HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Frank Gore Jr. and James Dean had fourth-quarter touchdown runs and Southern Mississippi rallied to beat Arkansas State 20-19 on Saturday night.
Arkansas State used James Blackman’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Foreman and a safety to take a 19-7 lead after three quarters.
Southern Miss (3-3, 1-1 Sun Belt Conference) pulled within five points on Gore’s 30-yard scoring run to finish off a nine-play, 95-yard drive with 9:20 remaining in the game.
The Golden Eagles’ defense forced a three-and-out and and Natrone Brooks’ 30-yard punt return set Southern Miss up at the Red Wolves’ 45-yard line. Zach Wilcke directed a 12-play drive with Dean giving the Golden Eagles the lead on a 3-yard run with 2:12 left to play.
Arkansas State (2-5, 1-3) turned the ball over on downs after two false-start penalties and a sack by the Golden Eagles’ Jalil Clemons left the Red Wolves in a fourth-and-27 hole.
Wilcke completed 11 of 20 passes for 132 yards with two interceptions for Southern Miss. His 23-yard scoring strike to Jason Brownlee late in the second quarter left USM trailing 10-7 at halftime. Gore totaled 96 yards on 19 carries.
Blackman completed 25 of 34 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns for Arkansas State. The Red Wolves managed just 50 yards on the ground on 31 rushes.
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