Southern Miss scores 4 straight touchdowns in 1st half before holding off Georgia Southern 38-35

Audio By Carbonatix

STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Braylon Braxton passed for 237 yards and two touchdowns, Jeffery Pittman carried it 31 times for 140 yards and two scores, and Southern Miss held off Georgia Southern 38-35 on Thursday night.

Braxton had a 50-yard touchdown pass to Tychaun Chapman in the first quarter and a 30-yarder to Carl Chester in the second for a 21-7 lead. The Golden Eagles' fourth straight touchdown came on a 2-yard run by Pittman for a 21-point lead at the break.

Creighton Wilbanks made a 42-yard field goal with 10:24 left in the fourth for a 38-21 lead. On Georgia Southern's next possession, Josh Moten made the third interception of the game for Southern Miss.

Georgia Southern scored twice in a little over four minutes, the last with 2:14 remaining, but could not recover an onside kick attempt.

Southern Miss (4-2, 2-0 Sun Belt), which went 1-11 last season, secured its first road victory since topping Louisiana-Lafayette 34-31 in overtime on Nov. 9, 2023.

JC French IV was 24 of 43 for 313 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for Georgia Southern (2-4, 0-2).

It was the first football meeting in the modern era between Georgia Southern and Southern Miss. The two teams played in 1941 with Mississippi Southern downing Georgia Teachers College 70-0.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football