MOBILE, AL — In hindsight, Southern Miss football’s result at South Alabama didn’t matter.
The Golden Eagles (7-4, 5-2 Sun Belt Conference) lost 42-35 to South Alabama (4-7, 3-4) on Nov. 22, with a comeback bid falling short after trailing by 28 points in the third quarter.
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It was the second straight loss for the Golden Eagles, who squandered a chance to win the Sun Belt West Division with a win. But they also needed a loss by Troy, who beat Georgia State 31-19 shortly after Southern Miss’ game.
The regular-season finale will be a winner-take-all when Southern Miss hosts Troy (7-4, 5-2) at M. M. Roberts Stadium on Nov. 29 (2:30 p.m., ESPN+). A win would be the program’s first divisional title since 2015, culminating a stark turnaround under first-year Southern Miss coach Charles Huff after going 1-11 in 2024.
“We’ve got championship football in Hattiesburg,” Huff said. “Wow. It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to say that. And trust me, we stink right now. Nobody feels any worse than Coach Huff. But, we’ve got championship football in Hattiesburg in November. The sky is not falling. We are not playing really well, and we will get it fixed.”
Is Southern Miss concerned by losses to Texas State and South Alabama?
Ideally, Southern Miss would like to be playing its best heading into the Troy game, but that’s not the case.
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It was the second straight loss, and one that looked headed toward a second straight blowout loss following the 41-14 defeat against Texas State on Nov. 15.
Starting quarterback Braylon Braxton returned from his one-game injury absence, but the Golden Eagles had a poor start on offense and defense against South Alabama. The running game was ineffective, while the Golden Eagles didn’t force a turnover for the second consecutive game.
They trailed the Jaguars 21-7 at halftime, and 35-7 with 9:20 remaining in the third quarter. Southern Miss scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and failed to recover an onside kick with 54 seconds to play.
“No, because if we would’ve won by 100 today we still would’ve needed to win,” Huff said when asked if he was concerned about the losses. “Today is an opportunity to learn. I’m still as fired up about the opportunity that these guys have in front of them.
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“I think we showed a lot of who we are in the second half. But you can’t play a half of football and expect to beat good teams.”
MORE: What went wrong for Southern Miss football in loss to South Alabama
Troy isn’t at the top of its game either entering the matchup. It’s win versus Georgia State was at home against the worst team in the Sun Belt. It ended a two-game losing streak for the Trojans that featured a 23-10 loss to Arkansas State and a 33-0 loss to Old Dominion.
“You hate to say that you need to lose, but honestly it was probably good for us,” Braxton said. “I hate losing, but hopefully we can learn from this. Everything we want is still ahead of us.”
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Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss football vs Troy for Sun Belt West Division title
