2011 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Football Preview

For the 17th consecutive season, the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles posted a winning record. That’s a tremendous accomplishment to be sure, but the 2010 season could have been so much more for a program that continues to own a just-miss reputation, an almost-but-not-quite label that is perpetuating frustrations in and around Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Southern Miss finished a respectable 8-5 last year. Yet, just 11 points separated the Golden Eagles from victories in four of their five losses. USM, which has not reached the Conference USA Championship Game since 2006, is always knocking at the door of the East Division flag, but cannot break through under current coach Larry Fedora. The raging irony here is that Fedora was hired by the school’s athletic director, Richard Giannini, to replace former (and highly successful) coach Jeff Bower precisely so that the Golden Eagles could attain the proverbial next level. Yet, Fedora is largely replicating what Bower did in the Magnolia State. Mind you, Bower didn’t perform poorly; the larger point here is that Fedora is merely replicating Bower’s decent but not spectacular body of work. USM simply can’t get over the hump; the Golden Eagles lose a few games they simply shouldn’t. A 31-21 thumping of eventual East Division champion Central Florida (on the road, no less) showed what this team could do, but that only made two shootout losses at home – 50-49 to UAB and 44-43 to East Carolina – robbed USM of the ability to claim an East title. It’s not as though the Golden Eagles’ defense was horrible throughout 2010; it was only horrible when it could least afford to play poorly. Had this team managed to get just a handful of defensive stands in key situations, it would have turned that 8-5 record into 10-3 with a chance to capture a conference championship in game number 14 (the C-USA title game would have been an added game on top of 12 regular-season games plus a bowl).

Southern Miss returns eight starters from an offense that scored 40 or more points in seven of its last nine games in 2010. Quarterback Austin Davis threw for over 3,000 yards while tossing 20 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Two of the team’s top three wide receivers also return. The Golden Eagle offense put up nearly 6,000 yards of total offense in 2010. As with most of its C-USA rivals, offense is not the problem. Southern Miss has done something to try to spark a defensive resurgence after losing the close – and high-scoring – games it played last season. Sure, USM held five of its first seven opponents under 20 points last season, but it conceded at least 30 points in four of its last five outings, so Fedora decided to pull the trigger in changing his defensive staff. Dan Disch, who had spent the previous six seasons at Illinois, was hired to take over the defense in Hattiesburg. Seven starters return to campus and Disch will have a strong dose of experienced players to work with.

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The Golden Eagles face just one BCS opponent in non-league play ( Virginia), with playing Navy and Louisiana Tech also on the docket. The Golden Eagles won’t be facing either Tulsa or Houston in the regular season, a definite advantage in the East-West divisional crossover portion of the C-USA schedule. Southern Mississippi will host Central Florida while the Golden Eagles will travel to face East Carolina.