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Despite being 10-point underdogs on Homecoming last weekend, Southern Miss achieved its first win since the season opener against their oldest rival, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. In a game that truly came down to the wire, the solid all-around performance was a breath of fresh air for the thousands of Golden Eagle faithful at Renasant Stadium and those also watching from home.
Now, looking to string together consecutive wins for the first time all season, Southern Miss is in Monroe, La., this weekend to take on yet another old foe, the UL-Monroe Warhawks.
Here's everything you need to know about this one:
The 2026 ULM Warhawks are led on the sideline by third-year head coach Bryant Vincent. Vincent was hired in 2024 after the firing of Terry Bowden to try to get the Warhawks back to the level of success they knew in their earlier years in the Sun Belt Conference. In his first season, the Warhawks achieved their first 5-win season since 2019, but then dropped down to 3-9 in 2025. This season, ULM has started out at 1-6, and despite a 6-game losing streak, they picked up their first win in an impressive fashion.
Six games in and 0-6, the Warhawks were desperate for a win. And the Troy Trojans were not that happy to oblige. The same Troy Trojans that took down USM a few weeks ago, 55-34, fell to the winless Warhawks 21-14. But what does that mean for the Golden Eagles against ULM?
ULM and Southern Miss have both had lackluster seasons. In both Warhawk and Golden Eagle terms. ULM got off to an 0-6 start, even falling in a close matchup to FCS Southeastern Louisiana. The Warhawks also fell hard to Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic, and Louisiana Tech.
Southern Miss, on the other hand, already had a win against Alcorn State before going on a five-game losing streak, with big heartbreakers to Auburn, UConn, and Troy.
This week, Southern Miss will work to keep their win streak going, rebounding from their losses and an emotional win over Louisiana last week. The Golden Eagles gave the Cajuns a run for their money, with impressive showings by QB Landry Lyddy and RBs Jamarice Wilder and Steven Robinson. The Golden Eagle offense totaled 450 yards and scored 35 points, USM's second-most this season and the most against an FBS opponent.
Louisiana-Monroe is trying to add more hope to what seems to be another bad season for their program. The Warhawks have dropped four games by 2+ touchdowns, with their closest losses against UAB and SE Louisiana. However, the Warhawks picked up an interesting win against the Troy Trojans by 7. Down 19-14 with 2:34 left in the fourth quarter, the Warhawks entered war mode and scored 12 points in the last two minutes, one on an offensive touchdown with a failed 2-point conversion, and the second on a fumble return in the closing minutes.
Despite its six losses, ULM showed it will not go down without a fight.
"How do we respond to a road trip? How do we respond to a road trip where you're not going to have a ton of energy in the building?" Anderson said. "You're going to have to bring your own juice and want to play because you want to play. "
While ULM's offense has not been among the country's most impressive this season, the Warhawks have two alternating quarterbacks they are not afraid to use: Aidan Armenta and Austin Carlisle. Armenta has thrown for 1,121 yards on 96 completions and eight touchdowns. He also has 40 rushing yards for one touchdown.
Carlisle, on the other hand, is where the rushing aspect comes in. Carlisle has 360 yards in the air for three touchdowns, but is also the team's leading rusher with 237 yards for one touchdown. This dual threat from the Warhawks may cripple the Golden Eagles a bit, but any momentum from last week could make this only a thought.
"So obviously they’re coming off a big win against a solid team, and they do it enough where you got to cover all your bases," Southern Miss defensive coordinator Joe Bolden said.
Louisiana's rushing quarterback Lunch Winfield was held to only seven yards by Southern Miss last week, in a season where he had already rushed for 463 yards. Southern's big key to this game is whether they can hold back two quarterbacks who will leave the pocket if needed. You would expect them to, but Coach Anderson has already said this is not a game to look past.
"You got to have edges on the defense. You got to make sure you’re great in pass coverage. And then work to get them in those third-and-long situations and try to take advantage of those. They got some weapons. They rotate their quarterbacks. They got some good receivers. Their tight end is a good player. Use him quite a bit, both in the run and throw game," Bolden said.
"So overall, really solid opponent. We have a significant amount to clean up from last game. Yes, we won. As a coach, you feel the win, you’re happy for the win, but you see all of the issues that are there and that could be there. So we have plenty to clean up this week going into next, and really our base stuff and continuing to harp on those fundamentals of football.”
Not enough can be said about how well Landry Lyddy has adjusted to leading the Golden Eagles. While not having his best game against Louisiana last week, Lyddy still provided strong leadership to his team and has over 1,000 passing yards and 7 touchdowns on the year. For a late entry into the season, that's still quite impressive.
“It was a win, but definitely wasn’t my best game by any means," Lyddy said of his performance against the Cajuns, where he completed 21 of 38 passes for 164 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
"I watched the tape yesterday and today and was very critical of myself, and I have to play better if we’re going to win games down the stretch. So whether that’s just hanging in there in the pocket for a little longer, making all the right reads, and just making the safe decisions, when to throw the ball away, things like that, there’s a ton to improve on.”
Although Ethan Hampton was upgraded to probable this week, Lyddy is still expected to lead the charge against ULM this weekend, with John White as the backup. Hampton is expected to be available only in case of emergency.
Despite losing Robert Briggs, USM's run game has been on fire, even in the losses. Southern's rushers scored four of the team's five touchdowns against Louisiana. Jamarice Wilder and Steven Robinson combined for over half of the team's total rushing yards, with 289 on the ground.
Wilder and Robinson's effort last week has been just another part of resurrecting a once successful ground game in Hattiesburg. This year, the team as a whole has hit the ground for 1,088 yards and 14 touchdowns. Across nine rushers, this averages to roughly 120 yards per rusher, an amazing stat for such a slow year of football. As USM's season evolves, so should this amazing run game.
Southern Miss and Louisiana-Monroe first faced each other way back in 1982, the same year Jim Carmody and his Nasty Bunch upset Bear Bryant in his final season at Alabama. The win was a major victory for the Golden Eagles, with a score of 45-27.
All-time, the teams have met 10 times, with USM carrying a decisive 7-3 record over the Warhawks. Southern Miss has lost to ULM in 1987, 2018, and 2024. For the more statistical fans out there, along with the 7-3 record, Southern Miss has outscored ULM 303-231 all-time.
Staff Member, Record in () |
Prediction |
|---|---|
Andy Baeuerle (2-5) |
Southern Miss 24, UL-Monroe 10 |
Dalton Trigg (4-3) |
Southern Miss 28, UL-Monroe 17 |
Drew Johnson (2-4) |
Southern Miss 40, UL-Monroe 37 |
Charlie Lanehart (4-3) |
Southern Miss 27, UL-Monroe 17 |
Josh House (1-5) |
Southern Miss 35, UL-Monroe 17 |
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