If you want to understand the pure, unadulterated chaos of Sun Belt football, you don’t look at the powerhouse programs or the flashy New Year's Six hopefuls. You look at the dirt. Specifically, the dirt along the I-10 corridor between Hattiesburg and Mobile.
The Southern Miss vs South Alabama matchup is one of those games that makes sense on a map but defies all logic on the field. It’s a 90-minute drive between the two campuses. You have fans who work in the same offices and families split right down the middle by the state line. Yet, for some reason, one side has basically forgotten how to lose while the other keeps finding creative ways to trip over the finish line.
Honestly, it’s frustrating if you’re a Golden Eagle fan. You’ve got the history, the "Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime" mantra, and the Brett Favre legacy. But none of that seems to matter when the Jaguars show up.
The Mental Block: Why the Jaguars Own the Golden Eagles
Let’s be real for a second. Southern Miss has a storied history that South Alabama, a program that didn't even exist until 2009, shouldn't be able to touch. But as of the 2025 season, the Jaguars are a perfect 6-0 against Southern Miss.
Six and oh.
That’s not just a winning streak; it’s a psychological haunting. The most recent meeting on November 22, 2025, was a microcosm of this entire dynamic. Southern Miss walked into Mobile with a 7-3 record, looking like a legitimate contender for the Sun Belt West. They had Braylon Braxton throwing for 400 yards. They out-gained the Jaguars. They looked, by almost every metric, like the better team for long stretches of the game.
🔗 Read more: Texas vs Oklahoma Football Game: Why the Red River Rivalry is Getting Even Weirder
Then Kentrel Bullock happened.
Bullock absolutely shredded the Golden Eagles’ defense for 187 yards and three touchdowns, including a soul-crushing 64-yarder in the fourth quarter. Southern Miss kept clawing back, scoring 21 points in the final frame alone, but South Alabama just stayed ahead. It ended 42-35. It was the kind of game that leaves a fan base staring at a blank TV screen for twenty minutes after the clock hits zero.
The Trench Warfare Disparity
While Braxton was airmailing passes all over Hancock Whitney Stadium, the real story was the line of scrimmage. You can't win football games when you give up 263 rushing yards and only manage 41 yourselves.
- South Alabama Rushing: 263 yards
- Southern Miss Rushing: 41 yards
That’s the game right there. It doesn't matter if your quarterback is putting up video game numbers if your offensive line is getting pushed into the backfield every third down. The Jaguars held the ball for over 37 minutes. They basically played "keep away" while the Golden Eagles' defense got gassed in the Gulf Coast humidity.
It’s Not Just Football (But It Mostly Is)
While the gridiron is where the most blood is drawn, the Southern Miss vs South Alabama rivalry extends into every corner of their athletic departments. Take baseball, for instance.
💡 You might also like: How to watch vikings game online free without the usual headache
In Hattiesburg, baseball isn't a hobby; it’s a religion. Southern Miss is a perennial powerhouse that expects to be in a Super Regional every single June. But even there, South Alabama is a persistent thorn. On March 30, 2025, the Golden Eagles managed a narrow 8-7 win, but the all-time history between these two on the diamond is much tighter than the football ledger.
Even the women’s soccer teams got in on the action in September 2025. Southern Miss pulled off a gritty 1-0 win, proving that while the "Jags" might own the football field, the rivalry is a lot more balanced when you take the helmets off.
The Stakes for 2026 and Beyond
Looking ahead to the 2026 schedule, the pressure on Southern Miss is reaching a boiling point. They have Alcorn State and a brutal trip to Auburn on the non-conference slate, but everyone in Hattiesburg has the Sun Belt West matchups circled in red ink.
The conference is changing. With the Sun Belt West becoming a "Chaos Triangle" between Southern Miss, South Alabama, and Troy, there are no easy Saturdays. The 2025 loss to the Jags actually cost Southern Miss a cleaner path to the Sun Belt Championship game, forcing them into a "win-or-go-home" scenario against Troy later that month.
What Southern Miss Must Change
Basically, the Golden Eagles need to find an identity that works against South Alabama’s physicality. You’ve seen them try to out-talent the Jags, and you’ve seen them try to out-finesse them. Neither worked.
📖 Related: Liechtenstein National Football Team: Why Their Struggles are Different Than You Think
- Fix the "Nasty Bunch" Identity: The defense needs to live up to its nickname. Giving up nearly 300 yards on the ground to a 4-7 South Alabama team (their record at the time of the 2025 game) is unacceptable for a program with USM's aspirations.
- Rushing Consistency: You can't rely on Braylon Braxton or whoever is under center in 2026 to throw 52 times a game. That’s a recipe for turnovers and tired defenses.
- The Home Field Advantage: M.M. Roberts Stadium ("The Rock") used to be a place where visiting teams' dreams went to die. Lately, it hasn't felt as intimidating. Bringing back that fear factor is key.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Bettors
If you’re looking at this matchup from a betting or analytical perspective, stop looking at the records. The 2025 game proved that South Alabama could be having a miserable season and still find a way to dismantle a "better" Southern Miss team.
Keep an eye on the transfer portal this spring. South Alabama has already been active, picking up guys like LSU offensive lineman Khayree Lee Jr. to bolster that rushing attack that Southern Miss struggled to stop. If USM doesn't hit the portal for defensive interior help, expect more of the same in 2026.
Final Take: Until Southern Miss proves they can stop the run and handle the mental pressure of the "0-for" streak, South Alabama remains the king of this I-10 rivalry. It’s one of the best kept secrets in college football, and honestly, it deserves a lot more national eyes than it gets.
The next time these two meet, ignore the jerseys. Look at the trenches. That’s where this game is won, and lately, the Jags have just been hungrier for the dirt.
Next Steps for Following the Rivalry:
- Track the 2026 Sun Belt schedule releases to see if the game moves to a mid-week "Sun Belt Fun Belt" slot, which often changes the betting lines significantly.
- Watch the Southern Miss spring game specifically for defensive line rotations; they need to find three-down players who can eat up space against the Jaguars' zone-run scheme.
- Monitor the health of QB Bishop Davenport for South Alabama, as his dual-threat capability was the "X-factor" that broke the USM containment in their last outing.