Braylon Braxton tossed for 230 yards, including the longest touchdown pass in program history, and the Southern Miss defense forced three turnovers and a safety to stave off Louisiana and win 22-10 on Saturday.
Braxton’s big pass came in the third quarter when the Golden Eagles were on their own two-yard line. A fade route ran by Micah Davis along the sideline created enough separation for Davis to bring in the ball and go for 98 yards all the way to the end zone. It surpassed the previous record of 97 yards set on a pass from Austin Davis to DeAndre Brown in 2008.
Longest touchdown pass in program history 🥱@MicahDavis22_1 x @braylon_braxton pic.twitter.com/tDa0z8KnZB
— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) October 18, 2025
Scoring summary
Louisiana (2-5, 1-2 Sun Belt) found the scoreboard first when quarterback Lunch Winfield ran into the end zone from three yards out with 3:21 left in the first quarter. However, it was the only time the Ragin’ Cajuns would score a touchdown.
After an interception by Southern Miss safety Corey Myrick, the Golden Eagles (5-2, 3-0) tied it up on a Matt Jones one-yard dive play with 7:42 remaining in the second quarter. On the next offensive possession, Braxton threw an interception, but Louisiana couldn’t capitalize missing a field goal with 4:24 remaining.
Southern Miss used its final two drives of the first half for a pair of successful field goals off the foot of Creighton Wilbanks. The first was from 32 yards out. The second was set up by an Amhere Foster and was from 52 yards as time expired for halftime.
Coming back out of the locker room, Louisiana received the ball and used a 10-play drive that turned into a short field goal by Tony Stenner. With the score at 13-10, both teams traded possessions before the historic pass play from Braxton to Davis. That made the score 20-10 and the 3:40 mark in the third quarter.
The Ragin’ Cajuns nearly responded with a touchdown on the ensuing possession. Winfield marched his team down the field before fumbling on the goal line.
The game was sealed when Southern Miss linebacker Chris Jones sacked Winfield in his own end zone with 3:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. The safety was plenty of insurance to make for a 22-10 win.
What the coach said
Southern Miss first-year head coach Charles Huff was pleased with his team’s ability to find a win on the road. It’s the second straight victory for the Golden Eagles when playing away from home.
“This is a tough environment to play in and definitely a tough place to win,” Huff said. “In the end, you have to find a way to win on the road. This is the new Southern Miss. They come to learn and win. We have something that has not been done in a long time at Southern Miss next week. Get to a bowl game.”
As Huff noted, Southern Miss is one win away from their first postseason game since beating Rice in the LendingTree Bowl in 2022. The win over Louisiana also launched the Golden Eagles to their first 3-0 start in conference play since 2004.
Numbers never lie
Braxton was 12 of 17 passing for 230 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Davis had three catches for 134 yards and the score. Jeffery Pittman led the ground attack with 73 yards on 21 carries.
Defensively, Jones finished with eight tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble.
The Golden Eagles converted two of three red zone possessions but were just 2 of 13 on third down.
For Louisiana, Winfield led the passing and rushing attack. He went 12 of 21 passing for 112 yards and added 98 yards and a score with his legs.
The Ragin’ Cajuns had a penalty or turned the ball over on every drive of the game outside of the opening one.
Next up
Southern Miss: hosts Louisiana-Monroe for homecoming this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Louisiana: travels to Troy this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
