2023 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team explained

Year:	2023
Team:	Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Sport:	football
Conference:	Sun Belt Conference
Division:	West Division
Short Conf:	Sun Belt
Record:	3–9
Conf Record:	2–6
Head Coach:	Will Hall
Hc Year:	3rd
Off Coach:	Sam Gregg
Oc Year:	3rd
Off Scheme:	Multiple
Def Coach:	Dan O'Brien
Dc Year:	1st
Def Scheme:	4–2–5
Stadium:	M. M. Roberts Stadium

The 2023 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Will Hall, who is coaching his third season with the team. The Golden Eagles played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Preseason

Media poll

In the Sun Belt preseason coaches' poll, the Golden Eagles were picked to finish in fourth place in the West division.^[1]

Media poll (West division)
1	Troy	92 (10)
2	South Alabama	85 (4)
3	Louisiana	64
4	Southern Miss	62
5	Texas State	36
6	Arkansas State	33
7	ULM	20

Running back Frank Gore Jr., defensive back Jay Stanley, and all purpose back Frank Gore Jr. were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team. Defensive lineman Jalen Williams was named to the second team.

Schedule

The football schedule was announced February 24, 2023.^[2]

Game summaries

Alcorn State

Statistics	ALCN	USM
First downs	8	25
Total yards	226	441
Rushing yards	182	145
Passing yards	44	296
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	21:43	38:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Alcorn State	Passing	Aaron Allen	5/9, 44 yards
Rushing	Tyler Macon	4 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Malik Rodgers	1 reception, 26 yards
Southern Miss	Passing		21/28, 267 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Rodrigues Clark	9 carries, 54 yards
Receiving	Jakarius Caston	5 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD

at No. 4 Florida State

Statistics	USM	FSU
First downs	18	26
Total yards	258	554
Rushing yards	104	306
Passing yards	154	248
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	27:27	32:33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Miss	Passing	Billy Wiles	11/34, 154 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	Rodrigues Clark	15 carries, 86 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Antavious Willis	2 receptions, 35 yards
Florida State	Passing		15/29, 175 yards, 2 TD
Rushing		9 carries, 79 yards, 3 TD
Receiving		3 receptions, 48 yards, 1 TD

Tulane

Statistics	TUL	USM
First downs	18	14
Total yards	314	212
Rushing yards	128	35
Passing yards	186	177
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	28:23	31:37

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulane	Passing	Kai Horton	12/19, 186 yards, 2 TD
Rushing		13 carries, 83 yards
Receiving	Lawrence Keys III	4 receptions, 78 yards
Southern Miss	Passing	Billy Wiles	19/33, 177 yards
Rushing	Rodrigues Clark	5 carries, 17 yards
Receiving	Jakarius Caston	2 receptions, 54 yards

at Arkansas State

Statistics	USM	ASU
First downs	20	18
Total yards	449	425
Rushing yards	234	192
Passing yards	215	233
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	30:28	29:32

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Miss	Passing	Billy Wiles	20/36, 215 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing		20 carries, 132 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Jakarius Caston	4 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD
Arkansas State	Passing		11/21, 233 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Jaylen Raynor	17 carries, 97 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Courtney Jackson	3 receptions, 94 yards, 2 TD

Texas State

See also: 2023 Texas State Bobcats football team. Statistics

Statistics	TXST	USM
First downs	22	28
Total yards	516	510
Rushing yards	178	235
Passing yards	338	275
Turnovers	3	2
Time of possession	23:22	36:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas State	Passing		19/24, 338 yards, 2 TD
Rushing		14 rushes, 89 yards, 3 TD
Receiving	Joey Hobert	10 receptions, 126 yards, TD
Southern Miss	Passing	Billy Wiles	21/44, 275 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing		24 rushes, 123 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Latreal Jones	6 receptions, 124 yards

Old Dominion

Statistics	ODU	USM
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Old Dominion	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Southern Miss	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at South Alabama

Statistics	USM	USA
First downs	12	34
Total yards	56–149	75–647
Rushing yards	36–103	44–287
Passing yards	46	360
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	7–20–1	23–31–1
Time of possession	28:45	31:15

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Miss	Passing	Holman Edwards	5/15, 41 yards, INT
Rushing	Kenyon Clay	10 carries, 60 yards
Receiving		2 receptions, 22 yards
South Alabama	Passing		21/27, 319 yards
Rushing		20 carries, 102 yards, 4 TD
Receiving	Jamaal Pricchett	5 receptions, 122 yards

at Appalachian State

Statistics	USM	APP
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Miss	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Appalachian State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Louisiana–Monroe

Statistics	ULM	USM
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisiana–Monroe	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Southern Miss	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Louisiana

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
LA –7.5	52.5

Statistics	USM	ULL
First downs	22	20
Total yards	390	390
Rushing yards	229	130
Passing yards	161	260
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	14–26–0	24–38–0
Time of possession	33:33	26:27

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Miss	Passing	Billy Wiles	10/16, 105 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Frank Gore Jr.	33 carries, 158 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving	Jakarius Caston	3 receptions, 58 yards, 1 TD
Louisiana	Passing		24/38, 260 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing	Dre'lyn Washington	12 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Harvey Broussard	5 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD

at Mississippi State

Statistics	USM	MSST
First downs	10	18
Total yards	246	382
Rushing yards	105	238
Passing yards	141	144
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	11–21–1	12–27–0
Time of possession	31:42	28:18

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Miss	Passing	Billy Wiles	9/16, 89 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Frank Gore Jr.	22 carries, 66 yards
Receiving	Jakarius Caston	2 receptions, 88 yards, TD
Mississippi State	Passing		12/27, 144 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Jeffery Pittman	10 carries, 98 yards, TD
Receiving	Zavion Thomas	3 receptions, 66 yards

Troy

Statistics	TROY	USM
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Troy	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Southern Miss	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Notes and References

Web site: 2023-07-24 . Sun Belt Announces Football Preseason Awards & Poll . 2023-08-08 . sunbeltsports.org . en.
Web site: 2023 Southern Miss Football Schedule . FBSchedules . 27 February 2023.