The Southern Miss Golden Eagles take on the Georgia Southern Eagles in Statesboro, Georgia, on Friday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Southern Miss is favored by -3 points on the spread with a moneyline of -160. Georgia Southern, meanwhile, enters as a +3 underdog and comes in at +135 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 59.5 points.
Here’s my Southern Miss vs. Georgia Southern predictions and college football picks for Friday, October 9.
Southern Miss vs Georgia Southern Prediction
- Southern Miss vs. Georgia Southern Pick: Southern Miss -3
My Georgia Southern vs. Southern Miss best bet is on the Golden Eagles to cover the spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Southern Miss vs Georgia Southern Odds
| Southern Miss Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -115 | 59.5 -110o / -105u | -160 |
| Georgia Southern Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -105 | 59.5 -110o / -105u | +135 |
- Southern Miss vs Georgia Southern Spread: Southern Miss -3, Georgia Southern +3
- Southern Miss vs Georgia Southern Over/Under: 59.5 Points
- Southern Miss vs Georgia Southern Moneyline: Southern Miss -160, Georgia Southern +135
Southern Miss vs Georgia Southern College Football Betting Preview
Southern Miss Golden Eagles Betting Preview: Huff Taking USM Forward
I’ve been very impressed with the job head coach Charles Huff has done at Southern Miss. Halfway through Year 1, this Golden Eagles program is solidifying themselves as a legitimate contender in the Sun Belt West.
Southern Miss has scored 38 points or more three times this season while racking up nearly 400 total yards of offense per game.
Quarterback Braylon Braxton has complete control of the passing game and has completed 65% of his passes with 11 touchdowns. Braxton also has several explosive receivers to utilize in the pass game.
The rushing attack is coming off its best performance of the season two weeks ago against Jacksonville State, where the Golden Eagles rushed for 225 yards with three touchdowns.
On the other side, the Southern Miss defense has given up some yards in recent weeks. However, it hasn’t necessarily played poorly, given the number of snaps against it. App State ran 90 plays and Jacksonville State ran 79 in recent weeks, so factoring in its “per play” average gives a better indication of how this group has fared.
The defensive line is impacting games by causing pressure and creating negative plays in the opposition's backfield. I expect this group to continue playing well as we move into the crux of SBC play.
Georgia Southern Eagles Betting Preview: Defensive Problems the Main Issue
Georgia Southern comes in off a disappointing road loss against James Madison a couple of weeks back.
The Eagles could not generate any offense against the Dukes, managing just 3.8 yards per play with 27 total rushing yards.
Moving the football on the ground has been a problem for Georgia Southern ever since adopting Clay Helton’s pass-happy offensive system, and this year is no different.
The aerial attack has been efficient but far from explosive in 2025.
Quarterback JC French has completed 59% of his passes while throwing for 946 yards with seven touchdowns — far from gaudy for a five-game sample size.
Without a consistent, quick-strike ability through the air, this offense will struggle to put drives together and score enough points to remain competitive in games this season.
The defense has really been the heel for Georgia Southern this year, as the Eagles' stop unit has given up 481 yards per game and over seven yards per play.
This group struggles to stop the run. In fact, every FBS opponent has rushed for 200 yards or more with Fresno State, USC and JMU running for over 300 on this front seven.
I have major concerns about Southern relying on this unit to get stops, as it has struggled situationally in getting off the field on third downs and in the red zone.
Southern Miss vs Georgia Southern Pick, Betting Analysis
We identified Southern Miss as an under-the-radar value play in SBC play this season, and I think there's value on the Golden Eagles on Thursday night. I'm laying the number here with Southern Miss -3
The Georgia Southern defense is such an Achilles' heel to this team's competitiveness, as the Eagles rank 136th nationally in Success Rate allowed and 135th in EPA Per Play allowed.
The Eagles have registered four total sacks and 22 tackles for loss this season, so naturally, the Havoc numbers are also not strong. PFF grades the Georgia Southern pass rush as the least effective unit in the Sun Belt, and the run defense grades out as the worst in the conference by a large margin.
Southern Miss is going to be able to run the ball here, and I expect Braxton to create plays with his legs and have his best rushing day of the season.
We still haven’t seen this ground attack hit its stride yet this season, but the Golden Eagles will gash Georgia Southern on the ground in this game.
Georgia Southern is known for its passing offense, but the offensive unit hasn't been overly explosive. The Eagles rank just 127th nationally in EPA Per Pass and 121st in Passing Success Rate.
The Southern Miss secondary grades out as the second-best unit in the SBC behind Old Dominion, and USM grades out as the conference’s best tackling team top to bottom.
There's a little extra motivation for Southern Mississippi here, and that comes by way of the result of a Huff-coached team the last time he played Georgia Southern.
Last year, while at Marshall, Huff’s Thundering Herd held a 23-3 lead and managed to lose the game. He was very upset about the loss at the time, and he referenced that game, noting how he and his staff had learned from it.
Numerous players on this Southern Miss roster were on that Marshall team, so you can be assured that there will be some extra motivation to preserve a second-half lead and leave no doubt on Thursday night.
Pick: Southern Miss -3
