What we learned from Scotty Walden’s debut as Southern Miss football coach vs. La. Tech
Scotty Walden’s debut as the interim Southern Miss football coach brought the energy he promised when he was elevated to his new job on Sept. 7, but the result was a gut-wrenching fifth consecutive defeat for the Golden Eagles.
Louisiana Tech (1-0) topped USM 31-30 after quarterback Luke Anthony hitting Griffin Hebert in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 30-30 with 14 seconds remaining.
The pass was originally ruled incomplete, but a review of the play showed that Hebert narrowly got one foot down before going out of bounds.
The extra point by Jacob Barnes was good, setting off a celebration for a La. Tech squad that had to rally back from a COVID-19 outbreak that reportedly involved 38 players testing positive.
“That was a heart breaker. That hurts,” Walden said after taking the loss in his first game as a head coach since he was leading Div. III East Texas Baptist in 2016.
Injury to Tim Jones proves crucial for USM
All was going USM’s direction with the Golden Eagles (0-2) leading 27-10 midway through the third quarter after a 5-yard touchdown toss from redshirt senior quarterback Jack Abraham to Jason Brownlee.
However, an injury to senior receiver Tim Jones a couple of plays prior proved to be what that led to USM’s gradual downfall.
The Biloxi native spent the rest of the game either riding an exercise bike or standing on the sideline while the Southern Miss passing attack dried up.
Before leaving the contest, Jones put together a career game with eight catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns — his first multi-TD game.
Walden said Jones suffered a “lower body injury,” but he said he didn’t believe it was an issue with his ankle or knee, describing it as a “soft tissue” injury.
“That definitely hurt,” Abraham said of losing Jones. “I don’t think it changed our play-calling mentality, but not having him out there makes a big difference. He’s a big play-maker and he makes our offense a lot better.”
USM turns aggressive under Scotty Walden
The 30-year-old Walden showed in the first half that he plans to be extremely aggressive as a head coach, but his risk taking came up short in the first half with a failed fourth-down conversion and an unsuccessful 2-point try.
Southern Miss had a solid opening drive that led to a 4th and 7 at the Louisiana Tech 24.
Instead of attempting a 41-yard field goal, Abraham hit Frank Gore Jr. for a short toss that resulted in 3 yards and a turnover on downs.
“We’re going to play aggressive when I feel like we’re in a rhythm,” Walden said. “Hindsight is 20/20. We’re not talking about this if we win the game. We probably should have kicked, but the only thing I regret is … we have to make sure we run a route that gets us past the sticks.”
Louisiana Tech followed with a 15-play, 79-yard drive and a 5-yard TD toss from Aaron Allen to Hebert to put the Bulldogs up 7-0 with 1:49 left in the first quarter.
Southern Miss answered the La. Tech TD with its own scoring possession, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Kevin Perkins.
Instead of settling for the extra point and the tie after the Perkins run, USM went for the 2-point conversion out of an unconventional formation that led to Naricuss Driver being stopped on a run up the middle.
La. Tech led 7-6 at that point with 12 minutes left in the first half.
Walden said he planned for days to run the 2-point conversion after the first touchdown. He said he got the numbers he’d hoped for out of the swinging gate formation, but there was a missed block that allowed Tech to stuff Driver.
“Maybe it was a better decision to kick, but I’m not a guy who lives in regret,” Walden said.
Enthusiastic Golden Eagles
Even in a losing effort, the Southern Miss football team appeared to play with more energy compared to its 32-21 loss to South Alabama in the season opener.
Walden bounced around on the sideline much like he did when he served as co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach.
Abraham, who completed 24 of 32 passes for 264 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, was encouraged by what he saw out of his teammates following Jay Hopson’s resignation as head coach on Sept. 7.
“I thought the overall energy on the sideline was the best it’s been since I’ve been here,” he said. “I went to each and every guy and told them how proud I am of them. You could really see improvement from Week 1 to Week 2. The guys are rallying around Walden and we have a really good football team.”
Short-handed La. Tech
Louisiana Tech was down six starters and 20 players on its two-deep depth chart, according to a report by Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.
Thamel reported the absences were the result of injury, COVID-19 and contact tracing.
Tech did have its top two quarterbacks with Allen, a redshirt sophomore, getting the start. Anthony, a graduate transfer from Abilene Christian, played well off the bench.
Anthony completed 13 of 21 passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Allen hit 11 of 14 attempts for 69 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
USM next hosts Tulane at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 26. Louisiana Tech will host Houston Baptist at 6 p.m. that night.
This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 11:53 PM.
