Turnovers killed the Golden Eagles as they dropped their fifth straight game, falling 23-13 to Arkansas State.
Southern Miss (1-5, 0-2 Sun Belt) struggled to play clean football all night against the Red Wolves (3-4, 1-2 Sun Belt), something coach Blake Anderson emphasized earlier in the week as a key thing his team needed to do if they wanted to win from here on out. Anderson’s squad turned the ball over five times in their 10-point loss, three of them from failed fourth-down attempts.
Arkansas State got on the board on their first possession with a 13-play, 64-yard drive that set up an early field goal from kicker Clune Van Andel, who was 3-for-3 on the night. After a Southern Miss punt, Van Andel added another field goal to make it 6-0.
Golden Eagle quarterback Landry Lyddy threw an interception on the next drive, starting what would turn out to be a rough night for the senior. Lyddy was 18 for 34 with 208 passing yards, a touchdown, and 2 interceptions.
The Red Wolves capitalized on the turnover, responding with another lengthy drive, this time ending in a touchdown. Running back Kenyon Clay punched it in from two yards out with 10:48 left in the first half. Clay finished the night with 30 yards on 10 carries.
The two teams traded punts before the Golden Eagles finally found the end zone via a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Preston Kilgore, who had two receptions for 20 yards.
Arkansas State answered three minutes later with another field goal from Van Andel before Southern Miss had their first turnover on downs to end the half.
Whatever struggles the Golden Eagles had in the first half were only amplified in the second, especially in the third quarter. Southern Miss had a dreary three-drive stretch: a missed 34-yard field goal to start the half, a punt, a second interception from Lyddy, and another turnover on downs in Arkansas State territory.
Yet again, the Red Wolves capitalized. Led by quarterback Trey Owens, who was 17 of 25 for 170 yards, Arkansas State drove 69 yards downfield to score another 2-yard touchdown run, this time from running back Timothy Carter.
Staring down a 23-7 deficit with a little over 13 minutes left to play, Southern Miss needed to start playing the clean football that Anderson has preached to them all year. It started off well with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard Steven Robinson touchdown run to bring them back into the game.
However, Anderson’s bold decision to go for two did not pay off and ultimately put his team down 10, keeping the score at 23-13. Then, with eight minutes left, the Golden Eagles got another chance to make it interesting, but a disappointing four-play turnover on downs ended that hope.
On defense, which played much better than in previous weeks, allowing only 304 total yards and two touchdowns, linebacker Mathis Haygood led the charge with 12 tackles, 6 solo.
Up next
Southern Miss will stay in Hattiesburg for their homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 24, against Louisiana at 4 p.m., and it will air on ESPN+.