Southern Miss Football Preview: Everything You Need to Know Before Alcorn State Season Opener

After what seemed like a long off-season for Golden Eagle football, it is finally game week in Hattiesburg.

The back of a Southern Miss quarterback John White's helmet at fall camp practice in Hattiesburg on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026 | Josh House

A little over 114 years ago, on August 30, 1912, the Mississippi Normal Normalites beat the Hattiesburg Boy Scouts 30-0 to start a long road of ever-evolving football tradition in the Hub City. That team, now known as the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, has won over 670 games, sent over 100 players to the pros, and has seen 24 head coaches. The 24th head coach, Blake Anderson, starts his first full season this Saturday at The Rock against the Alcorn State Braves.

Before we get into previewing the Golden Eagles' Week 1 opponent, depth chart and injury report, let's take a quick look back at last season's resurgence, as well as Anderson's impressive coaching history.

Looking Back at What Southern Miss Accomplished in 2025

Southern Miss Golden Eagles head coach Charles Huff reacts with players and staff after the game against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss. on Sept. 27, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The 2025 Southern Miss football season saw former Marshall and current Memphis head coach Charles Huff in his only year as head coach of the Golden Eagles. Huff's team suffered an early-season loss to Mississippi State at home before recovering with a 38-20 win over yet another in-state rival, the Jackson State Tigers. Southern Miss finished their out-of-conference schedule 2-2, with a win against Jacksonville State and a loss in the Rivalry in Dixie to Louisiana Tech.

Southern Miss then faced their usual Sun Belt West opponents, as well as Appalachian State and Georgia Southern from the Sun Belt East, finishing with a 5-3 record in those games. Their 7-5 record on the year earned the Golden Eagles their first winning season and bowl bid since the 2022 season under current Tulane head coach Will Hall.

The Golden Eagles traveled to Caesars Superdome in New Orleans to face the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Shortly before USM's bowl bid was announced, however, it was also announced that Huff would be accepting a $10 million, five-year contract to become the 26th head football coach of the Memphis Tigers. Huff's offensive coordinator, Blake Anderson, was subsequently promoted to interim head coach for the bowl game before ultimately becoming the full-time head coach less than a week later. Southern Miss would fall to the Hilltoppers 26-17.

Introducing: Golden Eagles HC Blake Anderson

Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson during his post-scrimmage press conference on Saturday, August 22, 2026. | Josh House

Blake Anderson was first introduced into the Golden Eagle world way back in 2008, when new head coach Larry Fedora brought him in as the run-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2010, Coach Anderson was promoted to offensive coordinator. During the 2010 season, USM had one of the highest scoring offenses in the country, averaging 36.9 points per game. He was also the chief playcaller for Southern Miss in 2011, serving as OC and QB coach, when the Golden Eagles defeated an unbeaten, Top 10 Houston team in the Conference USA Championship.

When Coach Fedora was hired by North Carolina in 2012, Anderson followed, and his squad broke UNC Tar Heels records, averaging 485.6 yards per game. In 2013, Anderson's offense averaged 432.4 yards per game.

Southern Miss head coach Blake Anderson ahead of the Golden Eagles' first fall camp scrimmage on Saturday. | Josh House

At the close of the 2013 season, Anderson was announced as the head coach of the Arkansas State Red Wolves, a position he held from 2014 to 2020. The Red Wolves played in six consecutive bowl games and won two Sun Belt Conference Championships with Anderson at the helm. In 2021, Blake Anderson was hired by the Utah State Aggies, who played in three consecutive bowl games and won the 2021 Mountain West Championship. Utah State ultimately severed ties with Anderson in 2024.

When Charles Huff was hired at Southern Miss at the end of 2024, Anderson made what some Golden Eagle faithful have called "a long-awaited return." The Golden Eagles put up an average of 28 points per game and averaged 401.7 yards per game during the 2025 season.

In a one-on-one interview with Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI during Sun Belt Football Media Days, Anderson acknowledged how much work this year's team has cut out for it, but he also said he's "a little bit of a psycho about competing for championships." Many critics are betting against the Golden Eagles in 2026, but Anderson has already laid a solid foundation to build on.

What to Know About This Week's Opponent: Alcorn State

Alcorn State's Head Coach Cedric Thomas celebrates a play during the game against Jackson State in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Southern Miss will start the 2026 season against the Alcorn State Braves, led by third-year head coach Cedric Thomas. Alcorn State and Southern Miss first played in 2009, when the Golden Eagles won 52-0 and set a then-attendance record of 36,232 at Renasant Stadium. Since 2009, the Golden Eagles have a 4-0 record against the Braves, with their last meeting in a 40-14 USM win in Hattiesburg in 2023.

Alcorn State played in Week 0 of the 2026 season, racking up a 56-7 win over Miles, with senior QB Jaylon Tolbert passing for five touchdowns and 265 yards. The Braves' defense was led by Eric Thomas, Jr., who collected six total tackles against Miles, and TJ Jasper, who led the team with four solo tackles.

Despite Miles being a Division II team, the opponent Alcorn State faced should still not be looked down upon. And despite this matchup being an FCS-FBS matchup, a loss for Southern Miss will unfortunately set our season's trajectory against many a sportswriter who has predicted the Golden Eagles to sharply drop from last year's success.

Southern Miss' Week 1 Depth Chart + What to Expect

Depth Chart for the 2026 USM-Alcorn State Matchup | Southern Miss Athletics

The Golden Eagles enter the 2026 season with more than 70 new players and many battles for starting positions. One of the biggest has been the race for the quarterback.

Southern Miss adds Ethan Hampton, a transfer from Illinois to the rotation for quarterback, along with USM veterans Landry Lyddy and John White. But the question all throughout the offseason has been "Who will be our quarterback?" And Coach Anderson says he still needs more time, and has elaborated it may take until game day for the decision to be made.

Hampton suffered a bone bruise on his throwing hand at the end of the second week of fall camp, but as Coach Anderson said Tuesday: "Ethan's better. He's looking better every day. Today you saw some pop, some power."

Southern Miss quarterback Ethan Hampton didn't participate in the Golden Eagles' Fan Fest srimmage, but he's expected to be back in action soon. | Josh House

As the Southern Miss defense looks to revive the legendary "Nasty Bunch" days, there are several key playmakers who made a name for themselves during fall camp. Among those players was Southeast Missouri defensive tackle transfer Nasim Cairo, who quickly assumed a leadership role within the unit.

"He's quick, he's explosive," defensive coordinator Joe Bolden said during fall camp. "He's violent at the point of attack."

Southern Miss defensive lineman Nasim Cairo (5) emerged as one of the vocal leaders of the team during fall camp. | Josh House

There are defensive players at every level of the defense worth watching this week, whether it's cornerbacks Champ Lewis and Kobi Albert or linebackers Wesley Edison and Tyler Lassiter, but Cairo is the big man up front we'll be paying close attention to on Saturday evening.

Back on the offensive side, another intriguing position battle is between "all-around," physical, downhill runner Steven Robinson and "home run speed" Robert Briggs at running back. Regardless of who starts, though, both backs figure to get plenty of playing time.

As of Thursday morning, only two of the offensive line spots were officially accounted for: Joe Rounds at center and Aloali'i Maui at right guard.

Southern Miss Week 1 Injury Report

Southern Miss WR Davis Dalton (11) at Southern Miss' opening fall camp practice. | Josh House

At the top of the worries among USM's injury report is quarterback candidate Ethan Hampton, who suffered a bone bruise in practice a few weeks ago but has made an encouraging recovery with an injury that caused no structural damage to his hand. Although Anderson hasn't officially committed to a starting quarterback as of Thursday morning, we believe Hampton is favored to start against the Braves on Saturday based on his getting first-team reps in practice despite missing two weeks of action.

Other Golden Eagles currently on the injury list: Davis Dalton, WR (hamstring injury, questionable for Saturday), Jahmir Davis, OL (ACL injury, out for the season)

Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI Score Predictions

The Golden Eagles will kick off the 2026 season at The Rock on Sept. 5, 2026. | Josh House

• Andy Baeuerle: Southern Miss 52, Alcorn State 17
• Dalton Trigg: Southern Miss 41, Alcorn State 13
• Josh House: Southern Miss 35, Alcorn State 10
• Charlie Lanehart: Southern Miss 42, Alcorn State 17
• Drew Johnson: Southern Miss 49, Alcorn State 7

How to Watch / Listen

Southern Miss' Fall Camp At Renasant Stadium. | Josh House

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles will face the Alcorn State Braves on September 5, 2026, at Renasant Stadium in Hattiesburg at 4:00 p.m. CT. The game can be watched on ESPN+, or you can listen live on the Southern Miss Gameday App, as well as the Rock 104 (104.5 FM) and Alive FM (96.5 FM) radio stations.

This young in-state rivalry always provides an electric home atmosphere in Hattiesburg. If you'd like to attend this game in person and don't have tickets yet, you can purchase some by visiting the Southern Miss ticket website.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI will continue to provide gameday updates, postgame recaps, and pregame previews every week, as well as the latest news coming from practices. For all of our latest content, make sure to follow us on Facebook and X, and be sure to visit the homepage for the latest news on all things Southern Miss athletics.