Former CUSA West Foe is now an SBC West Foe
ODU, Marshall, and Southern Miss all departed CUSA at the same time to join the Sun Belt Conference in 2022. The “Sun Belt Three” as they were called, faced litigation and scheduling conflicts as both CUSA and the SBC released schedules with the teams. Arbitration petitions and motions for injunctive relief went flying between the Sun Belt Three and the old conference until a settlement was eventually reached. The tribulation helped form a brotherhood between the fans of these teams and everyone is happier looking forward to their bright futures together in the SBC.
Despite the conference realignment, ODU and Southern Miss get a chance to continue their series as cross-divisional opponents. The series is tied 1-1 where Southern Miss won in Hattiesburg in 2015 and ODU won in Norfolk in 2016. A former CUSA West foe becomes an SBC West foe for the first time when they face off in Hattiesburg on October 7th, USM’s Homecoming.
This will be Will Hall’s third year coaching the Golden Eagles. His first season in ‘21 was a rather disappointing 3-9 record where three different quarterbacks started. Eventually even running back Frank Gore Jr. started at quarterback the last three games. 2022 saw a turnaround where USM finished 7-6 with a bowl victory over Rice. No one should complain about such a good turnaround but it should be noted that their schedule was relatively soft and they only won one game against a team with a winning record (Tulane). They look to continue to rise up in the SBC West with 15 starters returning.
In 2022, USM had another quarterback carousel with Ty Keyes, Trey Lowe, and true freshman Zach Wilke all getting playing time with inconsistent play. Keyes transferred to EMCC and Lowe transferred to Liberty. Wilke returns but last year he was thrown to the wolves as he was simply not ready for playing time. He threw eight touchdowns, nine interceptions, and struggled badly in the middle of the year. Holman Edwards transferred from Houston and Billy Wiles came through the portal from Clemson. Both competed in camp but on August 22, they announced that Wiles won the job. ODU offered Wiles a scholarship in 2020 but he opted to walk on at ACC heavyweight Clemson instead. Now, he will be an ODU adversary. USM expects better QB play simply because the bar is not high. To put it simply, there is an urgency to find consistency at the position and the Eagles hope Wiles can bring it.
But, this offense is more likely to have a ground-and-pound style anyways (just like Marshall). Star running back Frank Gore Jr. returns. He is the son of NFL legend Frank Gore Sr. Last season he rushed over 1000 yards and broke an FBS bowl game record of 329 rushing yards against Rice. The offense starts and ends with his rushing attack behind an offensive line that brings back four starters. Rodrigues Clark comes in from Memphis as a change-in-pace back as well. At receiver, it’s not clear how good the unit truly is because they have faced such inconsistent quarterback play. They lose their top receiver Jason Brownlee to the New York Jets but return six other receivers. Regardless, this year looks like it will be the same as last year. If they run the ball well, they’ll win. If they don’t, they’ll lose.
Defensively, USM had a bend-don’t-break mentality. In 2022, they allowed 372 yards per game, but tightened up in the red zone and only permitted 23.5 points per game. They also had 44 sacks which is good for fifth in all of FBS football, but ten of those sacks came from Dominic Quewon who signed with the Chicago Bears. Still, they return most of their starters on the defensive line making it one of the Sun Belt’s best. Unfortunately, senior linebacker Averie Habas suffered a season-ending injury which is a major blow to USM’s rushing defense. They also lost three starters in the secondary. The defensive back depth is talented but inexperienced.
USM and Marshall have a lot in common. The former CUSA schools have a third year head coach, coming off a bowl win, and are going to rely on a star running back and an experienced offensive line to return to form. Phil Steele believes this is Hall’s best team and they should return to a bowl game in 2023. However, the quarterback situation in Hattiesburg is precarious and Vegas predicts the Golden Eagles to win only 5.5 games. The schedule is not easy as they draw Tulane, Miss. State and Florida State in non-conference play. They also have to play away at App State.
Essentially, this team will be very good when the ball is on the ground. They have a strong running back and offensive line and a strong front seven on defense. But they will likely struggle against teams that can pass the ball against their inexperienced secondary and teams that can limit Frank Gore Jr (if such a team exists). If ODU’s new OC Kevin Decker can build a pass-happy offense and linebacker Jason Henderson can limit Frank Gore, then I like ODU’s chances to go into Hattiesburg and ruin their Homecoming.
Want more? Check out our Game 7 Opponent Preview: App. State.