Southern Miss Golden Eagles 2022 College Football Preview
July 20, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 3-9
ATS – 4-8
Year one of the Will Hall Experience didn’t work out that well as the Golden Eagles struggled to a mark of 3-9. They put together an impressive 8-game losing streak (!) which isn’t easy to do but at least they finished on a good note by winning their final two games (Louisiana Tech, FIU).
Let’s see what they have to work with heading into 2022.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
It just made sense that in a year when people believed anything they were told, including the need for double-masking whilst canoeing by yourself in the middle of a lake, that a team would need to play 10 (!) different players at QB. Yup, it was a GONG SHOW, but the good news is that Southern Miss had a legit excuse for being BAT GUANO on offense LY (#127 FBS total offense, #122 scoring offense). The QB room obviously returns lots of doods who got some work LY but the plan is to have highly-touted specimen Ty Keyes run with the starting job (injured LY). Keyes (or similar) will be supported by an experienced RB group featuring a 1-2 combo (Gore, Richard) that tallied a combined 1,248 yards and 7 TDs in 2021. The top-three wideouts are back in the mix including the underrated Jason Brownlee (643, 14.0, 8 TD) and four starters return on the offensive line. The Golden Eagles were brutal in pass protection LY (44 sacks allowed, #124 FBS) but that had a lot to do with nobody knowing what the *#%&@#% they were doing at QB. We expect MUCH better things on offense this season and recall that HC Will Hall did some good work whilst the OC at Tulane. <grabs popcorn>
DEFENSE
All things considered, Southern Miss was ok on defense LY (#7 C-USA run D, #7 pass efficiency D) and we’re happy to report that the Golden Eagles return their top-10 (!) tacklers from the 2021 stop unit. There’s a reload up front but they have impressive size and add three SEC (!) bodies via the transfer portal. The LB unit and secondary both appear to be above-average on paper and they also get the benefit of several SEC athletes added to the mix. Southern Miss had trouble achieving PENETRATION in 2021 (23 sacks, #90 FBS; #78 TFL/game) so the defense has the potential to be really good if they can get a player or two to develop into elite pass rushing threats. Stay tuned!
SPECIAL TEAMS
There’s plenty of continuity but something called Briggs Bourgeois has to do a better job on FG attempts (8-14 LY). KR Camron Harrell proved that he was a dangerous weapon LY (25.5, TD).
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The non-conference schedule is manageable and note that Will Hall faces his former team in New Orleans on September 24th. The draw from the East is tough as they take on Coastal Carolina (A) and BURGEONING JUGGERNAUT Georgia St (H). One bonus is not having to deal with back-to-back road games.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing heinous has been spotted.
Season Win Total
per BetOnline July 20
Over 4.5 -150
Under 4.5 +120
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
This is an improved bunch and they’ve got a decent schedule to work with in 2022.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Southern Miss has been a money-burner over the L10Y as they’re just 52-68-2 ATS (43%) including a heinous 14-22-2 (39%) as home chalk.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
Our SPIDEY SENSES are tingling. There’s so reason to think Southern Miss can’t be a dangerous team in FUN BELT action as long as they avoid significant injury carnage. We expect them to pull at least one upset along the way and to find their way into a bowl game in 2022. Let’s do ittttttt!
Want more Southern Miss Football ?
WEBSITE
https://southernmiss.com/sports/football
FORUM
https://southernmiss.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-district.8/
NEWS
http://www.sunherald.com/sports/college/conference-usa/university-of-southern-mississippi/
http://www.clarionledger.com/sports/southern-miss/
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/2572/southern-mississippi-golden-eagles