Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson picked up his first road win as the Golden Eagles staved off a late comeback attempt to secure a 35-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
The Golden Eagles’ (3-5, 2-2 Sun Belt) lethal run game – which amounted to 249 yards between Steven Robinson, 151 yards on 21 carries, and Jamarice Wilder, 104 yards on 15 carries – was pivotal to their success on Saturday. Another key factor in Southern Miss’s win was how improved the defense looked in their 14-point victory.
Before the Warhawks’ (1-7, 1-3 Sun Belt) near-comeback in the fourth quarter, Southern Miss held ULM to less than 200 yards and only 7 points, in large part thanks to lockdown cornerback Kobi Albert.
Albert finished the day with six tackles, five solo, a sack, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble for the first of ULM’s two turnovers. In addition to the two fumbles given up by the Warhawks, they also failed to convert on three different fourth downs.
After a relatively uneventful first half, which ended in a 10-0 Southern Miss advantage thanks to a 33-yard touchdown run by Robinson and a Creighton Wilbanks 36-yard field goal, the Warhawks found the end zone for the first time in the game on an 83-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aidan Armenta, 19 of 34 for 202 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, to lead receiver Marcellus Jackson with just over 13 minutes to go in the third quarter.
Besides the 83-yard touchdown pass to Jackson, ULM struggled to get in the end zone during the first three quarters. That is, until Albert was ejected for targeting. From there, the floodgates seemed to open for the Warhawks offense.
Before that could affect the game, however, Southern Miss scored 17 unanswered to go up 27-7 heading into the final quarter of play. Running back Wilder ran for a 21-yard touchdown, one of two for him on the day, and quarterback Landry Lyddy found wide receiver Grant Page also from 21 yards out. Lyddy was 15 of 30 for 130 yards and a touchdown.
But once Albert was out of the equation and no longer shutting down Warhawk receivers, ULM fired back with 12-play, 67-yard and 11-play, 77-yard touchdown drives to cut the deficit to six.
Southern Miss regained possession up 27-21 with a little under seven minutes to play but couldn’t extend their lead. Instead, they were forced to punt, but not after chewing three full minutes of game clock.
With 3:43 left to play and no lockdown Albert to hinder their receivers, ULM had a real chance of taking their first lead of the day, despite their lackluster performance before the fourth quarter. However, instead of working some late-game magic, they turned the ball over on downs and went four-and-out.
Two plays later, Wilder sealed the deal for the Golden Eagles with a 32-yard touchdown run, driving the nail into ULM’s coffin. A Lyddy-to-Mario Sanders connection on the two-point conversion made it a 35-21 game when it was all said and done.
Up next
The Golden Eagles won’t have long to rest, as they host James Madison on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. The game against the 7-2 Dukes in Hattiesburg will air on ESPN2.