NEW ORLEANS – Appearing in Bowl Season for the 28th time, Southern Miss fell to Western Kentucky, 27-16, in the New Orleans Bowl in New Orleans, La. 
 
The Golden Eagles—who were part of the Sun Belt’s 10-team bowl contingent that leads all non-autonomy conferences for the fourth-straight season—dropped to 12-16 all-time in bowl games and 0-5 all-time against the Hilltoppers. 
 
Southern Miss led 13-6 at the half, with redshirt senior quarterback Braylon Braxton connecting with redshirt junior wide receiver Tychaun Chapman for the lone first-half touchdown from 35 yards out. A pair of late second-quarter field goals from freshman kicker Creighton Wilbanks—the first set up by an interception by redshirt junior defensive lineman JJ Hawkins—extended the Golden Eagles halftime margin.
 
The Golden Eagles were outscored 21-3 in the second half to produce the final 27-16 score. A 41-yard field goal by Wilbanks—set up by an interception and 37-yard return by sophomore defensive back Corey Myrick—was the lone Southern Miss score after the break. 
 
Braxton completed 24-of-47 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown. Chapman led all Golden Eagles receivers with 50 yards on three catches and the lone Southern Miss touchdown, while redshirt junior running back Jeffery Pittman paced the ground attack with 55 yards on 10 carries. 
 
Myrick led the defensive unit with nine tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception. The Golden Eagles—who tallied 11 tackles for loss on the day—got multiple from sophomore linebacker Chris Jones (6 tackles, 2 TFLs) and junior linebacker Michael Montgomery (5 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks). With two interceptions in the New Orleans Bowl, Southern Miss now leads the nation with 23 interceptions on the year. 
 
With the loss, Southern Miss concludes the season 7-6.