NEW ORLEANS -- Southern Miss all-time leading quarterback Nick Mullens and prolific Louisiana-Lafayette running back Elijah McGuire expected the final season of their college careers to be considerably better.That doesnt mean they havent been gratified by what they and their teams have overcome, defying late-season odds with clutch performances to earn invitations to Saturday nights New Orleans Bowl.Its really a humbling experience. Nothing in a college career is ever going to go perfect. Im glad the way we persevered, Mullens said. The fact we earned our spot here is definitely something were proud of.To gain bowl eligibility, the Golden Eagles (6-6) had to win their final game against favored Louisiana Tech. Mullens, whod missed two games because of a concussion, returned for the regular season finale and completed 88 percent of his passes (29 of 33) for 342 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-24 triumph . The Ragin Cajuns (6-6) had to win their last two games -- not to mention four of their last six.Im glad we could pull that off, McGuire said. Life is unfair, things happen. Everybodys got to go through adversity, overcome obstacles.Some fans might be inclined to scoff at the idea of a bowl game from which the loser is guaranteed a losing record. The participants dont see it that way because there are so many variables in football -- from untimely injuries to bad bounces -- which can undermine the seasons of otherwise good football teams. In the case of Southern Miss, Mullens struggled with a mid-season thumb injury even before his concussion.The bone is showing and he says, `Tape it and I think I can play, Golden Eagles coach Jay Hopson recalled. It took him about two or three weeks (to get healthy). Then he got knocked out.The Cajuns, meanwhile, lost one early season game at Tulane in four overtimes and another at New Mexico State in double OT.I see a great matchup, UL Lafayette coach Mark Hudspeth said. Its two teams that have overcome a lot this year.Here are some other things to watch in the 16th New Orleans Bowl:REGIONAL RIVALS: While Southern Miss plays in Conference USA and ULL in the Sun Belt Conference, these programs have history because of their proximity to one another. Theyve played 51 times, with the Golden Eagles dominating the series, 39-11-1, including victories in the past eight meetings. Each campus is within a two-and-a-half-hour drive of New Orleans, so attendance is expected to be solid. Its two teams close together regionally. Our fan bases are familiar with one another, Hudspeth said. Thats going to bring some intensity to the game.STRENGTH ON STRENGTH: McGuire, has rushed for 1,028 yards and seven TDs this season, and has 4,213 yards rushing for his career, which ranks second all-time at ULL. Southern Miss ranks 18th nationally in total defense (331 yards allowed per game). Youve got one team that can run the ball, a running back that runs the ball pretty well and youve got a defense that stops the run well. So thats the game we play, Hopson said. It certainly will be a battle out there Saturday night and we understand that.TRANSFER QB: Cajuns QB Anthony Jennings is a former LSU starter who transferred after losing his job to Brandon Harris, who has since lost his job to Danny Etling. In his first and last season at Louisiana-Lafayette, Jennings has completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,083 yards and 11 TDs. I had some bumpy roads early in the season, but I think Im coming along well, said Jennings, normally a mobile quarterback who was slowed by an ankle injury this season. Im back to 100 percent right now and running the football better than ever.TIMELY STOPS: Southern Miss third-down defense ranks second nationally after allowing conversions on just 34 of 142 attempts (24 percent). Likewise, the Golden Eagles are tied for third national in first downs allowed (172). Southern Miss defensive lineman Dylan Bradley says third-down defense is as much about mindset as anything, and calls his unit a nasty bunch.DOMECOMING: This marks each teams fifth New Orleans Bowl, in which Southern Miss is 3-1 and UL Lafayette was 4-0 until vacating 2011 and 2013 victories because of self-reported recruiting violations.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Wholesale Air Max 97 . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Fake Air Max 97 Plus . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. http://www.outletairmax97.com/air-max-97-plus-cheap.html . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Air Max 97 Plus Hybrid Pink . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Air Max 97 Plus Black Shock Orange . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. DETROIT -- He doesnt consider it a homecoming, but Rick Porcello is returning to pitch in his old home Friday night for the first time since being traded from Detroit to Boston.Porcello was signed by Detroit as their No. 1 draft choice in 2007 and made the Tigers out of spring training in 2009.At the end of the 2014 season, he was traded to Boston in a winter deal for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. He has faced Detroit once -- last year in Boston -- and allowed a run on five hits with six strikeouts over seven innings without getting a decision.Players almost religiously tell the media its just another game or no big deal when facing a former employer. Its also generally regarded as nonsense.Seeing them in Boston earlier this year helped, Porcello said of pitching against Detroit for the first time in Comerica Park on Friday night. And obviously last year pitching against them in Boston, then coming here kind of took care of feelings or whatever you want to call it.With the race that were in, Im really trying my hardest not to let any of that creep into my head. I want to maintain the focus Ive had in my past three or four starts and not let anything alter that.Im trying to kind of block it out, really. After Friday then obviously I can go over and say, Hi, to those guys. But Im not talking to them before Friday.Though its been less than two seasons since he pitched for Detroit, Porcello should face at least three Tiger starters -- at short, third and in left -- who werent on the team during his time there.Porcello (16-3, 3.30 ERRA) is having one of the better seasons of any pitcher in baseball and is 9-1 with a 2.dddddddddddd75 ERA over his last 11 starts.Hell be up against an equally formidable opponent in Detroits rookie Michael Fulmer (10-3, 2.25 ERA), who at this time a year ago had just switched over from the New York Mets Double-A team to Detroits Double-A affiliate.The right-handed Fulmer was part of the trade that sent Cespedes from the Tigers to the Mets at last years non-waiver trade deadline.Fulmer pitched at Fenway Park on July 27 without getting a decision, allowing three runs on seven hits.In his last start, the rookie recorded his first major league complete game and shutout, taming Texas on four hits and nine strikeouts.Fulmer is two of three key pitchers obtained for Detroit by Dave Dombrowski at the non-waiver trade deadline last year, a scant couple of days before he was fired by the Tigers and quickly found a new home as head of the Boston Red Sox.Dombrowski is going to see all three of the key pitchers he acquired for Detroit on consecutive days. Lefty Matt Boyd started against Boston on Thursday and gave up one run in six innings of a 4-3 Tigers win in which he did not figure in the decision.Fulmer pitches Friday and lefty Daniel Norris goes Saturday. Norris and Boyd came from Toronto in the deal that sent lefty David Price to the Blue Jays, then subsequently signing with the Red Sox as a free agent. ' ' '