USM, Mullens have to pick up play vs. UTSA

Marshall took control starting in the second quarter and pulled away for a 31-10 win over Southern Miss Friday night in Huntington, W.Va.

What we learned

If you fumble the ball five times and lose it four, you have very little chance of winning anywhere, much less on the road. That's what happened for USM Friday night.

Southern Miss quarterback Nick Mullens had his worst game of the season so far, completing 29-of-58 for 314 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He didn't have much time to throw the ball and he held onto the ball a little too long in other situations. He was sacked four times and fumbled it twice.

The USM defense did well to limit Marshall to 31 points in the game with several players returning from injury, including safety Devonta Foster, linebacker Anthony Swain and safety DeShadrick Truly.

Freshman defensive tackle Ladarius Harris played for USM and performed well with five tackles and a sack.

What's next

Southern Miss hosts Texas-San Antonio at 6 p.m. on Saturday for homecoming.

UTSA may be the most difficult opponent USM will face at Roberts Stadium the rest of the way. The Roadrunners' 1-5 record is deceiving considering the five losses have come to Arizona, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Colorado State and Louisiana Tech.

Louisiana Tech needed a last second field goal to beat UTSA, 34-31, on Saturday. UTSA, which has 25-6 win over UTEP, put a scare into Arizona in a 42-32 loss and fell 33-31 to Colorado State.

UTSA sophomore quarterback Dalton Sturm completed 18-of-27 passes for 227 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss to Tech. He will also be a threat to run the ball.

USM (3-3, 1-1) will have to play well Saturday to stay above .500 in league play.

This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 2:58 PM with the headline "USM, Mullens have to pick up play vs. UTSA ."