Southern Miss Football’s Top 5 Seasons

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By: Andy Baeuerle

On Twitter, I asked the Southern Miss fanbase what the five greatest seasons are in the history of Golden Eagle Football. I asked in five polls, with 20 seasons listed from 1937 to 2015. The polls included years the Golden Eagles were led by Reed Green, Thad Vann, P.W. Underwood, Bobby Collins, Jim Carmody, Curley Hallman, Jeff Bower, Larry Fedora, and Todd Monken. So, with that being said, let’s run back in time to USM’s top 5 football seasons of all time. I will also have the five honorable mentions listed following the list. Note that these are in no particular order.

1941 Mississippi Southern Southerners
- Final Record: 9-0-1 (5-0-1 SIAA)
- This was the first season Mississippi Southern (USM today) never lost a game. Their first fully undefeated season would come the following year when the Southerners would go 4-0.
- The 1941 season was coached by Reed Green, who played football, baseball, and basketball for USM from 1930-1934. Green was the USM head football coach from 1937 to 1948, the head basketball coach from 1937 to 1948, and the head baseball coach in 1947. Green would then go on to serve as USM’s athletic director from 1949 to 1973.
  - Reed Green Football Coaching Record: 59-20-4
  - Thad “Pie” Vann
  - - 1958 Mississippi Southern Southerners
      - Final Record: 9-0
      - UPI Small College National Champions
      - Led by Thad “Pie” Vann, the 1958 Mississippi Southern team won the school’s first national championship. This was also the school’s second undefeated season. The Southerners would go on to be declared the UPI Small College National Champion again in 1962.
      - Thad “Pie” Vann is one of the most prolific college football head coaches in history. While at Mississippi Southern/Southern Miss, Coach Vann racked up a 139-59-2 record in 20 seasons as the Southerners’ head coach. He also led the Southerners to 19 consecutive winning seasons.
        Bobby Collins
        
        1981 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
        
        Final Record: 9-2-1
        
        Tangerine Bowl Appearance: 19-17 Loss to Missouri
        
        Led by Bobby Collins, the 1981 Southern Miss Golden Eagles were an explosive team. With running back Sammy Winder and cornerback Hanford Dixon, the Golden Eagles had an offense and defense that were nearly unstoppable. Southern Miss had notable wins against Bobby Bowden’s #20 Florida State Seminoles and Emory Bellard’s #14 MS State Bulldogs. The Golden Eagles were also ranked in the final Coaches Poll for the first time.
        
        Final Coaches Poll Ranking: #19
        
        Bobby Collins coached the Golden Eagles from 1975 to 1981, leaving Hattiesburg with an overall 48-30-2 record. Collins would go to SMU the following year, where the Mustangs and Penn State were the HAF co-national champion.
      - Jeff Bower
        
        1999 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
        
        Final Record: 9-3 (6-0 C-USA)
        
        Conference USA Champions
        
        Liberty Bowl Appearance: 23-17 Win Against Colorado State
        
        Led by 8th-year head coach Jeff Bower, the Golden Eagles proved they were one of the top football teams of the 1990s. In 1999, sophomore quarterback Jeff Kelly was the star of the Golden Eagle offense, signing his name in the record books of other USM QBs such as Brett Favre, Jeff Bower, and Heath Graham. The Golden Eagles were the C-USA Champions for the third time since 1996, and also finished the AP and Coaches Poll at their highest positions ever.
        
        Final AP Poll Ranking: #14
        
        Final Coaches Poll Ranking: #13
        
        In the 1990s, Jeff Bower was showing the college football world that Southern Miss is no team to be messed with. Southern Miss grew to become one of the top college football teams in the nation. Coach Bower led the Golden Eagles on to be the 3x C-USA Champions, 1x Co-Champion, 3x C-USA Coach of the Year, and the 1990s C-USA Coach of the Decade. When Coach Bower left USM in 2007, he had amassed a record of 119 wins, 83 losses, one tie, and 14 consecutive winning seasons.
      - Larry Fedora
        
        2011 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
        
        Final Record: 12-2 (6-2 C-USA)
        
        Conference USA Champions
        
        Hawaii Bowl Appearance: 24-17 Win Against Nevada
        
        Larry Fedora came into Hattiesburg in 2008 with a lot of weight on his shoulders. He had to carry on USM’s winning tradition that Jeff Bower had created. In 2011, Southern Miss achieved their first 10-win season since 1988. This 2011 season was an interesting season for USM. If they hadn’t lost to UAB and Marshall and still beat Houston in the conference championship, the Golden Eagles would’ve been in line to play in the Sugar Bowl that year and possibly in the BCS Championship.
        
        Final AP Poll Ranking: #20
        
        Final Coaches Poll Ranking: #19
        
        Honorable Mentions (These seasons won 2nd place in their poll)
        
        1948 Mississippi Southern Southerners
        
        Final Record: 7-3 (4-0 Gulf States)
        
        Gulf States Conference Champion
        
        1970 Southern Miss Southerners
        
        Final Record: 5-6
        
        First-ever win over AP Top 5 Opponent
        
        30-14 win over #4 Ole Miss
        
        1980 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
        
        Final Record: 9-3
        
        Independence Bowl Appearance: 38-18 Win Over UTEP
        
        Notable wins over Mississippi State, who also beat #1 Alabama.
        
        1997 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
        
        Final Record: 9-3 (6-0 C-USA)
        
        Liberty Bowl Appearance: 41-7 Win Over Pitt
        
        Final AP and Coaches Poll Ranking: #19
        
        2000 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
        
        Final Record: 8-4 (4-3 C-USA)
        
        Mobile, Alabama Bowl Appearance: 28-21 Win Over TCU
        
        Notable wins against Alabama, Oklahoma, and TCU

I’d like to thank the Southern Miss fanbase for helping me put this article together, and a shout out to all those players and coaches who helped make Southern Miss the big program it is today.