Andrew Abadie
The Golden Eagles are coming off of a 40-win season and the Conference USA title.
The team will face 10 teams that made it into the NCAA tournament. This includes in-state rivals Mississippi State and Ole Miss, while also conference rivals Florida International, Louisiana Tech and Rice.
The toughest matchups of the season for the Golden Eagles non-conference schedule is when they play Tulane and South Alabama. Last year, Southern Miss dropped both games to Tulane. This game will be a high RPI (rating percentage index) game that could be the difference in national seeding later in the season.