SMU vs. Southern Miss: Mustangs look to keep bowl hopes alive against Golden Eagles

Eager to remain on their path towards becoming bowl-eligible, the SMU Mustangs will welcome the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to Gerald Ford Stadium this Saturday evening for a Conference USA showdown.

The Mustangs will enter after a frustrating 42-17 loss to Central Florida last Saturday, in a game where SMU's offense could only churn out a measly 133 yards through the air. Junior quarterback Garrett Gilbert broke a five-game touchdown pass streak in the loss, despite still managing to find the end zone twice as a runner. The 6'4 Gilbert has now scored 16 touchdowns on the year, but still has 13 interceptions to his credit after a rocky start to the season.

Still in search of their first victory of the season, Southern Miss fell to UAB, 27-19, over the weekend to continue a 0-9 season of futility. The Golden Eagles rank 117th in the FBS with an average of 147.2 passing yards per game, and will continue to rely on a handful of inexperienced arms going forward. Freshman Anthony Alford earned the start against the Blazers and should once again line up under center, even though the youngster completed fewer than 39% of his passes and failed to throw a touchdown for the seventh consecutive game in his last outing.