Tuesday, October 16, 2001

C-USA tries out Tuesdays
Odd night football ‘something new’
By Chris Duncan
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Conference USA is trying something new: Tuesday night football.

Southern Mississippi plays Louisville as part of an arrangement with ESPN in which the league agreed to schedule games on odd nights.

Last month, Purdue played Cincinnati on a Sunday, and Mississippi State faced Memphis on a Monday.

“We’re just trying to do something different,” Conference USA assistant commissioner Brian Teter said. “It’s a year-to-year thing. We’ll have to wait and see how it goes to see if we continue to do it. It’s an experiment.”

Louisville coach John L. Smith predicts Tuesday night games will catch on.

The Golden Eagles (3-1, 1-1 Conference USA) had never lost a conference game at home before Louisville’s 49-28 win in Hattiesburg last November.

The Cardinals (5-1, 1-0) went on to win their first Conference USA title, while Southern Miss fell short for just the second time in the league’s five-year history.

“Southern Miss is as good as anyone and has the capability of beating everybody,” Smith said. “But we’re catching up.”

The Cardinals are coming off a 7-2 win over Colorado State on Oct. 4.

Scoring won’t be any easier against the Golden Eagles, whose blitzing defense has allowed just 41 points all season and has yet to give up a touchdown pass.

“They’re a little crazy. You don’t see too many defenses like theirs,” Louisville quarterback Dave Ragone said.

The Cardinals came up empty on three trips inside Colorado State’s 20. But Ragone isn’t worried about his offense.

“It would shake my confidence if we hadn’t moved the ball, but we moved the ball pretty well and got close so many times,” said Ragone, who fumbled once and threw two interceptions.

Louisville’s defense is confident after holding an opponent without a touchdown for the first time since a 52-0 win over Grambling last season.

“We’re getting our game together,” said defensive end Dewayne White, who leads Louisville with five sacks and nine tackles for losses. “The sacks are coming, we’re starting to get some interceptions, we’re getting pressure on the quarterback.”

Southern Miss has dropped three of six conference games since last year’s loss to Louisville.

“This is an important game for us,” Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower said. “Our players look at Louisville on the schedule and know that they have to get ready to play really well.”