HATTIESBURG — The third-longest series in Southern Miss football history gets renewed this Saturday when the Golden Eagles travel to Ruston, La., for the 51st all-time meeting with Conference USA West Division rival Louisiana Tech.

The game starts at 2:30 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston and can be seen on the NFL Network as well as heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.

The only two longer series played in terms of games for the Golden Eagles include Memphis at 63 games and Louisiana-Lafayette at 52 games.

The LA Tech series dates back to 1935 and the two schools played each year between 1946 and 1972. The two schools renewed the rivalry in 2010 after going through an 18-year hiatus. After a year off in 2012, LA Tech became a member of C-USA for the 2013 season and they have played every year since.

Southern Miss leads the overall series 35-15 and has won the last four meetings. While the series as a whole evokes memorable moments, Golden Eagle fans only have to look back on the last four contests for wonderful remembrance.

Step back to the final weekend of the regular season in 2015 when the C-USA division crown was up for grabs when the two met in Ruston. Michael Thomas made a dramatic one-handed catch in the end zone in the opening half and Ito Smith scored touchdowns on three consecutive offensive plays, following LA Tech turnovers, spanning 45 seconds on the game clock in the second half, to blow up a close game into a 58-24 win and West Division title.

The two teams played the final weekend of the regular season the following year in Hattiesburg and the Golden Eagles needed a win to be bowl eligible. Quarterback Nick Mullens returned to the lineup after missing two games with an injury and went on to throw for 342 yards on 29-of-33 attempts and three touchdowns to lead the Golden Eagles to a 39-24 triumph. Southern Miss went on to capture the New Orleans Bowl that year, defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 28-21.

The last time these two teams did battle in Ruston, the Golden Eagles found themselves down 11 points late in the game, but scored twice over the final 1:23 to tie the game and send into overtime. Parker Shaunfield hit a 49 field goal and, after the Golden Eagles recovered an onside kick, Keon Howard hit Korey Robertson on the sideline, who got away from a couple of defenders and made his way for the score from 22 yards out. Jay’Shawn Washingon then collected a two-point pass from Howard to force the game into overtime.

After both teams threw interceptions in the first overtime, Howard connected with Robertson for 25 yards on the first play of the second overtime session, and the Golden Eagles kept the Bulldogs from the end zone on their possession to come away with a 34-27 victory.

In last year’s meeting, Steven Anderson scored twice on the ground, including a six-yard scoring rush with 6:02 to play, to life the Golden Eagles to a 21-20 victory over the Bulldogs in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss was able to hold on to the football the final 3:54 of the game to preserve the victory.

Southern Miss (4-2 overall, 2-0 C-USA) looks to win its third consecutive game this season, while the Bulldogs are off to a great start with a 5-1 overall record and 2-0 in league play.

A win by either team could go a long way towards winning the West Division crown as this looks to be another classic in this storied rivalry.