HATTIESBURG – The Southern Miss football team returned to the practice field Wednesday morning to hone in on the game plan for Saturday’s non-conference game at No. 15 Miami.

The teams will meet at 11 a.m., CT at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., with the game being televised by the ACC Network, as well as heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network.

“Thought our kids were locked in and excited about a great opportunity that we have this weekend at a great venue against one of the legendary teams in college football history,” said second-year coach Will Hall.

The Golden Eagles will play their first road contest and it will be the first time that some of the squad will be playing in a hostile environment this weekend.

Hall wants to see his team’s veterans step up during the early portion of the game and also liked that the game was an early kickoff which mimics how the Golden Eagles have prepared during the early portion of the season.

“We have to worry about us and we need our guys that are experienced to make plays early and try to get some momentum swung our way,” said Hall. “We must be ready to handle that. We have talked about it. It is an early kickoff. We do everything early here, so that shouldn’t be an issue as we look forward in going down there.”

Hall also again turned his thoughts to his team when asked by the media during his post-practice availability about the tough Hurricanes defense.

“We want to concentrate on us and not turn the ball over,” said Hall. “We want to improve on that.  Five turnovers in a game is inexcusable. When we didn’t turn the football over, we moved the ball (against Liberty) and we want to continue to do that.”

The Golden Eagles return to the practice field Thursday morning, before traveling to South Florida early Friday morning.