What we learned from Southern Miss football’s bounce back victory at North Texas
A week after suffering one of the most embarrassing defeats in program history, the Southern Miss football team responded with a 41-31 victory at North Texas Saturday night.
The victory ended a six-game losing streak for the Golden Eagles and gave interim head coach Scotty Walden, a native of Cleburne, Texas, his first victory on the FBS level.
The USM defense gave up 483 total yards to UNT (1-2, 1-1), but three North Texas turnovers proved crucial in the outcome.
The Golden Eagles improved to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in Conference USA play after falling 66-24 to Tulane in Hattiesburg on Sept. 26.
“This one is special not because of the way things turned out, but with the guys fighting through adversity,” Walden said. “The best thing about this is it’s a team win. These guys fought back from adversity and never quit. Our coaches didn’t quit.”
It was Walden’s first win as a head coach since his Div. III East Texas Baptist team won at Louisiana College 64-62 on Oct. 29, 2016.
“I was proud of the poise we showed (on defense),” Walden said. “We gave up a couple of easy touchdowns, but nobody panicked. In the past, we panicked. We matured as a football team. We bounced back and showed a lot of amazing leadership.”
Southern Miss gets lift from ground game
Frank Gore Jr. gave USM its first 100-yard rushing performance since De’Michael Harris did at Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 16, 2019. Gore carried 23 times for 130 yards and a TD, showing some tough running well into the second half
He and redshirt junior Darius Maberry led the Golden Eagles to 202 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 46 carries. Maberry ran 17 times for 55 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career.
Maberry and Gore ran behind a new look offensive line that featured junior Tykeem Doss at left guard and redshirt freshman Louis Smith, a D’Iberville native, at center.
“It was a year and a half since I last started a game so I was a little jittery early,” Smith said. “After the first drive, I settled in. I was giving my best effort and sacrificing everything to help my teammates win.”
USM’s top two rushers through the first three games, Don Ragsdale and Kevin Perkins, did not play in the game.
Gautier product DeAndre Torrey led UNT with 15 carries for 82 yards and a TD.
The UNT defense played Saturday night without five of its starters due to COVID-19, according to the Stadium broadcast.
New faces for USM
Maberry and Smith were two of several Golden Eagles who saw their first significant playing time of the season.
Gulfport product T.Q. Newsome and redshirt junior Zach Portlock played significant roles on defense at linebacker. Portlock tallied five tackles and Newsome came up with a fumble recovery following a strip sack of UNT QB Austin Aune by defensive end Dominic Quewon.
Junior cornerback Camron Harrell also saw plenty of time on defense after being used primarily on special teams to start the season. The former Iowa Hawkeye finished with three tackles and provided nice coverage in the secondary.
USM passing game overview
Southern Miss redshirt senior Jack Abraham didn’t have his most efficient outing, completing 16 of 30 passes, but he threw for 235 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
For the second consecutive week, Abraham hit junior receiver Jason Brownlee for a long touchdown pass — a 68-yard toss for a score on USM’s first possession of the second half.
Brownlee finished with four catches for 110 yards and a TD.
Freshman Brandon Hayes also played a significant role for USM, catching the first four passes of his career for 41 yards.
UNT’s Aune missed on several deep tosses, finishing with 339 yards and a TD on 28-of-47 passing.
USM next hosts FAU at 3 p.m. on Oct. 10.
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 10:54 PM.
