Southern Miss outscored South Alabama 21-7 in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s matchup in Mobile. However, in the first three frames, the Jaguars (4-7, 3-4 Sun Belt) garnered a 21-point scoreboard advantage in the first three frames, deeming the late surge by the Golden Eagles (7-4, 5-2) futile when the clock struck all zeroes.
South Mississippi native Kentrel Bullock finished with a career high 187 yards on the ground with 3 touchdowns for the Jaguars, including a career-long 64-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. For Southern Miss, a banged-up Braylon Braxton attempted to lead a heroic rally with 400 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, but an early turnover and an unfavorable time of possession battle stymied the standout quarterback’s efforts.
Scoring summary
Both teams traded punts on opening possessions. South Alabama struck first blood when running back Keenan Phillips ran up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown after seven plays with 56 seconds left in the first quarter. This gave the Jaguars an early lead that would not be relinquished. Beginning the second quarter, Bullock scored his first touchdown with a 15-yard run after a seven-play drive. After the extra point conversion, the Jaguars had a 14-0 lead.
Following a Southern Miss defensive turnover on downs with 6:37 left in the first half, Braxton immediately found receiver Carl Chester for a 52-yard touchdown with 6:28 left and cut the lead to 14-7 by the Jaguars. A Bullock-led Jaguar bunch punched Southern Miss with an eight-play drive that resulted in his second touchdown on a 26-yard run. The halftime score was 21-7 in favor of South Alabama.
During the first play of the second half, Braxton’s pass was intercepted by Jaguar safety Cole Blaylock, which led to a sneak touchdown by the home team’s quarterback, Bishop Davenport, with 14:15 left in the third quarter.. A quick three-and-out from the Golden Eagle offense led to an eight-play drive from South Alabama, resulting in Davenport reaching the end zone on a 7-yard run with 9:20 left in the quarter. South Alabama boasted a 35-7 lead.
Then the rally began for the Golden Eagles. Capping off a 17-play drive was Southern Miss running back Jeffery Pittman after diving in for a 1-yard touchdown to eat into the deficit. While the Golden Eagles scored three touchdowns in the final quarter — an 11-yard touchdown to Chester from Braxton, a 29-yard reception to Micah Davis from Braxton, and a 1-yard run from Jaylin Carter — Southern Miss ran out of time after giving up a 64-yard touchdown run from Bullock.
A last-ditch effort by the visiting Eagles to earn another possession and potentially tie up the game proved fruitless due to an unsuccessful onside kick attempt. South Alabama held on to win 42-35.
Coach’s comments
Since it was the second consecutive loss for the Golden Eagles, head coach Charles Huff was candid with his players and his desire for them to regain focus.
“You have to take the medicine or the coaching, you know, in order to improve,” Huff said. “These types of games really start to wear on you when you’re having the physicality along with the tempo concerns.”
Numbers never lie
The Jaguars have won three of their last four senior day games, two of them coming against Charles Huff’s Marshall team in 2023 and the Southern Miss team this year. South Alabama and Southern Miss have played each other six consecutive times, with the Jaguars winning every one of those games.
South Alabama out-possessed Southern Miss by nearly an entire quarter. The Jaguars had possession of the ball for 22:43 compared to just 37:17 for the Golden Eagles. South Alabama rushed for 263 yards on the night while holding Southern Miss to just 41 yards on the ground.
Southern Miss wide receiver Carl Chester finished with 128 yards on 5 receptions and 2 touchdowns.
Next up
Southern Miss hosts Troy at the M.M. Roberts Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29. This game will begin at 2:30 p.m. CT and will decide the Sun Belt West division champion who will play against James Madison the following week.