Win over Marshall huge for Southern Miss' bowl prospects, but there's work to be done
Tyler ClevelandHATTIESBURG — After Southern Miss beat UT-San Antonio 27-17 on Oct. 20, the Golden Eagles had a fairly navigable path to bowl eligibility.
The Golden Eagles (4-4, 3-2 C-USA) just needed to take care of business against Charlotte, and then the inside track to six wins was a victory over Marshall in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles' loss to Charlotte turned Saturday's home game against the Herd a must-win, and that made the 26-24 victory all the sweeter.
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But there still work to be done and an outside shot at getting to six wins.
Southern Miss has three games to win two, unless the department works out a deal to schedule a 12th game to replace the Sept. 15 game at Appalachian State, which was washed away by Hurricane Florence.
That scenario of adding another game took a big hit Friday, when South Carolina and Akron — two schools that were possible candidates for a 12th opponent — agreed to play each other in Columbia, S.C. on Dec. 1.
There may be other options on the table, but Southern Miss athletic director Jon Gilbert is playing things close to the vest. Any such move, he has said, would have to both make financial sense and have the players' best interests at heart.
As far as coach Jay Hopson and his Golden Eagles are concerned, that situation will have to work itself out. Their focus remains on the three games currently on the schedule. For this youth-heavy Southern Miss squad, winning two out of those three and earning a bowl bid would get the program's momentum rolling again after a slow start to this season.
In the next two, the Golden Eagles are in for a real challenge.
Southern Miss is going to be a heavy underdog in Birmingham next week against UAB. After mauling UTSA 52-3 Saturday, the Blazers (8-1, 6-0 C-USA) are allowing an average 12.3 points a game, earning them the designation as the nation's best scoring defense.
La. Tech (6-3, 4-1 C-USA) will provide another big challenge on Nov. 17 in Hattiesburg, but the Golden Eagles have played particularly well at home. The Bulldogs suffered a humbling 45-3 loss to Mississippi State Saturday in Starkville.
Winning at Texas-El Paso in the season finale is no gimme. But USM will be heavily favored, considering the Miners (1-8, 1-4 C-USA) picked up their first win with a 36-24 win over Rice Saturday.
There's still a scenario where Southern Miss could win Conference USA's Western Division, but the even if USM does its part, the stars would still have to align. The Golden Eagles would need to beat UAB, Louisiana Tech and UTEP to close out the season and they'd need Middle Tennessee to beat the UAB on Nov. 24 and North Texas to lose to either Old Dominion, Florida Atlantic or UTSA.
That scenario would leave the Blazers and Eagles tied for first at 6-2 in the league, with Southern Miss holding the tie-breaker.
Winning next week in Birmingham looks like a monumental task, but Hopson still believes in the talent of his young players. If Abraham gets healthy and the Golden Eagles can avoid costly mistakes, take advantage of opportunities and play as well as they did Saturday defensively, they still feel like they can compete with anyone.
"I thought we did a great job swarming the football and creating turnovers," Hopson said. "It was a good team win, and we knew Marshall was a good football team. You have to give these guys all the credit in the world for their fight. I still believe this is a very special group.”