Turnovers Bury Southern Miss in Ruston as Bowl Hopes Officially Slip Away

Five turnovers, two pick-sixes and 63 points allowed. No matter how you want to slice it, Saturday night at Joe Aillet Stadium is one Southern Miss and its fans will want to forget quickly. Louisiana Tech rolled to a 63-31 win and clinched the Sun Belt West Division title along the way.

The loss drops the Golden Eagles to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in league play, which ends any path to six wins and a bowl game in Year 1 under head coach Blake Anderson. It also follows a 54-23 home loss to James Madison nine days earlier.

With the season on the line in both of those games, Southern Miss was outscored 117-54. Louisiana Tech, meanwhile, improved to 8-2 and 6-0 in the Sun Belt and will play in the conference championship game on Dec. 4.

The game was decided in the first half. Louisiana Tech intercepted John White’s first pass of the night, and four plays later the Bulldogs punched in a 1-yard touchdown. Louisiana Tech scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions. Southern Miss’ only answer was a 44-yard Creighton Wilbanks field goal at the end of a 13-play, 73-yard drive, and it was 21-3 after one quarter.

Southern Miss Football, Creighton Wilbanks — Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson congratulates kicker Creighton Wilbanks after a made field goal. | Josh House

Jamarice Wilder gave the Golden Eagles a pulse early in the second quarter, breaking loose for a 53-yard touchdown run that made it 21-10. In a span of just over three minutes, though, the wheels completely fell off for Southern Miss.

Bulldogs quarterback Blake Baker hit Talyn Shettron for a nine-yard score. Then Louisiana Tech returned two White interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive Southern Miss possessions. By halftime, the Bulldogs led 42-10.

The second half was mostly about the final margin. Southern Miss got touchdown passes from White to Grant Page and Mario Sanders, and sophomore safety MaLik Caswell returned an interception 32 yards for a score late in the fourth quarter. But it was too little, too late for the Golden Eagles by that point.

Southern Miss Football — Southern Miss wide receiver Mario Sanders catches his first of multiple touchdowns against Tulane on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Josh House

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White completed 21 of 43 passes for 220 yards, with two touchdowns and four interceptions, tying the program record for most interceptions in a single game. Sanders caught eight passes for 119 yards and a score, while Steven Robinson ran for 94 yards on 17 carries and Wilder added 83 yards on 11 carries.

Southern Miss piled up 406 total yards and outrushed the Bulldogs 186-145. When you hand a team like Louisiana Tech the ball five times, though, none of that matters. Baker was efficient on the other side, going 21-for-28 for 236 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Not long ago, this team snapped a five-game losing streak and won two of three, including a 35-31 comeback over Louisiana. It looked like a group that was starting to figure things out. Then the two biggest games of the season came around, and the Golden Eagles didn’t look ready for either one.

Southern Miss Football, ULM, Steven Robertson — Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. ULM on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at Malone Stadium. | Josh House

Winning still matters next Saturday, regardless of shattered bowl hopes. Southern Miss will honor its seniors at The Rock against South Alabama, a program it has never beaten on the football field. The seniors who stuck around through coaching changes, and the ones who came in this year to help rebuild the roster on the fly, deserve to end this season on a positive note. Making history on their final home Saturday would be a fitting way to send them off.

At the same time, the next two games should double as an audition for 2027. With roughly 75 newcomers on this roster, plenty of young players have hardly touched the field, and live snaps against Sun Belt competition will tell this staff far more than practice ever could.

USM football, David Aboya — Southern Miss Athletics

Freshman defensive lineman Talik Parkman and linebacker Caleb Triplett, who have both gotten more run over the last few weeks, receiver David Aboya, and even guys like 6-8 offensive lineman Grant Kitchens should be near the top of that list.

Southern Miss hosts South Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m. CT at The Rock on ESPN+. The Golden Eagles will then close the regular season on Nov. 28 at Old Dominion. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more Southern Miss football coverage.

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