Southern Miss tops Louisiana in New Orleans Bowl

[December 19, 2016]  NEW ORLEANS -- Senior quarterback Nick Mullens threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns, running back Ito Smith scored three touchdowns and receiver Allenzae Staggers accounted for 230 yards and a score on 11 receptions to power Southern Miss to a 28-21 victory over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday night in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

Mullens, who battled through a dislocated thumb and a concussion this season, was razor sharp in completing 25 of 40 passes, including scoring strikes of 6 yards to running back Ito Smith and 5 yards to Staggers.

The two scoring passes gave Mullens 87 for his Southern Miss career. The Golden Eagles finished their season 7-6.

Smith also scored on an 11-yard scamper and a 1-yard plunge. He finished with 138 yards on 26 carries. His 1-yard score made it 28-14 with 12:12 left. Ito set up the score with runs of 24 and 13 yards on the previous two plays.

Louisiana (6-7) came back from a 14-0 hole to tie the game in the second quarter, but the Ragin' Cajuns did not have enough offense to make a dent until late in the game.

Anthony Jennings closed the gap to 28-21 with a 3-yard run with 5:10 left, set up by a 53-yard interception return by defensive back Travis Crawford.

The Ragin' Cajuns got the ball back at its 18 with 2:02 left and moved the ball to the Southern Miss 48, but Jennings' pass on fourth-and-7 fell incomplete.

Louisiana failed to convert a fourth-and-2 from the Golden Eagles' 32 early in the third quarter when defensive tackle Dylan Bradley tackled quarterback Anthony Jennings for no gain.

It was a game of shifting momentum. Southern Miss bolted to a 14-0 lead after its first two possessions, but Louisiana responded with 14 straight to tie the game at halftime.

Mullens completed his first three passes for 127 yards and one touchdown, a 6-yard pass to Smith on a circle route out of the backfield.

Mullens completed 13 of 22 passes for 247 yards in the first half, and seven of those completions went to Staggers, who accounted for 202 receiving yards in the half.

Staggers had receptions of 55 and 66 yards over the middle on Southern Miss' first two touchdown drives.

But the Golden Eagles let Louisiana back in the game with nine penalties for 81 yards. Two personal foul penalties against Southern Miss helped Louisiana drive 66 yards in nine plays for a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Anthony Jennings.

Then, Louisiana linebacker Tre'Maine Lightfoot had a strip sack of Mullens, setting up the Ragin' Cajuns at the Southern Miss 29. Two plays later, backup quarterback Dion Ray tied the game at 14 with a 12-yard run.

Southern Miss lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt at the end of the half, but a replay review determined Mullens failed to stop the clock before time expired.

NOTES: The Ragin' Cajuns were so fired up before kickoff that coach Mark Hudspeth put his players in a circle and selected two players at a time to run a mini-nutcracker drill. ... Before RB Ito Smith scored on an 11-yard draw on Southern Miss's first series, he picked up the blitz on QB Nick Mullens' 55-yard strike to Allenzae Staggers. Smith finished with 17 rushing TDs this season.

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