The 2018 football season hasn’t been business as usual for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
The opener was par for the course, as Southern Miss defeated Jackson State 55-7, but the Eagles lost 21-20 to Louisiana-Monroe in the second game and the third, against Appalachian State, was called off because of Hurricane Florence.
This Saturday, Southern Miss starts its Conference USA season when it hosts Rice, also a member of C-USA’s West Division, at 6 p.m. at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
“We focused our attention to Rice about midweek (of last week),” Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson said.
But there has been even more change, as senior quarterback Kwadra Griggs, who started seven games for the Golden Eagles last season, returns from a student conduct suspension that kept him out of the first two games of 2018.
“It’s great news,” Hopson said. “Everybody was excited. We had a hoop-and-holler session.”
That doesn’t mean Griggs will be thrown into action right off the bat. Jack Abraham, who has completed 52 of 73 passes (71.2 percent) for six touchdowns, remains listed first string, although he played much better in the opener than he did against Monroe.
“You can’t sit out a month and get in a game tomorrow,” Hopson said. “We’ll play it out and see where it shakes out.”
Hopson insisted that when Griggs shakes the rust off and is 100 percent, there will be competition between him and Abraham.
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said, “It’s definitely good to have him back in the room. We’re going to give (Griggs) reps. We’re not going to put him out there until he’s ready.”
Rice is 1-2, having beaten Prairie View 31-28 in its opener and lost to Houston 45-27 and Hawaii 43-29.
The Owls, under first-year head coach Mike Bloomgren, a former Stanford offensive coordinator, have put up some good offensive numbers in their first three games, but are doing it in an old-school way.
“They are very physical, big football team,” USM defensive coordinator Tim Billings said. “They have a lot of heavy, big guys, two or three tight ends, extra tackles.”
The Rice fullback is Will Phillips, a converted defensive lineman who weighs 260 pounds. The starting running back is Emmanuel Esupka, who is 230. The tackles are 305 and 300 and the guards are 335 and 315.
Rice’s quarterback is Shawn Stankavage, a transfer from Vanderbilt who has completed 61 percent of his passes and has five touchdown passes. Esupka has gained 358 yards this season while Austin Trammel and Aaron Cepus are the top receivers.
“Hopefully, our (defensive) scheme can hold up against heavy sets,” Billings said.
“Everybody runs the spread set. All of a sudden you put two or three backs in the backfield and two tight ends, our kids don’t even know how to line up. You haven’t seen that. That’s old school now. It gives you issues because it’s something your players don’t see very often.”
Southern Miss, whoever is at quarterback, must get more out of its running game than it has the first two games. It is averaging only 3.3 yards per run, only 130 per game.
“The journey as a football coach is that we just want to be better every week,” Hopson said. “One thing you can’t do and win football games is you can’t turn the ball over. You can’t not execute on high levels and win football games. When you turn it over three or four times and don't execute on a high level, those things usually cost you a little bit in football.”
The game will be televised by ESPN+.
