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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Ticker) -- Southern Mississippi will be spending the holidays in Memphis, Tennesseee. Brant Hanna kicked a 27-yard field goal with 67 seconds remaining as the 22nd-ranked Golden Eagles secured the Conference USA championship and a berth in the Liberty Bowl with a 30-27 victory over Louisville. A fake punt set up the winning play. Facing a 4th-and-5 at the Louisville 36, Southern Miss punter Jamie Purser threw to Shawn Mills for a 26-yard gain. Moments later, Hanna booted home the winning points. "Well, it was too long for a field goal," Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower said. "I just felt like there wasn't enough time on the clock and we weren't going to get the ball back. It was just the right opportunity." "Everybody is upset. I told everyone to get back and the next thing you know, they hiked it," said Louisville defensive tackle Mike Gantous. "I heard a player say, 'He's not on the field, he's not on the field.' I think he (Mills) went off the field and then they hiked it. I am not sure if that's illegal or not. We weren't expecting anything to happen." The win sent the Golden Eagles (8-3, 7-0 C-USA) to the Liberty Bowl on New Year's Eve against the champion of the Mountain West Conference. It was the third conference crown for the Golden Eagles, who have posted a 21-2 record since Conference USA began football in 1996. Chris Redman tossed a pair of touchdown passes for Louisville (7-4, 4-2), which was attempting to win a conference championship for the first time since garnering a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title in 1972. "It's a tough loss. In my last year, I wanted to go out and beat those guys," Redman said. "They came in prepared and ready to play. You have to give them a lot of credit. They played a great game and deserve the conference (title)." Robert Walker booted a 45-yard field goal with 7:09 left in the third quarter to give the Cardinals a 27-17 advantage. But their defense, which came into the game ranked 95th in the country, could not hold the lead. Jeff Kelly, who had a rough afternoon, found Todd Pinkston with a 10-yard TD pass with 61 seconds left to tighten up the game heading into the final period. Kelly completed just 14-of-31 passes for 139 yards with one interception. He entered the game rated fifth in the nation in passing efficiency (151.3 rating), while the Redman entered 11th (142.6). Redman, the all-time leader in Division I-A in completions and attempts, finished 24-of-42 for 345 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Hanna kicked a 40-yard field goal with 6:51 left before eventually booting the game winner from 27 yards with 67 seconds to play. After Walker kicked a 31-yard field goal to give Louisville the only points of the first quarter, the teams combined for 38 in the second. Linebacker Ty Trahan gave the Eagles the lead with a 53-yard interception return for a score before Redman found Arnold Jackson with a 16-yard TD pass to put Louisville back on top. Jackson had a huge game, with 11 receptions for 161 yards. After Derrick Nix, who carried 24 times for 90 yards, ran four yards for touchdown for Southern Miss, Zek Parker returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown for the Cardinals. With 4:45 left before halftime, Redman found Jackson for a 70-yard scoring connection, giving the Cardinals a 24-14 advantage. Hanna booted a 29-yard field goal 38 seconds before intermission to cut the deficit to seven.
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