The 2026 college football season goes from bad to worse for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Troy Trojans ran for 437 yards in a 55-34 Sun Belt beatdown on Tuesday night. It was the program's fourth straight loss, dropping the Golden Eagles to 1-4 in Blake Anderson's first season as head coach. Understandably, no one was happy, from the head coach to Southern Miss fans.
Fans Revisit Blake Anderson's Tulane Comments, Question Southern Miss Hire
The postgame graphic. It's now a standard part of the college football game day social media process. So much so that when the Oregon Ducks didn't post one following their loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, it drew weeks of criticism.
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When posted following a loss, that one simple scoreline graphic offers an outlet for fans to voice their concerns, and following the 55-34 defeat to Troy, Southern Miss fans let loose on their frustrations both from the game and events leading up to it.
Asked after a 24-21 loss at Tulane on Sept. 26 why the offense kept starting slowly, Anderson said, "Quit playing Auburn, UConn and Tulane and play people that look like us might be a help."
On the Sun Belt coaches' media call afterward, Anderson said he didn't like the way he answered, standing by his point about how much those three programs have invested in their rosters, particularly on defense, but said the opponent was no excuse.
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With non-conference play behind them, the Golden Eagles dove into Sun Belt play, but with another loss. Replying to Southern Miss Football's post, one fan turned Anderson's line back on him. "These must be the teams that 'look like us' that Coach says we would match up with."
Troy's win was its sixth straight over Southern Miss, a run that dates to the 2021 season and includes all five meetings as Sun Belt foes.
Most of that streak came before Anderson took over. Southern Miss promoted him from offensive coordinator and introduced him as head coach on Dec. 15, 2025, after Charles Huff's departure. Athletic director Jeremy McClain said then that the school ran a full search before moving quickly to elevate him.
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Sam, a rugby coach, had a different coach in mind. "Y'all should have hired Coach TC smh…"
While not stated in the response, 'Coach TC' likely refers to Jackson State head coach T.C. Taylor, who was heavily courted by reporters covering the Golden Eagles when Charles Huff left for Memphis in December 2025. The HBCU program is currently undefeated entering Week 6 of the college football season, a stark contrast to events unfolding in Hattiesburg so far.
Fans Question Southern Miss Defense After Troy Runs for 437 Yards
Troy's run game set the terms from the opening drive on Tuesday night. Quarterback Goose Crowder ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and completed 18 of 21 passes for 225 yards and two more, while running back Jordan Lovett ran for 142 yards on 12 carries.
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They became the first Troy teammates to each rush for more than 130 yards in a game. The Trojans' 437 rushing yards were their most since 2002 and the most in a Sun Belt game since Georgia Southern ran for 507 against New Mexico State in 2015.
Sparks, a podcast host, summed up the performance with a gif and a simple "The tackling tonight" as the caption.
Anderson called the defensive performance unacceptable and said it was not the same defense that played Tulane. "This week, at no point did we control the line of scrimmage. We tackled really poorly."
Defensive lineman Jameer Lewis, who had 1.5 sacks, said the mistakes were the players' own. "We missed way too many tackles, missed way too many assignments, and just didn't execute how we're supposed to execute."
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Down 31-7 at halftime, Southern Miss did answer. Quarterback Landry Lyddy threw for a career-high 316 yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Mario Sanders caught two scores and threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to fellow receiver AJ Little as the Golden Eagles pulled within 41-27 late in the third quarter.
Southern Miss also turned it over three times, on two interceptions and a Lyddy fumble at the Troy 26. Another fan let loose, stating that the performance was "Not a good look tonight for Southern Miss against Troy hate we loss though."
Anderson said his team did not show up and play. "No excuses. Bottom line, from top down, we just did not play well."
This article originally appeared on
Pro Football Network
.
