The Student Printz October 26, 2022 | Volume 108 Issue 9

Joe Paul named 11th President of USM

Loren Jones Printz Executive Editor

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of High er Learning announced Monday that they voted to name Dr. Joe Paul the 11th presi dent of The University of Southern Mississippi. The IHL announced the decision by email to the cam pus Monday afternoon after voting in executive session at their regular monthly meeting on October 18.

This decision comes less than a month after trustees conducted listening sessions at USM’s Hatties burg and Gulf Park campuses and 101 days since Paul became Inter im President.

Paul was brought out of retire ment by the IHL to serve as the interim president at USM following the departure of Rodney Bennett, the University’s tenth president, in mid-July.

“During the Listening Sessions held on the campuses in Hatties burg and Long Beach, the campus community spoke clearly and pas sionately about why Dr. Joe Paul is unquestionably the right person to fill the role on a permanent basis,” said Trustee Gee Ogletree, co-chair of the Board Search Committee. “I have known and witnessed Dr. Paul’s exceptional contributions to the University for over four de cades. I recognize Dr. Paul’s energy, relationships, affection and years of service to Southern Miss have prov en beyond any doubt that he is the right person to guide the University into its next chapter of leadership and excellence in teaching, ser vice and research in the state and nation.”

“I’ve got a long history of South ern Miss, and a very deep affinity for it. So, I was honored and hum bled to be asked to serve. It’s not something I needed for me. But if there’s a need for this university, I can help us kind of energize the place and get some positive change moving and be ready for the next full-time president. I was happy to serve. So since of service to the institution that I love,” said Paul

A Southern Miss alum, Dr. Paul previously served the university as an administrator in student affairs

for more than 40 years. Before be coming vice president for student affairs in February 1993, he held various positions, including assis tant director of student activities, assistant vice president and dean of student development. He also held faculty rank in USM’s College of Education and Psychology.

“Dr. Paul is well-known to the campus community and truly needs no introduction. At the Listening Sessions, scores of Southern Miss alumni and students described the way Dr. Paul keeps the needs of the students first and foremost and gives each one the support need ed for them to soar,” said Trustee Tom Duff, co-chair of the Board Search Committee. “The personal ized experience students receive at the University is one of the many attributes that make The University of Southern Mississippi special. Dr. Paul is the best person to build

on these strengths and help the University reach the next level of success.”

In addition to the in-person Listening Sessions held on the campuses, the Board also issued an online survey to allow as many students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members to participate as possible.

“I am honored and humbled to accept this appointment from the Mississippi Institutions of High er Learning Board of Trustees to become the 11th president of our beloved University of Southern Mississippi,” said Dr. Paul. “The entire Board and Commissioner Rankins have shown great support for Southern Miss and for me. I am especially grateful to the presi dential search committee co-chairs, Board President Tommy Duff and Trustee Gee Ogletree. These two Southern Miss alumni have dis

played courage, conviction and integrity through this process. They love Southern Miss as I do, and they share a vision of the potential this institution has to positively im pact our region, state and beyond.”

As Interim President, Dr. Paul has worked to advance student re cruitment, re-invigorate student life in a post-pandemic environment, share the Southern Miss story and support intercollegiate athletics as a new member of the Sun Belt Conference. He has also helped to push the University’s $150 million capital campaign closer to its goal three years before the completion of the campaign.

“I think the number one thing I can impact in a semester, or a year is student recruitment. Southern Miss is too great a place, with too much capacity, not to be bursting at the seams with students,” Paul said. “I’m going to focus my high est energy on supporting student recruitment. So, you’re going to see me out in high schools and communities, talking to prospective community college transfers, and high school seniors and their fami lies, and really investing in market ing the university in scholarships for students.”

A glance at Paul’s Facebook account proves that he’s doing this. In recent weeks, Paul has spoken to high school students in Oak Grove, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Hatties burg and Biloxi.

“We have work to do in growing the enrollment, maximizing our im pact on our Mississippi Gulf Coast and ensuring the continued growth of our research enterprise,” said Dr. Paul. “I am also deeply committed to creating an unapparelled student life and leadership experience. A spirit of shared governance will be front and center for me. I want to assure all that I will attack these next four years with the energy and urgency with which I have ap proached these first four months. We will chase audacious goals with passion and persistence. Our Southern Miss grit will prevail.”

Between his retirement from

Courtesy of University Communications

Dr. Joe Paul, 11th President of USM.

Opinions

Opinions expressed in The Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Student Printz, its publication manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications.

Editorial Policy

The views represented in The Student Printz’s columns and editorials do not represent those of the faculty, staff or administration of The University of Southern Mississippi. We welcome letters to the editor representing similar and contrasting opinions. To be eligible for publication, all submission must include name, class distinction, major, phone number and email address. Submissions should be emailed to printzeditors@ gmail.com by 5 p.m. on the Friday before publication. Please limit them to 500 words or less. The Student Printz reserves the right to refuse publication or edit any material on the basis of clarity, space or journalistic ethics.

THE CONTRIBUTORS

UPD arrests 2 people for terrorizing Harkins Hall

Abigail Troth

Two people were arrested after terrorizing a class room in Harkins Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Kendrick Thomas and Kyron Norwood, both 23-years-old, en tered a kinesiology class in Harkins Hall, adorned in black hoodies and skull makeup, and made threatening remarks and terroristic threats.

In a video recorded by a student from the classroom, one of the assailants was filming the ordeal while the other threatened the classroom and threw water on a student.

“The suspects are believed to be part of a social media video prank, and entered a Harkins Hall class room at approximately 4:15 pm. One of the apprehended individu als wore all black with Halloween makeup, threw a cup of water on

a student and made threatening remarks, while the second individ ual filmed the encounter,” USM’s mail-out stated in an email.

The suspects fled the scene immediately, but one suspect was quickly apprehended by University Police. The second suspect turned

himself in a short while later. They have been charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct, and making terroristic threats. The pair were charged and placed into Forrest County Adult Detention Center with both their bonds set at $800.

“We’re just not going to toler

USM Escape Room

Mya Evans

Reporter

The Payne Center’s monthly Escape Room is open. Stu dents from all over campus, and even off cam pus come to the event. This Idea started with ex-employee Jason Darby, the associate director at the time.

“Our associate director at the time brought this idea because it was something he liked to do, and then the more we investigated, what we think students would do it or not?” said Mark Crager, Di rector of Campus Recreation.

They were willing to give this idea a chance. So, over the pass few visit students were excited and shock over the how complicated it was. The staff took their time with the process, and it came out

a success. From the hard work and the price range it was afforded for students to participate in this event.

“I think what shock them the most, when they first coming in, because that’s a lot I’ve seen, especially the freshmen and everything like oh wow, it’s not quite what I expected,” said Pamela Bul lard, Assistant Director of Budgets and Operations for

Campus Recreation

“They’re exited as a team when they’ve uncovered one of the puzzles and solve something. They don’t beat each other up on each other,” said Pamela Bullard, Assis tant Director of Budgets and Operations for Campus Rec reation

It can be up to nine people on the team, and a minimum of two in which they prefer

ate this type of behavior. Students have a right to go to school feeling safe and secure,” University Police Chief Rusty Keyes said.

While the suspects are not cur rently affiliated with USM and no ongoing threat has been posed, the incident has opened up a discus sion of campus safety within the student body. Some students feel as though they were not prepared for such an event, and did not even know such an event had taken place.

“Sometimes I feel safe, some times I don’t. I really feel like they should have more security around here because if somebody can break in that easily, what’s to say that they couldn’t do so again but with more harmful intentions this time,” USM student Calvin Thompson said.

After this event, the student body is left wondering if the campus security will take different measures to improve the safety of those on campus.

more. The escape room is a great experience and very rec ommend that you and have your intake on it.

“One of the reasons we chose to bring escape room here, we were looking for alternative program ideas of how we could bring addition al things for students to do on campus that they could find that maybe they weren’t already finding on campus” says April Jordan, Assistant Director of Marketing for Campus Recreation.

Nevertheless, they want ed to make an impact on campus for the student, they event had faculty to go through it and try it out. So, come out and join the escape room. For information, stu dents can make a reservation on usm.edu/campus-recre ation, click on Eagle escape, and it will take you there.

Kyron Norwood, (Courtesy: Forrest County Sheriff’s Office)

Kendrick Thomas, (Courtesy: Forrest County Sheriff’s Office)

Courtesy of usm.edu/campus-recreation

Ja’Terrica Wilson

Reporter

SGA hosts listening session

Last Tuesday afternoon, the Student Govern ment Association hosted a listening session to discuss the student activity fee.

The event was held in room 218 of the Thad Cochran Center.

During the listening ses sion, students asked a variety of questions concerning the student activity fee’s recent increase. They demanded to know where and how their money would be spent. DeeDee Anderson, the Vice President of Student Affairs, along with Ashley Lankford, the President of SGA, were there to answer the student’s ques tions. As the President of SGA, Lankford expressed in detail how important it is to keep students aware of where the student activi ty fee funds would go.

“Whenever we’re having to vote, obviously, we need to have very clear instructions on where this is going,” Lankford said.

With Lankford being a stu

dent as well, she understands the thoughts and the concerns of the student body when it comes to having an idea of what the money would be used for, she said.

“It’s obvious that students are really passionate about not only knowing where their money is going, but how it’s currently being spent and how those hypothetical raises in this fee are going to be spent as well,” said Lankford.

Additionally, it was mentioned in the listening session that build ings, such as the Payne Center, are in need of more funds.

By increasing the student activity fee, different organizations as well as buildings can have the opportunity to better support the needs and wants of the student population.

The SGA Senate plans to have another student activity fee lis

tening session on October 25th, which will be an online session, and on November 10th, which will be in person in the Thad Cochran Center.

Lankford extended an invita tion to all USM students for the upcoming listening sessions. To stay updated with what SGA has going on, follow them on Insta gram at @southernmisssga.

National Dyslexia Awareness Month

Simeon Gates SM2 Reporter

October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month. Dyslexia is a neurological condition that impacts people’s ability to read. Dr. Missy Shraeder from the DuBard School of Language Disorders and Elizabeth Kill inger from Student Accessibility Services provided more infor mation about the disorder and resources for dyslexic students.

Dyslexia is a disorder that makes it difficult to read, write and spell. It is the most com mon neuro-cognitive disorder, affecting 20% of the population. At Southern Miss, at least 9% of the student body has a learning disability, most of whom are

dyslexic. Symptoms emerge in childhood, when a person is first learning how to read and recognize letters. Its exact caus es are not yet known, but it is inherited. Like every disability, it affects different people in differ ent ways.

Dr. Shraeder is a speech lan guage pathologist, an academic language therapist, and the di rector of the DuBard School for Language Disorders. DuBard is a free school for Mississippi students ages 7-13 with learn ing disabilities that impact their communication. They also teach graduate and undergraduate students to teach students with learning disabilities.

Dyslexia symptoms begin to appear in childhood. From then

on, they face many challenges in reading and learning. Dr. Shraeder describes this prob lem as “decoding.” “They are not able to see a word, look at all the letters, and figure out what sounds those letters make so that they can attach a word to that sequence of letters,” she said. This impacts the student’s reading comprehension and long-term academic perfor mance.

Formerly the Office of Dis ability Accommodations, the SAS is best known for its work with helping disabled students. It works with students, faculty, and staff to provide disabled students housing and academic accommodations. These accom modations can be in the form

of extra time, alternative formats for class materials, assistive technology, and more.

Elizabeth Killinger, Disabil ity Specialist for Technology & Auxiliaries at SAS talked more on the topic. While students with the disorder do struggle, they are able to have a unique perspective. “There is a pretty long process to getting diag nosed with a learning disability over something like ADHD or anxiety,” she said. “I think it helps them understand how their brain works a little bit more…”.

Students who have dyslexia, or believe they have it, and want accommodations should con tact SAS via email or at their office in Bond Hall.

Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Dee Dee Anderson, left, answers a students question as Student Government Association President Ashley Lankford, right, and members of the audience listen at the meeting in the Thad.

Sean Smith | Photo Editor

Mississippi River drying up from drought

Mya Evans SM2 Reporter

The Mississippi river in the main area of the United States is at a drought. It is in a bad condition. This is the worst drought in at least a decade. The river across the basin and dozens of gauges have fallen below their low-water threshold. From Illinois to Louisiana the Mississippi River is at a historic low. The water level is decreasing and will continue to decrease as the forecast remains dry. Many are concerned about

the levels dropping. People have drones, and photos of the Mississippi River.

The river dropped to mi nus-10.75 feet. The data is from the National Weather Service. Coming out to be the lowest in the State of Mem phis. It has been a drought in the Midwest and the South. It is the third-highest value of the year since March. Millions of people have been affected by the drought. In other areas, it is also deteriorating.

Moisture continues to dry out in some areas like the Ohio Valley and Corn Belt. The soil is Topsoil. In the

Mississippi Valley, it remains much lower. Also, there are more rivers that flow with the Mississippi River that is also drying out. The Ohio River, and the Platte River in Ne braska. Some rivers are com pletely dried out. Throughout this tragedy, the river is so low you can walk on it.

Levels are low salt water from the Gulf of Mexico is creeping up towards the Mis sissippi River. The Army is building a 1,500-foot-wide under levee to the salt water out. More places like the Ten nessee Valley announced they would release water from the

dams to help the levels.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' data from their Mississippi River levels website, the river level is cur rently at –0.35 feet at Vicks burg, but this time last year the river level was at 13.16 feet meaning that the river is almost 13 feet lower than it was a year ago.

This is a critical time for the Mississippi River. People all hope that the help we have can contribute and get the river back flowing like it was.

For more information go to https://www.cnn.com.

the next president should be some one who shares Paul’s view of how the University should operate.

the University in 2015 and being named Interim President earlier this year, Dr. Paul held part-time positions with the University Foundation as a fundraiser (20152016), as Citizen Service Coordi nator for the City of Hattiesburg (2017-2020), as an Executive Coach for the Horne Business Advisor Group (2016-2020), and as an executive coach and strategic advisor for the Blue Hen Consult ing Agency.

Beyond his work at Southern Miss, Paul has presented seminars and training in management and leadership for business, industry, and education. In addition, he was a senior consultant with The Atlan ta Consulting Group, a Fortune Top 50 management consulting firm. Clients Paul has worked with in clude UPS, RJR Nabisco, Ohio-Ed ison, Stennis Institute, US Navy, Accenture, and Horne CPA Health care group.

Paul holds a Ph.D. in adminis tration of higher education from the University of Alabama and was named the University’s Most Out standing Doctoral Student in the field in 1985. The Bay St. Louis native earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and political science from USM in 1975. He graduated magna cum laude from the University Honors College. He also received a master’s degree in communication and management from Southern Miss in 1978. Paul was inducted into the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame in 2000.

Among many civic activities, Paul has served two terms as president of the United Way of Southeast Mississippi. He has served as Board Chairman for the greater Hatties

burg Area Development Founda tion and as a Board Trustee for the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System. Paul has also been president of the Hattiesburg Area Education Foundation, on the Board of Directors for the Hat tiesburg Boys and Girls Club and has been a trustee for the Hatties burg Public School District. He is a co-founder of the Hattiesburg Leadership Pinebelt program. In addition, he has served statewide in leadership positions with the Mis sissippi Economic Council. Paul and his wife Meg reside in Hatties burg, MS and are active members of Trinity Episcopal Church. They have two grown children and two grandsons.

Social media response to the news of Paul becoming president has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Congratulations to Dr. Joe Paul,” said USM Director of Athlet ics Jeremy McClain on Twitter. “We are excited to see what the future

holds with you leading the way!”

“Congratulations, Dr. Paul! When I think Southern Miss, I think Joe Paul. There is none more deserving or fit to lead our prestigious Uni versity than you. Rooting for you from Birmingham and wishing you all the best! SMTTT!” said Christian Myrick on Facebook

Student sentiment on campus is immensely positive. Many be lieve Paul was the right choice for the position because of how much good he has done for Student Life along with Fraternity and Sorority Life.

“When I heard Joe Paul won presidency, I was so excited. I love Joe Paul. He was the top pick for me. I love him so much,” said Carter Crow a USM student. “He is the best president that I have ever heard of for USM. It makes me excited that he won.”

Faculty sentiment on campus is also positive. They expressed during the listening sessions that

“I believe the USM faculty will be pleased with the selection of Dr. Paul as our next president,” said Dr. Denis Wiesenburg, President of the USM Faculty Senate. “We told the IHL Board Search Committee that our next president should be someone who shares Dr. Paul’s vision of how a university operates. He is the type of leader who will work in true partnership with the USM faculty and staff to guide our university toward a bright future.”

“During Dr. Paul’s time as inter im president, he has been inten tional in his efforts to engage staff and be inclusive of this very im portant group across all campuses,” said Jessica Langston, Staff Council President. “We are excited to sup port Dr. Paul during his permanent appointment as University Presi dent. We look forward to collabo rating with him and his leadership team to continue propelling South ern Miss forward.

“Dr. Paul is the true embod iment of what it means to be a Golden Eagle!” said Ashley Lank ford, Student Government Associa tion President. “He shows each and every one of us daily what it means to serve our university and to leave it better than we found it. His sup port for students and passion for campus life is incredible. With that being said, we are proud to have him serve as our official president for the next four years!”

A formal announcement will take place as part of on-campus activities related to the football game on Thursday, Oct. 27, when the Golden Eagles take on the Ragin’ Cajuns of the University of Louisiana. The announcement will be at 3 p.m. in the Ballroom at the Thad Cochran Center on the USM Campus in Hattiesburg.

Sean Smith | Photo Editor

USM interim president Joe Paul speaks with students at USM Student Alumni Association.

National Dropout Prevention Month

Shannon Barbin SM2 Reporter

The month of October is recognized as National drop-out prevention month for both high school students and college stu dents.

The statistics surrounding drop-out students are astonishing. According to schoolchoicefacts.org, every 60 seconds a child drops out of public school in America, and in many of our nation’s largest cities dropout rates exceed 50 percent. In 2021, 31.6% of students who enrolled in 2015 were no longer enrolled six years later nor have they received their degree. On average, 32.9% of students do not complete their degree program.

There are numerous reasons why a student may drop out of college. The biggest issue is finical concerns. Almost 89% of stu dents from the first generation in low-earning families tend to drop out of college according to person accelerated.com. The higher the education, the higher the expenses are. Another reason is simply not having time. Students on a col lege level tend to have poor time management skills and struggle with balancing both the load of schoolwork as well as their home lives. Many students have jobs as well as family obligations that they are responsible for. Other reasons include but are not limited to, being unprepared for academic demands, lack of discipline and lack of support.

“Most students that drop out of school do not have their prior ities in line. I don’t think that is their fault. I think that teachers, guidance counselors, coaches or any kind of mentor needs to pay attention to the warning signs and help the student through whatever it is that is causing them to want to drop out of school,” said Megan Bucher, a staff member at the Light House Rescue Mission. “If I had to go back and do it over again, I would not have dropped out. I was not thinking about my future. I was thinking about the right here, right now.”

How can we minimize the drop-out statistics? According to collegestats.org, there are multiple solutions. Being that college is so expensive, have a solid finical plan. Apply for as many schools as possible. There are grants that can be applied for such as, FASFA which is a federal grant that does not have to be paid back. Many students consider attending a community college to begin with.

Students also are mindful of their personal life when making their class schedule. There are multiple resources available to students on campus such as personal tutors, guidance counselors or advisors as well as the university’s professors. Students struggle with balancing their personal life and their college life.

“It’s important to set boundaries for yourself so that you can have fun responsibly without losing it. Remember that balance is key! Setting a schedule is a great place to start,” said collegestats.org website. “It will give you a sense of structure to each day, and you’ll be more likely to not only get your schoolwork taken care of, but also remember to eat during mealtimes, go to the gym regularly, and make it to work on time. Sometimes life in college can get hectic, so having even a rough schedule to follow can make a big difference!”

College degrees lead to in creased career success. There is

more of a higher earning potential as well as a greater job stability. Ultimately, life happens sometimes and unexpectedly circumstances arise. There are measures that can be taken before deciding to drop out.

The University of Southern Mississippi has several different resources that are available to students that include but are not limited to the Center for Student Success as well as the advisement center.

“Please go talk to someone. We have a dedicated team at USM,” said Julie Reid, the Associate

Vice Provost for Student Success. “These are all there to be resources to students and to help them nav igate the college experience which can be rather difficult especially for students who are first years or don’t have many others supporting them in their lives.”

a“Before you decide to drop out, consider talking to your professors and college counselor. Many times, they are willing to help you find a solution so that you can take some time off without sacrificing all your hard work and academic progress,” according to collegestats.org website.

Courtesy of National Dropout Prevention Center

Flyer for National Dropout Prevention Month.

Southern Miss basketball programs enter first season in Sun Belt Conference

Charlie Luttrell 4th Strees Producer

Southern Miss’ basketball programs are gearing towards the start of the season in November but also have their eyes fixed on further down the schedule to gauge what competition they will face as new members of the Sun Belt Conference.

Joining the SBC has a different impact on the women’s and men’s basketball teams, but one common element persists: the excitement to compete against new teams all while competing against some familiar faces.

“We needed a reset…so I think in the terms of getting back to where we want to be as a basketball program and setting some goals, it’s all wide open because we don’t know what Georgia State [for exam ple] has- we haven’t played against them. There are a few teams in the league that we have some experi ence with, but there’s a number of them that we haven’t and it just

gives us a breath of fresh air and gives us a restart,” Golden Eagles Head Coach Jay Ladner said.

Women’s basketball Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis shared the excitement and said that the team will have to adjust to a differ ent style of play in the Sun Belt.

“I don’t know much about them, but what I can say is that I think the league will be different,” Lee-McNelis said. “We’ve watched some film from the past year and just on their flow, it’s a much more guard-oriented league. The pace of their game is a lot quicker and a lot of shooting the ball in seven seconds. Lots of the teams play four guards and one post player and we are a bit more traditional where we play the two post play ers, so we have worked on that throughout the summer and we’ll continue to work to increase the pace.”

Lee-McNelis noted that transi tion defense will be a key to count er the quick pace and said that the staff has even considered different lineups against certain opponents. Coaches on the Lady Eagles staff

have scouted opponents in the Sun Belt to prepare for the confer ence slate.

“The guards definitely know the strength of the league is the perimeter game, and again, I think they’ve accepted that challenge,” Lee-McNelis said. “We still have a long ways to go and we’re just getting started, but I think they have made a lot of strides and have taken it upon themselves to be a difference maker.”

On the men’s side, Ladner not ed that Sun Belt will also be a tran sition, but praised the strength that Southern Miss faced in what he called “underappreciated” compe tition in the Conference USA. Six teams in the conference had made the NCAA Tournament in the past decade and Southern Miss faced teams like North Texas and Loui siana Tech in the western division, each of which has developed pro talents such as Javion Hamlet and NBA rookie Kenneth Lofton Jr.

Men’s basketball earned 34 votes in the preseason coaches poll to earn a No. 13 ranking out of 14 teams in the conference. Assistant Coach Juan Cardona said he has confidence in the team’s ability to compete, regardless of whatever the rankings indicate.

“They can pick us 20 if they want- that’s why you play this season now. They’ll say when they see Southern Miss, ‘oh what’s happening here,’ Cardona said on the 4th Street Sports Show. “I told one interview that we’re going to win it [the SBC] and I stand by it. I’m not going to change. Whatever you think we are…can we move on? We’re going to be ourselves no matter where we go and you’re going to see it. We’re going to show it with actions.”

The Lady Eagles earned a No. 4 preseason poll ranking, only behind Louisiana, Old Dominion, and Troy. Junior guard Domonique Davis earned Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team honors and Melyia Grayson made the second team.

Sun Belt action will begin for both of Southern Miss’ basketball teams with matches against Troy on Dec. 29. This is just one of the regional matchups that Ladner and Lee-McNelis hope will spark regional interest and an increased road following.

“It does generate some camara derie with the fans and with their teams. Fans have an opportunity to travel to those places and I think that’s a huge plus for us,” Lee-Mc Nelis said.

Charlie Luttrell | SM2

Southern Miss’ basketball programs prepare to play their first season in the Sun Belt Conference.

Zach Wilcke and Chandler Pittman connect for magical Southern Miss victory over Texas State

DIMA MIXON 4TH STREET SPORTS REPORTER

Late game heroics by fresh man quarterback Zach Wilcke and Chandler Pitt man lifted Southern Miss past Texas State 20-14, handing the Bobcats their first home loss of the season. Wilcke connected with Pittman on fourth down on a go-ahead 53-yard touchdown pass with just 32 seconds left in regula tion.

“Like I said last week, it’s going to be ugly for a little while right now, but we are winning, and we are winning on the field and off the field,” Head Coach Will Hall said in his postgame interview with the Voice of the Golden Eagles John Cox.

Southern Miss had been leading the entire game until the final two minutes when starting Texas State quarterback Layne Hatcher found Ashtyn Hawkins for a 74-yard touchdown. The Golden Eagles got the ball back on their 31-yard line and needed points to win the game. Wilcke and Pittman deliv ered.

“I’ve been telling you, man. We are building a lot of magic here. Magic is built through hard work and doing things right all the time,” Hall said.

It indeed was “magical.” The offense was stagnant all night and seemed to find the right time to break through and score the win ning touchdown. Southern Miss had just 51 yards up to that point in the third quarter, desperately needing offense to try and win the game. And when they needed it the most, the offense found a way to get it done.

Southern Miss started the game with steady drives on offense. They had a nice drive into plus territory in the first quarter, which yielded a Briggs Bourgeois 33-yard field goal to open up the scoring as USM led 3-0.

But Southern Miss was again led by a defense that held Texas State to a net of negative six yards rushing the entire night, and a unit that got three sacks and 12 tack les for loss. Defensive back Malik

Shorts led the way with five solo tackles and one tackle for loss.

Southern Miss has been ac claimed to be known as the “Nasty Bunch” and they sure were nasty.

The Golden Eagles were down two starters on offense, with start ing center Briason Mayes and start ing wide receiver Jakarius Caston out. The other guys on the offense filled in nicely for them. Receiver

Tiaquelin Mims was second in the team in receiving with 52 yards be hind Pittman with his lone 53-yard reception.

“We were short a lot of guys in the middle of the year tonight, and we were able to overcome it. We are doing it right, we’re bringing the magic back-the Eagle magic,” Hall said.

Southern Miss’ first touchdown came on a seven-play, 37-yard drive. Backup running back Janari Dean scored a two-yard rushing touchdown to give the Golden Eagles a 10-0 lead.

Texas State came right back and drove down the field on an eight-

play, 75-yard drive that closed the score to 10-7. The Golden Eagles found a way to get points heading into the locker room with a Bour geois 40-yard field goal to make the score 13-7 at halftime.

The score stayed at 13-7 un til the back-to-back touchdown by both teams late in the fourth quarter.

Wilcke finished the game with 18-25 passing for 187 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

The run game was held in check for most of the contest, but South ern Miss starting running back Frank Gore Jr still had a 91-yard rushing night. That was enough for Gore Jr to go over 2,000 career rushing yards; he now has 2,077 in his two-plus-year career.

The score by Pittman was his first of the year and the third of his career.

“Coach Hall has told us all season to play with good effort. Do your job and when you do your job, good things happen. I was fortunate enough to make that play

and I can’t be thankful enough that they trusted me to put me out there because that’s what I do,” Pittman said to Cox on the radio after the game.

As much as it struggled for some parts of this game, the of fense showed up when it needed to.

Southern Miss moves on to 4-3, which is the first time the program has been above the .500 mark at the midway point since 2019.

The Golden Eagles will host Louisiana in a midweek contest at the Rock on Thursday at 6:30 pm on a nationally televised stage on ESPN2.

“We need everybody. As I said it’s hard for us right now, but these kids are battling- they are battling every day. They believe in Southern Miss, these kids chose Southern Miss [and] they believe in the over all mission of Southern Miss. Man, get behind them Thursday night,” Hall said.

Southern Miss sure did believe tonight, and the “magic” happened.

Chandler Pittman caught a go-ahead 53-yard touchdown to lift the Golden Eagles to a road victory against the Bobcats.

Charlie Luttrell

| SM2