'Prove Me Wrong': Former Southern Miss Linebacker Challenges Golden Eagles Ahead of Tulane

On Nasty Bunch & Beyond, Marchant Kenney recaps a frustrating loss to UConn and challenges Southern Miss to prove his doubts wrong against Will Hall and Tulane.

Southern Miss HC Blake Anderson leads his team out onto the field before Week 3's matchup against UConn. | Josh House

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Marchant Kenney has a challenge for Southern Miss ahead of Saturday's trip to Tulane: "Prove me wrong."

After a disappointing home loss to UConn on Saturday, the former Golden Eagles linebacker joined me Tuesday on the latest episode of Nasty Bunch & Beyond to recap what went wrong and also look ahead to the Battle for the Bell in New Orleans. Former Southern Miss head coach Will Hall mostly avoided talking about his Hattiesburg tenure during his Tulane football press conference this week, but Kenney says don't let that fool you: Hall will be looking to prove a point this Saturday, and the Golden Eagles must be prepared to meet that challenge to avoid being embarrassed at Yulman Stadium.

Southern Miss linebacker Mathis Haygood (13) and defensive lineman Nasim Cairo (5) combine on a tackle during a game against UConn at The Rock on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. | Josh House

Kenney, who is self-admittedly optimistic by nature most of the time, made it clear that he doesn't believe this Golden Eagles team can pull off the upset this weekend. That is a tough assessment to hear from someone who wore the black and gold and pulled off some of those upsets himself, but Kenney would love nothing more than to spend next week talking about how Southern Miss made him eat those words.

His challenge comes from wanting to see this program succeed and wanting this team to show more fire than it did Saturday night at The Rock. Even if the Golden Eagles can't defeat the Green Wave this weekend, there needs to be more fight, more resistance, than what we saw against UConn.

After going back and watching the film from that game, Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson took responsibility and acknowledged that his team has to find a way to do better going forward.

Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson looks on from the sideline during the Golden Eagles' game against UConn on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. | Josh House

"Just going back and watching it, the thing that's obvious is... we're just not where we need to be yet," Anderson said on Monday morning. "Told the staff and the players yesterday, and we'll reiterate again today, from head coach down, we've got to do a better job. We've got to find a way to grow these guys up quickly. We've got to prepare plans that simplify and make it easier for them to do what they need to do."

Southern Miss has several issues to address before heading to New Orleans. Turnovers, protection breakdowns and defense not being able to get off the field on third down all contributed to a night that never became the competitive game Anderson expected.

There is a new challenge at quarterback this week, too. Ethan Hampton's hand injury forced Southern Miss to turn to Landry Lyddy in the second half of the game against UConn. Lyddy is getting the starting nod this week at Tulane as well, with Hampton's injury still being evaluated, and is excited for the opportunity to show what he can do.

Southern Miss quarterback Landry Lyddy (18) with teammates Davis Dalton (11) and Steven Robinson (14) during Saturday's game against UConn at The Rock on Sept. 19, 2026. | Josh House

During this episode, my conversation with Kenney works through the disappointment of the latest home performance before turning toward a big opportunity to change the mood around the program and the fan base. Facing Hall adds emotion to an already meaningful rivalry, but Southern Miss still has to play well enough for that emotion to matter.

A win Saturday would give this team something substantial to build on for the rest of this season. It would also give fans a reason to feel better about where things are headed after a difficult two-week stretch. Most fans realize that it's not feasible for Anderson and his staff to fix everything in this program in less than one year on the job, but seeing signs of progress from week to week would help ease some anxiety.

Kenney has put his doubts out there, and he is leaving the response up to the players. For all the frustration shown in this episode, there is also a former Golden Eagle hoping his team gives him every reason to celebrate on Saturday night ... and maybe eat some crow for breakfast on Sunday morning.

Watch the full episode below for our UConn recap, Tulane preview and Kenney's full challenge to Southern Miss.