2025 Southern Miss
7–6 (5–3 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Charles Huff, then Blake Anderson (bowl game). Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat UL Monroe 49–21Oct 25
By 28 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Western Kentucky 16–27Dec 23
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | vs Mississippi State | L 17–34 | 47% |
| Sep 6 | vs Jackson State | W 38–20 | 37% |
| Sep 13 | vs App State | W 38–22 | 33% |
| Sep 20 | at Louisiana Tech | L 20–30 | 33% |
| Sep 27 | vs Jacksonville State | W 42–25 | 34% |
| Oct 9 | at Georgia Southern | W 38–35 | 33% |
| Oct 18 | at Louisiana | W 22–10 | 34% |
| Oct 25 | vs UL Monroe | W 49–21 | 70% |
| Nov 8 | at Arkansas State | W 27–21 | 41% |
| Nov 15 | vs Texas State | L 14–41 | 62% |
| Nov 22 | at South Alabama | L 35–42 | 46% |
| Nov 29 | vs Troy | L 18–28 | 48% |
| Dec 23Bowls & playoff | vs Western KentuckyNew Orleans Bowl | L 16–27 | 39% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Western Kentucky 27–16 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Sun Belt Conference.
In program history: The 59th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 4th in Sun Belt Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 374–356
- Coach
- Charles Huff, then Blake Anderson (bowl game)
- Elo
- 1407 +73 this season
- SP+ rating
- -7.1 No. 94 of 136; offense No. 69, defense No. 103, special teams No. 103
- SRS
- −8.6 No. 101 of 136 in FBS
- Returning
- 17% of last season’s EPA, No. 108 of 134
- Recruiting class
- No. 105 roster talent No. 83 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Blake Anderson
- Defensive coordinator
- Jason Semore
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- Multiple 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.11 | 39% | 1.33 | 63rd of 136 |
| Defense | 0.06 | 42% | 1.24 | 49th of 136 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.06 off 0.10 def | 37% off 44% def | — | 88th off 66th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 41% | 10.0 yds | 20% | 3.10 | 17% |
| Defense | 43% | 7.7 yds | 10% | 3.10 | 17% |
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.6 | own 30 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 3.9 | own 28 | 17% caused |
CORE rating -2.8, 76th of 136 (offense -3.8, defense -1.0).
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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Braylon Braxton QB | 3,053 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Braylon Braxton QB | 24 TD |
| Rushing yards | Jeffery Pittman RB | 695 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Jeffery Pittman RB | 8 TD |
| Receiving yards | Elijah Metcalf WR | 683 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Carl Chester WR | 6 TD |
| Tackles | Chris Jones LB | 132 tkl |
| Sacks | J’Mond Tapp DL | 7.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Josh Moten CB | 5 INT |
Top recruits in the 2025 class
| Zach Ruffin S | ★★★ | No. 1062 |
| Jermane Hayes ATH | ★★★ | No. 1500 |
| Trevionn Morton S | ★★★ | No. 1923 |
| Denzel Gardner QB | ★★★ | No. 2034 |
| Shane King TE | ★★★ | No. 2034 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2025 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.836 |
| Offensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.837 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.834 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.851 |
| Athletes and specialists | 4 | 3.0 | 0.827 |
| Whole class | 14 | 3.0 | 0.837 |
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 111
The 2025 roster111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 52
The 2025 portal Josh Moten CB | ★★★★ | from  Marshall |
 Amir Leonard-Jean Charles DL | ★★★ | from  West Virginia |
| Braylon Braxton QB | ★★★ | from Marshall |
 Josh Battle S | ★★★ | from  Chattanooga |
| Elijah Metcalf WR | ★★★ | from Marshall |
 Hayes Creel OT | ★★★ | from  McNeese |
 Jacobe Robinson QB | ★★★ | from  Boston College |
 Broderick Jordan OL | ★★★ | from  Eastern Michigan |
 Christian Anderson OT | ★★★ | from  Alabama A&M |
| Elijah Kinsler DL | ★★★ | from West Virginia |
 Grant Page WR | ★★★ | from  Utah State |
| Guylijah Theodule CB | ★★★ | from Marshall |
And 40 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 42
 Larry Simmons WR | ★★★ | to  Utah |
| Micheal Caraway Jr. S | ★★★ | to  Florida |
| Tiaquelin Mims WR | ★★★ | to  Texas State |
| Armondous Cooley DL | ★★★ | to  Tulane |
| Braxton Myers CB | ★★★ | to  Western Kentucky |
| Drew Lawson OL | ★★★ | to  North Alabama |
| Kenyon Clay RB | ★★★ | to  Arkansas State |
| Moses Gray RB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Tate Rodemaker QB | ★★★ | to  Western Carolina |
| Wil Saxton OL | ★★★ | to Arkansas State |
| Dakota Thomas WR | ★★★ | to  Nevada |
| Damion Miller S | ★★★ | to  Alcorn State |
And 30 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2025 Sun Belt Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 James Madison | 8–0 | 12–2 | 19 |
 Old Dominion | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
| Troy | 6–2 | 8–6 | |
| Arkansas State | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| Southern Miss | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
 Coastal Carolina | 5–3 | 6–7 | |
| Louisiana | 5–3 | 6–7 | |
| Georgia Southern | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Texas State | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
| Marshall | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| South Alabama | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| App State | 2–6 | 5–8 | |
| UL Monroe | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
 Georgia State | 0–8 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.