JACKSON — Southern Miss football coach Larry Fedora wouldn’t mind to face one of his old employers, the United States Air Force Academy.

To get that date, Fedora’s Golden Eagles (7-5) will have to hope that Houston wins the Conference USA title Saturday at East Carolina. Under this bowl scenario, if Houston wins, the Cougars (10-2) go to the Liberty Bowl as C-USA champs and East Carolina takes a spot in the Eagle Bank Bowl in Washington, provided Navy beats Army, and the Golden Eagles head to Fort Worth to battle Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 31.

If East Carolina wins, the Fort Worth bowl will have to choose between Houston and Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles would then be likely headed back to the New Orleans Bowl for the second straight year.

“We’re really glad to just be going to a bowl again for the 12th time in 13 years. That says a lot about our program,” Fedora said Monday at the Conerly Trophy ceremonies at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

That said, the second-year coach does have a preference, primarily because of the dates involved. The New Orleans Bowl is set for Dec. 20 at the Louisiana Superdome. The Armed Forces Bowl is Dec. 31 at TCU. The 11-day difference may mean more practice time for Fedora and his staff.

“That would be huge. I would love to have 14 more practice opportunities with this group. We could begin to address our biggest challenge for next season and that is trying to replace four senior offensive linemen,” Fedora said.

Southern Miss senior running back Damion Fletcher, who currently is the leading active rusher in the nation with 5,224 yards and 10th all-time, says the added time will benefit his successors.

“Of course, I love that we will be in a bowl game. It’s one more game for me and our four senior linemen. Our center is the only one who will be back next year, so that’s a big hole they have got to fill,” Fletcher said.

If the Golden Eagles go to New Orleans, they would likely face Sun Belt Conference champ Troy in a rematch of last year’s game, won by Southern Miss 30-27 in overtime.

“We know how good they are and I would be fine with a rematch,” Fedora said.

But a first-time matchup with Air Force would be more intriguing.

“It’s a special place with a great tradition in football. I know all about it because I coached there for two years as an assistant,” Fedora said.

The Golden Eagles may have had bigger things in their future had they not lost five close games in the fourth quarter, all on the road this season.

“I think unsatisfied would be a good word to describe this season,” Fedora said. “We had a lot of adversity, losing our starting quarterback in Austin Davis, and a tragedy, but we overcame. We just came up short. In five games, we didn’t finish.”

The Golden Eagles lost late in the fourth quarter at Kansas (35-28), lost on a last-second field goal at Louisville (25-23), and on a late fourth quarter touchdown at Houston (50-43). Then there was last Saturday’s 25-20 loss at East Carolina that cost the Golden Eagles a shot in the C-USA title game and a rematch with Houston.

“All five of them bother me, but the last one sticks in mind the most, but really, we should have won all five of them,” Fedora said.

Fletcher feels Fedora’s frustration, especially the East Carolina loss.

“As for me, I’m still feeling bad about it,” Fletcher said. “We had a lot of opportunities in that game. We were one or two plays short.”

There was some success, though. Southern Miss won all of its home games, including a 37-34 win over Virginia.

“Definitely a big win. We came from 17 points down in that one,” Fletcher said.

*

Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com