NEW ORLEANS BOWL Southern Mississippi goes nuts

QB Dustin Almond was responsible for two TDs in the Eagles' 31-10 win.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Dustin Almond threw for 247 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, leading Southern Mississippi to its first bowl victory in four years, 31-10 over North Texas in the New Orleans Bowl on Tuesday night.
Linebacker Michael Boley helped put the game away, returning an interception 62 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Boley, named MVP of the first bowl of the postseason, finished with eight tackles including two sacks.
North Texas' season had been defined by overcoming adversity. Quarterback Andrew Smith died in a car accident just before training camp, starting running back Patrick Cobbs injured his knee in the second game of the season and never returned, and the Mean Green lost their first four games before winning seven straight to earn their fourth-straight trip to the New Orleans Bowl.
But Southern Miss (7-5), who narrowly lost to No. 4 California earlier this month, outplayed North Texas throughout.
North Texas, the four-time Sun Belt Conference champion, dropped to 1-3 in the New Orleans Bowl. Tailback Jamario Thomas, who missed North Texas' final regular-season game with a sore hamstring, finished with 92 yards on 30 carries. His season total of 1,801 fell 62 yards short of former Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne's freshman record of 1,863 yards.
RB struggled
Thomas entered the game averaging 189.9 yards, but struggled against Southern Miss, bouncing off hard hits and spinning out of numerous tackles. The Golden Eagles pulled him down for several losses as he rushed for minus-13 yards in the third quarter.
USM also pressured North Texas quarterback Scott Hall relentlessly, sacking him six times, and once forcing him to rush a third-and-goal throw that sailed over the outstretched arms of a wide-open Beau Davidson in the end zone. The play forced the Mean Green to settle for Nick Bazaldua's 24-yard field goal. That was their only score until Hall's 10-yard scoring pass to Johnny Quinn with one second left.
Hall was held to just 57 yards passing through three quarters. He finished 15-of-30 for 134 yards and two interceptions.
The USM offense produced two early touchdowns and moved the ball well throughout, finishing with a 403-212 advantage in total yardage.
Southern Miss running back Anthony Harris had 104 yards on 14 carries.
Settled for field goals
North Texas remained in the game with crucial third-down tackles in their own territory, forcing Southern Miss to settle for four field-goal attempts.
Darren McCaleb, who was 15-of-15 this season, was wide with three attempts, allowing the Mean Green to stay within two touchdowns heading into the final quarter.
Boley, whose first-half sack led to a failed 50-yard North Texas field goal attempt, broke the game open when he jumped to intercept Hall's screen pass and returned it for a score, giving Southern Miss a 24-3 lead with 12:52 remaining.
Almond passed for 112 yards in the first quarter, completing a pair of long passes on consecutive scoring drives. His 37-yarder down the left sideline to Otho Graves, who broke a tackle inside the 10-yard line, put Southern Miss ahead 7-0.
On the Golden Eagles' next drive, Almond threw a 47-yard pass over the middle to Tavarrez Williams, who was tackled at the North Texas 4. Almond scored on a 1-yard keeper three plays later to make it 14-0.
McCaleb's 45-yard field goal gave the Golden Eagles a 17-3 halftime lead.