2015
Southern Miss
College Football
Betting Preview
Schedule and Odds
Southern Mississippi is looking to get back to relevancy, but it won’t be easy, especially with only 11 starters returning in all. The Golden Eagles will have some pieces to work with, but need vast improvements on both sides of the field to reach six wins. Their over/under (at 5Dimes) is sitting at 4.5 wins. That’s some improvement after they finished just 3-9 last year.
The major news for this team is at the quarterback position where the starting gig is still up for grabs. Nick Mullens is the incumbent, but he led the offense to just 19 points per Game in 2014. And that’s where TCU transfer Tyler Matthews comes in. The two battled throughout the spring, but neither really separated themselves from the other and the competition will go into fall camp. Head coach Todd Monken even said that the team could give both of the QBs time since both proved their abilities in the spring.
The receiving corps will have plenty of talent for the quarterback to work with including Michael Thomas (592 yards, 5 TDs) and DJ Thompson to go with a couple JUCO transfer tight ends that are expected to step right in. The running Game continues to struggle for Southern Miss, as they gained less than 100 yards per Game last year as a team. Ito Smith (536 yards) returns to the backfield along with Tez Parks, but there are a couple other options pending on academic and injury issues. The offensive line should help things out a bit, especially with the running Game as Four starters return.
Southern Miss’s defense wasn’t much better last year allowing 35.4 points per Game and they only return three starters from that group, which could be a good thing. The line could be the biggest issue as there wasn’t much depth last year, but the coaches like what they see. Senior Michael Smith moved to the inside with Dylan Bradley and Xavier Thigpen stepping into spots on the end.
Senior linebacker Brian Anderson is the anchor in this group, but fellow LB D’Nerius Antoine could be the spark that this defense needs. The secondary is spotty as well with senior cornerback Kalen Reed leading the group.
Southern Miss has a couple tough Games in non-Conference play (Miss. State, Nebraska), but Games against Austin Peay and Texas State should result in wins. The Golden Eagles don’t have an extremely tough C-USA Schedule either, but they do have road Games at Marshall, Rice and Louisiana Tech. However, outside of those, this team should have a solid chance in all of their other Conference Games. That includes Games against North Texas, UTSA and Charlotte.
The Golden Eagles should be better on the offensive end this year with a solid base to work from, as long as the QB situation works itself out. But, the defense could still be a problem, which will hold this team back from winning more than five Games.
2015 Southern Miss Football Schedule
Sept. 5 vs. Mississippi State
Sept. 12 vs. Austin Peay
Sept. 19 at Texas State
Sept. 26 at Nebraska
Oct. 3 vs. North Texas
Oct. 9 at Marshall
Oct. 17 vs. UTSA
Oct. 24 at Charlotte
Oct. 31 vs. UTEP
Nov. 14 at Rice
Nov. 21 vs. Old Dominion
Nov. 28 at Louisiana Tech