Jay Hopson is hopeful.
His Southern Miss football team is, too. The Golden Eagles, who dropped to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in Conference USA after Saturday's disappointing 38-27 loss to second-year FBS program Charlotte, no longer control their own destiny in the race to return to the league championship.
Hopson’s squad is a half-game behind UTSA in the West Division standings and 1 1/2 games back of division leader Louisiana Tech. The first-year Southern Miss coach’s increasingly thinning strands of hope were evident in the moments after the team’s home loss to the 49ers.