What we learned from South Alabama's win over Southern Miss in FBS opener
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — The eyes of the college football world were on Southern Miss on Thursday night, and Southern Miss didn't live up to the situation.
Southern Miss lost the first Football Bowl Subdivision game of the 2020 season on Thursday, falling to South Alabama 32-21. The Golden Eagles defense allowed 363 passing yards while the offense struggled to gain yardage on the ground, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry.
This is the first time Southern Miss has lost its opening game since 2017, when the Golden Eagles lost to Kentucky.
Here are four takeaways from Southern Miss' loss in the FBS opener:
1. The Southern Miss secondary needs work
South Alabama quarterback Desmond Trotter didn’t look like the most polished passer Thursday. Most of his deep throws hung in the air for a split-second too long, leading to two easy Southern Miss interceptions and a couple other missed opportunities where open receivers couldn’t get to the ball before a defensive back caught up. Still, Trotter and backup quarterback Chance Lovertich gashed the Golden Eagles for 363 yards and three touchdowns on just 18 completions. Twelve of those completions went for 10 or more yards and five of those passes went for 30 or more yards.
2. The Southern Miss rushing attack needs work
Southern Miss was one of the worst rushing teams in college football last year, averaging 117.5 yards per game. That ranked 121st out of 130 FBS squads. The Golden Eagles started off on an even worse pace Thursday night, rushing for just 95 yards on 37 carries. Freshman Frank Gore Jr. provided a little stability in his debut, leading the team with 32 yards on 12 attempts. But without a stable rushing attack Southern Miss’ offense remains one-dimensional.
3. Jack Abraham is still efficient
Senior quarterback Jack Abraham has always been an efficient passer. There’s no indication he’s lost that skill, either. Abraham was 22-for-32 passing for 314 yards. He went into halftime having completed 12 of his 14 pass attempts, and one of those incompletions came on a drop.
Despite the fact that Abraham has played for five offensive coordinators in five college seasons, he’s still managed to put together a productive career. Given the way he started his senior campaign, it seems like Abraham could be on the way to another strong year.
4. The crowd can still make noise
Despite the stadium being limited to 25% capacity due to COVID-19 precautions, the Southern Miss crowd still played a factor in the game. When referees made controversial calls, fans booed. When the defense asked for noise, fans granted it. Obviously there's a difference between 9,000 fans cheering and 36,000 fans cheering. But the silence wasn't as deafening as some spectators may have expected.