Southern Miss stuns unbeaten UTSA as Keon Howard fills in well at QB
Keon Howard took full advantage of his second chance as the Southern Miss starting quarterback. The USM offense erupted in the second half behind Howard and running back Ito Smith to pull off a 31-29 upset at UTSA Saturday night. The Golden Eagles (3-2, 1-1) handed UTSA (3-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season as Howard completed 15-of-20 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for just 49 yards in the first half. Ito Smith ran 17 times for 178 yards and had an 89-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the longest scoring run in USM history. UTSA threatened to tie the game late following a 24-yard touchdown toss from Dalton Sturm to Marquez McNair with 48 seconds remaining, but Sturm's pass was incomplete on the 2-point try and UTSA's onside kick bounced out of bounds to end the Roadrunners' hopes. "I knew it would be a 60-minute ball game and that's what I told our guys at the half," USM head coach Jay Hopson said. "We made big plays in the third quarter. Our guys showed a lot of fight. "You have to give UTSA a lot of credit. It was a great game for TV, but not for the coaches. We're happy, ready to get back to Hattiesburg." The USM team will stay in San Antonio Saturday night due to the expected arrival of Hurricane Nate in South Mississippi. Hopson, who was noncommittal on his starting quarterback after the game, said that redshirt junior Kwadra Griggs didn't start Saturday night's game due to an unspecified injury. “We’re blessed to have two g
Keon Howard took full advantage of his second chance as the Southern Miss starting quarterback. The USM offense erupted in the second half behind Howard and running back Ito Smith to pull off a 31-29 upset at UTSA Saturday night. The Golden Eagles (3-2, 1-1) handed UTSA (3-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season as Howard completed 15-of-20 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for just 49 yards in the first half. Ito Smith ran 17 times for 178 yards and had an 89-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the longest scoring run in USM history. UTSA threatened to tie the game late following a 24-yard touchdown toss from Dalton Sturm to Marquez McNair with 48 seconds remaining, but Sturm's pass was incomplete on the 2-point try and UTSA's onside kick bounced out of bounds to end the Roadrunners' hopes. "I knew it would be a 60-minute ball game and that's what I told our guys at the half," USM head coach Jay Hopson said. "We made big plays in the third quarter. Our guys showed a lot of fight. "You have to give UTSA a lot of credit. It was a great game for TV, but not for the coaches. We're happy, ready to get back to Hattiesburg." The USM team will stay in San Antonio Saturday night due to the expected arrival of Hurricane Nate in South Mississippi. Hopson, who was noncommittal on his starting quarterback after the game, said that redshirt junior Kwadra Griggs didn't start Saturday night's game due to an unspecified injury. “We’re blessed to have two g