Eagles ready to meet Green Wave challenge

The Southern Miss football team wrapped up preparation for Saturday's homecoming game against Tulane, and head coach Larry Fedora said his team isn't taking the Green Wave (2-4) lightly.

"Their record doesn't show how good they are," Fedora said. "They held Houston to nine points in the first half last weekend, so they must be doing something right."

Tulane is coming off a 44-16 loss to No. 23 Houston.

Green Wave coach Bob Toledo has made the decision to start red-shirt freshman Ryan Griffin at quarterback, leaving the Golden Eagles guessing as to what the signal-caller will bring to the table.

"We made the change in quarterback because when the offense fails to move the ball and score the quarterback gets a lot of the blame and we felt like it was time to give someone else a chance so we've decided to give Ryan the opportunity to see what he can do," Toledo said. "He's been a back-up through the first six games of the season and the little time that he has played he has performed fairly well.

"I think Ryan has more knowledge than people are led to believe. He's been here for two years, and he's a very bright guy."

Coming off the bench, Griffin is 21 of 35 passing for 225 yards and one touchdown, and has led the Green Wave offense to touchdowns on three of the six drives he has led.

Southern Miss defensive end Cordarro Law, who tagged Memphis for 10 tackles including three for a loss, said he expects Tulane to run, run and run some more.

"They are going to pound the ball up the gut," Law said. "They have a big physical runner, and everyone is going to have to step up and play as a team if we are going to stop them."

Southern Miss safety Jamie Collins is expected to see a lot more time following the loss of nickel cornerback Michael McGee in the Memphis match-up last week. Collins said he's up to the challenge of helping to stop the Tulane offensive attack.

"I've been playing a lot on special teams and in situations on defense, but I've really got to step up," Collins said. "It's time for all of us to take it up a notch, no matter who goes down with an injury."

Fedora said the Green Wave defense may not be complex, but they are good at what they do.

"(Their gameplan) isn't very complicated, so all the players know exactly what to do on every play," Fedora said. "They have a good player up front in (Reggie) Scott, and their mike linebacker (Travis Burkes) has been impressive."

Other than the three players who have been lost for the season, the Eagles will have a full repertoire of healthy players.