Southern Miss Golden Eagles running back Frank Gore Jr, set a NCAA bowl record on Saturday with 329 yards against the Rice Owls.
He only needed 21 carries to accomplish the feat. Gore also scored twice, threw three passes completing two, with one going for a touchdown in the Golden Eagles 38-24 win over the Owls in the LendingTree Bowl.
Gore Jr, picked up the slack for his quarterback Trey Lowe III who completed seven passes on 16 attempts, he did throw for 170 yards and two touchdowns though. Jakarius Caston led the way receiving wise with four receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown, he also had one carry for nine yards, so he did wind up with over 100 total yards from scrimmage for the Golden Eagles as well.
As for Gore Jr, the touchdowns runs were of 64 and 55 yards respectively. The 64-yard run was his longest of the 2022 season. Overall he averaged 15.7 yards per carry and he broke the bowl record of 317 yards that was set two years earlier by Appalachian State running back Camerun Peoples.
The best moment though came after the game while Gore Jr got interviewed. He had to tell his aunt to calm down as she was celebrating enthusiastically after his record-breaking performance. Who could blame her though?
For the Owls, running back Cameron Montgomery led the way on the ground with seven carries for 63 yards, quarterback AJ Padgett completed 19 passes on 37 attempts and threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns. His leading receiver was Isaiah Esdale who caught three pass for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Luke McCaffrey finished with seven receptions for 67 yards.