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2015 Opponent Previews: Southern Miss


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SBNation: Rebound vs. dead cat bounce

It almost feels like cruelty to bring it up every year, but it still blows my mind that the steadiest mid-major program for almost two decades could fall apart overnight. Southern Miss was over .500 every year from 1994 to 2011, never finishing with fewer than six or more than nine wins, then went full-on Achilles, killing itself to finally break through and collapsing after crossing the finish line.

Adding 2014, the Golden Eagles are now 4-32 since the end of the Larry Fedora era. That would be awful for any team, much less one so solid for so long.

But there might be a silver lining: after a stunning two-year collapse, Southern Miss actually improved. It wasn't by much -- a 3-9 record with a No. 110 F/+ ranking isn't a surge -- but it was a bounce. And now we get to see if it was the result of some "they were almost impossibly bad in 2013" regression to the mean, or some actual program progression that will continue.

Southern Miss will have all the offensive experience you could possibly want and depth of options at positions that were still lagging last fall. The defense will be starting over, and because of that, it's hard to imagine any significant breakthrough in Todd Monken's third year, but another step forward is a possibility. When you fall through a trap door, there's no quick way out, but improvement can still feel like improvement.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/3/18/8219167/southern-miss-football-2015-preview-schedule-roster

 

Scout.com It’s Year 3 for Todd Monken in Hattiesburg. Time to start showing tangible progress.

 

Monken inherited a wreck from predecessor Ellis Johnson, so he got a pass for winning just one game in 2013. And there were hints of life in 2014 before mounting injuries sapped limited depth and fostered a season-ending five-game losing streak. Now that Monken has had two full seasons to install his systems and recruit his players, though, Golden Eagle fans are expecting no less than a postseason flirtation in November. After three straight years of futility, there’s cautious optimism that Southern Miss will finally unveil a deeper and more competitive product in 2015.

 

History shows it’s possible to win consistently at Southern Miss. Hattiesburg has been home to Brett Favre, the Nasty Bunch D and 10 bowl games in 11 years under Jeff Bower between 1997-2007. Heck, it was only four years ago that the Eagles won the league championship, went 12-2 and defeated Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl. Four years, which feels like a lifetime ago for dedicated fans of the program.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1546908.html

 

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