3 Big Takeaways From Southern Miss Football's 'Unacceptable' Performance at Troy

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – There is no sugarcoating what happened to Southern Miss at Troy on Tuesday night in the national spotlight. The Golden Eagles were embarrassed at Veterans Memorial Stadium, losing 55-34 and dropping to 1-4 after their fourth consecutive loss.

Even that final score does not fully capture how poorly Southern Miss played in its Sun Belt opener. Three turnovers on drives that reached the red zone undercut the offense, while the defense surrendered 662 total yards, including 437 on the ground. Unbelievably, the Golden Eagles gave up more points and yards than they did in their Week 2 loss at Auburn.

For a team that was coming off a competitive showing at Tulane, Tuesday felt like a significant step backward. Southern Miss had reason to believe it could carry that improvement into conference play. Instead, it left Troy with familiar problems and more questions about when, or if, those issues will ever get corrected for this season.

Southern Miss Football, Mario Sanders — Southern Miss WR Mario Sanders catches a touchdown at Troy. | Russ Cloy Photography

Head coach Blake Anderson did not try to explain away the performance.

“Clearly just completely disappointed with how we played, especially early," Anderson said. "[It's] obvious that just because you play good one week doesn't mean you're going to play good the next week. You got to show up and play. And we did not do that. No excuses, bottom line, from top down. We just did not play well. We didn't coach well, didn't play well. The only thing positive I think we did is guys didn't quit playing.”

That willingness to keep competing matters if a breakthrough is going to eventually come. But five games into the season, Southern Miss hasn't yet found a way to learn from the recurring mistakes that have kept them from winning a game against an FBS opponent. Here are three big takeaways from the loss to Troy.

Eagles Desparately Need Faster Starts

Southern Miss Football — Southern Miss fell to Tulane 24-21 on Saturday night in New Orleans. | Josh House

Troy took control early, building a 17-0 first-quarter lead and a 31-7 advantage by halftime. Southern Miss spent the rest of the night trying to climb out of a hole it had done little to fight out of. Anderson acknowledged that getting the Golden Eagles ready to compete starts with him.

Through five games, including the season opener against Alcorn State, the Golden Eagles have yet to score first. The offense has shown life over the last two weeks, but the elusive fast start remains a thorn in the side of offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo. Landry Lyddy and Mario Sanders have shown the potential to be a dynamic quarterback-receiver duo, but for whatever reason, the Golden Eagles haven't been able to get anything going on their initial drives.

“We clearly were not [ready]. That comes to me. I've got to get us ready,” Anderson said. “I've got to do a better job of getting us here ready to play at the level we're supposed to play at to give ourselves a chance to be competitive in this league. In that area, that falls on me.”

That's the appropriate place for the accountability to begin. Players obviously have to execute, but the staff is responsible for putting them in situations they understand and can handle. When breakdowns happen across multiple phases, the response has to go beyond just asking the team to play harder, and that's what Anderson and his staff are planning to do.

“Staff-wise, we got to put them in a better position,” Anderson said. “And then we got to execute and tackle defensively. We got to protect the football on offense. It was across the board. I don't think there was a phase that played well.”

'Unacceptable' Defense That Must Be Addressed

The most glaring concern on Tuesday night was Southern Miss' inability to stop the run.

Troy quarterback Goose Crowder finished with 225 passing yards, 145 rushing yards and four total touchdowns. His rushing performance nearly matched the 156 career rushing yards he brought into the game.

Southern Miss repeatedly lost at the line of scrimmage and missed many tackles, 33 of them to be exact. Those problems allowed the Trojans to dictate the game while leaving the Golden Eagles with little margin for error on offense.

“It's unacceptable. They know it. Players know it. Coaches know it,” Anderson said. “This week, at no point did we ever control the line of scrimmage. We tackled really poorly. We were outleveraged and had a ton of busts.”

Joe Bolden, Southern Miss — Southern Miss defensive coordinator Joe Bolden will be looking for many defensive answers over the next week and a half after Southern Miss' 55-34 loss at Troy. | Josh House

The only potential solution to the problem Anderson could come up with, at least in those initial moments after the loss at Troy, was to simplify things for his players so that there weren't as many missed assignments. Ideally, you'd like your players to catch on and eliminate the mistakes on their own with time and more experience, but after four consecutive weeks with the same end results, changes have to be made.

“We've got to simplify. If that's what it takes, to simplify the calls, make sure guys know what to do,” Anderson said. “But play by play, we're going to dissect it and find out where the issue is.”

That is a tangible starting point. Southern Miss needs players who know their responsibilities and can react decisively while finishing tackles when they get to the ball. Until those basics improve, offensive progress will struggle to make up the difference.

There's Still Hope For This Season

Amid all the dismay from Tuesday's game, there is still hope for this Golden Eagles team to turn things around, believe it or not. Most people will focus on the box scores and the record, but at the end of the day, this team has talented players who are capable of competing in the Sun Belt. They have shown us glimpses of that. Talent isn't the issue. Consistency is the issue.

If Anderson and his staff can simplify things enough for the players to improve their consistency, perhaps that will allow the Golden Eagles to get off to better starts and be in better positions at the end of games.

“There's only one answer, and that's self-reflect. Fix what you can fix. See how you can bring positive to the table. Coaches, from head coach all the way down. See how we can correct mistakes. Pointing fingers does no good. If we're going to point fingers, it needs to be inward, starting with me. We don't have a choice. We’ve got to keep fighting and working to get better," Anderson said.

"We've seen good football at times, albeit limited, and you know, what other choice [is there]? You throw in [the towel]? You quit? That's just not who these guys are going to be. And you saw that they kept playing, just didn't play well at any point. They’ve got heart. They're good kids. They want to do what we're asking to do. They're just struggling to get there at this point. So we’ve got to help them. So that's the message. I ain't going to give up. I'm going to show up ready to go, seeing how we can, in any way, shape or form help make this easier, grow them up faster, give them better opportunities to be who they want to be, and I think they'll show up and work for us.”

Before this season started, I predicted this Southern Miss team to finish the regular season 6-6. If that doesn't happen, I will be the first to admit I was wrong. For better or worse, I'm staying on that ship until it's completely submerged underwater. This team has enough pieces to win some football games, and self-inflicted mistakes are the biggest difference between 1-4 and 3-2 right now. The margin for error has narrowed, but perhaps that will help this team's focus narrow as well.

Believing this team can turn things around also means expecting more than what it showed at Troy. With seven games remaining, Anderson and the Golden Eagles still have time to turn those flashes of potential into something fans can count on each week. That starts with a cleaner, more complete performance against Arkansas State at The Rock on Oct. 17 and giving a frustrated fan base a real reason to believe again.

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