In pursuit of their 38-20 victory over Jackson State, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles managed to block a punt in the process.
The Golden Eagles (1-1) took the field Saturday and snapped the longest Football Bowl Subdivision losing streak in the nation at 11 games, while ending the Tigers’ 11-game win streak — also the longest in the FBS.
Quarterback Braylon Braxton led the charge, finishing with three touchdown passes, including a 15-yard completion in the third quarter to Micah Davis that sealed the win. Braxton went 20-for-30 for 214 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Southern Miss totaled 139 yards, spearheaded by Jeffery Pittman’s 71-yard rushing effort.
“Well, I didn't turn the ball over, so that's a plus,” Braxton said. “Um, I think I don't, yeah, it was in the third quarter. Towards the end of the third quarter, I had a stretch where I missed like four or five balls in a row. Other than that, I thought I played. I'd give myself a b minus performance today, definitely some stuff I could have done better. I feel like I could have worked the pocket a little bit better, helped the O-line out. I feel like when I did take off running, it was good.”
The “Nasty Bunch” set the tone early with a blocked punt returned 30 yards for a touchdown less than three minutes into the game. Just like that, the Golden Eagles were up 7-0 with no time of possession.
“You all aren’t going to believe it, but I called it,” head coach Charles Huff said. “On Tuesday in a meeting, I said we’re going to defer. We’re in three and out. We’re going to block a punch for a touchdown.”
Later in the first quarter, Braxton connected with Bralon Brown for an eight-yard touchdown reception to extend the lead to 14-3. By then, the Rock — with the help of DJ Kujho — was feeling it.
Jackson State showed fight when running back Emari Matthews broke off a 21-yard touchdown run, cutting the Southern Miss lead to four. The Golden Eagles responded with a Reed Harradine field goal to enter halftime up 17-10.
“We knew coming in they were going to do a lot of stuff…our guys did a great job on picking it up and adjusting,” Braxton said.
Huff was excited about his team’s performance.
“Hats off to Jackson State, they are an unbelievable team,” he said. “They battled, did a really good job of putting a sense of challenging positions, forced us to miss some opportunities early in the game. So, hats off to them, but I couldn't be prouder of our players. They executed well enough today to win.”
Fans can catch the Golden Eagles in action at The Rock on Saturday, Sept. 13, against Appalachian State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
