Southern Miss football vs Texas State: Here's our score prediction, scouting report
HATTIESBURG – Southern Miss football’s first conference game of the season did not go as planned.
The Golden Eagles went to Arkansas State determined to snap a two-game losing streak, but instead were slapped with a 44-37 loss.
USM (1-3, 0-1 Sun Belt) gets a chance to recalibrate at home Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+) against Texas State (3-1, 0-0). The two played a thriller last year, which was won by Southern Miss on a late 53-yard touchdown catch by Chandler Pittman.
Texas State has since hired a new coach – G.J. Kinne – and are off to a strong start. The Bobcats opened the season with a win at Baylor and a loss at UTSA. They’ve now won their last two games with victories over Jackson State and Nevada.
Southern Miss lost safety Elijah Sabbatini for the season last week with a torn ACL. However, USM is expected to return tight end Cole Cavallo and linebacker Swayze Bozeman from injury. Averie Habas also rejoined the team this week after being diagnosed with an undisclosed heart condition over the summer.
A balanced and powerful Texas State offense
Kinne has quickly rebuilt Texas State’s roster with the addition of 44 players from the transfer portal. That includes 11 starters on offense (Texas State listed 17 players as offensive starters in this week’s depth chart).
T.J. Finley, an Auburn transfer, has started all four games at quarterback. He stands at 6-foot-7, has thrown eight touchdowns and just one interception, while also rushing for three touchdowns on the season.
“He will be the biggest kid on the field and has a great, strong arm that he can throw from here to Columbia,” Southern Miss coach Will Hall said.
Ismail Mahdi, a Houston Christian transfer, is Texas State’s leading rusher, averaging 99.8 yards per game. He torched Nevada last week for 256 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Kole Wilson, an Incarnate Word transfer, leads the Bobcats with 277 receiving yards.
Texas State averages 41.8 points per game, 13th best in the country and first in the Sun Belt. It was highlighted with a 77-point posting on Jackson State two weeks ago.
“They do a great job of spreading you out,” Hall said. “They go sideline to sideline with all their splits by the receivers, very similar to Tennessee.”
An aggressive defense
Texas State fields an aggressive defense that gets into the backfield.
“They bring pressure from everywhere,” Hall said. “Everyone blitzes.”
It’s led to the Texas State defense ranking first in the country in tackles for loss (10.2). The defense is also seventh in the country in sacks per game (3.75).
Keeping quarterback Billy Wiles protected has been an issue for Southern Miss through the first third of the season. Arkansas State produced eight quarterback hurries, one of which led to an interception deep in USM territory.
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Southern Miss score prediction vs. Texas State
Southern Miss 31, Texas State 30: USM needs a win badly. Andrew Stein, who leads the country in made field goals, hits a 30-yard field goal with under a minute to play for the win.
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss football vs. Texas State: Prediction, scouting report
