In front of a nice crowd at M.M. Roberts Stadium on Saturday, the Southern Miss football team found its first conference win under first-year coach Charles Huff, taking down Appalachian State 38-22. The victory marked the first over a Sun Belt opponent or an FBS opponent in almost two years for the Golden Eagles.
The Southern Miss defense totaled three interceptions and two turnovers on downs to propel the team to the win, with quarterback Braylon Braxton leading the way on offense with 306 yards and two touchdowns.
Here’s a quick recap of what happened in Hattiesburg.
Scoring summary
Appalachian State (2-1, 0-1 Sun Belt) took an early 7-0 lead with running back Rashod Dubinion finding the end zone from two yards out with 7:02 left in the first quarter.
Southern Miss (2-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) then scored 24 unanswered to segue from late in the first quarter to late in the third quarter. Touchdowns included a five-yard run by Mississippi State transfer Jeffery Pittman, a 99-yard interception return by Ian Foster, and an eight-yard catch by Robert Briggs. Sprinkle in a 39-yard field goal off the foot of Reed Harradine and the scoreboard read 24-7 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
App State made it a two-possession game with a 10-yard rushing score by Jaquari Lewis with 1:06 remaining in the third.
Southern Miss responded in the fourth quarter with two more touchdowns – a nine-yard run by Pittman and a 21-yard catch by Ole Miss transfer Micah Davis – to extend the lead to 38-14. Former Southern Miss quarterback Billy Wiles came in late for App State and threw a touchdown to Jaden Barnes with 51 seconds left on the clock. A successful two-point conversion made the score 38-22 with the Golden Eagles walking away winners.
What the coach said
Huff said after the game that the win over App State should be celebrated, but fans should also be prepared for more to come. According to him, the program’s transition from also-ran status to championship-caliber is underway now with no time to waste.
“As long as I’m coaching, we will never go back to how Southern Miss played for the last few years,” Huff said. “There are a lot of things to clean up. App State was a challenging group.”
Huff’s 2025 group already has more wins than the program did a season ago. Saturday’s victory over App State marked the first conference win since beating Louisiana on Nov. 9, 2023.
Numbers never lie
Defensive highlights were the difference for Southern Miss. The Mountaineers still managed to outgain the Golden Eagles with 470 yards on offense. However, the turnovers – especially the pick-six by Foster – turned the game in USM’s favor. Holding App State to 6 of 18 on third down was also a difference maker.
The Golden Eagle D was paced by Foster’s interception and team-high five tackles. Former Texas and Arizona State defensive lineman J’Mond Tapp had his first career sack.
On offense, Braxton was 22 of 30 for 279 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Tychaun Chapman had 112 yards receiving. Pittman rushed for two touchdowns.
Up next
Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles will play their first road game of the year this Saturday, going to Ruston for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff against Louisiana Tech.
App State: The Mountaineers will be off this Saturday before returning on Sept. 27 for a road game against Boise State.
