Unfortunately for Southern Miss, nothing appears to be headed in the right direction.
Coming off a bye week and an improved performance the week before, the Golden Eagles (1-8, 0-5) lost their seventh consecutive game in a row. A subpar offensive performance (183 total yards), 10 penalties, 4 turnovers, and 6 sacks told the story in a lopsided 37-3 defeat by Marshall in Hattiesburg on Saturday.
The Thundering Herd (6-3, 4-1) became bowl-eligible with their first road victory of the season. The Golden Eagles led the series 8-7 overall but lost their three-game winning streak against Marshall.
Scoring summary
While the first possession was quick with Marshall knocking in a short 23-yard field goal by Nathan Totten for a 3-0 lead, both teams allowed turnovers during their next few series.
Beginning the second quarter, Marshall marched the ball down the field in seven plays and quarterback Braylon Braxton took it into the end zone on a direct snap draw with 13:43 left in the half to build a 10-0 lead. Southern Miss countered with its only score for the game the next series on a 51-yard field goal by kicker Connor Gibbs.
This was the closest the Golden Eagles would get for the rest of the game with the Thundering Hurd scoring 27 unanswered points and dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Marshall scored three consecutive touchdowns on explosive plays with a 36-yard touchdown run by running back Ethan Payne, a 14-yard scoring run by wide receiver Tychaun Chapman, and an 18-yard touchdown catch by tight end Toby Payne. The Thundering Hurd finished with two chip shot field goals by Totten to bring the final score to 37-3.
What the coach said
Although interim head coach Reed Stringer appears to be on the positive side, he admits the offensive production just didn’t happen.
“We did a lot of great things, especially defensively,” said Southern Miss interim head coach Reed Stringer when he addressed the media. “We’ve been talking about how we need to keep getting better at what we do and quit having costly penalties and mistakes that are huge deals in the game.”
Numbers never lie
In front of only 20,502 fans at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, the Golden Eagles allowed 526 total offense yards. Southern Miss quarterback Ethan Crawford completed 5-18 passes for only 70 yards and three interceptions, while the Golden Eagles converted just one of 14 first-down attempts. Starkville native Dreke Clark finished with 61 yards rushing.
Freshman and Byram native Chris Jones led USM with 8 tackles and a forced fumble, while defensive back Braxton Myers had an interception.
Marshall was led by quarterback Braxton with 220 yards passing, 76 yards rushing, a touchdown passing, and one rushing score.
Next up
Southern Miss plays on the road against Sun Belt opponent Texas State in San Marcos, Texas next Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.