USM falls to Middle Tennessee, remains winless in C-USA play

It was another case of mistakes and misfortune for Southern Miss football Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Eagles gave up touchdowns on a blocked punt, a scoop-and-score and pick-six in falling to Middle Tennessee 35-10 in Conference USA play at Johnny Floyd Stadium.

USM lost its sixth straight game and dropped to 1-7 overall and 0-4 in C-USA. The Blue Raiders improved to 4-4 and 2-2.

Southern Miss was its own worst enemy, spoiling a solid defensive effort by its defense that held the Blue Raiders to 287 yards of offense, just 1 of 9 on third-down conversions and forced four turnovers.

In addition to the touchdown giveaways, the Golden Eagles gave up seven sacks for 61 yards in losses and another seven tackles for a loss of another 15 yards. They were also flagged 12 times for 96 yards and only netted 234 yards of offense.

As has happened in other games, Southern Miss had a promising start, grabbing a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter after recovering a Middle Tennessee fumble at the Blue Raider 39-yard-line.

Freshman quarterback Jake Lange connected with junior Jason Brownlee for a 13-yard touchdown pass, capping a three-play drive. It was the first catch in a fruitful night for Brownlee, who caught nine balls for 120 yards.

After stopping the Blue Raiders on an interception by junior Eric Scott, the game started getting away from the Golden Eagles.

A 12-yard sack-fumble gave MTU the ball at the USM 29, and the Blue Raiders cashed it in on a 6-yard touchdown run by Mike DiLiello with 1:08 to play in the period.

The mistakes started coming in waves for the Golden Eagles from there. After a quick three-and-out, the Blue Raiders broke through to block Mason Hunt’s punt and Tra Fluellen picked up the block at the 18-yard-line and dashed in for the score.

And that wasn’t the end of it. Dajon Richard’s 14-yard pickup moved the Golden Eagles to the MTU 43.

However, a holding call moved them back 10 yards, then on third-and-19, Lange was sacked and stripped of the ball after a 20-yard loss. Jordan Branch picked up the fumble and rumbled 29 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

Southern Miss got a big defensive stop later in the second quarter, when Scott recovered a fumble in the end zone after it appeared the Blue Raiders were poised to add to their lead.

The Golden Eagles got a 38-yard field goal by Brooks Bourgeois to make the score 21-10, but Middle Tennessee answered with its best drive of the game, marching 81 yards on seven plays, with DiLiello scoring on a 14-yards with 5:09 left in the third quarter.

The Blue Raiders put the icing on their victory with 26 seconds left in the third quarter, when D.Q. Thomas swiped a pass from Lange and ran 43 yards for a touchdown and a 35-10 margin.

Lange finished the game with 16 completions in 34 attempts for 166 yards. Freshman Frank Gore Jr. had 83 yards on 20 carries, but he only netted a yard on three carries in the second half.

Junior linebacker Santrell Latham led the Golden Eagles on defense with seven tackles, three for 12 yards in losses, and he forced one of the two fumbles they recovered.

The Golden Eagles will return to Roberts Stadium next week for a C-USA game against North Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.