University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, November 23
Hattiesburg, Miss.
2:30 p.m.
Southern Miss
7-4 , 5-2
10
vs
28
WKU
7-4 , 5-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
WKU
7
14
0
7
28
Southern Miss
7
0
0
3
10
Photo by: Joe Harper
Golden Eagles Fall to WKU on Senior Day at The Rock
11/23/2019 8:26:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. --Â As a first-time visitor to M.M. Roberts Stadium, Western Kentucky proved to be downright rude guests.
The Hilltoppers not only snapped Southern Miss' three-game winning streak, but ruined its bid to remain unbeaten at home by handing the Golden Eagles' a 28-10 loss before 20,369.
"That was a tough one," Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson said. "That was a close ballgame, and there were certainly a few plays that kind of swung the pendulum in their favor."
The Golden Eagles (7-4, 5-2 Conference USA) missed an opportunity to move into sole possession of first place in C-USA's West Division.
Southern Miss remains in a first-place tie atop the division with Louisiana Tech and UAB. All three schools wrap up the regular season Saturday, with the Golden Eagles on the road at Florida Atlantic at 2:30 p.m. CT
But Southern Miss may have lost more than a ballgame Saturday.
WKU (7-4, 5-2), which snapped a two-game losing streak, took the opening possession of the game and went 75 yards for a touchdown, scoring on 21-yard run by receiver Jacquez Sloan
Southern Miss answered on a 68-yard pass from Abraham to receiver Tim Jones. It marked the third consecutive week the pair had hooked up for a touchdown.
WKU took the lead for good on a 64-yard pass from Ty Storey to Jahcour Pearson less than 3 minutes into the second quarter.
The lead grew to 21-7 at halftime on Storey's 21-yard pass to Quin Jernighan.
After a scoreless third quarter, WKU made it 28-7 when Abraham was sacked by WKU defensive tackle Jeremy Darden, causing a fumble that was scooped up by DeAngelo Malone and returned 5 yards for a touchdown.
"Great team win for our guys," WKU coach Tyson Helton said. "This is a tough place to come in and get a win.
"We just beat a good football team (Saturday evening). In my eyes, this was kind of the biggest win of the season for us, to be honest."
Abraham completed 16-of-31 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. Tim Jones caught seven passes for a game-high 159 yards.
Watkins caught eight passes for 90 yards, becoming just the eighth Golden Eagle in program history to reach 1,000 yards receiving in a single season.
Storey completed 20-of-30 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Pearson (88 yards) and Lucky Jackson (36 yards) each had seven catches.
The Hilltoppers not only snapped Southern Miss' three-game winning streak, but ruined its bid to remain unbeaten at home by handing the Golden Eagles' a 28-10 loss before 20,369.
"That was a tough one," Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson said. "That was a close ballgame, and there were certainly a few plays that kind of swung the pendulum in their favor."
The Golden Eagles (7-4, 5-2 Conference USA) missed an opportunity to move into sole possession of first place in C-USA's West Division.
Southern Miss remains in a first-place tie atop the division with Louisiana Tech and UAB. All three schools wrap up the regular season Saturday, with the Golden Eagles on the road at Florida Atlantic at 2:30 p.m. CT
But Southern Miss may have lost more than a ballgame Saturday.
WKU (7-4, 5-2), which snapped a two-game losing streak, took the opening possession of the game and went 75 yards for a touchdown, scoring on 21-yard run by receiver Jacquez Sloan
Southern Miss answered on a 68-yard pass from Abraham to receiver Tim Jones. It marked the third consecutive week the pair had hooked up for a touchdown.
WKU took the lead for good on a 64-yard pass from Ty Storey to Jahcour Pearson less than 3 minutes into the second quarter.
The lead grew to 21-7 at halftime on Storey's 21-yard pass to Quin Jernighan.
After a scoreless third quarter, WKU made it 28-7 when Abraham was sacked by WKU defensive tackle Jeremy Darden, causing a fumble that was scooped up by DeAngelo Malone and returned 5 yards for a touchdown.
"Great team win for our guys," WKU coach Tyson Helton said. "This is a tough place to come in and get a win.
"We just beat a good football team (Saturday evening). In my eyes, this was kind of the biggest win of the season for us, to be honest."
Abraham completed 16-of-31 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. Tim Jones caught seven passes for a game-high 159 yards.
Watkins caught eight passes for 90 yards, becoming just the eighth Golden Eagle in program history to reach 1,000 yards receiving in a single season.
Storey completed 20-of-30 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Pearson (88 yards) and Lucky Jackson (36 yards) each had seven catches.
Team Stats
WKU
USM
Total Yards
365
388
Pass Yards
231
290
Rushing Yards
134
98
Penalty Yards
64
41
1st Downs
17
22
3rd Downs
4
3
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
29:41
30:19
1st Quarter
WKU 7, USM 0
WKU - SLOAN, J. 21 yd run (MUNSON, C. kick), 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:57
WKU 7, USM 7
USM - JONES, Tim 68 yd pass from ABRAHAM, Jack (STEIN, Andrew kick) 1 plays, 83 yards, TOP 0:18
2nd Quarter
WKU 14, USM 7
WKU - PEARSON, J. 64 yd pass from STOREY, T. (MUNSON, C. kick) 1 plays, 64 yards, TOP 0:10
WKU 21, USM 7
WKU - JERNIGHAN, Q. 21 yd pass from STOREY, T. (MUNSON, C. kick) 4 plays, 38 yards, TOP 1:45
4th Quarter
WKU 28, USM 7
WKU - MALONE, D. 5 yd fumble recovery (MUNSON, C. kick)
WKU 28, USM 10
USM - STEIN, Andrew 22 yd field goal 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:44
Game Leaders
Blake Anderson Introductory Press Conference
Monday, December 15
2025 Bowl Practice Press Conference
Wednesday, December 10
Charles Huff 2026 Early Signing Day Press Conference
Wednesday, December 03
South Alabama Tuesday Press
Wednesday, November 19