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Despite a close, competitive first half, Southern Miss ultimately fell to James Madison last Thursday at Renasant Stadium by the final score of 54-23. Although the Golden Eagles only trailed 16-14 at the half, the Dukes went on a 38-9 run in the second half to run off with the win.
This week, the Golden Eagles are preparing for an oh-so-familiar opponent, and one of their oldest rivals in program history. That rival is the 7-2 (yes, 7-2) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. LA Tech is also a perfect 5-0 in Sun Belt play so far during its first year in the league. Here's everything you need to know about Saturday's game in Ruston, La.
Led by fifth-year head coach Sonny Cumbie, the Bulldogs have gotten off to a tremendous start. Despite falling big to both Baylor and LSU, Louisiana Tech has kept all but two games out of reach for their opponents, those two being a 32-31 win over Louisiana and a 31-29 win over Army. All other games have had a spread between 15 and 74 points. The Bulldogs are also on their first six-game win streak since 2019. And, as mentioned earlier, this is LA Tech's first year in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Bulldogs currently sit in first place in the Sun Belt West and are being led by a powerful quarterback with an impressive stat line. Blake Baker, LA Tech's junior quarterback, is in his third year throwing for the Bulldogs and has put up 1,504 yards through the air, 14 passing touchdowns, and has only one interception. He has also racked up 50 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. LA Tech is also big on the ground, splitting up 823 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns among five running backs.
The Golden Eagles' defense played arguably its best half of football this year last week against James Madison. The defending Sun Belt Champions were held to only 16 points in the first half, and a group that looked like the "Nasty Bunch" held the Dukes to 222 yards on six drives. But after halftime, the bottom fell out, and JMU ran away with the game. USM's pass coverage was poor, allowing the three different quarterbacks the Dukes played to throw for 323 yards, two touchdowns, and a 74.2 percent completion rate.
As stated before, Baker has allowed only one interception this season, that one coming in the Bulldogs' 45-14 loss to LSU. The main key to winning this game is stopping Baker in the spread formation Sonny Cumbie is known for using. Covering the spread, breaking up passes, and picking off a few will help the Golden Eagles along to victory.
As much as Louisiana Tech relies on its air game, it relies equally on the ground game as well. Despite splitting up 1,281 rushing yards among 14 rushers, the Bulldogs have made their run game efficient in both conference and non-conference play. Last week against Troy, the Bulldogs were attacked well on the ground, only racking up only two of their five touchdowns on the ground and 106 rushing yards.
It is a big task to guard both the air and ground, but Southern Miss HAS TO keep this game within reach. But for a team that has outscored its opponents 302-184, it's clear the Bulldogs will be hard to defend either way.
So much has changed about Southern Miss' offense since the beginning of the year. First, Ethan Hampton went down. Landry Lyddy was brought in to fill Hampton's shoes. Robert Briggs then went down, which left a hole for two big rushers in Steven Robinson and Jamarice Wilder to pick up the slack. Now, a new quarterback has entered the race. A quarterback brought in from the Will Hall era: John White.
White has been with the Golden Eagles since 2024 and has been searching for his big break at The Rock. White played a handful of snaps in 2024, going 17-for-31 on pass attempts for 240 yards and three interceptions. He was also sacked five times. The 2025 season saw only one play with White at the helm, one complete pass for negative yardage. This season, however, White has been given his first real opportunity, starting the game against James Madison last week.
In the offseason, Golden Eagle head coach Blake Anderson made it clear that the race for a permanent starter was a close one. Well before starting White, Anderson expressed full confidence in his new starter, even saying, "I see no doubt that guy can be a two-year starter for us here in the future."
White completed 22 of 35 passes (62.9%) for 266 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also scored one touchdown on the ground. His big downfall was being sacked four times last week, which doesn't solely fall on him, of course. During his second start of the year in this big rivalry game, the Golden Eagle O-Line will have to improve significantly for White to operate more cleanly and try to pull off an upset.
Out of the Golden Eagles' three main rivals (LA Tech, Tulane, and Memphis), LA Tech is the second-oldest, and second-most played. The two teams first met in 1935, when Louisiana Tech won decidedly 27-0. Since then, the two teams have been members of three conferences together, and Southern Miss has taken a large lead over the Bulldogs, currently leading the series 36-18. The two schools do share one important aspect, however.
Maxie Lambright, who was head coach of the Bulldogs from 1967-1978, played for Southern Miss in the late 1940s under head coach Reed Green. At Louisiana Tech, Lambright was known for recruiting two of the school's greatest quarterbacks: Phil Robertson (known later known for his company Duck Commander) and future Pro Football Hall of Famer, College Football Hall of Famer, and 4x Super Bowl Champion Terry Bradshaw. While at Louisiana Tech, Lambright led the Bulldogs to 3 NCAA D-II National Championships, and finished with a 95-36-2 record. Today, Maxie Lambright is a member of the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and the Southern Miss Sports Hall of Fame.
Staff Member, Record in () |
Prediction |
|---|---|
Andy Baeuerle (3-6) |
Louisiana Tech 38, Southern Miss 7 |
Dalton Trigg (6-3) |
Louisiana Tech 35, Southern Miss 17 |
Drew Johnson (4-4) |
Louisiana Tech 35, Southern Miss 7 |
Charlie Lanehart (5-4) |
Louisiana Tech 42, Southern Miss 17 |
Josh House (2-6) |
Southern Miss 24, Louisiana Tech 17 |
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