BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Here's a case where Gene Stallings would have rather not joined Paul 'Bear' Bryant in the Alabama record books. Stallings became the first Crimson Tide coach since the legendary Bear to lose his first game at Alabama.
Jim Taylor kicked a 52-yard field goal with 3:35 left, lifting Southern Mississippi to a 27-24 upset over the 17th-ranked Crimson Tide and spoiling Stallings' debut.
Stallings' ties to the Bryant era helped him land the Tide job when Bill Curry left for Kentucky last January. Even though Bryant lost his first Alabama game to LSU in 1958, Stallings said he knows Tide fans won't be forgiving.
'I said all along we aren't blessed with a great football team,' said Stallings, whose team suffered three interceptions, a lost fumble and several miscues in the kicking game. 'We're going to have to play tough every week. I think we've got a chance to win, but we can't turn the ball over that many times.'
Southern Miss, 2-0, intercepted three Gary Hollingsworth passes, with Kerry Valrie returning one 75 yards for a touchdown and setting up another score with a second steal. The third Southern Miss interception killed a fourth-quarter threat by the Tide.
Taylor had a 45-yard field goal in the first half and Tony Smith ran for two touchdowns in the second half as Southern Miss erased a 17- 10 halftime deficit to pull its second major season-opening upset in the past two years. The Golden Eagles upset Florida State 30-26 in the Seminoles' opener last year.
'This one is similar to the one last year with Florida State, but because of the shape we're in this year, this one is pretty special,' said Southern Miss Coach Curly Hallman.
Quarterback Brett Favre missed the Golden Eagles' opener last week because of injuries suffered in an automobile accident over the summer, but was a surprise starter Saturday and completed 9 of 17 passes for 125 yards.
'I really wanted to come back for this game,' Favre said. 'Two or three times things didn't work out for us, but all our hard work paid off today. We played over our heads, but we're a good team.'
Alabama lost its first season opener since 1984 and has now lost three straight games after racing to a 10-0 record through November of last year.
The Tide scored first on an 18-yard run by Derrick Lassic and added to its lead with a 30-yard field goal by Philip Doyle early in the second quarter. A 3-yard run by Siran Stacy put Alabama ahead 17-10 at the half. And after Southern Miss grabbed the lead for the first time in the third quarter, Alabama tied the score on a 60-yard strike from Hollingsworth to Craig Sanderson.
With the score tied 24-24, the Golden Eagles began their winning drive at their 20-yard line with 7:22 left. A 34-yard strike from Favre to Michael Jackson took the ball to the Crimson Tide 32, where the drive stalled. But Taylor, a straight-ahead kicker, booted a line drive through the uprights for the winning score.
Alabama twice drove into Southern Miss territory in the waning minutes, but Carter's interception killed one threat and time expired with the Crimson Tide on the Southern Miss 49.
Alabama broke in front on the first possession of the game, driving 59 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead on Lassic's 18-yard dash down the right sideline.
Smith returned a punt 41 yards midway through the first quarter to set up Taylor's first field goal, a 45-yarder that made the score 7-3 with 7:03 left in the quarter.
After Doyle's 30-yard field goal made the score 10-3, Southern Miss tied it when Valrie picked off a deflected pass from Hollingsworth, dodged a tackler and dashed 75 yards for a touchdown.
Alabama answered with a 10-play, 71-yard drive, regaining the lead on Stacy's 3-yard TD run with 3:24 left in the half.
Southern Miss tied the score 17-17 after Alan Anderson recovered a fumbled punt at the Alabama 20 early in the third quarter. Four plays later, Smith sprinted in from the 4.
Valrie picked off his second pass of the game five plays later, returning it 22 yards to the Crimson Tide 10 to set up the go-ahead score. Alabama chased Favre out of bounds on a third-and-goal play, but a late hit gave Southern Miss a first down. Smith carried it in from the 3 on the next play to make the score 24-17 with 6:30 left in the third quarter.
A minute later, Alabama tied the score again when Hollingsworth caught Southern Miss in a blitz on third-and-4 and dumped the ball to Sanderson, who raced 60 yards for the score.
