5 things to know about Southern Miss football, first FBS game of 2020 season

It wasn't always clear that we'd make it this far, but the 2020 college football season is here. And all eyes will be on Hattiesburg for the start.

Southern Miss will play host to the first FBS game of the season Thursday night when the Golden Eagles host South Alabama at 8 p.m. While various programs and conferences across the country have postponed or canceled their fall seasons because of the risks connected to playing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southern Miss feels it has found a way to play safely with minimized risk despite the pandemic.

From a football perspective, Thursday should include an interesting mix of high-speed action and interesting unknowns being revealed. But the lasting importance of Thursday night at M.M. Roberts Stadium will likely have little to do with touchdowns or field goals. Instead, this game can be the pilot guiding the college football world through how to successfully survive a season in a world still grappling with coronavirus.

Here are five things to know about Thursday's game:

1. In-stadium changes are coming

This won't be a normal season opener at The Rock.

Stadium capacity on Thursday — and until further notice — will be limited to 25%. Fans who do not share a household will be required to remain at least six feet apart, and there will be designated zones for season ticket holders who want to watch the game even further apart from others. Masks or face coverings will be required any time a fan is entering or leaving the stadium or is "in transit" anywhere in the stadium other than their seat. This includes bathrooms, elevators, concession areas or aisles. 

Hand sanitizing stations will be available throughout the stadium. Game day employees will be required to wear face coverings at all times and clean their hands as frequently as possible. Tickets and concessions will be as contactless as possible, including limiting cash transactions to specific areas.

Perhaps most jarringly, tailgating will be forbidden. Additionally fans will not have access to the sidelines pregame and sideline access throughout the game will be limited to only essential personnel.

2. The nation will be watching

This game won't just be the year's first matchup in Hattiesburg. It'll be the first contest between any two teams eligible to compete in the College Football Playoff of the season. 

Customarily, this weekend would include the first full slate of college football games on the yearly calendar. But with so many games and seasons postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, few games have survived this week.

The ACC and Big 12 don't begin for another week. The SEC doesn't start its season until Sept. 26. The only other games involving two FBS teams scheduled for this week are Middle Tennessee at Army, SMU at Texas State and Arkansas State and Memphis, all of which are scheduled for Saturday.

When Southern Miss and South Alabama kick off on Thursday at 8 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network, they will effectively begin the race to the College Football Playoff.

3. Southern Miss is heavily favored

According to the oddsmakers at Bet MGM, Southern Miss is a 14.5-point favorite to beat South Alabama. South Alabama is coming off a 2-10 season and hasn't won a game outside the state of Alabama since 2016.

Southern Miss had the best passing offense by yardage in the Conference USA last season, averaging 289.5 pass yards per game. The Golden Eagles return quarterback Jack Abraham, who is entering his third year as a starter, as well as receiver Tim Jones, who caught 73 passes for 902 yards last season.

4. Southern Miss will be absent some leaders

Some of the Golden Eagles' most prominent veterans elected to opt out of this season as concerns about COVID-19 have continued to mount. Former first-team All-Conference USA defensive end Jacques Turner, former freshman All-America linebacker Racheem Boothe, wide receiver and return man Jaylond Adams and running back Steven Anderson have all opted out of this season.

Replacing Turner might be the most difficult and pressing need for Southern Miss. Turner logged 13.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks a year ago and has made 99 tackles in the last three seasons. In Turner's place, expect the Golden Eagles to call on defensive ends Dominic Quewon and Terrence Cherry.

5. Southern Miss has a new offense... again

For the third time in three years with Abraham at quarterback, Southern Miss has a new offensive coordinator. Matt Kubik is taking over the Golden Eagles' play-calling responsibilities after four years at UL-Monroe. In his last three years at UL-Monroe, Kubik oversaw an offense that finished second, fourth and second in the Sun Belt in total offense.

Kubik's teams thrived throwing the ball. Between 2017 and 2019, UL-Monroe averaged 262 passing yards per game and threw for 60 touchdowns in 36 games.

UL-Monroe didn't run the ball particularly effectively under Kubik, nor has Southern Miss ran the ball well in the last two seasons. The Golden Eagles are aiming to reverse that issue this season with a new crop of running backs including high-profile freshman Frank Gore Jr., the son of Jets running back Frank Gore - who's the third-leading rusher in NFL history.

Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.