First Week of Bowl Games Sees Southern Miss Claim First Bowl Victory Since 2016

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By Andy Baeuerle

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In an exciting first week of the 2022 College Football Bowl Season saw two Mississippi teams show up to two exciting games with a lot on the line. These teams being 12-0 Jackson State and 6-6 Southern Miss.

Jackson State came into the Cricket Celebration Bowl 12-0, hoping to finish 2022 undefeated for the first time ever. The Tigers faced off against the 9-2 North Carolina Central Eagles. Coaching problems have plagued JSU ever since third-year head coach Deion Sanders announced his upcoming move to take the head coaching job at Colorado. Jackson State’s offense has been booming with large point deficit wins over Florida A&M, Grambling State, MS Valley State, Bethune-Cookamn, and Southern. North Carolina Central has had a strong defense only allowing one team to score over 30 points in the regular season. Two strong teams came into this game and fought hard, even into overtime until JSU dropped a touchdown pass. Jackson State would finish 12-1 as NC Central would leave 10-2 with 41-34 win over the Tigers.

Historically, Southern Miss is known for making it all the way to the bowl season. Between 2002 and 2011, the Golden Eagles made ten consecutive bowl game appearances under head coaches Jeff Bower and Larry Fedora. After failing to qualify for bowl games in 2012, 13, and 14, the Eagles made their return in 2015, facing Washington in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. USM would go to a bowl game in 2016, 17, and 19. Under second year head coach Will Hall, the Eagles were looking to not only go to their first bowl game since 2019 but their first bowl win since 2016.

After finishing 2022 with a 20-10 win over ULM, the Golden Eagles were selected to face their former Conference USA rivals Rice in the LendingTree Bowl in Mobile, AL. The 5-7 Rice Owls were granted a bowl eligibility waiver from the NCAA. The game kicked off at 4:45 on a chilly evening in Mobile, and the Eagles were on fire from the gate. Leading 17-3 at halftime, this game was in the Eagles’ hands. However, the Owls sped back up and led the Eagles 24-17 in the 3rd Quarter. Frank Gore, Jr. aired out an 18-yard touchdown pass to Ty Mims to tie the game with 24 even at the end of the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th Quarter, the Southern Miss Nasty Bunch Defense held Rice back while the offense scored 14 unanswered points. Southern Miss would come away with their first bowl win since 2016, topping Rice 38-24.

The Southern Miss offense was on fire in this game, with a special spotlight on Frank Gore, Jr. Gore, known for being used as a superback (quarterback and runningback), had an explosive night in both positions. Along with that TD pass to Mims, Gore totaled 329 yards on the ground with 2 rushing TDs. Gore’s 329 yards set records at Southern Miss and in the FBS. The Eagles finish with their first winning season since 2019 (7-6), and the Owls finish 5-8.

Let’s check out the other bowl game scores from Week 1: