The Golden Eagles returned home against Rice, putting a complete effort together en route to a 26-point win.
On offense, the Southern Miss offense would stall at times, but the big play was there for USM all night.
Senior quarterback Nick Mullens had a Southern Miss record-setting game through the air, throwing for 591 yards combined with four touchdowns. His passes went to seven different receivers for chunk plays of over 50 yards five times.
“It was great to see Nick [Mullens] open his arm and show what we’ve been waiting on,” said defensive lineman Dylan Bradley.