Southern Miss eyes WKU after convincing win over La. Tech

The Southern Miss football team clinched a spot in the Conference USA title game with a 58-24 win Saturday at Louisiana Tech.

What we learned: The Golden Eagles (9-3) will travel play Western Kentucky (10-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday on a six-game winning streak.

During the streak, Southern Miss is averaging 48.2 points a game and giving up 16.3.

USM quarterback Nick Mullens completed 24-of-37 passes for 386 yards, three touchdowns and an interception Saturday.

His top target was senior receiver Mike Thomas, who pulled in seven passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. He now has 56 catches for 1,111 yards and 11 touchdowns this year.

Ito Smith had a big day on the ground with 22 carries for 169 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, USM held La. Tech senior running back Kenneth Dixon to negative-4 yards on eight carries.

What's next: USM was up to the test Saturday, but it gets tougher this week.

WKU cruised through conference play with a perfect mark. The only C-USA game where it was truly tested was a 41-38 win over Louisiana Tech in Bowling Green in the second week of the season.

Redshirt senior QB Brandon Doughty has managed to overcome injuries to key players on offense to again put up huge numbers. He has completed 72.5 percent of his passes for 4,184 yards, 42 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Doughty ranks fifth in the nation in passing yardage with Mullens one spot behind at 3,964 yards.

Taywan Taylor is one of five WKU receivers who have 37 catches or more this season. He has 71 receptions for 1,198 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Anthony Wales, a shifty running back, leads Western Kentucky with 129 carries for 933 yards and seven scores.

There should be no lack of points in Saturday's contest.

This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Southern Miss eyes WKU after convincing win over La. Tech ."