Southern Miss football (6-6, 4-4 Sun Belt) is one win away from its first season above .500 since 2019 and first bowl victory since 2016 in Will Hall's second year in charge of the Golden Eagles.
Hall was hired in December 2020 and inherited a 3-7 Southern Miss team. Two years later, Hall leads the Golden Eagles to the LendingTree Bowl against Rice (4:45 p.m., ESPN) Saturday in Mobile, Alabama.
Southern Miss secured bowl eligibility with a 20-10 victory over Louisiana- Monroe on Nov. 26. Trey Lowe III led the Golden Eagles with 170 passing yards and a touchdown in the 10-point victory.