Last year’s feeling in Hattiesburg was that the third year would be the charm for Larry Fedora and Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles had a quarterback, Austin Davis, who continues to assault the USM record books and a great offensive supporting cast. The defense had enough talent to make a big improvement and the Golden Eagles appeared ready to fly to the Conference Championship Game and beyond.

But tragedy overtook the team when Martez Smith, Tim Green and Deddrick Jones were shot at the Remington’s Hunt Club on Nov. 13. Smith was paralyzed from the waist down and the distraction cast a pall over the rest of the season. Southern beat Houston 59-41 in their first game after the incident, but lost their last two to finish 8-5 with a loss in the Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl to Louisville.

It’s hard to win football games when something tragic like that happens. Running on pure emotion tends to wear one out.

But the biggest factor was that the Golden Eagles’ defense, once known as “Nasty Bunch,” became just nasty in the statistical department. The Golden Eagles went from being known for conservative, risk-adverse offense with a strong defense and kicking game under previous coach Jeff Bower to being known as a high-octane offensive club that’d be lucky to slow down anyone under Fedora. Guess that hat is on backwards now.

Any team that gives up 40 points or more in six games is not a good defensive team. Any team that gives up 30 points to Tulane (ranked 66th out of 120 NCAA FBS teams in total offense) is downright abysmal. The Golden Eagles ranked 81st in the FBS in scoring defense.

It’s little wonder that USM defensive coordinator Todd Bradford left for Maryland and was replaced by Dan Disch, a former Ron Zook assistant who brings a change in scheme from the 4-3 to the 4-2-5 alignment, which puts a bit more speed (five defensive backs) on the field in exchange for a little beef (just two linebackers). Considering USM’s depth chart, this is a welcome change and — in the spread-heavy C-USA — it’s exactly the kind of scheme that the Golden Eagles should’ve been using all along.

Last year, the offense had to deal with talented wideout DeAndre Brown, who spent more time in Fedora’s doghouse than on the field making plays, and rebuilding an offensive line.

This year, the O-line will have more experience. The offense won’t have a player with Brown’s talent level, but will gain in strength in skill position numbers as Kelvin Bolden and Quentin Pierce at wideout and Kendrick Hardy and Tracy Lampley at running back are more than capable of giving senior quarterback Davis plenty of playmakers.

The non-conference road schedule isn’t as daunting as in previous years. Virginia is rebuilding from the wreckage of the Al Groh era, while Navy’s triple-option offense isn’t as potent as it once was. The two toughest conference road trips, UAB and East Carolina, are very winnable.

There are plenty of reasons for Southern Miss to make a big leap, even into the BCS buster realm. The offense will be more potent, with one of the nation’s most experienced signal callers running the show. The defense just has to slow the opposition down. The schedule isn’t a particularly tough one with no Houston on the docket.

It is now just a question of realizing that potential.

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Steve Wilson is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. You can follow him on Twitter at vpsportseditor. He can be reached at 601-636-4545, ext. 142 or at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.