In his second season in charge of the Golden Eagles, Will Hall led his team to a seven-win season and their first bowl game win since 2016. Will the second season in the Sun Belt prove to be as successful? Our Southern Miss season predictions hold the answers.
Southern Miss Season Predictions: Predicting the Game-By-Game Results
Using groupthink, College Football Network analysts have painstakingly gone through every game for every team in the Sun Belt and across the country.
Find Every Sun Belt Season Prediction per team: App State | Arkansas State | Coastal Carolina | Georgia Southern | Georgia State | JMU | Louisiana | UL-Monroe | Marshall | ODU | South Alabama | Southern Miss | Texas State | Troy
Picking these games straight up with a projected score using the rosters as up-to-date as the last spring practice, how will Southern Miss fare in the 2023 college football campaign?
Week 1 – Southern Miss vs. Alcorn State: Win, 32-15
Although Alcorn State played Southern Miss hard in 2014, this fixture has ordinarily been a high-scoring affair dominated by the Golden Eagles. Hall’s team should comfortably get the 2023 college football season off to a winning start against an FCS foe.
Week 2 – Southern Miss at Florida State: Loss, 5-41
Things get significantly tougher for Southern Miss after their “cupcake” season opener. Florida State is expected to be a major force in the ACC and mount a CFB Playoff bid, and that won’t be halted when they welcome the Golden Eagles to Tallahassee. The Seminoles have scored over 40 points in the previous two encounters between the two teams.
MORE: Sun Belt QB Rankings 2023
Week 3 – Southern Miss vs. Tulane: Loss, 15-34
Southern Miss returns to Hattiesburg in Week 3, but there’s another tough matchup thwarting their progress to six regular season wins. The Golden Eagles caused one of the shocks of the 2022 campaign when they beat Tulane in New Orleans, but it wouldn’t be wise to predict a repeat of that result this time.
Week 4 – Southern Miss at Arkansas State: Win, 22-18
Southern Miss opens up their 2023 Sun Belt campaign on the road at Arkansas State, where a case of “better the devil you know” at the quarterback position might prove to be the deciding factor. The Golden Eagles know what they have in Zach Wilcke. At this early stage, the Red Wolves can’t say the same.
Week 5 – Southern Miss vs. Texas State: Loss, 20-24
Southern Miss won a close contest in San Marcos last season but lost to the Bobcats the last time the two teams met in Hattiesburg. Although that was 10 years ago, don’t rule out a similar result as a Malik Hornsby led Texas State team begin a turnaround under G.J. Kinne.
Week 6 – Southern Miss vs. Old Dominion: Win, 21-20
Southern Miss and Old Dominion meet for the first time since they were CUSA foes in 2016, when the Monarchs won 51-35 in Norfolk. With the wholesale loss of talent on both sides of the ball, including at quarterback, the Golden Eagles offensive duo of Zach Wilcke and Frank Gore Jr. should be able to counter anything the Monarchs have to offer.
Week 8 – Southern Miss at South Alabama: Loss, 15-31
Southern Miss has never beaten South Alabama in three attempts, and our 2023 college football season predictions don’t envisage them bringing an end to that streak in Week 8. The Jaguars should be considered a Sun Belt title contender with strength on both sides of the ball that sadly the Golden Eagles can’t match.
Week 9 – Southern Miss at Appalachian State: Loss, 32-13
Appalachian State and Southern Miss haven’t met since 2014 when they played out a close fought game in Hattiesburg. With question marks at quarterback following the departure of Chase Brice, expect the Mountaineers to lean into a dominant ground game, which should power their wins this season, including over the Golden Eagles in Week 9.
Week 10 – Southern Miss vs. Louisiana-Monroe: Win, 20-19
In what should be a close game between two teams finding themselves at the basement of the Sun Belt, Southern Miss scrapes a third win of the season against an improving Louisiana-Monroe team. Frank Gore Jr. should once again run amok over the Warhawk defense, replicating his 199-yard performance from 2022.
MORE: Sun Belt RB Rankings 2023
Week 11 – Southern Miss at Louisiana: Loss, 21-24
Southern Miss pulled off a comfortable win over the Ragin’ Cajuns last season, but a road trip to a Louisiana team that we expect to be much better this season is a different proposition. Watch out for Louisiana running back Dre’lyn Washington to be a difference maker in this one.
Week 12 – Southern Miss at Mississippi State: Loss, 10-34
Mississippi State will undoubtably have a different offensive identity following the sad loss of former head coach Mike Leach. However, our Southern Miss season predictions still expect that the Bulldogs will have too much talent for their in-state rivals to overcome.
Week 13 – Southern Miss vs. Troy: Loss, 6-24
Although the Troy defense lost some pieces to the NFL, they should still be one of the most solid and well coached units in the Sun Belt this season, proving too much for the Southern Miss offense as they round out our season predictions with their eighth loss of the year.
