Alcorn State Braves vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles Match Player Stats On Sep 06, 2014

Southern Mississippi 26, Alcorn State 20: Nick Mullens threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Golden Eagles snapped an 11-game home losing streak.

Mullens, who was 21-of-33 for 208 yards, added 45 on the ground as Southern Mississippi (1-1) rebounded from a 49-0 loss at Mississippi State with its second victory in three contests since snapping a 23-game slide with a 62-27 win at Alabama-Birmingham on Nov. 30. Ito Smith rushed for 118 yards on 32 carries while Marquise Ricard and James Cox each caught a touchdown pass as the Golden Eagles survived a late rally from the FCS member Braves.

Quarterback John Gibbs Jr. rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and was 14-of-26 for 94 yards and two interceptions for Alcorn State (1-1), which was picked to finish second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference East Division. Darryan Ragsdale added 111 yards on 11 carries as the Braves rushed for 295 yards.

Mullen's 38-yard touchdown pass to Ricard - the longest reception of his career - gave Southern Mississippi a 17-0 lead with 5:54 left in the second quarter. Gibbs answered 1:37 later with a 33-yard scoring run before two field goals by Corey Acosta put the Golden Eagles ahead 23-7 with 9:39 left in the third quarter.

Wide receiver Zerick Rollins Jr. threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Casey Freeman early in the fourth quarter and a 5-yard TD run by the Braves' Anthony Williams III with 7:32 left made it 26-20. Alcorn State got the ball back with 1:02 to go at its own 20, but Jomez Applewhite intercepted Gibbs on the first play of the drive to seal the victory.