Frank Gore Jr. wouldn’t let his team lose.
The Southern Miss running back went wild in his team’s win over Rice at the LendingTree Bowl on Saturday night. In the 38-24 win, Gore set an all-time bowl record for 329 yards on just 21 carries.
Gore rushed for two touchdowns and also had an 18-yard touchdown pass. He struck from 64 yards to give the Golden Eagles a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, then put the game away when he hit a 55-yard score with less than three minutes to play.
With that final touchdown, Gore rose to the top of the record books for an individual bowl performance. Previously, Appalachian State’s Camerun Peoples 317 yards in the 2020 Myrtle Beach Bowl set the all-time bowling record for rushing yards. Now that record belongs to Gore.
USM also needed every inch of gore.
The Golden Eagles appeared to be in control as they led 17-3 at halftime. Rice scored 21 unanswered points in just over six minutes in the third quarter. That turned a 14-point lead into a seven-point deficit with Rice leading 24-17 and 5:06 in the third quarter.
From there, however, Southern Miss would score the final 21 points of the game. Gore’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Tiaquelin Mims tied the score 24-24.
After that touchdown, the Southern Miss’s defense got on the clutch. Rice came out scoreless on his last five offensive possessions as he punched three times, turned him over on downs inside the 10 and threw an interception.
That strong performance in the fourth quarter, coupled with Gore’s all-around excellence, resulted in Southern Miss’s first bowl win since 2016.
Southern Miss won six games total in 2020 and 2021, but the bowl win over Rice gave the Golden Eagles seven wins for the 2022 season.
And with the expected return of Gore and a significant part of that team’s core, Southern Miss could be a team on the rise in the Sunbelt next season.
Frank Gore Jr. #3 of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles rushes for a touchdown in the first half against the Rice Owls of the LendingTree Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium on December 17, 2022 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)