University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Blake Anderson Weekly News Conference – The Tulane Game
9/21/2026 2:32:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss football coach Blake Anderson addressed the media on Monday, Sept. 21, in the Duff Athletic Center ahead of the Golden Eagles' road contest at Tulane this Saturday. Game time is set for 6 p.m., at Yulman Stadium.
Southern Miss (1-2) looks to snap a two-game losing streak when they meet the Green Wave (1-2) for the first time in two seasons.
On the call for the ESPN+ will be Jack Benjamin (Play-by-Play), Henry Burris (Analyst) and Maria Trivelpiece (reporter), while the Southern Miss Sports Network's radio pregame show begins at 4:30 p.m. with the Voice of the Golden Eagles, John Cox, analyst Lee Roberts and sideline reporter Jason Baker on the call.
Fans can still purchase tickets for the four remaining home game this season by visiting SouthernMiss.com/Tickets.
Here is what Anderson had to say to the media Monday morning:
Q: What can you take away from a game like Saturday?
"Yeah, I mean, just going back and watching, the thing that's obvious is, and this is not any crazy statement, we're just not where we need to be yet. Told the staff and the players yesterday, and we'll reiterate it again today. We've, from head coach down, we have got to do a better job. We got to find a way to grow these guys up quickly. We've got to prepare plans that simplify and make it easier for them to do what they need to do. And you know, every stage from top down, just do a better job. We got to execute better at the plays and things that are called. Put ourselves in position to be more competitive. And right now, we're just not doing a good enough job of that at any level. And we'd all like it to be easy, but it's not. And you play good people, and then you don't play well, or you play good people and you don't maximize your opportunities, and you get exposed. And that's what has happened two weeks in a row. We made a lot of mistakes week one. People just noticed because we're better than the opponent. So this is not a new phenomenon. We're just not where we need to be yet. It's my job to get us there, and our staff's job to make it easier on our guys, and it's our guys' jobs to go out and execute at a at a higher level. So we need work from top to bottom, and that's the challenge that we face, and we face it in against another really, really good opponent."
Q: From an offensive coordinator perspective, going into games where you have to almost limit your playbook to some extent because your personnel, kind of talk about how difficult that is. You know, the last two weeks you had to put together a call sheet?
"You knew going against Auburn that we weren't going to be able to hold on the ball a lot. A lot of quick passes, get it out quickly. Felt like we'd be able to hold up a little bit better this week. I didn't feel like we protected extremely well. We got hit too much, but our advantage in this game, if there was one, was quickness in space, and so getting it out on the perimeter was a big key. Just strength for strength that wasn't going to be in our favor. It's frustrating to feel like you've got to limit, but it's the nature of 80 something new guys, a lot of guys that hadn't played, and definitely a lot of guys that haven't played in this system. It's the same way on defense, we're probably carrying too much, and we've talked about simplifying there as well. We've got to take, you know, smaller steps, more deliberate, more simplified, detailed steps as coaches, and then turn that into highly executed football. And we're not; it's not happening through the, so it's harder to do because at that point you do feel a little bit you know a little bit handcuffed on game day, but you can still win games that way, and that's really the approach. We have to find the way that this group can win games early in the season, especially against teams that are really, really, you know, well-built and financially well-built and physically well-built. But even when we get into league play, I mean, everybody in our league recruits and develops, we've got to play better to win at any level, regardless of non-conference or conference play. We've got to get better."
Q: Offensively, if you've gotten, I mean, I know it's only been three games, but you've kind of gotten a feel for what something you can hang your hat on regardless of the score?
"We're searching for it. We haven't done anything consistently well. Too many drops. Too many guys turn loose up front. Struggled in protection at times. At times, we look somewhat dynamic. At times, we don't play the ball above the rim, like everything's got to get better, and we're still learning who these guys are. I mean, it just until you play an opponent that doesn't see you every day and tackles to the ground. That's when you start identifying, and we've seen some guys make some plays and try to utilize those guys more. Guys are getting more and more comfortable in what we do, but we've got to speed the learning curve up. It's you don't want to learn through losses. You have to find a way to win in the midst of that, and so can't be excused. It just can't be. We can't live on excuses. Doesn't do us any good. We got to find a way anyway."
Q: Coach, coming off of back-to-back losses the way they have been, what's the vibe of the loss?
"It's good. I mean, guys are disappointed. Nobody likes to lose. They work way too hard and run way too much and bang way too much to be satisfied or okay with a loss. That's never the case. You can know what you're going up against in a game like Auburn, and understand it, but still we put together a plan to go try to win it. Didn't play. We're just disappointed in the fact that we know we're not playing our best football yet. And if you go out and play your best football against an opponent that you know is well built and put together, and you lose, that's one thing. But to go out and to not really, give yourself a chance to compete. That's the frustration, and so that's where the frustration lies in our locker room. Is that we know we've got better football to play, we can and we need to. And like I said, from the top down, from head coach to coordinator to position coach, all the way through to the lowest guy on the totem pole, everybody needs to affect that in a positive way. So there's a, I don't know, a culture of like let's find what can I do? That's really what I'm feeling from them, and that's what I'm hearing from Coach. I'm going to do my part. So you guys haven't quit on us. They're trying really hard to do it right. Just haven't got there yet."
Q: How's quarterback Ethan Hampton?
"He's beat up. You know, he's got a pretty significant hand injury. We do not anticipate him being able to squeeze and throw a football this week. Don't know how long this thing will last. It's a little different than last (time during the preseason). It's in the same area, but not the exact same. And we're still getting some more images back to find out exactly what all is wrong, but clearly not in a position to play. You know, Lyddy came in and did a pretty good job in his absence, made a couple mistakes that he needs back. The interception he can't have. You know, ball should have been dumped in the ground. Well played by the defense, and he's got to put the ball in the dirt. Took a sack on a movement play he should have thrown away, but other than that, he really made really good decisions and got the ball out in space when he needed to and moved the chains with his feet a couple times. So, I was glad he was prepared for the moment, and you know we'll turn it over to him and let him run with it. And I have no doubt he'll do everything he can to be prepared, but you know it's his offense this week, and we'll just see where things lead from there. I don't know how long to expect Ethan to be down and really don't know now where things will go between there and then. You just got to go out and play. You know, utilize what you have. John [White] will be ready to go second. We'll have to bring Hugh [Price] over and get him ready in the case of absolute emergency. But as I told you guys at the beginning of the year, it is likely it's going to take more than one. Didn't expect it to happen as it did this quickly, but it is what it is, and we're fortunate to have a guy ready to go."
Q: When you watched Liddy, it looked like he made some bad decisions at times, but he also looked like he was processing and almost got into a rhythm at times?
"Yeah, I think if you look at him throughout his snaps, he does process extremely well. He's comfortable in the pocket, and he doesn't wait to pull the trigger. I really felt like he had two critical plays that could affect us in a game we're trying to win. When he went in, we were kind of—not completely out of reach but definitely weren't in a good place. We needed to play perfect. He took the sack on a movement play outside the pocket, and he threw the screen anyway, even though it was well covered. Other than that, he really played very well, which is not a surprise because he played well before. This really came down to a very close race. The leadership that we saw from Ethan, his experience and his confidence really kind of swayed us in that direction. But Liddy was playing physically at a level that it would have been just as easy to go with him. So, it's not a surprise that he went out and played well. He did the same thing last year when he went in. He played well at Arkansas State, he had a couple of mistakes. He played well against Texas State, he had a couple of mistakes. But he gave us a chance to move the ball, and I wasn't surprised by that really on Saturday. I would not be surprised if he goes out and plays lights-out this Saturday. I really wouldn't."
Q: What do you think overall, just like the status of your defense, you know two straight weeks against a mobile quarterback?
"They're frustrated. Obviously, confidence is probably something, we've got to try to find a way to gain some confidence. We've had two really, really good offensive lines that are hard to get to the quarterback, and quarterbacks that were mobile and hard to get down. We just have not forced enough turnovers and punts in the last couple weeks. But those have been tall tasks considering who we play. I mean, they're just talented—very talented, very well-built teams. This is going to be a different challenge. These dudes can fly. We may be seeing a couple of the fastest players we'll see all year. No. 12, Turner, in the back is lightning fast. So, we're not going to see the size that we've seen the last two weeks, but we're going to see dynamic speed, and the challenge changes. It's hard to find confidence with a bunch of guys that haven't played when you're going up against that kind of talent every week. So, we've got to try to close that gap, play with great effort and attitude, be assignment-sound and eliminate mistakes. Just like we talked about earlier, how do we do that? Simplify. Teach well. Put guys in the best position to be successful, and then they've got to cut loose and play within the framework of the defense. Hopefully, one drive at a time, we can start impacting the game in a better way than we have. But they're frustrated. They're down. They want to play better, and they want to create turnovers. They want to make people punt and kick the ball, and that's been hard to do in the last couple weeks."
Q: Blake, this is a rivalry game you know "Battle for the Bell" He's obviously the former head coach over there. How much does that mean to you?
"Dude, I'd love to tell you that means a lot, man, but we've got our own problems. I would love to win it and love it for our fans, and I know there's tons of fans that have this one circled. Believe me, they're going to get everything we've got thrown at them. But the reason is we've got to find our team and start playing at the level that we're capable of playing. We've got to start coaching at the level where we're capable of coaching. That is completely outside the frame. We want to play this one because we need it desperately for us, and it would be great. The residual benefit would make a lot of people happy, and we would love to do that. Bringing home the trophy would be awesome. But it's the next opportunity for us to get better, and if we don't, we're going to be just as frustrated. And I don't want that. We don't want to come back to this building every day frustrated with just where things are."
Q: Can you speak a little bit too of the skill set of the quarterback y'all see this week? What's the mindset? Just from what you've talked to us like they're trying to get you on speed, spreading it out, kind of talk about his traits. Is he a dual guy?
"He's definitely a dual guy. He can hurt you either way. I know they've bounced between two, and maybe even a third quarterback played a little bit. I'm not really sure. I thought I saw another jersey out there. But he can run the offense very effectively. They do a little bit different with him, a little bit different style of offense than they did previously with No. 9. Just watching him, he can extend plays. He can make all the throws. You can tell he's comfortable in the pocket. He climbs the pocket well. They've got tons of weapons. Wideouts that can run. All the backs can run. The system and the triple-option aspect of what they do is a challenge. I mean, I love the system. It's really good for them. They've got the right bodies for it. They've really benefited from bringing some very talented players back home to New Orleans that can fly. You look at bounce-backs from Florida State and LSU—guys that can legit go. But he makes it go, and he doesn't make a ton of mistakes on tape. I mean, he's not a guy putting the ball in harm's way. And if you don't contain him, he can run well enough to hurt you. I don't think they're making a living with him running it, but they don't mind it. So, you better be balanced. With him being able to run the triple-option aspect, and then the speed that they're able to outflank you really quickly, it's going to be a huge challenge for our defense to contain them. I thought K-State did a great job. South Alabama did a really good job early, and then late, the speed got away from them, and they just couldn't control it. But they're talented, and they're just as talented defensively in terms of speed and twitch. Not as big, but twitchy and really can run."
Southern Miss (1-2) looks to snap a two-game losing streak when they meet the Green Wave (1-2) for the first time in two seasons.
On the call for the ESPN+ will be Jack Benjamin (Play-by-Play), Henry Burris (Analyst) and Maria Trivelpiece (reporter), while the Southern Miss Sports Network's radio pregame show begins at 4:30 p.m. with the Voice of the Golden Eagles, John Cox, analyst Lee Roberts and sideline reporter Jason Baker on the call.
Fans can still purchase tickets for the four remaining home game this season by visiting SouthernMiss.com/Tickets.
Here is what Anderson had to say to the media Monday morning:
Q: What can you take away from a game like Saturday?
"Yeah, I mean, just going back and watching, the thing that's obvious is, and this is not any crazy statement, we're just not where we need to be yet. Told the staff and the players yesterday, and we'll reiterate it again today. We've, from head coach down, we have got to do a better job. We got to find a way to grow these guys up quickly. We've got to prepare plans that simplify and make it easier for them to do what they need to do. And you know, every stage from top down, just do a better job. We got to execute better at the plays and things that are called. Put ourselves in position to be more competitive. And right now, we're just not doing a good enough job of that at any level. And we'd all like it to be easy, but it's not. And you play good people, and then you don't play well, or you play good people and you don't maximize your opportunities, and you get exposed. And that's what has happened two weeks in a row. We made a lot of mistakes week one. People just noticed because we're better than the opponent. So this is not a new phenomenon. We're just not where we need to be yet. It's my job to get us there, and our staff's job to make it easier on our guys, and it's our guys' jobs to go out and execute at a at a higher level. So we need work from top to bottom, and that's the challenge that we face, and we face it in against another really, really good opponent."
Q: From an offensive coordinator perspective, going into games where you have to almost limit your playbook to some extent because your personnel, kind of talk about how difficult that is. You know, the last two weeks you had to put together a call sheet?
"You knew going against Auburn that we weren't going to be able to hold on the ball a lot. A lot of quick passes, get it out quickly. Felt like we'd be able to hold up a little bit better this week. I didn't feel like we protected extremely well. We got hit too much, but our advantage in this game, if there was one, was quickness in space, and so getting it out on the perimeter was a big key. Just strength for strength that wasn't going to be in our favor. It's frustrating to feel like you've got to limit, but it's the nature of 80 something new guys, a lot of guys that hadn't played, and definitely a lot of guys that haven't played in this system. It's the same way on defense, we're probably carrying too much, and we've talked about simplifying there as well. We've got to take, you know, smaller steps, more deliberate, more simplified, detailed steps as coaches, and then turn that into highly executed football. And we're not; it's not happening through the, so it's harder to do because at that point you do feel a little bit you know a little bit handcuffed on game day, but you can still win games that way, and that's really the approach. We have to find the way that this group can win games early in the season, especially against teams that are really, really, you know, well-built and financially well-built and physically well-built. But even when we get into league play, I mean, everybody in our league recruits and develops, we've got to play better to win at any level, regardless of non-conference or conference play. We've got to get better."
Q: Offensively, if you've gotten, I mean, I know it's only been three games, but you've kind of gotten a feel for what something you can hang your hat on regardless of the score?
"We're searching for it. We haven't done anything consistently well. Too many drops. Too many guys turn loose up front. Struggled in protection at times. At times, we look somewhat dynamic. At times, we don't play the ball above the rim, like everything's got to get better, and we're still learning who these guys are. I mean, it just until you play an opponent that doesn't see you every day and tackles to the ground. That's when you start identifying, and we've seen some guys make some plays and try to utilize those guys more. Guys are getting more and more comfortable in what we do, but we've got to speed the learning curve up. It's you don't want to learn through losses. You have to find a way to win in the midst of that, and so can't be excused. It just can't be. We can't live on excuses. Doesn't do us any good. We got to find a way anyway."
Q: Coach, coming off of back-to-back losses the way they have been, what's the vibe of the loss?
"It's good. I mean, guys are disappointed. Nobody likes to lose. They work way too hard and run way too much and bang way too much to be satisfied or okay with a loss. That's never the case. You can know what you're going up against in a game like Auburn, and understand it, but still we put together a plan to go try to win it. Didn't play. We're just disappointed in the fact that we know we're not playing our best football yet. And if you go out and play your best football against an opponent that you know is well built and put together, and you lose, that's one thing. But to go out and to not really, give yourself a chance to compete. That's the frustration, and so that's where the frustration lies in our locker room. Is that we know we've got better football to play, we can and we need to. And like I said, from the top down, from head coach to coordinator to position coach, all the way through to the lowest guy on the totem pole, everybody needs to affect that in a positive way. So there's a, I don't know, a culture of like let's find what can I do? That's really what I'm feeling from them, and that's what I'm hearing from Coach. I'm going to do my part. So you guys haven't quit on us. They're trying really hard to do it right. Just haven't got there yet."
Q: How's quarterback Ethan Hampton?
"He's beat up. You know, he's got a pretty significant hand injury. We do not anticipate him being able to squeeze and throw a football this week. Don't know how long this thing will last. It's a little different than last (time during the preseason). It's in the same area, but not the exact same. And we're still getting some more images back to find out exactly what all is wrong, but clearly not in a position to play. You know, Lyddy came in and did a pretty good job in his absence, made a couple mistakes that he needs back. The interception he can't have. You know, ball should have been dumped in the ground. Well played by the defense, and he's got to put the ball in the dirt. Took a sack on a movement play he should have thrown away, but other than that, he really made really good decisions and got the ball out in space when he needed to and moved the chains with his feet a couple times. So, I was glad he was prepared for the moment, and you know we'll turn it over to him and let him run with it. And I have no doubt he'll do everything he can to be prepared, but you know it's his offense this week, and we'll just see where things lead from there. I don't know how long to expect Ethan to be down and really don't know now where things will go between there and then. You just got to go out and play. You know, utilize what you have. John [White] will be ready to go second. We'll have to bring Hugh [Price] over and get him ready in the case of absolute emergency. But as I told you guys at the beginning of the year, it is likely it's going to take more than one. Didn't expect it to happen as it did this quickly, but it is what it is, and we're fortunate to have a guy ready to go."
Q: When you watched Liddy, it looked like he made some bad decisions at times, but he also looked like he was processing and almost got into a rhythm at times?
"Yeah, I think if you look at him throughout his snaps, he does process extremely well. He's comfortable in the pocket, and he doesn't wait to pull the trigger. I really felt like he had two critical plays that could affect us in a game we're trying to win. When he went in, we were kind of—not completely out of reach but definitely weren't in a good place. We needed to play perfect. He took the sack on a movement play outside the pocket, and he threw the screen anyway, even though it was well covered. Other than that, he really played very well, which is not a surprise because he played well before. This really came down to a very close race. The leadership that we saw from Ethan, his experience and his confidence really kind of swayed us in that direction. But Liddy was playing physically at a level that it would have been just as easy to go with him. So, it's not a surprise that he went out and played well. He did the same thing last year when he went in. He played well at Arkansas State, he had a couple of mistakes. He played well against Texas State, he had a couple of mistakes. But he gave us a chance to move the ball, and I wasn't surprised by that really on Saturday. I would not be surprised if he goes out and plays lights-out this Saturday. I really wouldn't."
Q: What do you think overall, just like the status of your defense, you know two straight weeks against a mobile quarterback?
"They're frustrated. Obviously, confidence is probably something, we've got to try to find a way to gain some confidence. We've had two really, really good offensive lines that are hard to get to the quarterback, and quarterbacks that were mobile and hard to get down. We just have not forced enough turnovers and punts in the last couple weeks. But those have been tall tasks considering who we play. I mean, they're just talented—very talented, very well-built teams. This is going to be a different challenge. These dudes can fly. We may be seeing a couple of the fastest players we'll see all year. No. 12, Turner, in the back is lightning fast. So, we're not going to see the size that we've seen the last two weeks, but we're going to see dynamic speed, and the challenge changes. It's hard to find confidence with a bunch of guys that haven't played when you're going up against that kind of talent every week. So, we've got to try to close that gap, play with great effort and attitude, be assignment-sound and eliminate mistakes. Just like we talked about earlier, how do we do that? Simplify. Teach well. Put guys in the best position to be successful, and then they've got to cut loose and play within the framework of the defense. Hopefully, one drive at a time, we can start impacting the game in a better way than we have. But they're frustrated. They're down. They want to play better, and they want to create turnovers. They want to make people punt and kick the ball, and that's been hard to do in the last couple weeks."
Q: Blake, this is a rivalry game you know "Battle for the Bell" He's obviously the former head coach over there. How much does that mean to you?
"Dude, I'd love to tell you that means a lot, man, but we've got our own problems. I would love to win it and love it for our fans, and I know there's tons of fans that have this one circled. Believe me, they're going to get everything we've got thrown at them. But the reason is we've got to find our team and start playing at the level that we're capable of playing. We've got to start coaching at the level where we're capable of coaching. That is completely outside the frame. We want to play this one because we need it desperately for us, and it would be great. The residual benefit would make a lot of people happy, and we would love to do that. Bringing home the trophy would be awesome. But it's the next opportunity for us to get better, and if we don't, we're going to be just as frustrated. And I don't want that. We don't want to come back to this building every day frustrated with just where things are."
Q: Can you speak a little bit too of the skill set of the quarterback y'all see this week? What's the mindset? Just from what you've talked to us like they're trying to get you on speed, spreading it out, kind of talk about his traits. Is he a dual guy?
"He's definitely a dual guy. He can hurt you either way. I know they've bounced between two, and maybe even a third quarterback played a little bit. I'm not really sure. I thought I saw another jersey out there. But he can run the offense very effectively. They do a little bit different with him, a little bit different style of offense than they did previously with No. 9. Just watching him, he can extend plays. He can make all the throws. You can tell he's comfortable in the pocket. He climbs the pocket well. They've got tons of weapons. Wideouts that can run. All the backs can run. The system and the triple-option aspect of what they do is a challenge. I mean, I love the system. It's really good for them. They've got the right bodies for it. They've really benefited from bringing some very talented players back home to New Orleans that can fly. You look at bounce-backs from Florida State and LSU—guys that can legit go. But he makes it go, and he doesn't make a ton of mistakes on tape. I mean, he's not a guy putting the ball in harm's way. And if you don't contain him, he can run well enough to hurt you. I don't think they're making a living with him running it, but they don't mind it. So, you better be balanced. With him being able to run the triple-option aspect, and then the speed that they're able to outflank you really quickly, it's going to be a huge challenge for our defense to contain them. I thought K-State did a great job. South Alabama did a really good job early, and then late, the speed got away from them, and they just couldn't control it. But they're talented, and they're just as talented defensively in terms of speed and twitch. Not as big, but twitchy and really can run."
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