Jake Lange replaces Zach Wilcke, leads Southern Miss football to win over Arkansas State

With the fifth quarterback to throw a pass in a game this season at the helm, Southern Miss football turned an abysmal loss into a thrilling victory.

Led by Jake Lange, the Golden Eagles rallied from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Arkansas State 20-19 and secure their first-ever Sun Belt Conference victory.

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Wilcke pulled in third quarter

After two first-half interceptions and an unproductive initial drive in the third quarter, Zach Wilcke was lifted by Will Hall in favor of Lange, who has surpassed veteran Trey Lowe on the depth chart for the backup quarterback job in recent weeks.

Lange became the fifth Southern Miss quarterback to throw a pass in a competitive situation for the Golden Eagles this season.

It wasn't spectacular, but Lange delivered what the Golden Eagles needed.

After a three-and-out on his first series, Lange drove the Golden Eagles down the field twice to complete the comeback.

In total, Lange completed 6 of his 12 passes for 45 yards.

James Blackman's surgical approach stymies aggressive USM defense

While the Golden Eagles were forced to shuffle their pack at QB, the steady hand available to the Red Wolves at the position offered a stark contrast.

Also in Year 2 of his rebuilding process at Arkansas State, Butch Jones could count on fifth-year QB James Blackman, who was excellent on Saturday.

Blackman threw only nine incompletions, racking up 24 completions for 236 yards and finding wideout Jeff Foreman in the end zone twice.

Most importantly, though, he denied the Southern Miss defense the key turnovers it thrives on. Despite losing the turnover battle, the Golden Eagles managed to grind out the win.

Ty Mims delivers breakout performance

The Golden Eagles needed some explosiveness on offense, and it came from true freshman wideout Ty Mims.

Playing in place of Jakarius Caston in the slot, Mims caught five passes for 81 yards.

Mims, whose talent has been apparent since preseason practice, sparked the first Southern Miss touchdown drive of the night by making a 29-yard reception and drawing a pass interference penalty that set up Jason Brownlee's touchdown catch.

Doing most of his work after the catch, three of Mims' catches went for at least 17 yards.

David Eckert covers Southern Miss for The Hattiesburg American. Contact him at deckert@gannett.com or on Twitter @davideckert98.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Jake Lange leads Southern miss football to win over Arkansas State