Southern Miss takes big step in wrangling control of division with road win
The Wild West is slowly coming under the Golden Eagles’ command.
Southern Miss (7-2, 5-0) escaped Arkansas State (5-5, 4-2) on the road, 27-21, to lock in a key win in the race atop the Sun Belt West.
The Golden Eagles forced six turnovers and overcame an inefficient showing from the offense to slim the division down to two teams in control of their fate.
Arkansas State had an opportunity to win on the final play from the 13-yard line, but Ahmere Foster came up with a game-sealing diving interception with zeroes on the clock.
“We’re a gritty group. Our process works,” USM coach Charles Huff said after the game. “Heck of a job by the defense. We were struggling, offensively. Defense took the strain off today.”
Braylon Braxton and Landry Lyddy combined for 356 yards and 2 touchdowns against 2 interceptions. The latter replaced Braxton for a handful of possessions in the first half where he turned the ball over once via interception, but produced both of USM’s first half touchdown drives.
Lyddy’s first possession covered 63 yards in just six plays and ended with the UAB transfer finding the end zone on a 7-yard scramble. Elijah Metcalf did the work for Lyddy a few drives later when he took a screen pass 76 yards to the house for the Golden Eagles’ second 70-plus-yard play of the year.
The Red Wolves scored on their second possession, but were stalked by Golden Eagles corner Josh Moten throughout the day.
Moten logged a career-best three interceptions and each one ended an A-State drive that had dug into USM territory. His third was a circus-act steal in the end zone in the third quarter.
Southern Miss’ six takeaways moved it into first nationally with 25 on the year, but they resulted in just two field goals from an offense that struggled to finish possessions.
It was the first game USM threw multiple interceptions with both quarterbacks giving the ball away once. The Eagles scored just three points on their first two trips inside the 10-yard line, settling for a field goal after forcing a fumble on the game’s first play from scrimmage and turning the ball over on downs on the next possession.
Several drives were hampered by penalties. Eight of USM’s 10 penalties were committed by the offense and resulted in 55 lost yards.
But it came up with its best drive at the right time, marching 66 yards on 10 plays and ending with a 15-yard scoring pass from Braxton to tight end Kyirin Heath.
The touchdown came sandwiched between two Red Wolves’ possessions that both ended in six points.
While the win removed Arkansas State’s ability to control its destiny, it returned Troy’s (6-3, 4-1) in the process.
Southern Miss and Troy are on a collision course for what could be a division-deciding game on the final Saturday of the regular season.
This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 3:03 PM.
