Mississippi State is back home Saturday as the Bulldogs (4-6) host in-state foe Southern Miss (3-7) for an 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN+ and SEC Network Plus. It will be MSU’s first game this year with Greg Knox as interim head coach after Zach Arnett was fired Monday morning.
The Golden Eagles have won their last two games after losing seven in a row, including an impressive overtime victory last week against Louisiana. To learn more about this Southern Miss team, The Commercial Dispatch chatted with Sam Sklar, who covers the Golden Eagles for the Hattiesburg American.
Editor’s note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
The Commercial Dispatch: How big a game is this for Southern Miss, with the chance to go up against an in-state SEC school, especially one that’s been struggling and now going through a coaching transition?
Sam Sklar: This is a big opportunity for Southern Miss, especially at this point in the season with bowl eligibility not in the picture. The coaching staff and players deserve credit for still fighting and showing signs of improvement over the last three weeks. I didn’t think I’d be saying that after Southern Miss lost 55-3 at South Alabama. A win would carry considerable momentum into the offseason, not to mention the recruiting that could get a boost, too. Southern Miss does a lot of its recruiting in-state and a win over the Bulldogs in their house could go a long way in the eyes of a high schooler. Plus, you have to factor in the transfer portal now being open for Mississippi State players. Southern Miss already has four former Mississippi State players on its roster and could potentially grab more with the Mississippi State coaching change, so a strong performance on Saturday could be quite impactful.
The Dispatch: What has changed in the last couple of weeks for Southern Miss that’s allowed them to pick up those back-to-back conference wins?
Sklar: The biggest catapult has been Southern Miss head coach Will Hall giving up his offensive play-calling duties after the loss at South Alabama. Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sam Gregg and quarterbacks coach Jordy Joseph now split that role. It has allowed for a fresh perspective on the offense and also for Hall to focus more attention on defense and special teams, which were also struggling during the seven-game losing streak.
The Dispatch: What are the main challenges Southern Miss’ offense will present for Mississippi State’s defense?
Sklar: The Southern Miss offense starts and ends with Frank Gore Jr. He’s been on an absolute tear since Hall relinquished his play-calling, rushing for 637 yards and five touchdowns over the last three games. We aren’t sure who will play quarterback this week between Billy Wiles and true freshman Ethan Crawford. Wiles has started all 10 games and been fine. He has a high floor, but also a low ceiling. Crawford has played increasingly over the last three games and has been a spark with his legs. If Crawford does play this Saturday, it would be his fifth game of the season and would burn his redshirt.
The Dispatch: What do you make of this Southern Miss defense, and what does it need to do to slow down the Bulldogs’ offense?
Sklar: The Southern Miss defense has been decimated with season-ending injuries and they’ve all hit at one position: cornerback. It resulted in two offensive players having to switch to cornerback in the middle of the season. Zay Franks is one of them, and he’s started three games now at cornerback. Antavious Willis is the other, and he’s started once and been in the cornerback rotation each week. It’s forced the Golden Eagles to simplify their defense, which is starting to yield positive results. Southern Miss’ strength is up front and it made two separate goal-line stands last week in the win over Louisiana.
The Dispatch: Southern Miss will win if…
Sklar: Frank Gore Jr. has another phenomenal game and the defense limits explosive plays.
The Dispatch: Southern Miss will lose if…
Sklar: It isn’t physical enough on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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