HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Tate Whatley had a touchdown pass and ran for a score, Darian Yancey scored on a fumble return and Southern Mississippi held off Marshall 26-24 on Saturday.
Whatley’s rushing touchdown, a 1-yard keeper with 7:13 to play, capped a 13-play, 94-yard drive that chewed up 6 minutes, 23 seconds, proved to be the difference. A missed extra point made it 26-17.
Marshall scored on a 15-yard pass from Isaiah Green to Artie Henry with 1:11 left but the Golden Eagles (4-4, 3-2 Conference USA) recovered the onside kick.
After both teams managed first-quarter field goals, Brenden Knox picked up a Zac Everett fumble and returned it 8 yards for a touchdown to give Marshall a 10-3 lead with 5:04 left in the second quarter. Whatley connected with Quez Watkins for a 4-yard score to tie the game with 48 seconds left before halftime. The Golden Eagles added another touchdown 15 seconds later when Jacques Turner forced a fumble when he sacked Isaiah Green allowing Yancey to pick it up and race 17 yards to the end zone to put Southern Miss up 17-10 at the break.
The Thundering Herd (5-3, 3-2) evened the score midway through the third quarter on an Anthony Anderson 2-yard TD run. Parker Shaunfield’s 23-yard field goal put Southern Miss up 20-17 heading into the final quarter.
The Golden Eagles had just 222 yards of offense, while Marshall managed 249. Marcel Williams had seven catches for 139 yards for the Thundering Herd.

Marshall stats
Marshall 3 7 7 7 = 24
Southern Miss 3 14 3 6 = 26
First Quarter
USM—FG Shaunfield 45, 7:25
MSH—FG Rohrwasser 24, :00
Second Quarter
MSH—Knox 8 fumble return (Rohrwasser kick), 5:04
USM—Watkins 4 pass from Whatley (Shaunfield kick), :48
USM—Yancey 17 fumble return (Shaunfield kick), :33
Third Quarter
MSH—A.Anderson 2 run (Rohrwasser kick), 8:36
USM—FG Shaunfield 23, 2:58
Fourth Quarter
USM—Whatley 1 run (kick failed), 7:13
MSH—Henry 15 pass from I.Green (Rohrwasser kick), 1:11
A—20,375.
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MSH USM
First downs 15 13
Rushes-yards 22-31 45-88
Passing 218 134
Comp-Att-Int 17-38-2 16-25-0
Return Yards 47 98
Punts-Avg. 5-32.8 5-35.2
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-2
Penalties-Yards 7-79 10-90
Time of Possession 21:41 38:19
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Marshall, K.Davis 6-22, A.Anderson 9-18, Thomson 2-4, (Team) 1-(minus 1), I.Green 4-(minus 12). Southern Miss, Whatley 25-40, D.Harris 1-29, S.Anderson 9-22, Mosley 7-4, (Team) 2-(minus 2), Everett 1-(minus 5).
PASSING—Marshall, Thomson 5-13-1-49, I.Green 12-25-1-169. Southern Miss, Whatley 16-25-0-134.
RECEIVING—Marshall, M.Williams 7-139, Obialo 4-32, K.Davis 2-17, Brady 1-17, Henry 1-15, Levias 1-0, Gaines 1-(minus 2). Southern Miss, Watkins 5-79, Mosley 3-10, J.Mitchell 2-12, S.Anderson 2-11, Ti.Jones 2-11, J.Washington 1-8, D.Harris 1-3.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.