Southern Miss aims to push win streak to 5 on Senior Day
Today's 2:30 p.m. contest against Old Dominion serves as the home finale for a Southern Miss football team that will be remembered for returning a struggling program to its winning ways.
It will be Senior Day when the Golden Eagles (7-3, 5-1) host Old Dominion (5-5, 3-3) in Hattiesburg.
The Golden Eagles are riding a four-game winning streak and will play for a Conference USA West title when they travel to Louisiana Tech in the final game of the regular season on Nov. 28.
While Saturday's game has no impact on USM's conference title hopes, it's a chance to hit the eight-win mark and send out a group of seniors with a victory in their final game at Roberts Stadium.
After going a combined 4-32 over the last three seasons, USM's seniors are finishing their college careers as part of the program's first winning team since 2011.
Of the 20 seniors set to be honored prior to the game, 11 were on the roster for the 2012 team that finished 0-12 in Ellis Johnson's lone season as head coach.
"They will always be special to our staff and this fan base for sticking by (Southern Miss)," USM head coach Todd Monken said. Old Dominion, which has won its last two contests, enters the game one win shy of bowl eligibility.
Saturday's game is the first meeting between the two schools with ODU in just its second season as a football member of C-USA.
The Monarchs have had an up and down season, hitting a low point in a 49-0 loss to Appalachian State on Sept. 26 in Norfolk, Va.
Junior David Washington, who started the season as a receiver, has taken over at quarterback for Old Dominion. In last week's 31-21 win over UTEP, Washington completed 26-of-42 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 28 yards.
The dual-threat Washington has completed 59.2 percent of his passes for 1,159 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions this season. He has rushed 39 times for 124 yards.
The Monarchs are 3-1 with Washington at quarterback this season.
"Our team is gaining a lot of confidence since Washington has taken over at quarterback," ODU coach Bobby Wilder said.
ODU will be without Conference USA's leading rusher in Sophomore running back Ray Lawry, who has 190 carries for 1,128 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He will be out with a sprained foot.
Record should fall: USM junior quarterback Nick Mullens has a shot to set the school's single-season mark for touchdown passes against the Monarchs. He tied the mark at 30 with five touchdown tosses in a 65-10 at Rice last week.
Mullens ranks third on the USM career charts for passing yards (7,522), as third in career completions (600) and fourth in attempts (1,020). He has thrown at least one touchdown in each of his last 12 games.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Southern Miss aims to push win streak to 5 on Senior Day ."