Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • C4

4C WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013 CLARIONLEDGER.COM THE CLARION-LEDGER REPORTS SOUTHERN MISS Defense eyes stronger effort By Jason Munz jmunzhattiesburgamerican.com Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech's long-running series will be renewed at 6 p.m. Saturday. Dubbed "A Rivalry in Dixie," the Golden Eagles and Bulldogs met most recently in 2010 and 2011. In those games, neither team cracked the 20-point mark, as Southern Miss won both games 19-17 and 13-12 respectively. Defensive coordinator Dave Dug-gan was part of the Golden Eagles coaching staff for both of those games, and is hopeful Saturday's contest plays out much like the previous two.

Southern Miss opponents are averaging 51 points per game over the past five games. "I sure do hope history repeats itself," he said. "Just for the psyche of this team and our defense. We've given up way too many points, and we need something positive to happen. So I hope that streak continues." Couple of milestones for Mullens Southern Miss freshman quarterback Nick Mullens' performance at Marshall last week was significant for a couple of reasons.

Throwing for 323 yards in the loss to the Thundering Herd, he became the first true freshman quarterback to eclipse the 300-yard passing mark. Prior to Mullens' start against North Texas two weeks ago, only four other true freshmen started for the Golden Eagles at quarterback Brett Favre, Aaron Hightower, Damion Carter and Anthony Alford. In addition, in just the second collegiate start of his career, Mullens' 300-yard performance makes him the quickest to achieve the feat of any quarterback to play at Southern Miss. Earlier this season, Allan Bridgford threw for 377 yards in his first start at Southern Miss, but he started three games last season for Cal. Austin Davis' first career 300-yard game came in his fourth career start as a redshirt freshman.

CAMPUS OLE MISS Freeze: Coaches get checkups By Hugh Kellenberger hkellenberjackson.gannett.com OXFORD Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze's wife, Jill, demands that he get a full physical twice a year. But other than that, Freeze admitted that he does not pay close attention to his health. The subject of coaches' and their well-being came up over the weekend, when the Denver Broncos' John Fox and Houston Texans' Gary Kubiak both had serious health scares. "I don't think about it too much, to be very candid," Freeze said. "Probably none of us do.

I demand that our coaches get a full physical before the season starts every year, and I do the same. I actually do it twice a year. That's my wife's directions. I'm glad she makes me do that." Freeze, 44, is younger than Kubiak, 52, and Fox, 58, but there's a grind that goes on in the coaching lifestyle, where guys can convince themselves that 80-hour work weeks and not taking vacations are normal. "You can let it get to you, for sure," Freeze said.

"You want to do so well. You want to represent your program. Hopefully you can keep whatever your core values are and whatever your perspective of how the scoreboard really stands in your priorities. If you can be clear on what that really means to you as an individual, it brings some sanity to it and maybe can help with the stress level." Defense looking healthy An Ole Miss defense that had been taped together for a lot of the season is suddenly pretty healthy. That was on display Tuesday, with guys like the Nkemdiche brothers, Ser-derius Bryant and Mike Hilton running around on the practice field.

"They looked good in their uniforms," Freeze said. "We were sluggish, I thought. Scout team took it to our defense pretty good today and we got to get a lot of things cleaned up. We had people running open on play(-ac-tion) passes and we just weren't sharp." To contact Hugh Kellenberger, call (601) 961-7291 or HKellenbergerCL on Twitter. JACKSON STATE Comegy: My job can be stressful By Ros Dumlao rdumlaojackson.gannett.com Rick Comegy couldn't put an exact number of how many hours a week he works.

He just knows it's more than 48 hours. "You can get your work done and go home and see your family," Comegy said. "But some of us, myself, we put in some time just to make sure that we have it right for the next day." Recent health scares in NFL coaches Texans' Gary Kubiak and Broncos' John Fox has drawn deeper attention to the demands of coaching. Comegy described the physical toll he may feel during a game. There's a rewarding feeling in the end.

But, of course, it depends on winning. "You're having fun. You want things to go well, and you're dealing with young people having to make it go well for you." Comegy said. "You can't play. "It's a lot of pressure in coaching, trying to win and be successful," Comegy added.

"I hate to say it, but this game is all about the Soccer at SWAC The Jackson State soccer team makes its third-straight appearance at the SWAC championship tournament in Houston. The Lady Tigers (7-9-2, 2-1-1 SWAC East) are the No. 2 seed and face Texas Southern (4-12, 2-2 SWAC West) on Thursday. Last season, JSU made it to the SWAC finals but fell to Mississippi Valley State, a team it beat in 2010 for the program's first-ever conference title. Football Polls Jackson State continues to rank among the top five in HBCU football polls.

It's No. 2 in the Boxtorow HBCU Coaches Poll and No. 4 in the media poll. Sheridan Broadcasting Network has JSU at No. 3, and the Heritage Sports Radio Network has JSU up from No.

4 to No. 2. To contact Ros Dumlao, call (601) 961-7190 or follow rosdumlao on Twitter. MISSISSIPPI STATE Practice matters on special teams By Michael Bonner mbonnerjackson.gannett.com STARKVILLE Dan Mullen's philos-phy in determining special teams starters is rather simple. "Practice emulates what's going to happen in a game.

What you see in practice is going to happen in a game," Mullen said. "Within the kicking game, that's what you saw. The guys that performed the best in practice played in the game, and they performed at a very high level in the game." To sum up, the players who punt and kick in the best in practice will play. During Mississippi State's 34-16 loss to South Carolina, it featured a new kicker and full-time punter. Freshman Evan Sobiesk kicked MSU's field goals, a role recently held by Devon Bell.

Bell replaced Baker Sweden-burg, a nominee for the Ray Guy award that's given to the nation's top punter. Each week of practice presents a new competition among the kickers. Mullen said Sobiesk missed fewer field goals than Bell. Between the punters, Bell recorded better distance and hang time than Swendeburg. "I wish there was a magic answer for it.

On Friday, we have a statistical analysis," Mullen said. "It sounds pretty boring of who did what during practice during the week." Bell punted five times against No. 12 South Carolina last weekend for a 47.6 average. Mississippi State's season average previously was 43.3. One of Bell's punts traveled 62 yards, pinned the Gamecocks inside the 20, and traveled farther than any other MSU punt this season.

Sobiesk kicked his second career field goal. His 37-yarder cut the Gamecocks' lead to 17-10. Bell entered the game having missed 5 of 7 attempts from 30 or longer. "I like big long punts with great hang time. And I like field goals that go through the uprights and kickoffs that go out of the back of the endzone," Mullen said.

"If that's the recipe for it, then that's what we do, but we always evaluate practice." To contact Michael Bonner, call (601) 961-7289 or follow MikeBBonner on Twitter. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Rebels LSlFs Hill expects to be better vs. Alabama ing recruiting as the only way to get the athletes necessary to beat the best. A day after four-star offensive tackle Andy Bauer went back on his pledge to Ole Miss in favor of in-state Missouri, the Rebels grabbed four-star cornerback Kendarius Webster out of Georgia (beating Florida State for his commitment). Once you have them, it's about maintaining a program that keeps its core values in place, and emphasizing a style of play that the coaching staff believes can win those football games.

But it also means beating who you can, because somebody has to win and somebody has to lose each Saturday. Too often over the last decade, Ole Miss has been the gimme win every team circled on its schedule. Finally tired of such a place in life, the Rebels are determined not to go back. "I just hope that everybody doesn't lay down after that sixth win and we end up 6-7," linebacker Serderius Bryant said. "Let's just keep going." To contact Hugh Kellenberger, call (601) 961-7291 or HKellenbergerCL on Twitter.

Continued from Page 1C learned during his two years in Oxford. "We're making progress, and I just keep hanging my hat on that," Freeze said. "But progress doesn't mean you're going to jump from middle of the pack to top tier right away. But we've closed the gap though." Already this season, Ole Miss has played No. 1 Alabama, No.

9 Auburn, No. 13 LSU and No. 14 Texas The Rebels beat LSU last month to score the first major upset of Freeze's tenure, but that only evened out the loss at Auburn. Ole Miss is currently fifth in the SEC West. "Nobody saw Auburn coming this year," said McCray, who certainly did not mean it to come across as anything other than an acknowledgment that few predicted the team that was 0-8 in the SEC in 2012 starting out 8-1.

Freeze has had as clear of a plan as anyone on how to build Ole Miss into a consistent presence in the top half of the conference, emphasiz LSU running back Jeremy Hill expects to have a big performance this year against top-ranked Alabama, ap By Brett Mart el Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. As Jeremy Hill prepares for this week's eagerly awaited visit to top-ranked Alabama, the LSU running back is spending considerable time reflecting on his performance in last year's memorable clash and on how disappointed he was with himself afterward. If LSU hadn't lost a lead in the final minute of a 21-17 setback, Hill might have taken some pride in the trouble he caused the Crimson Tide's normally suffocating 2012 defense. With 107 yards and a touchdown, Hill was the first of only two running backs all of last season to rush for 100 yards against the national champs. (Georgia's Todd Gur-ley was the other in the Southeastern Conference title game).

Hill, however, has spent a year dwelling on the yards he failed to get yards which could have helped LSU run out the clock or at least set up an easier field goal than the 45-yarder Drew Alleman missed with 1:34 to go. "It haunts me all the time," Hill said, pointing specifically to a 3-yard loss on a second-and-7 play from the Alabama 29 with about 2:30 left. The play design called for Hill to cut back left, toward the wide side of the field, after taking the handof Instead, he tried to bounce outside to his right and was swarmed under. Looking back at video of that play, Hill saw there was probably room for a modest gain where he was supposed to run. "If I had just gotten maybe 4 or 5 (yards), it might have changed the complexion of the game," Hill said.

"I was trying to do way too much. You can't do those kinds of things on Alabama. They're way too well coached, way too assignment sound. So it's just getting what's there. If it's 3 yards on a play, take that 3." Hill pledged he'd be more disciplined and trusting of his teammates when No.

10 LSU violated his earlier probation, a judge allowed him to stay out of jail on further restrictions, including a curfew and bar-ban. Hill says he's embraced a new lifestyle in which his social life is largely on hold, and his focus is almost exclusively on school and football. On the field, at least, the results bear that out. He has 922 yards and 12 touchdowns in eight games this season, averaging a whopping 7.2 yards per carry. And while Hill remains bothered by some of his runs from his last meeting with 'Bama, he also will enter Tuscaloosa with abundant confidence, given his previous numbers against the Tide.

"I never get intimidated by anyone. I never let anyone put fear in me. I play with the same intensity level and the same passion every game," Hill said. "I think I did a good job of that last year, I just kind of, in situations I tried to do too much. "Those guys will be ready for me this year and I can't even sit here and act like they're not," Hill added.

"It's going to be exciting. I'm looking forward to meets the Crimson Tide on Saturday night. Alabama, meanwhile, expects Hill to be a handful again. Crimson Tide coach Nick Sa-ban emphasized the 6-foot-2, 235-pound running back's "really good balance and body control." "He's got great speed for his size," Saban said. "We obviously thought he was an outstanding player in high school.

We recruited him very, very hard." Hill, who grew up around Baton Rouge, decided to stay close to home, in part because of the patience LSU coach Les Miles showed with Hill's legal trouble following his arrest for a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in his high school, when Hill was 18. Hill's freshman season of college football should have been 2011, but he could not enroll until 2012, when his charges were reduced to a misdemeanor. Hill wound up leading the Tigers in rushing in 2012 with 755 yards and 12 touchdowns, but landed in more trouble last offseason, when he was caught on video landing a punch outside a bar. Hill pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery, and while that der to arrive at this year's Egg Bowl with a shot at the postseason. "Everybody wants to go to a bowl game," MSU quarterback Tyler Russell said.

"You take it one game at a time, but in the back of your mind, you know what you have to do." At the top of the list is avoiding a repeat of last year. The Bulldogs finished the season 1-5, including a loss in the Gator Bowl to Northwestern. Another one-win stretch in the final six games will prevent MSU from its fourth straight bowl appearance. "Everything is different this year just because of the situation we're in," Russell said. "We've got to finish strong.

So far we've done some good things, we've done some bad things and the outcome of the games have not been great." To contact Michael Bonner, call (601) 961-7289 or follow MikeBBonner on Twitter. Bulldogs Continued from Page 1C teams," Mullen said. "I mean, they have something to do with that too, not just all of us." And the Bulldogs aren't easing into this stretch. The Aggies torched the Bulldogs last year 38-13 behind Johnny Manziel's 30 for 36 passing performance for 311 yards. The task of stopping the reigning Heisman Trophy winner becomes even more difficult this year, as MSU plays at College Station, Texas.

The Bulldogs have dropped seven straight away from home, dating back to last year, and they are two wins shy of qualifying for a bowl berth. That means it needs to grab a win on the road against Texas Arkansas (in two weeks), or upset No. 1 Alabama at home in or.