University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Photo by: Patrick Lowery
50 Years of The Rock – Rice 2016
8/6/2026 10:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – It turned out to be a night for school records – five to be exact – as Southern Miss defeated Rice 44-28 in front of 28,325 at M.M. Roberts Stadium on Oct. 1, 2016.
Quarterback Nick Mullens set a pair of individual marks, while receiver Allenzae Staggers collected one of his own and the Golden Eagle offense established two more team marks in the process during this Conference USA victory that helped Southern Miss go on to finish 7-6 that season, culminating with a 28-21 win over Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl.
Mullens' first record included throwing for 591 yards, which also included four touchdowns and Southern Miss set a team-best 702 yards of total offense. It surpassed the previous record of 682, which was set the prior year against the Owls as well.
Mullens broke Austin Davis' school mark of 461 passing yards for a game, which came against Rice on Oct. 18, 2008.
Staggers finished with six receptions for 292 yards and touchdowns grabs of 75, 81 and 93 yards. His yardage effort broke the previous school record set by Kendrick Lee against Houston on Nov. 11, 1996, of 260 yards. Staggers was the first FBS player in 10 years to catch three 75-plus yard touchdowns in the same game.
The game, though, was tied after the first half with the Golden Eagles clinging to a 13-7 advantage. After the team's traded touchdowns to open the second half, Staggers' 93-yarder, which ranks as the third-longest TD reception in school history, put the Eagles up 27-14 with 9:46 left in the quarter and they never looked back.
"If you wear the black and gold that was really nice to see but those guys did a great job, Nick [Mullens] and Allenzae [Staggers]," said then Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson after the game. "Those were big plays in the game and it was a tremendous job there."
On the defensive side, the Golden Eagles collected a season-high seven sacks, including 3 ½ by senior Dylan Bradley.
Bradley, who came into the game with six tackles for loss and 1 ½ sacks, finished half a sack short of the school-record four held by Cedric Scott and Chris Jackson.
"It was a team effort, that's all I can say," Bradley said. "That wouldn't have happened without my teammates."
Tyler Stehling threw a 7-yard TD pass to Samuel Stewart to give Rice its only lead of the game at 7-3. Stewart had 19 carries for 132 yards and two scores for the Owls.
Quarterback Nick Mullens set a pair of individual marks, while receiver Allenzae Staggers collected one of his own and the Golden Eagle offense established two more team marks in the process during this Conference USA victory that helped Southern Miss go on to finish 7-6 that season, culminating with a 28-21 win over Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl.
Mullens' first record included throwing for 591 yards, which also included four touchdowns and Southern Miss set a team-best 702 yards of total offense. It surpassed the previous record of 682, which was set the prior year against the Owls as well.
Mullens broke Austin Davis' school mark of 461 passing yards for a game, which came against Rice on Oct. 18, 2008.
Staggers finished with six receptions for 292 yards and touchdowns grabs of 75, 81 and 93 yards. His yardage effort broke the previous school record set by Kendrick Lee against Houston on Nov. 11, 1996, of 260 yards. Staggers was the first FBS player in 10 years to catch three 75-plus yard touchdowns in the same game.
The game, though, was tied after the first half with the Golden Eagles clinging to a 13-7 advantage. After the team's traded touchdowns to open the second half, Staggers' 93-yarder, which ranks as the third-longest TD reception in school history, put the Eagles up 27-14 with 9:46 left in the quarter and they never looked back.
"If you wear the black and gold that was really nice to see but those guys did a great job, Nick [Mullens] and Allenzae [Staggers]," said then Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson after the game. "Those were big plays in the game and it was a tremendous job there."
On the defensive side, the Golden Eagles collected a season-high seven sacks, including 3 ½ by senior Dylan Bradley.
Bradley, who came into the game with six tackles for loss and 1 ½ sacks, finished half a sack short of the school-record four held by Cedric Scott and Chris Jackson.
"It was a team effort, that's all I can say," Bradley said. "That wouldn't have happened without my teammates."
Tyler Stehling threw a 7-yard TD pass to Samuel Stewart to give Rice its only lead of the game at 7-3. Stewart had 19 carries for 132 yards and two scores for the Owls.
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