UL Athletics
LAFAYETTE – A 98-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and a fourth-quarter safety helped Southern Miss pull away for a 22-10 win over Louisiana on Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium.
Braylon Braxton connected with Micah Davis for the 98-yard score late in the third quarter, pushing the Golden Eagles’ lead to 20-10 after Louisiana had closed within three on a Tony Sterner 24-yard field goal. The safety with 3:43 remaining sealed the win for a new-look Southern Miss (5-2, 3-0 SBC) squad, which stayed tied with Troy atop the West Division standings.
Louisiana (2-5, 1-2 SBC) opened the scoring with an eight-minute, 16-play, 85-yard drive capped by Lunch Winfield’s 3-yard run in the first quarter. But the Golden Eagles answered with 13 straight points in the second – including a 1-yard plunge from Matt Jones and a pair of Creighton Wilbanks field goals (32 and 52 yards) just before halftime.
Winfield led the Cajuns with 98 yards rushing on 19 carries with 135 yards passing on 12 of 21 aim.
Bill Davis added 62 yards on the ground while Zylan Perry rushed for 55 yards in his return to the lineup as Louisiana outgained Southern Miss on the ground, 217–133. The Ragin’ Cajuns held the ball for more than 35 minutes but was undone by a pair of interceptions, a lost fumble deep inside USM territory and a missed field goal.
Braxton finished 13-of-18 for 238 yards and a touchdown for USM, with Davis hauling in three passes for 134 yards. Jeffery Pittman added 73 yards rushing for Southern Miss, which won its third consecutive game and third over the Ragin’ Cajuns in four games as SBC foes.
Jaden Dugger led Louisiana’s defense with a career-high 16 tackles and a forced fumble, while Tyree Skipper intercepted his first pass of the season.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will return to action next Saturday at Troy. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., and will be available on ESPN+. Louisiana will close out the road trip on November 1 at South Alabama before returning home to face Texas State on November 8.
**UL PRESS RELEASE**
