The Greatest USM Football Season of All Time: Elite Eight Matchup

Throughout the offseason, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI team has been working to determine the greatest USM Football Season of All Time. We started out with 64 total teams between 1937 and 2025. Now, we have entered the Elite Eight, with one team, 2011, already heading to the Final Four.

Our first matchup of the Elite Eight saw Larry Fedora's 2011 Conference USA Champions take care of Jeff Bower's 1990 Golden Eagles, capturing 81 percent of the overall vote. Remember, you can vote in the matchups in the comments and the poll for each one on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI Facebook page. Now, onto the second matchup of the Elite Eight!

Today's Matchup: #10 1980 Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. #15 1999 Southern Miss Golden Eagles

#10 - Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Former Golden Eagle head coach Bobby Collins. | Southern Miss Athletics

Though his tenure leading SMU in the mid-1980s tarnished his legacy, it's still no secret that Bobby Collins is a proven legend in college football in the state of Mississippi. Starting his career as a quarterback at Mississippi State from 1951-1954. After his senior season, he remained at State as a graduate assistant under the legendary Darrell Royal. From 1956 to 1974, Collins rotated around the country, serving in various positions and coordinator roles, including stops at Colorado State, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina. In 1975, after serving eight seasons as the offensive coordinator at North Carolina under Bill Dooley, Collins was hired as the head coach of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, replacing P.W. "Bear" Underwood.

The Golden Eagles' 1980 spread opened with a six-game win streak, including wins over rivals Tulane, Louisiana Tech, and East Carolina, as well as in-state foes Mississippi State and Ole Miss. At 6-0 and ranked at No. 20 in the AP Poll, the Golden Eagles traveled to Tuscaloosa to take on Bear Bryant's No. 1 national champion defending Crimson Tide. Southern Miss dropped this game in a heartbreaking fashion, 7-42. The Golden Eagles hit and miss the next four games, but sitting at 8-3 on the season, Coach Collins and his squad earned Southern Miss' first bowl invite since the 1957 season, to play McNeese State in the Independence Bowl.

A fun little fact for you: Following the 1980 season, Southern Miss was one of 18 college football teams* that had an album of country music songs dedicated to the team. Recorded by artists Bobby and Arlene Harden, some of the songs included are "Coach Collins, Squeeze the Charmin," "Ref, I Didn't Do It", and "Ask Mississippi State," which is featured at the close of the episodes of the Southern Miss podcast To The Top Talk. You can find these songs, as well as others by the Southern Miss Pride of Mississippi Marching Band and a few other country songs here. The album itself is titled "Ode to the Eagles: A Nashville Musical Tribute."

Record: 9-3 (Independent)
Independence Bowl Champions over McNeese State
1 Week Ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll (Finished Unranked)
Notable Players: Reggie Collier (QB), Sammy Winder (RB), Hanford Dixon (DB)
Notable Wins: vs. Ole Miss (28-22) & @ Mississippi State (42-14)

#15 1999 Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Adalius Thomas with the New England Patriots in 2008 — Jan 29, 2008; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas during media day at The University of Phoenix Stadium. The New England Patriots will face the New York Giants Sunday February 3, 2008. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jeff Bower is one of the few who you can say IS Southern Miss. He played quarterback for P.W. Underwood in the early 1970s, and then became an assistant for Bobby Collins from 1978 to 1981. In 1988, he came back to USM as assistant head coach under Curley Hallman. After Hallman's leave for LSU, Bower was hired as the Golden Eagles' new head coach. From 1991 to 1998, Bower led the Golden Eagles over top-25 ranked teams, achieved a 19-8 record over the Golden Eagles' five biggest rivals**, led Southern Miss to a new conference, and won that conference twice.

The 1999 season was set for Southern Miss to return to the standard they were used to, after only a 7-5 record in 1998 ended with a bowl loss. The Golden Eagles opened their first four games of '99 going 2-2, with losses to No. 5 Texas A&M in College Station and No. 6 Nebraska in Lincoln. The Eagles bounced back with a win over No. 16 East Carolina, as well as two wins over other conference foes Army and Cincinnati, before one more loss against No. 14 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Golden Eagles rebounded once again, winning against rivals Memphis, Louisiana Tech, and longtime foe Louisville, earning the Golden Eagles their third consecutive bowl bid to face Colorado State in the Liberty Bowl. After defeating Sonny Lubick's Rams 23-17 in Memphis, the Golden Eagles finished No. 14 in the AP Top 25 poll, the highest finish in Southern Miss football history. To date, as of the close of the 2025 Football Season, the Golden Eagles have yet to finish this high in the AP Poll.

Record: 9-3 (6-0 CUSA)
Conference USA Champions
Liberty Bowl Champions over Colorado State
8 Weeks Ranked in the AP Top 25 (Finished at #14)
Notable Players: Jeff Kelly (QB), Derrick Nix (RB), Adalius Thomas (DE)
Notable Wins: @ #16 East Carolina (39-22) & vs. Colorado State (23-17)

A stacked matchup, packed tight with two bowl wins and a country music album. What more could you ask for? Remember, you can vote for your favorite between these two on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI Facebook page. And as always: Southern Miss, To The Top!

*: The other teams that received tribute albums from the Hardens were: Nebraska, Penn State, Houston, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, LSU, Memphis, Arkansas State, Iowa State, Wichita State, and Missouri.

**: Counted as USM's biggest rivals at this time were taken as some of their most played opponents at the time: Tulane, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, and East Carolina.

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