Southern Miss' Jay Stanley ran down Texas State running back Ismail Mahdi as he looked to score from 100 yards out after the Bobcats' quarterback TJ Finley escaped a potential safety and tossed the ball Mahdi.
Just before Mahdi crossed into the end zone, Stanley dived and knocked the ball out of the running back's hands, forcing a touchback. The play was critical in helping Southern Miss respond with 26 unanswered points, but ultimately, the Golden Eagles' hole was too deep as the improbable comeback fell short in a 50-36 loss to the Bobcats.
"I thought it was a microcosm of how we played in the second half," Southern Miss coach Will Hall said. "We don't quit. We had the guy sacked, and it was a miracle play. It was a freak play. It was a crazy swing of events. I don't think our kids quit in any way, shape or form. They proved it in the second half. They spilled it. We just didn't play good enough to win. It wasn't an effort issue; it was an execution issue."
Had Southern Miss completed the 32-point comeback, it would have been the largest in school history and tied for the third largest in FBS history.
LOPSIDED FIRST HALF
Texas State (4-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) dominated the start of the game, as Mahdi scored from 100 yards out on the opening kickoff. From there, the Bobcats scored on four of the next five drives in the first half to set up a 42-10 halftime lead.
"It was a disappointing night," Hall said. "I was really disappointed in our first half. There was a lack of execution in so many ways.
"All of a sudden, we are jumping offsides again on offense, which is something we haven't done since the Florida State game. Defensively, we were not very good in the first half. We were not very gap sound, not doing our job, and our eyes were everywhere…It was just a really pitiful performance in the second half, and it falls on me. In the second half, I thought it was a complete flip-flop of that. We got behind by a lot to a really good football team."
Southern Miss' defense had no answers for quarterback TJ Finley and the rest of the Texas State offense. The Bobcats' scoring drives lasted on average for 5.4 plays in the first half, while the offense amassed 351 yards.
The Golden Eagles didn't have a chance to get on the board until late, less than two minutes left in the first quarter, which saw them trailing 21-0. After running 11 plays and driving to Texas State's 16-yard line, USM faced fourth and two, but a five-yard penalty forced the Golden Eagles to settle for a 38-yard field goal.
After Texas State scored again to push the lead to 28-3, the Golden Eagles put together a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Frank Gore Jr. taking a direct snap and scoring on a 1-yard run.
But Mahdi reached the end zone two more times before half to extend Texas State's lead to 42-10. Southern Miss (1-4, 0-2) almost got back on the board before the end of the second quarter, but Andrew Stein missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired.
LIFE IN THE SECOND HALF
Despite the ugly first half, the Golden Eagles outgained Texas State in yardage, with USM putting up 322 yards in offense. Southern Miss found momentum in the opening drive of the third quarter as Wiles found Ty Mims for an 8-yard touchdown, but a blocked PAT kept the score at 42-16.
Southern Miss had a chance to get back on the board as the Golden Eagles drove 78 yards to Texas State's nine-yard line. Yet, on fourth and one, a bad snap led to Gore getting tackled for a four-yard loss.
"We got down there, and we're about to score," Hall said. "We snap it off the lead fullback. We haven't been stopped in that all year…If we score right there, then we have the lead right there at the end."
However, following Stanley's forced fumble near the of the third quarter, Wiles marched USM down on the field and found Jakarius Caston for an eight-yard touchdown to narrow the score to 42-23.
"Last week, I had a bad game, and people questioned my effort," said Stanley, who knocked the ball out with his hand that was wrapped in a cast. "I wanted to spill it out on the field for my teammates and coaches. I want to give it my all every chance I get.
"I had to throw a shot at the ball, hurt hand or not."
On the ensuing drive, Markel McLaurin forced and recovered a fumble inside Texas State's 33-yard line to set up an 8-yard touchdown run for Wiles, who finished the game 21 of 45 throwing for 275 yards.
"We have to figure out what is as players as to why we are not executing in the first half," Wiles said. "There is a lot of stuff that we have to look at. I think it's a credit to Coach Hall and his staff that we came back in a game like that. We have to look ourselves in the mirror a little bit and figure out what it is that's going to get us started faster as an offense, defense and whole team. If we play a full game, then I think we win that game."
The Golden Eagle defense, which held Texas State to just 166 total yards of offense in the second half, forced a three-and-out against the Bobcats. Southern Miss capitalized with back-to-back big pass completions by Wiles, setting up Gore's second touchdown run to leave USM trailing 42-36.
With just over three minutes left in the game, Southern Miss had a chance to win the game. But the Golden Eagles couldn't take advantage of the moment as Hall opted to go for it on fourth and 17 at their own 18-yard line. Texas State then sealed the game with a 14-yard touchdown run.
"I thought that was our best chance (to go for it)," Hall said. "You are backed up. If you punt it to midfield, then they get it to midfield and use all three timeouts. They punt it back, and you get at the best at the 20-yard line with a minute and a half left with no timeouts. Our offensive line is not built to drop back and pass every play. We are built to run the ball…I thought with that data and information that our best chance was to convert that right there and have our timeouts so that we could mix in runs and build methodically."
Southern Miss will host Old Dominion next week, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
Follow @AndrewAbadie on Twitter and Facebook for Southern Miss coverage.
