Southern Miss 28 at SMU 12
DALLAS, Tex. - Austin Davis threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns and Southern Miss won its fourth straight game to earn bowl eligibility with a 28-12 win over SMU on Saturday.
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For June Jones, the loss capped a forgettable debut at SMU. The Mustangs finished 1-11, same as last season when they fired Phil Bennett and lured Jones from Hawaii with a salary worth about $2 million a year.
Southern Miss (6-6, 4-4 Conference USA) scored 21 unanswered points in an eight-minute span to bury SMU by the fourth quarter. Damion Fletcher had 59 yards and a touchdown, and V.J. Floyd had another TD run for the Golden Eagles.
One bright spot for SMU was Jesse Henderson, who set an NCAA record with 2,945 career kickoff return yards. The previous record was 2,922, set by Tulane's Jeff Liggon from 1993-96.
Southern Miss set a single-season school record with 5,220 yards of total offense, breaking the previous mark set just last year.
SMU's Bo Levi Mitchell was 26-of-49 for 253 yards, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. Justin Willis, SMU's former quarterback, caught 11 passes for 88 yards.