# 2022 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

The 2022 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi as a new member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Will Hall, who was coaching his second season with the team. The Golden Eagles played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

## Preseason
### Sun Belt coaches poll

The Sun Belt coaches poll was released on July 25, 2022. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the West Division.
West Division :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Louisiana | 95 (12) |
| 2 | South Alabama | 79 (2) |
| 3 | Troy | 76 |
| 4 | Texas State | 41 |
| 5 | Southern Miss | 40 |
| 6 | Arkansas State | 37 |
| 7 | Louisiana–Monroe | 24 |
East Division :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Appalachian State | 94 (10) |
| 2 | Coastal Carolina | 77 (2) |
| 3 | Georgia State | 68 |
| 4 | Marshall | 62 |
| 5 | Georgia Southern | 35 (1) |
| 6 | James Madison | 31 |
| 7 | Old Dominion | 25 |

### Sun Belt Preseason All-Conference teams

Special teams
2nd team
* Camron harrell – Right Safety, SR

## Schedule

Southern Miss and the Sun Belt Conference announced the 2022 football schedule on March 1, 2022.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 6:00 p.m. | Liberty* | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | ESPN+ | L 27–29 $^{4OT}$ | 24,051 |
| September 10 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 15 Miami (FL)* | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL | ACCN | L 7–30 | 46,422 |
| September 17 | 6:00 p.m. | Northwestern State* | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | ESPN3 | W 64–10 | 26,202 |
| September 24 | 6:00 p.m. | at Tulane* | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA (Battle for the Bell) | ESPN+ | W 27–24 | 20,422 |
| October 8 | 6:00 p.m. | at Troy | Veterans Memorial StadiumTroy, AL | ESPN+ | L 10–27 | 26,017 |
| October 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Arkansas State | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | ESPN+ | W 20–19 | 27,042 |
| October 22 | 4:00 p.m. | at Texas State | Bobcat StadiumSan Marcos, TX | ESPN+ | W 20–14 | 16,318 |
| October 27 | 6:30 p.m. | Louisiana | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | ESPN2 | W 39–24 | 27,332 |
| November 5 | 2:00 p.m. | Georgia State | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | ESPN+ | L 14–42 | 22,128 |
| November 12 | 6:30 p.m. | at Coastal Carolina | Brooks StadiumConway, SC | ESPNU | L 23–26 | 16,203 |
| November 19 | 2:30 p.m. | South Alabama | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | NFLN | L 20–27 | 24,032 |
| November 26 | 4:00 p.m. | at Louisiana–Monroe | Malone StadiumMonroe, LA | ESPN+ | W 20–10 | 4,465 |
| December 17 | 4:45 p.m. | vs. Rice* | Hancock Whitney StadiumMobile, AL (LendingTree Bowl) | ESPN | W 38–24 | 20,512 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Liberty

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | 4OT | Total |
| Flames | 0 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 29 |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
Statistics
| Statistics | LIB | USM |
| First downs | 23 | 19 |
| Total yards | 447 | 389 |
| Rushing yards | 244 | 252 |
| Passing yards | 203 | 137 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 5 |
| Time of possession | 29:06 | 30:54 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Liberty | Passing | Kaidon Salter | 8/13, 148 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Liberty | Rushing | Kaidon Salter | 9 rushes, 65 yards |
| Liberty | Receiving | Demario Douglas | 5 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD |
| Southern Miss | Passing | Ty Keyes | 4/8, 89 yards, 2 INT |
| Southern Miss | Rushing | Frank Gore Jr. | 32 rushes, 178 yards, 2 TD |
| Southern Miss | Receiving | Jakarius Caston | 2 receptions, 54 yards |

### At No. 15 Miami (FL)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 15 Hurricanes | 3 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 30 |
at Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida
* Date: Saturday, September 10, 2022
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C)
* TV announcers (ACCN): Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst), & Lericia Harris (sideline)
* Pregame line: Miami −27.5
| Statistics | USM | MIA |
| First downs | 12 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 50–240 | 78–451 |
| Rushes–yards | 24–33 | 49–173 |
| Passing yards | 207 | 278 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 16–27–1 | 23–32–1 |
| Time of possession | 23:00 | 37:00 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Southern Miss | Passing | Zach Wilcke | 16/27, 207 yards, TD, INT |
| Southern Miss | Rushing | Zach Wilcke | 12 carries, 29 yards |
| Southern Miss | Receiving | Jason Brownlee | 5 receptions, 102 yards, TD |
| Miami | Passing | Tyler Van Dyke | 21/30, 263 yards, TD, INT |
| Miami | Rushing | Henry Parrish Jr. | 24 carries, 116 yards, TD |
| Miami | Receiving | Xavier Restrepo | 6 receptions, 72 yards |

### Northwestern State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Demons | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Golden Eagles | 13 | 28 | 16 | 7 | 64 |

### At Tulane

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| Green Wave | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA
* Date: September 24, 2022
* Game time: 6:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 81 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 20,422
* Referee: Kevin Randall
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Jack Benjamin (play-by-play), Brian Kinchen (analyst)
| Statistics | USM | TUL |
| First downs | 13 | 26 |
| Total yards | 253 | 451 |
| Rushes/yards | 27–59 | 47–204 |
| Passing yards | 194 | 247 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 17–25–0 | 19–29–1 |
| Time of possession | 23:59 | 36:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Southern Miss | Passing | Zach Wilcke | 17/25, 194 yards, 2 TD |
| Southern Miss | Rushing | Frank Gore Jr. | 16 carries, 44 yards |
| Southern Miss | Receiving | Jakarius Caston | 8 receptions, 91 yards, TD |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 19/29, 247 yards, TD, INT |
| Tulane | Rushing | Tyjae Spears | 22 carries, 114 yards, 2 TD |
| Tulane | Receiving | Tyjae Spears | 5 receptions, 74 yards |

### At Troy

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Trojans | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 |

### Arkansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Red Wolves | 7 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 19 |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 20 |

### At Texas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Bobcats | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Louisiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ragin' Cajuns | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 24 |
| • Golden Eagles | 20 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 39 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| LA –2.5 | 43.0 |
| Statistics | Louisiana | Southern Miss |
| First downs | 17 | 15 |
| Total yards | 439 | 339 |
| Rushing yards | 103 | 150 |
| Passing yards | 336 | 189 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 26:47 | 33:13 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Louisiana | Passing | Ben Wooldridge | 21/46, 336 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT |
| Louisiana | Rushing | Chris Smith | 11 carries, 47 yards |
| Louisiana | Receiving | Michael Jefferson | 6 receptions, 179 yards, 1 TD |
| Southern Miss | Passing | Zach Wilcke | 8/17, 137 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Southern Miss | Rushing | Frank Gore Jr. | 23 carries, 87 yards |
| Southern Miss | Receiving | Jason Brownlee | 3 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD |

### Georgia State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |

### At Coastal Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Chanticleers | 17 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 26 |

### South Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jaguars | 3 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 27 |
| Golden Eagles | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |

### At Louisiana-Monroe

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| Warhawks | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |

### Vs. Rice (LendingTree Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 24 |
| Golden Eagles | 7 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 38 |