOREBOARD would feel good. Roberts barely had time to step back before Alabama lineman Kenny Smith, who was busy earning Mississippi Defensive Player of the Year honors at this time last fall at Meridian High, was on him, knocking the ball loose. Linebacker Tito Smith recovered. Alabama jumped ahead three plays later. Calvin Hall beat Eagle cornerback Jamal Alexander to the right corner of the end zone to haul in Freddie Kitchens'' lob pass for a 17-13 Tide lead, and it was a wave of USM errors and all Alabama the USM offensive coordinator Larry Kueck said of the second "bootleg 27" in the third quarter that led to a back-breaking turnover and a 27-13 loss to the No.

21 Tide; "We turned a guy loose and we turned the ball over." USM was feeling good and looking good when Roberts stepped behind center with three minutes left in the third quarter. USM had outplayed the Tide, since the break, and the Eagles stepped to the 20-yard line on first down set to run one of its favorite plays. That was the last time the Eagles By DAVID LANIER AMERICAN Sports Team Leader BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Southern Mississippi's "bootleg 27" nearly worked to perfection the first time the Eagles tried it Saturday against Alabama, but quarterback Lee Roberts' throw for a streaking Todd Pinkston open and deep downfield was long and fell incomplete. The Eagles would dearly love to have gotten an incompletion off the same play in the third quarter.

"It was the same play as the first one," rest of the way. "That play was the difference," said Roberts, who fumbled twice and was picked off twice as USM's turnover count for the season spun to 13 in four games. Smith didn't find much resistence from the USM front when he fired across the line to strip Roberts. USM coach Jeff Bower and Kueck declined to pin the blocking assignment bust on anyone until they review the film. USM sophomore center Frank Firestone said he knew seconds after the play what See PLAYS, 3B Rebels' defense throttles Vandy mil-.

4 GOING DOWN: Mississippi State quarterback Matt Wyatt (7) is sacked by South Carolina defensive tackle Henry Taylor (90). Bulldogs win big By Gannett News Service STARKVILLE Mississippi State's coaches say they didn't find a new starting quarterback in Saturday's 37-17 Southeastern Conference football victory over South Carolina. They did, however, find a quarterback who can pump some life into what had been a lethargic attack. Sparked by backup Rob Morgan, the Bulldogs scored 21 second-quarter points, then dominated the second half with their defense to handily defeat the Gamecocks before a sparse crowd of 30,120 at Scott Field. "We knew we were the underdogs," said tailback Robert Isaac.

"We knew we were picked to lose by three. But we also knew if we played hard, we would put some points on the board like this." Mississippi State (3-1, 2-1 SEC) scored its most points in an SEC game since Oct. 28, 1995, when it beat Kentucky, 42-32. And the Bulldogs' 416 total yards were their most against an SEC opponent since Oct. 14, 1995, when they gained 496 in a 65-39 loss to South Carolina (2-2, 0-2).

Isaac scored on a 51-yard run Arkansas 17 Louisiana Tech 13 Auburn 41, Central Florida 14 LSU 56, Akron 0 Top 25 North Carolina 48, Virginia 20 Michigan 21, Notre Dame 14 Ohio State 31, Missouri 10 Iowa 38, Illinois 10 Virginia Tech 50, Arkansas State 0 Wash. State 58, Boise State 0 Colorado 20, Wyoming 19 Georgia Tech 23, Clemson 20 Kansas State 58, Bowling Green 0 Texas 36, North Texas 10 BYU 19, Southern Methodist 16, OT UCLA 40, Arizona 27 Arizona State 13, Oregon State 10 Stanford vs. Oregon, late i ICS The Associated Press On the fifth play of his first series, Morgan fired a 53-yard touchdown pass to Lamont Wood-berry that gave Mississippi State a 7-3 lead. Although South Carolina went back on top, 10-7 minutes later, that play by Morgan and Woodberry seemed to ignite the pilot light on an offense that had been dormant much of the first three games. Scoring summary, 4B ON TV TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS 6:45 a.m.

Auto Racing (Formula One Grand Prix of Luxembourg from Nurburgring, Germany), ESPN2. 7 a.m. Golf (The Ryder Cup, final-round coverage from Cadiz, Spain), WDAM. Noon NFL Football (New Orleans at N.Y. Giants), WXXV.

Noon NFL Football (Tennessee at Pittsburgh), WDAM. Noon Auto Racing (ASA Ac-Delco Pennsylvania 400 from Jen-nerstown, TNN. 12:35 p.m. Major League Baseball (Atlanta at N.Y. Mets), TBS.

1:15 p.m. Major League Base reprieve. A lost fumble was nullified by an offsides penalty. But on the next play, Malika Griffin intercepted Damian Allen's pass and raced 40 yards to the Vanderbilt 22. Freshman Deuce McAllister scored his first career TD on a 4-yard run four plays later "We took two steps backwards.

Ole Miss played well and they kicked our butts," said Vandy defensive tackle Alphonso Harvey. The Commodores, who beat TCU 40-16 last weekend, were denied their first winning record after four games since winning their first four games in 1984. They still finished with a losing record (5-6) that year. "Ole Miss flat whipped us," Widenhofer said. "We had opportunities late, but we got no points out of them.

We had flashes moving the ball, but didn't sustain it." Ole Miss, which has fewer than 70 scholarship players (the NCAA maximum is 85) after two years of NCAA sanctions, is off to a 3-1 start for the second year in a row. Scoring summary, 4B AHEAD IN SPORTS MONDAY: Saints vs. Giants TUESDAY: USM report WEDNESDAY: Prep column THURSDAY: Prep Kickoff FRIDAY: HHS preview SATURDAY: College GameDay LET'S HEAR FROM YOU To submit items for Sports, send them to David Lanier, Hattiesburg American, P.O. Box 1111, Hattiesburg, Miss. 39403 or fax them to 584-3130.

OXFORD (AP) Ole Miss proved Saturday night that actions speak louder than words. Stewart Patridge threw for 253 yards and a touchdown as Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) defeated Vanderbilt 15-3. The win came days after Vandy coach Woody Widenhofer said his Commodores were a better team than the Rebels and deserved to win. "That got our team a little more aggressive, and a little more focused during this week," Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuber-ville said. "I don't think there is any doubt that the best team won the game." "It is pretty easy to talk when you playing a team that has been down like we are," he said.

"But we haven't lost to Vanderbilt too much." The Commodores (2-2, 0-2) managed just 189 yards and a field goal and lost their fifth straight to Ole Miss. Vanderbilt was driving for a possible go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The Commodores then turned the ball over on consecutive plays, getting just one ball (Chicago Cubs at St. Louis), WGN. 3 p.m.

NFL Football (Chicago at Dallas), WXXV. 4:30 p.m. Drag Racing (NHRA Craftsman Nationals from Topeka, TNN. 7 p.m. Auto Racing (CART California 500 from Fontana, Calif.) (same-day tape), ESPN.

7 p.m. Major League Soccer (N.Y.N.J. at D.C.), ESPN2. 7 p.m. NFL Football (Philadelphia at Minnesota), TNT.

MONDAY'S HIGHLIGHT 8 p.m. NFL Football (Sarf Francisco at Carolina, WLOX. and combined with J.J. Johnson to give the Bulldogs 167 yards on 30 carries at tailback. The real star, though, was Morgan, who has spent most of the season on the sidelines as Matt Wyatt's backup.

When Wyatt threw an interception and failed to get the Bulldogs past midfield on four first-quarter possessions, coach Jackie Sherrill turned to Morgan. BASEBALL National League St Louis 12, Chicago Cubs 4 Los Angeles 6, Colorado 1 San Francisco 6, San Diego 1 N.Y. Mets 2, Atlanta 1 Philadelphia 8, Florida 7 Montreal 8, Cincinnati 5 Houston 8, Pittsburgh 1 American League G1: Cleveland 10, Minnesota 6 G2: Minnesota 6, Cleveland 4, 10 Toronto 12, Boston 5 N.Y. Yankees 6, Detroit 1 Seattle 9, Oakland 3 Kansas City 10, Chi. White Sox 4 Baltimore 5, Milwaukee 4 Texas at Anaheim, late FOOTBALL State Alabama 27, USM 13 Miss.

State 37, South Carolina 17 I Ole Miss 15, Vanderbilt 3 ESamford 21, Alcorn State 16 Jackson State 48, Miss. Valley 31 Central Arkansas 37, Delta State 12 0 Mississippi College 37, Lambuth 10 5 Millsaps 56, Greenville 12 Junior College Gulf Coast 25, Jones 21 Conference USA Cincinnati 24, Boston College 6 Hlouston 45, Minnesota 43 Oklahoma 35, Louisville 14 A- Southeastern Conference Florida 55, Kentucky 28 tik i So.