Southern Miss attempted a late comeback in the fourth quarter but came up short in a 30-20 loss to Louisiana Tech on Saturday night. With the loss, the Golden Eagles (2-2) saw their two-game winning streak end, while the Bulldogs improved to 3-1.
“So, it was a great opportunity for us to go out to respond this week,” Southern Miss head coach Charles Huff said during the postgame press conference. “I feel good about our players' response. Probably we had the best Monday practice we've ever had. That's a start, right? You got to string it together, and you had to carry it to the arena. But they definitely have the right mentality. Our players responded the right way, and our coaches responded the right way. No one was satisfied or happy with the result, but it was a great learning lesson.”
Quarterback Braylon Braxton led Southern Miss with 392 passing yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Davis Dalton on a 34-yard score with 22 seconds remaining on a tipped ball by Carl Chester.
Chester finished with five catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, marking the second time this season a Golden Eagle receiver surpassed 100 yards.
“Yeah, I think, you know, and I love Carl,” Huff said. “I think he's a byproduct of the system right now, and it's really good.”
Louisiana Tech built a 30-10 halftime lead before being held scoreless in the second half.
“It might have been like, 20 yards we gave up in the second half,” Huff said. “And if I explained our defense to you right now in 30 seconds, you'd be like, oh, that's easy. And literally, it was, we're playing man coverage on the first play of the game. There's one player that has a tight end in man, and he's looking in the backfield. Tight End runs by. So, we say, okay, let's put another guy on the tight end to make it a little bit easier. Another player has that tight end in man, and he's looking in the backfield, he runs by. After that, everybody started doing their jobs.”
Linebacker Chris Jones recorded a career-high 13 tackles, while Michael Montgomery added 13 stops for the second straight week.
Southern Miss outgained Louisiana Tech 514-340 in total yards and held the ball for more than 32 minutes. The Golden Eagles’ momentum was hurt by a second-quarter interception returned 48 yards for a touchdown by Kolbe Fields.
Louisiana Tech’s offense was led by Blake Baker and Omiri Wiggins, who each ran for a touchdown. Wide receiver Eli Finley caught six passes for 155 yards, including a 73-yard reception that set up an early score.
Southern Miss kicker Reed Harradine made field goals of 38 and 30 yards but missed a 37-yard attempt in the second quarter.
The Golden Eagles return home next week to face Jacksonville State at 6 p.m. in their final nonconference game of the season. Tickets are available at SouthernMiss.com/Tickets.
