HATTIESBURG, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Texas Christian's BCS bowl hopes disappeared - along with first place in Conference USA.
Dustin Almond threw for three touchdowns as Southern Mississippi ended the unbeaten run of ninth-ranked TCU and won the Conference USA title with a 40-28 victory.
The Horned Frogs needed wins in their final two games to complete an unbeaten regular season, which likely would have earned them a trip to a BCS bowl game.
"I knew if we were going to do it, we had to win out," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "A lot of people have never had the chance to do it, but in 2003 we had a chance. We tried to live a dream and we came up a little short."
Texas Christian (10-1, 7-1 C-USA) not only lost its unblemished season but wound up in second place. Southern Mississippi remained unbeaten in league play and will play in the Liberty Bowl after capturing its first Conference USA title since 1999.
"I'm really proud of our team," Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower said. "We won when the game was on the line, we found a way to make plays when we had to. This football team was hungry. They wanted to win a championship and were going to do what it took to get one."
The Golden Eagles dominated the first three quarters, taking a 31-6 lead when Almond threw a 21-yard TD pass to Marvin Young with 3:46 left in the third.
The Horned Frogs mounted a furious rally, scoring three touchdowns in the opening 7:05 of the fourth quarter, two on one-yard runs by Kenny Hayter.
Southern Mississippi (8-3, 7-0) added a field goal with 3:05 left and sealed the game on the next play from scrimmage, when defensive back Greg Brooks stripped the ball from TCU quarterback Brandon Hassell.
"There were two of us on the blitz and they couldn't stop both of us," Brooks said. "I had a clean shot at him."
The Horned Frogs' loss left top-ranked Oklahoma as the lone unbeaten team in Division I-A.
"I told them I was proud of them," Patterson said. "They showed a lot of character and a lot of class. We're still a very good football team."
Hassell completed 18-of-31 passes for 260 yards with a pair of interceptions. Robert Merrill rushed for 133 yards as TCU gained 169 of its 429 total yards on the ground.
TCU scored on its opening drive of the fourth quarter and recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Horned Frogs went 52 yards on six plays, capped by Hayter's second TD plunge to pull within 31-20 with 9:25 left.
TCU got back the ball quickly, recovering a pooch kick at the 38-yard line. Six plays later, Hassell scored from one yard out and kicker Nick Brown connected with Reggie Harrell for the two-point conversion to make it 31-28.
