NEW ORLEANS — Southern Miss will open the Blake Anderson era when it hosts in-state foe Alcorn State on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 5:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
The Golden Eagles are 4-0 all-time against the Braves, most recently earning a 40-14 victory in the 2023 season-opener.
Southern Miss’ non-conference slate also includes trips to Auburn (Sept. 12) and Tulane (Sept. 26) around a home date with UConn (Sept. 19). Alongside annual matchups with their West Division brethren, the Golden Eagles will host Sun Belt East Division favorite James Madison (Nov. 5) and travel to Old Dominion (Nov. 28) in cross-division action.
The Golden Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt West Division in last month’s
2026 Sun Belt Conference Football Preseason Coaches Poll.
First-year head coach Blake Anderson, who led Arkansas State to six-straight bowl games during his tenue from 2014-2020 and was the Southern Miss offensive coordinator in 2025, will lead a revamped roster that returns no All-Sun Belt selections from 2025 and had no players named to the 2026 Preseason All-Sun Belt Teams.
Southern Miss went 7-6 in 2025, but closed the season with four-straight losses. The Golden Eagles were part of the Sun Belt’s 10-team Bowl Season contingent that paced the non-autonomy conferences for the fourth-straight year, returning to Bowl Season following a two-year hiatus.
In 48 seasons of FBS football, the Golden Eagles are 308-263-3, including reaching a bowl game in 20 of the past 29 seasons.
To listen to head coach Blake Anderson, redshirt senior wide receiver Davis Dalton and redshirt junior linebacker Mathis Haygood’s remarks from the 2026 Sun Belt Football Media Days,
visit the Sun Belt Conference YouTube page.
2026 SCHEDULE
| 9/5 |
Alcorn State |
| 9/12 |
at Auburn |
| 9/19 |
UConn |
| 9/26 |
at Tulane |
| 10/6 |
at Troy* |
| 10/17 |
Arkansas State* |
| 10/24 |
Louisiana* |
| 10/31 |
at ULM* |
| 11/5 |
James Madison* |
| 11/14 |
at Louisiana Tech* |
| 11/21 |
South Alabama* |
| 11/28 |
at Old Dominion* |
* Sun Belt Conference Game
2025 ALL-SUN BELT RETURNERS
N/A
2026 PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT SELECTIONS
N/A