Coming off the worst two-year stretch in school history, the Golden Eagles will look to carry the momentum of their only win of the season against UAB into the spring game Saturday at The Rock.

In that final game against UAB, USM dominated en route to a 62-27 victory to end what was the longest active losing streak in the nation at 23 games. Quarterback Nick Mullens was a big reason why as he tied a team record with five touchdown passes to go with 370 yards. He added a rushing touchdown in the game as well; his six total touchdowns also tied a school record.

Southern Miss will need Mullens to build off that game if they hope to finally get back to winning football games consistently. Mullens finished last season with 1,776 passing yards and 13 touchdowns in six starts.
Second-year head coach Todd Monken knew that it was going to be an uphill battle to return to prominence when he took the job.

“Bottom line is we’ve got to get better. It starts with every day we come out,” Monken said. “Since we haven’t gone to a bowl game in two years, we have missed out on nearly 30 bowl practices. We can’t waste days.”
While Monken knows his team needs to get better, he has not hid his enthusiasm about his team.

“This is a good group of guys. Their attitude, their energy, their body language is all really good. Our locker room is full of guys who want to be here and do it the right way,” Monken said. “They want to go to class. They want to work hard. They want to excel at every part of their lives. I am excited about our team. We are going to continue to get better.”

The Black and Gold Spring Game will begin at 1 p.m. and will be a part of Eagle Fest, a three-day weekend event.