HATTIESBURG, Miss. — App State Football hit the road for its Sun Belt Conference opener and suffered a 38-22 loss at Southern Miss on Saturday night.
App State (2-1, 0-1) has a bye next weekend before playing two consecutive nonconference games, starting with a Sept. 27 visit to Boise State. Hosting the Sun Belt's first league game of the season and playing at home for the third straight week, Southern Miss improved to 2-1 overall.
Despite falling behind 24-7, with three first-half interceptions on plays inside the Southern Miss 10 including a 99-yard return for a touchdown, the Mountaineers pulled within 24-14 when true freshman running back Jaquari Lewis took a handoff from true freshman quarterback Noah Gillon and scored his first touchdown on a 10-yard run late in the third quarter.