Southern Miss
3-7 , 2-4
Florida Atlantic
5-3 , 4-2
Golden Eagles Top FAU in Season Finale 45-31
12/10/2020 9:58:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss quarterback Trey Lowe threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score as the Golden Eagles ran past Florida Atlantic University, 45-31, Thursday at The Rock.
Lowe threw for 209 yards, including TD passes of 5 yards to Tim Jones and 43 yards to Jason Brownlee. He ran for 70 yards on 16 carries, including a 13-yard touchdown run.
The touchdowns were the first of his career as a Golden Eagle and helped Southern Miss (3-7, 2-4 Conference USA) pick up a win in the final game of the 2020 season.
All in all, Southern Miss topped the 500-yard mark for total offense (509 yards) for the first time this season. That figure included the first 300-yard rushing game by the Golden Eagles since 2016.
Southern Miss, which led 24-17 after a see-saw first half, had put up more points in the first 30 minutes Thursday than the Owls (5-3, 4-2) had allowed in any one game this season.
Frank Gore Jr. rushed for 111 yards on just nine carries, including a 73-yard touchdown run. Gore, who topped the 700-yard in his first season at Southern Miss, ran for more than 100 yards in a game three times, and all were Golden Eagle victories.
Kevin Perkins added 71 yards rushing on 15 carries, including his seventh touchdown of the season on a 2-yard run.
Tim Jones moved into fourth place on Southern Miss' all-time receptions list after hauling in six passes for 65 yards. Brownlee made three grabs got 81 yards.
The game sent the coaching staff under interim head coach Tim Billings out with a victory at the end of a season go through a head coach and two interims.
Former Tulane offensive coordinator Will Hall was introduced Monday as the Golden Eagles head coach.
Team Stats
FAU 7, USM 0
FAU - ROBINSON, B 20 yd pass from TRONTI, Nick (RIVAS, Vladimir kick) 1 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:06
FAU 7, USM 7
USM - GORE, Frank 73 yd run (BOURGEOIS, B. kick), 1 plays, 73 yards, TOP 0:13
FAU 7, USM 10
USM - BOURGEOIS, B. 38 yd field goal 12 plays, 60 yards, TOP 5:17
FAU 10, USM 10
FAU - RIVAS, Vladimir 40 yd field goal 12 plays, 48 yards, TOP 5:16
FAU 10, USM 17
USM - LOWE, Trey 13 yd run (BOURGEOIS, B. kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:24
FAU 17, USM 17
FAU - CHARLES, James 12 yd run (RIVAS, Vladimir kick), 7 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:15
FAU 17, USM 24
USM - JONES, Tim 5 yd pass from LOWE, Trey (BOURGEOIS, B. kick) 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:31
FAU 17, USM 31
USM - BROWNLEE, Jason 43 yd pass from LOWE, Trey (BOURGEOIS, B. kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:52
FAU 24, USM 31
FAU - CHARLES, James 1 yd run (RIVAS, Vladimir kick), 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:28
FAU 24, USM 38
USM - HARRELL, Camron 100 yd kickoff return (BOURGEOIS, B. kick)
FAU 31, USM 38
FAU - ADAMS, Armani 43 yd fumble recovery (RIVAS, Vladimir kick)
FAU 31, USM 45
USM - PERKINS, Kevin 3 yd run (BOURGEOIS, B. kick), 9 plays, 90 yards, TOP 5:23
