Beef O' Brady's Bowl: Louisville vs. Southern Miss

Louisville and Southern Miss didn't play for conference championships this season, however, both programs came closer than many outside of Louisville and Hattiesburg may have realized.

The Cardinals improved by two games, from 4-8 to 6-6, in a weakened Big East. Louisville plays solid defense and has one elite difference-maker on offense (running back Bilal Powell).

The 2010 campaign marked the 17th straight winning season for the Golden Eagles. Enter Charlie Strong this season and some low expectations. Point Spread: Southern Miss +2.5. Louisville’s Edge: Bilal Powell. A first-team all-Big East performer this season, Powell used his blend of size and speed to rush for 1,330 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the season, the junior passed for 2,898 yards and 18 scores while chipping in 10 rushing touchdowns.

Froman took the bulk of the snaps and averaged 204 yards per game through eight games while throwing 11 touchdowns.

Louisville - TE Cameron Graham, RB Bilal Powell, CB Johnny Patrick

Bowl History: Southern Miss - The Golden Eagles are 9-11 all-time in bowl games and will be making their ninth straight bowl appearance. Louisville rush offense vs. Southern Miss rush defense: Despite being hobbled by injuries late in the season, senior Bilal Powell averaged 120.9 rushing yards per game. Southern Miss has a highly ranked but inconsistent run defense. Edge: Louisville.

Louisville pass offense vs. Southern Miss pass defense: Senior Justin Burke will start his fifth consecutive game in place of Adam Froman, who missed the last part of the season with a thigh bruise. Southern Miss' pass defense has been awful recently. The Eagles allowed a combined 873 passing yards in the past two games (Houston and Tulsa) and 21 touchdown passes in the past seven games. Edge: Louisville.

Southern Miss rush offense vs. Louisville rush defense: Southern Miss has three capable backs. QB Austin Davis can move a little, too; he rushed for 436 yards and a team-leading 10 touchdowns. Louisville's run defense has struggled at times, but the Cardinals held Jordan Todman to a season-low 80 yards in a shutout of Connecticut. Edge: Southern Miss.

Southern Miss pass offense vs. Louisville pass defense: With touted junior WR DeAndre Brown injured for most of the season, Davis has spread the ball around. Four receivers (including Brown) have had a 100-yard game, seven have had at least one touchdown catch and six finished the regular season with at least 20 catches. That kind of spread offense could limit the impact of Louisville's top cornerback, Johnny Patrick, who had five of Louisville's nine interceptions this season.

Louisville special teams vs. Southern Miss special teams: If the game comes down to a kick, Southern Miss will have an advantage with Groza Award finalist Danny Hrapmann, a junior who was 26-of-30 on field-goal attempts, including two of at least 50 yards. Reggie Hunt became the main kick returner in the second half of the season, and he is averaging 28.6 yards per return. Louisville's Doug Beaumont is one of the top punt returners in the country at 15.3 yards per return, with a touchdown. Both teams have been excellent in punt coverage but awful in kickoff coverage. Edge: Southern Miss.

Louisville coaches vs. Southern Miss coaches: Both coaches have guided their teams through adversity this season, particularly Southern Miss' Larry Fedora. On the field, both teams needed to overcome injuries to key players (Brown and starting LB Martez Smith for Southern Miss, Froman and Powell for Louisville). Each of Southern Miss' three C-USA losses was by a touchdown or less. Strong led one of the best turnarounds in the Big East by ending Louisville's bowl drought. Edge: Louisville.

X-factor: Both teams have had three weeks off, but the layoff may be more beneficial for the Cardinals. Burke wasn't the starter until the final month of the season, and the extra practice should help, especially against a defense that has struggled. Powell faced injury and illness in the last four games of the season, and presumably will be 100 percent.

Louisville will win if: The Cardinals need to win the game on the ground. It's a clich?but for these teams, it's true: The team that runs the ball will win. Southern Miss averaged 227.6 rushing yards in its wins and only 155 in its losses. The same is true for Louisville: The Cardinals rushed for 212 yards in wins and 149 yards in losses.

Southern Miss will win if: The Golden Eagles need to make Louisville face some third-and-longs. Sothern Miss' defense has struggled, for the most part, but there is an area where the Eagles have been the best in their league: third-down defense. Southern Miss led C-USA in that category, allowing opponents to convert first downs only 33 percent of the time.