What we learned from WKU’s victory over Southern Miss football in a heated contest
Western Kentucky held off a late rally by Southern Miss, 10-7, in Bowling Green on Saturday, shutting down a USM offense that was playing without its starting quarterback.
Southern Miss took over at midfield with 1:44 remaining after the defense forced the WKU offense to go 3-and-out. But the Golden Eagles turned it over on downs with 41 seconds remaining without getting a first down on the possession.
The refs decided to end the game at that point with WKU and USM players having to be separated by coaches. The two teams were involved in multiple altercations in the second half.
There was one ejection in the game, WKU senior linebacker Kyle Bailey for unsportsmanlike conduct, and multiple flags were thrown as the game became more heated.
Southern Miss (2-6, 1-3 in C-USA) next hosts UTSA for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 21 in Hattiesburg.
USM starting quarterback Jack Abraham, a redshirt senior in his third year at the top of the depth chart, decided this week to sit out the rest of the season after battling COVID-19 and a concussion in recent weeks.
Redshirt sophomore Trey Lowe III, a transfer from West Virginia, received his second consecutive start after helping the Golden Eagles beat North Alabama 24-13 last week in Hattiesburg.
Lowe completed 6-of-14 passes for 67 yards and ran 13 times for 27 yards.
The Golden Eagles had only 51 plays on offense in the game and kept it mostly on the ground, running 37 times for 157 yards and a touchdown.
The Golden Eagles’ lone score was a powerful 6-yard run by Kevin Perkins with 10:30 left in the game.
Perkins, who has four touchdowns over the last two games, had eight carries for 71 yards.
Tyrell Pigrome, a Maryland transfer, didn’t have one of his better days at quarterback for WKU, but he did enough in the first half to lead the Hilltoppers to the victory. He completed 19 of 30 passes for 183 yards. On the ground, he had 14 carries for 32 yards an a TD.
WKU (3-6, 2-3) managed 304 yards on offense while USM had 221.
USM defense shows progress
The Southern Miss defense held the opponent under 13 points for the second consecutive week with several players putting in solid showings at WKU.
Redshirt junior linebacker Zach Portlock showed that he’s likely worthy of more playing time, wrapping up eight tackles, a sack and two tackles for negative yardage.
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Malik Shorts led USM with 11 tackles, including eight solo. He had a big stop on a 4th and 1 for WKU at the USM 22 with 5:39 remaining.
USM pushed the ball to the WKU 39 on the following drive, but a sack of Lowe by WKU defensive end DeAngelo Malone pushed USM back to midfield and forced a punt with 2:49 remaining.
Frank Gore Sr. on hand at WKU
New York Jets running back Frank Gore Sr. took advantage of the bye week to travel to Bowling Green on Saturday to watch his son, Frank Gore Jr., play college football in person for the first time.
The Southern Miss freshman turned in another solid showing with 14 carries for 66 yards.
The Miami native has 85 carries for 461 yards and one touchdown this season.
Former USM coach facing investigation
There was little indication that former Southern Miss defensive coordinator and player Tyrone Nix would be a serious candidate for the USM head coach job this time around, but what little shot he had appears to have ended on Saturday.
Nix, who is in his first season as the UTSA defensive coordinator, was not on hand for the Roadrunners’ 52-21 win over UTEP and the school released a statement Saturday during the game saying that he was on administrative leave and facing an internal investigation.
Nix was among the final candidates for the USM job in early 2016 when Jay Hopson was hired.
Hopson stepped down after the season-opening loss to South Alabama on Sept. 3.
Associate head coach Tim Billings is leading the program on an interim basis after the previous interim coach, Scotty Walden, stepped down last month to take the job at Austin Peay.
