2008 Woodie Awards
Southern Mississippi coach Larry Fedora
KIRK BELL
Sports Coordinator
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Sports
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First off, it takes a dedicated coach who recognizes his team's weaknesses and also recognizes the difficult path ahead.
Larry Fedora took over the football program at the University of Southern Mississippi in December of 2007. He will face a formidable foe in the Boise State Broncos Saturday.
"We're excited to have them coming in here," Fedora said. "I think it's a great situation to have a team ranked to come in here to get our guys going and to actually get us back on track. What better could you ask for to have a team come in here that is ranked 15 in the country and no one gives you a chance to win. That's what gets you out of bed every morning - gets you motivated, gets you going, gets you to practice hard, gets you to lift hard. Because nobody thinks it can be done."
Fedora comes from a three-year stint with the Oklahoma State Cowboys where he was the offensive coordinator for their traditionally potent offensive attack.
The transition from focusing on just the offense at OSU to facilitating an entire team of players has presented some new challenges in how he coaches.
"It's kind of the same thing," Fedora said. "The most enjoyable part is being able to watch over the entire football team. Then at the same time the most difficult part has been to watch over the entire football team and not just the offense alone."
The Boise State team isn't what the Southern Miss Golden Eagles had in mind as they weighed in their opponents during the preseason. Nor were they expecting to have such an adversary in Broncos' freshman quarterback Kellen Moore.
"I think [Boise State] may be a little surprised at how well that kid is playing," Fedora said. "He's very talented. You're just seeing the tip of what this kid is going to do in his career at Boise."
The attack the Broncos hope to bring to Hattiesburg will be much different than what the Golden Eagles faced last season, beating Southern Miss 38-16 at Bronco Stadium.
"They're a very good football team," Fedora said. "They're very sound in each of the three phases … Defensively they don't make mistakes. They tackle well. Offensively they do a tremendous job. Always have."
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