Southern Miss Overwhelmed at Auburn in First Road Test Under Blake Anderson

AUBURN, Ala. – Southern Miss came to Auburn with a chance to turn a promising start into something much bigger. However, the Golden Eagles left with their first loss of the Blake Anderson era, falling 43-8 to the Tigers on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

A week after opening with a 49-3 win over Alcorn State, Southern Miss (1-1) couldn’t produce the breakthrough it was looking for against an SEC opponent. Despite having some moments that could serve as building blocks going forward, the scoreboard ended up being much more in Auburn's favor than the Golden Eagles anticipated. Auburn improved to 2-0, while the Golden Eagles were left to sort through the positives and negatives from their first road trip of the season.

Southern Miss Football — Southern Miss quarterback Ethan Hampton dives for the first-down marker against Auburn. | Russ Cloy Photography

With temperatures in the 80s and orange and blue stretching into the upper deck, with the noise rolling down toward the field after an hour-long weather delay before starting the game, Jordan-Hare offered a much more intimidating setting for the Golden Eagles than the warm welcome they received during last weekend’s home opener at Renasant Stadium in Hattiesburg. Under the bright lights on the Plains, Southern Miss got an early look at how its new group would handle a stage like this.

Anderson made his expectations clear during the week leading up to this big test: Southern Miss was going to Auburn to try to win, and not just play for a moral victory. That made Saturday’s result a disappointment, but it was a learning experience for the Golden Eagles that can help the team grow as this season progresses.

Eags' Can't Shake Sloppy Start

We talked about it in our pregame coverage, but for Southern Miss to have a real opportunity to make things interesting against Auburn, it had to play a clean game in a tough environment. That meant no turnovers and no penalties. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, they dug themselves in an early hole in both of those areas.

After the opening kickoff from Auburn to Southern Miss, the Golden Eagles got called for a false start before ever even getting off a first play. Then, after that penalty, the first play of the game was an interception by Golden Eagles quarterback Ethan Hampton that was returned for a touchdown by Auburn's Andre Jordan Jr., who ended up with two picks on the night.

That set the tone for what was to come in that first half. The Golden Eagles showed signs of being able to move the ball against Auburn's defense and contain Auburn's offense, but to pull off a major upset, you have to get off to a fast start and avoid self-inflicted mistakes. Southern Miss did neither of those things on Saturday night, ending up with two turnovers and 11 penalties for 85 yards.

How Southern Miss Scored Its Only Points

While facing a 24-0 deficit at the end of the second quarter, the Golden Eagles put together a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown pass from Hampton to running back Steven Robinson, followed by a wide-receiver reverse pass from Jaylen Himes to tight end Jeremiah Beck Jr. to convert the two-point play and make it a two-possession game.

Say what you will about the scoreboard, but that specific drive against Auburn's defensive starters showed the kind of potential this Southern Miss offense can have when avoiding early turnovers and penalties. Out of the Golden Eagles' 14 plays on that drive, Robinson got the ball on eight of those. He ended up with 51 rushing yards on 15 carries and the one receiving touchdown.

Due to some of those early false-start penalties, Southern Miss got away from running the ball for most of the first half until that final drive of the second quarter. Going forward, perhaps force-feeding Robinson is the way to go.

Other Stats to Know About

Auburn's quarterback Byrum Brown completed 17 of 28 passes for 223 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also ran the ball 13 times for 88 yards and had one receiving touchdown on the night. The Golden Eagles' defense was able to force the Tigers into a handful of third-and-long situations early in the game, but Brown's ability to improvise on the fly kept the chains moving for Auburn. Hampton ended with 146 passing yards on 18 of 27 completed passes with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Overall, Southern Miss ended up with 221 total yards of offense, and Auburn ended up with 610 total yards of offense.

For a second consecutive week, Mario Sanders led the Golden Eagles in receiving yards with 58 on three receptions, including a 41-yard catch during Southern Miss' only scoring drive in the second quarter.

Defensively, defensive back Laquan Robinson led the Golden Eagles with 10 tackles on the night, with all of them being solo tackles. Linebacker Mathis Haygood and defensive back Michael Robinson III had seven tackles (five solo) each. Two of Haygood's were tackles for losses. Defensive back Jyaire Brown recorded the Golden Eagles' lone sack of the night.

Australian punter Dusty Zimmer didn't get much of an opportunity to show what he could do during the Golden Eagles' season opener, but he got to punt six times on Saturday and averaged 44.5 yards per punt with a long of 52 yards that pinned Auburn deep in its own territory.

Southern Miss returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 19, against UConn at Renasant Stadium in Hattiesburg. That is a game we have circled as being pivotal for how this Golden Eagles’ season might turn out. This Auburn road trip is officially a thing of the past and part of Anderson and his coaching staff’s film room evaluations for the coming week. We’ll soon see how Anderson’s squad gets off the mat and responds to its first loss.

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