Sep 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff during the first quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Ex-Marshall leader Charles Huff introduced as Southern Miss coach

Charles Huff posted 10 wins and earned a conference title this season for Marshall but will now venture into a major rebuilding project.

That’s because Huff was formally introduced as coach of Southern Miss on Thursday. The Golden Eagles went 1-11 this season and have won three or fewer games in four of the past five seasons.

“It wasn’t a, ‘OK, you’re looking at championship to worst team in the conference,’” Huff said at his unveiling in Hattiesburg, Miss. “It was, ‘Hey, you’re looking at a situation where holistically you feel you’re in a better situation, people, resources, opportunity, community buy-in, everything involved.’”

Huff, 41, went 32-20 with the Thundering Herd and won his last seven games with the school, including a 31-3 shellacking of Louisiana in the Sun Belt championship game last Saturday.

One day later, he agreed to a four-year deal worth $950,000 annually with Southern Miss. Earlier this season, Huff’s Marshall team crushed the host Golden Eagles 37-3.

Southern Miss fired Will Hall after seven games (1-6) and Reed Stringer (0-5) finished out the season on an interim basis.

Marshall will face Army in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28. Associate head coach Telly Lockette will lead the squad in the bowl game.

The Thundering Herd hired North Carolina State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson as their new head coach.

–Field Level Media

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck (15) throws a pass against the Clemson Tigers in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

No. 1 Georgia focuses on FCS foe Tennessee Tech

Following a dominant win over Clemson in its season opener, No. 1 Georgia will turn its attention to a Tennessee Tech team that nearly scored one of Week 1’s biggest upsets.

The Golden Eagles, a member of the Big South-OVC Football Association at the FCS level, had Middle Tennessee on the ropes last Saturday, falling 32-25 on a touchdown with 16 seconds to play.

Had Tennessee Tech held on, it would have marked the lone FCS win over an FBS opponent on Saturday.

Fresh off his team’s 34-3 victory over then-No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta last Saturday, Georgia coach Kirby Smart won’t allow his players to sleepwalk into Saturday’s home opener against the Golden Eagles.

“Excited to be here, excited to get moved on to pursue getting better. We open with Tennessee Tech practice today, and we’ll start attacking these guys,” Smart said Monday. “They played a really hard-fought game with Middle Tennessee the other night. They had a great comeback, and I got a lot of respect for the way they played in that game, for sure. Our guys will start getting prepared for them today.”

After a slow start, Georgia owned the second half, outscoring the Tigers 28-3 after halftime. The defense allowed just 188 total yards, while Carson Beck had an efficient start to his senior season, finishing 23-of-33 passing for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Aiming for their 41st consecutive regular-season win, Georgia and Smart believe they have a ways to go following Week 1.

“I can’t pick one thing on improvement,” Smart said. “There are so many things that we’ve got to do better. There’s just a lot there that we want to improve on, and some of what you’re doing is dictated by who you play. People just think it’s a stat game. It’s not a stat game. It’s who you’re lining up across from and how good that football player is because that does dictate things, the matchups.”

In Tennessee Tech’s upset bid, former Old Dominion head coach Bobby Wilder made his debut on the Golden Eagles’ sideline. Jordyn Potts threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns and will be a player Wilder leans on through his first season.

“(Jordyn) is a very dynamic player,” Wilder said. “He’s got the ability to throw from the pocket. We’ll do more with him in movement because he runs so well. He’s such a good athlete, it’s like having a running back at the quarterback position.”

A win against Middle Tennessee would’ve given the program its third win over an FBS/I-A school as the Golden Eagles beat Western Carolina in 1978 and 1980 when the Catamounts were an NCAA Division I-A program.

Georgia, which hasn’t lost at home since a 20-17 defeat to South Carolina in October 2019, will host Tennessee Tech for the third time. The Bulldogs have won the previous two meetings, including 38-0 in 2009.

–Field Level Media

Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff (12) dropped back for a pass during the Kentucky Wildcats' Blue White scrimmage at Kroger Field on Saturday afternoon in Lexington, Kentucky. April 13, 2024

Ex-Georgia backup leads Kentucky against Southern Miss

Kentucky doesn’t know what to expect from Southern Miss in the season opener Saturday night in Lexington, Ky.

That’s because the Golden Eagles have new coordinators on both sides of the ball and a new starting quarterback.

“You don’t know exactly what you’re going to get so we have to be prepared for quite a few things,” Wildcats coach Mark Stoops said. “We’ve got to handle things in stride. Nothing ever goes as smooth as you want it to. We have to be able to adapt and make adjustments and have nobody panic.”

Kentucky, 7-6 a year ago, has made some changes as well. Stoops brought in Bush Hamdan from Boise State as offensive coordinator and three-year Georgia backup Brock Vandagriff arrives as a graduate transfer to start at quarterback.

“You have to worry about yourself and how you execute, how you play, how cleanly you operate,” Stoops said.

Southern Miss is coming off its second three-win campaign in coach Will Hall’s three seasons. Hall is counting on new defensive coordinator Clay Bignell and offensive coordinator Chip Long and the arrival of former Florida State quarterback Tate Rodemaker to spur a dramatic improvement.

Rodemaker is expected to open against the Wildcats, although the Golden Eagles’ roster also lists sophomore Ethan Crawford atop the depth chart. Both could play as Crawford would provide a running complement to Rodemaker’s pocket passing. In four seasons with the Seminoles, Rodemaker started twice and played in 23 games.

“I think we’ve got a chance to be explosive on offense,” Hall said.

One of Rodemaker’s relief appearances came against Southern Miss last season when he completed all three of his passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns in FSU’s 66-13 romp. The Eagles had five other losses in which they allowed more than 40 points.

“I think we’re not a completed product yet,” Hall said, “but I really think it’s going to be a competitive bunch week in and week out that has a chance to do some really good things.”

–Field Level Media

Florida State Seminoles tight end Jaheim Bell (6) and Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis (13) celebrate a touchdown during a game against the LSU Tigers on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023.

No. 4 Florida State looks to continue dominance, welcomes Southern Miss

At various times since Florida State’s last national championship 10 years ago, rumors of the Seminoles’ return to relevance were always that. FSU seemingly battled with Miami to see who could stay most irrelevant and who could disappoint their fan base more.

If the second half of Sunday night’s 45-24 rout of then-No. 5 LSU is any indication, those days are over. Florida State looked the part of a potential national champion, ripping off 31 consecutive points to turn a close game into a blowout that had Tigers coach Brian Kelly questioning everything about his program.

Now the task for the fourth-ranked Seminoles, beginning with Saturday night’s home opener against Southern Miss in Tallahassee, Fla., is to maintain that form consistently.

“I told them before (Sunday) that they are built for a time like this,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “This stage, two top 10 teams in the country.”

The Seminoles (1-0) scored on six straight possessions after a slow start, getting 342 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in the air from quarterback Jordan Travis. That noise one might have heard throughout the second half, other than the school’s war chant, was the hype machine cranking up Travis’ Heisman Trophy campaign.

Throwing to receivers like Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson will do nothing but help Travis’ chances of hoisting some hardware in December. Coleman caught nine passes for 122 yards and three scores, while Wilson chipped in seven catches and 104 yards.

It was the first time two Florida State receivers went over 100 yards in the same game in five years. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they did it again.

“Just knew it was a matter of time,” Travis said. “Just had to get locked in and stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing. … It’s fun out there and it’s fun winning football games.”

While the Seminoles allowed 460 total yards, they also sacked Jayden Daniels four times and forced a pair of turnovers. The defense didn’t permit any second-half points until a 75-yard touchdown pass in the final two minutes.

Meanwhile, Southern Miss also opened the season 1-0, cruising to a 40-14 win last weekend against FCS foe Alcorn State in Hattiesburg, Miss. New starting quarterback Billy Wiles, a Clemson transfer, completed 21 of 28 passes for 267 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

The third starting quarterback in as many years for the Golden Eagles, Wiles has certainly impressed third-year coach Will Hall.

“I thought Billy came out sharp. I thought he played really, really well,” Hall said. “We’re just way better at quarterback than we used to be. He’s a good player that pours everything he has into it.”

Wiles’ emergence should only aid the offense’s centerpiece, running back Frank Gore Jr., who rushed for 1,382 yards last year. Gore scored a touchdown last week on just six carries.

Florida State leads the all-time series between the teams 14-8 and took a 42-13 win on Dec. 27, 2017, in the teams’ last meeting at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

–Field Level Media

Sep 2, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall (4) runs the ball past Kansas Jayhawks linebacker Rich Miller (30) during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas gets off to fast start in rout of Tennessee Tech

Starting quarterback Jalon Daniels was nearly spotless as Kansas demolished Tennessee Tech 56-10 in the opening game for both teams. Daniels was 15-of-18 for 189 yards with a rushing and a passing touchdown.

Kansas dominated in all aspects of the game, outgaining the Golden Eagles 502-190. They averaged 10.2 yards per play, compared to 2.8 for Tennessee Tech.

Things started well for Kansas. After forcing a three-and-out on Tennessee Tech’s first drive, the Jayhawks got the ball on the Tech 40. Four plays later, Devin Neal raced almost untouched 19 yards into the end zone for the first touchdown of the season and a 7-0 lead.

After another three-and-out, it took only two plays to put another touchdown on the board. Daniels found Quentin Skinner for 56 yards over the middle on the first play. Daniel Hishaw took it the final nine yards on the next play.

The Golden Eagles finally got untracked on offense, going 42 yards on 10 plays. But a field-goal attempt was blocked and returned 61 yards by Cobee Bryant for the Jayhawks’ third touchdown with 4:42 left in the first quarter.

Tennessee Tech finally got on the board in the second quarter with a 28-yard Nicolas Bigelow field goal following a fumbled punt by Kansas on its own 34.

Kansas took advantage of a short field for its next touchdown, punched in by Daniels on an 11-yard run, capping a 22-yard drive. Right before halftime, Daniels led a 63-yard touchdown drive in seven plays in 1:29 to give Kansas a 35-3 lead.

Tennessee Tech finished the first half with 16 of 31 plays with either no yards gained or losing yardage. Daniels, meanwhile, was 14-of-15 for 182 yards, with a passing and a rushing touchdown in the first half.

Tech missed a chip-shot field goal in the third quarter, and Neal answered with an 80-yard touchdown run on the next play for a 42-3 lead.

The Jayhawks added two more rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one by Sevion Morrison and the other by Jason Bean.

Tech scored a touchdown late in the fourth to reach double-digits.

–Field Level Media

Oct 16, 2021; Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA; Southern Miss Golden Eagles quarterback Chandler Pittman (12) looks to throw a pass in the second half against the UAB Blazers at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Southern Miss to join Sun Belt, leave C-USA

The latest domino to fall in the current era of college football realignment appears to benefit the Sun Belt Conference.

Southern Miss has accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt and leave behind Conference USA starting in 2023, multiple reports said Friday.

The Golden Eagles likely won’t be the final team to move. Old Dominion, Marshall and James Madison are considering joining the Sun Belt, Sports Illustrated and the Action Network reported.

The move comes after the American Athletic Conference pilfered six C-USA teams this week — restocking after it lost Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to Big 12 invitations.

James Madison is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association and plays football at the FCS level, where it consistently has competed for national titles in recent years.

Old Dominion and Marshall, like Southern Miss, belong to C-USA. Should they leave as rumored, C-USA would be down to five members, potentially crippling the league.

Conference USA commissioner Judy MacLeod said the league is actively seeking replacements.

“We have a strong core of members to build around and are continuing to work to strengthen our league as we move forward,” MacLeod said. “There are several institutions interested in joining Conference USA, both across FBS and FCS, some of whom we’ve already met with in person. Every step we take will be deliberate, strategically sound, and intentional.

“We will take the necessary time to add future members that will be the best fit from an athletic and academic standpoint and allow prospective institutions time to complete their process. We continue to believe in the regional concept and will look to incorporate that into our structure and scheduling. There are certainly many questions out there, but a great deal is happening behind the scenes. When appropriate, we will release more information, though out of respect for those involved, we will continue to operate outside of the public space.”

Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA are the six C-USA schools who’ve agreed to join the American in 2023 at the earliest.

The other members of C-USA are Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Western Kentucky.

–Field Level Media