Southern Miss football no longer hosting Mississippi State in 2030 schedule

Southern Miss football will no longer be hosting Mississippi State for a 2030 nonconference game, a Southern Miss program spokesperson confirmed to the Clarion Ledger on Aug. 26.

It was part of a home-and-home series with the Golden Eagles making a return trip to in Starkville in 2031. Instead, they will now play just one game in 2029 at Davis Wade Stadium.

Neither program has commented on why the games were canceled, including dropping Southern Miss' home game, when contacted by the Clarion Ledger.

The news comes though as Mississippi State begins a nine-game SEC schedule in 2026 that has led to canceled nonconference games. The Bulldogs did the same for Memphis with two future games canceled . The contract for that series did not require a buyout because of the SEC's nine-game schedule.

Southern Miss has one other nonconference game scheduled for 2029 at UConn . It has two 2030 nonconference games scheduled against Middle Tennessee State and Memphis, but no 2031 games scheduled because Louisiana Tech is now part of the Sun Belt Conference.

Mississippi State has one other 2029 nonconference game against West Georgia and one 2030 game against Troy. Both games are at Davis Wade Stadium.

The Bulldogs defeated the Golden Eagles, 34-17, in the 2025 season opener at M. M. Roberts Stadium, which was recently renamed to Renasant Stadium.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_ .