# 2012 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

The 2012 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the East Division of Conference USA. They were led by first-year head coach Ellis Johnson and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The 2012 squad finished the season winless with a final record of 0–12 one year after finishing 12–2 and winning the conference championship. The biggest single season decline in FBS history,and after only one year at the helm, Johnson along with his entire staff were fired.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 2:30 pm | at No. 16 Nebraska* | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska | ABC | L 20–49 | 85,425 |
| September 15 | 2:30 pm | East Carolina | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, Mississippi | CBSSN | L 14–24 | 34,140 |
| September 22 | 6:00 pm | at Western Kentucky* | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky | ESPN3 | L 17–42 | 23,252 |
| September 29 | 7:00 pm | No. 17 Louisville* | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, Mississippi | CBSSN | L 17–21 | 23,492 |
| October 6 | 11:00 am | No. 25 Boise State* | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, Mississippi | FSN | L 14–40 | 25,337 |
| October 13 | 7:00 pm | at UCF | Bright House Networks StadiumOrlando, Florida | CBSSN | L 31–38 $^{2OT}$ | 34,514 |
| October 20 | 6:00 pm | Marshall | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, Mississippi | CBSSN | L 24–59 | 24,093 |
| October 27 | 12:00 pm | at Rice | Rice StadiumHouston, Texas | CSS/CSNH | L 17–44 | 14,927 |
| November 3 | 6:30 pm | UAB | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, Mississippi | CSS/CSNH | L 19–27 | 22,874 |
| November 10 | 2:30 pm | at SMU | Gerald J. Ford StadiumUniversity Park, Texas | FSN | L 6–34 | 16,343 |
| November 17 | 7:00 pm | UTEP | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, Mississippi | CBSSN | L 33–34 | 23,757 |
| November 24 | 2:30 pm | at Memphis | Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis, Tennessee (Black and Blue Bowl) | CSS/CSNH | L 24–42 | 21,305 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### @ Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 7 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| #16 Cornhuskers | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |

### East Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Pirates | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 24 |
| Golden Eagles | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### @ WKU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Hilltoppers | 14 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 42 |

### Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #17 Cardinals | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 21 |
| Golden Eagles | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Last meeting was in the 2010 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.

### Boise State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #25 Broncos | 7 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 40 |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |

### @ UCF

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Knights | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 38 |

### Marshall

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thundering Herd | 10 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 59 |
| Golden Eagles | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### @ Rice

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Owls | 7 | 14 | 17 | 6 | 44 |

### UAB

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blazers | 0 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 27 |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 19 |

### @ SMU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Mustangs | 10 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 34 |

### UTEP

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Miners | 3 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 34 |
| Golden Eagles | 10 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 33 |

### @ Memphis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
| Tigers | 0 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 42 |