With the postseason hopes hanging by a thread, Texas State will once again try to keep their bowl game hopes alive and snap their losing skid on the road against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
The Bobcats enter the game on a five-game losing streak, falling to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 42-39. The drama continued after the game when an on-field fight between the two teams resulted in the suspension of 13 players, six for the Bobcats and seven for the Cajuns.
Senior defensive end Tymere Jackson was suspended two games while junior Khamari Terrell, sophomore Justin De-Leon, sophomore Kyran Bourda, sophomore J.P. Deeter and junior Devarrick Woods were given one-game suspensions.
With five of the six players being defensive players, the short-handed Bobcat defense will look to find any sort of positive momentum after giving up more than 40 points in their fourth straight game.
Southern Miss enters their showdown against Texas State with one of the best offenses in the conference while also being the front-runner to win the Sun Belt West Division.
Quarterback Braylon Braxton leads the Golden Eagle offense with 2,187 passing yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 220 yards and one touchdown.
Braxton’s top four wide receivers have all had over 300 yards of receiving with Elijah Metcalf leading the way with 30 catches for 425 yards and one touchdown. Tychaun Chapman is second in receiving with 18 catches for 348 yards and two touchdowns while Micah Davis is third with 24 catches for 330 yards and four touchdowns.
Carl Chester rounds out the group with 20 catches for 318 yards and three touchdowns.
In the running game, Southern Miss is led by running back Jeffery Pittman with 113 carries for 494 yards and six touchdowns.
The Southern Miss offense has averaged 32.3 points per game and 34.8 points per game in conference play. Texas State has averaged 34.6 points per game and 33.4 points per game in conference play.
On defense, the Golden Eagles are led by linebacker Chris Jones with 91 total tackles, 33 solo tackles and 3.5 sacks. Linebacker Michael Montgomery is second in total tackles with 86, along with 23 solo tackles.
The Golden Eagles are ball hawks in the air with 20 interceptions as a team with cornerback Josh Moten leading the way with five.
The Southern Miss defense has allowed an average of 24.2 points per game and 21.8 points per game in conference play. Texas State’s defense has allowed an average of 34.7 points per game and 42.6 points per game in conference play.
The series history of Texas State-Southern Miss dates back to 2013 when the Bobcats began their transition to FBS.
In their first meeting, Texas State defeated Southern Miss 22-15 in a low-scoring affair. Quarterback Taylor Arndt scored the game winning touchdown with less than three minutes remaining in the game.
The two teams met again in 2015 in a game that was the complete opposite of their first meeting.
Combining for over 1,200 yards of offense, Southern Miss defeated Texas State 56-50 in the highest scoring game of the series.
The series went on a hiatus until 2022 when Southern Miss moved from C-USA to join the Sun Belt, being placed in the West Division.
The first-ever conference meeting between the Bobcats and the Golden Eagles took place during the 2022 season when Southern Miss defeated Texas State 20-14. Despite the Bobcats scoring a 74-yard touchdown pass from Layne Hatcher to Ashtyn Hawkins, the Golden Eagles responded with a 53-yard touchdown pass with just 32 seconds left in the game to come away with the win.
The Bobcats exacted revenge against the Golden Eagles the next season when Texas State defeated Southern Miss 5036 in the conference opener for the ‘Cats.
Texas State went up 4210 at halftime before Southern Miss scored 26 unanswered points in the second half. The Bobcats sealed the win with a late touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats won their second consecutive game over the Golden Eagles last year with the biggest blowout win of the series, winning 58-3.
Texas State leads the alltime series 3-2.
Kickoff for Texas State-Southern Miss is set for 2:30 Saturday in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
This is the sixth all-time meeting between Texas State and Southern Miss. The Bobcats lead the series 3-2. Photo submitted by Texas State Athletics
