Tulane and Southern Miss renew rivalry on Saturday in Armed Forces Bowl

Green Wave will make their 13th all-time bowl appearance

GREEN WAVE IN SEARCH OF BACK TO BACK BOWL WINS
• The Green Wave will take part in a bowl game in back-to-back seasons for just the second time in program history on Jan. 4, 2020, as it takes on Southern Miss in the 2020 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
• Tulane will look to win a bowl game for the second straight year. The Green Wave has never won a bowl game in back-to-back seasons. Tulane is one of just 57 teams nationally that have played in bowl games in back to back years.
• Tulane’s matchup with Southern Miss will mark the 31st all-time meeting between the two teams.
• Tulane and Southern Miss renew the “Battle for the Bell” rivalry after a nine-year hiatus. The bowl matchup will be the first-ever game played outside of either New Orleans or Hattiesburg. This will be the first time the two schools will meet in a bowl game.
• Tulane will look to collect its first win over Southern Miss since a 31-10 victory back on Nov. 23, 2002.
• A win over Southern Miss would snap the Green Wave’s three-game losing streak.
• Tulane will look to win its seventh game of the season, which would mark the first time since the 1997 and 1998 seasons it has won seven-or-more games in back-to-back seasons.
• The Green Wave enter their matchup with Southern Miss following a 37-20 setback in their regular season finale at SMU back on Nov. 30.

FIRST AND 10
1. With a victory over Southern Miss, Tulane’s 2019 seniors would have the most wins for a graduating class this century.
2. Senior Justin McMillan needs just 45 yards rushing to have the most rushing yards in a single season by a quarterback.
3. McMillan leads the Green Wave with 12 rushing touchdowns. He is one of only six quarterbacks in the Football Bowl Subdivision that have rushed for 12-or-more touchdowns. McMillan is tied for 21st nationally among all players in rushing touchdowns.
4. The Green Wave is the only school in the American Athletic Conference to have six different running backs rush for 200-or-more yards.
5. Tulane’s defensive unit has registered three touchdowns this season, which leads The American and ranks 11th among all FBS teams.
6. The Green Wave have surpassed 400 yards of total offense 25 times since the start of the 2016 season. Tulane owns a 19-6 record in those games.
7. Sophomore Amare Jones ranks 33rd nationally in all-purpose yards, averaging 121.4 yards per game.
8. Tulane has rushed for at least 100 yards in 52 consecutive games dating back to the end of the 2015 season. The Green Wave had 223 rushing yards in their last game at SMU.
9. The Green Wave enters their matchup with Southern Miss having rushed for over 250 yards in seven of their last 14 games (337 vs. UL-Lafayette -2018, 350 vs. FIU, 298 vs. Missouri State, 325 vs. Houston, 324 vs. Army, 311 vs. UConn and 290 vs. Tulsa). The Green Wave have also surpassed 200 yards rushing in nine of their 12 games this season.
10. Tulane’s defensive unit has held eight of its 12 opponents under its season average in total yards (FIU, Auburn, Missouri State, Army, UConn, Tulsa, UCF and SMU).

GOING BOWLING
• For just the second time in program history, the Tulane University football team will play in a bowl game in back-to-back seasons, as it accepted a bid to play in the 2020 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
• The Green Wave posted an impressive 5-1 record at home en route to earning a bowl bid for just the 13th time in its 126-year program history.
• The last time the Green Wave played in back-to-back bowl games was during the 1979-80 seasons.

MISSISSIPPI TIES RUN DEEP FOR TULANE
• Tulane’s 2019 roster has several ties to the state of Mississippi, as 10 current players played high school football in the Magnolia state.
• Linebacker Nick Anderson (Vicksburg, Miss.), running back Cameron Carroll (Flowood, Miss.), Joey Claybrook (Starkville, Miss.), defensive back Kiland Harrison (Raymond, Miss.), offensive lineman Nik Hogan (Brandon, Miss.), quarterback Keon Howard (Laurel, Miss.), running back Stephon Huderson (Petal, Miss.), defensive lineman Jeffery Johnson (Brookhaven, Miss.), defensive back Thakarius Keyes (Laurel, Miss.), tight end Will Wallace (Natchez, Miss.).
• Prior to arriving at Tulane, Howard played quarterback for the Golden Eagles from 2016-17.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISS
• The Golden Eagles enter their matchup with Tulane, having won at least seven games for the fourth time in the last seven years and for the 47th time overall.
• The program collected its 72nd winning season in the history of its program.
• The Southern Miss defense has limited its opponents to under 100 yards rushing in five games during the year, including a season-low of 8 versus Rice (10/26).
• Southern Miss had nine players collect Conference USA postseason award for their play during the 2019 season.
• Since 1935, the Golden Eagles have finished below .500 only 11 times. The Golden Eagles have played in bowl games 13 of the last 17 seasons (they were bowl eligible last season but did not receive a berth) and 25 overall.
• Quarterback Jack Abraham totaled 3,329 yards through the air and has tossed 18 touchdowns.
• Running backs Kevin Perkins (548 yards) and De’Michael Harris (541 yards) have combined to rush for 1,089 yards.
• Ty’el Hemby lead team with 87 tackles, while DQ Thomas has 14.0 tackles for loss. Terry Whittington has paced the team with 7.5 sacks.

RECAPPING TULANE’S LAST MATCHUP VS. SOUTHERN MISS
• Freshman running back Orleans Darkwa rushed for 138 yards, but it was not enough as the Tulane dropped a 46-30 decision to then Conference USA rival Southern Miss.
• The Golden Eagles broke a 30-all tie when Quentin Pierce took a lateral pass and found Johdrick Morris for a 26-yard touchdown strike.
• The Southern Miss defense held Tulane to 72 yards and no points in the fourth quarter while getting on the scoreboard twice courtesy of a safety and a 41-yard fumble return by Alex Walters to account for the final score.
• Special teams played a major role in the ballgame as Southern Miss averaged 27.3 yards on seven kickoff returns – including an 85-yarder by Reggie Hunt – and Golden Eagles’ place kicker Danny Hrapmann connected on field goals of 33, 3 4 and 49 yards.