Clements’ 6 TD passes leads Rice in shootout win

The Associated Press

HOUSTON – Chase Clement threw for 444 yards and six touchdowns, including three to NCAA record-holder Jarrett Dillard to help Rice hold off Southern Miss in a 45-40 win Saturday.

The Golden Eagles kept their hopes alive after Austin Davis hit DeAndre Brown for his fourth touchdown catch with 17.2 seconds left, but Rice recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Dillard, who pushed his NCAA record for career touchdowns to 54, caught seven passes for 141 yards. The Owls (4-3, 3-1 Conference USA) moved to 3-0 at home and have won two of three after a two-game slide.

Southern Miss (2-5, 0-3) has lost four straight.

Davis was 32-of-61 for 461 yards and threw all four of his touchdown passes to Brown, who had 221 yards receiving. Damion Fletcher had a game-high 120 yards rushing on 17 carries.

After Clement hit Dillard for a 44-yard score to make it 38-26 with 11:45 left, Rice got its final touchdown when James Casey scooped up a fumble from teammate Patrick Randolph and ran it 26 yards to the end zone.

The Owls led 17-12 at halftime behind Clement, who finished the game completing 30 of his 43 passes.

Passmore leads Marshall past Southern Miss 34-27

The Associated Press

HATTIESBURG – Marshall’s Darius Passmore made sure the Thundering Herd broke a long road losing streak on Saturday.

Passmore had eight catches for 136 yards and a touchdown, and ran 80 yards for another score to lead Marshall to a 34-27 victory over Southern Mississippi.

The Thundering Herd (3-1, 2-0 Conference USA) broke a nine-game road losing streak, winning away from home for the first time since defeating UAB two years ago.

It was the first win for Marshall over Southern Miss (2-2, 0-1) in four meetings.

“It was a big win for us, and a big step for our program,” Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. “This is a tough place to come in and win. He (Passmore) is a playmaker. He’s dangerous every time he touches the ball.”

Marshall’s Mark Cann was 16 of 25 for 219 yards and two scores.

Southern Miss edges Arkansas State

JONESBORO, Ark.- Freshman Austin Davis threw for two touchdowns, and Southern Mississippi handed Arkansas State its first loss of the season, 27-24 Saturday night.

With the game tied at 17 early in the fourth quarter, Arkansas State lined up for a short field goal, but the snap went through the hands of holder Brett Shrable. The ball bounced all the way back to around midfield, and Southern Miss’ T.J. Bailey eventually returned it all the way to the Arkansas State 10.

Justin Estes kicked a 28-yard field goal with 10:47 to play to give Southern Miss (2-1) the lead, and the Golden Eagles later went ahead 27-17 on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Damion Fletcher.

Arkansas State scored with 2:14 to play on Corey Leonard’s 5-yard pass to Jeff Blake, and the Red Wolves (2-1) got the ball back. But Leonard was intercepted by Eddie Willingham on a deflection at the Southern Miss 40.

Davis threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Massey to give Southern Miss a 17-3 halftime lead. Arkansas State scored touchdowns on its first two drives of the second half. Leonard found tight end David Johnson unguarded for a 16-yard score, and Reggie Arnold finished a 94-yard, 10-play drive with a 6-yard scoring run.

Arkansas State was coming off two impressive wins. The Red Wolves upset Texas A&M to open the season, then beat Texas Southern 83-10.

Southern Miss beat Arkansas State in the 2005 New Orleans Bowl.

Southern Miss. beats Louisiana-Lafayette 51-21

The Associated Press
HATTIESBURG, – For the first time in 18 seasons, Southern Mississippi had a rookie head coaching roaming the sidelines.

Fortunately for the Golden Eagles, they had a veteran in the backfield.

Junior tailback Damion Fletcher rushed for a career high 222 yards and two touchdowns as Southern Mississippi (1-0) won Larry Fedora’s debut as a head coach 51-21 Saturday night over Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1) before a crowd of 32,792 at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

Fedora, formerly the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma St., replaced longtime Golden Eagles head coach Jeff Bower and watched as his team rolled up 633 yards of total offense.

“That’s just one down and a bunch to go,” Fedora said. “We did some good things offensively and on defense we created some opportunities for us to take advantage of. That’s always a good combination.”

Fletcher picked up 184 yards on 16 carries and had two scores in the first half, as USM (1-0) took a quick 21-0 lead and went on to a 34-14 halftime advantage.

The Golden Eagles would rush for 406 yards in the win.