Washington vs. Southern Mississippi: Heart of Dallas 2015 Score and Reaction

Led by a pair of freshmen, the Washington Huskies defeated the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles 44-31 in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl on Saturday. 

Running back Myles Gaskin led the Huskies with 181 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a career day while quarterback Jake Browning managed an offense that outdueled Southern Mississippi's potent aerial game. 

Browning completed 23 of 34 passes for 284 yards, finding a way to get by Southern Mississippi's ninth-ranked passing attack. The Golden Eagles still put up big numbers through the air, led by quarterback Nick Mullens' 331 yards and two touchdowns, but their defense couldn't find an answer for Gaskin.

Washington had the better start on Saturday after a slow opening 10 minutes. The Huskies scored a pair of touchdowns in the last five minutes of the first quarter, both of them short runs from Gaskin. 

They sandwiched a 56-yard touchdown pass from Mullens to Michael Thomas as Southern Mississippi's offense flexed its muscles. ESPN CollegeFootball shows the replay:

Thomas went on to put up a monster game by hauling in nine receptions for 190 yards, and the Hattiesburg American's Jason Munz was ready to bestow quite an honor on the senior receiver:

But backup running back Jaydon Mickens extended Washington's lead further with a 29-yard touchdown rush with nine minutes to go in the half to make it 21-10. 

Southern Miss looked like they'd be going into the half down 11 after lining up for a punt on a 4th-and-5 situation. But a converted fake punt set up Ito Smith's one-yard touchdown run with 1:15 to play in the half. Instead of a double-digit deficit, the Golden Eagles hit the locker rooms down just four. 

After a Washington field goal to start the second half, Southern Mississippi tied the game thanks to Smith's second rushing touchdown of the game, a two-yard rush. 

It didn't remain level for long, though, when Washington went right back to Gaskin. After it appeared he had nowhere to go near the line of scrimmage, Gaskin found space and took it to the house with an 86-yard touchdown run, his third of the day. 

UW Football shows his long run:

It was the school's longest run since Rich Alexis' 86-yard rush in 2000, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Pro Football Talk's Curtis Crabtree liked what he was seeing from the back:

A field goal put the Huskies up 10 with 14 minutes left in the game, and Gaskin put the icing on the cake with 7:53 left with his fourth touchdown of the day, this one from 13 yards out. It was a historic score for the freshman, as UW Football pointed out:

The Golden Eagle drew within 10 after Mullens hit Thomas for a second touchdown, a 27-yard reception, but that was as close as they'd come.

Their best season since 2011 comes up empty as the Golden Eagles must continue their now four-year wait for another bowl win. But recording nine wins after going a combined 4-32 over the prior three seasons is changing the culture to a winning one for Southern Mississippi.

For Washington, it's their second bowl win in three years. It's also the second time in six years that they won a bowl game and finished the year with a 7-6 record. With such talented young skill players like Browning and Gaskin, Washington's record and bowl appearances look like it might improve even more over the next few years. 

Post-Game Reaction

After that kind of performance from his youngest players, Washington head coach Chris Petersen knew that he can't use age as an excuse anymore, per the Associated Press via the Washington Post.

I don’t think you can say we’re a young football team anymore,” Petersen said. “We’ve played a lot of football. I think we’ve gotten better in the latter part of the season, and I’m really proud of them."

Gaskin, who was named the game's most valuable player, showed what he's capable of moving forward, impressing his coach:

"

When he gets the ball, everything goes in slow motion. When he gets space, those little legs have more in them than you think. It starts with the O-line. Receivers don’t get a lot of love on blocks. But they were blocking, too, out there.

"

For Southern Mississippi head coach Todd Monken, who is leading such a drastic turnaround for a program that has struggled mightily over the previous three season, the loss still hurts. 

"This is going to sting,” Monken said. “We obviously have another step that we can take."

While the decision had to be split between these two teams, the future is looking very bright for both of them with all the right pieces in the right places.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com