Southern Miss enters hostile territory in Miami. Can team find redemption after Liberty loss?
Southern Miss opened the season with a tough home loss against a beatable opponent in Liberty and now must travel to face a nationally-ranked ACC team in Miami.
The loss against Liberty opened up the same wounds that scarred the Golden Eagles in 2021. Starting quarterback Ty Keyes is out this week and Will Hall’s super back formation will once again play a hefty role in the game plan going forward.
Hall said earlier in the week the plan for Saturday would be a mix of the super back, with several different athletes behind center, and the debut of true freshman quarterback Zack Wilcke.
Though week one was a rough ride for the team and the experts in Vegas have slapped USM with a 25-point underdog tag this week, it shouldn’t be all doom-and-gloom in Hattiesburg.
The game almost feels like a throwaway contest buried in the midst of a rebuild, but it presents Hall and Co. with an intriguing opportunity against a Power Five program that has had its share of slips against perceived “lesser” opponents.
Southern Miss has the ingredients necessary to do what the program has a long history of accomplishing: taking down Goliath.
Turning weakness to strength
The USM quarterback problem has infected yet another season and there is no surefire timetable for a cure.
In the immediate short term, that isn’t necessarily a death sentence, even with the Hurricanes looming. The super back package has been far-and-away the most effective offensive weapon the Golden Eagles have had in the short Hall era.
Though the staff would prefer Keyes to be on the field, the offense performed noticeably better with Frank Gore, Jr. behind center against LU.
Gore, whose father played at Miami, picked up a career-high 178 rushing yards last week. He led an offense that ran the ball on 75% of the snaps and averaged nearly five yards per carry.
Early down success is crucial and getting the ball in the air to Jason Brownlee and other targets is necessary to keep the Hurricanes from loading the box.
If the Golden Eagles are again successful on the ground this week, can limit the turnovers (5 against LU) and mix in Wilcke’s arm effectively, the super back has a chance to significantly shorten the game by driving up time of possession.
Southern Miss won the possession battle in the second half against the Flames by nearly two full minutes despite running 11 fewer plays than the LU offense.
Cutting back on how many opportunities an explosive Miami offense has to score will extended USM’s winning window.
In turn, shortening the window the Hurricanes have will play directly into what the Golden Eagles do best.
Dominate defensively
Miami scored 70 points on less than 70 plays against FCS Bethune-Cookman last week. It was efficient through the air and on the ground and converted every third down attempt it faced.
But that was against an FCS defense. Southern Miss now arrives after having a 17 percent havoc rate against LU, which would’ve been in the 100th percentile of all FBS games played in 2021.
Averie Habas and Santrell Latham both had multiple tackles for loss while the safety combo of Jay Stanley and Malik Shorts combined for 17 stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception.
They were the catalysts for a defense that dominated the point of contact up until Hugh Freeze countered with a dual-threat quarterback in the fourth quarter.
Miami did not ask either of the quarterbacks it used to run the football, which is a good sign for the Nasty Bunch defense. Liberty’s running quarterback led to 11 first downs in the fourth quarter after the USM defense had held it to 11 total through the end of the third.
In the anatomy of an upset, shortening the game and playing strong defense are the most critical factors for a team playing with offensive question marks.
Winning the turnover battle and on special teams
Southern Miss had a strong average starting field position of its own 36-yard line last week and got an excellent game out of punter Mason Hunt.
The field position battle went to the Golden Eagles, but four first-half turnovers stunted any and all momentum created by the defense and special teams.
Hunt was his own weapon against LU, landing two punts inside the 20-yard line and finishing with a more-than-respectable 40-yard net punt average.
Miami had an incredible average starting field position of its own 46-yard line against BCU, allowing it to strike quickly and feed off its defense.
If Hunt and the USM defense can replicate its performance from Saturday, which is easier said than done, it will force the Hurricanes up against adversity for the first time this season.
Southern Miss doesn’t need to run up the scoreboard or even play a perfect game on offense. The keys to bringing down a national power are straightforward, but need to be tied together.
Clock-draining power running from Antavious Willis, Dajon Richard and Gore, Jr along with timely throwing from Wilcke will be needed to minimize the number of possessions.
Strong defense is required to back up a potentially one-dimensional offense while forcing turnovers and winning the punting contest is necessary to limit the impact the Hurricane offense can make.
The game is scheduled to kick at 11 a.m. CST from Hard Rock Stadium and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
