Jason Munz/Hattiesburg American
Everything was going swimmingly.
Through the first three games of the season, the Southern Miss defense had been borderline flawless. Ranked sixth in the nation before Saturday’s home game against North Texas, the Golden Eagles were giving up just 241.3 yards per game.
And in the first quarter against the Mean Green, Jay Hopson’s defense was well on its way to putting up yet another stingy performance. Southern Miss, which led 14-7 heading into the second quarter, had allowed only 53 yards of offense to a North Texas offense that had been prolific (more than 500 yards per game this season) through four games.