By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A rocky start at "The Rock" was too much for ULM to overcome Saturday in a 24-7 loss to Southern Miss at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
ULM trailed 17-0 after a first quarter that featured two turnovers and a missed field goal by the Warhawks – and two one-play scoring drives for Southern Miss.
"You can see what happens when you do the things that make it almost impossible to win a football game," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "You have three turnovers in the first half and you're down 17-0 in the first quarter."
ULM (2-7, 0-6 Sun Belt) lost its seventh straight while Southern Miss (2-7, 1-5 Sun Belt) snapped a seven-game losing streak. The Warhawks made four turnovers overall, leading to 17 points.
Making his second collegiate start for ULM, freshman quarterback
Blake Murphy completed 7-of-17 passes for 81 yards with three interceptions before
Jiya Wright replaced him in the second quarter.
Wright finished 5-of-12 passing for 106 yards and one touchdown in relief.
Dariyan Wiley made three catches for 137 yards including a 68-yard touchdown from Wright.
Southern Miss held ULM to 260 yards and 10 first downs.
Defensively, defensive end
Kenard Snyder made nine tackles with two for loss and a pass breakup.
Running back Frank Gore Jr., rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries to spearhead a Southern Miss offense that generated 444 yards and 24 first downs.
Murphy's interception on ULM's first offensive series led to a USM touchdown one play later. Chandler Pittman connected with Latreal Jones on a 38-yard touchdown pass and the Golden Eagles led 7-0 with 10:52 left in the first quarter.
Murphy redeemed himself quickly, tossing a 40-yard pass to Wiley on third down to put ULM in scoring position. The Warhawks couldn't convert the big play into points though, as
Derek McCormick missed a 32-yard field goal try.
One play after the missed field goal, Jakarius Caston caught a pass from quarterback Billy Wiles and raced 80 yards for a touchdown and USM led 14-0 with 8:39 remaining in the first.
"The defense gives up two deep balls," Bowden said. "A double pass that got behind us and then the safety and corner ran into each other. A typical 15-yard catch goes for 80. That puts you behind the eight ball."
One play after the touchdown, USM intercepted Murphy for the second time in the contest. ULM's defense stiffened in the red zone with big plays from
Carl Glass Jr.,
Kenard Snyder and
Max Harris before the Golden Eagles settled for Andrew Stein's 31-yard field goal and a 17-0 lead.
After Murphy's third interception late in the first half, ULM turned back to opening day starting quarterback
Jiya Wright. USM outgained ULM with 295 yards to 99 and collected 15 first downs to three.
"We opened the game up with turnovers and gave them 17 points," Bowden said at halftime.
On ULM's second offensive series of the third quarter, Wright connected with Wiley on a one-play, 68-yard touchdown pass that cut USM's lead to 17-7 with 10:33 remaining in the period.
The Warhawks saw a 10-play drive end at the USM 11 on a Wright fumble with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
"You come back in the second half and you score," Bowden said. "Then you take the next drive, get all the way to the 11 and you fumble the football with a chance to go 17-14."
After the takeaway, Southern Miss drove 89 yards in 14 plays to score on Gore's 1-yard touchdown run. The Golden Eagles took a 24-7 lead with 7:36 left in the game.
"That was the end of the ballgame," Bowden said.
Up next: ULM plays host to Troy on Nov. 11 for the final home game of the season at Malone Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m.
