NCAA point spread numbers show that Southern Miss Golden Eagles went 7-6 straight up and 6-6 versus the NCAA football point spread number in 207.
The offensive player of the year according to NCAA point spread stats for Southern Miss was running back Damion Fletcher. The defensive player of the year for the Eagles was linebacker Gerald McRath according to NCAA point spread numbers. The big disappointment for Southern Miss was a home loss to Rice as a three touchdown favorite on the NCAA football point spread. It was the final year of the Jeff Bower era as he coached his last season for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles were a disappointment for the most part as they were picked for the Conference USA title according to NCAA point spread experts but finished in 4th place in the Eastern Division.
Replacing Bower will be Larry Fedora who should instantly upgrade a weak offense. Bower may have been a very good coach but he rarely had any offense. Southern Miss is expected to score a lot more points in 2008 according to NCAA point spread experts. Fedora has some talent back to work with as RB Damion Fletcher and TE Shawn Nelson are back according to NCAA football point spread stats. The question according to NCAA point spread experts is who will be the quarterback. The offensive and defensive lines also need rebuilding according to NCAA point spread experts as they lost some serious talent. The team does have some nice recruits according to NCAA point spread experts including RB Desmon Johnson and CB Marcal Robinson.
The offense was 64th in the country in total yards and 62nd in total points scored in 2007 according to NCAA point spread stats. The defense was 49th in the country in total yards allowed and 42nd in points allowed in the country according to NCAA point spread stats.
Southern Miss will be an interesting team to watch in terms of the NCAA football point spread in 2008. With a new coach and a new philosophy the Eagles should be worth following on the NCAA point spread in 2008.