The Student Printz: September 22, 2021

SERVING SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SINCE 1927 • WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM • SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 | VOLUME 107 | ISSUE 5

JODI KANTOR

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BAILEY BIGGER

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MASK MANDATES

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Forbes names Southern Miss one of Mississippi’s top colleges

MORGAN LAWRENCE PRINTZ REPORTER

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orbes recently named the the School of Communications and University of Southern the director of the British Studies Mississippi the top MissisProgram, is approaching his thirty-first sippi college in education and sixth year at Southern Miss. Davies was not best workplace in the state. surprised to hear Southern Miss rank Forbes, an American business so highly on the Forbes list, as he bemagazine, created their third annual lieves that the great environment and list of “America’s Best Employers By co-workers allow him to work better.

State” with the help of market research company Statista. The list was compiled by data collected through 80,000 anonymous surveys from October 2020 to June 2021, requiring that each state’s businesses, including the District of Columbia, have at least 500 employees.

What makes this list especially important this year is the complications that COVID-19 has caused.

Many different employers had to lay off or let employees go due to financial complications. Businesses quickly became short staffed from in-house COVID outbreaks. Loren Jones | Printz Many universities had to go remote, “These rankings don’t surprise with Southern Miss’s 2020-2021 me at all,” said Davies. “With great school year almost entirely taught colleagues and great students, Southonline. ern Miss is a terrific place to work. So Despite these hardships, Southern many of us who have been here a long Miss still seems to have maintained time have appreciated both the univera healthy and happy working and sity and Hattiesburg for all it has [to] learning environment, which is part offer. It’s a great place to be.” of the why Forbes’s ranking means so While the Southern Miss’s workmuch.. place is comfortable for members that Dr. David Davies, a professor for have been here for years, newcomers

seem to have the same shared experience. Dr. Edgar Simpson, the Director of and Associate Professor for the School of Communication, started his tenure at Southern Miss last July, having initially worked from Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Simpson said that he has enjoyed his experience so far,

and that he respects the way Southern Miss operates.

“My favorite part of the job is working with the students,” said Simpson. “With moving from 1,000 miles away, folks are very friendly here and the administration is open to new ideas. Southern Miss does a really good job keeping students first. The policies really do try their best to give the students what they need at a price

they can afford.”

Before going to Southern Miss, Simpson spent 18 years in journalism.

Although he is a new professor, his first impressions still mean a lot. Simpson has also enjoyed getting to work with graduate students and assisting the Student Media Center, both of which benefit from university teachings.

Among the many graduate students on campus is Ja’Len Husband, a graduate assistant for First Year Programs from the Student Success Center. Husband seems to enjoy and value his work on campus.

“As an alumnus, I enjoy being able to work here as a GA and get a valuable education at the same time,” said Husband. “I love the sense of community and hard work and dedication that everyone shows.”

While there have been many setbacks because of the pandemic, the faculty and students clearly believe that Southern Miss is doing their best to accommodate and keep its workplace experience pleasant. If collective experiences are any indication, this college has a welcoming attitude towards every student and staff member.

Whether it is the welcoming staff, intriguing students, sense of community or comforting environment that gives Southern Miss its edge, the university has earned its spot on Forbes’s list, and will hopefully make it even higher next year.

NEWS MEET THE CONTRIBUTORS SM2 News Director

Charlie Luttrell charles.luttrell@usm.edu

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

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Eagle Dining introduces campus-wide updates

Executive Editor

Mary Murphy mary.s.murphy@usm.edu

Entertaiment/Features Editor Loren Jones loren.jones@usm.edu

Sports Director

Austin Lindsey austin.lindsey@usm.edu

Digital Nest Media Manager Skye Bortz skye.bortz@usm.edu

Printz Reporters

Kyra Lampley kyra.lampley@usm.edu Morgan Lawrence morgan.m.lawrence@usm.edu Koby Moore koby.moore@usm.edu

Photographer

Scarlett Gully scarlett.gully@usm.edu

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.

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.

MARY MURPHY EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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agle Dining has recently gone through some pretty dramatic changes on Southern Miss’s Hattiesburg campus, including the addition of two new restaurants.

Lauren Brescher, the Aramark Marketing Manager for Eagle Dining, explained in a press release that the changes were designed to give campus goers a fresh perspective on dining options.

“It is so exciting to be able to offer some new options on campus this fall,” said Brescher. “Given what our students, faculty and staff went through in the last year, this has really given us all something to look forward to.”

Some of the changes to Eagle Dining are purely aesthetic.

Workers are currently putting the finishing touches on Seymour’s newly redesigned dining area in the R.C. Cook Union. The Courtyard, a dining area across from the Cook Library, also got a freshly painted mural and updated seating options. Most of the on-campus restaurants now have a scannable QR code out front so patrons can figure out their respective menu and hours.

However, other changes have been far more drastic. The Fresh

Photo Courtesy of Eagle Dining’s Official Twitter

Food Company now has frozen drink options, joining the Hi-C and Vitamin Water machines installed last year. The Fresh is also in the middle of returning to normal functions in the wake of COVID-19, one of the major driving forces behind the Eagle Dining overhaul.

Zoca, a Mexican restaurant once housed in the International Center, has been entirely replaced

by Bento Sushi. The physical Bento Sushi restaurant in the International Center offers a variety of Asian foods, including ramen, poke and bento boxes, for sale.

Bento Sushi has also become a fixture at the various Provisions On Demand (POD) stations across campus, with daily meal deals available for each sushi variety.

“Students, faculty and staff are always looking for something new,” Brescher said. “Bento Sushi certainly helped us provide a food offering we didn’t [previously] have on campus.”

The Powerhouse also got a complete redesign. Now known as the “Southern Wing Company”, patrons can eat wings and burgers inside a recently expanded restaurant, now decked

out with massive posters of Southern Miss student athletes.

It is also the first on-campus restaurant to sell beer, though it is only available to customers after 5:30 p.m.

“It [The Southern Wing Company] is certainly a unique location with history on this campus,” said Brescher. “After thinking a lot about what brand would be great in the space, we decided it should remain a brand unique to our school.”

In addition to all these new food options, Eagle Dining also tweaked some restaurant hours throughout campus. Century Park North’s Oath Pizza, for example, is now only open from Friday to Sunday, with its hours corresponding to the Southern Wing Company’s Monday through Thursday hours.

To check out all the new menus and updated hours across campus, you can visit Eagle Dining’s official website at usm. campusdish.com. You can also follow Eagle Dining on social media through Facebook and Twitter to keep up with additional restaurant pop-ups or events.

NEWS

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

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Jodi Kantor emphasizes importance of change at first University Forum lecture

MARY MURPHY EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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he University of Southern Mississippi began its annual University Forum series on Sept. 14 with a lecture from Jodi Kantor, one of the New York Times journalists that initially investigated allegations of sexual misconduct and assault from former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

The Weinstein exposé, co-written by Kantor and fellow journalist Megan Twohey, is often cited as the spearhead for the 2017 #MeToo Movement.

Though #MeToo officially started back in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke, the Weinstein story opened up a formal dialogue about sexual harassment in Hollywood. Multiple celebrities, including Alyssa Milano, Uma Therman and Terry Crews, shared their own stories of sexual harassment over the years, leading to increased calls for accountability both in and outside of Hollywood.

But the impact of Kantor and Twohey’s work is mostly apparent in retrospect. Kantor spent most of her lecture describing the uncertainties and roadblocks they faced while investigating the allegations, as, though many women had stories about Weinstein’s abuse, few were willing to publicly tell their story. Kantor and Twohey had no idea how the article was going to be received, especially within a climate that rarely punished powerful men for sexual abuse.

“That night in the cab [a few days before the article dropped],” Kantor recalled, “I remember Megan saying something to me like, ‘After all this work that we’ve done, after all the secrets we have discovered…

Photo Courtesy of Southern Miss

What if nobody cares?’”

Before beginning work on the Weinstein investigation, Kantor had been a political correspondent for the New York Times.

She had worked closely with Barack and Michelle Obama throughout his presidency, and even wrote a book about the two in the leadup to his reelection.

However, Kantor found her actual passion within investigative journalism, though it was largely by accident. In 2006, long before she began work with

partner read the article a little after its publication and began work on Mamava, a “freestanding lactation station” where new mothers had the ability to pump breast milk in a safe, private place. Mayer announced that the first Mamava station was going to be installed in Burlington airport, and Kantor was surprised -- and delighted -that her work had led to actual change. “[At the time, it] was such a slender little effort. It was one piece of equipment, and I don’t know if you have ever been to the Burlington, Vermont airport, but it is endearingly small. It looks like you are about to take off for a flight in your aunt’s living room,” Kantor said. “It was nothing. But it meant something to me, and, frankly, it spoke to me in a way that all those years of political coverage never had.”

Mayer’s email inspired Kantor to pursue other investigations in hopes of inciting real change.

This was part of the reason why she took on the Weinstein story at all, despite the constant the Obamas, Kantor wrote an harassment and threats she got article about various class probfrom Weinstein’s lawyers while lems plaguing a lot of blue collar working on it. mothers. Specifically, Kantor Kantor ended her lecture by wrote about the lack of access reiterating her main point: that many working class mothers we all have the power to incite had to private lactation rooms, meaning they were unable to change in the world, and that have the time or privacy to even private pain, when brought pump breast milk. to light, can turn into collective The actual impact of this strength. article only came about seven “Let’s keep talking,” Kantor years later, when Sascha Maysaid. “And please, please, please, er emailed Kantor about the article. Mayer and her business keep reading.”

FEATURES

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

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Bailey Bigger talks career aspirations, songwriting inspirations with HUB City Sessions SKYE BORTZ DIGTAL NEST MEDIA MANAGER

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fter an arduous week of traveling, planning and shooting new episodes of their music show ‘HUB City Sessions’, the USM production team Digital Nest Media finished their Memphis tour with Upcoming Artist of The Year Bailey Bigger at Shelby Farms Park. Bigger, a 21-yearold singer-songwriter and guitarist, sat down with Skye Bortz, the Digital Nest Media Manager, to reflect on past successes, future projects and personal issues.

Bortz: How was your experience performing at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis?

Bigger: It was a beautiful day.

The song that we did was extremely peaceful. I was very zoned in on it and the performance. I remember that a bird came down and was singing back to me every time I sang something. I’m a very nature-centered person, and I write about it, and I think the location was perfect for me.

Bortz: In terms of choosing a career, where do you stand on the passion vs. practicality debate?

Bigger: This is a tough one. The whole debate whether you should go to college or not. In reality, my boyfriend got a degree in marketing, and he got a job as a sales rep at a company that sells medical software. They didn’t even look at his degree or GPA. They were satisfied with knowing he finished college.

I would say passion, but I’ll say this: my parents didn’t really give me a choice when deciding to go to college. Though, I do think it’s important to go to school because no one can ever take away your education. My parents always told me that growing up. I love learning, I love having knowledge of the world. I think it makes me better as a person, artist and creator.

Bortz: I feel that there’s pressure to get a degree in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) careers. Do you ever feel scared to tell people about your aspirations in music?

Photo Courtesy of Digital Nest Media

Bigger: No. I know what you mean, though. Whenever I tell people, I always get a concerned, “oh, huh”. Like, “Oh no, you're going to be a starving artist!” I have always said what I felt and stood up for what I believe in and been myself. I think there's a lot of knowledge I have because of my career goals that others might lack. Whether you're in the business world or not, we can all learn from one another.

Bortz: What are some of your near-future goals?

Bigger: I’m planning to release my first full-length album in Spring 2022. I also graduate this December, and then I’ll be writing and performing full time. My other main goal is to get on concert bills as an opener for bands on tour.

Bortz: How do you respond to negativity? Do you have any advice for people responding to negative comments?

Bigger: It depends on what kind of negativity. I will accept critical negative comments anytime, but rarely is that the case. Normally, it’s just some jerk being rude for no reason. I know it sounds cliché, but I ignore it.

I turn the other cheek. If you make an everyday, purposeful attempt to keep negative people and negative energy

out of your circle, then that’s exactly what will happen. I know that sounds easy, but it’s the truth.

Bortz: A lot of college students are putting off relationships in order to focus on their future careers.

As someone who writes about love, what’s your opinion on the issue?

Bigger: You should do what makes you happy. If your career is what brings you joy in life, then follow it. And if in the midst of that, you find somebody that you know and just can’t help loving them, you can do both. I think if it’s the right person, you don’t need to put off the relationship for your career. I think there’s a place for both to coexist in your life. If not, it’s definitely not the right person, or you're not the right person for them.

I dated someone who didn’t want me to be a musician. He had it in his head that musicians cheat on their partners. He would literally say, “It’s either me or your music.” He was extremely aggressive and jealous. I think people who are like that are obviously not the one for you and need some therapy.

Bortz: How did you react when you won Memphis’ Best Song in 2017?

Bigger: I think I was 16 or 17 at

the time. I reacted like anyone would react: I was extremely excited and proud. It definitely reassured me and pushed me to work harder. I wanted to keep moving and keep climbing.

Bortz: Are you riding on that wave of confidence still?

Bigger: I don’t consider it a huge thing anymore -- there have been other waves since. My first record deal was big. My current record deal is big. Getting to record my new record at Zebra Ranch in Memphis is really big. It’s a private studio. Jim Dickinson owned it, he passed, now his wife runs it. It’s a Memphis gem. She only lets one engineer in and he’s a dear friend. He’s doing my record. Also, Commercial Appeal, a Memphis Newspaper, named me Upcoming Artist of the Year. And I’m starting to get recognized in public! Those are my biggest reassurances now.

After the interview, Bigger spent a weekend recording her first full-length album, which she described as “the album I’ve always dreamt of making.”

You can watch the full Bailey Bigger episode of ‘HUB City Sessions’ on YouTube. You can also listen to Bigger’s music on all streaming services, and support her directly by buying her music at baileybigger.bandcamp. com.

FEATURES

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

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New Southern Miss Cross Country coach aims to continue program’s success AUSTIN LINDSEY SPORTS DIRECTOR

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hile newly hired Cross Country Head Coach Nick Gibson has never coached at a Division One school prior to Southern Miss, his background in the sport runs deep through his experience and family.

On Sept. 2, Southern Miss named Gibson as the new Cross Country Head Coach shortly after long-time Coach Aaron Kindt’s departure to Auburn.

"I'm very pleased to add Nick to our staff," Southern Miss Track and Cross Country Head Coach Jon Stuart said of the hire. “I know that he will help us build upon the success that we've had."

Gibson’s initial interest in the sport was entirely rooted with his family, having multiple members entrenched within Track and Cross Country.

“I knew I wanted to coach growing up seeing my dad coach high school basketball, and going to the gym with him,” Gibson said.

Almost all of Gibson’s immediate family coaches Cross Country or Track. Gibson’s dad, Jeff Gibson, is the Head Coach at Duquesne University. His sister, Taryn, is the Head Coach at the University of Yale, and their brother, Kyle, is the Head Coach at Drury University. Even his mother coaches track, albeit at the high school level.

“It's sometimes tough going home for the holidays because we try to leave work, but we never leave work,” Gibson said. “We are always talking about running.”

Gibson's personal Cross Country career started at Shippensburg University, a Division Two school in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

Photo Courtesy of Southern Miss Athletics

There, Gibson became a fourtime Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference champion. He added an All-American honor in the distance medley relay to his resume shortly before graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Gibson’s hire at Southern Miss marks his first stop at a Division One program after coaching at numerous schools throughout his career. Gibson initially volunteered as an assistant Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at Queens University of Charlotte. Gibson also led as the interim head coach for a stint, where he brought the Royals to its first conference title in

Cross Country.

Gibson then became the Head Coach of Cross Country at Limestone College, then Salem International University, and Northwest Missouri State University after that.

Now at Southern Miss, Gibson arrived with only a couple of weeks to prepare for the team’s first meet on Sept. 17 at the North Alabama Showcase.

“I've done a lot of quick transitions. It's not the most fun but you get it done,” Gibson said. “After a few weeks, you get into the swing of things. It's just getting adjusted to the surroundings and how the organization works.”

Gibson said that he aims to continue the success that had been achieved prior to his arrival. “[My goal] is to continue what they've been doing. They've been really successful before I got here,” Gibson said. “Coach Kindt and Coach Stuart have done a really good job before. I don't like losing and I know Coach Stuart doesn't.”

Still, Gibson also sees his goal as taking the program to even higher heights.

“The goal is to win the conference, recruit and build for the future. I want to make nationals as a team and I want to finish high,” Gibson said.

Returning runners Lina May, Cassidy Teuscher and Kate Maddox look to lead the way for the Golden Eagles this season.

Teuscher, a sophomore, finished seventh in Conference USA’s Cross Country Championships last season, where she earned Freshman of the Year honors in her performance. Teuscher also won this honor while competing in the indoor season.

May, a junior, finished fourth in the 10k race at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships, earning the second-best time in school history.

Meanwhile, Maddox, a graduate student, has earned the Third Team All-Conference for three straight years and looks to add another All-Conference honor.

In the 2020 cross country season, Maddox finished 15th in the Conference Championships.

“Cassidy Teuscher and Lena May will be special, and Kate Maddox, she's a beast. She’s going to be right behind them,” Gibson said. “But they're [the cross country team] all really fit and I'm excited to watch them race because I think they're going to run some good times.”

PHOTO GALLERY

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

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Spirit Park, The Rock abound with gameday energy CHARLIE LUTTRELL AND SCARLETT GULLY PHOTOGRAPHERS

OPINION

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 People need to take mask mandates seriously KYRA LAMPLEY PRINTZ REPORTER

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magine not being able to breathe. Your lungs fill with fluid, even as a million tubes seem to protrude from your body. And there’s just one thing you keep thinking to yourself: “If only I would have worn my mask correctly.”

“If ” is a two-letter word that makes your insides churn. It makes people wonder what they could have done and wish to have done better.

“If ” you wear your mask, “if ” do your part, then, hopefully, things can return to normal.

Campus is not a place to dissociate from the COVID “if ”. There are too many lives at stake not to take the pandemic seriously.

The Center for Disease Control states that the United States alone has lost over 650,000 people to COVID-19 in the past year. Out of that, almost 10,000 of those individuals have been Mississippians. Even today, the Mississippi Department of Health reports that Mississippi has been averaging 2,500 COVID cases per day, which is still enough to keep the general masses concerned.

Yes, masks are incredibly uncomfortable, but they are vital in this fight against COVID-19. It may feel bad to wear a mask in class for a few hours, but it could save numerous lives. The Mayo Clinic reports that face masks can stop the spread of COVID up to six feet away from the nearest person. Therefore, wearing a face mask greatly decreases the odds of one catching COVID. Lately, campus events have been difficult to attend due to students violating the mask policy. Many events are held outside, yes, but students should still follow precautions put in place by school officials. They should not, say, have the opportunity to huddle in a big group without having their masks on. Masks have proven to be effective, and therefore should be still worn at all school events. And yet, numerous events have ended with crowds of students in the middle of venues dancing

without masks on or anywhere in sight.

Not all of this is the university’s fault. As students, it is our job to do our part to stop the spread of COVID as well. We are still in an age dominated by pandemic unknowns. No one should have to tell you to put your mask on. No one should have to tell you to socially distance. At this point, it should be a common courtesy.

Think about those around you or even your loved ones. There may be individuals who are immunocompromised around you on campus or in your immediate family. Think about the risk you’re taking by taking off your mask around a large number of people. Their chances of catching COVID have possibly gone up because you decided to take off your mask due to it being “uncomfortable”.

Following these safety precautions will also ensure that the rest of the school year is in person. If the university begins to have too many COVID-19 cases, this semester will most likely end like the last: at home.

Many students have expressed in the past couple of weeks how much they like having in-person classes.

Unfortunately, if the campus shuts down again, students will be forced to go home to once again complete the school year behind a computer screen.

Wearing masks is a reality of both the world today and the immediate future. Of course everyone wants the pandemic to go away, but we must take part in the preventive measures put in place for a reason: to keep the spread of COVID-19 down.

College-aged students are setting the standard for future generations of this country. The time to take a stance against COVID is now or never. We need to keep fighting it until it is completely gone, even if that means wearing masks for a few more months.

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SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM

Southern Miss Volleyball sweeps Southern Miss Classic series AUSTIN LINDSEY SPORTS DIRECTOR outhern Miss Volleyball ended its four-game losing streak by sweeping its second home invitational of the year.

The Golden Eagles remained undefeated at home with a perfect 6-0 record after the weekend and have a 7-5 overall standing on the season after beating Eastern Kentucky University, Lamar University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

“It’s really fun to perform in front of our home crowd,” Head Coach Stephanie Radecki said.

“I’m really excited about the production. It’s impressive.”

For the Golden Eagles first match, they cruised past Eastern Kentucky early, sweeping the Colonels three sets to zero. The Golden Eagles took the sets 25-19, 25-22 and 25-20.

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Sophomore Mia Wesley led the team with 11 kills and six blocks from Duquesne Moratzka, which was the most in a game this tournament. Cara Atkinson was the most proficient hitter of the day with a .545 hitting percentage.

In the second match of the day, the Golden Eagles again swept its opponent Lamar three sets to none. Southern Miss won the sets 25-16, 25-17, 25-15.

Lauren Talbert dominated throughout the game, especially in the second set. She finished the game with nine kills, six digs, one block, an ace each and two assists.

“From switching back and forth from a defensive role to outside six rotation role, she [Lauren] has handled it well,” Radecki said. “I was really proud of her to come out and hit as well as she did.”

On the defensive side, Wesley

and Lindsey Legg led the Golden Eagles with 11 digs in the match.

Atkinson led in blocks for Southern Miss with four overall.

The Golden Eagles’ defensive stops held Lamar to a .194 hitting percentage. On the attack, Moratzka led the way with 13 kills.

“The whole team played great today, and we were connecting on all cylinders,” Kinsley Hanback said. “We’ve been talking about efficiency since last week and we were that today, and it was a lot of fun to play.”

Hanback’s play earned her tournament MVP after recording 29 kills on a .580 hitting percentage.

On Saturday, Southern Miss started slow to wrap up the invitational. The Golden Eagles dropped the first set 25-19 as Chattanooga’s Gylian Finch start-

ed the set with two aces and the Mockingbirds never looked back.

The Golden Eagles bounced back the next set, rallying nine straight points nad ending it from a thumping kill by Wesley.

The Golden Eagles then found its groove, rolling off the next two sets. Southern took set three 2517, and to wrap up taking set four 25-13.

Southern Miss’s setter, Kenzie Smith, finished with 51 assists on 18 digs and three blocks. Moratzka lead the attack with 14 kills and two aces and Mia Wesley, who closed out the match, had 13 kills and one ace.

After a home match on Tuesday, Southern Miss travels to Birmingham, Alabama to start conference play versus UAB.

Southern Miss defense excels, but offense stalls as Golden Eagles fall to Troy KOBY MOORE PRINTZ REPORTER

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roy beat Southern Miss at home 21-9, spoiling Ty Keyes’s first game as a career starter at Southern Miss. “[It was] a really disappointing loss. At home, I thought our fans came out, had great energy,” Head Coach Will Hall said. “We played really hard on defense for a long time and gave ourselves a chance to win. […] It’s just disappointing that we couldn’t generate any offense.”

In the first half, the defense was a key part of the game as Southern Miss held Troy to four three-and-outs, which caused the Trojans to punt five times. The Golden Eagles held Troy to 88 yards in the first half with zero yards rushing in the first half.

Despite the offense showing promise to begin the game, the unit struggled throughout the game, finishing the game with –1 rushing yards. The Golden Eagles were held to 46 total yards in the

second half together.

As the offense stalled, the defense started to show its wear as it stayed on the field.

“At the end of the day, it is a team loss, but we’ve got to get better offensively,” Hall said.

In his debut as a starter, Keyes threw 16 completions of 27 passes for 157 yards and 2 interceptions.

Keyes was also sacked nine times throughout the game. The true freshman, who has seldom lost games in his football career, admitted this loss “hurts”.

Keyes made his debut as Southern Miss’s starting quarterback after Trey Lowe suffered a season-ending injury against Grambling State.

“There’s a lot I’ve got to fix to put the team in a better position because the defense stayed on the field way too long,” Keyes said.

“We had chances to win the game but we didn’t execute as a team.”

At the start of the second half, Troy scored to take a 7-3 lead.

From then on, Southern Miss could not stop the Trojans’ momentum.

Quarterback Tyler Powell found his rhythm in the second half, finishing the game with 27 of 39 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. His receiver, Tez Johnson, had high-volume targets with ten catches for 106 yards, his longest being 34 yards.

“I wouldn’t say we played well, we gave up some key touchdowns.

We’ve just got to get back to work and fix those mistakes,” Defensive Lineman Eriq Kitchen said.

Eriq Kitchen led the Golden Eagles with two sacks, four tackles and two tackles for losses. Malik Shorts had seven tackles and three pass breakups and Jay Stanley also had seven tackles and 0.5 tackles.

Even though the defense allowed two passing touchdowns in the second half, the defense held the Trojans to just 49 yards. Also, the defense forced two turnovers, scoring on the second forced fum-

ble for the team’s only touchdown of the game. Everitt Cunningham returned a fumble in the fourth quarter 47 yards for a touchdown.

The offense started well on their first drive with two big completions from Keyes to Jason Brownlee for 9 yards and one to Antoine Robinson for 27 yards.

However, the offense settled for a field goal, leading to a 46-yard field goal from Briggs Bourgeois for an early 3-0 lead.

Hall praised the special teams unit that performed well and continued its success on the season.

Punter Mason Hunt continued his strong start to the season, as the Golden Eagles relied on him throughout the game. Hunt punted ten times for a total of 425 yards.

The Golden Eagles move on to 1-2 on the season, as they get ready for their next game against Alabama in Tuscaloosa Sept. 25.