This could be a fistfight between two drunk guys standing in a slippery mud puddle. Lots of blood, pushing and shoving, slipping and falling, wild swings and a few hits, and maybe downright dirty. Southern Miss is no lady. Southern Miss is a bully who prides itself on being a southern bully and to make things worse, they have a history of picking on us, the 98 pound weaklings from El Paso. But we have been working out and took some karate lessons. We have gotten into a couple of "fights" and are feeling pretty froggy, looking to jump on some team. Well, this is a test of old bully meets new bully wanna be. The Golden Eagles' pride is sore and has the team feeling like Sam Elliot's character in Road House-beat up and busted up but dangerous as f#?k. The Miners, on the other hand feeling like Mike Tyson are grinning at some big sumbitch maybe named Larry or Buster. There'll probably be some teeth lost and things said and done that are probably better left unspoken.
I think the question we all want answered is, is this team really tough. I found out that this team won't cry and beg for mercy. This team will fight back. Is this team actually that tough, though? Like my Drill Sergeant said, "You have now had 14 hours of hand to hand combat training, which is just enough to get your ass kicked if you go downtown to some bar and try to use it." This week we find out how deep the strength, toughness, pride, and will has gotten into these guys. I want all of my fellow Miners to notice that Southern Miss is a 1 point favorite at their house. We all know that playing at home is worth a few points. That means the experts know that the Miners are the better team. Confidence and faith. I do believe the Miners are not the Miners Southern Miss is used to.