Eagles open tonight against South Carolina

The Golden Eagles kick off tonight against the South Carolina Gamecocks. ESPN will broadcast the first game of the year, and although most students are ready for the night, some are finding it hard to get motivated for the college football season.

Some students are not sure they'll have time to watch since the game falls on a Thursday night. Freshman Allison Meleones from Long Beach, Miss. said, "I don't have any definite plans right now, but I think we have rush that night so I will probably be there for a little while."

Although she will not be able to watch this game, she is planning to attend all of the home games.

"I am very excited about the season, and I can't wait for the home games to start," Meleones said.

Graduate student Josh Phillips is also having difficulty fitting the game into his schedule.

"I am probably not going to be able to watch the game," Phillips said. "I am a grad student and I will be very busy."

He is excited about the football season, but thinks that USM may still be a year or two away from greatness.

 "I still think that Coach (Fedora) needs a year or two before he can get the right guys in to compete with everyone," said Phillips.

One student who thinks the Eagles are ready to compete right now is junior broadcast journalism major Cory Gunkel. Gunkel will be tuned in to ESPN tonight but he is not sure where he will be going to watch the game.

"I don't know where I am going to watch it, but I will probably either watch it at a friend's house or go to the fraternity house," said Gunkel.

Gunkel speculates the exposure from playing the first game of the season will serve USM football well in the future.

"I think that any exposure is good exposure and with it being the first football game of the year it will allow everyone across the country to see Southern Miss," Gunkel said.

Sophomore Jeremy Eyer is pumped up for football seasons and has plans to go out with a group to watch tonight's game.

"Me and a few of my friends are probably going to go out to Buffalo Wild Wings or the Alumni House to watch the game on the big screen," Eyer said.

Eyer doesn't know what to expect from Southern Miss this season, but thinks tonight will tell him quite a bit.

"Southern Miss is always competitive, but I don't know if they are ready to compete with the SEC," he said. "I guess we will see if they have what it takes on Thursday."

Southern Miss will take on South Carolina tonight on ESPN at 6:30 p.m. central time.