Roadrunners are on the road against Southern Miss this weekend looking to get to six wins for the fifth time in program history
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Fresh off a record setting win against UTEP last weekend the UTSA Roadrunners will hit the road this weekend. The destination is Hattiesburg, Mississippi where the Southern Miss Golden Eagles await. The Roadrunners and Golden Eagles will battle it out at M.M. Roberts Stadium at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
For the first time since November 18, 2017 UTSA will enter a football game needing a win to reach the plateau of six wins in a season. On that day the Roadrunners defeated Marshall 9-7 in the Alamodome.
This year that chance will come against a Golden Eagles team that has a long history. Most of that history has been successful.
Southern Miss first opened in 1910 as the Mississippi Normal College. Much like a certain teachers college in San Marcos, Texas, the Mississippi version has undergone several name changes. In 1924 the school in Hattiesburg changed its name to Mississippi State Teachers College. Just 16 years later, in 1940, the name changed again to Mississippi Southern College. In 1962 the powers-that-be in Mississippi settled on the University of Southern Miss.
Two years after opening as a school, Mississippi Normal fielded their first football team. Just like the school, the football team went through a rolodex of names. The first few years saw the team known as the Tigers and the Normalites. In 1924, possibly to coincide with the school name change, the football team became known as the Yellow Jackets.
In 1940 the team name was changed to the Confederates. That name didn't last nearly as long as the Gulfport oddsmakers might have thought. By 1941 the name had changed to Southerners. Finally in 1972 the students decided to go with Golden Eagles and that name has stuck to this day.
If Southern Miss had issues with picking a name for the school and the athletic teams, they haven't had too many issues with fielding good football teams. In their 103 plus seasons of football the Golden Eagles have had 71 winning seasons. At 2-6 this season the Golden Eagles are facing what would be just their 15th losing season since the end of World War II.
Southern Miss football was voted the Division II National Champions by the UPI in 1958 and 1962. Notable alumni of the Golden Eagles include Ray Guy, for whom the college Punter of the Year award is named and Brett Favre who made a name for himself in the NFL playing clear across the country in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
It's safe to say this year's Golden Eagles could use both Ray Guy and Brett Favre.
Roadrunners can snap three-game losing streak against Southern Miss
UTSA hasn't defeated Southern Miss since 2016, losing the last three by a combined score of 94-63. The Roadrunners have also never won in Hattiesburg, going 0-2 at Roberts Stadium. This is certainly a good time to snap those losing streaks.
The Golden Eagles enter this week with a 2-6 record and are on their third head coach of the season. Jay Hopson was fired earlier in the season. His replacement Scotty Walden left after four games to take the head coaching job at Austin Peay. Enter Tim Billings as the third coach.
Southern Miss started the season 0-3 before beating North Texas in the fourth game. The Golden Eagles then had two games postponed and lost two in a row before winning a non-conference game against North Alabama. Last week Southern Miss lost to Western Kentucky 10-7.
Offensively the Golden Eagles have thrown for 1649 yards (206.13 per game) and run for 1210 yards (151.3 per game). Opponents of Southern Miss have gotten 1975 yards passing (246.8 per game) and 1412 yards rushing (176.5 per game) so far this season.
Before being lost to the season to injury Golden Eagle quarterback Noah Abraham completed 97 of his 149 attempts for 1224 yards and seven touchdowns. Abraham also threw four interceptions this season. Last season Abraham threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns in the win at UTSA.
Filling in for Abraham will be one of either Trey Lowe or Tate Whatley. Lowe has completed 23 of 40 passes for 224 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Whatley has completed 15 of 26 passes for 188 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The leading receiver for Southern Miss is Jason Brownlee with 29 catches for 474 yards and four touchdowns.
The Southern Miss running game is led by Frank Gore, Jr. Gore has carried the ball 99 times for 527 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Perkins leads the Golden Eagles with six rushing touchdowns.
On special teams Southern Miss will have Griffin Fleming handle the punts. Fleming has averaged 39.8 yards per punt this season. The Golden Eagles kicker Briggs Bourgeois has made nine of thirteen field goal attempts this season with a long of 49 yards.
UTSA will enter Saturday riding high after their blowout victory over UTEP in which the Roadrunners racked up 600 yards of offense. The Roadrunners probably won't hit 600 yards again this weekend. It is possible that UTSA has another good weekend on offense with Sincere McCormick and a number of offensive linemen returning to action.
The Roadrunner defense seemed to handle the absence of Tyrone Nix well on Saturday night as they held UTEP off the board in the second half. Having another week under the adjusted defensive staff could be a boost for the Roadrunners. On top of that they will be facing a Southern Miss team without the quarterback who has historically done well against UTSA.
This is probably the best chance UTSA has had to get a win in Hattiesburg. In order to get the win the Roadrunners will have to make things uncomfortable for whoever is in at QB for the Golden Eagles. Containing Frank Gore Jr. will also be an important piece of any chance of victory for UTSA.
When UTSA has the ball it will be important that they maintain ball security. Southern Miss has forced a turnover in every game this season except for last week against Western Kentucky. The turnovers suffered against UTEP didn't cost UTSA in the long run. That might not be the case if that happens on Saturday.
Being so close to a sixth win should give UTSA a boost to add to the confidence gained from the pasting of UTEP last week. All season long the Roadrunners have shown signs that things are getting better. This week they add to the growing belief with their first win at Southern Miss.
PREDICTION: UTSA 35 Southern Miss 21
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way
