The Greatest USM Football Season of All Time: Sweet Sixteen - 1952 vs. 1980

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI team is working throughout the summer to determine the greatest Golden Eagle football season of all time, with your help. Today's matchup features the 1952 Southerners taking on Bobby Collins' Golden Eagles from 1980.

Southern Miss Athletics

With the Golden Eagles' football season nearly two months away from kicking off, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI team is trying to determine the greatest football season in Southern Miss history. In the previous Sweet Sixteen matchup, the 1990 team, led by Curley Hallman and Jeff Bower (in one game), defeated Coach Bower's 2003 squad with 75 percent of the overall vote. Today's matchup features Coach Bower yet again, but this time as Bobby Collins' wide receivers and quarterbacks coach for the 1980 team, taking on Pie Vann's 1952 Southerners.

Be sure to check out our Southern Miss Golden Eagles on SI Facebook page to vote on the latest polls in this summer series. Your fan vote will decide which USM football seasons make it to the Elite Eight round of the bracket.

Today's Matchup: #7 1952 Mississippi Southern Southerners vs. #10 1980 Southern Miss Golden Eagles

#7 1952 Mississippi Southern Southerners

Former Southern Miss Football Head Coach Thad "Pie" Vann | College Football Hall of Fame

Thad "Pie" Vann brought a lot of experience to Mississippi Southern when he was hired as head coach in 1949. He had previously been an assistant to former head coach Reed Green from 1937 to 1948, and also played tackle for Ole Miss under Homer Hazel. By 1952, Coach Vann's Southerners had won two conference championships in the now-defunct Gulf States Conference and produced five NFL Draft Picks, including Bubba Phillips, who holds the program record for most career interceptions (25) and single-season interceptions (8, 1949).

The Southerners opened up the 1952 slate with a 20-6 loss to Alabama, before going on a 10-game winning streak, four of which the Southerners scored 50+ points, a feat that has not been matched in a single season since. The Southerners' 10-1 regular season earned them a trip to the 1952 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, the program's first invitation to an NCAA-recognized bowl. Mississippi Southern would drop the bowl to Pacific by a score of 26-7, but still claimed the first 10-win season in Southern Miss history.

Note: Southern Miss previously played in the 1937 Doll & Toy Charity Game and the 1946 Bacardi Bowl, but neither was an NCAA-recognized postseason game.

• Record: 10-2 (Independent)
• Lost Sun Bowl to Pacific
• Notable Players: Hugh Laurin Pepper (HB), Bucky McElroy (RB), Jim Davenport (QB)
• Notable Wins: @ Florida State (50-21) & vs. Louisville (55-26)

#10 1980 Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Former head coach Bobby Collins while being honored for his accomplishments in 2018. | Southern Miss Athletics

Bobby Collins came to Southern Miss as head coach in 1975, after P.W. "Bear" Underwood resigned following the 1974 season. Collins had been the quarterback for Mississippi State in the early 1950s, as well as a positions coach for Mississippi State and Colorado State, and a defensive coordinator for Virginia Tech and an offensive coordinator for North Carolina. Between 1975 and 1979, Coach Collins' teams had only one losing season and beat teams including BYU, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss, and even started a new rivalry with Tulane University in New Orleans in 1979. Notable NFL draftees from Coach Collins' first five seasons include Amos Fowler and Carl Allen.

The 1980 Southern Miss season kicked off with a six-game win streak over teams such as Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Golden Eagles then suffered a 42-7 blowout to defending national champions Alabama, before beating Lamar at homecoming in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles went 1-2 in their last three games of the season, taking two more losses to Auburn and Louisville. Finishing 8-3, Southern Miss received their first bowl invite since 1958 to face McNeese State in the Independence Bowl.

• 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)

In another star-studded edition of a matchup, this is sure to be an exciting one. Remember to check out the Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI Facebook page to vote for your favorite between these two. Also, be sure to visit our homepage for the latest Southern Miss athletics news. And as always: Southern Miss, To The Top!