Southern Miss’ season-opening contest went as well as 2020 has gone.

Not well.

Despite the defense forcing two turnovers in the first half of action, the Golden Eagle offense could not find a rhythm, while chunk plays and fourth-down conversions gave South Alabama the momentum they needed to defeat Southern Miss 32-21.

How it happened

South Alabama struck first in the evening when Desmond Trotter found Jalen Tolbert on third down that led to a 73-yard touchdown, giving the Jaguars a 6-0 lead 63 seconds into the game. A failed two-point conversion attempt followed the touchdown.

The Southern Miss defense responded well on the second Jaguar offensive drive as Eric Scott Jr. picked off Trotter at the Golden Eagle 15 yard line, returning it 20 yards to the Southern Miss 35.

Southern Miss could make nothing of the turnover and punted, sending it to the South Alabama one-yard line. The Jaguars only needed 90 seconds to go 99 yards as they moved the ball down the field, connecting on a 49-yard pass to set them up on the Southern Miss two-yard line. A Terrion Avery touchdown and successful PAT gave the Jaguars a 13-0 lead that held as the second quarter began.

Southern Miss’ defense once again stepped up in the second quarter as Tyler Barnes came up with an interception, the second of the contest for the Golden Eagles. The offense responded with their first score of the evening that was set up by a 47-yard connection from jack Abraham to Tim Jones, putting Southern Miss on the South Alabama two-yard line. Don Ragsdale rushed to the left side of the field to find the endzone for their first score of the night. A successful PAT tightened things up to 13-7 with 10:27 remaining in the first half.

A 25-yard field goal from Briggs Bourgeois with 14 seconds remaining put the Golden Eagles within three, 13-10 as the first half came to a close.

South Alabama added a touchdown to their lead as they converted a fourth and one play during the drive, then finished it off with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Trotter to Tolbert. The successful PAT gave the Jaguars a 20-10 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Bourgeois booted his second field goal of the evening in the third quarter, this time from 28-yards out to bring the score to 20-13 with 6:56 remaining in the third quarter.

South Alabama’s Diego Guajardo connected on a 21-yard field goal with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter after the Jaguars pieced together a drive that included a 31-yard connection from Trotter to Tolbert on fourth down to keep their drive alive.

The Jaguars extended their lead to 29-13 after Chance Lovertich found Kawaan Baker for a swing pass that resulted in a 52-yard touchdown. The point-after attempt was no good.

Backup tight end Naricuss Driver found the endzone for Southern Miss from the one-yard line on fourth and goal, then threw a pass for a successful two-point conversion, bringing the Golden Eagles within eight, 29-21, with 5:42 remaining in the contest.

South Alabama added a field goal with under two minutes remaining in the contest to push their lead to 32-21 and finish off the Golden Eagle comeback attempt.

What’s next

Southern Miss will play host to Louisiana Tech on September 19th, while South Alabama hosts Tulane on September 12th.

STATS

Southern Miss

Jack Abraham - 22-32, 314 yards, 30 rush yards

Frank Gore Jr. - 12 attempts, 32 yards

Kevin Perkins - 8 attempts, 30 yards

Don Ragsdale - 7 attempts, 7 yards, 1 rush TD

Naricuss Driver - 1 attempt, 1 yard, 1 rush TD

Tim Jones - 6 receptions, 139 yards

Grayson Gunter - 3 receptions, 37 yards

Jason Brownlee - 2 receptions, 21 yards

Briggs Bourgeois - 2-2 FG (25, 28)

South Alabama

Desmond Trotter - 16-27, 299 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 41 rush yards

Chance Lovertich - 2-3, 64 yards, 1 TD

Carlos Davis - 15 attempts, 85 yards

Terrion Avery - 8 attempts, 26 yards, 1 rush TD

Jalen Tolbert - 6 receptions, 169 yards, 2 TD

Jalen Wayne - 6 receptions, 101 yards

Kawaan Baker - 4 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD