Southern Miss football takes 1 step forward, 2 steps back in loss to Arkansas State
JONESBORO, Ark. — Will Hall apparently knows what it takes to eat an elephant.
“We just said, ‘Hey, let’s go make one play at a time, one bite at a time,” the Southern Miss football coach said. “That’s what we talk about. It’s the only way to eat an elephant.”
Of course, that’s a figure of speech. But that’s what was chirped on the sideline when Southern Miss (1-3, 0-1 Sun Belt) trailed Arkansas State (2-2, 1-0) by 17 points in the third quarter Saturday night.
To Hall’s metaphor, Southern Miss did, in fact, eat the elephant. The Golden Eagles stormed back to knot the score at 34-34 early in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, Southern Miss lost 44-37 in the Sun Belt Conference opener, but more troubling was its inability to grab control of the game. Arkansas State tried to give it away as much as the Golden Eagles did.
Every time the pendulum swung in their favor, it came right back to Arkansas State’s side.
“We talked about it with the team,” Hall said. “This is a bad loss. It’s a tough loss. We’re 1-3.”
SOUTHERN MISS TAKEAWAYS: Southern Miss football drops first conference game to Arkansas State, falls to 1-3
Southern Miss took its opening possession down the field and scored on a 12-play drive that took up 5 minutes, 42 seconds. Billy Wiles was decisive and precise with his throws. It was the exact response that was needed after scoring just three points last week against Tulane.
But it was also telling of the pattern of the game.
One step forward, two steps back.
An interception, a blocked punt and a long kick return later, Southern Miss fell behind 20-14.
Sequences like that continued. There were moments when it looked like Southern Miss had command, only for it to crumble.
Such as when the Golden Eagles trailed by just three points at the half, but surrendered two straight touchdowns in the first six minutes of the third quarter to go down 34-17.
Or when they finally rallied early in the fourth, but the offense followed it with two straight three-and-outs. They still had a chance when they punted the ball, down 37-34 with 2:42 to play and three timeouts. The defense just needed one timely stop to get the ball back. Two plays later, Arkansas State freshman quarterback Jaylen Raynor ran for a 62-yard touchdown.
“I don’t think they were all self-inflicted,” Hall said. “We gotta do a better job protecting the football. We gotta do a better job punting.”
Since the start of the season, everyone was waiting for star running back Frank Gore Jr. to put the team on his back. He finally did, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown. Memphis transfer Dreke Clark added 77 rushing yards and a touchdown, a 59-yard run that was part of the 17-point comeback. Wiles was 20-for-36 for 215 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
It was 21 more points than Southern Miss scored in its past two games combined. For once, there was progress, a sign of improvement. There was an indication that this team might have been turning a corner.
"We gotta play Southern Miss football," cornerback M.J. Daniels said.
Again, one step forward, two steps back.
“We still lost, so nothing to be happy about,” Gore said.
Southern Miss injury updates
Hall provided two injury updates following the game on two players who traveled to Jonesboro and took part in warmups, but did not play.
Tight end Cole Cavallo, who hasn't played this season after suffering an injury during warmups in Week 1, is expected to return next week versus Texas State. So is linebacker Swayze Bozeman, who missed his second consecutive game.
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss football takes 1 step forward, 2 steps back in loss
