Welcome to the 2025 college football preseason

Offseason hibernation is over. The days are getting longer, but time is getting shorter until Ireland gets introduced to Farmaggedon. Now is the time to start learning about teams for the 2025 season, whether it’s the new QB for the reigning National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes or who has the best chance to win Conference-USA. This series will cover my top 100 preseason college football rankings for 2025 as we count down 100 days until Week 0. We will dive into a new team each day as we draw closer to the college football season.

Countdown to Kickoff: Day 92

Coming in at No. 92 in our 2025 preseason rankings: Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss is coached by Charles Huff, who is in his 1st year with the program.

Southern Miss returns only 55% of production from the 2024 team: 73% on the Offense and 37% on the Defense. According to 247Sports, the Golden Eagles finished the 2025 cycle landing 15 recruits and ending the recruiting cycle with the 106th overall ranked class, which was good for 10th in the Sun Belt. Along with their high school recruiting, Southern Miss has brought in 51 players through the transfer portal and has a portal ranking of 59. 57% of the 2025 roster will be made up of new additions.

Offensive Coordinator Blake Anderson, heading into his first year with the program, will lead the offense that put up 13.5 points per game last season (132nd nationally). The Golden Eagles finished 2024 with 65 plays per game (104th) and a pace of 25.4 seconds per play (45th). The offense averaged 35.2 runs (79th) for 107.8 per game (116th), along with 25.8 pass attempts (114th) for 169.2 yards per game (119th). The offense was a balanced attack, with a 49%-51% run-pass play call split. The overall offensive success rate was poor at 35%.

Southern Miss brings back 73% of its offensive line production from last year, including three clear-cut starters for 2025. With the departure of 2024 starting quarterback Tate Rodemaker, Marshall transfer Braylon Braxton will look to improve a passing offense that finished 2024 with a 30% success rate.

The Golden Eagles rely on new transfer pass catchers Charles Montgomery, Carl Chester, and Grant Page to improve at their new school. All receivers failed to reach 400 receiving yards and only combined for 8 touchdowns last year.

50% of the rushing production returns, but will be led by a new face in Matt Jones. After finishing 2024 with a poor run success rate of 40%, this new run game will be poised to take a step forward.

There might not be much fantasy upside on this offense, but it should be fun to watch lots of new faces gel together.

Southern Miss enters 2025 with the 114th-ranked strength of schedule. The Golden Eagles will play in front of their home fans 5 times, with back-to-back home games in Weeks 7 and 8.

Our model predicts a 7-5 record for the Golden Eagles. Our model gives the team a 75+% win expectancy in 2 games, a 50-75% win expectancy in 5 games, a 25-50% win expectancy in 4 games, and a <25% win expectancy in 1 game.

According to their conference championship odds of +1800 at DraftKings, the Golden Eagles are predicted to finish 8th in the Sun Belt.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to return tomorrow as we continue the countdown with Team 91.

For more Blitz Sports Media and college football content, follow @BlitzSM_ and @CFBHeadgear on X.

Returning Production for all teams can be found at Punt and Rally Stats for all players can be found at College Football Team Stats | TeamRankings.com