Everything went wrong for the Golden Eagles in their final nonconference contest of the 2024 campaign.
The first three drives of the day were worst-case scenario for Will Hall’s black and gold – the initial two possessions ending in interceptions by Tate Rodemaker and the third ending in a turnover in downs in Jacksonville State territory. Unfortunately for Southern Miss, the theme continued all afternoon long at AmFirst Stadium.
Rodemaker, who was playing through an ankle injury, was shelved for true freshman John White in the first quarter. The youngster didn’t fare much better, finishing the day completing 9 of 18 passes with two interceptions and a rushing touchdown – the lone score of the afternoon for Southern Miss.
Put simply, there were no highlights in the blowout loss against previously winless Jacksonville State. Rich Rodriguez’s crew capitalized on the early turnovers and found the endzone on three of their first three drives. After building a 21-7 lead with 6:58 remaining in the first half, it was all academic.
⚫️⚫️🟡🟡 pic.twitter.com/rq3ozoSpw4
— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) September 21, 2024
Southern Miss lost the turnover battle 6 to 1, were outgained 509 yards to 246, and completed just 52% of their passes compared to 88% for Jacksonville State. In all phases of the game, the Golden Eagles were dominated.
“We’ve got to quit turning the ball over and we’ve got to tackle better if we’re gonna win football games,” head coach Will Hall said after the 37-point drubbing. “Those are fixable. We’ve got to get it addressed and it’s got to be fixed immediately.”
The Golden Eagles now trudge into conference play 1-3 on the season that held higher expectations entering Hall’s fourth year as the head man in Hattiesburg. After a bye week, a home matchup with the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns awaits.
