College Football Predictions – Southern Miss Golden Eagles 2017 NCAA Football Preview
2016 Recap
2016 Record – 7-6
2016 ATS – 4-9
It was a grind. But they did it.
The Golden Eagles looked like a team without a bowl game until they managed to SHOCK the WORLD as double digit underdogs in their season finale with a win over Louisiana Tech. They finished up the season at 6-6 and then won the New Orleans Bowl (a 899 STAR MEGALOCKS BOWL GAME SUPER STEAMER LOCK) to complete the campaign with a 7-6 mark.
2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
Conference USA – TBD
West Division – TBD
OFFENSE
We are disappointed to see underrated QB Nick Mullens depart but at least he finished off last season in style. The Golden Eagles will move on at QB, and will do so with either dual-threat QB Keon Howard who only had limited action in 2016, or transfer Kwadra Griggs. MEGALOCKS SOUTHERN MISS INSIDERS tell us that the battle is too close to call as we head to press. Either way it will be a new look for the Eagles at QB. The great news for the new signal caller is that they will have fantastic WR Allenzae Staggers back in the mix and all he did last year was grab 63 balls for over 1,100 yards at 18.5 yards a pop. He was an absolute TOUR DE FORCE in their bowl win over Louisiana. The depth at WR looks decent.
MEGALOCKS favorite RB Ito Smith is back to terrorize defenses in 2017. Smith is a really fantastic weapon and last season rushed for over 1,400 yards and 17 TDs while also grabbing 43 (!) receptions. They are stacked with depth at the position. The offensive line could be a problem as they only return a pair of starters and are very inexperienced in the 2-deep. Their OL / QB combo is definitely a bit of an unknown heading into the season.
DEFENSE
Southern Miss was #1 in total defense in the conference last season allowing just 325 yards per game. That was the best by a large margin. They gave up 29.5 points per game but their horrible tendency to turn the ball over put the stop unit in a lot of bad spots. This season the Golden Eagles bring back six starters on defense but will be without their top-2 leading tacklers from last season. The good news is that they return DE Xavier Thigpen (5 sacks, 12.5 TFL) and a pair of senior CBs. Southern Miss was 2nd in CUSA last year in sacks and should be able to create more havoc this year. It feels like this is still one of the better defenses in the conference.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Southern Miss is going to miss their excellent P Tyler Sarrazin but do bring back PK Parker Shaunfield who was a 2nd Team CUSA performer last year. PR Allenzae Staggers had a PR TD in 2016.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot
Nothing of note. The schedule sets up nicely and is pretty soft overall.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
The Golden Eagles have had a DOUBLE DIGIT and NEGATIVE turnover margin in four of the past five seasons. They are a combined (-63) over that time horizon.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 5.0
MEGALOCKS says:
Overall, we give the GOLDEN EAGLES a 5.0 ATS Value Rating (Average) this season.
It’s good to see these guys back in business. There is uncertainty on offense with a new QB and young offensive line but they so have a star RB and WR combo to rely upon. The defense should be fine and the schedule will not be a problem. The Golden Eagles were just 4-9 ATS last year and we expect them to be closer to .500 this season. It’s hard to predict how the season will go ATS until we have a better idea of the QB play. Be patient.
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