The Machine

Southern Miss

Sun Belt · 3-6CFP unranked

Southern Miss is 3-6 and No. 122 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 14.4 points below an average FBS team. Last game: lost 54-23 vs James Madison in Week 10.

Week 11: at Louisiana Tech, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit

Machine rankNo. 122of all FBS teams
Rating now−14.414.4 points below an average FBS team
Since July−9.3from −5.1 in the preseason rating

Why Southern Miss is No. 122

  • Southern Miss's rating is −14.4: the machine's estimate that Southern Miss is 14.4 points worse than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 122 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
  • It started the season at −5.1, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 9.3.
  • The biggest weekly moves: −5.6 after Week 3 (L 20-48 vs UConn) and −2.6 after Week 2 (L 8-43 at Auburn).
  • Its record is 3-6. The 6 losses were to No. 37 Auburn, No. 51 James Madison, No. 92 UConn, No. 94 Tulane, No. 112 Troy, No. 115 Arkansas State, by 21.3 points on average. The 3 wins came by 21.3 points on average; the best was over No. 88 Louisiana. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
  • Its FBS opponents so far average No. 90 in the machine's ratings.
  • Just above is No. 121 New Mexico State (−13.8); just below is No. 123 Colorado State (−14.4).

The rating, week by week

Strengths and weak spots

Head coach

Blake Anderson is in his 2nd season at Southern Miss (since 2025). This season: 3-6. At Southern Miss overall: 3-7, counting this season.

Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.

Team stats

Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.

Passing

Completions-attempts186-317
Passing yards2125
Touchdowns-interceptions12-9
Yards per attempt*6.7No. 106 of 138
Explosive pass rate11.1%No. 56 of 138
Sacks allowed (rate)5.1%No. 62 of 138

Rushing

Carries-yards317-1425
Yards per carry4.5No. 60 of 138
10-plus-yard runs (rate)14.0%No. 66 of 138
Stuffed at or behind the line (rate)10.6%No. 2 of 138

Scoring

Points per game26.4No. 82 of 138
Yards per play5.66No. 90 of 138
Third-down rate29.8%No. 136 of 138
Red-zone TD rate66.7%No. 43 of 138
Giveaways11No. 68 of 138

Defense

Points allowed per game33.6No. 127 of 138
Yards per play allowed5.88No. 98 of 138
Yards per pass attempt allowed7.6No. 102 of 138
Yards per carry allowed4.8No. 113 of 138
Sack rate7.4%No. 27 of 138
Takeaways10No. 87 of 138
Third-down rate allowed41.0%No. 97 of 138

Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.

Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.

Player leaders

The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).

Passing

  1. Landy Lyddy116-201, 1326 yds, 8 TD, 4 INT
  2. Ethan Hampton45-75, 419 yds, 2 TD, 4 INT
  3. John White22-37, 266 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT

Rushing

  1. Steven Robinson157 carries, 782 yds, 10 TD
  2. Jamarice Wilder81 carries, 518 yds, 6 TD
  3. Robert Briggs4 carries, 66 yds, 1 TD

Receiving

  1. Mario Sanders II50 catches, 698 yds, 6 TD
  2. Kaden Saunders22 catches, 333 yds, 0 TD
  3. A.J. Little18 catches, 275 yds, 1 TD

Tackles

  1. Mathis Haygood83
  2. Mike Steven Robinson III77
  3. Landon Sylvie62

Sacks

  1. Jameer Lewis4
  2. JR Stegall3.5
  3. Kameron Cyprien3

Interceptions

  1. Kobi Albert3
  2. Jonah Martinez1
  3. Kolby Peavy1

Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.

Who's playing

Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.

Throwing

  1. Landy Lyddy8 games201 attempts63%
  2. Ethan Hampton3 games75 attempts24%
  3. John WhiteMost passes in the last game2 games37 attempts12%

Carrying

  1. Steven Robinson9 games157 carries60%
  2. Jamarice Wilder9 games81 carries31%
  3. Robert Henderson2 games10 carries4%
  4. Jaylen Foster1 game6 carries2%

Catching

  1. Mario Sanders II9 games50 catches27%
  2. Kaden Saunders7 games22 catches12%
  3. Steven Robinson8 games19 catches10%
  4. A.J. Little7 games18 catches10%

Tackling

  1. Mathis Haygood9 games83 tackles11%
  2. Mike Steven Robinson III9 games77 tackles10%
  3. Landon Sylvie9 games62 tackles8%
  4. Wesley Edison9 games58 tackles8%

Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.

The season, week by week

  1. Week 1 W 49–3 vs Alcorn State. Alcorn State is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against. Won the turnover battle by 4.
  2. Week 2 L 8–43 at Auburn. The run defense gave ground: Auburn got 6.7 yards a carry, 2.9 over what it usually gains. Its fewest yards a carry of the season.
  3. Week 3 L 20–48 vs UConn. The passing game struggled: 5.9 yards an attempt, 2.3 less than UConn usually allows. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
  4. Week 4 L 21–24 at Tulane. The run defense gave ground: Tulane got 5.9 yards a carry, 2.0 over what it usually gains. The fewest yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
  5. Week 6 L 34–55 at Troy. The run defense gave ground: Troy got 7.4 yards a carry, 3.9 over what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 3.
  6. Week 7 L 13–23 vs Arkansas State. The run game struggled: 3.2 yards a carry, 2.4 less than Arkansas State usually allows. The machine had Southern Miss by 0.8 (53%), so this was a loss it did not see coming; Southern Miss lost the turnover battle by 2.
  7. Week 8 W 35–31 vs Louisiana. The run game was the strength: 6.7 yards a carry, 2.7 more than Louisiana usually allows. The machine had Louisiana by 8.0 (69%), so this was a win it did not see coming.
  8. Week 9 W 35–21 at UL Monroe. The passing game struggled: 4.3 yards an attempt, 4.3 less than UL Monroe usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
  9. Week 10 L 23–54 vs James Madison. The pass defense gave ground: James Madison got 10.8 yards an attempt, 3.4 over what it usually gains. The most yards an attempt it has allowed all season.

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