Southern Miss may still have a bowl snub from a season ago heavy on its heart, but complacency at 6-5 should have no place in the Golden Eagles’ trajectory - postseason bid or not.

It’s not a matter of complacency overtaking the program just yet, but there are plenty of question marks as to how fourth-year head coach Jay Hopson will be able to push his team over the top. The road in 2019 won’t get much easier for the Golden Eagles either.

However, C-USA media members selected Southern Miss to finish second in the West Division while holding four of a possible 26 first-place votes. A predicted improvement upon last season, but to Hopson it makes no difference when the end goal sits far beyond that. It will be quite a ride if Southern Miss plans to reclaim the division for the first time since his arrival.

“It doesn’t [matter],” Hopson said at C-USA media day last week. “Everything is about where you finish, not where you start. That’s what we’re focused on. We were close last year, but we’ve got to find a way to find a few points. That’s our challenge.”

Southern Miss won three of its last four games to finish the season at 6-5 and reach bowl eligibility all to be left empty handed on selection day. Did it hurt? Of course it did - especially when Hopson sees the difference between a snub and being a national story as a handful of points.

“It certainly did,” Hopson said. “You have to take care of it on the field, but we lost one game in overtime, one game by one point and one game by two points. We were literally six points away from being 9-2, and I think maybe 15 or 16 points from being 10-1.”

“The bottom line is we’ve got to take care of it on the field. You can’t afford that one-point loss or that overtime loss. You’ve got to find a way to get the W.”

There’s no better place to set the tone for such than the quarterback position. Redshirt junior Jack Abraham and sophomore Tate Whatley will be locked in a battle to become the signal caller as 2019 season approaches. Abraham will likely get the starting nod returning as one of the most accurate passers in the nation, but Whatley (who appeared in six games as a freshman) provides dual-threat capabilities that will still be utilized often.

Like most coaches, Hopson prefers a direct investment in one lone starter. But he has been unable to fill the role in that form ever since Nick Mullens left the fold for the NFL in 2017.

“Ideally you want one [QB],” Hopson said. “But if a young man deserves to play some, I think he’s got to play. We’re going to appoint a starter. Right now, whoever our starting quarterback is… Jack’s a young man who started most of the season last year. He’s going to be the starter. However, if a young man deserves to play we’ll put him in. I’m going to let those two compete. I just think competition makes you better. I’m a believer in competition. I think that’s what football and this journey is about.”

Redshirt senior WR Jordan Mitchell and redshirt junior LB Racheem Boothe also joined Hopson to represent the Golden Eagles at C-USA Media Day. Last year’s failures haven’t escaped them, but neither are the type to stay focused on the rearview mirror.

Mitchell had his best year to date in 2018 after missing the 2016 season due to injury and redshirting in 2017. Seeing his first real action in two seasons, the Hattiesburg native caught 37 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns. But Mitchell missed out on something he and many of his teammates hadn’t yet had to face as Golden Eagles.

“It was definitely a snub for the whole program,” Mitchell said of missing out on a bowl. “That’s what we’re built on – going to bowl games and competing for championships. I had been to a bowl game ever since I’ve been here. Last year definitely hurt going 6-5, being bowl eligible and not getting chosen. This year coming up we have one goal in mind: winning Conference USA and also going to a bowl game.”

Boothe uses those memories to fuel him in leading a Nasty Bunch defense which allowed fewer first downs than any other team in the FBS during 2018. Southern Miss returns an older defensive unit bolstered by mostly juniors and seniors, and Boothe is set on reestablishing the group’s previous dominance once again.

The Bassfield product is considered the highest rated linebacker in C-USA according to Pro Football Focus and earned a Preseason All-Conference USA selection.

“We never live on the past,” Boothe said. “We always have to prove something every year. It’s a new year and a new us, so we just have to keep proving ourselves.”

Southern Miss will commence fall camp on the first of August in preparation for the season opener against Alcorn State on Aug. 31 at 6 p.m.