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UConn Huskies at Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Sep 19, 20266:00 PM CTHattiesburg, MS
By JR·1 min read
UConn HuskiesCONN
Southern Miss Golden EaglesUSM
48—20
FINAL
Final1Q2Q3Q4QT
CONN
141314748
USM
337720

TLDR: Two teams looking for proof their season-opening blowouts meant something got their answer in Hattiesburg, and only one of them liked it.

Kalieb Osborne gave UConn exactly what the Maryland game said he couldn't. The Huskies quarterback threw for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns and added 32 rushing yards and 2 more scores on the ground, a complete reversal from the 156-yard, 10-of-21 outing that had Storrs asking questions about Jason Candle's offense a week earlier.

FINAL
Spread
WIN
Total
UConn
48
Southern Miss
20
Weather95°

UConn erased last week's offensive no-show with a 4-touchdown night from Kalieb Osborne and a defense that turned two more Ethan Hampton turnovers into an early runaway, routing Southern Miss 48-20 on the road. The Golden Eagles' defensive issues from the Auburn loss carried over, and Hampton left with a reinjured hand as the game got out of hand in the second quarter.

UConn
  • Osborne total 4 TDs, 214 pass yards, 2 rush TDs
  • Bowers ran for career-high 84 yards on 11 carries
  • Defense forced 2 Hampton interceptions, held 102 rush yards
  • Allowed Southern Miss to score on 2 of last 4 quarters
  • Defense let up two garbage-time touchdown drives
Southern Miss
  • Braedyn Moore's pick set up early deficit, but offense found 2 late TDs
  • Kept it from becoming a total shutout after 27-6 halftime hole
  • Hampton picked off on opening drive for 2nd straight game
  • Hampton left by halftime with reinjured hand
  • Offense managed only 102 rushing yards, 5-of-15 on 3rd down

Southern Miss's issue turned out to be exactly the one the preview flagged, and it showed up immediately. Ethan Hampton threw an interception on the Golden Eagles' opening drive for the second straight game, this one tipped and picked off by Braedyn Moore, and Osborne turned it into a 5-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead before Hattiesburg had settled in.

From there it was mostly damage control for the home side. UConn built the margin out early and never let Southern Miss's offense find any rhythm, finishing with 436 total yards against a defense that had just given up 43 to Auburn a week before.

Hampton didn't finish it. He left by halftime with a reinjured hand and the Golden Eagles down 27-6, ending his day at 14-of-25 for 93 yards. Anas Luqman added a second interception for UConn's defense, which held Southern Miss to just 102 rushing yards and a 5-of-15 clip on third down, and running back Cyncir Bowers punched in a career-high 84 yards on 11 carries to keep the Huskies' ground game humming alongside Osborne's legs.

UConn Huskies
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Southern Miss Golden Eagles
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report

Southern Miss did find the end zone twice after halftime to get the final margin down to 28, but by then the game had long been decided in the first two quarters. The loss drops the Golden Eagles to 1-2 heading into a road trip to Tulane, while UConn leaves Mississippi with its first road win of the season and a much clearer answer about which version of its offense is the real one.

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