Southern Miss
UTSA (Homecoming)
Offensive Quartet Leads Southern Miss Over UTSA 32-10
10/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- For a good part of Saturday night at Roberts Stadium, the University of Southern Mississippi couldn't seem to get out of its own way to get into the end zone against the University of Texas-San Antonio.
But once the Golden Eagles started swapping touchdowns for field goals in the third quarter, the scoreboard quickly matched USM's statistical domination of the Roadrunners.
USM had two running backs top 100 yards rushing, two receivers grab more than 100 yards worth of passes and a defense that allowed the Roadrunners just 203 yards as the Golden Eagles stormed away to a 32-10 victory.
"A long time ago, I learned that you don't have to be the best team in conference on every given night or even the best team in the country," USM coach Todd Monken said. "You just have to be the best on the field and that's what we were (Saturday night).
A homecoming crowd of 28,745 saw USM (4-3, 2-1 Conference USA) match its win total from the past three seasons combined.
"We are at four (wins), that's where we are at and next we are at Charlotte," Monken said. "I am proud of our guys and the week that they put in ... If we get that type of effort every week, we are going to be just fine."
The Golden Eagles rolled up 556 yards, with senior Jalen Richard (115 yards on 25 carries) and sophomore Ito Smith (101 yards on 14 carries) keying a ground game that netted 213 yards.
"We took what the defense gave us and we had a good night," Richard said. "it was fun being able to see everyone showcase what they could do."
It was the first time since 2010 against the University of Houston that USM had two players rush for 100 yards in a game.
Junior quarterback Nick Mullens added to the offensive onslaught, completing 23 of 31 passes for 343 yards.
Mullens surpassed the 300-yard mark for the sixth time in seven games this season and the 10th time in his career. He also passed Lee Roberts to move into fifth place with 6,594 career passing yards.
Senior Mike Thomas and junior D.J. Thompson each topped 100 yards receiving and hauled in a touchdown.
Thomas caught five passes for 103 yards and gave USM a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game when he hauled in a 47-yard strike down the middle. It was the fourth consecutive game Thomas had topped 100 yards receiving, becoming the first Golden Eagle to turn the trick.
Thompson caught six passes for 141 yards, both career highs, and hauled in a 5-yard pass to cap USM's opening drive of the second half as the Golden Eagles seized a 23-0 lead.
USM had put up 350 yards by halftime, but UTSA (1-6, 1-2) trailed just 16-0, in large part because of three Golden Eagles' turnovers _ two Mullens' interceptions and Smith's fumble _ as well as an inability to translate red-zone drives into end-zone visits.
The Golden Eagles had to settle for three of junior Stephen Brauchle's career-best four field goals, chip shot from of 25 yards, 22 yards and 20 yards in the second quarter after three trips inside the Roadrunners' 10-yard line.
But UTSA couldn't capitalize because of a passing offense that managed just two completions in the first half and a ferocious USM defense that had three sacks of sophomore quarterback Dalton Strum in the first two quarters.
"The key (Saturday) was to bring `The Nasty Bunch' back and be relentless off the ball," said senior defensive lineman Michael Smith. "We had no fear and worked on making no mistkaes."
Strum, who tied a school record last week with four touchdown passes with four touchdown passes against Louisiana Tech, completed just 6 of attempts for 66 yards and lost two fumbles.
Junior running back Jarveon Williams rushed for 88 yards, including a 47-yard run that set up UTSA's lone touchdown of the game, but USM's defense held the Roadrunners to 139 yards rushing and limited a C-USA opponent to less than 300 total yards for a second consecutive week.
"Unbelievable," Monken said. "Great effort and it has been back-to-back weeks," Monken said. "Our guys are athletic, and I think they dominated the front."
Strum had a 1-yard scoring toss off play-action to sophomore receiver Kerry Thomas Jr. and sophomore Daniel Portillo kicked a 30-yard field goal to get UTSA within 26-10 with 1:22 to play in the third quarter.
But Richard hauled in a career-long 53-yard reception to key a seven-play, 75-yard drive that he capped with a 1-yard run less than two minutes into the final quarter.
"Southern Miss handled us pretty good (Saturday)," UTSA coach Larry Coker said. "We didn't play well offensively and that gave us no chance to win the game. We gave up some big plays on defense, and then it was `game over.'"
