Southern Miss Head Coach Ellis Johnson Discusses Louisville Match-Up

First year Southern Miss head coach Ellis Johnson spoke to the media yesterday afternoon to recap his team’s 42-17 loss at Western Kentucky and briefly look ahead to this week’s match-up against Louisville. Here is what Coach Johnson had to say about the Cardinals.

“I’ve seen a lot of film on them and they are a very good football team. The thing that impresses me the most about them is they are very young. They have a ton of freshmen and sophomores spread in their roster and mixed into their two-deep. They have a quarterback who is just a sophomore and is playing like a fifth-year senior. He has completed almost 75-percent of his passes at this point and they’ve played some very good football teams. They are playing extremely well. I know Charlie Strong very well and he has done and extremely good job into a reflection of what he wants it to be. He has built it up in three years to this point. They are ranked nationally in the polls and are obviously playing some really good football. We’ll be their fourth non-conference opponent. We haven’t beaten them since 1999. We own the series but we haven’t beaten them since 1999. I think it’s a great opportunity and a great challenge and great rewards come from accomplishing things when you have great challenges. There is something here that our team can grab onto if we want to and take advantage of this opportunity. This is a big time challenge. It’s a big time opportunity. It’s what you come to college football and play for.”