This is Part I of a five-part series covering the 2024 and 2025 seasons of Marshall Football away game travels to Sun Belt Conference towns.
I was thrilled to jump to the Sun Belt. I loved the idea of renewing some old Southern Conference rivalries and the regional divisions just made sense in a college football world when location and a number in the conference name mean nothing. I had not traveled to many Conference USA road games and I really had no desire to do so. Oftentimes, those road games showed nearly empty stadiums on television, and the fanbases were not all that passionate online. Sure, some of the cities and metro areas could be fun to visit, but give me a good old college town atmosphere with rabid fans any day.
So with the move to the Sun Belt, I vowed to travel to more away games. In 2022, I went to Notre Dame, James Madison, and also Coastal Carolina’s stadium for the Myrtle Beach Bowl against UConn. It was two stadiums from the Sun Belt, but I really only got to experience the JMU gameday culture since Coastal had nothing to do with the bowl game. In 2023, I went to NC State, Coastal Carolina, and Appalachian State road games. Boone, NC for App State had been a destination trip for me for a long time and I finally got to mark that one off. The return trip to Conway, SC for Coastal allowed me to take in their tailgating experience and what their stadium is like with their fans in it.
But 2024 was going to be the best of them all for road trips. As soon as the schedule came out, I saw that it was favorable to attending lots of away games. I went to Ohio State and Virginia Tech sure, places I had been to watch the Herd before. But it was the Sun Belt road games I was really looking forward to: a return trip to Harrisonburg, VA and JMU; a first trip to Norfolk, VA for Old Dominion; and a place where I had wanted to tailgate for a ridiculously long time, Hattiesburg, MS for Southern Miss. In 2025, I knocked another bucket list tailgate off my list with Lafayette, LA for Lousiana, and then trekked back to Boone, NC for a return to App State. I hit them all. And below, I’m going to share my thoughts through words and photos on what the trips were like.
The Journey is Often as Great as the Destination
For my trip to Hattiesburg, my childhood friend and basically a brother Jamie Cook would be my road trip partner. We both had to work on Friday so that meant breaking up the trip a little. We drove–which is an important part of the road game experience in my opinion–for as long as we could into early Saturday morning to Gardendale, AL. This would allow us a few hours of sleep before a three-plus hour drive to get to the tailgating early. We stopped at Buc-ee’s in Smiths Grove, KY on the way down. If that isn’t a road trip must if there is one on the way, I’m not sure what is. Jamie and I got to spend a lot of time with each other, talking about just about everything on such a long trip.
But the main event was Saturday morning and the game to follow. We were hosted by Southern Miss fan and all-around great guy Chad Dickens. Chad reached out before I made the trip and offered up a parking pass that was a stone’s throw away from the stadium and tickets for me and Jamie. Once we parked, Chad met us and we made the short walk to the tailgate, a double tent in the grass about an extra point kick away from the entrance gate. This was a tailgate with Chase and Shellie Moses, two Southern Miss fans that also care about hospitality and putting on a good tailgate. They had shrimp and grits, authentic gulf muffuletta sandwiches, and lots of other food. There was plenty to drink of just about whatever you could want, and the conversations were as if you were with a cousin you don’t see as often as you would like. I loved it already. Chad introduced us to Shane Lott, someone else I had spoken to on Twitter several times and got to meet in person. It was a very welcoming atmosphere.
Southern (Miss) Hospitality
We brought a taste of West Virginia with us to share with our Southern Miss friends. I made a mess of homemade pepperoni rolls (with two types of sliced pepperoni and a cheese stick melted in the middle), and we had a jar of holler water or moonshine to the layman. They were both a hit, but Southern Miss fans weren’t taking a bite of a pepperoni roll and passing it to the next person if you get the picture. As we were going to be taking in that Mississippi atmosphere, I felt like we should bring some of that West Virginia with us. After all, as Jamie remarked, “Mississippi looks like a flat West Virginia.”
Chad gave us a tour of campus and we got to experience Spirit Park, a huge grassy tailgate area that is tent city with lots of grilling and hot food. This was an extremely down year for Southern Miss Football, so the tailgating was not prevalent as other games but you could feel the tradition in the setups and food offerings. The campus immediately surrounding the stadium had a great look and feel, and there was even a plaque for Jimmy Buffet to commemorate the meeting between him and a future bandmate.
The logistics really cramped any plans to see more of the surrounding area. It was basically arrive, tailgate, watch the game, then eat on our way out of town. But what we were privy to was all we needed. The tailgate experience with the other team’s fans is enough, and we really enjoyed spending time with our fellow Sun Belt brethren.
Jamie and I sat with Chad in his seats on the home side. Chase joined us for the second half. After the game, we said our goodbyes at the tailgate and confirmed our restaurant destination of the evening was Crescent City Grill. It was a constant during all the polling of the locals and new friends of ours on where they would recommend we ate. And boy, were we glad we chose that spot!
Food to Die For
As you can see in the photos, Crescent City Grill looks like it was pulled straight out of the French Quarter from the outside. I’m a huge foodie and that is no secret, but this place blew me away. I got the Catfish Plaquemine and let me tell you that creole cream sauce changed my life. If you find yourself anywhere near Hattiesburg, I couldn’t give a higher recommendation for Crescent City Grill. This was a legit top five meal I have ever had in my life. The Smoked Duck Spring Rolls appetizer were also amazing, and Jamie raved about his oysters on the half. For me, a good local eatery or two really make a road trip and give you a little flavor of the town you are visiting, no pun intended.
The drive home was much like the drive down. We decided to stay at the exact same hotel on the way back because we were so tired. We slept the same five or so hours because we had somewhere to be the next day, We even stopped at the same Buc-ee’s as that one made more sense with timing than the one in Alabama. We did stop at Whataburger for breakfast on the road, and we got a burger too just because I’d never had one before. That fits my road trip rules when the kids aren’t involved: local restaurants are a must but fast food chains are okay if they are not available anywhere near you. We made it back home in plenty of time for Jamie to watch his nephew win the championship game he was playing in that day. Amazing trip!
