Cowbell Corner

2025 Mississippi State football opponent preview, Game 1: Southern Miss

The Bulldogs face a unique challenge against a first-year head coach with almost an entirely new roster in the Golden Eagles.
Taylor Hodges|
Southern Miss football coach Charles Huff walks on the sideline during during the school's annual Spring Game at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Southern Miss football coach Charles Huff walks on the sideline during during the school's annual Spring Game at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium. | Matt Bush/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Southern Miss new coach Charles Huff has a tough challenge awaiting him in his first game leading the Golden Eagles.

Luckily for them, Huff has some experience leading smaller schools to big wins.

Huff was the coach at Marshall the last four seasons that featured a win over then-No. 8 Notre Dame in 2022 and Virginia Tech in 2023. He led the Herd to a bowl game win in 2022, too, and won 10 games last season.

However, he inherited a roster in need of a major overhaul and that’s what happened. Southern Miss brought in 54 transfers during the offseason.

That also presents a unique challenge for Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby and his staff. Both the offense and defense have to plan against a team that is playing its first game together for a first-year head coach.

That’s a recipe for an upset to happen. Here’s a look at the Bulldogs’ first opponent of the season:

Schedule

Southern Miss has an ideal start for a first-year coach. The Golden Eagles will play the first three games of the Charles Huff era and should win at least one, if not two. Just, probably not the season-opener against Mississippi State. The rest of schedule isn’t very surprising. They’ll have back-to-back away games against Georgia Southern and Louisiana in October, but beyond that its an alternating schedule of home and away games.

Outlook

After getting blown out at home by Toledo last season, no game for Mississippi State should be taken for granted. But Southern Miss isn’t the Toledo team from 2024. The Rockets were an experienced team coming off a bowl game the prior season. Southern Miss won one game last season. But then again, this is a matchup of instate rivals.

The Game

Date: Saturday, August 30
Time: 11 a.m.
TV: ESPN
Location: M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, Miss.

The Team

Head Coach: Charles Huff (1st season)
Offensive Coordinator: Blake Anderson (1st season)
Defensive Coordinator: Jason Semore (1st season)
2024 Record: 1-11 overall, 0-8 Conference USA
2024 Rankings: 108th in FPI

The School

Location: Hattiesburg, Miss.
Founded: 1910
Enrollment: 14,606
Nickname: Golden Eagles
School Colors: Black and gold
Mascot: Seymour d’Campus

The Program

Series History: 16-14, Mississippi State
Last Meeting: Mississippi State 41, Southern Miss 20 (2023)
Last Conference Title: 2011, Conference USA
Last Bowl Game Win: Lending Tree Bowl, 38-24 vs. Rice (2022)

The Schedule

August 31: vs. Mississippi State
September 6: vs. Jackson State
September 13: vs. Appalachian State
September 20: at Louisiana Tech
September 27: vs. Jacksonville State
October 9: at Georgia Southern*
October 18: at Louisiana*
October 25: vs. Louisiana-Monroe*
November 8: at Arkansas State*
November 15: vs. Texas State*
November 22: at South Alabama*
November 29: vs. Troy*

*Denotes a conference game

DAWG FEED:

Published
Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

Home/Football