In a day filled with upsets across the college football landscape, Southern Miss could not find the offensive answer despite only allowing two first-half touchdowns from Louisiana — one of the nation’s hottest offenses.
Ultimately, the Golden Eagles (1-4, 0-1) accounting for only 177 yards of total offense led to the 23-13 loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns (4-1, 1-0) in Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference opener at home.
In their 55th overall meeting, USM had not lost to the Ragin’ Cajuns at M.M. Roberts Stadium since 1989 and held a 42-11-1 overall record. The dominant overall record was not reflected in the most recent contest as the Golden Eagles fell behind early with Louisiana scoring early in each quarter and capitalizing on poor offensive line play by Southern Miss.
Scoring Summary
After Louisiana kicker Kenneth Almendares opened with a 21-yard field goal on the first series, both teams’ offensive possessions were limited due to penalties or sacks.
True Freshman Southern Miss linebacker and Byram native Chris Jones stalled a Louisiana drive, forcing them to punt.
Following the Ragin’ Cajuns’ first touchdown to open the second quarter, Southern Miss countered with a six-play drive, which led to a one-yard touchdown run from Union native Kenyon Clay. The goal line series happened due to a 31-yard completion to Clay from Florida State transfer quarterback Tate Rodemaker.
Immediately after the Golden Eagles’ score, the Ragin Cajuns pieced together a five-play, 67-yard drive resulting in running back Dre’lyn Washington reaching the end zone on a 21-yard scamper through the middle with 8:51 left in the first half.
With just two minutes left before the midway break, the Golden Eagles looked to add points to the scoreboard. Orchestrating a seven-play drive, Clay scored on a five-yard direct snap for his second rushing touchdown, a career-high for the ball carrier. After the botched extra-point attempt, the halftime score was 17-13 and this was as close as Southern Miss would get.
Unlike previous games this season, the Golden Eagles did not turn the ball over. However, Will Hall’s squad was unable to amass any explosive plays, sustain long drives, or find any offensive firepower in the last 30 minutes of action.
A pair of field goals by Louisiana in the second half cemented Southern Miss’ fourth loss of the year and first loss against a conference foe this season.
What the coach said
While Southern Miss Head Football Coach Will Hall was not happy with the final result, he was pleased with the team’s defensive performance and the lack of turnovers. Hall still felt the Golden Eagles were very close to breaking open and was not satisfied with the offense.
“I am really disappointed. That’s a really good football team right there. I tip my hat to Coach [Michael] Desormeaux and those guys. They are a really good football team with a really good quarterback. They were exactly what we said they were,” Hall said. “I was disappointed we weren’t able to make the plays to win the game. We got behind early, battled back and I thought we played with a lot of energy and passion defensively.”
“I think we’re right at the top of the hump. Getting over the hump is the hardest step because you pulled that weight all the way up the hill and now, you’re at the top,” Hall opined on how close USM is. “I think we’re going to get over that hump very soon. We know that we’ve gotta move the ball and score more than what we’re doing. We’re 0-1 in the league and we’ve got a great opportunity over the next week because we just want to go 1-0 every week.”
The numbers never lie
While Clay had his first two-touchdown game on the ground and safety Elijah Sabbatini was near the top with 10 solo tackles, Southern Miss did not have many other quality stats. Rodemaker was 15-21 in the air, but only amassed 140 yards while running back and Starkville native Dreke Clark combined for the most all-purpose yards with only 79.
Louisiana finished with 410 total yards and quarterback Ben Woolridge completed 22 of 30 passes for 222 yards along with a touchdown pass. Washington was the only player with 100 rushing and receiving yards.
Southern Miss will hit the road and take on Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday. The game will kick off at 4 p.m. central and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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