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Saturday, October 2
Houston, Texas
5:30 p.m.

Southern Miss

at

Rice

Southern Miss Golden Eagles defensive lineman Josh Carr Jr. (45) sacks the quarterback against Alabama Crimson Tide. Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021  (Photo by Joe Harper/BigGold Photography)
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Conference USA Football Opener at Rice Set Saturday

10/1/2021 9:09:00 AM | Football

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss opens its 26th season of Conference USA action this Saturday when they travel to Houston to play Rice in a 5:30 p.m. contest.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 as well as be heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss Sports Network by Learfield.

The Golden Eagles (1-3) look to snap a two-game losing streak when they play an Owls team that enters play this weekend with a 1-3 record as well.

Southern Miss leads the overall series with Rice 6-5, having had a five-game winning streak snapped last season when the Owls posted a 30-6 win in Hattiesburg.

The squad, though, looks to win its fourth-straight contest at Rice Stadium, having averaged 42.7 points a game there over their last three appearances.

Under first-year coach Will Hall, the Golden Eagles will take a new offense to the Lone Star state led by freshman quarterback Ty Keyes. The Taylorsville, Miss., native rushed for a team-high 41 yards and threw for 131 yards and two touchdowns against top-ranked Alabama last week.

Frank Gore, Jr., continues to lead the Golden Eagles on the ground with 281 rushing yards, while Jason Brownlee continues to lead the team in catches with nine. 

On the defensive side, the Golden Eagles continue to limit their opponents to under 100 yards a game rushing (88.3) as defensive back Malik Shorts leads the way in tackles with a team-best 27. Josh Carr, Jr., ranks first for the Golden Eagles in sacks with four, while Josh Ratcliff is tops on the squad in tackles for loss with 4.5.

The Owls, which dropped games to Arkansas, Houston and Texas to start the year, won its first game last weekend at home, 48-34, over Texas Southern.  

Following the Rice contest, the Golden Eagles return to The Rock for Homecoming on the Golden Eagles campus when they take on UTEP, Saturday, Oct., 9, at 6 p.m.

Tickets still remain for the 2021 C-USA home schedule and can be purchased by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or 601-266-5418, as well as emailing ticket.office@usm.edu.