Disappointing Southern Miss football season comes to an end with 35-17 loss to Troy
Southern Miss football made history, its future shined, but the end result was much of the same.
The Screaming Eagles (3-9, 2-6) put a disappointing season to bed on Senior Day with a 35-17 loss to Sun Belt West division champion Troy (10-2, 7-1).
Frank Gore Jr. ate up 154 all-purpose yards and became the third Golden Eagle in program history to eclipse 4,000-career rushing yards. True freshman quarterback Ethan Crawford made his second start and dazzled in moments with his ability to keep plays alive and find open receivers on broken down routes.
Troy’s relentless pass rush and balanced offensive attack eventually wore down USM. The Trojans scored in every quarter and pulled away in the second half.
Crawford was wrangled in the backfield six times and the Troy defense had its second double-digit tackle-for-loss game in the last three weeks. Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson threw for 289 yards and two scores, while receiver Chris Lewis caught a score and threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.
Gore Jr. — who went through Senior Day festivities with one year of eligibility left — gashed Troy with a 57-yard touchdown run and finished with 95 rushing yards.
The Golden Eagles will enter the offseason having missed a bowl game for the third time in the past four years. Head coach Will Hall has been guaranteed a fourth season at the helm, according to ESPN, and enters his third full recruiting cycle with the third-ranked class in the Sun Belt Conference.
This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 2:12 PM.
