STARKVILLE – Midway through the fourth quarter, it seemed that Southern Miss might pull off the unlikely against in-state rival Mississippi State as the Golden Eagles trailed 26-20.
But, like most of the season, bad luck and mistakes down the stretch were the difference. The Golden Eagle's defense broke down in a crucial moment, with the Bulldogs' offense scoring with a 59-yard touchdown run to create separation late in the fourth quarter. The late run, coupled with an injury to starting freshman quarterback Ethan Crawford that resulted in burning his redshirt, led to a 41-20 loss to Mississippi State.
"I thought we played our absolute heart out," Southern Miss coach Will Hall said. "It felt like we were right there to win it. That's what we came here to do. We came here to win this football game. We are a young team that has grown a lot.
"I'm so disappointed we didn't win today because I really think we could have."
CRAWFORD BATTLE'S INJURY
The first drive on both sides of the ball for Southern Miss (3-8) seemed promising, with the Golden Eagles' defense stopping MSU on fourth and short.
Then, on the Golden Eagles' opening driving, Crawford made his first start with a 44-yard reception to Jakarius Caston. That catch set up an 8-yard touchdown pass to Frank Gore Jr. to give USM an early 7-0 lead. Notably, Gore ran for 66 yards and eclipsed 1,000 yards for a second straight year.
"I thought he gave us our best chance to win," said Hall on why he started Crawford. The whole redshirt deal was that he wanted to play. It was never really a question with him on whether he was going to play. I just had to act like that all week."
However, after the opening drive, Southern Miss' went three-and-out on the next three drives. Then, at the start of the second quarter, Crawford took a big hit that led to a strip sack, leading to the freshman having to exit the game.
"It's tough luck," Hall said. "He got hit in the throwing elbow. He had trouble feeling and numbness in it."
MSU took advantage of the Golden Eagles' offensive woes and jumped ahead with a 16-7 lead at the half. Crawford briefly returned to play in the third quarter but had a wrap around his arm. Despite returning, the freshman struggled to throw the ball, leading to Billy Wiles handling the majority of snaps in the second half.
"I got caught in a bad spot," said Crawford, whose arm was in a sling after the game. "His helmet went directly on my elbow. I tried to go in the second half to see what I could do. I got back out there, and it was just giving me a lot of problems…It was a bad little moment.
"We started out fast. I played within myself, but the injury just slowed everything down for me."
Crawford finished the game 2 of 4, throwing for 52 yards.
DEFENSIVE EFFORT
Southern Miss' defense kept the game within reach as it held the Bulldogs to four field goals. Two of those field goals came after the Bulldogs started their drives deep in USM's territory. Notably, the Golden Eagles held Mississippi State (4-6) to just 18 first downs.
MSU's first point came from a bad punt mixed with a penalty that put the Bulldogs on the Golden Eagles' 37-yard line. However, Southern Miss held Mississippi State to a 48-yard field goal. MSU quarterback Will Rogers, who was a game-time decision, was just 12 of 27, throwing for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
After a touchdown to open the second quarter, the Bulldogs cashed in on Crawford's fumble by kicking another field goal, eventually leading to a 23-7 lead for MSU.
FOURTH QUARTER SURGE
On the third play of the fourth quarter, Wiles found Caston for a 44-yard touchdown to narrow the score to 23-13 after a failed two-point conversion. After MSU was held to another field goal, Caston returned a kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown to the Bulldogs' lead to 26-20.
However, the Bulldogs responded with a 59-yard touchdown run to go up 33-20. On the next drive, Wiles threw an interception to Jett Johnson. Johnson lateraled the ball to Marcus Baker to score a touchdown and put the game away for MSU.
"I was really happy with how we played (on defense) except for that drive after we cut it to one score," Hall said. "We didn't fit up the zone well. Good job by Mississippi State. They locked up the backside on that and made an adjustment. We just didn't get the ball carrier down on that drive. Besides that, I thought we struck. I thought we played. I thought we didn't panic.
"We just didn't get it done right there, but I'm really proud of how we came to this arena and took it to a one-score game in the fourth quarter. We are going to keep doing that, and we are going to start winning those games in the future."
Southern Miss will host Troy for its season finale on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPNU, with kickoff set for 11 a.m.
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