University of Houston
Southern Miss
Houston Falls To Southern Miss
10/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct 27, 2001
By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP Sports Writer
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - Jeff Kelly threw for a career-high five touchdowns and ran for another score as Southern Mississippi snapped out of its offensive slump with a 58-14 victory over Houston on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles (4-2, 2-2 Conference USA) scored on their first four possessions to take a 24-0 lead in the second quarter on their way to halting a two-game losing streak.
The Cougars (0-7, 0-5) tied a school-record with their 11th straight loss.
Kelly, who had committed six turnovers in his last two games, bounced back with his best game of the season. He was 20-for-32 for 276 yards. He also ran for 53 yards and his only interception came in the fourth quarter with the Eagles up 31-0.
The senior quarterback and the offense had taken most of the blame for Southern Miss' recent slide by committing eight turnovers and giving little help to a defense ranked No. 2 in the country.
Southern Miss gained 480 total yards in losses to Memphis and Louisville.
But against one of the worst defenses in the country, the Golden Eagles looked like the Florida Gators, rolling up 567 yards.
Kelly capped a nine-play, 65-yard opening drive by hitting Marvin Young with a 7-yard touchdown pass. It was the freshman wide receiver's first career reception.
Rod Davis' interception on the ensuing possession gave the ball back to Southern Miss at the Houston 31.
Four plays later, Kelly scored from 7 yards out on a bootleg around left end to make 14-0.
Kelly hit Leroy Handy for a 7-yard score to make it 24-0 with 10:47 left in the second quarter.
Even the Golden Eagles' sickly running game, ranked last in the nation coming into the game, got healthy against the porous Cougars.
Southern Miss ran for 256 yards, led by James Walley's career-high 132 on 14 carries, more than four times its season average.
Dawayne Woods had 145 total yards, including a 53-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, that made the score 38-6 and was Kelly's last pass of the day.
It was Southern Miss' highest-scoring game since beating Samford 59-16 in 1994.
The Cougars committed six turnovers and lost to Southern Miss for the fourth straight time.
Houston's Nick Eddy was 26-for-56 for 254 yards with four interceptions. Twice he was intercepted in the end zone after a first-and-goal.
Joffrey Reynolds, who had rushed for over 100 yards in his three previous games, was held to 75 on 18 carries by the Golden Eagles.
The Cougars last lost 11 straight during the 1994 and '95 seasons.
