Southern Mississippi win first Bowl of the Season

Southern Mississippi defeated Arkansas State 31-19 on Tuesday night in the first of the season's 28 bowl games.

The Golden Eagles win in the New Orleans Bowl came after the Indians drew level at 17-17 in the third quarter.

Shawn Nelson was the game breaker for the Golden Eagles catching two second-half touchdowns.

Great betting odds on College Football
Huge 20% Deposit Bonus + $20 Free Bet! Click here

Quarterback Dustin Almond found Nelson with a 29-yard pass to make it 24-17 before the duo again hooked up in the fourth quarter with a 6-yard pass to put the game beyond the reach of the Indians at 31-17.

Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower said. "What a resilient bunch of football players. They've just been so good pushing through it and keeping a positive attitude."

Indians coach Steve Roberts took some positives out of the loss, "There is nobody outside of our locker room that felt we could accomplish what we accomplished this year,"

"There's nobody outside of our locker room that predicted that we could be in the situation that we were in."