Football Falls at Home to Arkansas State 23-13

Saturday, October 17

Hattiesburg, Miss.

6 pm

Southern Miss

1-5 , 0-2

Arkansas State

3-4 , 1-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Arkansas St.	6	10	0	7	23
Southern Miss.	0	7	0	6	13

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles quarterback Landry Lyddy (18) hands the ball off to Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles running back Steven Robinson (14) in a NCAA Football game between Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Arkansas State Red Wolves at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at Renasant Stadium. October 17, 2026 (Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com)

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Football Falls at Home to Arkansas State 23-13

10/17/2026 10:50:00 PM | Football

Box Score Game Book Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes Photo Gallery

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss had opportunities to turn the momentum at Renasant Stadium Saturday night, but Arkansas State's ball-control offense and a pair of interceptions proved too much in a 23-13 loss in Sun Belt Conference play.

The Golden Eagles (1-5 overall, 0-2 Sun Belt) cut the deficit to 23-13 with 10:02 remaining when Steven Robinson finished a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Lyddy's conversion run failed, leaving Southern Miss two scores behind.

Arkansas State answered by taking more than seven minutes off the clock on its final possession. The Red Wolves converted three fourth downs, including Trey Owens' 3-yard pass to Ezra Burgess and 6-yard pass to Jaylen Bonelli, before Owens rushed for 2 yards on fourth-and-1 to seal the game.

Southern Miss had trailed 16-7 at halftime after Arkansas State held the ball for 21:14 of the first half. The Red Wolves finished with a 40:08-19:52 advantage in possession time, ran 76 plays to Southern Miss' 59 and recorded 23 first downs.

The Golden Eagles' defense kept them within reach, sacking Owens four times and limiting Arkansas State to 304 total yards. Wesley Edison had 11 tackles and a sack, while Mathis Haygood made a game-high 13 tackles. JR Stegall, Kameron Cyprien and Ramon Pernas also had sacks.

Southern Miss' most productive offensive sequence came late in the second quarter, when Lyddy connected with MJ Johnson for 25 yards and Preston Kilgore for a 16-yard touchdown to pull the Golden Eagles within 13-7. Arkansas State kicker Clune Van Andel made field goals from 29, 40 and 44 yards, however, and the Red Wolves added touchdown runs by Kenyon Clay and Timothy Carter.

Landry Lyddy completed 18 of 34 passes for 208 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, throwing for over 200 yards in all four of his career Southern Miss starts. Mario Sanders led Southern Miss with six catches for 88 yards, while Robinson carried 21 times for 84 yards and a touchdown and added five receptions for 33 yards.

Southern Miss missed a chance to narrow the margin early in the third quarter when Creighton Wilbanks' 34-yard field-goal attempt was no good. The Golden Eagles also came away empty on three fourth-down attempts.

Owens was 17 of 25 for 170 yards for Arkansas State, while Clay scored once and Carter added the fourth-quarter touchdown. Arkansas State did not commit a turnover.