HATTIESBURG — Southern Miss welcomes back an old rival to The Rock this Saturday as UAB comes to town for a big Conference USA West Division game.

Game time is set at 6 p.m., at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium. A paid webstream of the game can be obtained by going to C-USA.TV, while the game can also be heard on one of the affiliates of the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network as well as through TuneIn (click here to go to the TuneIn page).

The Golden Eagles (5-2 overall, 3-1 C-USA) vie for bowl eligibility this weekend as they also bring a three-game winning streak into the contest — their longest since winning six in a row in 2015 — looking to reach a postseason game for the third-straight season.

Through the first seven games, Southern Miss ranks No. 4 in C-USA in total offense at 451.7 yards per contest, while its defense ranks No. 3 in total yards allowed at 319.3.

The offense continues to be led by senior running back Ito Smith, who has 781 rushing yards this season and 1,035 all-purpose yards. Sophomore quarterback Keon Howard, who has won in his last three starts, has 734 yards over that span with seven touchdown passes and only four interceptions. Howard also has completed 63 percent of his passes over this stretch (63-of-100).

On defense, the Golden Eagles have compiled 25 of their season’s 53 tackles for loss and seven of their 14 total sacks over the last three games with junior LaDarius Harris leading the way with 4.5 over that time.

UAB returns to the college football stage this season, after being shuttered following the 2014 season. Their first season back under second-year coach Bill Clark has proven to be fruitful for the Blazers (4-3 overall, 2-2 C-USA) as the team has enjoyed a solid start over their first seven games.

The last four Blazer affairs have gone down to the wire with UAB winning two of those contests as the team’s last four results have been decided by a total seven points, including a 25-24 loss at Charlotte last weekend.

This will be the 16th meeting between the two teams with Southern Miss holding a 10-5 lead in the series. The Golden Eagles won the first nine games over the Blazers, but UAB has captured five of the last six. The Blazers won the last meeting in 2014, 45-24, at The Rock.