Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, October 30
2:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
vs
University of Southern Mississippi
Preview: Q&A with Southern Miss Beat Writer Andrew Abadie
10/29/2021 11:30:00 AM | Football
Writer for The Pine Belt News breaks down the Golden Eagles for GBR.com
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — After playing a first half of the season that placed his team on the road way more often than inside the confines of Floyd Stadium, Rick Stockstill is elated, in his own way, to be home for three of his team's last five games this season.
A lot has to do with the...excitement? Challenges? Adversity? Of the Blue Raiders' road trip to East Hartford, Conn. last week, which featured multiple delays, missing busses and shortened timelines all-around. And of course, a 44-13 win on Friday night made those headaches a bit easier to manage.
"People don't realize how hard traveling is," Stockstill said. "Getting on buses, getting on planes, new hotels. All that stuff that plays a part on the wear and tear on your body. Five out of the first seven on the road, it wasn't a lot of fun."
With that in mind, homecoming has more than one meaning during this year's game, as the 1-6 Southern Miss Golden Eagles travel north to Murfreesboro for Saturday's 2:30 pm kickoff. Without a win against an FBS opponent, things have not gone perfectly for first year coach Will Hall, who took over for Jay Hopson after two years as the offensive coordinator at Tulane.
But he has put together a solid defense, holding the top mark in C-USA in opponent's first downs and fourth overall in total defense. If one excludes their 63 points given up at Alabama, they're even keeping teams off the scoreboard at a good rate, only allowing 22.67 points a game against teams not nicknamed the Crimson Tide.
"They've been in every game," running backs coach Jeff Beckles said of their defense. "What we've talked about is that we're going to do what we do. We've got some confidence in the run game, we've got some confidence in the zone game."
The other side of the ball, however? Southern Miss ranks dead last in nearly every single offensive category: points scored, passing yards, rushing yards, total yards. It's not totally in their control, four different quarterbacks have thrown passes this season due to injuries in the QB room. But it is definitely an area of weakness for a team looking to grab any sort of momentum in the C-USA West division.
Stockstill said to take those stats with a grain of salt, however, as the Golden Eagles still possess a lot of talent offensively, particularly at their skill positions. And coming off an open week, he expects some of the injuries that have hampered Southern Miss will be healed up come Saturday.
"They've done a lot of different things from week 1 to now," defensive line coach Dustin Royston said. "They've had some injuries at the quarterback position, which has forced them to be kind of multiple, so we're preparing for a lot of different things. We've got a game plan going into it, what we think they may do. But if they come out with something different, which they've done already (this season), we'll be ready to adjust to that."
To learn a bit more about where the Golden Eagles are heading into this week, GoBlueRaiders.com chatted with Pine Belt News Sports Editor Andrew Abadie about Southern Miss' program, and their outlook for the final stretch of C-USA play.
The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
1) Will Hall has certainly had a tough first season as the Golden Eagles coach after taking over for Jay Hopson following the 2020 season, but, at least from a distance, has seemed to connect well with the Southern Miss fan base. What has he brought from a coaching standpoint that's made him stand out early in his tenure?
The biggest difference I have seen between Hopson and Hall is (Hall's) ability to install his culture. It's been interesting to see how quickly players have bought into it. The term they use is AIE, which means attitude is everything.
Even with the season not going in their favor, the players have genuinely reiterated that they understand and believe that they are rebuilding the program. It was never like that when Hopson was leading the program. I think that's what has made them buy-in so quickly. Hall's culture is a reflection of his personality.
2) The QB carousel immediately jumps off the stat page when examining the Southern Miss offense, in large part due to the injury bug hitting the QB room. Has the open week given the coaching staff some options back at signal-caller? Regardless, who is likely to get the nod under center on Saturday, and what have you seen from them so far this season?
Hall said on Tuesday that Jake Lange would be the starter for this week. Lange was pulled early against UAB after having a minor ankle injury in a game that was already lost. Lange is the third starting quarterback for USM and was the starter in the Golden Eagles' previous two games.
3) Rick Stockstill and Reed Blankenship highlighted the speed Southern Miss has on the perimeter as a challenge for opposing defenses. Who are some of the skill guys that can threaten opponents when the offense does get into a rhythm?
One of the biggest threats is running back Frank Gore Jr., who has had glimpses of living up to his father's name. If Gore gets loose, he is hard to stop. Another name is Jason Brownlee, who is USM's top wide receiver. Brownlee has nursed an ankle injury all season, but he has regularly been the go-to choice for the red zone.
However, Brownlee and Gore haven't been able to be successful given the various problems Southern Miss has had with its offensive line, which ranks second to last in allowed sacks in the country.
4) The Golden Eagle defense has put together a solid season as a unit, particularly when it comes to keeping non-Crimson Tide opponents off the scoreboard. What has made Southern Miss so effective in that area, and who are some of the key players that make plays for defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong?
A lot of the credit goes to Austin Armstrong's scheme. He was not supposed to have a good defense, but he has found ways to use his players' strengths to fit his scheme. Even though teams have figured out how to beat USM's run defense, Armstrong has ensured that his group does not give up many touchdowns inside the red zone. USM's red zone defense is ranked in the top 25 of the country.
The biggest name that will be heard is defensive back Malik Shorts. Shorts has come up with multiple big plays for USM and is one of top leaders in C-USA in tackles and in passes defended.
5) Southern Miss fought through a tough slate in the first half of their season, with five of their first seven opponents currently holding winning records, but will face an easier run to end their season, where four of their final five opponents enter the weekend with losing records. What will be key for the Golden Eagles to get off on the right foot in Murfreesboro and put up better results down the stretch?
Outside of the Alabama game, Southern Miss' defense has been elite. One of the main problems is that the defense has gotten no support. USM's defense has had to be on the field for too long and is regularly put in a bad position. But the answer for USM is simple– score points. USM has averaged 14.1 points per game, and that's ranked third to last in the country. I would think if the Golden Eagles can bump their scoring average to 20 points, they should be able to pull out a couple of more games before the season ends.
A lot has to do with the...excitement? Challenges? Adversity? Of the Blue Raiders' road trip to East Hartford, Conn. last week, which featured multiple delays, missing busses and shortened timelines all-around. And of course, a 44-13 win on Friday night made those headaches a bit easier to manage.
"People don't realize how hard traveling is," Stockstill said. "Getting on buses, getting on planes, new hotels. All that stuff that plays a part on the wear and tear on your body. Five out of the first seven on the road, it wasn't a lot of fun."
With that in mind, homecoming has more than one meaning during this year's game, as the 1-6 Southern Miss Golden Eagles travel north to Murfreesboro for Saturday's 2:30 pm kickoff. Without a win against an FBS opponent, things have not gone perfectly for first year coach Will Hall, who took over for Jay Hopson after two years as the offensive coordinator at Tulane.
But he has put together a solid defense, holding the top mark in C-USA in opponent's first downs and fourth overall in total defense. If one excludes their 63 points given up at Alabama, they're even keeping teams off the scoreboard at a good rate, only allowing 22.67 points a game against teams not nicknamed the Crimson Tide.
"They've been in every game," running backs coach Jeff Beckles said of their defense. "What we've talked about is that we're going to do what we do. We've got some confidence in the run game, we've got some confidence in the zone game."
The other side of the ball, however? Southern Miss ranks dead last in nearly every single offensive category: points scored, passing yards, rushing yards, total yards. It's not totally in their control, four different quarterbacks have thrown passes this season due to injuries in the QB room. But it is definitely an area of weakness for a team looking to grab any sort of momentum in the C-USA West division.
Stockstill said to take those stats with a grain of salt, however, as the Golden Eagles still possess a lot of talent offensively, particularly at their skill positions. And coming off an open week, he expects some of the injuries that have hampered Southern Miss will be healed up come Saturday.
"They've done a lot of different things from week 1 to now," defensive line coach Dustin Royston said. "They've had some injuries at the quarterback position, which has forced them to be kind of multiple, so we're preparing for a lot of different things. We've got a game plan going into it, what we think they may do. But if they come out with something different, which they've done already (this season), we'll be ready to adjust to that."
To learn a bit more about where the Golden Eagles are heading into this week, GoBlueRaiders.com chatted with Pine Belt News Sports Editor Andrew Abadie about Southern Miss' program, and their outlook for the final stretch of C-USA play.
The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
1) Will Hall has certainly had a tough first season as the Golden Eagles coach after taking over for Jay Hopson following the 2020 season, but, at least from a distance, has seemed to connect well with the Southern Miss fan base. What has he brought from a coaching standpoint that's made him stand out early in his tenure?
The biggest difference I have seen between Hopson and Hall is (Hall's) ability to install his culture. It's been interesting to see how quickly players have bought into it. The term they use is AIE, which means attitude is everything.
Even with the season not going in their favor, the players have genuinely reiterated that they understand and believe that they are rebuilding the program. It was never like that when Hopson was leading the program. I think that's what has made them buy-in so quickly. Hall's culture is a reflection of his personality.
2) The QB carousel immediately jumps off the stat page when examining the Southern Miss offense, in large part due to the injury bug hitting the QB room. Has the open week given the coaching staff some options back at signal-caller? Regardless, who is likely to get the nod under center on Saturday, and what have you seen from them so far this season?
Hall said on Tuesday that Jake Lange would be the starter for this week. Lange was pulled early against UAB after having a minor ankle injury in a game that was already lost. Lange is the third starting quarterback for USM and was the starter in the Golden Eagles' previous two games.
3) Rick Stockstill and Reed Blankenship highlighted the speed Southern Miss has on the perimeter as a challenge for opposing defenses. Who are some of the skill guys that can threaten opponents when the offense does get into a rhythm?
One of the biggest threats is running back Frank Gore Jr., who has had glimpses of living up to his father's name. If Gore gets loose, he is hard to stop. Another name is Jason Brownlee, who is USM's top wide receiver. Brownlee has nursed an ankle injury all season, but he has regularly been the go-to choice for the red zone.
However, Brownlee and Gore haven't been able to be successful given the various problems Southern Miss has had with its offensive line, which ranks second to last in allowed sacks in the country.
4) The Golden Eagle defense has put together a solid season as a unit, particularly when it comes to keeping non-Crimson Tide opponents off the scoreboard. What has made Southern Miss so effective in that area, and who are some of the key players that make plays for defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong?
A lot of the credit goes to Austin Armstrong's scheme. He was not supposed to have a good defense, but he has found ways to use his players' strengths to fit his scheme. Even though teams have figured out how to beat USM's run defense, Armstrong has ensured that his group does not give up many touchdowns inside the red zone. USM's red zone defense is ranked in the top 25 of the country.
The biggest name that will be heard is defensive back Malik Shorts. Shorts has come up with multiple big plays for USM and is one of top leaders in C-USA in tackles and in passes defended.
5) Southern Miss fought through a tough slate in the first half of their season, with five of their first seven opponents currently holding winning records, but will face an easier run to end their season, where four of their final five opponents enter the weekend with losing records. What will be key for the Golden Eagles to get off on the right foot in Murfreesboro and put up better results down the stretch?
Outside of the Alabama game, Southern Miss' defense has been elite. One of the main problems is that the defense has gotten no support. USM's defense has had to be on the field for too long and is regularly put in a bad position. But the answer for USM is simple– score points. USM has averaged 14.1 points per game, and that's ranked third to last in the country. I would think if the Golden Eagles can bump their scoring average to 20 points, they should be able to pull out a couple of more games before the season ends.
Players Mentioned
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