This summer, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI team has been working to determine the greatest season of Golden Eagle football, and here we are about to round out the Sweet Sixteen of our summer bracket challenge.
Our previous matchup saw a thrilling race when the 1962 UPI Small College National Champions defeated Larry Fedora’s 2010 Golden Eagles, with just 56 percent of the vote. As this challenge progresses, remember to check out Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI on Facebook and X for the latest updates in our series. Also, be sure to keep tabs on our website homepage for all of our latest USM athletics content.
Today’s Matchup: #3 1997 Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. #14 2006 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
#3 – 1997 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Southern Miss had a tumultuous relationship with conferences after leaving the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1941. The program remained independent for a few years before joining a group of Louisiana colleges in the Gulf States Conference in 1948, then becoming independent again in 1952. In 1982, the Golden Eagles joined the Metro Conference, joining teams like Memphis, Tulane, Florida State, and Virginia Tech in a non-football conference. After a failed super conference plan in the mid-1990s, the Metro Conference evolved into Conference-USA, which would sponsor football. Southern Miss, Houston, Tulane, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Memphis joined as its inaugural members, with Southern Miss and Houston both winning the inaugural conference championship in 1996.
Having split the Conference-USA title with Houston in 1996, Southern Miss was still searching for more in 1997. The Golden Eagles opened their slate against the defending 1996 National Champion Florida Gators in Gainesville, losing 6-21 against the No. 2 Gators. The following week, the Golden Eagles redeemed themselves with a win against Illinois, deep in Big Ten Conference territory. However, one week after the Illinois win, tragedy struck. Head coach Jeff Bower’s daughter, Kristen, 17, died in a car wreck in Petal, Mississippi. Her funeral was held the week of the Nevada game, scheduled for the week after her passing.
In the words of then-senior linebacker Marchant Kenney in 1997: “Coach Bower was very close to me, and Kristin was like a little sister. But we had the services that week, and as big of a loss as it was to the Bower family, Coach Bower held on to his faith and coached that third-week game against Nevada. And we beat Nevada 35-19 in front of a large home crowd. And I look up to him for finishing that game and that week.”
The Golden Eagles finished the 1997 season at 9-3, winning their second Conference-USA Championship, and their first outright claim. Southern Miss earned their first of three trips to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis this season, defeating a Walt Harris-led Pittsburgh, setting a then-record for the largest point difference in Liberty Bowl history*.
- Record: 9-3 (6-0 CUSA)
- Conference USA Champions
- Liberty Bowl Champions over Pittsburgh
- 4 Weeks Ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll (Finished at #19)
- Notable Players: Lee Roberts (QB), Harold Shaw (RB), Marchant Kenney (LB)
- Notable Wins: @ Illinois (24-7) & vs. Nevada (35-19)
#14 – 2006 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Jeff Bower had led the Golden Eagles for 16 seasons by the end of 2005. In that time, he had won four conference titles, five bowl wins, and had only two losing seasons. Southern Miss also had 32 wins in that time over teams that are now considered “Power 4 Teams” by the NCAA. So it was safe to say Southern Miss had embraced the “Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime” moniker instilled during Bower’s time.
2006 started off with a loss to No. 7 Florida in Gainesville, then a 3-game winning streak over Southeastern Louisiana, NC State, and UCF, followed by another loss to Tulsa in Conference-USA play. Southern Miss would drop one more conference game to East Carolina but earn a spot in the Conference USA Championship Game, facing Houston at the now-demolished Robertson Stadium. Southern Miss then earned a trip to the GMAC Bowl**, to face Ohio, a matchup which the Golden Eagles won decidedly.
- Record: 9-5 (6-2 CUSA)
- Conference USA Runners-Up to Houston
- GMAC Bowl Champions over Ohio
- Notable Players: Jeremy Young (QB), Damion Fletcher (RB), Darren McCaleb (K)
- Notable Wins: vs. NC State (31-17) & @ Tulane (31-3)
There seems to be a lot to offer here in this matchup. 1997 has a lot to be left with, through pressing on in hard times, while 2006 tries to carve new ground and keep a long-running tradition of success going. Who moves on? You get to decide. Check out the Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI Facebook Page to cast your vote for 1997 or 2006. And as always: Southern Miss, To The Top!
*: This Liberty Bowl record, 34 points, was broken in 2013 when Mississippi State defeated Rice by 37 points.
**: Today, the GMAC Bowl is known as the 68 Ventures Bowl today. Names in between included the GoDaddy.Com Bowl (2011-15), Dollar General Bowl (2016-18) and LendingTree Bowl (2019-2022).
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