3 Big Things Southern Miss Football Must Do to Pull Off Upset at Auburn

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Positive feelings following Saturday's season-opening blowout win for Southern Miss aside, the fact remains that the Golden Eagles are entering this weekend's game at Auburn as massive underdogs. Even with that being the case, though, head coach Blake Anderson is confident in what his team and do and is looking to shock the world on Saturday.

“The goal is to win,” Anderson said. “We’re going to put together a game plan that fits our strengths and attacks any weaknesses we can find in their roster, personnel, or plan. We’re going to do everything we can to win the game.”

It has been a decade since the Golden Eagles defeated an SEC team on the gridiron (2016 at Kentucky), and it's been even longer since they last beat Auburn in football. The last time Southern Miss took down the Tigers was on Oct. 5, 1991, in a low-scoring 10-9 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

With all that being said, though, there are some ways Southern Miss can end those streaks this weekend. Here are three big things that could help the Golden Eagles' cause at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Eags' O-Line Must Control Line of Scrimmage

Southern Miss Football — The Southern Miss offensive line opens up a massive gap at the line of scrimmage during a 49-3 season-opening win over Alcorn State. | Josh House

All throughout the fall, we talked about how this year's offensive line depth could be key to Southern Miss' offense reaching its full potential. We saw glimpses of what that high-quality depth could look like this season during Saturday's season opener, but now the big boys up front will get their first big-boy test against a very athletic and talented Auburn defensive front.

The Golden Eagles' offensive line had about as good a first impression as head coach Blake Anderson and offensive line coach Sean Coughlin could've asked for in Saturday's win over Alcorn. Southern Miss running backs, led by redshirt-junior Steven Robinson, ran for 317 yards in Week 1. You don't get that kind of production on the ground without your offensive line having a field day at the line of scrimmage, and that's exactly what happened.

The question is: can the running attack be effective vs. Auburn too? Maybe not to the tune of 5.6 rushing yards per carry and six touchdowns, but if the Golden Eagles can consistently get enough of a push to chip off a couple of yards at a time while avoiding a loss of yards in the backfield, that will put the offense in a better position to make winning plays. Going into a game like this, you can't give a team like Auburn any gifts. If the Golden Eagles' offensive line can stay composed and disciplined in Saturday's hostile environment, the rest of the team will follow their lead.

Another thing to look for here is whether or not the Southern Miss offensive line can block well enough to avoid a ton of pass deflections at the line of scrimmage. Auburn's lengthy defense had a handful of those during its 17-16 Week 1 win over Baylor. Even if Golden Eagle receivers can do a good job getting open this weekend, it won't matter much if quarterback Ethan Hampton can't get the ball to them.

Hampton Must Be Sharp and Avoid Turnovers

Hampton will be the first to tell you that he didn't have his best stuff during Saturday's season opener, but in his defense, he was also fresh off a bone bruise injury to his throwing hand that had essentially kept him out of the last two weeks of fall camp leading into Week 1 game prep.

Hampton completed 13 of 23 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Those numbers were fine, especially considering how the Golden Eagles' running game produced 317 yards on the ground, but more than likely, Hampton will need to take his game up a notch or two in order for Southern Miss to have a real chance at winning this game.

“I missed a couple easy throws, which is frustrating," Hampton said. "Just finishing out to the edge. Threw a few on the ground, and that's where I've got to get better. And throwing a little high across the middle, and we end up throwing a pick. Those are things that I got to sharpen up, and I got to sharpen it up fast, and I will. And I think I just got to get to our playmakers' hands, right? And I did that a few times today.”

One encouraging sign from Saturday's blowout win was the chemistry Hampton displayed with wide receiver Mario Sanders, who was also his teammate at Illinois last season. The two showed glimpses of that chemistry during the team's first fall camp scrimmage before Hampton suffered his hand injury, and it appears that the connection is very real.

With that being said, though, Hampton might have to spread the ball out a little more this weekend against Auburn than he did against Alcorn State. We saw a handful of explosive plays made by wide receivers Jaylen Himes, AJ Little and Eelijah Singleton throughout fall camp, so getting those guys a little more involved would go a long way toward keeping the Auburn secondary guessing.

By now, anyone who keeps up with our work here at Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI knows Hampton's history with Northern Illinois from two years ago, when he helped his former team defeat No. 5 Notre Dame on the road. Was that game his best statistical performance? No. But he didn't turn the ball over, and he stayed composed in those big moments down the stretch. That kind of experience could matter on Saturday.

And don't get us wrong, Auburn is a good football team, but they aren't on the same level as that 2024 Notre Dame team was. Crazier things have happened in college football.

Bolden's Defense Must Find Ways to Pressure Auburn's QB

Southern Miss DL Zachariah Keith celebrating a key third-down stop against Alcorn State inside the Rock. | Josh House

As great as the Golden Eagles' defense was overall in Week 1, highlighted by Kobi Albert's hat-trick interception performance, one area of improvement that would help Southern Miss' upset bid chances is pressure from the front seven. The Golden Eagles ended up with six tackles for losses, including one sack, against Alcorn State last weekend, but those numbers for defensive coordinator Joe Bolden's unit will probably have to be higher if they want to rattle Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown.

During Auburn's win over Baylor last weekend, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior quarterback was sacked five times and threw three interceptions. And yet, the Tigers still found a way to win the game.

Although this year's Golden Eagles team is completely different from the 2024 one, Southern Miss fans might remember Brown from his time as the starting quarterback at South Florida, when he led his team to a 49-24 victory in Hattiesburg at the tail end of former USM head coach Will Hall's tenure.

If the Golden Eagles' defensive front can make life uncomfortable for Brown, the chances of keeping the game close and pulling off a potential upset will increase. If not, though, the pressure will rise for Hampton, offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo and the Southern Miss offense to score a lot more to keep pace.

Southern Miss will have very little margin for error Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and nobody is pretending otherwise. But if the Golden Eagles can put together a clean performance with minimal penalties or turnovers, they should at least give themselves a chance to make things interesting deep into the game.

Anderson says the goal is to win, not simply show up, compete and bring home a $1.85 million check. While pulling off this kind of upset will require Southern Miss' best football, college football has given us plenty of reminders over the years that sometimes having a chance is all you need.

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