University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, September 3
Hattiesburg, Miss.
8 p.m.
Southern Miss
vs
South Alabama
Photo by: Joe Harper
Southern Miss Entertains South Alabama in Season Opener Thursday
9/2/2020 4:25:00 PM | Football
Game 1 | Southern Miss (0-0) vs. South Alabama (0-0)
Hattiesburg, Miss. | The Rock (36,000) Sept. 3, 2020 | 8 pm CT | CBS SN
TV -Â (CBS SN) Play-By-Play - Carter Blackburn;Â Analyst - Aaron Taylor
Radio - Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College - Play-By-Play - John Cox (43rd season); Analyst - Lee Roberts (6th season); Sidelines - Dr. Bo Morgan (11th season);Â Stats/Spotter - Joe Bryant (13th season)
Live Stats - www.SouthernMiss.com
Series Record - First Meeting
Noting the Golden Eagles
•   Southern Miss commences its 104th season in football when they meet South Alabama, having first fielded a team in 1912. The Golden Eagles are 601-431-27, which is 36th best among FBS teams by winning percentage (.580) heading into the 2020 opener.
•   Jay Hopson, who has led the Golden Eagles to winning seasons in each of his first four years, coached under the legendary Jeff Bower twice at Southern Miss, working as an assistant coach from 2001-03 and from 2005-07.Â
•    Southern Miss has captured five-straight winning seasons, including four under Hopson, and 23 over the last 26. The school established its record for wins in 2011 with 12.
•   The program has now been bowl eligible for all four year under Hopson and for the last five years overall.
•   The Golden Eagles are slated to play seven home games this fall, marking only the second time that they have done that in their history. The only other time came in 1920.Â
•   The team went 4-1 at home last year. They have posted a 153-67 (.695) record at The Rock. Since the 1976 season, the program has finished at .500 or better in home games for a season 39 times.
•   The South Alabama game marks the 100th game for Jay Hopson as head coach.
2019 Season Notes
•   The team won at least seven games for the fourth time in the last five years and for the 47th time overall.
•   The program collected its 72nd winning season in the history of its program.
•   The UAB victory, on Nov. 9, proved to be the 600th in this the program's history.
•   Went over 500 total offensive yards three times, including 626 at Troy (9/14).
•   The defense limited its opponents to under 100 yards rushing in five games during the year, including a season-low of 8 versus Rice (10/26).
•   Posted at least one sack in 12 of 13 games, including a season-high eight at Rice (10/26).
•   The team returned three kickoffs for touchdowns during the year, including two of 100 yards (Jaylond Adams vs. Troy; De'Michael Harris vs. Louisiana Tech).
•   Seven teams on the Golden Eagles schedule last season participated in bowl games.
Against the Sun Belt
•   This will be the first meeting between Southern Miss and South Alabama in football.
•   USM is 75-18-1 against the current membership of the Sun Belt Conference, including 2-0 vs. Appalachian State, 9-2 versus Arkansas State, 1-0 versus Georgia Southern, 40-11-1 versus Louisiana-Lafayette, 4-2 versus ULM, 10-0 versus UT-Arlington (they do not field a current program), 1-1 vs. Texas State and 8-2 vs. Troy.
•   This is the 9th consecutive season that the Golden Eagles will play a team from the SBC.
In Season Openers
Southern Miss has posted a 66-36 record in season openers dating back to a 30-0 victory over the Hattiesburg Boy Scouts on Oct. 13, 1912. The Golden Eagles opened the 1916 season against Poplarville High School, Oct. 7, but no score was reported. When the season opens in Hattiesburg, Southern Miss holds a 44-8 overall  mark. This will be the fourth-straight year the Golden Eagles will have opened a season at home.
Five Time C-USA Champions
Southern Miss has five Conference USA titles, including one since divisional play started during the 2005 campaign. They captured their first league title contest and the school's fifth overall league crown - more than any other school in the conference - when they beat Houston, 49-28, in 2011.
The school's other C-USA titles came in the inaugural season of 1996 as well as the 1997, 1999 and 2003 campaigns. The Golden Eagles have won two East Division crowns in C-USA (2006, 2011), and captured their first West title in 2015 after moving to that division during the 2014 campaign. Southern Miss won its third division title in 2015, but lost in the C-USA championship game at WKU, 45-28. The Eagles are 1-2 in C-USA championship games.
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Hattiesburg, Miss. | The Rock (36,000) Sept. 3, 2020 | 8 pm CT | CBS SN
TV -Â (CBS SN) Play-By-Play - Carter Blackburn;Â Analyst - Aaron Taylor
Radio - Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College - Play-By-Play - John Cox (43rd season); Analyst - Lee Roberts (6th season); Sidelines - Dr. Bo Morgan (11th season);Â Stats/Spotter - Joe Bryant (13th season)
Live Stats - www.SouthernMiss.com
Series Record - First Meeting
Noting the Golden Eagles
•   Southern Miss commences its 104th season in football when they meet South Alabama, having first fielded a team in 1912. The Golden Eagles are 601-431-27, which is 36th best among FBS teams by winning percentage (.580) heading into the 2020 opener.
•   Jay Hopson, who has led the Golden Eagles to winning seasons in each of his first four years, coached under the legendary Jeff Bower twice at Southern Miss, working as an assistant coach from 2001-03 and from 2005-07.Â
•    Southern Miss has captured five-straight winning seasons, including four under Hopson, and 23 over the last 26. The school established its record for wins in 2011 with 12.
•   The program has now been bowl eligible for all four year under Hopson and for the last five years overall.
•   The Golden Eagles are slated to play seven home games this fall, marking only the second time that they have done that in their history. The only other time came in 1920.Â
•   The team went 4-1 at home last year. They have posted a 153-67 (.695) record at The Rock. Since the 1976 season, the program has finished at .500 or better in home games for a season 39 times.
•   The South Alabama game marks the 100th game for Jay Hopson as head coach.
2019 Season Notes
•   The team won at least seven games for the fourth time in the last five years and for the 47th time overall.
•   The program collected its 72nd winning season in the history of its program.
•   The UAB victory, on Nov. 9, proved to be the 600th in this the program's history.
•   Went over 500 total offensive yards three times, including 626 at Troy (9/14).
•   The defense limited its opponents to under 100 yards rushing in five games during the year, including a season-low of 8 versus Rice (10/26).
•   Posted at least one sack in 12 of 13 games, including a season-high eight at Rice (10/26).
•   The team returned three kickoffs for touchdowns during the year, including two of 100 yards (Jaylond Adams vs. Troy; De'Michael Harris vs. Louisiana Tech).
•   Seven teams on the Golden Eagles schedule last season participated in bowl games.
Against the Sun Belt
•   This will be the first meeting between Southern Miss and South Alabama in football.
•   USM is 75-18-1 against the current membership of the Sun Belt Conference, including 2-0 vs. Appalachian State, 9-2 versus Arkansas State, 1-0 versus Georgia Southern, 40-11-1 versus Louisiana-Lafayette, 4-2 versus ULM, 10-0 versus UT-Arlington (they do not field a current program), 1-1 vs. Texas State and 8-2 vs. Troy.
•   This is the 9th consecutive season that the Golden Eagles will play a team from the SBC.
In Season Openers
Southern Miss has posted a 66-36 record in season openers dating back to a 30-0 victory over the Hattiesburg Boy Scouts on Oct. 13, 1912. The Golden Eagles opened the 1916 season against Poplarville High School, Oct. 7, but no score was reported. When the season opens in Hattiesburg, Southern Miss holds a 44-8 overall  mark. This will be the fourth-straight year the Golden Eagles will have opened a season at home.
Five Time C-USA Champions
Southern Miss has five Conference USA titles, including one since divisional play started during the 2005 campaign. They captured their first league title contest and the school's fifth overall league crown - more than any other school in the conference - when they beat Houston, 49-28, in 2011.
The school's other C-USA titles came in the inaugural season of 1996 as well as the 1997, 1999 and 2003 campaigns. The Golden Eagles have won two East Division crowns in C-USA (2006, 2011), and captured their first West title in 2015 after moving to that division during the 2014 campaign. Southern Miss won its third division title in 2015, but lost in the C-USA championship game at WKU, 45-28. The Eagles are 1-2 in C-USA championship games.
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Players Mentioned
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