Going up against a South Florida team that held its own for much of its game against Alabama a week ago, it initially looked like Southern Miss and head coach Will Hall had found the recipe to pull off a much-needed upset. However, talent and time worked against the Golden Eagles to result in a 49-24 win for the Bulls.
Southern Miss jumped out to a quick lead with a 42-yard trick play in which quarterbacks Ethan Crawford and Tate Rodemaker connected to land in the red zone. A Rodemaker pass to tight end Kyirin Heath capped off the opening, 67-yard drive to make the score 7-0. The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 14-0 with a screen pass from Rodemaker to running back Kenyon Clay, which saw Clay elude several tacklers before waltzing into the end zone.
He just doesn’t go down 😤@Kyirin4 | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/xOguQ6MtcQ
— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) September 14, 2024
Get Kenyon the ball and just watch 🕺 pic.twitter.com/vlqx5agRiZ
— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) September 14, 2024
While the early two-possession lead had fans buzzing around M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, there was still a sense of uneasiness after seeing South Florida stand firm for 45 minutes against one of the top teams in the SEC last Saturday.
Led by a big, strong-arm quarterback in Byrum Brown – listed at 6-foot-3, 229 pounds – the Bulls rattled off two touchdowns in less than three minutes to tie the game up going into the second quarter. The first came off a pass from Brown to tight end Payten Singletary before running back Kelley Joiner broke through the middle and went 43 yards untouched into the end zone.
The scoring didn’t stop there for South Florida as Brown found Houston transfer receiver Joshua Hardeman after the defense forced the Golden Eagles to punt to begin the second quarter and go up 21-14. Brown followed it up by using his legs on the next offensive possession to make it a 28-14 game.
Southern Miss did what it could to stop the quickly shifting momentum when Crawford subbed out Rodemaker and hit Tiaquelin Mims on a 56-yard pass. Three plays later, Crawford took it himself to score on a quarterback draw, settling the first-half score at 28-21 in favor of South Florida.
The Bulls used halftime to correct course and ensure the late first half Southern Miss score didn’t swing the pendulum in favor of the Golden Eagles. A successful fake field goal midway through the third quarter caught Southern Miss off guard and later resulted in an easy rushing score for Ta’Ron Keith, extending the lead to 35-21.
The Bulls followed it up with two more rushing touchdowns – one from Nay’Quan Wright and the other from Joiner – to take the game virtually out of reach with a 49-21 lead. While Southern Miss kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles were largely arrhythmic for the entire second half as the final score was 49-24.
While South Florida (2-1) had six different players score touchdowns, the Golden Eagles played three different quarterbacks to try to overcome a Rodemaker ankle injury and reignite a spark that was nowhere to be found after two quarters of play. Rodemaker threw the most passes, going 10 of 15 for 120 yards with two touchdowns, while Crawford completed six for 183 yards with an interception. Crawford later went out with an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter. Freshman John White got his most playing time this year, going three of five for 94 yards.
Mims led Southern Miss (1-2) receivers with 128 yards on six receptions as Rodrigues Clark led the running back corps with 85 yards on 15 attempts. Linebacker Tre Pinkney had a game-high 13 tackles as the defense.
Next up for Southern Miss will be an away game at Jacksonville State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 21.
