It was a weird year in Hattiesburg. If you’re looking for the latest southern miss football score, you probably saw the final result of the New Orleans Bowl: a 27-16 loss to Western Kentucky. That December 23rd matchup at the Caesars Superdome felt like a microcosm of the whole 2025 campaign. Moments of absolute brilliance followed by stretches where the gears just seemed to grind to a halt.
Honestly, the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story of how this season felt for Golden Eagles fans. We started with high hopes, hit a massive five-game winning streak in the middle, and then the wheels basically fell off in November.
The December Heartbreak in New Orleans
The 25th Annual New Orleans Bowl was supposed to be the victory lap. Instead, it was a tough night. Quarterback Braylon Braxton, who has been a bright spot all year, threw for 258 yards, but the ground game never really found its rhythm. Jalen Pittman was held to just 55 yards. You can’t win many bowl games when your leading rusher is under 60 yards.
Western Kentucky’s defense just lived in the backfield. It felt like every time Southern Miss tried to establish some momentum, a sack or a holding penalty pushed them back. The final southern miss football score of 16-27 left a bitter taste, especially since the team entered the postseason on a three-game losing skid.
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A Rollercoaster in the Sun Belt
Let's talk about that mid-season run because it was actually kind of incredible. After a shaky start—losing the opener to Mississippi State 34-17—the Golden Eagles went on a tear.
They beat App State 38-22 in September. They went on the road and gutted out a 38-35 win against Georgia Southern. At that point, people were starting to talk about a potential division title. Then came the ULM game on October 25th. A 49-21 blowout. Everything was clicking. The offense looked unstoppable.
But then November happened.
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The drop-off was sharp. A 41-14 loss to Texas State at home was the wake-up call nobody wanted. Followed by a heartbreaker at South Alabama (42-35) and a disappointing 28-18 loss to Troy. By the time the bowl game rolled around, the "Rock" felt a little less solid.
Why the Southern Miss Football Score Looked Different This Year
There's been a lot of turnover, which explains some of the inconsistency. Charles Huff led the team through the regular season, but the coaching situation has been in flux. As of right now, Blake Anderson has officially taken the reigns as the 24th head coach, and he’s already been busy gutting and rebuilding the staff for 2026.
If you're wondering why the defense struggled late in the year, look at the depth chart. Injuries to the secondary in the Texas State game forced a lot of young guys into the fire. They got burned. It happens.
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Key Stats from the 2025 Season
- Final Record: 7-6 (5-3 in Sun Belt play)
- Offensive Peak: 49 points against Louisiana-Monroe
- Defensive Low: 42 points surrendered to South Alabama
- Passing Leader: Braylon Braxton (over 3,000 yards on the season)
Braxton really is the guy to watch moving forward. Even in the losses, he showed he can make every throw in the book. He finished the season with 24 touchdowns against only 8 interceptions. In modern college football, those are winning numbers. The problem? The defense allowed over 400 yards per game on average. You just can't outrun that kind of defensive leakage forever.
Looking Toward the 2026 Season
The focus in Hattiesburg has already shifted. Coach Anderson isn't wasting time. He just announced a massive wave of hires, bringing in guys like Bobby Dodd for special teams and BJ Edmonds for the running backs. They are leaning heavily into the transfer portal and JUCO ranks to patch those holes in the defensive line.
People get obsessed with the final southern miss football score, but the real metric for next year is going to be the "trenches." If Anderson can find some massive bodies to stop the run, that 7-6 record is going to look a lot better in twelve months.
If you want to keep tabs on the rebuild, watch the spring game. It'll be the first real look at how the new defensive scheme—now under Joe Bolden’s direction—actually holds up against a spread offense. The talent is there at the skill positions; it's just about whether the big guys up front can hold the line.
Actionable Next Steps:
Keep an eye on the transfer portal window closing in late January. Southern Miss is currently courting several high-profile defensive tackles who could immediately change the defensive dynamic. If they land two of their top three targets, expect the preseason win totals to jump significantly. You should also mark your calendar for the 2026 Early Signing Day updates to see if Anderson can flip any local Mississippi talent that's currently leaning toward the SEC.