The Charles Huff era at Southern Miss was short-lived. The former USM head coach spent one year with the program before heading to Memphis shortly after the end of last season. The Golden Eagles finished 7-6 — a remarkable turnaround for a team that went 1-11 the previous season.
USM hired offensive coordinator Blake Anderson to replace Huff. Anderson had two previous stints as a head coach, spending three seasons at Utah State and seven at Arkansas State. He guided the Aggies to an 11-3 record in 2021 and three bowl games during his tenure there and led the Red Wolves to two Sun Belt conference championships.
We’ll see if Anderson can find continued success as a head coach and find more success in the Sun Belt.
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Southern Miss Season Preview
Along with Huff went a handful of potential starters, including a few all-conference defenders. Replacing all of that production and trying to piece together new lineups won’t be an easy task for Anderson and Co. The Golden Eagles are only returning one starter from a season ago.
They’ll have a lot of transfers, including a veteran and former Big Ten quarterback to help weather the storm.
What Will Be Southern Miss’ Offensive Identity?
It looks likely sixth-year quarterback Ethan Hampton will be the one leading the offense this season. If you’re wondering if this is the same Ethan Hampton who QB’d Northern Illinois for a few seasons and helped the Huskies knock off fifth-ranked Notre Dame in 2024, you are correct.
Hampton spent last year at Illinois, where he played in four games. The graduate student was with NIU the four seasons prior. He’s passed for 2,595 yards and 21 touchdowns in his career.
The lone returning starter on the team is offensive lineman Broderick Roman, who started 13 games at center last season. He’ll spearhead a group that features a few underclassmen, as well as some transfers. One of those is Zerian Hudson, who earned a handful of starts throughout the past two years at Troy.
Redshirt senior running back Robert Briggs is another offensive returner and should be in line for a lot of carries this fall. Last year, he rushed for 304 yards and one score on 62 touches and added a score through the air. He was previously at Utah State before joining Anderson in Hattiesburg.
It’ll be intriguing to see who separates themselves among the wide receivers. Redshirt senior Mario Sanders also transferred in from Illinois while sophomore Jaylen Himes caught 66 passes for 1,174 yards and 11 touchdowns as a true freshman at Division II Wingate. I think Himes could emerge as a big-time weapon for the Golden Eagles.
With new offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo, I expect the Golden Eagles to be a little more aggressive and unafraid to sling the ball around. Cefalo has a history of developing solid wideouts and has helped lead pass-first offenses in the past.
Southern Miss Defense Rebuilds Through Transfers
Nearly every player who played a defensive snap for the Golden Eagles last season is gone, meaning Anderson and his crew had a lot of work to do in the portal.
One of those returners, though, is junior linebacker Mathis Haygood, who registered 44 tackles and four tackles for loss last year. Another potential starter looks like Andrew Martin from Stetson. The senior started 12 games in 2025 and finished with 67 tackles and 9.5 TFLs.
Although most of it comes from sub-FBS play, there seems to be a bit of experience among the new defensive line.
Senior defensive tackle Nasim Cairo played in 37 games in three seasons at Southeast Missouri State where he earned all-conference honors. Junior nose guard JR Stegall had 11 starts last year for Towson while junior defensive end Kameron Cyprien started nine games for Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.
The depth of the secondary looks like it’ll be a little more raw with what I assume will be plenty of guys vying for starting spots and playing time. Safety Landon Sylvie also comes from SE Missouri State where he started nine games last season. Baron Taylor is another safety who started 11 games last season with Southern Utah.
Senior cornerback Champ Lewis could be one of the starters on the perimeter and saw a lot of action last year at Tulsa while Hiroshi Carr could also establish himself as a main piece of the secondary. Carr earned 12 starts and had 46 tackles and six pass breakups last year at Morgan State.
2026 Southern Miss Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 9/5 | Vs Alcorn State |
| 9/12 | At Auburn |
| 9/19 | Vs. UConn |
| 9/26 | At Tulane |
| 10/6 | At Troy |
| 10/17 | vs. Arkansas State |
| 10/24 | vs. Louisiana |
| 10/31 | At ULM |
| 11/5 | vs. James Madison |
| 11/14 | At Louisiana Tech |
| 11/21 | vs. South Alabama |
| 11/28 | At Old Dominion |
Southern Miss’ Sun Belt Championship Betting Odds
USM’s college football betting odds to win the Sun Belt are +8000. The Golden Eagles have the third-longest odds.
Southern Miss’ Betting Odds & Over/Under Win Total
- Southern Miss’ win total Over/Under is at 4.5
- The Over is at +155
- The Under is at -200
Southern Miss Season Prediction
I predict USM will win less than five games, struggle to compete for a league title and miss out on a bowl game in Anderson’s first season.
The Golden Eagles weren’t dealt an easy schedule. Add in the fact that they’re nearly starting from scratch makes it hard to imagine they’ll get to five victories. I think they’ll be underdogs in all but one game, and asking for that many upsets is a tall task.
I’m sure Anderson will have USM on the right path like he did with Arkansas State and Utah State, but it could be a few years before the Golden Eagles get there.
