HATTIESBURG, Miss. — South Alabama opens its 2020 football season Thursday night at Southern Miss in the first meeting between the regional rivals, a game that will kick off 10 years to the day after the schools announced their home-and-home agreement.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CDT Thursday, Sept. 3, on CBS Sports Network. The game will air on 99.5 FM The Jag, 96.1 FM The Rocket and the iHeartRadio app.
Southern Miss Under Jay Hopson
Southern Miss completed its fifth consecutive winning season in 2019. Head coach Jay Hopson’s Golden Eagles are aiming to unseat UAB atop the Conference USA West Division. Hopson hired offensive coordinator Matt Kubik to improve a running game and an offense that averaged 27 points per game last season.
Golden Eagles Offense
Senior quarterback Jack Abraham returns for his third season as the starter and was named Conference USA’s first-team preseason quarterback. As a sophomore, Abraham led the FBS in completion percentage, connecting on 73.1 percent of his passes, the eighth-highest mark in college football history. Last season, as the full-time starter, he completed 67.9 percent of his passes for nearly 3,500 yards with 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Abraham’s top receiver from last season graduated, but Tim Jones, a preseason all-conference selection, returns after catching 73 passes for 902 yards. Jaylond Adams, who was expected to start opposite Jones, opted out of the season. Southern Miss added two junior college transfers at receiver.
Of the three running backs who shared carries last season, one left for the NFL and another opted out, leaving Kevin Perkins as the only returner. Junior college transfer Don Ragsdale appears to have won the starting job. Southern Miss rushed for 1,527 yards last season.
The Golden Eagles return four of five starters on the offensive line. Last season’s line was solid in pass protection but allowed an average of seven tackles for loss per game, the most in the nation.
Golden Eagles Defense
Defensive coordinator Tim Billings must replace much of his front seven, though Southern Miss returns six of its top eight tacklers from a unit that allowed 353 yards and 26 points per game and held five opponents to 17 points or fewer. The Golden Eagles ranked first in Conference USA and 18th nationally against the run, allowing 1,506 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns all season.
Top pass rusher Jacques Turner opted out of the season. Eriq Kitchen, a junior college transfer who plays a hybrid defensive end-outside linebacker role, is expected to take on a leadership role, and 339-pound Von’Darious Freeman anchors the interior. Swayzee Bozeman is the top returning linebacker after recording six tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles last season.
The secondary, particularly at safety, is considered the defense’s strength. Rover Ky’el Hembry, a Conference USA preseason selection, led the team in tackles last season and intercepted six passes.
Turnovers a Concern for Both Teams
Southern Miss committed 26 turnovers last season, 121st in the nation, and finished with a turnover margin of minus-11. The Golden Eagles lost all five games in which their turnover margin was minus-2 or worse. South Alabama committed 22 turnovers and finished at minus-6.
An Unusual Preparation
South Alabama lost its spring practice period to the COVID-19 pandemic, missing 15 practices and the chance to work on that feedback over the summer, which places added importance on in-game adjustments in the opener.
Southern Miss is a 15.5-point favorite.
Update: First CBS Sports Network Appearance Since 2013
Conference USA announced the national television slot for the opener on Aug. 26. The game marks South Alabama’s first appearance on CBS Sports Network since its November 2013 game at Navy.
