Southern Miss find themselves on a bit roll after back-to-back wins heading into the bye week. In the previous two contests, the Golden Eagles defeated Northwestern State at home and Tulane on the road. The most recent victory ahead of the bye week gives the Golden Eagles a chance to enjoy the win, and prepare for the Troy Trojans. The bye week comes right before Southern Miss begin conference play. The Golden Eagles left Conference USA last year and are now members of the Sunbelt Conference. Altogether the Sunbelt Conference is playing the best football out all the Group of 5 Schools.
Why The Bye Week Is Important For The Golden Eagles
Southern Miss head coach Will Hall and his players are coming off an emotional high after knocking off a good Tulane football team in New Orleans. Despite the victory, that game is in the past and now coach Hall and his staff begin to prepare this team for their conference matchup against a very talented Troy football team.
Coach Will Hall said Tuesday after practice “We want everybody to concentrate on getting better at one thing. We made them write that down and tell their coaches.” – Dima Mixon. The Golden Eagles are at 2-2 and know who they are as team. The Golden Eagles are scheduled to practice twice this week and beginning to focus on what they need to do in order to beat Troy.
Golden Eagles Set To Begin Conference Play
Coach Will Hall named true freshman Zach Wilcke as the starting quarterback for Southern Miss. Wilcke’s performance against what Hall considers to be an outstanding Tulane defense earned him the nod as the Golden Eagles start an off week ahead of their first-ever SBC game at Troy (2-2, 1-1) on Oct. 8 (6 p.m., ESPN+). – David Eckert
Wilcke earned the right to be the starter after leading the Golden Eagles to two straight victories. Wilcke got his opportunity to show his talents after starter Ty Keyes suffered an injury during the loss to the Miami Hurricanes. Finally coach Will Hall and his staff need to build a game plan that best suits their true freshman quarterback. Wilcke proved himself in New Orleans remaining cool, calm and collective throughout the game. Moving into next week the Eagles will look to get healthy and begin their climb to the top of the Sunbelt Conference.
