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Southern Miss returns home this weekend for the first of two-straight home games when they meet UTEP in a 6 p.m. kickoff for homecoming, Saturday, Oct. 9, at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 as well as be heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss Sports Network by Learfield.

The Golden Eagles (1-4, 0-1 Conference USA) look to snap a three-game losing streak as freshman quarterback Jake Lange is set to make his first start for the program. In his first action last weekend, Lange threw for 304 yards on 23-of-37 passes with a touchdown.

Lange was the first Golden Eagle quarterback to throw for over 300 yards off the bench since Cole Weeks did it against Louisiana Tech, Oct. 25, 2014. He was also the first Southern Miss signal caller to throw for 300 or more yards in his first appearance since Allan Bridgford threw for 377 against Texas State to open the 2013 campaign.

Receiver Jason Brownlee comes off his best game of the season with a career-high eight catches for 127 yards, posting his fourth 100-yard receiving contest of his career. Frank Gore, Jr., went over 100 yards of all-purpose yards with 105 (79 rushing, 26 receiving) for the seventh time in his young career.

On the defensive side of the ball, Malik Shorts continues to lead the squad in tackles after posting a team-high, along with his season high, of 12 last week at Rice. Defensive lineman Josh Ratcliff has really come on for the Golden Eagles as he has posted 18 stops with 4.5 of them being for loss. His tackles for loss number ties the team best with defensive back Jay Stanley.

Southern Miss holds a five-game winning streak over the Miners (4-1, 1-0) in a series that dates back to the 1954 Sun Bowl. The teams have met 10 times as members of Conference USA and the Golden Eagles hold a 7-3 record in those contests.

Over the current winning streak for the Golden Eagles, the program has outscored UTEP an average of 32.4 to 8.0 in those games.

Following the UTEP contest, the Golden Eagles return home next when they take on UAB, Saturday, Oct., 16, at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets still remain for the 2021 C-USA home schedule and can be purchased by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or 601-266-5418, as well as emailing ticket.office@usm.edu.