Southern Miss Golden Eagles 2026 College Football Preview
Posted June 10, 2026
2025 Recap
Record – 7-6
ATS – 5-8
Things were looking fantastic in Hattiesburg in early November as the Golden Eagles sat at 7–2 and were unbeaten in Sun Belt play — a remarkable turnaround from the program’s dark days. Then came the GLUG GLUG GLUG heard ’round the Sun Belt as Southern Miss lost their final three regular‑season games and followed that up with a New Orleans Bowl defeat at the hands of Western Kentucky to finish at 7–6.
Disappointing ending to what had been a genuinely encouraging season. And then HC Charles Huff — one year after leaving Marshall — did his best LANE KIFFIN impersonation and bolted for Memphis.
Let’s see if there’s any hope heading into 2026.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles 2026 Outlook
OFFENSE
2025 By The Numbers:
- Scoring: 28.8 PPG (#5 Sun Belt)
- Total Offense: 402.1 YPG (#5 Sun Belt)
- Rushing: 136.0 YPG (#10 Sun Belt)
- Passing: 266.1 YPG (#1 Sun Belt)
- Sacks Allowed: 22 (#5 Sun Belt)
There’s a massive hole to fill at quarterback with the departure of veteran Braylon Braxton, who led the Golden Eagles to a strong season (64%, 24-8 TD to INT). New head coach Blake Anderson — who brings seven years of Sun Belt experience from Arkansas St, where he led the Red Wolves to four bowl games — inherits an open competition.
New offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo, who worked alongside Anderson for nine years at Arkansas St and Utah St, will be calling plays. The early favorite to win the job is veteran transfer Ethan Hampton from Northern Illinois. Hampton’s career 21–15 TD to INT ratio and just two career rushing touchdowns make him far from a MORTAL LOCK, though. Don’t sleep on last year’s backup Landry Lyddy or true freshman John White, both of whom impressed during the spring, according to our Southern Miss INSIDERS.
The RB room needed major retooling, but Anderson did a good job restocking the cupboard. Returning backup Robert Briggs (304 yards, 4.9 YPC) is back, whilst transfers Brandon Hood (UMass) and Jamarice Wilder add some intrigue to the group. There are major changes in the WR room, but the portal haul brought in some interesting pieces — most notably Kaden Saunders from Penn St (!) and Eelijah Singleton from East Central CC (61 catches, 618 yards, 2 TD LY). Bottom line: the skill‑position doods are gonna have to step up this year.
YIKES. The offensive line returns just one veteran holdover with the potential to start, with the rest of the unit made up of portal and JUCO additions who bring adequate size but limited FBS experience. This remains a YUUUGE question mark heading into fall camp.
DEFENSE
2025 By The Numbers:
- Scoring Defense: 27.4 PPG (#4 Sun Belt)
- Total Defense: 404.1 YPG (#7 Sun Belt)
- Rush Defense: 174.9 YPG (#8 Sun Belt)
- Pass Defense: 229.2 YPG (#8 Sun Belt)
- Sacks: 29 (#5 Sun Belt)
As the INTREPID Phil Steele points out, this is a complete redo on defense — only one of the top-21 (!) tacklers from last season are back in the mix. That’s an extraordinary level of turnover. A large group of players followed former greasy head coach Charles Huff to Memphis, and the rebuilding job now falls to new defensive coordinator Joe Bolden, who was promoted from within.
Up front, the defensive line features some intriguing new pieces. DE A’Mari Wilson (6-6 from Campbell) brings impressive size, true freshman DL Ari Slocum recorded a sack in the spring game, and DE Jeffery Rush arrives from Ole Miss with Power 4 experience. Bolden’s background should help develop these new faces quickly. At LB, the unit takes a major hit with the departure of leading tackler Chris Jones (133 tackles, 3.5 sacks) — a devastating loss. Transfer Andrew Martin (9.5 TFL, Stetson) and true freshman local product Caleb Triplett are the names to watch stepping into bigger roles at LB, but the middle of the defense appears to be a major issue.
The secondary represents the definition of a “rebuild”, as the Golden Eagles are starting from scratch. CB Champ Lewis (Tulsa) had an interception in the spring game and earned first-team reps, while CB Jonah Martinez (TCU) delivered a pick-six in the spring scrimmage. CB Hiroshi Carr (Morgan State) and several Power 4 transfers, including Laquan Robinson (Kansas), give Bolden some pieces to work with. The early returns from spring have been encouraging, but we’ll need to see it translate in real games.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Transfer punter DUSTY Zimmer — yes, DUSTY — arrives from Australia (shocker), and the smart money is on him winning the starting job. Both PKs are back, including something called a Creighton Wilbanks, but he and Reed Harradine combined to make just 14/22 FGA LY. The CROWN JEWEL of this unit is transfer WR A.J. Little, who took TWO punts to the HIZZY CRIBBY for Chattanooga last season (9 returns, 123 yards, 2 TDs).
Schedule Analysis
Overall — Two brutal road non‑conference affairs (Auburn, Tulane) and a home date with UConn that’s probably a MUST WIN if the Golden Eagles have any realistic hope of a bowl bid. The Sun Belt draw is a NIGHTMARE — they pull James Madison and Old Dominion out of the hat from the East, and their West‑division COMPADRES are a salty bunch.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot — at ULM (Oct 31)
This is a tricky scheduling spot as it falls betweenst a pair of home games with NAME opponents (Louisiana, James Madison). Also note that ULM promises to be scrappy this year.
Season Win Total
Market consensus – June 10
Over 3.5 -160
Under 3.5 -130
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under
This is clearly a team in RESET MODE. If they lose to UConn at home in September, this under play is probably good to go, as we don’t see them winning three Sun Belt contests.
Note – Our official list of season win total investments will be posted in the blog section of the website.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Legendary QB Brett Favre played his college ball right here in Hattiesburg and remains far and away the most famous player in Southern Miss history. Favre threw for 7,695 yards as a Golden Eagle before heading to the NFL, where he won a Super Bowl, collected three MVP awards, and basically owned the record books for a decade and a half. And then he retired. And then he unretired. And then he retired again. And again.
Hattiesburg, Mississippi sits in the Pine Belt region and is home to roughly 48,000 people. The city earned its HUB CITY nickname thanks to its role as a major railroad junction in the late 1800s, where multiple lines converged and turned it into a regional crossroads. CABOOSE‑COOKER Fact Drop — Hattiesburg was once the busiest rail junction in Mississippi, firing trains in every direction like a DRUNKEN OCTOPUS.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
This is one of the worst returning‑production scenarios imaginable — and new HC Blake Anderson is certainly going to have his hands full this season in Hattiesburg. The massive portal haul has a few interesting specimens on both sides of the football, but this is clearly a rebuilding, “let’s see what we have” situation. The schedule won’t be easy to navigate, and we don’t expect the Golden Eagles to book too many notches in the win column. We do, however, expect them to get better as the season moves along and set themselves up for a much stronger 2027.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Southern Mississippi all the way, banners high
And we will Fight! Fight! Fight! to victory
Hear our battle cry!