Southern Miss Breaks the Streak with Win over the Herd

Hattiesburg, MS. - The Southern Miss Golden Eagles (5-3, 3-1 C-USA) took care of business at their homecoming game with a quality win against the Marshall Thundering Herd (2-6, 1-3 CUSA) last Saturday Night, Oct. 29, 2016, at The Rock. The 24-14 victory erased a five game losing streak to the Herd and a 2 game losing streak on the season. 

Center of attention went to Senior Quarterback Nick Mullens, who went 22-40 passing for 300 yards and threw a touchdown strike, at M. M. Roberts Stadium. Mullens passed Austin Davis's record of 10,892 to become the all-time leading passer in Golden Eagles History which stands presently at 11,057 yards. In addition, running back "Judge" Ito Smith gained 140 yards and scored two touchdowns for USM.

The Eagles clearly did not play their best game of the year, losing the turnover battle and committing numerous penalties. But, the win kept pace with Louisiana Tech (6-3, 4-1 C-USA) who are at the top of the Western Division in Conference USA and are on a 5 game winning streak. USM will host LA Tech in a Friday showdown after Thanksgiving in Hattiesburg on Nov. 25, 2016, which could very well be to determine the winner of the Division.

The Head Coach of Southern Miss, Jay Hopson, said "We're kind of in that playoff time of the year, so it was good to get that one" referring to the importance of the remaining games to come. Saturday was the second-largest home crowd to watch a contest in the 'Burg over the past 5 years at 31, 275 spectators. The Black and Gold Nation hopes momentum will build for this coming week's game with new Conference foe the Charlotte 49'ers. Charlotte comes in with a record of 3-5, 2-2 in the Conference, who is a talented team and also recently beat Marshall in an upset.

This Saturday's contest against the 49'ers will be televised by The American Sports Network with a 2:30 pm kick-off. The game can be heard on the Southern Miss ISP Sports Network and its affiliates.