McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - For 45 minutes Southern Miss stood toe-to-toe with No. 15 Boise State on Saturday night. However, it was a span of 15 minutes in the second quarter that told the tale as the Broncos posted a hard-fought 24-7 win.

"Boise State made more plays than we did and they made less mistakes," Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora said. "And they won the football game. It's as simple as that."

The Golden Eagles, now 2-4 for the first time since 1994, saw the Broncos block a Brit Barefoot 46-yard field-goal attempt on the first offensive possession of the game.

In comparison, Boise State, the first nationally ranked team to visit The Rock since California in 2004, improved to 5-0 on the season despite opening the game with back-to-back three-and-out offensive possessions.

As it was in home losses to Marshall and UTEP, Southern Miss - now 1-8 at home against ranked teams - was its own worst enemy.

Offensively the Golden Eagles misfired on three first-quarter possessions, including one that started at the Broncos' 49-yard line, and walked away with no points.

The inability to capitalize on the drives sent the Golden Eagles to a third consecutive home loss for the first time since the 1977 season.

"We will find out a lot about our team the next few weeks," Fedora said. "We will find out what kind of character we have.

"We are disappointed as a staff and as a football team with where we are."

Despite the lack of offensive production in the first quarter, it was two crucial errors in the second quarter - a fumble and pass-interference call - that led to 10 points to help Boise State take a 24-7 halftime lead.

Following a scoreless first quarter, Boise State used a 92-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.

Behind a balanced attack featuring 35 rushing and 57 passing yards, Boise State scored on a 28-yard screen pass from Kellen Moore to Jeremy Childs at the 13:41 mark of the second quarter.

Southern Miss then turned the ball over on downs on its next possession when Austin Davis was held short on a fourth-and-one quarterback-sneak attempt near midfield with 10: 52 left in the second.

Boise State, the nation's winningest program in Division I since the 2000 season at 91-16, quickly took a 14-0 lead with 8:22 left before the half.

The Broncos capped off the 49-yard drive with a five-yard scoring pass from Moore to Austin Pettis to cap off a 49-yard drive after the defensive stop.

Southern Miss, on the ensuing kickoff, fumbled at its 15 and fell behind 17-0 following a 32-yard field goal at the 6:35 mark of the second.

The Golden Eagles did trim the deficit to 17-7 on a 17-yard run by Damion Fletcher only to see Boise State push its lead back to 17 points at 24-7 when Moore threw his third touchdown pass of the half, a four-yarder to Pettis.

The drive, which covered 79 yards, was kept alive by a Southern Miss pass interference call, the sixth penalty of the half.

Southern Miss, which held Boise State to 25 yards of offense in the third quarter, limited the Broncos to 350 total yards, 102 yards below the season average.