Led by Frank Gore Jr.’s 3 TDs, Southern Miss gets 34-31 OT win over Louisiana-Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Frank Gore Jr. ran for 158 yards and accounted for three touchdowns that included the game winner in overtime to help Southern Mississippi beat Louisiana-Lafayette 34-31 on Thursday night.

Louisiana-Lafayette scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to go up 28-21 with 5:55 remaining. But Ethan Crawford then led Southern Miss on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jakarius Caston, that tied it 28-all with 1:26 left. The Ragin’ Cajuns couldn’t cross midfield on the next possession to force overtime.

Kenneth Almendares kicked a 34-yard field goal for the Ragin’ Cajuns in the first possession of OT before Gore ran into the end zone from the 3-yard line. Gore also caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Billy Wiles in the second quarter and ran for a 17-yard score in the third.

Chandler Fields launched a 51-yard touchdown pass to Harvey Broussard in the end zone that tied the game at 21. On the ensuing possession, Gore had the ball stripped. Glenn Brown III scooped it up and was dragged down by two defenders at the Southern Miss 7-yard line. Fields then hit Trayv’on Culbert for a score on the next play to make it 28-21.

Wiles and Crawford were a combined 14-of-24 passing for 161 yards for Southern Miss (3-7, 2-5 Sun Belt Conference).

Fields completed 24 of 38 passes for 260 yards for Louisiana-Lafayette (5-5, 2-4).

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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