Memphis 7 at Southern Miss 44 - Game Recap
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Senior quarterback Austin Davis passed for 277 yards and two scores, and ran for another as Southern Mississippi breezed past Memphis 44-7.
Davis completed 14 of 26 passes to give the Golden Eagles (10-2) their first Conference USA Eastern Division title since 2006 and their first 10-win season since 1988.
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Southern Mississippi will play at No. 8-ranked Houston in the conference championship game next Saturday.
The Golden Eagles forced three turnovers by Memphis and returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns. The second, by Kendrick Presley, was for 100 yards.
Memphis (2-10) managed just 21 rushing yards on 23 attempts, and narrowly avoided a shutout with a late defensive score when Mitch Huelsing recovered a Southern Miss fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 6:54 remaining in the game.
The Tigers have won five games in the past three seasons combined.