MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Ralph Mency knew he had a shot from the moment he got the play call. It was an all out rush from the punt return unit, designed to try to get as close to the punter as possible. As one of the rushers in the scheme, his eyes grew wide. Southern Miss had left just a two man shield protecting their punter.
"I saw that the gap was open," Mency said, recalling the play. "I hit the shield, the shield got really flat down the middle, it opened up and I got my hands up and hit the ball.