HATTIESBURG — In 2014, Mississippi State spent a month as the top-ranked college football team in the country before losing to Alabama.

In 2015, Ole Miss was one wacky play away from playing for the Southeastern Conference championship and a potential berth in the College Football Playoff.

As he’s made his way around the offseason meet-and-greet circuit, new Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson has been using those examples to fire people up about his program’s potential.

Not necessarily to illustrate the point that a team from Mississippi can reach a New Year’s Six bowl game, but rather to hammer home the idea that his Golden Eagles have a better chance to do it on a consistent basis than either of the state’s big boys.

“One thing I talk about is the perception. Our track to the BCS is probably easier than anybody else in the state of Mississippi, in the fact we’ve got to win Conference USA and be ranked higher than whoever the winners of the MAC, the Mountain West, the AAC and the Sun Belt are,” Hopson said. “If you’re in the SEC, every week you’ve got to beat Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee on a consistent basis and you’ve got to finish at least second to get in there. So you tell me what’s easier.”

Southern Miss’ path to a major bowl involves two difficult, but not impossible, steps. First, it needs to win the Conference USA championship.

The Golden Eagles reached the league championship game last season before falling to Western Kentucky.

They have 11 starters returning this season, including four-year starter Nick Mullens at quarterback and last year’s top rusher Ito Smith at running back.

Secondly, they need to finish higher in the final College Football Playoff rankings than the champions of the other “Group of 5” conferences — the Mid-American, Sun Belt, Mountain West and American Athletic.

It’s a reasonable mountain to climb, Hopson said, and one he feels Southern Miss can do on a regular basis during his tenure. Getting fans and recruits to buy into the idea is key.

“I think it’s going to help as soon as players and everybody realizes we can consistently go to the (CFP) and (CFP) bowl games,” said Hopson, a Vicksburg native and Warren Central graduate. “That’s our goal. That’s what we’re striving for. It’s a very realistic goal. I don’t see this format changing any time soon.”

This year in particular, the Golden Eagles might be poised to break through to a New Year’s Six berth. In addition to their returning talent and strong finish a year ago, they have a non-conference schedule that can help them make a splash. Southern Miss will begin the Hopson era on the road against Kentucky, and then travels to Baton Rouge to face LSU on Oct. 15. Winning one or both games with those Southeastern Conference opponents, or even just a strong showing against them, will boost USM’s strength of schedule and garner national attention that can lift them in the rankings.

“Those games do give you that recognition. No question,” Hopson said.

This won’t be the only season Southern Miss has the opportunity to make a splash against an SEC opponent. It’s scheduled to play Kentucky and Tennessee in 2017, and Auburn in 2018.

Hopson said scheduling teams like that is simply part of Southern Miss’ tradition. One of his predecessors and mentors at USM, Jeff Bower, famously employed the motto of “any time, anywhere” while regularly scheduling games against powerhouses like Alabama, Auburn, Nebraska, Tennessee and several other SEC schools.

“We always play a tough schedule. That’s what being at Southern Miss is all about,” Hopson said. “We want to be that team. That’s what we built our tradition on. We’re fine with that. Southern Miss has been doing that for 45 years.”

The main goal, however, is still to be the best team in Conference USA and the Group of 5. That, Hopson pointed out, will do more to make Southern Miss a household name than the occasional upset of a Power 5 program.

“All you’ve got to do is be the highest ranked team in that Group of 5. That’s got to be our goal. That’s got to be our vision,” Hopson said.