By Carter Brantley
The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles were cruising in the 1st quarter.
They scored TDs on their 2 opening drives, held USF scoreless via a big 4th-down stop in plus territory, and looked prime for a fun little game.
That feeling did not last.
After jumping out to that early 14-0 lead, they were outscored 49-10 for the rest of the game, as USF was able to do more or less whatever they wanted on the ground and were able to pick themselves up defensively, forcing a few turnovers and forcing the Golden Eagles to switch QBs in the middle of the game, as Ethan Crawford came in for FSU transfer Tate Rodemaker near the end of the first half.
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Unfortunately for Southern Miss, Crawford was unable to bring them much of a spark offensively save for his opening drive rushing TD. USF ran for 369 yards and nearly totaled 600 yards of total offense, as they came away from Hattiesburg with a solid, business-like victory.
The Bulls were indeed on parade, and it came from a variety of ballcarriers.
Kelley Joiner and Nay’Quan Wright both eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground, and Byrum Brown added his usual damage with 72 yards rushing in addition to his 193 yards through the air.
On defense they came away with a big-man interception, with defensive tackle Doug Blue-Eli making an impressive play on a tip drill inside the USF 10. They also forced a couple fumbles and managed to hold USM to under 100 yards rushing.
The real highlight of the game might have been a fake field goal that took place in the 2nd half, with a fun 17-yard rush by kicker John Cannon setting up an eventual USF touchdown.
USF heads back home for their matchup with the University of Miami, who are 3-0 after their victory over Ball State Saturday afternoon.
Miami opened their season with a convincing win in The Swamp over the Gators and have won their past 2 games against their cupcake opponents by a combined total of 107 points (they’re +131 for the season if you count their victory over UF).
UM came into the season sporting a roster rich with talent including a potential Heisman candidate in transfer QB Cam Ward and some ridiculous skill players that will likely end up in the NFL in running back Damien Martinez and wideout Xavier Restrepo.
Regardless, even if USF comes up short against the potential ACC champion Hurricanes, starting the season 2-2 is exactly where USF should be, taking care of their 2 easy wins and (hopefully) at least looking respectable in both of their tough games against top-25 teams.
