HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Southern Miss used a balanced offensive attack and a stingy defense to down UTSA, 27-17, in Conference USA action on Saturday night at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
The Golden Eagles (3-3, 2-1 C-USA) tallied 487 yards of offense — 269 through the air and 218 on the ground — and held the Roadrunners (3-5, 2-2) to 174 yards in winning for the third time in five all-time meetings.
Jack Abraham completed 28-of-33 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown, while Trivenskey Mosley rushed for a game-high 142 yards on 26 carries and Tim Jones caught seven passes for 107 yards to lead Southern Miss' offense, which finished with a 36:35-23:25 edge in time of possession.
UTSA forced three turnovers and received career highs in tackles from Andrew Martel (14), C.J. Levine (12), Les Maruo (12) and Darryl Godfrey (11) to go along with a season high-tying 13 stops from Josiah Tauaefa.
Martel's game-high 14 tackles included 10 solo stops and the junior safety added a fumble recovery and a tackle for loss, while Levine had a forced fumble and his first career interception return for a touchdown.
Five of Tauaefa's tackles were solo stops and the junior linebacker also had a quarterback hurry, while Maruo had a sack and the Roadrunners' other fumble recovery. Godfrey posted nine solo tackles as part of his 11, including one behind the line of scrimmage.
Offensively, Jordan Weeks passed for 117 yards and a touchdown in his first career start, while Greg Campbell hauled in a team-high five passes for 44 yards and a score.
Parker Shaunfield got the Golden Eagles on the board first when he booted a 22-yard field goal with 9:05 left in the opening stanza. That capped a 10-play, 63-yard drive that took five minutes off the clock.
Shaunfield connected again late in the first quarter, this time from 29 yards, to push the lead to 6-0. That field goal came at the end of a 14-play, 69-yard march that chewed 5:28 off the clock. Southern Miss eventually held the ball for 10:28 in the frame.
Jared Sackett provided UTSA's first points of the night when he split the uprights from 18 yards with 9:26 left in the first half. It marked the sophomore's 13th field goal of the season and it capped a nine-play, 58-yard drive that was highlighted by Matt Guidry's 43-yard scamper down to the 4-yard line.
The Golden Eagles answered with a 79-yard kickoff return by De'Michael Harris to the UTSA 21-yard line. Four plays later, Steven Anderson found paydirt on a 2-yard dash. Shaunfield's extra point made it 13-3 midway through the second quarter.
Southern Miss pushed the lead to 17 points just before halftime when Abraham found Jordan Mitchell open in the corner of the end zone with four seconds left.
The Golden Eagles struck quickly to start the second half, as Abraham's quarterback sneak from the 2-yard line just 1:29 into the third quarter ended a five-play, 63-yard march that made it 27-3.
Weeks hit Campbell on a 2-yard out route in the end zone midway through the third quarter for the true freshman quarterback's first career touchdown pass. That scoring connection capped a five-play, 53-yard drive that started when Maruo recovered his second fumble of the season. Weeks found Campbell on a 27-yard pass over the middle of the field and Brenden Brady had 17- and 7-yard runs to help set up the TD.
On the first play of the fourth quarter and with Southern Miss pinned inside its own 5-yard line, Levine picked off an Abraham pass and returned it eight yards to the end zone. Sackett's extra point pulled the visitors to within 27-17.
However, Southern Miss forced two more UTSA punts and a turnover on downs in the final minutes to hold on for the win.
The Roadrunners have an open week before traveling to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB on Saturday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Legion Field and the game will air on beIN SPORTS and 93.3/92.5 FM The Bull in San Antonio.
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