Southern Miss Football: Golden Eagles to remain steady in 2018
2018 Schedule and Predictions
|
Week |
Date
Opponent
H/A
1
Sep. 1
Jackson State
Home
2
Sep. 8
UL- Monroe
Home
3
Sep. 15
App State
Away
4
Sep. 22
Rice
Home
5
Sep. 29
Auburn
Away
6
Oct. 6
BYE
7
Oct. 13
North Texas
Away
8
Oct. 20
UTSA
Home
9
Oct. 27
Charlotte
Away
10
Nov. 3
Marshall
Home
11
Nov. 10
UAB
Away
12
Nov. 17
Louisiana Tech
Home
13
Nov. 24
UTEP
Away
Southern Miss finished the 2017 season ranked 69th in special teams and will have to improve upon that number to squeeze out a few close games in 2018. If the Golden Eagles are going to stay on their current trajectory of winning seasons and bowl invites, it will take a few hard-fought battles against conference foes. The S&P+ has USM ranked all the way down at 94th overall for the 2018 season. Hopson’s recruiting class finished in the middle of the C-USA pack at 6th.
The Golden Eagles must beat a good FCS program in Jackson State to open the season before hosting UL-Monroe in week two. Week three is a road game against Appalachian State, where Rice falls sandwiched between the Mountaineers and Auburn Tigers. Luckily, a bye week separates road trips to Auburn and North Texas.
USM hosts UTSA and travels to Charlotte, both likely wins, before hosting an improved Marshall squad and traveling to Birmingham to face Bill Clark’s UAB Blazers. The season wraps up with a tough home contest against Louisiana Tech before a road trip to lowly UTEP in late November.
Next: Building the best college football super team
Conventional wisdom says 6-6 but I trust Coach Hopson’s squad to build towards the end of the season and pull out a victory against Louisiana Tech, Marshall, or UAB in a minor upset.