By Steven Gonzalez (@gonswaga)

The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles face off against the Troy Trojans on Saturday night in an early season out-of-conference game. The last time these two teams met was in the 2008 New Orleans Bowl where the Golden Eagles blocked a field goal in overtime to win it. Hoping to recreate some of those fireworks, here are five things to watch out for this weekend: 

1. Golden Eagles Look to Solidify Elite C-USA Status

In 2015, Southern Miss officially turned the corner in C-USA and made an appearance in the conference championship game against Western Kentucky. While they didn’t win that game, it capped off a season that welcomed the Golden Eagles back to the conference elite. So far this season, they have scored 100 points, defeated an SEC team in their head coach’s debut game and pitched a shutout. In that goose egg, they let up on 41 yards of total offense. With all that said, yeah, these guys are good.

Southern Miss brings a potent offense and a stout defense to the table and provides the conference with a true program to hang its hat on for the foreseeable future. The only detractor for USM are those Russell Athletics uniforms, but that’s another topic for another day.

2. Trojans Buoyed by Almost-Mega-Upset of Clemson

Troy enters this contest on the heels of what could have been a program-defining victory against last season’s National Championship runner-up Clemson. The Trojan defense only allowed 13 points in the first half, intercepted Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson twice and only allowed 122 rushing yards for the entire game.Troy kept up with the big boys as long as they could only to see their luck run out deep into the fourth quarter. If the Trojans can keep Heisman hopeful Deshaun Watson at bay for four quarters, what make you think they can’t do it again to Nick Mullens?

3. Mollifying Mullens

Speaking of Mullens, that man can play. Last season saw the senior quarterback and the Golden Eagles soar through the conference en route to some impressive offensive performances. Mullens himself already has 8 total touchdowns through two games and has combined with junior running back for one of the most formidable backfields in the conference.

Mullens has nearly set every passing record at USM and is already well on his way to setting C-USA records for this season as well. 

4. Troy Can Give as Good as It Gets

Southern Miss did in Week 1 what Troy couldn’t do last week: beat a major program. After being down 35-10 at Kentucky, the Golden Eagles rallied together and scored 34 unanswered points to take down their SEC foes. While no team has been able to knock down these Golden Eagles, albeit through a small sample size, the Trojans have the speed and experience to be able to keep USM down for the entirety of a game. Clemson struggled to limit Troy’s methodical offense and the Trojans will try and replicate their gameplan against the favored Golden Eagles.

5. Another Chance to Impress Southern Miss

Last weekend saw Marshall steamroll Morgan State in the beIN SPORTS game of the week. This weekend, we have the opportunity to see another potential conference championship contender square off with a weaker opponent. Early season matchups are great for seeing any team shake off the rust of the offseason. USM has already shown that they’re in midseason form. Can Troy step up and knock down the C-USA giants or will it be business as usual for the Golden Eagles?