University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss vs. Louisiana Tech Notes
11/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Recap | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
Southern Miss Captains: 9 â€" Nick Mullens, 82 â€" Tyler Sarrazin, 94 â€" Dylan Bradley
Coin Flip: Louisiana Tech won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Southern Miss will defend the south end zone.
Team Notes:
•The Golden Eagles now have a two-game winning streak over the Bulldogs.
•Southern Miss is now bowl-eligible for the second-straight season and the 20th time over the last 23 seasons.
•Head Coach Jay Hopson's six wins makes him the sixth-most successful among first-year coaches at the school.
•Southern Miss picked up its fourth home win of the year.
•Ito Smith ran for 127 yards his seventh game this year surpassing the century mark.
Offensive Notes:
•Keon recorded his first career reception in the first quarter on a two-yard pass from Nick Mullens
•Mullens recorded his 83rd, 84th and 85th career touchdowns in the game. Mullens is now the all-time career touchdown record holder at Southern Miss, passing Austin Davis. His second of the day gave him sole possession of that title.
•Mullens also finished with an 87.9 completion rate (29 for 33), just missing Austin Davis' 91.3 percentage against Navy in 2011 that holds as the school's all-time record.
•D.J. Thompson is the second Golden Eagle to record a multi touchdown game. This is Thompson's second multi touchdown game of his career. His first came against UTEP on Halloween 2015.
•Thompson also record a season-high 12 catches against LA Tech, which tied an M.M. Roberts Stadium record (set previously by teammate Tyre'oune Holmes against Texas State in 2013.
•Ito Smith rushed for over 100 yards for the seventh time this season, finishing with 127.
Defensive Notes:
•The eight rushing yards allowed marked the lowest against an FBS team since holding Louisiana Tech to negative-2 in last year's meeting.
•Southern Miss allowed 269 yards per game this season in its six home games.
•The 254 yards were the second-fewest allowed against an FBS team this year (226 vs. Marshall).
•Southern Miss forced three turnovers for the second consecutive week and fourth time overall this season.
•Picasso Nelson, Jr. became the second Golden Eagle this year to record two interceptions in a game (Curtis Mikell at UTEP).
•Nelson's nine tackles led the team and are a new career-high.
•Parker's team-high 1 ½ sacks gives him 2 ½ on the year.
Special Team Notes:
•The 54-yard kick return by D'Nerius Antoine in the first quarter was the longest such play of the season.
