He tried to tell himself that it was just another game, but Derrick Nix couldn’t stop thinking about the last time he played the Tigers.
Two years ago, Nix suffered an ankle sprain against Memphis and subsequently developed kidney problems from the medication he took.
Saturday’s was somewhat of a redemption game for Nix as he smashed through the Memphis defense for 196 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns.
“After being out for so long, it’s just good to be back playing,” Nix said. “I didn’t know how I would do this season. I had an idea but I wasn’t really sure.”
Nix is fourth in the nation in rushing with 482 yards in three games this season and said he gave some thought to the near career-ending injury he suffered against the Tiger’s in 2000.
“I can’t deny that I thought about it,” Nix said. “I was thinking that, ‘the last time I played this team I got seriously hurt’.”
Before the injury his junior year, Nix had back-to-back, 1,000-yard rushing seasons with the Golden Eagles and needs just 723 more yards to become the all-time leading rusher in Southern Miss history.
Nix had 175 yards at the half and was taken out of the game after the third quarter, just shy of his second 200-yard rushing game of the season.
Memphis head coach Tommy West said Nix was too much for his defense to handle.
“(Nix) is the best back in this league - maybe one of the better backs in the country,” West said. “He has done this before when he was healthy.”
Tigers’ defensive end Tony Brown said he was impressed with Nix and the Southern Miss. offensive line.
“So far, he has been the best,” Brown said. “His offensive line provided the holes he needed.”
Brown said, unlike in the Ole Miss game, exhaustion wasn’t a factor in the Golden Eagles’ ability to run the football so well.
“It wasn’t fatigue,” Brown said. “We were pretty much out of rhythm. We weren’t in sync like we should’ve been.”
When Antoine Harden scored on a long touchdown pass to put Memphis back in the game, Nix took them back out of it, just 16 seconds later, with a 70-yard touchdown run.
Nix said that as he rounded the corner of the offensive line he saw he only had one man between him and the end zone.
“The first person I saw was the safety and I decided to try to out run him,” Nix said. “Once I made my move I just took off.”
West said the touchdown run was disheartening and that every part of the defense did a poor job of getting to the ball.
“We gave him a 70-yard run,” West said. “We should never give up a 70-yard run in zone coverage. It was everybody on defense, the line, the linebackers and the secondary (that did poorly on that play).”
Nix said he wanted to stay in the game and get his second 200-yard rushing game of the season, but decided to save his legs.
“I thought about going back in, but I had to look at the big picture,” Nix said. “We’ve got a long season ahead of us.”
