By Bret Strelow. HATTIESBURG, Miss. — App State Football hit the road for its Sun Belt Conference opener and suffered a 38-22 loss at Southern Miss on Saturday night.
App State (2-1, 0-1) has a bye next weekend before playing two consecutive nonconference games, starting with a Sept. 27 visit to Boise State.
Hosting the Sun Belt’s first league game of the season and playing at home for the third straight week, Southern Miss improved to 2-1 overall.
Turnovers a Problem
Despite falling behind 24-7, with three first-half interceptions on plays inside the Southern Miss 10, including a 99-yard return for a touchdown, the Mountaineers pulled within 24-14 when true freshman running back Jaquari Lewis took a handoff from true freshman quarterback Noah Gillon and scored his first touchdown on a 10-yard run late in the third quarter.
Elijah Mc-Cantos recovered a surprise onside kick at midfield, and Gillon followed a sack with a completion to Izayah Cummings to push App State into scoring range, but a 49-yard field-goal attempt aimed at making it a one-score game sailed wide. Southern Miss then broke the game back open by scoring touchdowns on each of its next two possessions, moving 69 yards on five plays and 61 yards on just three plays.
AJ Swann completed 15 of 23 passes for 217 yards but was helped off the field after his third interception and didn’t return. Gillon, a Mississippi native who attended Tupelo High School about 3.5 hours north of Hattiesburg, completed 11 of 24 passes for 109 yards in his first career game appearance before giving way to Billy Wiles, a former Southern Miss quarterback.
Wiles threw his first touchdown pass in an App State uniform, hitting Jaden Barnes for a 3-yard score in the final minute.
Barnes caught 10 passes for 132 yards and Cummings hauled in seven passes for 82 yards, while running back Rashod Dubinion scored App State’s first touchdown as part of a 95-yard outing on the ground.
The Golden Eagles’ three first-half interceptions occurred in or just outside the end zone, with App State turning the ball over on snaps from the Southern Miss 4, 4 and 7.
The first miscue — stopping a productive opening drive — was an end-zone pick that followed a low snap from the 4 and a rushed, errant throw intended as a fade toward the back-right corner.
The Mountaineers quickly forced a three-and-out punt and took the lead via a 62-yard drive that ended with Dubinion’s 2-yard touchdown run, but Southern Miss scored the final 17 points of the half.
The Golden Eagles answered App State’s score with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, forced a three-and-out punt and moved into scoring range for a 39-yard field goal after Thomas Davis recorded a third-down sack to open the second quarter.
App State quickly marched back down the field to set up a first down from the 10, and Swann’s third-and-goal pass from the 4 sailed toward an open Dubinion leaking out along the right sideline. A lunging Dubinion tried to corral the pass, but as his momentum carried him down to the ground, the ball popped up into the air and into the hands of Southern Miss safety Ian Foster, who had no one near him as he started his 99-yard sprint down the sideline.
The INT was upheld after a video review, enabling Southern Miss to claim a 17-7 lead with 10:40 remaining in the second quarter.
The Mountaineers looked poised to come up with a big answer of their own, as Barnes gained 26 yards to midfield on the second play of the next series, and App State moved inside the 10 before a first-down carry lost 6 yards. On a third-and-goal pass from the 7-yard line, a pressured Swann forced a pass into traffic, and USM linebacker Mathis Haywood came up with an interception in the end zone.
To make matters worse, with Haywood returning the ball 19 yards, Swann and senior left tackle Jayden Ramsey had to be helped off the field in the aftermath of Swann getting knocked into the back of his teammate. Gillon and true freshman left tackle Denell Nix Jr. started App State’s final offensive series of the half and played most of the second half.
With time to regroup at the break, App State kicked off to open the second half, and Southern Miss moved ahead 24-7 with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive before forcing a three-and-out punt.
DJ Burks‘ second interception of the season — off a pass tipped by cornerback Emory Floyd — ended the next Southern Miss drive, and the offense had another three-and-out punt before moving the ball effectively late in the third quarter. A roughing-the-kicker penalty on a 37-yard field-goal attempt prolonged the drive, setting up Lewis’ touchdown run on the next play.
POSTGAME NOTES: Southern Miss 38, App State 22
App State fell to 2-1 on the season and 0-1 in Sun Belt play.
The Mountaineers outgained their opponent in total yards (470-389) for the third time in as many games.
App State lost the turnover battle (3-1) for the second straight game, with all three interceptions thrown when the Mountaineers were inside the Golden Eagles’ 10-yard line.
Since joining the Sun Belt Conference, App State is now 9-3 in league openers and lost its second straight.
True freshman quarterback Noah Gillon made his college debut in relief of injured starter AJ Swann. True freshman offensive lineman Denell Nix Jr. also made his debut.
OFFENSE
- Running back Rashod Dubinion rushed for 95 yards on 24 carries with his second touchdown of the season. He has amassed 400 rushing yards through three games for a 133.3-yard average.
- True freshman running back Jaquari Lewis scored a third-quarter touchdown on a 10-yard sprint up the middle to cut the Golden Eagles’ lead to 10. He rushed twice for 12 yards, caught four passes for 28 yards and scored a 2-point conversion.
- Jaden Barnes went over 100 receiving yards for the second time in three games as a Mountaineer, catching 10 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. He’s the first Mountaineer to amass double-digit catches in a game since Kaedin Robinson had 10 against ULM in 2023.
- Playing against his former team, quarterback Billy Wiles led a scoring drive to close the game, going 5-for-5 passing and tossing a 3-yard touchdown to Barnes.
DEFENSE
- This was defensive back DJ Burks’ second straight game with an interception. He made a one-handed catch off an Emory Floyd deflection in the third quarter.
- Linebacker Colton Phares led the team with eight tackles, including three of the team’s six tackles for loss. It was his second straight game with eight tackles, which matches his career high.
- Edge Thomas Davis came up with a timely sack to force a fourth down field-goal at the start of the second quarter.
SPECIAL TEAMS
- Dominic De Freitas initiated a momentum-shifting play with an onside kick that was recovered by Elijah Mc-Cantos after App State scored to cut its deficit to 24-14 late in the third quarter.
