Southern Miss visits Troy tonight, with both teams trying to end losing streaks. Kickoff takes place at Veterans Memorial Stadium, a venue where the Trojans are 2-0 this season.

The Golden Eagles (1-3) lost 24-21 at Tulane last time out despite Landry Lyddy’s three touchdown passes in his first start this season. Troy (2-2) returns home after a 21-10 loss at Utah State.

Below is my Southern Miss vs Troy prediction, picks and Tuesday CFB odds.

My Southern Miss vs Troy prediction starts with one clear mismatch: Troy’s rushing offense against Southern Miss’s run defense. For my primary play, I am backing the home side to control the clock and win the field position battle.

The Trojans average a very respectable 166.3 rushing yards per game. While they aren’t exactly running a dynamic air raid offense, quarterback Goose Crowder has managed the game well, throwing for 822 yards and seven touchdowns. But this game will be won in the trenches.

The Golden Eagles’ run defense has completely fallen off a cliff this season. Through four games, Southern Miss is surrendering a staggering 235.3 rushing yards per contest. You cannot give up that kind of yardage on the ground and expect to win on the road. Troy’s offense is built to exploit this exact weakness, grinding out long drives and keeping the Southern Miss offense freezing on the sidelines.

Troy has allowed fewer than half the rushing yards per game that Southern Miss has. That puts more pressure on Lyddy to build on his first start and keep the Golden Eagles out of obvious passing situations.

While Southern Miss holds a slight edge in passing offense, boosted by Landry Lyddy’s 243-yard, three-touchdown performance at Tulane, they will be throwing into a Trojans secondary that holds opponents under 200 passing yards per game. Unless Lyddy plays out of his mind and flawlessly navigates Troy’s pass rush, the Golden Eagles will struggle to move the chains consistently.