USM WR not going to be suspended

[Come and Take It]

From the Jackson Clarion Ledger:

HATTIESBURG — Southern Miss star receiver DeAndre Brown will be allowed to play in a bowl game, coach Larry Fedora said Monday.

USM officials were unsure of Brown's status for the Golden Eagles' next game after Brown was ejected from last Saturday's 28-12 victory over SMU.

Officials tossed Brown out of the game when he became involved in an altercation with SMU cornerback Derrius Bell, but Fedora said the circumstances around the fight changed once officials reviewed the incident.

"All I know is the way it ended up is he was not ejected for fighting so he is eligible to play in a bowl game from the first snap," USM coach Larry Fedora said on Monday.

Under NCAA rules, players ejected during the second half of a game for fighting are subject to being suspended for the first half of their next game.

The incident began when Brown and Bell became tangled in the end zone in the third quarter. An official got between the two players, and Brown charged back at Bell but was unable to fully reach the SMU player.

Bell wildly swung his arms and struck the referee multiple times before walking away.

Bell was charged with a major facemask penalty and the referee announced both players were ejected for fighting.

Fedora said it's not uncommon for conference officials to review footage of games for potential mistakes.

"The way the conference does this is each week you send in film to the conference office and Gerald Austin (officiating coordinator for C-USA) evaluates it," Fedora said. "He looks at it and calls you back and puts it on the computer and lets you know how he felt, if the call went good or bad. Every week, that's just the way they do it."

Brown finished with three catches for 51 yards against SMU, and for the first time in five games he didn't catch a touchdown pass.

Still, the 6-foot-6 freshman from Ocean Springs stands head and shoulders above the rest of the USM receivers statistically this season (with 66 catches for 1,108 yards and 12 touchdowns) and the Eagles would miss his presence if he had to sit out even the first half of a bowl game.

As for who, when and where the Eagles will play in their bowl game, that's still up in the air.

The best bet according to USM officials is the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 21, but Conference USA teams probably won't know their bowl assignments until after Saturday's league title game.

[OC Mustang]

Figures. The USM trolls were right. CUSA is too political to allow a stud receiver to miss a bowl, even if he deserves to miss it. Here's one for you, Commissioner Austin. You and Deloss would make good buddies.

[docabel]

This is a bad omen for Bell. Based on this interpretation, he will get extra time for hitting DeAndre's hands with his helmet.

[giacfsp]

This is a bad omen for Bell. Based on this interpretation, he will get extra time for hitting DeAndre's hands with his helmet.

Post of the Week!

[pr_eagle]

Figures. The USM trolls were right. CUSA is too political to allow a stud receiver to miss a bowl, even if he deserves to miss it.