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New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss vs UL Lafayette: Highlights, score, and recap

By Sarabeth Pollock

Dec 17, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Southern Mississippi running back Ito Smith (25) is tackled by UL Lafayette defensive back Reginald Miles (22) during the second quarter of the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl college football game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Southern Mississippi running back Ito Smith (25) is tackled by UL Lafayette defensive back Reginald Miles (22) during the second quarter of the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl college football game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /
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Southern Miss pulled out a 28-21 win over Louisiana Lafayette in the 2016 New Orleans Bowl, improving to 7-6 on the season while the Ragin’ Cajuns fall to 6-7.

The 2016 New Orleans Bowl was the story of two teams sitting on 6-6 seasons looking to finish the year with a winning record. Southern Miss and Louisiana-Lafayette came prepared for battle, and battle they did.

Southern Miss jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, but the Ragin’ Cajuns managed to tie the game at 14 by the middle of the second quarter. From there the Golden Eagles maintained the lead, but the Ragin’ Cajuns kept up the fight to stay within striking distance. However, everything lined up for Southern Miss and they held the lead through the entire game.

First Quarter: Southern Miss 14, Louisiana Lafayette 7

Five minutes into the game Southern Miss quarterback Nick Mullens completed a 55-yard pass to Allenzae Staggers to get the ball to the Louisiana Lafayette 12 yard line for a first down. Two plays later Mullens hands the ball off to Ito Smith, who runs the ball 11 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. Parker Shaunfield got the extra point. The Golden Eagles were up 7-0 until a few plays later when Southern Miss was 1st and 10 at their 30 yard line. This time Mullens completed a 66-yard pass to Staggers to land at the Ragin’ Cajuns 4-yard line. Smith ran the ball on the next play for a two yard loss, but on the next play Mullens passed the ball to Smith for a 6-yard touchdown. With the extra point the score went to 14-0 Southern Miss.

Nine plays later the Ragin’ Cajuns got on the board after Louisiana Lafayette got the ball to the Southern Miss 28 for a first down, but a personal foul brought the ball to the 14 yard line for a 1st down. Two plays after that quarterback Anthony Jennings took the ball to the house for a 4 yard touchdown, and with the extra point the score went to 14-7 Southern Miss. Later Southern Miss missed a field goal to end the quarter up 14-7.

Second Quarter: Southern Miss 14, Louisiana Lafayette 14

The Ragin’ Cajuns battled back in the second quarter to tie the game. This time it was quarterback Dion Ray who ran the ball 12 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good and the score was knotted at 14. Two minutes before the end of the half Jennings got picked off, but nothing came from it.

Third Quarter: Southern Miss 21, Louisiana Lafayette 14

The second half got started with a 65 yard kickoff from the Ragin’ Cajuns’ Stevie Artigue for a touchback. The ball started out on the Southern Miss 25 yard line. Mullens moved the ball down the field until it was 3rd and 6 at the ULL 23rd yard line. Mullens passed to Chase Whitehead for a 7 yard run to get to a 1st down. Next was an Ito Smith 9 yard run to get a 1st down at the Louisiana Lafayette 7. Mullens’ 5 yard pass to Staggers was complete for a touchdown. Southern Miss was up 21-14.

Fourth Quarter: Southern Miss 28, Louisiana Lafayette 21

Ito Smith connected with a Nick Mullens pass for his third touchdown of the game. With the extra point the Golden Eagles soared to a 28-14 lead over the Ragin’ Cajuns. However, an interception halfway through the quarter moved the ball enough for Louisiana Lafayette to score. Anthony Jennings ran the ball 3 yards into the end zone, and the Steve Artigue extra point brought the Ragin’ Cajuns to within a touchdown. 28-21 Southern Miss. The Ragin’ Cajuns tried to move the ball down the field in the last two minutes of the game

The two teams stayed fairly evenly matched with regards to 1st downs (22 for Southern Miss vs 21 for Louisiana Lafayette) and turnovers (2-1 Southern Miss over Louisiana Lafayette). However, the dam broke open with total yards, with Southern Miss finishing with 481 yards over Louisiana Lafayette’s 252. The Golden Eagles were 25-42 in comp-att passes compared to 8-22 for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Highlights

Three Stars

  1. Nick Mullens, Southern Miss: Nick Mullens and his receiving team of Allenzae Staggers and Ito Smith were the power trio of the game. Mullens was 25 for 40 for 346 yards, with two touchdowns and only one interception.
  2. Allenzae Staggers, Southern Miss: Allenzae Staggers had a stellar game tonight with 230 yards on 11 receptions. He had one touchdown with his longest return of the game a solid 66 yards.
  3. Ito Smith, Southern Miss: Ito Smith returned three touchdowns (2 rushing and 1 receiving), making him responsible for a majority of the points in the game. Smith carried for 138 yards on 26 carries, with his longest run at 24 yards.

Next Season

With the 2016 season buttoned up, it’s time to look ahead to the 2017 campaign. Southern Miss will open its 2017 season at home against the Kentucky Wildcats on September 2nd while the Ragin’ Cajuns will open at home against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions, also on September 2nd, 2017.

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