HATTIESBURG, Ms.- Southern Mississippi jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back as the Golden Eagles posted a 56-0 win over Savannah State, in a game played at Roberts Stadium.

The crowd of 29,509 saw USM add 28 points in the second quarter as they entered intermission with a commanding 49-0 advantage.


The Tigers limited Southern Miss to one score in the third quarter while keeping them out of the endzone in the fourth quarter.

Southern Miss threw a interception on their first possession of the contest but scored touchdowns on their next seven possessions. Savannah State missed a field goal attempt on their second possession and punted the ball away on their next six possessions.

SSU punted on their first possession of the game. The Golden Eagles took over on their own 25. After a run by Ito Smith resulted in a one yard gain, quarterback Nick Mullins dropped back to pass but it was intercepted by SSU defensive end Marquis Smith.

The Tigers had the ball at the Golden Eagles 16 but ended up losing yards back to the 22 yard line. A 39 yard field goal attempt by John Barron was blocked.

For the rest of the game, Savannah State's offense never got as far as their own 42.

Keynnard Campbell led the Tigers in rushing with 24 yards while Blake Dever completed one pass for 17 yards. Jeremiah Harris caught a pair of passes for 23 yards.Marcus Lee anchored the SSU defense with 10 tackles.

As a team, SSU had three first downs and 41 yards of offense.

Southern Miss was led by Smith who ran for 128 yards and a touchdown. Mullins threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns while Marquise Ricard caught six passes for 50 yards and a score. Jeremy Sangster and Derrick Dixon each had five tackles for the defense.

As a unit, the Golden Eagles rolled up 28 first downs and 615 yards of offense while the defense had five sacks.

Despite trailing at the half, Savannah State led in possession at intermission.