Southern Miss 27, Tulane 24
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS - Zach Wilcke threw a pair of touchdown passes, Eric Scott returned an interception for a score and Southern Mississippi collected its first win of the season, beating previously unbeaten Tulane 27-24.
Wilcke's 37-yard touchdown pass to Jakarius Caston tied it at 17 late in the third quarter. Scott's pick-6 stretched the Southern Miss lead to 27-17 with 7:07 remaining. Wilcke was 17-of-25 passing for 194 yards. Caston had eight receptions for 91 yards.
Michael Pratt's 25-yard touchdown pass to Jha'Quan Jackson for Tulane capped the scoring with 19 seconds left.
Tyjae Spears ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns for Tulane (3-1). Spears also made five catches for 74 yards. Spears' 8-yard TD run and his 34-yard scoring run gave Tulane a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Southern Miss (1-3) ended a two-game skid in the series, a 30-13 loss in the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl and a 66-24 defeat at home during the 2020 regular season.
It was the 33rd meeting in the series dating to 1979, but the first in New Orleans since 2010, a 46-10 Southern Miss win at the Louisiana Superdome. It was also the first time the teams met in Yulman Stadium.
Scoring Summary |
First Quarter |
SouMis | Tulane |
Tulane |
TD |
10:14 |
Tyjae Spears 8 yd run (Kriston Esnard kick) |
0 |
7 |
Second Quarter |
SouMis | Tulane |
Tulane |
TD |
11:57 |
Tyjae Spears 34 yd run (Kriston Esnard kick) |
0 |
14 |
SouMis |
TD |
6:01 |
Jason Brownlee 23 yd pass from Zach Wilcke (Briggs Bourgeois kick) |
7 |
14 |
SouMis |
FG |
2:31 |
Briggs Bourgeois 36 yd FG |
10 |
14 |
Tulane |
FG |
0:03 |
Kriston Esnard 28 yd FG |
10 |
17 |
Third Quarter |
SouMis | Tulane |
SouMis |
TD |
1:53 |
Jakarius Caston 37 yd pass from Zach Wilcke (Briggs Bourgeois kick) |
17 |
17 |
Fourth Quarter |
SouMis | Tulane |
SouMis |
FG |
8:26 |
Briggs Bourgeois 26 yd FG |
20 |
17 |
SouMis |
TD |
7:07 |
Eric Scott, Jr. 35 yd interception return (Briggs Bourgeois kick) |
27 |
17 |
Tulane |
TD |
0:19 |
Jha'Quan Jackson 25 yd pass from Michael Pratt (Kriston Esnard kick) |
27 |
24 |
Team Stats |
|
Southern Miss |
Tulane |
First downs |
13 |
26 |
Rushing |
5 |
14 |
Passing |
8 |
10 |
Penalty |
0 |
2 |
3rd Down Efficiency |
3-12, 25% |
6-16, 38% |
4th down efficiency |
1-2, 50% |
1-3, 33% |
Rushes-Yards |
27-59 |
47-204 |
Passing Yards |
194 |
247 |
Return Yards |
57 |
39 |
Completions-Attempts-Int |
17-25-0 |
19-29-1 |
Sacks-Yards Lost |
0-0 |
4--23 |
Punts |
5 |
3 |
Punts-Average |
46.4 |
25.7 |
Fumbles Lost |
1-0 |
1-0 |
Penalties - Yards |
5-45 |
2-20 |
Time of Possession |
23:59 |
36:01 |
Southern Miss Passing |
Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
Z. Wilcke |
17 |
25 |
194 |
2 |
0 |
Tulane Passing |
Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
M. Pratt |
19 |
29 |
247 |
1 |
1 |
Southern Miss Rushing |
Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
F. Gore Jr. |
16 |
44 |
2.8 |
0 |
J. Dean |
4 |
7 |
1.8 |
0 |
Z. Wilcke |
4 |
6 |
1.5 |
0 |
T. Keyes |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
Tulane Rushing |
Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
T. Spears |
22 |
114 |
5.2 |
2 |
M. Pratt |
16 |
58 |
3.6 |
0 |
I. Celestine |
5 |
22 |
4.4 |
0 |
S. Clayton |
3 |
7 |
2.3 |
0 |
D. McDougle |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
Southern Miss Receiving |
Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
J. Caston |
8 |
91 |
11.4 |
1 |
J. Brownlee |
3 |
68 |
22.7 |
1 |
F. Gore Jr. |
3 |
14 |
4.7 |
0 |
C. Cavallo |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
0 |
L. Jones |
1 |
7 |
7.0 |
0 |
C. Pittman |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
Tulane Receiving |
Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
T. Spears |
5 |
74 |
14.8 |
0 |
A. Bauman |
4 |
57 |
14.3 |
0 |
J. Jackson |
2 |
55 |
27.5 |
1 |
S. Clayton |
2 |
22 |
11.0 |
0 |
D. Watts |
1 |
13 |
13.0 |
0 |
D. McDougle |
2 |
10 |
5.0 |
0 |
I. Celestine |
1 |
8 |
8.0 |
0 |
R. Brown |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
S. Wyatt |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
Southern Miss Interceptions |
Player |
Int |
Yards |
E. Scott, Jr. |
1 |
35 |
Tulane Interceptions |
Player |
Int |
Yards |
Southern Miss Punting |
Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
M. Hunt |
5 |
232 |
46.4 |
Tulane Punting |
Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
C. Glover |
2 |
77 |
38.5 |
Southern Miss Punt Returns |
Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
J. Jones |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
Tulane Punt Returns |
Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
J. Jackson |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
Southern Miss Kick Returns |
Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
C. Harrell |
1 |
12 |
12.0 |
Tulane Kick Returns |
Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
J. Jackson |
1 |
40 |
40.0 |
Southern Miss Missed FG |
Player |
Length |
Tulane Missed FG |
Player |
Length |
K. Esnard |
47 |
K. Esnard |
37 |