Southern Miss overwhelmed by Auburn in 43-8 loss

There was no mistaking whose field Southern Miss was playing on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn (2-0) dominated Southern Miss (1-1) early and often, defeating the Golden Eagles 43-8. It was Auburn’s first home game of the season, and the Tigers showed up for the crowd of more than 88,000, totaling 613 yards of offense.

Southern Miss didn’t help itself by committing 11 penalties, but even beyond the flags, the Golden Eagles couldn’t make much happen. They were held to 50 rushing yards, turned the ball over twice, and saw quarterback Ethan Hampton sacked four times.

Here’s how the rest of the game played out.

Scoring summary

Southern Miss received the opening kickoff, but its first play from scrimmage was an interception. Hampton’s pass was picked off by Auburn defensive back Andre Jordan Jr., who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.

The Golden Eagles committed five offensive penalties during the next few minutes, putting the offense behind the chains and resulting in punts to end each possession.

Auburn scored 17 unanswered over its next three possessions. Quarterback Byrum Brown connected with tight end Jonathan Echols on a 22-yard touchdown pass, Alex McPherson added a 47-yard field goal, and Brown threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to DeShawn Spencer to give the Tigers a 24-0 lead.

Southern Miss answered with a 14-play drive that ended with Hampton connecting with running back Steven Robinson for a 1-yard touchdown. The Golden Eagles converted the two-point attempt to cut Auburn’s lead to 24-8 with 24 seconds remaining in the first half.

That proved to be more than enough time for Auburn. The Tigers drove down the field, and McPherson connected on a 55-yard field goal as the clock ran out to give Auburn a 27-8 halftime lead.

Auburn opened the second half with a 12-play scoring drive. Christian Neptune found Brown on a 5-yard halfback pass with 9:56 remaining in the third quarter to extend the Tigers’ lead.

Southern Miss defensive back Kobi Albert recovered a fumble later in the quarter. However, Hampton was flagged for intentional grounding on the ensuing possession, giving Auburn the ball back with about three minutes left in the third quarter.

The Tigers took advantage, driving down the field before running back Omar Mabson II scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 43-8.

Neither team scored again, and 43-8 became the final. Both teams had lengthy drives in the fourth quarter but came up empty-handed after turnovers on downs.

Numbers never lie

Hampton completed 18 of 27 passes for a touchdown despite throwing two interceptions. Robinson led the Southern Miss rushing room with 51 yards and a receiving touchdown.

Defensive back Laquan Robinson led the Golden Eagles with 10 solo tackles, while Jyaire Brown recorded a sack.

Auburn won its 10th consecutive home opener and was led by Brown, who accounted for 319 yards of total offense. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 88 yards, and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Mabson had a triple-digit game for the Tigers with 108 rushing yards. On defense, Auburn was led by Elijah Melendez, who had a team-high six tackles, 1.5 for loss, and one sack.