Southern Miss Earns Bowl Eligibility, Defeats ULM

The Golden Eagles dominate ULM at home, winning 49-21. This win gets Southern Miss to 6-2, which makes them bowl eligible for the first time since 2022, when they also defeated the Warhawks for their sixth win.

BOOK IT 🎳 pic.twitter.com/cbwC44MGqK

— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) October 25, 2025

Southern Miss is also atop the West division standings, sitting at 4-0 in the conference. ULM falls to 3-5 on the year, and 1-3 in conference play.

ULM got on the board first with a four-yard passing touchdown to Tyler Griffen. The passing touchdown came from sophomore Landon Graves, who had to step in with both Aidan Armenta and Hunter Herring out.

Southern Miss came back with a touchdown of their own, as Matt Jones ran the ball in from four yards. Jones also had to step into a bigger role with Jeffery Pittman out, and ran for 42 yards on 12 attempts.

7-7 would be the score to end the first quarter as the Warhawks missed a field goal late in the quarter.

A 34-yard passing touchdown in the first possession of the second quarter put the Golden Eagles up 14-7. Quarterback Braylon Braxton found tight end Kyirin Heath for that touchdown, which was his only catch of the game.

After a quick three-and-out for the Warhawks offense, Braxton would once again find a reveiver for a big touchdown. Tychaun Chapman, who was the leading receiver with 83 yards, found the end zone from 39 yards out and put Southern Miss up 21-7.

💣🎯@braylon_braxton x @ChapmanTychaun pic.twitter.com/NNk8qb04rG

— Southern Miss Football (@SouthernMissFB) October 25, 2025

The Warhawks climbed back before the halftime break, as Zach Palmer-Smith scampered into the end zone from 22 yards out, cutting the Southern Miss lead to seven. Palmer-Smith ended the game averaging 10.1 yards per carry, rushing for 111 yards on 11 attempts.

Coming out of the break, the Golden Eagles were forced to punt. However, ULM muffed the punt and the Golden Eagles recovered, setting Jones up for his second rushing touchdown of the night.

On the next possession for the Warhawks, Graves threw his first interception of the night to linebacker Chris Jones. This set up Braxton and the Golden Eagles offense for yet another touchdown. Braxton found Carl Chester from eight yards out putting Southern Miss up 35-14.

Southern Miss continued to pile on the scoring with another touchdown in the fourth quarter. Braxton once again struck from deep, finding Bralon Brown from 24 yards out to put the Golden Eagles up 42-14.

One more touchdown by each team would cap off the night, handing Southern Miss the 49-21 win.

Through the air, Braxton finished 18-for-23 for 240 yards and four touchdowns. He also added 20 yards on the ground. Head Coach Charles Huff got exactly what he wanted from Braxton and the offense.

“We felt like Braylon, and the offense, had to be really efficient,” Huff said. “I also thought he did a good job of using his legs.”

For the Warhawks, Graves went 12-for-26 for 103 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in his first career start.

On the ground, Southern Miss had seven guys get a carry, including three guys with seven or more attempts. Robert Briggs led the way with 55. Palmer-Smith led the Warhawks in rushing, with Braylon McReynolds also getting 11 touches.

Defensively, the Golden Eagles were once again led by Michael Montgomery, who led the team with nine total tackles. Three more players added six total tackles. Chris Jones was one of those three with six tackles, and Huff had good things to say about him after the game

“I think he’s growing and developing, and I think it is starting to show with his consistency in his play,” Huff said.

For ULM, linebacker Noah Flemmings had seven total tackles, and also added a sack.

Southern Miss now enters another bye week, while ULM will host Old Dominion on Nov. 1.