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| Southern Miss fans hope to avoid scenes like this one after a loss to Texas State |
OBC(original G5blog content )
TRANSITIONS
In the book, "The Call of the Wild", author Jack London describes the stark transition that Buck, the powerful animal , experiences in the novel. London writes the following about Buck's new reality, "He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial.” . These very same words can also easily be used to describe the extraordinary transition that the Southern Miss football program has experienced over the last few years. These words also seem to capture the experience of the Southern Miss fan base as well. A fan base that had grown accustomed to an extraordinarily high level of success and accolades. Now, after two years of a very difficult football existence, the Golden Eagle fan base is looking forward to a return to something near normal. The question however, is what is the new normal for Southern Miss?
THINGS LOOKED SO GOOD
The 2011 Conference USA Championship game was supposed to be Houston QB Case Keenum's big day. By the time ABC* had begun to broadcast the Championship game to a national audience, Keenum had already become the NCAA all time leader in offensive production. The 6th year Senior was in the midst of the one of the greatest seasons ever played by a FBS level QB. So when the Southern Miss Eagles strapped on their helmets that day, lead by then head coach Larry Fedora, they were almost an after thought.
Soon after the game began however, it became apparent that Case was going to have a very long day. The Southern Miss defense lead by the uber talented Jamie Collins seemed to be everywhere at once, dominating the Houston line of scrimmage and Case as well. Houston Cougar fans looked on in dismay as the Southern Miss defense harassed, dominated and pummeled Keenum all day. Who can forget the look of horror on Case Keenum's wife, as the cameras unmercifully panned to her distraught face over and over again.
The Eagle offense also had a field day on that overcast, gray December day in Houston. Southern Miss QB Austin Davis picked apart the Houston defense with a combination of throws and by handing off the ball to rb Tracey Lampley. When the final whistle blew, Southern Miss had thoroughly and completely defeated the favored Houston Cougars 49-28.
The one group that was least surprised by this victory were the Southern Miss faithful, who for decades had watched their Eagles beat programs that they were not supposed to beat. So when UNC announced just a few short days after the Southern Miss victory that they had hired Larry Fedora to be their coach, Southern Miss fans took it in stride. They had after all, weathered coaching changes before( although less frequently than many FBS schools) and had always seen their program bounce back in a strong way.
When Southern Miss announced a few weeks after Fedora left that they had hired the 59 yr Ellis Johnson, the Golden Eagle football program looked to be in good shape
to those on the outside, especially the fan base.
0-23
At the start of the 2012 FBS season there were few programs in the non BCS world that had the background and prestige that Southern Miss enjoyed. Located in a state with two SEC programs, Southern Miss had managed to carve out an impressive niche for themselves in college football. Between the years 1997 and 2011 Southern Miss had competed in an incredible 14 Bowl games including 3 Liberty Bowl appearances. Since the 1970's Southern Miss has earned multiple top 20 rankings and victories over many FBS ranked football teams including Alabama, Florida State and TCU. Just as impressive, however, is that Southern Miss rattled off a stunning 16 winning seasons through 2011 and won 3 Conf USA Football Championships during that extended winning period.
To say that Southern Miss fans had grown to expect excellence in their football program is an understatement. Generations of Golden Eagles fans had not only seen their team take on some of the best football programs in the country but they had also witnessed their team win a fair share of those games.
The winning tradition of the Southern Miss program looked like it was capable of repeating itself well into the 21st century. The hiring of Ellis Johnson, although not without its critics, seemed to be a logical step for Southern Miss and its fan base . By the end of Nov 2012, however, Eagle fans found themselves in midst of the worst crisis they had ever experienced in following the program. The team had become a shell of their former competitive selves. In just one year Southern Miss had gone from a record 12 wins to a record 12 losses. This turn of events was stunning both in its scope and in the speed in which it occurred . Most programs go through a gradual decline and fall, Southern Miss however, had a fall from grace like few FBS programs had ever experienced.
The 2012 season for Southern Miss was not only winless for the Golden Eagles, but it was also a season in which the devoted fan base at times seemed on the verge of imploding. There were many ugly moments that season, including a very public scene in which Eagle QB Anthony Alford's mother was arrested and removed from the stadium during an embarrassing loss to Marshall. Alford's mother became angry during the game when Eagle fans began to publicly criticize the play of her son.
The mood outside the stadium was grim as well, as radio call in shows where Coach Ellis Johnson was scheduled as a guest or even host, became increasingly hostile. This hostility could also been seen in various Southern Miss message boards that year. The 2012 Southern Miss football season had become a white hot mess in almost every phase of team play and fan support.
At the end of the 2012 it became apparent that Coach Johnson would have to go for the mutual benefit of both sides. This meant another head coach search for the beleaguered Southern Miss administration. It is never easy for FBS teams to hire a new head football coach even in the best of program circumstances, much less under the ones that Southern Miss were experiencing.
The Southern Miss administration however, moved forward with a search and in Dec of 2012, Eagle Athletic Director Jeff Hammond introduced Todd Monken as the new head coach of Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles now had their second head coach in as many years.
Monken seemed to be the anti-Johnson, with both with his youth and approach to the game. At his first press conference Todd Monken appeared to be exactly what the Southern Miss fan base was hoping for as he vowed to return Southern Miss to its winning ways again.
Monken however, would have to wait 11 games into the 2013 season before he would be able to start fulfilling his promise to the Southern Miss faithful. Monken's first win , a mauling of UAB, eventually ended the longest losing streak in Southern Miss history. With this win, not only did Southern MIss fans breathe a collective sigh of relief, they also were now able to begin to openly wonder if the team that they loved and admired so much had finally begun the long road back to Southern Miss prominence.
WHAT DOES NORMAL LOOK LIKE?
The good news for Southern Miss fans is that there is every indication that Coach Monken has no intention of allowing the 2014 season to resemble anything like the previous two. Monken is a hard working, smart offensive minded coach. If last years game against UAB is any indication, then it appears that Monken is starting to get by in from his players in both his team philosophy and strategy.
Two questions still loom large however, for Eagle fans: Can Southern Miss return to its dominate position in the G5 world? and Can Golden Eagle fans hope to see a return of the Southern Miss team that only three short years ago finished 20th in the AP's final football poll?
Perhaps the best answer at the moment is for Southern Miss fans to simply temper expectations in the short run. The college landscape has changed dramatically in the last five years . Southern Miss now has to contend with and recruit against schools like Ark State, South Alabama, Ga Southern, Ga State and even Texas State. With this dynamic landscape comes new challenges to the Southern Miss program. Challenges that the Golden Eagle leadership and fans have not faced before in the programs long history.
Still, the rich tradition of winning at Southern Miss, coupled with a fan base that is hungry to return to the Southern Miss way of conducting business bodes well for the program. There seems little reason why Southern Miss cannot make a complete turn around from the previous two seasons and become one of the better G5 schools . It will be harder this time around, and the new normal will most likely mean that Southern Miss will have tremendous competition to deal with . Southern Miss and its fan base have been underdogs before and have also proven that when you bet against them they have a habit of making people pay for it. It seems well within the realm of possibility then, that Southern Miss can and will return to its winning ways. They might not, however, ever return to what "normal" used to be. Their program can still become one that is dangerous and deserving of respect and caution within the G5 world.
(*changed earlier from ESPN)
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