In these parts, college football might be second only to Christmas in anticipation.
It might be.
Truth is, we wait months for kickoff, but the first one doesn’t tell us all we need to know about our teams.
Usually it takes several.
Only one of the state’s FBS coaches faces a make-or-break season, and that’s Will Hall at Southern Miss.
Two weeks in, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the Golden Eagles, but what we do is a mixed bag at best.
Hall said his players gained confidence in a 31-0 weather-shortened loss at Kentucky not by the result but by the individual effort.
“Our players watched the tape yesterday and had even more confidence because of the way they played in that environment. They know they can win one-on-ones. They’ve got to correct the things they can correct. We can calm down and execute the assignment better,” Hall said.
Confidence in Victory
Maybe confidence grew a bit for the Golden Eagles in a 35-10 win over Southeastern Louisiana.
Execution, however, was a big talking point for Hall last week, and it was erratic in the Golden Eagles’ home opener victory.
Hall talked up the Lions, from nearby Hammond, La., as a stellar program at Southern Miss’ level.
Prior to 2023, Frank Scelfo’s Lions team made the FCS playoffs in the three most recent non-COVID years. They were Southland Conference champs in 2022.
But last year the Lions were 3-9 and struggled to gain solid footing early this season. They lost their opener 52-0 at Tulane, a team that went 23-4 the last two seasons under Willie Fritz, who’s now at Houston.
The Green Wave, led by former Troy coach Jon Sumrall, lost 34-27 to No. 17 Kansas State Saturday. While transitioning, they were picked near the top of the American Athletic Conference.
That’s the G5 level Hall is trying to reach with the Golden Eagles – to win their share and finish near the top – or at the top – in a competitive Sun Belt Conference while being in position to win against solid FBS programs.
Work to do for Golden Eagles
Southern Miss isn’t there right now.
Kentucky showed it, and much of the Southeastern game underscored it.
The final score is what matters, and the Golden Eagles made the plays at the critical times to put some space between themselves and a non-conference buyout opponent.
Quarterback Tate Rodemaker, the Florida State transfer, threw two touchdown passes and didn’t throw an interception.
Rodemaker was 18-for-33 passing. The athletes got involved, and yards after the catch were huge.
Third-year sophomore receiver Larry Simmons had five catches for a 100 yards.
Running back Kenyon Clay, another third-year sophomore, had a 70-yard touchdown run.
Defense was solid, but Southern Miss was fortunate to give up only three points off two fumbles deep at its own end, one inside their own 10.
The Golden Eagles forced seven punts and also gained possession with an interception and turnover on downs.
But when it was over Hall was still talking about execution.
“We didn’t play clean all the way through. We had some moments offensively where we thought we had a chance. We would make a play, and it would get called back with a holding, or we would have something there, and we’d be just a little bit off,” he said.
He felt the Eagles were close to big things on offense.
“We had two screenplays off the top of my head that were inches away from getting inside the block, but they drifted a little bit. We were inconsistent and herky jerky on offense.”
The reality is those types of technique issues should be cleaner after two weeks.
There’s not another SEC team on the schedule, but things are about to settle down with formidable opponents that will capitalize on mistakes.
Great Opportunity in Week 3
South Florida visits Hattiesburg Saturday night at 6.
The Bulls, picked fourth in the American behind Tulane, trailed just 21-16 at No. 5 Alabama before the Crimson Tide closed with a flurry of big plays with less than 6 minutes remaining to win 42-16.
The Golden Eagles need to show progress. They need to show an ability to do the little things right so often that it becomes second nature.
“There are things we can build on and things we have to fix,” Hall said.
For a hopeful Sun Belt climber, Hall sees the great opportunity that South Florida presents.
“We’ve got a big game. It’s one of the biggest games that’s been played in this stadium in a long, long time.”
Parrish Alford
