Transcript
Speaker: All right, everybody. It is Warm Weather Fans, the Sunbelt Podcast. This is Brian and Zeke, your hosts of this here show. And Zeke. We're talking week one. We're talking actual football games. No more projection.
Speaker: No more. oh, well, we think this guy's going to start. Maybe he'll get some playing time. Who knows? We're going to get some answers in this coming week ah with games kicking off, especially with the Sunbelt Slate kicking off with your... Georgia State Panthers on Friday night.
Speaker: Um. Yeah. Where do you, do you want to start there with your. Your team? like Sure. you know what what are you expecting out of them on Friday. What do you hope to see?
Speaker: Cameron Brown, are you hoping to see him take another step in his development? like the what what are you Are you hoping to see a defense with a pulse? Like what? Where are we at with him? So they're hosting, and again, who knows what hosting really means in terms of advantage for Georgia State, but they host North Carolina A and &T. an FCS team, Georgia State. We're recording this.
Speaker: pretty much a week in advance of most of these games, the Saturday prior. Um, Georgia State. is a four touchdown favorite over this. ah over Are they the Aggies at NC A and &T? um let me Yep, they are. yep So...
Speaker: It's like... I... We. Spoke briefly. Georgia State is one of the two teams this week that are on like FCS upset watch for me. um just in case it gets worse than we really thought i think yeah Georgia State is like a fairly consensus.
Speaker: 3 -4 win ceiling across the country. Um... And so... It is just show a pulse show like Cameron Brown needs to be exciting.
Speaker: Defense needs to do. Literally anything more than they did last season, which was. you know. ah you know, unable to stop a nosebleed as you like to say. Um...
Speaker: i I just need to cut like I i need this them to cover. like I don't really like to hold the teams to these lines. um But like you really do need to cover.
Speaker: Or else we got to start like thinking like at what point. Because the question already is, is at what point does Del McGee get the can? Yep. And so you know you get a couple weeks before the clock actually starts ticking.
Speaker: Um, You know, if this isn't a three possession game or more. i'm I'm going to say like, look, what we need to start. figuring out what we're going to do. um ah unfortunately for a lot of these games.
Speaker: uh some of these f fcs fbs games it's like there's not a whole ton to really say, oh, this is what I'm looking for because. Shoot, Georgia State could come out here rolling by the second half. We're seeing guys. um who Like true freshmen getting their first tick.
Speaker: just because they can. but For me, it's like, you you really do need to come out here and steamroll or else. it might be as bad as people are saying. Yeah.
Speaker: I... I do want to see Cameron Brown continue to take. steps in his development as a quarterback i liked the flashes i saw for him last year uh However, I will say, so I was going back through my DraftKings account last night because I put...
Speaker: I put another. Like. we over under wins total and this one was for the NFL but ah I have. Georgia State under three and a half wins this year. Um,
Speaker: Yeah. I mean... i'm not I'm not rooting against Georgia State because of that in this one, but... If they lost to an FCS team, that would be big for my bet, I feel like. Yeah. If you're if you're not able to beat North Carolina A and &T in week one, like that's going to be a a bad sign from the...
Speaker: here on i mean the only other two wins on the schedule are like ucf and and niu and both of those games again are like fairly coin flippy so Yeah, they're not gimmies at all. And UCF has, what, Alonzo Barnett?
Speaker: as their starting quarterback. Yeah. Yeah. so That's... probably i mean unless you find a way to get him to lay another egg like he did last year That's going to be a tough sell. uh with you know with him to be like hey alonzo i'm really gonna need you to stink it up here today uh i need to need you to give one of these uh ah performances that makes you go.
Speaker: Who was that again? That was our Barnett? That was not just some other guy off the street that laced him up? Uh... Yeah, I mean... I... It's tough because it's like Georgia State. The expectations are just so low. That it's like.
Speaker: I think even if... Even if you don't cover, you win by two touchdowns. I think that's at least like, all right, well, we're not going to be a total. train wreck this this coming season. like We can at least beat the lowly you know FCS teams that we play. I mean, this this is your the the biggest like opportunity here for Georgia State, I think, is like the chance to guarantee you won't go 0 -1. 12.
Speaker: Yeah. because that I mean, it's always on the table. you know you're just you're just kind of like i don't know ah And that one will be at 7 o 'clock on ah Friday, September 4th.
Speaker: Let's move into the ah the main Saturday slate. Uh... At noon, we've got Coastal Carolina traveling to West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers there. Um...
Speaker: What Rich Rod. year two of his second tenure here as as head coach of the Mountaineers. You got Ryan Beard's first game. I don't know if Coastal has publicly named a starter. at quarterback.
Speaker: Because that was another... That was another situation where you know we I recorded that that podcast with the guys from The Strut. And they were they were it was almost like the JMU preview where it was like, I don't know. We have like two or three guys. that are like in the mix and we have no idea who's going to start and like what the offense is going to look like like are we going to be more pass heavy because Nick Petrino, son of Bobby Petrino is the offensive coordinator there.
Speaker: And. I don't know whether it was due to personnel. or scheme or whatever but when he was at missouri state last year they were very very very pass heavy um Now, one of the guys on the stretch said he had. breakfast with Nick Petrino and kind of asked him, picked his brain about the scheme.
Speaker: Uh, it was It was very much like, we're going to take what the defense gives us, and you're like... Okay, but... on third and four they're not gonna give you much yeah right like you you know it's like okay yeah obviously like if they put 10 guys in the box like yeah you're gonna try to throw it but it's like Okay, if it's third and three.
Speaker: Are we putting the ball in our quarterback's hands who we we don't know who the starter is going into week one? Or are we going to try to run it up the middle and get something here? so I think scheme is going to be the thing that I watched the most for as well as who wins the quarterback competition. It actually suits up.
Speaker: Uh, And then defensively. you know, Beard is a... a defensive guy he that was his That was what he did. That was his coordinator job at Missouri State. ah After Bobby Petrito left, you know, before he took over as head coach, he was the defensive coordinator there.
Speaker: they They have to get. improvement on the defensive side of the ball. like as bad as the quarterback spot has been for them. the last couple years with the Tad Hudsons, the... you know whoever else it The defense is not.
Speaker: been able to do very much either and that might be due to the fact that their quarterback and offense has been so bad. that they can't stay off the field long enough to like do anything but defensively like They're going to run a 3 -3 -5, I'm pretty sure.
Speaker: um if I remember correctly. so Brand new defensive scheme. A lot of new players coming in. don't know who the quarterback's going to be, and you get to take on a West Virginia team on the road. they also This program also has a lot of, if you go back and listen to the Coastal Carolina preview, there's like a lot of weird ties between Coastal and West Virginia.
Speaker: So... That'll be another interesting kind of. color you know sprinkle it on but yeah i i just want to know what this coastal team is like What is their plan? When they line up either side of the ball, that's going to be really interesting.
Speaker: And I think they're going to be put into positions to kind of show what that plan is going to be fairly early. West Virginia. um i think won four games last year they're like projected to be a fringy bowl team this year um I think West Virginia puts pressure on them early. and Coastal probably falls behind pretty quickly. So you know by the mid -second quarter, you know as we approach halftime, I think they're going to be in a position where it's like...
Speaker: All right, this is where you need to... figure out show us what works um or are we going to treat these first couple weeks as just the drawing board until we get to conference play. And obviously that.
Speaker: all relies on like who wins the quarterback job um That's one of the downsides of recording when we are like a week ahead of time. We don't know who's going to. be in that hunt um you get like a guy from juco who came in ah won a championship ah at JUCO last year. You get a guy coming in from Missouri State.
Speaker: um who who's familiar with some of the scheme stuff so ah depending on which way they go there. ah is going to kind of... dictate which direction the offense is going to go.
Speaker: Yeah. Uh... So we'll you know we'll see ah if they're able to kind of... stand up to to west virginia and you know game one of ryan beard's tenure because I mean at least on the surface it seems like they They don't necessarily have like super, super high expectations, but it's like.
Speaker: I think they are more optimistic. for him. than they ever were for Tim Beck coming in. So this is going to be, like I think, a refreshing change for them.
Speaker: Uh, But Phil Steele, i mean when we had it our when I had my talk with him, like he was kind of like... I think this could be a rough. year one for Ryan Beard, but like... Hopefully by year two, you're starting to kind of hit the right direction. and Get guys in that fit your scheme. So that's going to be something to to definitely be on the lookout for. Another noon kick. You've got Liberty. taking on James Madison. ah It is in Harrisonburg, so JMU is at home in this one.
Speaker: Um, It seems like Jamie Chadwell has been on some... Thin Ice ah as of late. I. i i think we we were talking about it before the show like we're like Is Ethan Vasco still the starter? Because he...
Speaker: He played a... some games last year and then got a shoulder injury and was out for the season. But. It sounds like it's a quarterback competition there. Mm hmm. I don't know.
Speaker: I don't know how how confident they feel Liberty is going to feel throwing the football. uh they have been very very run heavy as is jamie chadwell's kind of like the offense he runs, you know, right.
Speaker: if He hasn't really been a very pass -happy coach when he hasn't had a Grayson McCall -level quarterback. Um, I think maybe Caden Salter in year one, they were throwing a little bit more, but the last couple years have been not great and he's run the heck out of the ball so We'll see, you know, James Madison's got a whole new defensive line, except for, I think, one defensive end in and Thomas.
Speaker: Uh, The last thing I saw, they're still in a quarterback competition. there It was down to J .C. Evans and Camden Coleman for that job. I don't know. There's a lot of interesting you know Billy Napier's first game back in the Sunbelt, like all of that. There's a lot of interesting kind of like storylines around this game where it's like.
Speaker: Again, Chadwell's coming back to coach against the Sunbelt team. Billy Napier's coming back to coach the Sunbelt team. So it's going to be interesting because... you know. Coastal in Louisiana had a little bit of a... ah I wouldn't say he did rivalry, but in like 2020, they very much did not like each other. Chadwell and and ah Napier, at least on paper. so we We'll see if any of that kind of flares back up. This is going to be critical for James Madison to get off on the right foot. um because
Speaker: Depending on where you're looking, like there. projected to go anywhere from like seven wins and so you know maybe be the second best team in the conference To like their. it's possible they're another 10 -win game. like As you look through their their regular season schedule, 12 -13 -0 is not... Completely unreasonable. I'm not going to do the Texas state flag plant here, but it's like there are 12 winnable games on their schedule this year.
Speaker: Um, how they gel this first year is going to be critical. I. I think Eileen... favorable towards towards James Madison. Obviously, this is in Harrisonburg and it's incredibly difficult to play there.
Speaker: Um, I. I think I'm willing to give Billy Napier a couple weeks of ah benefit of the doubt. as this kind of meshes together. Now, if we hit week seven, week eight, and they still haven't really, it's not clicking.
Speaker: Um, You know, maybe maybe we do start to look towards next year. What is 2027 going to look like? um But ah James Madison is still my best team in the conference right now. um And so they... in order to kind of meet that expectation though they've got to figure it out in these early weeks I think they still are for me too, at least on paper. um I mean you I fully think you could flip a coin between them and Old Dominion.
Speaker: ah and and just come out with a winner of that game. I think that's going to determine who ultimately wins the Sun Belt. is that game. Um... Yeah. Going to be interesting to see, like I said, shame. Chadwell's been on some thin ice. We we talked. to in our JMU preview with our with our guest. He was like...
Speaker: Chad Wallace had this mystery ailment. illness or whatever for that he said has affected him the last couple years which they haven't been good and now he's like i'm fully healthy so i don't know i don't know if that contributes at all but you know we'll we'll see how this goes with chad well coming back to take on another sunbelt team uh getting into the sort of the afternoon slate you got 3 .30 Marshall is traveling to Penn State. ah to Beaver Stadium.
Speaker: Matt Campbell. Year one. Uh... I think we we made a lot of jokes about this on the on the Marshall preview. We were like, I wouldn't be shocked to see Marshall upset Penn State.
Speaker: Matt Campbell's tenure starts out rough. Campbell had a quote earlier this week and he's like, Oh, man. i We're going to do it. Or maybe it was. i don't know very recently.
Speaker: had a quote yeah and said, man, we're going to do exactly what worked at Iowa State. And I'm like, what worked at Iowa State is not going to work. Penn State, you cannot be a plucky.
Speaker: Big 12 team and expect it. transition to like the top five bluebloods of college football. i no I'm very weary about how this is going to...
Speaker: I think this will... be a maybe quicker experiment than Penn State or Matt Campbell would want it to be. um I don't know. i you know i guess a If Carlos Del Rio Wilson is the quarterback that apparently all of America thinks he is, I guess. a An upset could be in play, but I'm also very skeptical of that as well.
Speaker: Um... I just need to see them show up here against a team that could. be a little on their heels in Penn State. I think the Matt Campbell. So I do have a. a Marshall talking point but I think the Matt Campbell thing for me comes down to Okay, so they their big knock on James Franklin was like...
Speaker: Ugh. we can't stand just being 10 and two, nine and three every year. And it's like, like what you said matt campbell's thing at iowa state was going like eight and four and everybody would be like this was a miracle he did a yes he pulled you know a miracle out of thin air winning eight games at iowa state and i'm like He's going to be gone in two years if he wins eight games at Penn State. They do not play that.
Speaker: So. I don't know. Marshall for me. I think even more than like Del Rio Wilson. defensively I you got to show me something in this you got to be able to get off the field on like third down because they we We talked about it in the in the preview. They were very feast and famine.
Speaker: Uh... Their best player, at least at the corner spot, Boogie Trotter is gone, who picked off all those passes last year. And it was kind of like. When they were playing well.
Speaker: Their defense was forcing a bunch of turnovers and and things like that. and And then when they weren't, they were getting absolutely gashed. ah ah a lot on the ground you know the the coastal game i know you know, um what was the coastal quarterback uh collier i know he wasn't running like a standard like this is kind of what we expect type offense. They were getting absolutely smashed on the ground last year. so
Speaker: I just need to see like. a little bit of backbone. especially Tony Gibson's a defensive guy. He had been a defensive coordinator at like NC state and West Virginia. I need to see something on the defensive side of the ball. We got to have some. improvement there if if you're going to want to make any noise.
Speaker: ah You know, try to. try to beat ODU and JMU in the same season. like The defense has to step up. so That'll be something I'm looking out for. Uh, Another 3 .30 kick. MAME. Traveling to App State. ah to take on the Mountaineers.
Speaker: Maine is already 1 -0 this season. They beat Towson by three points a couple days ago. or last night, maybe. ah Apps, another interesting one where it's like.
Speaker: Year 1 was really bad. Like, yeah. it It was bad from a on -the -field standpoint. It was bad from an optic standpoint. Uh... Loggins has apparently given up. uh play calling duties to the osu to the new oc we'll We'll see how their offense changes, if at all. I suspect... fewer bubble screens ah out to the wide receivers, I would say ah it might be a positive.
Speaker: Um, Yeah, i just need to see I just want to see them look like a functional football team because last year was such dysfunction. where it was like. ah we we kind of talked about it, but it's like one week you can run the ball pretty well. The next week you're running for your leading rusher has 29 yards on 15 carries. And you're like,
Speaker: so So this week we're going to throw the ball 53 times. Last week we ran for trying to run and didn't get anywhere. what there there has to be some sort of continuity on a week -to -week basis with them that They they simply did not have any continuity last year offensively. I want to see them. um Since we obviously recorded the app state. ah preview they've named ah their starting quarterback, that being Malachi Singleton.
Speaker: ah who formerly of Arkansas, I believe. Um. But really more than the quarter, i I want to see them lean on Jaquez Cross. I want to see them put the ball in his hands and say.
Speaker: kind of regardless of outcome you're going to get 20 carries tonight Um, because as you talked about app state was like. really hesitant to do commit to what was working it was as soon as something seemed to be clicking logins was like
Speaker: Yeah. got He got scared that, you know, someone was going to figure out his secret. And so he changed it up at the last minute. It's like, no dude, stick with what's working. um And then obviously Jaquez Cross last year. ah injured for ah for Arkansas State who...
Speaker: we'll talk about also suffered another huge running back injury. um Yeah. but I want to see them just feed him. Bye. Trust what's working. Something is going to work against Maine and stick with it.
Speaker: Yeah. ah Singleton has played at both Arkansas and Purdue. uh since 2023 so He's on his third school in what? Four seasons, three seasons, something like that. so Yeah, I mean...
Speaker: i Again, I just want to see them look like. they have any clue like what to do on offense what you talked about it with with cross but it's like even behind him you've got jakari lewis I think what, Kanye Roberts is still there. You've got like a, it on in theory, you've got a three -headed rushing attack. ah that you kind of You know.
Speaker: Make that the foc focal point of your offense. but i I don't know what the new offensive coordinator is going to run. I don't know how what he wants to run differs from... Logins, if at all.
Speaker: Uh, But yeah, there's a lot of dysfunction there. from last season that needs to get kind of worked out. Um... Getting into the 5 o 'clock game. ah Southern Miss is welcoming in Alcorn State.
Speaker: Uh, Last year we got shredded because we didn't give the HBCU enough credit. Hmm. Alcorn State, I think, has a chance of winning this game. You talked about the two the two teams around upset watch. This is the second one after Georgia State. Southern Miss.
Speaker: Brand new team. Basically brand new team. like I think they have what one starter on each side of the ball returning from last season. Uh, Running the football did not go well last year.
Speaker: ah They really did put it all on Braylon Braxton's shoulders. i don't You can't do that again with the new quarterback situation coming in. ah You've got to be...
Speaker: More. successful, I would say. There's really no other way to put it. You have to be more successful running the football because it is. it was an ugly situation with like the The Matt Jones, Robert Briggs, like... That.
Speaker: Whole group of running backs like did. nothing in games where they absolutely needed help last year. ah So I think for me it's like can you get the running game on track because it's like.
Speaker: Again, if you're if you're looking at it and you go. OK, defensively, we have all these new players, you know, yada, yada, yada. Offensively, we have a lot of new players, but we have continuity at the running back spot.
Speaker: Are you? are you going to be able to get that on track and are you going to be able to get any sort of productivity out of that is is's going to be a big question, I think. Yeah, ah just just show me life. I mean, that that's you need to be headed in some form of positive direction.
Speaker: um Blake Anderson had a quote, and I don't want to misquote him, ah so I'll try to. you know. be as generous, but He did not sound terribly optimistic. I think when they came out of camp.
Speaker: ah It was a little… More doom and gloom than the guy who at pre ah football. Media gate Days gave his own team the vote. you know, number one, first place vote. Yeah, in the in the conference ah coaches poll. So it seems a little...
Speaker: A little gloomier over there. um It's looking like Ethan Hampton, if he's healthy, is the quarterback there. um which I'm glad it's not Landry Liddy. We've seen that. We've done that.
Speaker: I'm excited to get a ah new face there. I don't know. Southern Miss, again, it... It. If it's as bad as it can be, Alcorn State's going to be in this game. but um from From a high level, I just i just want to see them.
Speaker: plate. Yep. This is going to be our chance to figure out the identity of this team because of the coaching overhaul. the the roster overhaul. It's impossible to know what this team is going to look like.
Speaker: um on even on paper. so I'm excited to figure out what this team is going to look like and then whether or not they're any good. We'll be. A determination for another time.
Speaker: Uh... Yeah, I just need to see signs of life either way. Like it it it was just. On paper, it's so grim. That you're just like.
Speaker: i need I need to see anything here that I can grab onto. Uh... And then six o 'clock, you've got Norfolk State. heading Not traveling very far, traveling to Old Dominion in Norfolk. ah Old Dominion.
Speaker: you know They've got this new... offensive coordinator that comes in, who was previously the wide receivers coach. You got Quinn Hinnickle at the quarterback spot. Does that offense change? Is he more efficient as a passer now? I think is the biggest question because it's like but we we talked about it a lot in depth in the OD preview but it's like Okay, Colton Joseph was very highly efficient.
Speaker: throwing the football. Is Hanukkah going to be that or do you have to fundamentally change what you do? as an offense to to either get him on track. throwing the football or Do you just not throw the football as much as you did last year?
Speaker: This is. what I want to see. i will figure out which way they go i think you and i are both in agreement that the the broad consensus ah on Old Dominion. neglects the fact that they're in some regard, downgrading from Colton Joseph to Quinn Hennigal. Hennigal looked really good. I think he was probably.
Speaker: Outside of... um Troy's like... Goose Crowder Um... uh yeah out outside of the troy injury situation like i think he was probably the best backup in the conference last year.
Speaker: And a guy that probably starts at ah a good handful of teams last season in the conference. But there's going to be a step back. um And so. Aside from just scheme, it's more about like raw ability.
Speaker: um because Yeah. Colton Joseph. could pass better than Quinn Hinnickle, but he was also... he's very much a one -of -one specimen with his feet. Hanekel is incredibly mobile.
Speaker: um and leans more towards that in terms of like allocation of ability But it's like, is he still even the... as good of a runner um as colton joseph i say all this to say Um,
Speaker: I think they roll over Norfolk State. I don't think this becomes particularly close. um but uh Their defense alone could win this game. Oh, the the defense is going to, you know, I think they pitch a shutout here. If not, you know, maybe hold to a field goal. But for me, like.
Speaker: narrative -wise, I think Quinn Hinnickle comes out of this and everyone's like oh my goodness there's No step back, but... We still won't really know what that looks like for another couple weeks.
Speaker: Right. Uh... Okay. And then. Getting into your 7 o 'clock slate, this game's mine. Charleston Southern is traveling to Statesboro to take on Georgia Southern. Charleston Southern, we were talking about it a little bit before we started recording, has already lost a game ah to Lindenwood in which Lindenwood scored one offensive touchdown and beat them 20 -17.
Speaker: Uh... Both teams in that game looked... very, very offensively challenged. I... I'm going to go out on a limb and say... I'm not really that worried about this game if as a Georgia Southern fan I think once we get into conference play And the the Jacksonville State game, like that level of competition, I'm like a little more.
Speaker: Like ugh. you know this could go the wrong direction. I know people were like... up in arms about the max johnson thing i i did think it was very funny that they were like Max Johnson has been named the starter. I was like,
Speaker: I think if you knew anything about Clay Hilton and the way he runs this program. You would have known X Johnson was the starter three months ago. There was... ah you You have like an inside source. ah But it sounded like to me, at least on paper, there was a little to no real quarterback competition. It was kind of like. Max Johnson won. west and brian too and then everybody else is kind of fighting it out to see who is third
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, he he brings these guys in because he thinks they're his guys. And, you know, usually by week five, we figure we look at the touchdown interception ratio and realize that that's not the case.
Speaker: um jc french being the only exception kind of ah to that pattern. For Georgia Southern, it it's almost similar to Old Dominion in that, like... My biggest question is...
Speaker: Where is the defense? The offense will. I think will sort itself out. That's kind of been proven over the Clay Helton 10 years that like, even with. Questionable quarterback play. um they They do sort it out over the course of the season.
Speaker: But the defense is what's really going to hold this team back. And against Charleston Southern, you're not really going to be able to get a fair pulse check on them. So I'm hesitant to.
Speaker: I don't think my stock on Georgia Southern. Unless, of course, they crap the bed is going to move one way or the other. Yeah, I mean... Mike Moots comes over from Stephen F. Austin. He's their new defensive coordinator. Um...
Speaker: I think they're kind of running the same thing scheme wise that they have been. I could be wrong on that. I don't remember off the top of my head if they're running a 4 -3 or a 3 -4. Uh... i You know what I would like to see?
Speaker: The defense not give up five yards of carry. Mm hmm. That would be, even if it's against an FCS team, I'm like... If you can shut the run down. we're off to ah we're off to like on a good foot because that had been the issue the last couple of years under Brandon Bailey is like he he has no idea what to do with the front seven like he has no idea how to deploy them Um,
Speaker: I would like also like to see a little bit of a pass rush because that's that's been another real sore spot for them. is like Other teams will have these seasons where they have like one solid pass rusher who gets them like eight sacks.
Speaker: I did a stat check last year. The last time Georgia Southern... Georgia Southern's had like one player since 2020 get over six and a half sacks in a season. it's It's been rough. Like they can't.
Speaker: They can't find a way to get to the passer really. So that's going to be a big one for me is like. you know You talked about defense, but it's like... Can you stop the run and can you get to the passer at all? Or are they still going to just...
Speaker: our quarterback's gonna be able to stay back there and like make a sandwich and then go oh That guy's going across the middle. Boop. and then that's And then that's basically how the defense operates. ah That'd be a nice change if we stopped doing that. That would be very welcomed by me. Uh,
Speaker: Another 7 o 'clock game here. You got Arkansas State traveling to Memphis. ah You talked about the the running back injury. which which Which one was that? I can't. I know that there were two running backs on on there that had. carries last year, which running back got injured.
Speaker: ah So it's Devin Spencer. ah He's going to miss pretty much the entirety of the season. They still have Kenyon Clay. who came via Southern Miss. um And looked. was was good. He was good for a Southern Miss player, that's for sure.
Speaker: um The bar was very low. Right. But you do lose Devin Spencer. And this is just like. Yeah. I don't know. When we talked with Kara Ritchie, she was really – I ah recall her being very high on ah Devin Spencer. um ah Reasonably so. I think he's probably – ah was a preseason like top two, top three running back in the conference.
Speaker: um And that's going to be a hit. We we kind of saw last year. And again, this is a team that without Jalen Rayner now is really having to re -identify. re -establish an identity. offensively, but like...
Speaker: We kind of saw in the weeks, even when like your quest cross was out. ah When Spencer wasn't hitting. I - got a little murky offensively. um yeahp Obviously, this game is also ah big because you get Charles Hough.
Speaker: Uh... Playing a Sunbelt team, this is the only time Memphis is going to face. ah Until you get to, obviously, the inevitable bowl game, assuming Memphis doesn't make the playoffs. This is is one of those.
Speaker: teams that is of course going to play the Sun Belt. in a bowl game. Charles Huff. as well, coming back to coach against the Sunbelt team. Yeah. um All right. i think
Speaker: I'll believe it when I see it. I think Arkansas State has a little bit too much hype around them. But I think Memphis also is kind of in the same situation. Yeah. We got. wrapped up in how great that Marshall team of two years ago was. And now.
Speaker: um the miracle that he pulled in his one year at Southern Miss, but also remember that was like 70 % Marshall. Right. And so those guys that were playing at Marshall two years ago are not really dressing out for Memphis this year. so I think these are two teams that might be.
Speaker: considered disappointments they may not necessarily be disappointing seasons but might uh underperform some expectation. um This is probably, outside of James Madison Liberty, my game of the week.
Speaker: I want to see what Trey Owens does at the quarterback spot. Uh, you know We talked about it, again, with our our preview with Kara Ritchie. listen to that or watch it go back and and listen to that we were went really in depth on them that They put a lot.
Speaker: On a... You know. rainer last year like they they could not run the ball effectively in times where it really mattered ah You know, there were multiple games where it was like.
Speaker: you went back and looked at it and went man if you could have just run the ball successfully like this would have been this loss would have turned into a win uh And then defensively, you know you're replacing an entire defensive line that really caught fire in the second half of last year.
Speaker: what What does that look like? Are you able to get to the quarterback anymore? or is that You know, was that a one -off? leading thing that is not repeatable. We'll have to see because they really... you know Like I said, they really did.
Speaker: you know, crank it up a notch in the second half of last year. and We're what? ah a third most sacks in the conference as a defense. like yeah and it was It was very positive. it was ridiculous and you know a majority came in those final four or five weeks where they had like not Two 9 -sack games in the span of three games. Yeah. yeah Nine sacks against Troy. That's always a good one. ah So we'll see. We'll see what, ah you know, Butch Jones kind of does there.
Speaker: another seven o 'clock game if you want to talk about another team that might be on the upset watch South Alabama is taking on Southeast Louisiana. who has already lost. They are 0 -1 so far.
Speaker: Uh, South Alabama. Was a total mess last year. They lose their best player at the running back spot in Bullock. Um... Another year of Bishop Davenport.
Speaker: ah Major Applewhite has fired his offensive coordinator and has now taken over play -calling duties and now has nobody to defer to should this go south. I don't think they're going to lose to Southeast Louisiana, but...
Speaker: Boy, if this one is 17 to 13. and they had to score a late touchdown to take the... the lead it's It's going to be another bleak season in Mobile for them.
Speaker: i that That's kind of the start and end of it for me. is like Unlike Georgia State and Southern Miss where it's like, I think these are two programs that could. roll the dice and end up with zero wins. like South Alabama is not necessarily – they're a tier above that um for sure. And so that's why I'm not as necessarily bleak. Although as you look at lines, it's like Georgia State is 28 and a half point favorite.
Speaker: um Southern Miss, 21. You get here, South Alabama, only 12 .5 -point favorites. Again, i subscribe to that as much as you please. but Um...
Speaker: Major Applewhite is one of those guys that's like... when does the clock start ticking and is it going to be week one? It should have started last year at the end of last year. Like this should in theory, this should be a very make or break season for him. because You had a good year one with Gio Lopez. It was okay. You know, it was like, I think what seven wins, something like that. And then.
Speaker: Last year you come in and you win four games and it's... ugly. You can't really move the football outside of running it. But you didn't. you didn't throw the ball enough to scare any team. So you win four games and you're just kind of like.
Speaker: what you know what do we do with this we have like these raw numbers but you know Bishop Davenport's a dot is like tiny like he's throwing the ball like right around the line of scrimmage all the time so right I don't know. there's There's a lot that they could improve on last year. I don't know if they're going to still continue running this like very conservative. ball control offense i don't know that you can do that unless you have a defense that is like Pretty good.
Speaker: I think that was the problem is they tried to run that and they've they would be down 10 points giving bullet carries up the middle and you're like no we need to like we need points like we can't just keep like churning out yards so We'll see. ah Sam Houston at seven another 7 o 'clock game is taking on Troy. Sam Houston has had a real... roller coaster ride the last two seasons i think two years ago they won nine or ten games uh
Speaker: And then last year, I think they won four. So. they have kind of been all over the map ah They were not good last year at all. Troy does return both. you know We talked about it.
Speaker: Crowder, Kill Crease, Donnie Smith on the defensive side of the ball. They do have a little bit of continuity. Prather at the guard spot, moving over from left tackle. Um, I just want to see i want to see Goose Crowder get rid of the ball faster.
Speaker: Uh... play you know up -tempo maybe Oh. be on schedule. Don't be behind making th throws. Don't take unnecessary punishment. Don't run right into... the willing you know the arms of a willing tackler and try to like...
Speaker: break three tackles to get like a yard that would be nice That would be a nice change for them. that That would be huge, and that's... Again, what we were kind of hearing out of camp about ah offensive coordinator Adam Austin, who comes from Tarleton State.
Speaker: was that that they want to use tempo. um as you look at their kind of skill positions it seems like they're in a fairly good position to do that where you can run three four plays uh in a row And then you're able to kind of rotate guys in and out with minimal. Drop off.
Speaker: Um... Yeah, what what held Troy back more than anything was their inability to to make stuff happen when it needed to happen. I don't know if you're going to have the opportunity to prove that. or you know, play in those situations against Sam Houston.
Speaker: Um, but we're definitely going to see. pretty it's going to be very evident very quickly like is the tempo supposed to really change ah They're supposed to be a lot wider, a lot more spread ah out. I don't want to call it like more spread because the vocabulary gets murky, but they are supposed to be a lot more horizontal in how they they move the ball.
Speaker: I think we'll figure that out within three or four offensive drives. um And we can kind of use that to educate. what is Troy's offense going to look like the rest of the season? Also.
Speaker: I don't know if you touched on this but running the football I mean... so i i did a little bit of I should have done this before we did our Troy preview. I did a little bit of a deeper dive just to kind of see how bad they were running the football last season.
Speaker: 2 .8 yards per carry as a team. We talked about that on the show. ah when we did the preview. They ran as a team for under 100 yards per game. They were the seventh worst rushing offense in the country last year.
Speaker: Mm -hmm. That is... What? For a team that won eight games and made the Sunbelt title game, that is astounding. does Does becoming more horizontal, more of this like what they call the veer and shoot.
Speaker: At least Phil Steele calls it that, you know, what Adam Austin's going to run in the magazine. Are they going to be able to, is that going to open up any running lanes? Are they going to? Are they going to be more of like a zone? scheme versus a gap scheme like i don't i don't really know like as far as running the football but whatever you did last year.
Speaker: Throw it away. don't Don't bring back any plays from last year. Those didn't work. It was a little bit like Southern Miss where it was like. boy howdy if we could just run the ball with any sort of consistency like this would be going we wouldn't be getting beat 33 to nothing by old dominion or whatever right now like that would be nice uh
Speaker: So, yeah, I mean, that's a big question for me too. That and, ah you know, we talked about Donnie Smith's run defense. I'm not sure that you're going to get like a true test out of Sam Houston because I think they are. also very like Spread it out.
Speaker: Throw it deep, like that type of stuff. I don't know that this is going to be a real litmus test for that, but those are the two things, you know. run defense and being able to run the football offensively, I think are the two most. key points for me.
Speaker: Then getting into the 730 games, you got ULM traveling to Starkfield to take on Mississippi State. It seems like we're doing Abe Nerman to year three. ah From everything I've seen, everybody has been like...
Speaker: Watch out for him and Nick Trujillo. I don't know how many times you can watch the same episode and expect it to end differently. Um... i don't know man good luck with this like you guys are you guys are going to get a paycheck which is fine at all i think i think my big key is like have you found a running back that. Not necessarily. can replace what you had in Ahmad Hardy two years ago.
Speaker: But... Are you going to get it a thousand yard rusher of this team? Right. Because it's like. The Armenta thing is like. That's done and over with. like You know exactly what you're going to get from him. It's not going to be any sort of like shock when he comes out and looks. lackluster.
Speaker: But running the football, are you going to get that back on track? Are we going to be able to kind of power the offense through this? That's going to be, so you know. but Chaney was a running back that... that Phil Steele called out. uh to look out for so He likes the running back room. I just don't.
Speaker: I don't think the... quarterback is something that you can overcome without making an actual change i think you This is like... continuing to change like the set dressing on like a like a house with a broken window it's like you can put all the blinds up we want The window is still broken at the end of the day. So.
Speaker: I think that's the big thing for me is like, can they just run the football effectively? Yeah, and... um Obviously, over the course of the four games, it all evens out. but Worth pointing out that of the three teams in the conference from Louisiana. uh ulm is the only one that's probably so presumably getting paid to play this game.
Speaker: ah And that would maybe align with the fact that they're. allegedly the only solvent program in the state. Not just Sunbelt. Right. Crazy.
Speaker: Uh... Another 7 .30 game here of the other one of the other Louisiana teams. Northwestern State is traveling to take on Louisiana Tech. Northwestern State lost to...
Speaker: What is Louisiana Christian? Uh... When was that? Thursday? ah So... They were at a high scoring 42 -37 game there.
Speaker: Uh... I think this is a good game for Louisiana Tech to try to get their offense on track. because one of the things we talked about uh with our guests matt bellinson was like quarterback wise, we could run the football with him.
Speaker: Baker. We weren't. that hot throwing it. And I think. you know, i think their defense will do enough to keep Northwestern State obviously off balance, but...
Speaker: Can you throw the ball with any sort of consistency and not just be a one dimensional, like very run heavy team? Mm hmm. ah This was news to me. that You were even allowed to play an NAIA school as a Division I program. that That was something I didn't know you could actually do.
Speaker: um Yeah, i for Louisiana Tech, it you're almost in that position where... If... Everything doesn't go perfectly. it's go I'm going to start asking questions because you you're playing a team that just lost to NNA. NAIA school. um Yeah.
Speaker: And they've got a weird run of non -conference games, the Bulldogs do, because they play louisiana or LSU excuse me the week following and then Baylor and then Army, which is kind of like a weird smattering of like very different levels of football. And then obviously you start here with the the FCS game. Scheme -wise, too.
Speaker: I don't think you could pick four different teams than LSU, Army, Baylor and Northwestern State. um Yeah, man, you you got to get on track early. I don't think.
Speaker: As you look up and down the schedule, it's like between them and Old Dominion, I don't know which is more of a surefire victory. ah for teams across the conference. but It's up there for the first or second most. uh surefire victory Yeah.
Speaker: And then the last game of the night, 8 o 'clock Eastern time kick. ah Louisiana is welcoming in Lamar. Um... Louisiana obviously has lunch. Winfield returning.
Speaker: ah But. They have a brand new running back room. I don't think anybody in their on their depth chart that we talked about with Matt Miguez. Has any sort of real college experience. I think everybody is very green.
Speaker: ah So... This might be a good game to kind of get in there and get your feet wet, but... i I just want to see can the offensive line protect and run block because that was their big Achilles heel last year was like.
Speaker: The offense couldn't do anything because they couldn't protect. when ah lunch could run so that he kind of bailed them out of some tough situations but they really didn't run the ball that effectively given that that's been a ah calling card under Desermo and Napier and and guys like that coaching this team.
Speaker: So offensive line is going to be the biggest thing. is like If I cut this game on at 8 o 'clock next Saturday. And Lamar has three sacks and Louisiana is averaging 3 .4 yards of carry. I'm going to be a little worried once again, if you like.
Speaker: did Did everybody fall into the exact same media trap where it's like... all of our problems are solved and we're back to be in Sunbelt title containers. And I'm like, right. Let's see it first. Let's let's see that. i'm like play out.
Speaker: And obviously it's tough to kind of draw a comparison because last year it was. You weren't getting a real um A fully fair evaluation of the offensive line because it was so injured and you were just turning guys through and it's like. you know, At points, I believe all five, like...
Speaker: The five best are offensive line. linemen were at some point missing time due to injury. Yeah. um And so. More so than... testing their ability it's just like Hey guys, don't...
Speaker: don't get hurt Don't get hurt. We've got bigger games coming. this this so mark like For a team that... is probably in the race for the West, maybe not necessarily for the conference, but in the race for the West, it's like.
Speaker: We're going to need you in mid -October when we play Troy. or when we face Louisiana Tech, I think the exact week prior. We're going to need you for those games. So it's like. maybe Maybe we, especially with the offensive line. lead lay off the gas a little ah if it's looking good early.
Speaker: Or if it's looking bad early, lay off the gas. Yeah, I mean... I think... twofold I think it's a good. a good test for the line but also again getting those running backs some in -game experience will be invaluable once these games start ramping up and they become more and more important like especially when you get closer to conference play.
Speaker: Like. What do they have, like a sophomore and two freshmen, I think, as they're as they're starting running backs or something like that? so It's incredibly green. yeah it's It's guys with accolades. um It's guys that on paper like project to be successful Division I college football players. but Yeah.
Speaker: they They just don't have the the run to really... um Consider that fully. um or Or take that as... Truth. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, so. Uh... I do think Louisiana obviously wins this game, but yeah, and there's going to be, there's a lot that. from last year to this year that needs to get fixed and cleaned up and stuff so that'll be interesting those are kind of all the things we're looking at you know heading into uh this week. of first week of college football.
Speaker: Um, programming note. From here on, our schedule will be this. Tuesdays, we will release our recaps of the previous Saturdays. Um, Action.
Speaker: and then the previews for the following week will come out on thursdays so keep an eye out for that just kind of keeping the same release schedule from back when we were doing the the team previews tuesday thursday releases Make sure you stay tuned, subscribed, you know watch it on YouTube. However,
Speaker: However you consume this podcast, we appreciate everybody for... You know, sticking with this all through the preseason, we're now kind of ready to get into solid. game action that we can actually talk about like tangible things that actually matter on on saturdays but zeke as we sort of wrap up here let everybody know where they can find you on socials and i'll do the same Yeah, man, I'm on Twitter at Zeke Palermo, Z -E -K -E -P -A -L -E -R -M -O.
Speaker: and then as always you can find the show on x at watch this or you can find me on x at watch the stone uh the show is on twitter x whatever at warm weather fans also on tiktok Again.
Speaker: Subscribe to our YouTube page. We have video versions of of our podcast that go up. so If you want to see our ugly mugs, please do that. uh we also will hopefully have some guests drop back in throughout the season to kind of come and talk about their respective teams, whether it be good, bad, you know, just trying to kind of fact find like what's up with some of these teams that we're not.
Speaker: as super familiar with, but... Yeah. Thanks everybody for listening. And this has been another warm weather fans.
