Battle for the Bell Rivalry is Important, But Southern Miss Has Its Own Problems to Fix First

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - It's Tulane week. It's the Battle for the Bell. And Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson knows exactly what that means to Golden Eagle fans.

But when Coach A was asked Monday morning how much the rivalry plays into this week's matchup, he gave an answer that probably summed up the Golden Eagles' current situation, being 1-2 and coming off two consecutive disheartening losses, better than anything else.

“I'd love to tell you that [the rivalry] means a lot," Anderson said, "but we got our own problems.”

‘We Got Our Own Problems’

Coach Blake Anderson and Southern Miss Football | Josh House

Coach Anderson wasn't dismissing the rivalry. Far from it. He knows plenty of Southern Miss fans have had this game circled. He knows what bringing the trophy home would mean, and Coach A made it clear Tulane will get everything Southern Miss has.

“I would love to win it and love it for our fans,” Anderson said. “I know there's tons of fans that got this one circled. And believe me, they're going to get everything we got thrown at them.” But after back-to-back losses, Coach Anderson's focus goes beyond the rivalry.

Southern Miss needs to figure out Southern Miss. “We got to find our team and start playing at the level that we are capable of playing,” Anderson said. “We got to start coaching at the level we're capable.”

Southern Miss Needs This One For Southern Miss

That's why Coach A sees Saturday as more than an opportunity to bring home the Bell. It's another opportunity for a team still searching for its identity to take a step forward. “We want to play this one because we need it desperately for us,” Anderson said.

Winning it would certainly come with some added benefits. “And bringing home the trophy would be awesome,” Coach Anderson said. Coach Blake Anderson quickly returned to the same theme that carried throughout Monday's press conference. Get better.

“It's the next opportunity for us to get better,” Anderson said. “And if we don't, we're going to be just as frustrated, and I don't want that.”

A Rivalry Southern Miss Has Controlled Historically

Southern Miss enters Saturday with a 24-10 advantage in the all-time series against Tulane, a rivalry that dates back to 1979. The Golden Eagles are 12-4 all-time against the Green Wave in New Orleans, where this year's Battle for the Bell will be played. The most recent meeting, however, belonged to Tulane.

The Green Wave came to Hattiesburg on Sept. 16, 2023, and left with a 21-3 victory. Southern Miss was held without a touchdown and managed just 202 yards of total offense. Andrew Stein's 28-yard field goal in the third quarter accounted for the Golden Eagles' only points of the afternoon.

Tulane has won three of the last four meetings, but Southern Miss' most recent trip to New Orleans ended differently. The Golden Eagles won 27-24 at Yulman Stadium in 2022. Ironically enough, that win was the biggest of former Southern Miss head coach Will Hall's tenure in Hattiesburg. Now Hall is the head coach of the Green Wave, which adds another interesting storyline to the rivalry.

For the first time in three years since their last meeting, the Bell is back on the line.

More Than The Bell

Southern Miss and Tulane don't need much help making a game mean something. The Bell takes care of that. For Coach A and the Golden Eagles, though, this one carries something else. It's another chance to start becoming the football team they believe they can be.

The Golden Eagles and Green Wave will kick off at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday night at Yulman Stadium. We'll be in New Orleans to recap everything that goes down in the Battle of the Bell, so stay tuned.

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