St. Petersburg Bowl 2010: Southern Miss vs. Louisville Preview and Prediction

Louisville is back in the bowl picture, a bit of a surprise considering the struggles they had been having since 2007.

However, I think Louisville is one of the feel-good stories of the Big East, a conference that has received a lot of heat, and rightfully so, for being soft this last season.

I tend to disagree with that notion. I simply think the Big East lacked a Top 20-caliber team in 2010. But there are still numerous bowl-worthy opponents, and if it weren't for Syracuse, the Cardinals would probably be the biggest surprise.

Southern Mississippi is really a model program at the non-AQ level, and had it not been for some conference shootouts that they came out on the losing end of, we'd be talking about them as C-USA champions.

Southern Miss struggles mightily on defense, giving up a lot of yards and points against balanced attacks and almost anyone with a good quarterback. They've been able to win a lot of games with an excellent offense of their own, averaging over 200 rushing and passing yards a game.

Expect to hear "Austin Davis to Kelvin Bolden for a touchdown" at least once during their bowl game. Also watch out for Kendrick Hardy. With an average of 6.7 yards per carry, this guy has the elusive speed to hurt defenses.

Louisville has the defense to challenge Southern Miss. They're 15th in the nation in points allowed, and they need to be good on defense because the offense doesn't score a ton of points. Louisville must get senior RB Bilal Powell going if it wants to win this game.

Prediction

This is a tough game to call. It will be a great battle between offense and defense. This is also an old rivalry from the 1970s and 1980s, with the Golden Eagles proving to be a tough team for Louisville to beat.

With that being said, I'm going with my gut and picking Southern Miss. They have beaten good teams (UCF) in the past and seem to struggle most with good passing attacks, something Louisville doesn't really have.

Southern Miss 28, Louisville 17