Blake Anderson's first game in Hattiesburg went about as smoothly as a rebuild opener can go — Southern Miss buried Alcorn State 49-3 and never let it get interesting.
Southern Miss handed the keys to senior Ethan Hampton after a three-way quarterback battle that ran deep into fall camp, and Anderson's staff spent the offseason overhauling the roster with more than 70 new scholarship additions. A new coach, a new quarterback and a roster that barely resembled last year's 7-6 team all debuted at once against Alcorn State.
+70-plus new scholarship players raise the talent floor
+Scored in three of four quarters
−Entirely new coaching staff and QB in first live test
−Last year's 7-6 core is almost entirely gone
Southern Miss came in as one of the biggest favorites on the board anywhere in the country, and the gap showed from the opening series. The Golden Eagles have now beaten the Braves in all 4 all-time meetings, including a 40-14 win the last time these two opened a season together, and this one was even more lopsided.
Alcorn State, an FCS program, had no realistic path to hanging with an FBS roster this heavy — the Braves were live only on the moneyline as a pure longshot, and everything else on the board existed to measure the margin, not the winner.
Southern Miss scored in every quarter but the first and put up 21 points in the third alone to bury it. Alcorn's only points came on a field goal in the opening quarter, and the Braves were shut out the rest of the way — 3 points on the day against a defense that clearly had far more talent on the field.
It's one data point in a long season for both programs, but it's the debut Anderson wanted: a clean, lopsided win to build early confidence in Hampton and a retooled roster before Southern Miss gets into tougher matchups.
