Usually the New Orleans bowl is the practice run for all of the people involved with the Sugar Bowl. This year will be a little different as the bowl will be played in Lafayette, Louisiana, and the Sugar Bowl has temporarily moved to Atlanta, Georgia, thanks to the hurricanes. As a result, the New Orleans Bowl will have a flavor all its own this year and the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles want to make it one to remember for them.

They are led again this year by quarterback Dustin Almond. In last year's game, Almond threw for 247 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for one more. This year should be no different as he tries to take apart the Arkansas State pass defense. His senior season has been his best yet at the position. He threw for over 2600 yards and 21 touchdowns. Completing 55% of his passes this season, he has been called on more than ever before to lead his team. Other than a blip against conference champion Tulsa where he threw four interceptions and no touchdowns, he has done just that.

On the ground, Southern Mississippi is without last year's leading rusher, Anthony Harris. Instead, they are led at rushing by one of his back-ups last year. Sophomore Larry Thomas ran for 637 yards this season but was limited in two of the final three games to a total of just 54 yards. He did not play in the final contest against Tulane. Rushing duties fell more heavily to his teammate Cody Hull. Hull totaled 140 yards over the final two games. Look for Southern Mississippi to use the rushing game to control the ball on offense and set up their much better passing game. Eight different receivers caught passes for touchdowns this season, including Josh Barnes and Antwon Courington with five apiece.

On defense look for the twin Coley brothers to dominate the action. Linebacker Kevis Coley led the team in tackles this season including 13 tackles for a loss and 5 sacks. His brother Trevis will be lined up at defensive back hoping to shut down any Arkansas State passing game which might surface. Together, these two combined for 244 tackles this season so their names will most likely be called a lot tonight, bringing a lot of joy to their family in Palatka, Florida.

Arkansas State is playing in its first bowl game since returning to Division 1-A. After winning the tie breaker in their conference and clinching a chance at a bowl on the final week of the season with a win over North Texas, they will be attempting to win only the second New Orleans Bowl for the SunBelt conference.

The Indians are led by a pair of senior running backs, Antonio Warren and Shermar Bracey. Warren ran for over 1000 yards for the second season in a row. In the games he played, he failed to break the 100 yard mark only once, in a very tight 9-3 win against Troy. For his part, Bracey also topped the 100 yard mark four times this season, including a 167 yard performance against Louisiana-Lafayette, in a game where Warren did not play. The two totalled 11 touchdowns on the ground this season.

Senior quarterback Nick Noce has been steady this season but not spectacular. He threw for only 11 touchdowns and 1839 yards. He has a history of throwing interceptions so there is a chance he may force some bad throws against the Southern Mississippi defenders. His leading receiver this season is Levi Dejohnette, who caught almost a third of the passes that Noce threw this year. Given that Dejohnette will most likely be lined up against Trevis Coley, he may not get as many looks as he did during the year and Noce will be forced to find another receiver to lead the team.

On defense, the Indians are led leading tackler Tyrell Johnson. Johnson had 105 tackles this season and will see a good amount of work tonight facing the passing game of Southern Miss. Given the number of different receivers that Almond uses in a game, look for Johnson to line up all over the field. Junior Devrett Wade is the second leading tackler on the team. From his linebacker position, he led the team with 13 tackles for loss and finished second with 4.5 sacks. He will have a hard time getting into Almond who was only sacked 17 times this season.

Southern Mississippi should be able to easily take this game, but look for their to be a lot of emotional play from both teams in this game. The passing attack of the Golden Eagles will most likely be too much for the Indians. Should Southern Miss get out to an early lead, Arkansas State will have a tough time coming back without their passing game, and that is not a position the Indians want to be in.

MRI Predicts: Southern Mississippi Confidence factor: 77.67%, 23 out of 28