Southern Miss
Golden Eagles · Sun Belt
- GIE rank
- #111
- of 138 FBS
- Rating
- 1431
- 2026 Week 11
- Record
- 3-5
- 2026 season
- Proj record
- 5-7
- 12-game season
Head coach Blake Anderson Year 1 with Southern Miss
Year-1 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.19 W vs. preseason expectation
Season projection
- Expected wins
- 4.6
- 1.6 more wins in 4 left
- Win range (90%)
- 3 to 6
- Final rank (90%)
- #109 (94–123)
- Make playoff
- 0%
- Win conference
- 0%
Path to glory
No remaining game changes Southern Miss's playoff odds. Make playoff 0%
Schedule
Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.
| Week | Opponent | Result or win prob.Result or win probability |
|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 Sep 5 | vs Alcorn State Non-FBS | Win, 49-3 Final |
| Wk 2 Sep 12 | at Auburn SEC | Loss, 8-43 Final |
| Wk 3 Sep 19 | vs UConn FBS Independents | Loss, 20-48 Final |
| Wk 4 Sep 26 | at Tulane American Athletic | Loss, 21-24 Final |
| Wk 5 | Bye | |
| Wk 6 Oct 7 | at Troy Sun Belt | Loss, 34-55 Final |
| Wk 7 Oct 17 | vs Arkansas State Sun Belt | Loss, 13-23 Final |
| Wk 8 Oct 24 | vs Louisiana Sun Belt | Win, 35-31 Final |
| Wk 9 Oct 31 | at UL Monroe Sun Belt | Win, 35-21 Final |
| Wk 10 Nov 6 | vs James Madison Sun Belt | |
| Wk 11 Nov 14 | at Louisiana Tech Sun Belt | |
| Wk 12 Nov 21 | vs South Alabama Sun Belt | |
| Wk 13 Nov 28 | at Old Dominion Sun Belt | |
In the news
- Same mistakes with the same results in 55-34 loss at Troy (opens in a new tab)
- Troy and Southern Miss combine for 89 points, nearly 1,200 yards (opens in a new tab)
- Southern Miss and Troy enter SBC play both looking for turnarounds (opens in a new tab)
- Southern Miss looks to turn the corner as conference play starts (opens in a new tab)
- Week Two Rundown: Southern Miss faces new-look Auburn in first road test (opens in a new tab)
- 3 Big Things Southern Miss Football Must Do to Pull Off Upset at Auburn (opens in a new tab)
More coming. Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.
If QB1 is out
GIE projects a -5.2 rating drop and a -20.8pp shift in playoff probability if Southern Miss loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=1 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)
Returning production · 2026
77 score
Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.
Portal additions · 2026
−0.7 rating
32 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.
| Player | From | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Melvin SpriggsLB From Akron | Akron | 81 |
| Brandon HoodRB From Massachusetts | Massachusetts | 64 |
| AJ LittleWR From Chattanooga | Chattanooga | 32 |
| Xavier McIverDL From East Carolina | East Carolina | 26 |
| Hiroshi CarrDB From Morgan State | Morgan State | 19 |
| Champ LewisDB From Tulsa | Tulsa | 18 |
Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.
Situational efficiency · 2025
Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.