Southern Miss vs. LA-Lafayette: Score and Reaction for 2016 New Orleans Bowl

Behind the offensive duo of quarterback Nick Mullens and wide receiver Allenzae Staggers, Southern Mississippi defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 28-21 in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Staggers recorded a New Orleans Bowl record with 230 receiving yards on 11 catches with one touchdown. He was Mullens' favorite target as the quarterback passed for 346 yards and a pair of scores. 

This was the first time in a while that Mullens was healthy after dislocating a bone in his right  thumb on Oct. 8 and suffering a concussion on Nov. 5. But he came back with a vengeance against the Ragin' Cajuns' defense.

He and the Golden Eagles got going early by scoring a touchdown on their first drive in just 57 seconds after an Ito Smith 11-yard run. 

It was set up though by a Mullens dime to Staggers for 55 yards on the first play of the drive to immediately get deep into Cajuns territory. 

The two hooked up again on the following drive, this time for a gain of 66 to bring the ball down to the Cajuns' 4-yard-line. 

Smith capped off the quick drive that spanned 70 yards in 1:12 again with a touchdown reception to put Southern Miss up 14-0 within eight minutes of the opening kickoff. 

Hugh Kellenberger of the Clarion-Ledger broke down Southern Miss' fast start:

The Cajuns calmed things and found an answer when quarterback Anthony Jennings barreled into the end zone from four yards out:

An LSU transfer, Jennings and Louisiana-Lafayette had to scramble just to get bowl-eligible, winning four of its last six games after starting the season 2-4.

He had a tough night, completing just eight of 20 passes for 95 yards and an interception.

Jennings had to deal with Southern Miss' pass rush, led by Ja'Boree Poole, who came up with three sacks before halftime, setting a New Orleans Bowl record:

The Cajuns defense came up with a big play of its own when Tre'maine Lightfoot sacked Mullens and forced the ball loose. It was picked up by Otha Peters and returned to the Southern Miss 29-yard-line. 

It set up the tying score as Dion Ray scampered in from 12 yards out with 7:28 left in the second quarter, which would be the last score before halftime. 

While the Cajuns defense managed to limit the Southern Miss offense during that spell, it suffered a big loss in the third quarter when starting safety Tracy Walker was ejected for targeting Staggers. 

Staggers exacted some revenge by catching a five-yard touchdown pass to put Southern Miss back in the lead. 

The catch put him over the 200-yard mark on the night as he continued to make his mark on the program's record book, via Jason Munz of the Hattiesburg American:

"

Southern Miss receivers have five 200-yard games in school history. Allenzae Staggers has 2 of them.

— Jason Munz (@munzly) December 18, 2016"

It would prove to be the only score of the third quarter, but Smith's third touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter gave the Golden Eagles a two-possession lead with 12:26 left. 

It was a one-yard run capped off a 14-play, 83-yard drive that Smith contributed 54 yards to.

After a Cajuns punt, they were given a lifeline with seven minutes left in the game when Mullens was picked off by Travis Crawford, who returned it inside the Southern Miss 20-yard-line. 

With 5:10 left, Jennings scrambled in for his second score of the game from three yards out to cut it down to a touchdown. 

Southern Miss tried to run out the clock but was forced to punt with 2:12 remaining. After a high snap that looked destined to get over the punter's head, Tyler Sarrazin managed to make a leaping grab and pin the Cajuns inside their own 20-yard-line with 2:02 left. 

Questionable play-calling with a trio of runs with just one timeout didn't make the comeback any easier. 

But the Cajuns still managed to get past midfield and into Southern Miss territory with 23 seconds left before a turnover on downs delivered the win to the Golden Eagles.

It was the first time since 2011 that Southern Miss won a bowl game, which came at the Hawaii Bowl under now-North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora. 

Postgame Reaction

Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson spoke of his team and his fans after the win, via the team's official Twitter feed:

On the opposite side, Cajuns head coach Mark Hudspeth still had to deal with Staggers, via ESPN 1420:

But it was his own offense that did the Cajuns in, via ESPN 1420:

Louisiana-Lafayette had never been in a bowl game before Hudspeth took over. Since his arrival in 2011, the program has now been to five of them, all in the form of the New Orleans Bowl. 

Saturday night, though, was the first time it ever lost one as it finished the season 6-7. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.