'Bring Your Own Juice': Blake Anderson Warns Southern Miss Against Letdown at ULM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Blake Anderson was happy for his team and proud of the way his guys played in a 35-31 win over a good Louisiana team on Homecoming, ending a five-game losing streak.

He gave his players exactly one day to enjoy the victory, but by Monday, the Southern Miss head coach was done with the celebrating.

"Well, food tastes better, and the bed's a little bit softer, but like I said, that's over," Anderson said. "We cannot let ourselves even think that way. We've got so much work left to do. We're not even close to being where we want to be. It's a great win, and we needed it desperately, and I'm glad that everybody got it. Homecoming weekend, everything.

"… Happy about it? Yes. Came at a great time? Yes. Go to work. It's that simple."

'We've Been Here Before'

Southern Miss Football — Southern Miss wide receiver Davis Dalton (11) makes an incredible catch for a first down at Tulane. | Josh House

Anderson doesn't have to guess about what a letdown looks like for this team. He watched one happen earlier this season.

After a competitive loss at Tulane where Southern Miss had every opportunity to win, Anderson said the Golden Eagles walked out of that game believing they had turned the corner. Instead, the mistakes piled right back up the following weekend in a 28-point loss to UConn at The Rock.

"You got to fight complacency, you got to fight comfort, and you got to fight celebration," Anderson said. "I felt like we came out of Tulane feeling like, 'Hey, man, we're starting to play OK.' And then we reverted right back to a ton of mistakes.

"So we've been here before. Hopefully we learn from it, and we go play a better game Saturday. We're going to need to."

Anderson called the win over the Ragin' Cajuns the "most complete game we've played," but he also said there were "plenty of mistakes that are significant enough to lose that game."

"It's scary how much we still have to fix and how much better we can be," he said.

An Old Friend on the Other Sideline

football — Oct 4, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; ULM Warhawks head coach Bryant Vincent takes the field against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Saturday also means facing ULM head coach Bryant Vincent. Anderson said their friendship goes back to his first stint in Hattiesburg as Larry Fedora's offensive coordinator, when Vincent was coaching high school football in Mobile, Ala.

"Bryant Vincent is a good friend of mine. We've known each other forever," Anderson said. "I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for him. I think he's always found a way to do more with less when you look at all the different stops he's been at. The thing that stands out to me is how hard those dudes are playing, even though they hadn't won a game [until this past weekend]."

ULM defeated Troy 21-14 on the road over the weekend, scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter alone. It was the Warhawks' first win of the season after starting 0-6. Troy defeated Southern Miss 55-34 when the Golden Eagles visited the Trojans three weeks ago.

"You don't go beat Troy unless guys are still fighting, and they fight for him."

What ULM Brings to the Table

Anderson described the Warhawks' identity as "old-school, hard-nosed, hit-you-in-the-mouth football," with more tight ends, downhill runs and bootlegs than Louisiana showed last week.

Defensive coordinator Joe Bolden said ULM rotates its quarterbacks and uses its tight end "quite a bit, both in the run and throw game."

On the other side, offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo said ULM's defensive coordinator also coached at ULM when Cefalo and Anderson were at Arkansas State, and he expects a lot of movement up front.

"He always gives problems and a bunch of different looks, a bunch of different movement up front and blitzes and things like that," Cefalo said. "So their defense is playing with confidence, and we have a great test this weekend in front of us offensively."

Quarterback Landry Lyddy said ULM's defense has looked different from week to week.

"They kind of look different with every game that they've played this year. So we'll see," Lyddy said. "We'll be ready for whatever they throw at us."

Given that Southern Miss ran for nearly 300 yards against Louisiana, it wouldn't be a shock to see ULM load up the box on Saturday to try to keep that from happening two weekends in a row. If that does happen, and it proves effective early on, it could open up the passing game for Lyddy and Cefalo.

'Bring Your Own Juice'

Southern Miss Football, Arkansas State Football — Southern Miss vs. Arkansas State from Hattiesburg, MS on Saturday, October 17, 2026. | Josh House

Anderson expects a quiet road environment on Saturday. He also called the trip "a huge test for us to find out how we respond to a little bit of good."

"How do we respond to a road trip? How do we respond to a road trip where you're not going to have a ton of energy in the building?" Anderson said. "You're going to have to bring your own juice and want to play because you want to play.

"It gets harder and harder to win every week in this league, and this is no different."

It was easier for the Golden Eagles to finish strong against the Cajuns while fans at The Rock were as loud as they've been in recent memory. Although there will surely be a decent number of Southern Miss faithful in Monroe this weekend, the overall atmosphere will be dampened from what was experienced on homecoming, and Anderson wants his guys to be fully prepared for that.

Southern Miss and ULM kick off Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage leading up to kickoff.

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