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As Southern Miss gained its third win of the season against the ULM Warhawks last week, it seemed as if new life had been found in Golden Eagle Country. Although the guys in black and gold got the 35-21 victory, the game was closer than the final score might have indicated, and Blake Anderson's team still has a lot of room to grow with four games remaining.
On Thursday night at The Rock, Southern Miss faces a fairly new yet much stronger opponent in James Madison. The Dukes have had a bit of a weird season thus far, starting 7-0 and then losing two in a row coming into this one, but what does that mean for our Golden Eagles?
Here's everything you need to know going into Thursday night's Sun Belt action in Hattiesburg.
James Madison is led by first-year head coach Billy Napier, who was hired almost directly after his firing from Florida last year. James Madison has nearly become a pipeline for successful coaching the past few years. Former head coach Curt Cignetti left for Indiana in 2023, getting the Indiana Hoosiers to their first 10-win season in program history in 2024, and then won the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship the next year. Cignetti's replacement at JMU, Bob Chesney, is in his first year at UCLA, guiding the Bruins to their first 8-0 start since 2005.
The Dukes went on a seven-game win streak to start the season, picking up blowout wins against FCS Wagner (87-3), Marshall (45-17), and Georgia State (49-22). However, after the Georgia State win, something changed. We'll talk about that in more depth here shortly.
Now dropping two in a row in Sun Belt play, the Dukes are looking for a bounce-back spot, and a Thursday night in Hattiesburg is what they're hoping for. The Dukes' running back, George Pettaway, has racked up 824 yards and eight touchdowns, making him the top rusher in the Sun Belt Conference, and is 16th in FBS rushing yards. Dukes QB Camden Coleman is 50th in the nation and second in the Sun Belt with 1,742 passing yards. Coleman is also tied for first in the conference in touchdowns thrown.
Southern Miss' defense has steadily improved over the last two games, to the point where the team looks almost nothing like before, especially in terms of wins. Against Louisiana and ULM, the Nasty Bunch defense has racked up a combined total of 158 tackles (11 for loss), 8 sacks, and one interception for 30 yards. In his postgame presser for the ULM game, Coach Anderson praised the defense's efforts and DC Joe Bolden's strategies.
"To be able to get four-down stops, to me, is huge, and it really kind of put it out of reach," Anderson said. "That’s not a foregone conclusion. It’s not. And they had the momentum, to be truthful, so huge on our defense. Credit to Joe [Bolden] and his defensive staff to have a plan that worked, and for the guys to go out and make plays."
Camden Coleman has proven, however, that he's got no problem performing well against a good defense. This season, Coleman has thrown for 1,742 yards, 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also has 45 carries for 116 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. His top receiver has been Corey Scott, who has caught 27 passes for 386 yards and five touchdowns. Quick on his feet under Sun Belt Billy's leadership, Southern Miss has to stop the quarterback and his men at all costs to have even a small chance of winning this game.
It has been a while since Southern Miss has had a great duo at the running back position. But now, with Steven Robinson as the punisher and Jamarice as the closer, Southern Miss is making noise in the run game that hasn't been seen in a long time in Hattiesburg. Wilder and Robinson rushed for a combined 255 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Golden Eagles' win over ULM last week.
James Madison's run defense has had mixed results the past few weeks. Against Troy, the Dukes allowed 170 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns. But against Appalachian State, JMU allowed 81 yards and no rushing touchdowns. However, that particular game was pass-heavy for both teams, with both starting quarterbacks throwing for 200+ yards. It will be interesting to see how the Dukes adjust to USM's newfound identity on the ground with two big-time rushers on the field.
After two consecutive stellar rushing performances, this might be a game where the Golden Eagles' passing game has to show up in a big way.
Southern Miss and James Madison feature the top two rushers in the Sun Belt Conference. JMU running back George Pettaway currently holds the No. 1 spot with 824 yards this season, while the Golden Eagles' Steven Robinson ranks second with 728 yards. Also, Southern Miss' Jamarice Wilder isn't far behind on the list either, sitting in sixth place with 476 yards.
Pettaway is out for Thursday's game, meaning if Robinson can rack up at least 97 yards on the ground, he'll claim the No. 1 rushing spot in the Sun Belt.
Until the Golden Eagles and Dukes joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022, the two squads had never met in football. In 2024, the Golden Eagles traveled to Harrisonburg to face the James Madison Dukes for their homecoming game, and Southern Miss' first game with Reed Stringer leading the team after Will Hall's firing. As can be expected with teams changing leaders, the Golden Eagles fell 32-15 to the Dukes, a score that has only happened 19 times in college football history. That season, Southern Miss would fall to 1-11, while James Madison would finish 9-4.
Staff Member, Record in () |
Prediction |
|---|---|
Andy Baeuerle (3-5) |
Southern Miss 20, JMU 17 (OT) |
Dalton Trigg (5-3) |
JMU 31, Southern Miss 21 |
Drew Johnson (3-4) |
JMU 21, Southern Miss 7 |
Charlie Lanehart (5-3) |
Southern Miss 28, JMU 24 |
Josh House (2-5) |
Southern Miss 31, JMU 28 |
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