New Orleans Bowl – Southern Miss vs Western Kentucky: Three things to watch

The 2025 New Orleans Bowl is here, and if the early start to this bowl season is any indication, it’ll be a lot of fun in the Big Easy Tuesday night.

The 25th anniversary of the Bowl Season battle between the Sun Belt and Conference USA is looking to be quite the battle between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers inside the Caesars Superdome.

Here are two keys to look out for in today’s matchup:

1. How will USM look without Huff?

After just one year in Hattiesburg, Charles Huff has already packed up and moved on to greener pastures in the form of Memphis, Tennessee, to take over the Tigers’ program. USM announced that Blake Anderson, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, will take over as the program’s head coach beginning in 2026. Anderson has extensive coaching experience with a very successful tenure at Arkansas State and Utah State.

Now, after a few years as an assistant, will Anderson seize this opportunity to lead another football program into a new era? The transfer portal opens on January 2 and could throw some things for a loop with the coaching change, so that will be another thing to keep an eye on beyond today.

2. WKU is the favorite in this one

Despite losing their starting quarterback in November due to injury, the Hilltoppers will be considered the favorite inside the Superdome on Tuesday with a betting line of -2.5 points over the Golden Eagles. Rodney Tisdale has done a nice job filling in for Maverick McIvor over the last month, and it will be interesting to watch how it continues after a few weeks off to prepare. WKU’s defense will also play a factor today as the Hilltoppers have only allowed 23.5 points per game this season, good for 2nd in CUSA.

Overall Thoughts

This will be a classic Group of Five slugfest during bowl season with a lot at stake for both teams right before the offseason. Look for Southern Miss to play with a ton of emotion for their new head coach and find some success, but will it be enough to slow down the postseason consistency of Tyson Helton’s squad? 4:30 on ESPN will tell you everything you need to know.