HATTIESBURG — The outcome wasn't different. But the outlook is.
Southern Miss lost its Conference USA opener against Louisiana Tech in gut-wrenching fashion Saturday night. The Golden Eagles blew a 17-point second-half lead to lose 31-30 when Louisiana Tech converted a 4th-and-goal for a touchdown with 14 seconds left in the game.
The loss dropped Southern Miss down to 0-2 on the season. It dropped interim coach Scotty Walden to 0-1 in his Division I head coaching career. But it was easy to see how a team coached by Walden is going to look different than a team coach by his predecessor Jay Hopson.