Jackson Free Press

Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Head coach: Todd Monken (4-20 overall record all at USM, entering third season)

2014-2015 record: 3-9 (1-7 CUSA), season ended with a 45-24 loss to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Blazers' last game until 2017

Stadium: M. M. Roberts Stadium

Last Season Recap

The rebuild job after the sudden bottom-dropping at USM hasn't been an overnight fix. The Golden Eagles started last season at 2-2 after losing to Mississippi State and Alabama, but the team beat Alcorn State University and Appalachian State University.

USM lost two straight games to Rice University and Middle Tennessee State University before picking up its final win of the season against the University of North Texas. Southern Miss finished the season on a five-game losing streak as injuries and lack of depth caught up with it.

There was only one close game in that losing streak: a two-point loss to the University of Texas at San Antonio on the road. USM lost to MTSU 31-37 in the only other close loss. It was a struggle to score most of the season for the Golden Eagles. They only broke the 30-point scoring mark once in a loss to MTSU. Six times, Southern Miss failed to score more than 20 points.

The good news is the Golden Eagles more than doubled their win total to three after just one in the 2013 season. The bad news? After going 0-12 in 2012, it looks like the school still has a long way to go to get back to the top of CUSA.

This Season Overview

Southern Miss Head Coach Todd Monken will have a nice core returning on offense this season. The Golden Eagles return most of their offensive line, and junior quarterback Nick Mullens is back.

Whoever is at quarterback will have weapons in several returning receivers, including wide receivers Mike Thomas, Casey Martin, and Tyre'oune Holmes, who is back from injuries. Southern Miss also brings back a nice stable of running backs, including Ito Smith, Tez Parks, George Payne and Jalen Richard. None of the four returning RBs proved to take the lead in the group.

On defense, USM will have to hope junior-college players grow up quickly and fill the holes. The Golden Eagles lost star Rakeem Nunez-Roches, who left early for the NFL. One place the Golden Eagles might be strong on defense is in the secondary with a trio of sophomores returning in Jomez Applewhite, Cornell Armstrong and Picasso Nelson Jr.

Senior Brian Anderson and junior Elijah Parker will be back to anchor the linebacker unit. Defensive end Dylan Bradley and preseason All-CUSA senior nose tackle Michael Smith need to be playmakers on the defensive line.

2015 Outlook

Things will get a lot better for the Golden Eagles if they can improve their play in the trenches. Southern Miss has struggled to block on offense, stop the run and pass rush on defense. The team also needs to protect the ball on offense and force turnovers on defense. Right now, just doing the simple things will help USM best. It will also help if Mullens or Matthews plays like a star.

Prediction

This season will be a success if USM wins five or more games. That would mean the Golden Eagles are knocking on the door to being back again. This season will be disaster if Southern Miss fails to win three or more games. At this point, USM can't give the ground it has gained to have any hope of getting back to the top of conference.