Southern Miss football falls to Georgia State, 42-14, in Sun Belt Conference setback
It was a gloomy day in Hattiesburg.
Georgia State controlled every aspect of a rain-soaked, 42-14 thrashing of Southern Miss behind an unsolvable speed-spread offense.
The Golden Eagles (5-4, 3-2) had no answer for Panthers quarterback and option-maestro Darren Grainger. Georgia State pounded USM’s typically-stout front seven for 388 rushing yards and touchdowns from Marcus Carroll and Tucker Gregg.
The Panthers (4-5, 3-2) ran out to a 28-0 halftime lead while holding USM to just 76 yards through 30 minutes.
Four different Eagles attempted a pass throughout the game. Golden Eagle coach Will Hall eventually landed on Trey Lowe in the second half.
Carroll ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns, while Grainger added 143 rushing yards himself.
“We’re at the point in our program, you know, where here in year two we’re not good enough to win when we don’t play well,” Hall said after the game. “When we play well, we’re good enough to play with anybody. We’ve proven that this year... We didn’t play well in any phase today, that’s on me as the head coach.”
Shock to the system
Southern Miss has quickly developed a reputation for fielding a disruptive, stifling defense that has held opponents to 30 points or fewer in every game leading up to Saturday.
It entered the game fourth in the conference and 12th in the nation in yards-per-carry allowed with only 3.01.
Yet, Georgia State had little trouble finding running lanes with a multitude of ball-carriers.
“We didn’t tackle well, we didn’t play well in the trenches,” Hall said. “I thought they physically whipped us. We kind of lean on our O-line and our D-line a lot. We didn’t get it done there today.”
Linebacker Daylen Gill led the team with 12 tackles while Jalen Williams had nine stops and a sack.
“We were beating ourselves,” Gill said. “We were filling our gaps wrong, not executing our jobs, not tackling... We beat ourselves.”
Grainger escaped numerous sacks and turned busted plays into positive gains throughout the night.
The other side of the line of scrimmage saw equal issues. The USM offensive line allowed 12 tackles for loss, leading to a limiting 3.4 yards per play.
If not for a 43-yard touchdown run by Frank Gore, Jr, the Golden Eagles would have finished with negative-10 team rushing yards.
Lowe opens up on trying season
It hasn’t been an easy year for Lowe. The former West Virginia Mountaineer was lost for the season in the second game of 2021 and returned over the offseason as the early favorite to back up Ty Keyes.
When Keyes went down against Liberty in the season-opener, Lowe’s lone attempted pass was intercepted. He was benched in favor of the super back formation for the rest of the game. Hall then elected to debut true freshman Zach Wilcke against Miami.
When Wilcke struggled against Arkansas State and Texas State, Hall turned to Jake Lange. That officially placed Lowe fourth on the depth chart behind a true freshman, a walk-on and a running back.
Against GSU, Wilcke’s early-game struggles, albeit while under constant duress, led to Lange’s reemergence. The sophomore attempted seven passes before leaving the game with a hurt pinky.
That brought on a spirit-lifting opportunity for Lowe.
“It’s been hard for me, to be honest,” Lowe said. “Just trying to stay the course. My teammates have always been there for me. Everybody has been so positive. It was a good feeling, for sure.”
Lowe completed 6 of 14 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown to Cole Cavallo.
“I’ve kind of just been waiting on my opportunity,” Lowe said. “I’ve been wanting it for a long time. I fought back from injury. That was kind of difficult to come back from. So I’ve just been waiting on my moment and I didn’t know when it was going to happen.
“Definitely didn’t think it was going to happen today, but I always try to prepare and do what I can. We didn’t win, so it really doesn’t matter, to be honest.”
One more needed
The loss makes reaching bowl eligibility a more challenging endeavor. Southern Miss needs one more win, but will have to face Coastal Carolina and South Alabama over the next two weeks before the season finale against ULM.
According to Gill, the blowout loss serves as a wake up call for the team.
“I feel like we got too comfortable, honestly,” Gill said. “I’m glad it happened, honestly. I feel like we’re going to work for real now. We got three more left to try and win a bowl game. I feel like we can win out... I know my brothers, I know they’re going to come back and work to get better. I know they want to get better.”
Southern Miss will have to face a Chanticleer team next week that is 5-1 at home and receiving votes in the AP top 25 poll.
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 5:34 PM.
