The Southern Miss football team is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2022, handling UL Monroe at home by a score of 49-21 on Saturday afternoon.
Southern Miss (6-2, 4-0 Sun Belt) allowed UL Monroe (3-5, 1-3) to score on its opening possession before quickly tying the game, taking a lead, and never looking back. Up 21-14 at halftime, the Golden Eagles blew it open in the second half with four touchdowns and two forced turnovers.
Braylon Braxton led the way for Southern Miss with four touchdowns to four different teammates – Tychaun Chapman, Kyirin Heath, Bralon Brown, and Carl Chester. He finished 18 of 23 through the air with no turnovers and added 20 yards on the ground.
The Golden Eagle running back corps succeeded by committee with 197 total yards and four players having more than 30 yards. Matt Jones rushed for two scores with Jaylin Carter adding another.
Defensively, Michael Montgomery had a team-high nine tackles. Chris Jones and Anthony Richard Jr. each notched interceptions.
Leading UL Monroe was Zach Palmer Smith, who rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Landon Graves was 12 of 26 passing for 103 yards with a touchdown and two picks.
On top of reaching the six-win mark to be considered for the postseason, Southern Miss is enjoying its best start to conference play since 1988 as first-year head coach Charles Huff engineers arguably the biggest turnaround in this year’s edition of college football. Last season, the Golden Eagles were 1-11.
Southern Miss will now have a weekend off before returning to play at Arkansas State on Saturday, Nov. 8.
