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Best of Jackson

Fun With Best of Jackson

Summer is a time to hang out with friends under the sun. Recent Best of Jackson winners can help you celebrate the summer season (and beyond). Try these.

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Rollercoaster Love

The rollercoaster of love is, at best, the ride of your life, and at worst, a terrifying trip that leaves you vomiting.

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[Fly] In the Mood For Love

Here it is, the much-anticipated Valentine's Fly issue of the Jackson Free Press. Dive in to find hot fashion tips, cool party ideas and do-it-yourself projects, from cuff links to …

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Easter Shopping Guide

Photos by Wrijoya Roy

Like an Easter egg, the JFP Flip book has your needs to bring the spring in your step. Open it up, and see what's inside!

Jackblog

43 Events Today; 50 Events Saturday; Holiday Events Mania

If you're looking for exciting things to do this weekend, holiday or not, the new JFP events calendar is packed full of daily events, and categories of stuff to do …

Justice

Archive of the JFP's Coverage of the Dee-Moore Case

Following are links to the Jackson Free Press' full, and ongoing, package of stories about 1960s Klan activity in the Natchez-Meadville-Roxie, Miss., area, starting with the award-winning investigative story by …

Herman's Picks

[Herman's Picks] Vol. 8, No. 17

After the holiday hustle and bustle, many of us find ourselves buckling down and paying off a little holiday debt. For your pleasure, many low or no-cost musical options can …

December 19, 2016

USM Takes New Orleans Bowl, Gets Winning Record

By bryanflynn

It wasn’t pretty at times, and it seemed insanely long, but the University of Southern Mississippi has back-to-back winning football seasons. The Golden Eagles went winless in 2012, hitting rock bottom after winning 12 games the year before.

USM lost 23 consecutive games before finally getting a 62-27 win over the University of Alabama at Birmingham to end the 2013 season. There was more progress in the 2014 season with three wins.

Finally, a breakthrough happened for USM in the 2015 season. The Golden Eagles had nine wins and went to a bowl game, but lost the final two games of the season.

In the offseason, Southern Miss lost head coach Todd Monken to the NFL. Monken left Hattiesburg to become the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. USM hired former assistant coach and then-head coach of Alcorn State University Jay Hopson.

There were high hopes entering this season, even with a new head coach, because of all the talent returning from the previous season.

Early on, it looked like USM would live up to those expectations with a 4-1 start to the season, including a win over the University of Kentucky out of the SEC. The University of Troy was the lone loss for the Golden Eagles in the first five games.

Southern Miss lost five of the next six games, suffering shocking defeats to the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the University of North Texas. All three of those teams finished with losing records after UTSA lost the New Mexico Bowl to the University of New Mexico.

The Golden Eagles needed to defeat Louisiana Tech University just to reach a bowl game, scoring a 39-24 win over the Bulldogs to play in the New Orleans Bowl.

In the bowl game, Southern Miss wide receiver Allenzae Staggers put on a show, making 11 catches for 230 yards and a touchdown to set a New Mexico Bowl record and school record for most receiving yards in a bowl game. USM quarterback Nick Mullens went 25 for 40 in passing, with 346 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and one lost fumble. Running back Ito Smith rushed for 138 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns and one catch for six yards and a touchdown.

The trio of stars helped the Golden Eagles to a 28-21 win over the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, but USM’s defense did its part with six sacks, three quarterback hurries, nine tackles for a loss and one interception. However, ULL scored two touchdowns off of Mullens’ turnovers as a result of short fields.

Most of the night, Ragin’ Cajuns quarterback Anthony Jennings was under siege from the Golden Eagle defense. USM found ways to bottle up ULL’s star running back, Elijah McGuire, for parts of the game, even as he rushed for 99 yards on just 17 carries.

The New …

Editor's Note

EDITOR'S NOTE: ‘Essential’ Truths: Gov. Reeves Is Failing Many Mississippians

There is no such thing as a 'nonessential' Mississippian." When I saw Gov. Tate Reeves' tweet that on April 23, I stared at my screen. As a native Mississippian, I …

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Dream Big. Change Jackson.

Thinking big. It is much more than a way to envision getting richer or renovating a downtown building into expensive condos.

Editor's Note

EDITOR'S NOTE: Journalism Can Beat the Hell Out of You, But It Must Go On

"When you get into this crazy business for the express purpose of having positive impact, you make it happen no matter what and find people who share the same drive …

Civil Rights

EDITOR'S NOTE: Trump Crashes Mississippi’s Coming-out Party

Inviting Trump is a lurid distraction from what the civil-rights museum finally admits about Mississippi, even using state dollars to tell these truths. Maybe that's why Bryant invited him.