Kickoff: 6:45 p.m. (CDT), Thursday, M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Television: ESPN National (Mike Tirico -- play-by-play, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit -- analysts, Dr. Jerry Punch -- sideline)

Radio: Pinnacle Network (Jim Rose -- play-by-play, Adrian Fiala -- analyst, Gary Sharp -- sideline)

2003 records: Nebraska 3-0 (1-0 Big 12), Southern Miss 2-1 (2-0 Conference USA)

Ratings: Nebraska is rated No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Southern Miss is not rated.

Returning starters: Nebraska 15 (5 offense, 9 defense, 1 kicker); Southern Miss 13 (8 offense, 5 defense, 0 specialists)

Coaches: Frank Solich, sixth season, 52-16; Jeff Bower, 13th season, 82-59-1

Notes: After opening the season with three dominating defensive performances at home, Nebraska takes its unbeaten record on the road to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on Southern Mississippi . . . The game will be televised nationally on ESPN, marking Nebraska's fourth straight televised game to open the 2003 season, including three nationally televised contests . . . The 3-0 Huskers are coming off an 18-10 victory over Penn State. Nebraska's defense stood out for the third straight week, holding Penn State scoreless in the second half and limiting the Nittany Lions to just over 200 total yards in the game . . . Southern Miss is 2-1 after a 23-6 victory over Memphis in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles opened the year with a road loss at California but have since bounced back with Conference USA wins over UAB and Memphis . . . The matchup is the second game in a three-game contract between the two schools and just the second all-time. The first meeting occurred in Lincoln in 1999, with Nebraska taking a 20-13 victory. The Golden Eagles will make a second visit to Memorial Stadium next September . . . The game will mark Nebraska's first Thursday night appearance on ESPN since a 64-21 victory at Oklahoma State in the 1995 season opener. Nebraska's last regular-season game on a Thursday night was a 48-3 win over Rice in 2001 at Memorial Stadium, in a game rescheduled from the previous Saturday following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks . . . Southern Mississippi is a regular on ESPN's Thursday night stage, including a 17-12 win over UAB earlier this season on ESPN2. The game in Hattiesburg also marks Nebraska's first-ever trip to the state of Mississippi for a football game. NU has played Ole Miss and Mississippi State once each, but both contests were in bowl games . . . Nebraska becomes just the sixth ranked foe to visit Hattiesburg. The team also is the highest-ranked team to play at "The Rock" in the Jeff Bower era, and the second-highest ranked team in school history . . . Southern Miss will enter the game without starting quarterback Micky D'Angelo, who suffered a concussion in the first half of the Memphis game. D'Angelo underwent an MRI last week and team doctors determined that he would be sidelined from competition for at least a month. Redshirt-sophomore Dustin Almond will get the nod and will make just his fourth career start. This season, Almond has thrown for 93 yards on 7-of-22 passing.