CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Southern Miss

7–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by Larry Fedora.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 2009, game by game: won vs. Alcorn State 52–0; won vs. UCF 26–19; won vs. Virginia 37–34; lost at No. 20 Kansas 28–35; lost at UAB 17–30; lost at Louisville 23–25; won vs. Memphis 36–16; won vs. Tulane 43–6; lost at No. 15 Houston 43–50; won at Marshall 27–20; won vs. Tulsa 44–34; lost at East Carolina 20–25; lost vs. Middle Tennessee 32–42+52−13Won 52–0 vs. Alcorn State+52Alcorn StateWon 26–19 vs. UCF+7UCFWon 37–34 vs. Virginia+3VirginiaLost 28–35 at No. 20 Kansas-7No. 20 KansasLost 17–30 at UAB-13UABLost 23–25 at Louisville-2LouisvilleWon 36–16 vs. Memphis+20MemphisWon 43–6 vs. Tulane+37TulaneLost 43–50 at No. 15 Houston-7No. 15 HoustonWon 27–20 at Marshall+7MarshallWon 44–34 vs. Tulsa+10TulsaLost 20–25 at East Carolina-5East CarolinaLost 32–42 vs. Middle Tennessee-10Middle Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsAlcorn StateW 52–⁠091%
Sep 12vsUCFW 26–⁠1968%
Sep 19vsVirginiaW 37–⁠3471%
Sep 26at20KansasL 28–⁠3533%
Oct 1atUABL 17–⁠3062%
Oct 10atLouisvilleL 23–⁠2552%
Oct 17vsMemphisW 36–⁠1670%
Oct 24vsTulaneW 43–⁠682%
Oct 31at15HoustonL 43–⁠5032%
Nov 14atMarshallW 27–⁠2046%
Nov 21vsTulsaW 44–⁠3463%
Nov 28atEast CarolinaL 20–⁠2538%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsMiddle TennesseeNew Orleans BowlL 32–⁠4249%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Middle Tennessee 42–⁠32 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 37th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 5th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
428–⁠336
Coach
Larry Fedora
Elo
1512 −13 this season
SP+ rating
2.4 No. 58 of 120; offense No. 43, defense No. 69, special teams No. 71
SRS
−0.9 No. 65 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 52
Offensive coordinator
Darrell Wyatt
Defensive coordinator
Todd Bradford
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense30th of 120
  • Defense94th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted40th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted106th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0843%0.9330th of 120
Defense0.1044%0.9594th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.08 def		42% off
42% def		—40th off
106th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 352% allowed
Defense0.0own 282% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsMartevious Young QB1,861 yds
Passing touchdownsMartevious Young QB16 TD
Rushing yardsDamion Fletcher RB1,015 yds
Rushing touchdownsTory Harrison RB10 TD
Receiving yardsDeAndre Brown WR785 yds
Receiving touchdownsDeAndre Brown WR9 TD
InterceptionsEddie Hicks DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Gerald West CB★★★No. 600
Mujahid Assad WR★★★No. 834
Jacoby Bell TE★★★No. 1019
Jonathan Guerry OT★★★No. 1026
Jerrion Johnson CB★★★No. 1026

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.818
Receivers33.00.851
Offensive line33.00.833
Defensive line13.00.833
Defensive backs52.80.839
Whole class132.90.838

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 104

The 2009 roster

104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
East Carolina7–⁠19–⁠5
Houston6–⁠210–⁠4
SMU6–⁠28–⁠5
UCF6–⁠28–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠6
Marshall4–⁠47–⁠6
UAB4–⁠45–⁠7
Tulsa3–⁠55–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠54–⁠8
Rice2–⁠62–⁠10
Tulane1–⁠73–⁠9
Memphis1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.