USD Football 1997

AT&T A lONG-DISTANCI VICTORY A last-play Brett Favre "Hail Mary" lifted the Golden Eagles of S~uthern Mississippi past Louisville.

Long before Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre was pro– ducing "Merriwell Finishes" in the NFL, he was working miracles for the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi. The Louisville Cardinals and their fa ithful found that out the hard way on Oct. I4, 1989. Coach Howard Schnellenberger's Cardinals, led by junior quarter– back Browning Nagle, entertained bowl hopes. The Golden Eagles were 2-4, but also were dangerous and unpredictable. T hey proved that in their opener when they upset highly ranked Florida State, 30-26. A crowd of 34,484, then the second-largest in Cardinals history, saw what should have been an air duel instead become a defensive strug– gle. Eddie Ray Jackson completed a 45-ya rd , SouthernMiss had

On first down, Favre was sacked for a 5-yard loss.With time for one more play and the goal line 79 yards away, he dropped back to pass. But this time the elusive Favre escaped the Cardinals' furious pass rush and hurled the ball toward a crowd downfield. rl11e ball deflected off Southern Miss receiver Michael Jackson and into the hands of teammate Darryl Tillman, who ran the final 16 yards into end zone. Southern Miss had pulled out an improbable 16-10 victory. "W e had it covered and I just remember that someone tipped it, but I didn't see who. Their guy just happened to be there," said Louisville DB John Gainey, fumbling for an explanation of the game-ending play. Gainey was not alone in disbelief. The coaches were just as shocked.

"I've never been in a situation where the ball is thrown exactly like that. It was exactly where you want it to be," gleamed winning coach Curley Hallman. "It's a very tough loss. It was a very fru strating loss for the football team," said a surlier-than-usual Schnellenberger. USM would win three of its next four games, while Louisville, perhaps a bit shell-shocked by Favre's heroics, would lose its next two and stumble to a 6-5 finish . TI1e next year, Nagle

eight-play drive with a 5-yard run to give

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - the ball at its own 33with 13 seconds remaining. The ------------ - ---------------- -

Southern Miss a 7-0

lead.

But Louisvill e re– sponded . After a Southern Miss punt backed up the Cards to their own 8, Nagle and the offense marched 92 yards in 14 plays, us– ing 6:32. Carwell Gard– ner went the final two yards to tie the game at 7. The score remained tied at halftime. Southern Miss took

Golden Eagles also had Brett Favre, who would a 10-7 lead on its open- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ing driveof thesecond not settle for atie. Early in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals again tied the game. Ron Bell hit a field goal from 26 yards, completing a 62-yard, IO-play drive. After the team s traded interceptions, the Cardinals forced South– ern Miss to punt, and took the ball at their own 20 with 2:30 remaining. Nagle ran the two-minute offense to perfection, moving the Cards to the Golden Eagles' 26 with 23 seconds remaining. But a go-ahead field goal attempt was blocked. South ern M iss h ad th e b all at its own 33 with 13 seconds re– maining. T he Golden Eagles also had Brett Favre, who would not settle for a tie. half. The key was an I I-yard Favre scramble on fourth-and-two at the Louisville 34.

Long before hewas winning MVP awards and Super Bowls forGreen Boy, Breit Favre was fashioning miracle finishes forthe Golden Eagles of Southern Miss. would lead Louisville to a school-best 10-1-1 record, including a 31-7 torching of Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl. Ironically, their only loss came against Favre and Southern Miss. Brett Favre has raised his game to an even higher level in the NFL. He has earned back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards, and, thanks to a long-distance hookup with Andre Rison, led the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI. Favre also continues make last-minute believers out of opposing players and coaches, having authored 15 fourth-quarter comebacks as field general for G reen Bay. It is no coincidence that fans in Green Bay don't leave early to "beat the traffi c."

PRODUCED BY THE EDITORIAL PROJECTS DEPARTMENT Of TOUCHDOWN ILLUSTRATED. 1997 PSP INC. PHOTO COURTESY SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SPORTS INFORMATION.