Transcript
Speaker: All right, welcome everybody back to Warm Weather Fans, the Sunbelt Podcast. It is your hosts, Brian Stone and Zeke. Palermo and we are back here today to recap all of the week three action and we have a new visual element that we will be trying out as well.
Speaker: Zeke. tackled that big task last week after... commenters on YouTube and stuff were like, hey, could we get... maybe like a more I don't know, a good visual representation of like the games you're talking about.
Speaker: we had this new like tier list way that we're we're gonna try to sort these ah teams and games out. uh Zeke, yeah, this is an exciting time obviously for our show. I feel like our... Listenership has continually grown like over the the last year and we appreciate everybody who who takes the time to listen to our show No, it's ah it's a lot of fun to always get to just little by little improve our production quality. We did that this year, obviously, with getting like the the new intro.
Speaker: Um, the adding you know creating some elements so that we can share things like last week we talked about how the sunbelt has an app state receiver on pace for the greatest wide receiver history Season in history and we just kind of had to like Google it and then relay that so the ability to share those things that we're looking at pull up tweets, pull up... um you know You talked about the tier list that we're going to kind of try to sort the teams into today.
Speaker: um It's really exciting. I think it opens up a lot of... Cool things that we can try to do. um Which is fun. is I mean, this is our hobby, so it's... It's always fun and when you get a new toy. for your whatever your hobby is.
Speaker: Oh yeah. For sure. Uh, Before we get into the games, I just want to have my like Larry David old man complaint of the week. I want to go ahead and submit this.
Speaker: The scheduling for this past week was maybe one of the worst. schedules for viewing Sunbelt games that we've had in a minute. uh we had what one island game at noon which We can get into that coastal in Delaware.
Speaker: and then every other game except save for like jmu felt like it was scheduled from four to seven pm Well, guess what? It's really hard to watch eight games happening in a three -hour window.
Speaker: E - You're like getting bits and pieces and shreds of. game action but you can't spend any meaningful amount of time on one game because you're like There's six other options that are right. You know, Marshall, Missouri State is close at the moment. Gotta flip over to that.
Speaker: ODU and... who was at ECU. close gotta flip it over to that so it's just like it's impossible to get i feel like a real feel for some of these because it's like they just packed everything in. I also have this problem with the January 1 bowl schedule. It feels like we'll have no games bowl wise that matter.
Speaker: at late in the season you know like around after december like December and stuff. And then they'll load every game up. from like one to four on january 1st and you're like Well, I wanted to watch the Rose Bowl, but the Outback Bowl or whoever is on right now. In.
Speaker: Unless I'm at a Buffalo Wild Wings, I can't watch six games simultaneously. so Yeah, I'm hopeful that as we get into like conference play, this will ease up a little bit. You know, we go from obviously 14 games to seven and sometimes even six a week that we need to pay attention to. But yeah, it was like half of our slate was at 7 p .m.
Speaker: um Obviously, Ole Miss LSU was also like worth watching if you're a college football fan of any team. so it's like you know we're not doing ourselves any favors here as a conference trying to get eyes on Um, That's something we've we've liked about the Mac for a couple years is that they've they've kind of owned the... the midweek action of course um it just draws eyes when you're on a wednesday night and it's like
Speaker: I really don't want to watch game 153 of my playoff eliminated baseball team or whatever. so Yeah. Amen. Alright, so... Yeah, do you want to start? We can go chronological. We can go...
Speaker: Uh, Can we just go like... so i have it presented differently on my screen because espn is real janky with these displays Uh, Obviously, I have Southern... starred as like my favorite team. So they're the first team that comes up.
Speaker: We can start to talk about that game. i I don't have a lot to say other than the fact that like... Clay Hilton should just be fired. Like there's no... The... the The way that this game went was so infuriating because...
Speaker: Southern was up 17 -0 at one point in the first half. They close out the first half. 24 -10. They're up. They surrender. I've mentioned special teams is an absolute mess for them. as well as the offense.
Speaker: ah Special teams, the entire game hinged on a a... Part return for a touchdown that Jacksonville State got where... Um, Southern special teams thought that he called fair catch and just let him walk through the defense down the...
Speaker: or special teams unit down the field. it was it It was as embarrassing as a loss as I can. you know put in words. Uh, Going back, I had...
Speaker: the individual passing like numbers up This is kind of, that if you want me to put into words what I was talking about. Last week with the the first half numbers for Max Johnson.
Speaker: ah In this game. By the way, the 10th highest rated quarterback to take snaps. uh in the in the conference this week. Mind you, there are 14 teams. He was 10th. Some quarterbacks, some teams had. multiple quarterbacks on this list that were higher than him. Uh...
Speaker: He... His yards per attempt was 5 .7 and his ADOT was 4 .8. ah When they got up in this game. They went back to throw in little short hitches.
Speaker: Um... Guess what? Didn't work. Uh... Has it worked? basically all year i mean game one you beat an fcs team and and they weren't good enough to wrap up and so some guys got loose but Any team that has been worth their salt tackle -wise.
Speaker: has has totally taken Ryan Applin, Max Johnson. all of these teams off are All of these players off the board. But Dingo looked good when they let him run the ball, but then...
Speaker: They like abandoned the run in the second half. It felt like it was just... It was maddening, and it's like... Blowing a 17 -0 lead and a 24 -10 halftime lead. And...
Speaker: losing the way that they did. Like, I just don't. I honestly can't even get mad anymore. like I'm just like, it is what it is. and The fact that.
Speaker: We're going to have to wait until the end of the season to even see if Helton's fired, much less see if he... has the guts to make a ah coordinator change. with this terrible offense and and special teams units.
Speaker: It's insane to me that they're just like. Everybody just woke up. you know Sunday morning, it was like, back to work. And you're just like. No. Because next week you're going to get sacrificed by former coach Willie Fritz at home.
Speaker: against Houston. So... No, it's not just... what can you do? Let's just move on to the next week. It's like. This is a systemic problem that has been an issue for years with him.
Speaker: He cannot. Finish games. Um, He doesn't push the coordinators to do anything outside of their comfort zone. And it's just. I don't know There's not much more for me to say than that. like it This is just emblematic of all of the issues they've had with.
Speaker: him over the the past couple of years. Sure. Um, I think, would it be fair then as we pull over to our tier list, Jeff? I guess, are we evaluating the teams through three weeks, or are we evaluating their performances in week three?
Speaker: I think is an important distinction to make. I think we should do for this episode, we should just do performances of week three. And then maybe when we do the preview, we talk about them and like how they've looked thus far.
Speaker: throughout this season. Sure sure sure. um I think Georgia Southern is an F. That was one of those like. you know, Maybe already. But... Sometime next year, you're going to look up.
Speaker: um You're going to have a couple of beers. on a Thursday night and you're going to think, man, Google. Uh, you know biggest mistakes or silliest plays in college football history And it's going to be.
Speaker: um You know, some of the old timers we talk about, obviously, the Vandy NC State game ending, the Miami taking a knee, the Oregon tape not taking a knee, both under Mario Cristobal. And it's going to be Georgia Southern. No.
Speaker: to a degree costing himself a game. yeah because it's just like, nope, we we don't want to tackle him. We took for granted the idea that this guy was going to. Take it fair, catch which. I think like realistically, you probably should have there, but.
Speaker: he didn't And you got to tackle the guy. he He didn't, and then they stood there they stood there totally stunned. i I'm sorry, but if I'm... a special teams coach i'm like Unless you are 100 % sure that he called fair catch, just hit him anyway. I would rather hit a guy that called fair catch and take 15 yards than let a guy.
Speaker: Literally, I mean, it was like, if you look at the play. When he returned it, it was like... the parting of the Red Sea. Like there's just a lot, two lines of Southern people and they just go to either side. And he literally just ran right in the middle. It was like.
Speaker: nothing I have seen very few. um Uh... Putt return. defense, whatever, ah units just...
Speaker: step out of a guy's way as if they were trying to do like a like a Make -A -Wish segment with a kid. Uh... I... I don't know. And keep in mind as well, I mean, this this happened to me.
Speaker: So I tweeted out after the game. i'm you know mad or whatever And I was like, when they start one and three after getting beat by Houston next week. Helton's going to put his kid in for the rest of the season.
Speaker: active player on the team liked my tweet. So. That's where we're at right now as a program. A former... parent of an offensive lineman who played under helton uh came out and and said on facebook that uh Other defenses were calling their plays out in previous years. They knew what they were going to run so thoroughly that they just were like, hey, guess what? It's a play action. Hey, it's a run up the middle.
Speaker: Hey, this is going to be a bubble screen. Hey, this is gonna be a deep shot and and they were right every single time like that type of stuff is like I don't know what else it takes for. This administration to make a change but they seem extremely extremely resistant to it like no matter what anybody says everybody everybody from the president down has said that all dissenters online are just bots They're not real people. So. I am an AI program, I guess, that's running this podcast right now. i'm a you know
Speaker: of a deep fake so Whatever. I'm just a bot. Where do you want to go next? ah The next one I have up here is... um Coastal Carolina, Delaware. which was the noon kick.
Speaker: Um, Once again. This Coastal team cannot run the football. Uh, that Funny enough, so... They are leaving Deuce Bailey out on an island with a lot of these games.
Speaker: I was looking by unit. Um, As far as a run blocking unit goes. Uh, Coastal is third worst. in this conference through three weeks. only ahead of Troy and Louisiana Tech in that department.
Speaker: However, As far as running back. performances go just that. They have the highest grade. on PFF of. a running back unit so far throughout the season and keep in mind what did you say it had been since Halloween of last year that they had what a 75 yard rusher. right they didn't hit They didn't hit that number in this game.
Speaker: ah You know. They're still doing the... What is it? Nicely. Edwards were balancing the the carries. you know Edwards had 14 rushes. nicely Lee nicely had ah nine.
Speaker: I don't know. If they can't run the ball, like I said, that there's just there's a real cap on where this team has been. able to go and you're putting a ton of pressure and i know i said this last time but you're putting a ton of pressure every game solely on deuce bailey and being like you're gonna have to go out there and win us a football game because i don't know that we're gonna be able to do it without You throwing three touchdowns.
Speaker: Yeah, we've we've got Coastal's in this bucket, I think. Old Dominion. is kind of in the opposite bucket where it's like we we just I thought the defense held up pretty good. Delaware is proven to be a pretty solid team through the first couple weeks of the year.
Speaker: But. the when you're so one -dimensional when it's either we're running the ball here with bailey or we're spreading it out to like a billion different guys one two three four five six eight different guys with catches in this game.
Speaker: um It's tough to look at. anything and be like all right here here's what we do offensively And that came to show like late in the game. um punt, punt. punt.
Speaker: ah And then turnover downs are your are your second half possessions. ah Georgia Southern had, or I'm sorry, Coastal had a similar. uh special teams snafu late in the game that pro kind of cost them the game here ah They force a five -play punt.
Speaker: ah they punt a Delaware punts over to Carmelo English. He muffs it. They pick up the ball. And. Delaware picks up the ball at the Coastal 36, one -play touchdown.
Speaker: ah They go up from... Previously up one, they're now up. 8 at that point, Coastal turns the ball over on downs, and that's ballgame. Um, They're lacking a little bit of identity. I'm willing to give them grace.
Speaker: right We're still year one of Ryan Beard. um There's still a lot of holdover. on both sides of the ball from what were some pretty middling it best. Tim Beck teams.
Speaker: But... You know, they're riding with Bailey. And as long as you do that, let's see, he is. A freshman? I think that's a feasible plan of action if you're content going.
Speaker: Five wins this year. And, you know, again, in in the first year with Ryan Beard, I think that's i think that's fine. Yeah, I don't have a problem with that in theory, but it's just like...
Speaker: We talked about a little bit. about Old Dominion's offensive line last week and their kind of struggles. Coastal Carolina currently grades on PFF. And again, we we only use PFF kind of for offensive line grades because who else is going to evaluate that at the Sunbelt level? ah Coastal Carolina currently has the fourth.
Speaker: Fourth from the bottom. So they're 11th. In pass blocking at a 49 .8. And then from a run blocking perspective, their third worst. ah at a 50 .1.
Speaker: ah Their offensive line is... is going to be what kills them because I think that While you do need to get some skill position players that can be relied on on a weekly basis so that it's not such a grab bag all the time. like I think we talked about it last week. it was like When they won, they had like 11 different guys take a rush in that game. ah This game, how many how many different receivers did you say that they had? It was eight receivers, but only three guys took a carry.
Speaker: So it's just it's just the exact opposite. It's like if they're down... It's going to be a... heavily evenly distributed passing attack with not a lot of Participation kind of on the ground and then On the flip side, if they're winning big, it's going to be 11 different guys, like I said last week, with a rush. And they're just sort of like...
Speaker: We're just going to throw just enough. you know to kind of pepper it out but you can't be as one -dimensional as they are And. really do anything, like I said, outside of scrapping and clawing to get to 6 -6 and hoping to make a bowl game in year one. Yeah. But conversely, I think ah defensively, the the run defense held up really well, allowed only three yards of carry in this one.
Speaker: um but they were picked apart through the air and i think if a team Does not. commit themselves to going exactly 50 -50 split. Run pass like Delaware did in this one 32 pass attempts to 31 carries they're going to get picked apart when you face some of the better quarterbacks, some of the better passing offenses.
Speaker: um like They're going to have to face Georgia southern or georgia State. rather They're also going to have to face App State. like Those are games where you're going to see those quarterbacks throw for 400 yards. because they can just pick apart the secondary.
Speaker: The rush defense is going to help out a lot, but again, this one dimensionality is going to hold them back. you know, it's going to put a finite ceiling in, you know. I think we're okay with the finite ceiling for now.
Speaker: Um, But if this becomes a trend, a long -term trend… So where do you have them slotted on this? ah To your list. Based on performance this week, I think it's…
Speaker: It's probably a C tier for me. Yeah, I'd probably have him at a metta C or a D. Um, like there there were good things there were bad things um and ultimately you you lose i think I think if you win this game, like, let's say...
Speaker: You don't muff the punt. You go down. You score. You win. by um At that point, it would have been like a a six -point victory. Like, I think this is a high C tier win, low B tier. But with the loss.
Speaker: um And again, you don't want to pin the whole loss on Carmelo English, but that. cost them so much late. um like it's ah It's a low C, high D tier type performance for me. One of the other things too, and They didn't necessarily all lead to turnovers. but They just had a general...
Speaker: struggle with keeping their hands on the ball in this game. i mean they they They fumbled four times in total. They only lost two of them, including the carmar Carmelo English one. Deuce Bailey had a fumble that he lost. Robbie Washington fumbled twice, but recovered they you know Coastal recovered both of them.
Speaker: I... Those are just the kind of things like your margin for error. with this team as far as it's constructed with a questionable offensive line. Keep. because of that, cannot run the football. putting everything on Deuce Bailey. not a great pass blocking unit either your margin of error if your coastal right now is so small with their secondary issues too like
Speaker: If Minacucci, the Delaware quarterback, is picking you apart, like you said, what happens when you go play? a Malachi Singleton, a Cameron Brown, like those level quarterbacks, like they're just going to continue.
Speaker: doing what they saw like a Delaware -type team do. so that's That's one of those things where it's just... They are. you know, in a in a real funk.
Speaker: uh right now as a unit so I don't know. This is just going to be like kind of a growing year for Ryan Bearden company. so Yeah, and I think that's that's probably okay, especially considering where you came from with Tim Beck, where it was like a very uninspired 6 -6 every year.
Speaker: Yeah. Um... Alright, so the next one I have up on my list is Troy losing by 10. to Missouri. Uh, Troy gave a... Pretty valiant effort in this one. um You know, went up 10 -0 in the first quarter.
Speaker: I was like, Alright, here comes Troy. They did this to Clemson last year. Literally the exact same game script that they did to Clemson last year. I think they went up 16 -0 to Clemson. ah in 2025.
Speaker: And then... ah ended up losing, I think it was like 27 -16 last year. ah Did the same thing again to Missouri this year, go up 10 -0 early.
Speaker: give up a 24 -point second quarter, which basically iced. uh the game from there on because troy's offensive uh, unit. They're...
Speaker: Not great running the football. you know As a team, 40 carries in total with sack yardage included. 40 carries in total for 93 yards, ran for 2 .3 yards a carry. Again, that is with sack yardage included. ah Goose Crowder played... Better than we have seen him play the first two weeks. I thought.
Speaker: You know, his completion percentage was up. He was 18 of 32 to 32 touchdowns at a pick. Um, I don't know. that. This. this was a good loss, I guess. Like, yeah you know, after what we had kind of seen the last two weeks where they take their foot off the gas against an HBCU last week and and really just kind of mailed in the second half.
Speaker: And then. ah I don't know if that's going to become a recurring theme with this team because they did the same thing this week where... I know you're playing a ranked Missouri school, but zero points in the second half.
Speaker: after you know scoring 17 in the first half is just... It's not gonna get it done. for For me, this is... like an on -paper good loss, but... Realistically, I mean, Troy's in control of this game, save for the second quarter. They they outgained Missouri by almost 100 yards.
Speaker: um They held Missouri to under 100 passing yards. It was 139 on the ground for Missouri. Um, Missouri goes two for 11 on third downs in this one. Eh. Bye.
Speaker: For me, this – Reef frames and you know continues to the same issues that we had the first two weeks against troy Where it's like, all right, I need you to put your foot on. the neck of someone and actually finish the job.
Speaker: Instead of just kind of limping through the final 30 minutes or limping through yeah the final 15, you took a lead against a Missouri team that you're not supposed to take a lead against. And then just kind of. phoned it in in the second half a second quarter.
Speaker: Some of it's a little fluky. um That second quarter, Troy's possessions are three and out, three and out. Five play punt. ah One of the interceptions. a fumble and then you do close the half with a touchdown Six plays, 75 yards. That was a really good drive.
Speaker: um led by Goose Crowder. But. It's just like it it disappeared so, so quickly. Um, you know, You could argue that maybe they didn't even deserve the lead in the the first place because they scored so quickly. It was like a two -play drive to start the game.
Speaker: um That puts them up 7 -0. And then a field goal to make it 10, obviously. I don't like that Troy just kind of has this tendency or appears to have this tendency to. to give it up.
Speaker: um This reminds me. in a way of what we kind of saw from Sean Clark, where it was like his app state teams would. Blow teams out in one half. And then just kind of...
Speaker: reverse the script in this uh the next half or you know Perhaps. Exactly. yeah And what was weird about. the Sean Clark app teams late was it didn't matter. It wasn't like, Oh, we're always playing good first halves or we're always playing good second halves.
Speaker: We were just always playing one good half and one bad half. right Yeah. um And that's kind of scaring me here early about Troy. Um, Bye. I want to give them the credit because again, this is like a number 20 Missouri team, but we're also so early in the season that like. Missouri can still end the season unranked. realistically right they can still yeah they've They've not played an SEC game yet.
Speaker: so So we really don't know. um how Missouri kind of compares to the rest of the other. ah Ranked P4 schools. so ah You know, as we look kind of like. yeah For me, for Troy, this is this is a C tier. that This is kind of as poor.
Speaker: um as Coastals, I think. You get a few extra points. for quality of opponent. But in terms of like quality of loss. This is... arguably an uglier loss than Coastal's was you You just get some of those bonus points back.
Speaker: ah for quality of opponent. So Troy... Please, and I'm... I'm making a joke here, but also not really joking. Troy plays Georgia Southern in the second to last game of the season ah on November 21st.
Speaker: If that game is tied at halftime. the sun might explode before we get a result at the end of that game. I'm not kidding. Neither team wants to score. Neither team wants to be out there in the second half. like they They're like, we did our work.
Speaker: let's call the Can the refs call the game at halftime, please, so we can go home? is yeah is sort of what both teams I've seen so far. so I don't know. that's good i'll give I'll give Troy some benefit of the doubt. um Until we kind of see them get into conference play, they play. at Utah State this week. But it's like, once we get to this Southern Miss game that they opened, like, I need that to be a... 21 -point win.
Speaker: or more against Southern Mass or else this problem is just going to. Be my. what I remember about this year's Troy team. Right. Um...
Speaker: All right, so let's get back here to the next game. ah The one I have on my list next is Louisiana Tech and Baylor. Uh,
Speaker: Louisiana Tech kept it. Close in the first quarter. And then Baylor just kind of ran away with it from there. um I. i don't know kukuk is whatever as a passer. And I think we kind of knew what his limitations were going to be coming in.
Speaker: Uh, He did grade out, at least per PFF, as the... what seventh best quarterback in the conference this week. Um, I don't know, 25 of 44, 223, a touchdown and a pick. He also added 75 yards on the ground and was their leading rusher.
Speaker: The offense, like... Just can't seem to get. Consistency. You know what I mean? like it's It stops and starts where it's like... You get a good drive in the first quarter.
Speaker: And then I know Blake Baker is out. I know that they're running their backup quarterback. But. Even with Baker, like throwing the ball is is a task. for them and it's like They have good.
Speaker: like pass some past kitchen weapons that i i like like Eli Finley had eight catches for 65 yards and a score. We had jokingly said the like. it doesn't take a lot to to be the best tight end in this conference uh because teams just don't utilize the position, he might run away with.
Speaker: you know, whatever first team Sunbelt tight end, if he keeps. these numbers up and then like like i said going into this game jalen mickens was the top receiver in yardage going going into week three.
Speaker: He had four catches for 63 yards, but... it's just like If you have basically a guy. who can't throw the ball consistently. We're seeing it with ODU. teams like that right now where it's like Again. would not not to rehash what we said earlier but there's like a real cap on this team because it's like As a unit.
Speaker: They are. the stonewurst run blocking group in this conference guess what that's a bad fit when all you want to do is run the football and and take time off the clock and and and milk it. ah And then, you know, they're, what, fifth worst in the conference at pass blocking.
Speaker: So. They're going to go as far as their offensive line takes them. I don't know what Baker's injury entails. I don't know when he would be back. but Um, I don't know this offense is like Not very explosive outside of getting those Jalen Mickens like.
Speaker: shot plays like down the field when those are available. Yeah. um You just kind of hope that the... The philosophy around this type of offense is that we can we can milk the possession, but at some point we are going to just break something loose.
Speaker: But because they went down so early, they had to turn to Kukic. So much earlier than they normally would. Ask him to make plays. He ends up throwing 44. times in this game. I should have looked.
Speaker: I can't imagine. A Louisiana Tech quarterback has approached that number. In recent history. Because that's just asking so much of guys that are.
Speaker: primarily Make the right read. Do you keep it? Do you hand it off? And then let's just kind of space it out wide so that. um There's opportunities up the middle when we...
Speaker: do inevitably run the ball. Yep. I don't know. I like Baylor's defense this year. That's a group that I'm high on as ah as a group. Um. what I was not high on but might need to be now. Nate Bennett, 21 for 24. I don't know if that's ah that's a product of Louisiana Tech's.
Speaker: a Defense or if that's a Baylor passing game something to keep an eye on though that I mean that is like those were the Malachi Singleton numbers that we were seeing uh in the first couple weeks with app state and we were like oh my gosh this guy might be the second coming like he might be the g6 heisman contender of the year If he's putting up like. three incompletions game.
Speaker: um Something to keep an eye on there for Louisiana Tech. um i Don't know I'm fairly neutral on this performance as a whole like I think this is kind of what we anticipated. You get down. You need to throw the ball. This is the ULM.
Speaker: formula. for the past couple of years. For me, I give them again like a kind of a middling C tier. Maybe maybe even better than Troy. Um,
Speaker: Because they were consistent throughout four quarters. Yep. I guess. that's what i That's what I do with it. Again, it's... It's hard to make. finite decisions on such Pshh.
Speaker: weird games that go such different ways but Thus is the task we've chosen. Yeah, Baylor's actually really benefited from... Lagway.
Speaker: ah not being out there. ah The last two weeks. Again. I know we're not a whatever. conference, Big 12 or whatever ah podcast, but Nate Bennett over the last two weeks. He played against... Prairie View, I think was the other team. 45 of 60, completing 75 % of his passes for 567 yards, six touchdowns, two picks.
Speaker: Wow. And he threw two picks against Prairie View. They won by 41, so it didn't matter at all. ah I hate to say this because Lagway now has that graphic.
Speaker: Mm hmm. Did God forget about him? I know he said that. It's possible. He's just not on God's radar right now. Right. there I guess. ah Alright, so the next game here... it I don't know if you want to create a hell tier.
Speaker: ah So I already had this. ULM losing to Southeast Louisiana 38 -35. Uh... Giving up a 17 point.
Speaker: Second quarter to an FCS school. ah Who, let's see. had already lost to South Alabama by 25 points two weeks prior. Um...
Speaker: Carlisle had better... pack So Carlisle and Aiden Armenta played... had basically identical amount of passing attempts. ah Why? Don't know.
Speaker: Uh... Carlisle was actually... I mean, he turned the ball over twice, which obviously he cannot do. But 19 of 24, 183. Two touchdowns, two picks.
Speaker: Armenta goes 10 of 21, 148 and a touchdown. Still inefficient through the air, not being able to get up over that 50 % mark. and then carlisle also added 76 yards rushing on the ground Um.
Speaker: yeah this is bad I don't know I don't know what else like what can you say uh Bright Vincent. Start looking for... Peace. Start listing your house on Zillow, buddy. Well, did you see his tweet? He's provoking folks. um I'm trying to pull it up now.
Speaker: uh he tweeted there was a response uh someone tweeted out hey bryant vincent like Time to go. He responded, At BryantVincent44. said, come fire me, big boy.
Speaker: and then proceeded to delete it And that's always a good it's always a good sign when your coach is tweeting at like random eggs on Twitter instead of like trying to figure out what's wrong with their football team.
Speaker: Uh...
Speaker: Ah. I don't know. Derek Jamison was good for them. He had nine carries for 85 yards ah and two touchdowns for ULM. They're... Their defense is now a huge problem. Because like if you're giving up 38, again, to an FCS school that scored...
Speaker: 14 points, I think, against South Alabama two weeks ago. Um... It's a I think it's over. I think... So excuse the formatting. This is the tweet. He then took it down.
Speaker: Someone says 5 -7 -3 -9, now an 0 -3 start with a loss to an FCS team. This is a guy who's at his It's Bruh Not Bro. Um, Things aren't getting better. So, hes you know, he's just going off on the coaching staff reasonably so.
Speaker: um That was in response to ULM with no graphic. Final ULM 35 SLU 38. Bryant Vincent replies, come fire me, big boy. I'm waiting. And then he takes it down. But if you look at ah the at.
Speaker: BryantVincent44. I will… Pull that up now. Um... Bryant, Vincent. 44. It's either the world's longest con.
Speaker: Because this guy is tweeting. about ULM fundraisers. and their conference schedule. uh or non -con set schedule back in march And talking about the soccer team. So this is either the world's longest con.
Speaker: or brian you don't think that's his real You don't think that's his real Twitter account? Oh, it certainly is. It certainly is. It certainly is. we We don't know for certain. but it certainly is. he was doing the the thing i don't know if you saw this nico collins in the nfl also had uh a tweet back and forth with a fan that was like this where the fan was basically and i'm i have him in fantasy because so i was i was frustrated too but they were like what is it with all these hamstring injuries bro like seriously and then he was like
Speaker: you better watch your mouth. And it was like, he hadn't posted a reply in like. five years. he hasn't he hasn't made anything other than his own original tweet since like 2021. And he's tweeting at random people being like. Boy, you better watch your mouth. and like I'm like, you know you're in deep.
Speaker: Like hot water. if you're like on twitter in your feelings after the game being like Yeah, come fight me in the parking lot. Sean Watson hopped back on Twitter this week, too.
Speaker: Uh... he has a burner i don't know if everybody knows about that but it is maybe the most i don't know if that is an extended bit as well but it's it's maybe the most blatant like burner I've ever seen, if it's not just a bit. It would be great if it was. Alright, I think you can put this in yeah he put this in hell tier. We don't need to talk anymore else about this team, probably for the rest of the season, but we I guess we...
Speaker: have to recap their games uh Let's see next game here. This is another maybe put this one in hell as well. ODU loses to East Carolina 20 -17.
Speaker: East Carolina has four different players throw a pass in this game. Their leading passer, which was Mitch Griffiths, who we talked about on the preview show. 4 of 12 for 58 yards.
Speaker: Their second leading passer. Was Jason Dickerson? for ECU. who is a wide receiver. He threw a 25 -yard touchdown pass. That was their second leading passer.
Speaker: I... Dude, this is... this is gonna be a dark season for for old dominion like Welcome back to the 2020 to 2024 Ricky Ronnie teams where...
Speaker: It is. Very, very shaky quarterback play. It is. And occasionally you will play a team. I remember a couple of years back, they played a coastal when they had still had Grayson McCall and they would have a random performance where the running back would pop off for like.
Speaker: 200 yards and three scores. You may get one of those later this year. This is not Not been a good... good start to Old Dominion season. like They're really, really missing the Colton Joseph and and the offensive line they had last year. They're doing kind of the inverse Butch Jones, where it's like their defense is showing up to play. These guys are...
Speaker: Coming out there. East Carolina was 3 for 13 on third downs, 4 .9 per pass attempt, 3 .7 per carry. um They turned forced a fumble.
Speaker: But dude with Quinn Hinnickle, it's like it doesn't matter what Juco stars that proved their worth last year are doing around him when it's like Devin Roche ran for 102 yards.
Speaker: in this game He hit had a great game. on 18 carries. It doesn't matter because your quarterback's going eight for 20. and throwing an interception. It doesn't matter because... your guy who's supposed to be.
Speaker: Again, Old Dominion. folks folks like them in the offseason. And it was just... reliant on this idea that Quinn Hinnickle was as good of a two -way quarterback. uh as colton joseph and that that was clearly from what we saw that was clearly not the case Um,
Speaker: I didn't think it was going to be this bad. i didn't think that this was necessarily in the cards. And it's looking dark early for this offense. Um, I think the only thing that separates them from hell and F tier for me.
Speaker: is that the defense came to play. um And last week, Georgia Southerns. Defense came to play. They did not do as much this week. um And that's what separates them into this D tier instead of the F tier for me.
Speaker: Okay. Um... Yeah, Hennicle, 8 of 20, 94 yards and an interception. 16 carries, 73 yards, and a score there.
Speaker: Uh... All of the things that we talked about in the preseason are very, very real with this team. I know last year we were not as high on them when they won 10 games and had Colton Joseph and everything.
Speaker: All of the chickens have come home to roost this season. it's It is a ah not good offensive line. no matter what. metric you look at. They're not great at pass blocking. They can't really run block.
Speaker: The receivers are whatever. Like. the Basically, if you had just taken our preview from 2025... and just said Hold this for a year. and then publish at the at the beginning of 2026, we would have been dead on. This was all of the issues that we had going with them into last year. They they cobbled together. a receiving corps made of juco's and community college guys and it all I mean, they they hit green, like, all the way down.
Speaker: and you lose two games last year to Marshall and JMU and that your season basically is... is capped at Boca Raton. In a bowl game. And then this year it's like.
Speaker: Literally everything that could have been worst case scenario for them from Hinnacle. to The pass catchers. to all of this the now the line like This is... The exact opposite. This is like when you drive down the street and you hit every red light when you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry. That's what they're dealing with this year. it's like The layer, the onions. the onion of this problem is so layered that you're like i don't know how we so like it's not going to get fixed this year i don't think there is no quick like easy patch
Speaker: you might need to start looking elsewhere other than Hinnicle for a quarterback. Like, I know they probably... promised him for like two years we were like as soon as colton's out of here you're the guy like no you know no issue I think you need to limit him to use him the way that like JMU did Sluka if you have to use him at all. I think you need to find like just a more capable...
Speaker: quarterback who can throw the ball on a regular basis and right now they don't Seem to have that. They get James Madison next week. they They start conference play a little early. Best of luck. Happy trails.
Speaker: Maybe you can take some notes, though, on what it takes to to find a quarterback. I know James Madison is kind of still... figuring it out they've been forced into camden coleman and and that's that's gone well for them ah based on injury, but...
Speaker: If you need to figure out how to make a guy like that work. Ask Billy Napier. and Ask Billy Napier to ask. Um, Can they trade for earrings and maiden?
Speaker: Can they like give up a defensive piece and like send it? over to JMU and get Arrington Maiden at least so that they have. A guy who could get the ball from point A to point B, can they do that? Can they trade him?
Speaker: There's time to figure it out, but it's it's getting dark quick for them as well. This is another team that also had four fumbles. ah You know, Devin Roche. Was good on the ground. He had two fumbles and lost one.
Speaker: And Hinnickle had a fumble that he didn't lose. And then another player who I can't pronounce his last name, so I'm not going to bother with it. ah also had a fumble. So you were...
Speaker: Turnover prone. Can't throw the football. Can't protect. defensively, you're good enough. ah if If you had any sort of semblance of respectable quarterback play. you could turn this into something.
Speaker: but again when you're playing a team and their leading passer has 42 yards and you guys lose what what What can you do? like Offensively, you have to score more than 17 points a game.
Speaker: Sure. So. All right. Next one down the list here, I've got Marshall in Missouri State. Carlos Del Rio Wilson came back from his shoulder collarbone injury that we had heard about ah that he suffered against ah Middle Tennessee last week.
Speaker: He was pretty good. i mean 16 of 25, 176 and a touchdown. ah This game was really a shootout, though, and it came down to... A fourth and goal stop.
Speaker: at the Marshall 7 -yard line with a minute 59 to go. Javay Gilmore got his hand up. and and knocked the pass down and that basically preserved. you know what would have been the win ah for Marshall where they they escape with a six -point victory.
Speaker: Um, Offensively... Probably. better results than we've seen out of most marshall games you know you had Joe Sean Barbie goes for 81 yards and a score. Del Rio Wilson adds 73 yards and a score on the ground.
Speaker: Uh... Receiving wise, it's very evenly distributed Toby Payne. Watch out. Eli Finley's gunning for your crown. ah But defensively, To have Tony Gibson and a defensive head coach.
Speaker: and have sort of the same defensive issues they've had. year over year. is is where this team is going to kind of be limited because they need to be able to get stops. They need to be able to continue to force turnovers the same way they did last year.
Speaker: They got shredded through the air by Skylar Locklear and Isaiah Myers for Missouri State. And. um I don't know. that This team is going to go as far as their defense allows because... They can score points when everybody's healthy. It's just.
Speaker: Every game might be a track meet in between there. Marshall in this game, I'm pretty sure doubled their ah rushing yard tally for the season, if not more than that.
Speaker: Um, So it's good to see them actually. Getting guys on the ground. That's been a ah difficulty for them kind of since like Rasheen Ali and the Kaiden Turner?
Speaker: No. Kaelin Laybourne. I'm sorry. Kaelin Laybourne. Um, they've They've kind of struggled to find ah another guy for that backfield. Um,
Speaker: but It's like it doesn't matter if you go up. against a team like Missouri State because... you let them march just so quickly and it's like i I was willing to give you the boogie trotter excuse for like a week.
Speaker: You're missing a guy that was supposed to be a stud. Um, who had an inhumane amount of interceptions last year. But also it's like you. We're so far past. For most of the summer, you didn't expect him to play.
Speaker: And then there was like a week where you're like, oh, maybe we'll get him back. Yeah. Obviously, that's certainly not the case. ah We find out now. So it's just this is just going to be a putrid secondary. throughout the rest of the way. um And we're seeing some good quarterback play in the East right now that...
Speaker: is going to... Peace. You don't have good enough quarterback playing like Carlos Del Rio Wilson. um Maybe if Joe Sean Barbie can keep this up because he he was really efficient in this one. Only 12 carries to his 80 yards.
Speaker: Um, But unless you find like that stud there. Offensively, you're just not going to be able to keep up because guys are going to be Getting into a third and eight and saying. Yeah, that's quite all right. we can just throw an out route and call it a day because there's no one there to cover.
Speaker: can i Can I tell you where their biggest issue for me is defensively? Give it to me. They have no they have no pass rush. They had zero sacks in this game. As a team, they've played three games.
Speaker: They have two sacks in three games. Uh, And at. As far as interceptions go. They forced. Two so far this season. and they have zero fumble recoveries.
Speaker: So. the The turnovers that really buoyed them defensively last season are done. That's out. ah Again, it's like. You had Boogie Trotter. You don't anymore.
Speaker: You need that ball hawk, I think, to keep this defense honest. and then You just don't have anybody who gets to the passer. And it's tough on your secondary or every position, really, when guys can drop back and just stand there.
Speaker: For eight seconds and they're not they're not touched or hurried or anything like that. It's just
Speaker: Again, defensively. what's going on yeah isn't tony gibson and a defensive court wasn't he a defensive coordinator why Why can he not find anybody to get to the passer? is is my big question.
Speaker: Bottom B here for you. Only because they won? Yeah. That's fine. Yeah. They didn't embarrass themselves. They didn't do anything ridiculous. They're they.
Speaker: They have holes, but they're not. one of these teams where it's like They'll be lucky to. win five, you know what I mean? and And you can pray and hold on for a sixth. Uh,
Speaker: Next game here, let's talk about yours. This was at the Akershire Bounce House, which apparently is the name of UCF Stadium. Sounds more like a jimboree, like... gymnasium park thing with like the trampolines. Uh,
Speaker: UCF beats Georgia State 44 -30. Kim Brown. Cameron Brown continues to play well, but Tell me what you kind of saw out of. Georgia State in this one. I think.
Speaker: Ah. It's obviously disappointing to lose this one because this is as winnable as a... um P4 opponent was going to get. ah It's also really frustrating because...
Speaker: The 14 point difference here is made up. based off of Georgia State's two first drives. where you go... um A turnover on downs. They went for it on like fourth and one.
Speaker: from their own 36 it was gutsy i didn't hate it it was the first drive of the game if you're gonna take a gamble there that's where you're gonna do it um but they get stuffed and and UCF has short field. uh to go the rest of the way there and then Um,
Speaker: There was another, it was like. three consecutive 20 -yard plays. ah to kind of close out the first quarter. ah For UCF is where they get another 14 of those points. I think they also had a field goal. I think we came out of the the first quarter 17 -7.
Speaker: um But it's like those two drives are like. kind of the difference here. It was really, really annoying. um With that said, you said Cameron Brown played well, the defense. This was the worst we've seen of the defense thus far.
Speaker: um But also this is kind of a different tier. This is the hardest opposition to date. um So you're willing to to look past it for a little while. This was, and this.
Speaker: is the kind of motif that I got from... Brady Weiler. So I'm kind of stealing his thoughts here. uh of ah Panther Talk, it's like... This is the vision.
Speaker: for what Dale McGee was going to have. And when we talked in the preseason, it's like. There are two ways this season goes. Either. As I think what was considered the more. likely opinion by you and I, and I think a lot of people in the circle.
Speaker: um the It's just another putrid season of like... Two three -win football, and Del McGee's clock goes. But there was the off chance that this guy who is heralded as like a ah big time recruiter.
Speaker: a guy who is a big time talent identifier. Like. if it was going to happen if it was going to mesh it's going to have to be now or it's never going to happen I think we're starting to see some of that. um Both starting tackles I think are are sophomores or redshirt freshmen.
Speaker: um A lot of the skill position, Cameron Brown himself. ah are like you know, vets to a degree guys who. are finally getting their opportunity to shine. um And, you know, we we you can. have a bevy of different opinions on if that's like...
Speaker: a sustainable or reasonable strategy to take to um to recruiting but it's working out for georgia state like this was the blueprint and this was the vision Um,
Speaker: I think. I'm a little… Careful. I want to be careful because there's a world where it's like. okay we're we're in like the old dominion situation right where it worked we had it we this was our blueprint and this is what it looks like when it works But.
Speaker: Last year is what it looks like when it doesn't. Right now is what Old Dominion might look like when that blueprint doesn't work. um So i'm I'm very, very careful. um But Georgia State looked really good against... ah you know This isn't the the national champion UCF team, but this is...
Speaker: Still, a you know, a P4, a team that competes, and so... I like the loss. um wanted to win it. I think they outplayed in a lot of ways.
Speaker: Outgained UCF in this one. I think went 50 % on third downs. Um, Stop me here. Is this not like a beach? I would put it in C tier, I think. Yeah, because we put the Louisiana Tech one in down there, or I'm sorry, the Troy down there as well.
Speaker: I would say C tier, and here's here's why. Yeah, give it to me. You dodged having to play Alonza Barnett, who I know... He played you guys last year and was awful, but you didn't have to to face him.
Speaker: The quarterback for UCF that you guys faced was 7 of 17 for 86 yards, one touchdown and a pick. So you don't have to worry about that there. It was just Duke Watson. 177 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. i I would just say C. Like if you guys had played.
Speaker: Alonzo Barnett. And like this had been the same. and he played well. I would bump this up to maybe... like a high b tier But. Just not having anybody basically playing the equivalent.
Speaker: The UCF equivalent of... of ah Quinn Hinnicle. Mhm. doesn't doesn't really move me that much like so i'm just kind of like Yeah, you got your stuff in. You scored.
Speaker: 30 points. That was great. You got outscored 24 -6 in the second half by a team that couldn't throw the ball. And that's where I'm just sort of like. I give it a C because it's like you had one good half and you had one half where you basically did. Nothing. Yeah, and that's fair. that's why I think that's as average as it gets. I think short -term concern as well is like this.
Speaker: Obviously, with the step up in competition going from NCA &T. um to Kennesaw State and then to UCF. the The rush defense looked really good in the first two weeks. I think we held. Health Kennesaw to like under 90. I think. So it it was really...
Speaker: frustrating and to a degree confusing to see. Such a drop off here. And i think that I think there was ah an injury, like ah a practice injury that kept... ah one of the D linemen out, but it's like.
Speaker: it was such a big drop off this was a structural issue not a man we're missing our guy type issue so something to keep an eye on as they kind of move forward Mm hmm.
Speaker: ah The next game I have here, UConn beat Southern Miss 48 -20. Uh, I think this is another F -tier game. It it is...
Speaker: The passing game is a mess. Landry Liddy. outplayed ethan hampton they had almost identical passing stats even though liddy had more than 100 yards passing than hampton did ah They both went 14 of 25.
Speaker: Liddy had 194, a touchdown and a pick, and Ethan Hampton threw for 93 yards and an interception. Um, I think. Uh...
Speaker: It's tough too because it's like... You ran the ball a bit better with Steven Robinson. Mm -hmm But offensively, they just don't have... They can't keep up, and defensively, they're not good enough to really stop.
Speaker: mini teams. So I would put this probably at like a... A D or an F? I just am like. UConn is a better team. Like, I don't think that there's much.
Speaker: dispute there. But. Southern Miss, it's like outside of what? The the Alcorn State game? They've been outscored. Ninety...
Speaker: 101 to 28 the last two weeks. And I know you played Auburn, but you played UConn. And you almost got beat by a similar amount. So. this is just gonna be This is kind of like Coastal where it's like... there's This is just a rebuilding year and year one for...
Speaker: Uh... Blake Anderson because this is this team's not going anywhere. Yeah, I read Dima Mixon, who we had on the pod, covers Southern Miss for a local paper. um ah He published a mailbag where he was just kind of taking general questions.
Speaker: ah And the two questions that stood out to me were… How long until we fire the ADE? ah And is it too early to... Pack it.
Speaker: pack it up for the season and just spend my Saturdays in a deer stand. They're kind of the two the two poignant points for me. um Unlike... A team like Coastal. where...
Speaker: Like I can see some vision where we're trying to build like a fun. exciting offense around Deuce Bailey. And just hope we can. do something with him before he gets poached.
Speaker: i dont i I agree with you. i just I don't see the vision here with Southern Miss right now. um Well, I mean, i again, I don't blame him. it's like Charles Huff. like left and pretty much took outside of Braylon Braxton who graduated. and and was out of eligibility. He took basically any. player to Memphis with him that had like a shred of promise And so now you're...
Speaker: You're literally starting back from ground zero. And it's like. Again, I don't blame Blake Anderson. I think he's a pretty good... Coach, things things at... The last two stops have... not ended well.
Speaker: But. I think he's good enough to get you to respectability, but it's going to take. probably several recruiting and transfer cycles to get there because it's just like They are not. presently constructed to be good enough. They do not have the talent.
Speaker: And like, that is. That's I think where their their shortcoming is just not having the dudes and it's like Again, it's hard when it's like your entire staff and.
Speaker: players who matter all get poached at the exact same time it's like what can you do you're just piecing things together So. Hopefully it works better moving forward. but it it didn't has it Hasn't been great returns early. so far. Uh... South Alabama beat Ohio 41 -36. uh we saw jared hollins get the start over bishop davenport 13 of 20, 192, and a touchdown.
Speaker: ah passing -wise, he was the... sixth highest uh quarterback grade in the conference this week he was very good and kind of what they need. And they ran the ball well with PJ Martin and Keenan Phillips and guys like that. so Good win for them even though they had to... go to a shootout to get it done.
Speaker: Yeah. ah The good news for them, obviously, with Hollins playing well, I guess. Maybe not like a huge deal, but it is worth noting. Bishop Davenport, they said it was just a holdover ah from an injury he suffered last week.
Speaker: um Major Applewhite. from what I read, did not seem too terribly uh concerned about the long term ah ramifications of that injury. You talked about Hollins' performance. um i I don't love going to a shootout with Ohio. uh that Because you're going to match. some I like that you're able to keep up.
Speaker: in a ah in a shootout But like, this is an Ohio team that scored. 29? in through four overtimes against jacksonville state we just saw what jacksonville state did against a Not.
Speaker: Great Georgia Southern offense. Um... But it it was promising that they were able to keep track. I just think. when you get to like a Actually, you know what? They dodge a lot of the the better offenses in the conference this year. With their non non divisional they play marshall and app but it's like you dodge james madison you dodge um Georgia State right now.
Speaker: I don't know. This was a ah game where it's like, i there are things I wanted more out of South Alabama. but they're also like. Not many things that I didn't love out of them in this one. Mm hmm. ah Good for them to get a win, though. then these These wins are not...
Speaker: are not uh going to be bountiful i think this season uh so it's good to kind of get them in where you can i've got this in a b tier i mean i thought this was good for them uh I...
Speaker: I'm sort of grading them on a curve in that. With South Alabama, a win is a win, and you don't really need to look deeper into it than that. Because if you do, then you're like, well, there are all of these holes, and you're just like...
Speaker: Just enjoy the movie. like don't don't We don't need to talk about plot holes. and tropes and all that stuff. just be quiet, enjoy the enjoy the win and move on and don't think any harder about it, I feel like is is sort of where I'm at with them. All right. ah Passing, I mean, pass defense -wise, they played pretty well. I mean, they gave up 234 through the air ah with two different quarterbacks playing for Ohio.
Speaker: And then on the ground, they gave up 153. So it was just sort of like. again a win is a win You don't try to look a gift horse in the mouth if you're a team of the South Alabama.
Speaker: uh quality this is This can be when we get through ah really simple here. TCU dices up Arkansas State 31 -7. Um, Arkansas State, I don't see any.
Speaker: light at the end of the tunnel either. I think I would put this in like a D or an F tier loss. um We knew it was not going to be great for them against TCU. We knew TCU was really going to kind of lean on them.
Speaker: They just don't have like anything going for them really on either side of the ball. The quarterback play has dropped off huge, obviously, since Jalen Rayner has left. They don't have a number one receiver of the quality of like a Corey Rucker or something like that.
Speaker: Um, What was Chauncey Cobb was another guy that was on this I mean, Kenyon Clay just got... Psst! suffered a lower leg injury in the first half and I don't think returned.
Speaker: He had two carries for five yards. Like. They can't run the ball. Their quarterback, Trey Owens, seems like he's in kind of over his head. ah so far this season.
Speaker: defensively that front that really like helped them big time last year. They had one sack in this game. Um, They've just regressed back to you know the the previous.
Speaker: ah iteration. of these teams where it's just like... The quarterback play is suspect. We can't run the football. We don't play a ton of defense. what what do you do with that long term like you know so i'm just sort of of the opinion that it's like Another long season for Butch Jones, I think similar to a Clay Hilton. They're really going to regret having given him a contract extension when they have to fire him and eat that money.
Speaker: Um, They really got tricked, I feel like, with the Jalen Rayner stuff, where it's it's probably closer to a Ricky Ronnie, where it's like... He really uncovered a gem? important joseph But how do you throw out the previous like however many years of underperformance and just go, well, we've got a good quarterback right now. We've got to lock this guy up long term. And it's like, okay, well, what happens when the quarterback leaves? And they're like, we didn't think it that far through.
Speaker: So I'm just hopeful that sort of. I'm hopeful that the same doesn't happen here for me at Georgia State because… As I said, a similar ending could be in the books. ah As a team, through three games, they have three sacks.
Speaker: Arkansas State does. So we are a very far way away from the pass rush that we saw out of them last year. Uh, Next game up here, Louisiana beats UAB 21 -14.
Speaker: Um, you know lunch winfield was efficient through the air but did not Go crazy yardage -wise. 15 of 20 for 110. He also added 91 yards on the ground and two scores.
Speaker: Uh... Yeah, I mean, good win for them. I'd still like to see someone break out of that running back room and be like the guy. because Right now, the way that the team's constructed as like this rotation that they're currently... you know undergoing where it's like Stephen Blanco, 11 carries. Anthony Reagan, 8 carries. J .J. Garner, 5 carries. Daryl Smith, 8 carries. It's like...
Speaker: i'm I'm beginning to wonder. And I could be dead wrong on this. If someone needs more that carries than that to establish kind of a rhythm. And it's like yeah maybe you go with the hot hand. which in this game would have been Steven Blanco, who had 11 carries for 55 yards and a score and was your second leading rusher.
Speaker: But I'm getting the vibe that it's like these guys aren't ones that are just going to be able to come in cold off the bench. and just give you... you know, multiple 10 plus yard gains and then be able to go sit for 10 minutes and then come back and do something else. It's like.
Speaker: Maybe just pick a guy. and make him the guy. And then if it doesn't work, like say the first quarter, halfway through the first quarter, you're like. He just doesn't have it today. you switch to someone else but this constant rotation is leaving like a lot to be desired i think just because They haven't established who's their best running back on this team.
Speaker: Yeah. um Hmm. Louisiana tried to sell this game late as well. um They. Give up. Let's see, a touchdown here with about nine minutes left ah in the fourth quarter that brought UAB within their seven -point margin.
Speaker: And then as they kind of tried to milk the rest of the clock out. They go ah Anthony Reagan. fumbles the ball, that gives UAB the ball. ah UAB kind of has to go for it on fourth and two at UL's 46.
Speaker: uh but they themselves fumble they recover but at the turnover on downs ah UL is like a... Fourth down conversion away from going to overtime against UAB, which I don't love. This is kind of...
Speaker: Right. almost similar to the South Alabama to not. As great a degree. But it's similar to me where it's like. A win is a win for a team that last year really underperformed.
Speaker: And I'm willing to give you that, but also I need a lot more. If you're going to break out of this, like everyone is Midwest. division. I might bump it down to C.
Speaker: Sure. If I were you, the only reason I say that is. Once again. Everybody ah in Sunbelt Media this season. Did the same thing they did last year where they just went.
Speaker: Louisiana is far and away the best team in the West. And it's like, Zeke, have you seen any early signs of that being the case? They seem like they're right there with the Troys, you know, whoever else like.
Speaker: The West i is definitely worse. over UAB was UAB's same margin of victory over ULM. And it's like I know point differential isn't the ultimate. meter of team ability, but it's like that.
Speaker: That's not a good indicator to me. through three weeks. that you are as ahead of UAB as UAB is above a... past you know might need to fold their program ULM.
Speaker: Right. Uh... Yeah, i I think the only reason I put it in C is just the expectations. Not by me, because I was kind of point wondering all offseason. Are we just crowning them too early? and ah you know Phil Steele's and everybody else's betting markets were just like... No, they'll cakewalk through the West, and I'm like...
Speaker: Okay. And through three weeks, I'm like. I don't see it. They're right in the pack with everybody else. I wouldn't be shocked if the team that won the West was like seven and five at the end of the year. or eight and four, something like that. Similar to last year. Um,
Speaker: I think it's them and Troy in the West so far. i mean Louisiana Tech, if they can get their offensive... Identity established like. Again, they want to run the ball but they can't block it. They don't have a quarterback that can throw the ball. Even Baker is spotty even when he's out there and he's hurt.
Speaker: Who else are your, I think that by default, like. Maybe South Alabama sneaks up there if they keep playing well, but... It's a two -horse race, but... everybody in the preseason was like, it's Louisiana. Don't think about it too hard. And you're just like,
Speaker: Why? So I would put him in C just for that reason where it's like... You beat a not good UAB team by seven points, and everybody has already... pretty much been like. yeah it's going to be JMU and and Louisiana in the title game at the end of the season and I'm like Is it?
Speaker: Do we know that? So. That's where I'm at. you All right. yeah ah last game our Second to last game here, App State beat Charlotte 26 -21, a very, very not good Charlotte team. i think this move This was a...
Speaker: borderline This was a bad win, I think. As far as it goes. As we're looking at the tier list, it's just like how comfortable. How can you put... a win here because this was an app state team that.
Speaker: I think i'm i'm still very high on I think it's still... probably the most well -rounded. team in the conference. um and is probably... one of the top 25 G6 teams.
Speaker: ah in the country right now. But boy, man, i mean it's like Malachi Singleton, I know it wasn't going to be as good as it was. It wasn't going to stay that sweet.
Speaker: um But the drop off here was huge for him. um The running game disappeared in this one when you're supposed to have a lot of talent with Cross and Lewis. Um,
Speaker: Yeah, Lewis is the only one that... Lewis is the only one that has any juice in the running back room. Uh, that multiple players got. Just as many... Jaquez crosses two two carries for seven yards in this game.
Speaker: I don't think he's 100%. Back from injury. I think he's. One of these guys where it's like. I don't know if he has another year of eligibility, but he probably needed another season after this one to get back to being 100%. He has not looked.
Speaker: Great. this season. Lewis had 11 carries for 46 yards. Yeah, I think defensively... It. The way that Charlotte kind of scored at the end of the game, and I know that... you know they made it a five -point game and ultimately came up short defensively now I have some questions about at where I'm like i know I know that ah Singleton is a good passer.
Speaker: Um, Beyond that. Can't really run the ball. Defensively, you have spurts and fits where you look. good to passable and then you have other times where you're getting you know, walk down the field by Charlotte right at the end of games. I don't know if that is like a we played prevent late. and just tried to try to stop.
Speaker: ah Charlotte from scoring in it. it just didn't go very well and then we kind of outlasted him but I think this is a C as well. It's like. this is not a good win i mean for for considering that what charlotte lost to the citadel in the opener in like triple overtime.
Speaker: Sure. um You're dealing with a team that, again, three weeks ago lost to an FCS. military college. ah that used to exclusively run the option. So I'm just like...
Speaker: How much does... How much does that change for you if... it's 26 to 14. Because Charlotte's late score was a pick six. And I think that.
Speaker: does mean something ah in favor of the defense. It's not like they got marched on like super, super late and gave it up. Um, I'm not going to push back.
Speaker: on the like high C, low B tier here. Um, but how much like if this is 1426 how much does that change for you
Speaker: Ugh. I... i don't know i mean i would still say it wasn't like a complete performance you know it was i would say again i'd say high c low b We'll go bottom B here.
Speaker: Yeah, like a B minus, I think, C plus or something like that. Uh... Yeah, I mean, it it was weird because it was like... defensively app played pretty well like on the key like like Charlotte was one of 10 on third down.
Speaker: 247 yards total. Charlotte could not throw the football. I don't know. i'm I'm just sort of like. I don't. want their defense to be the reason that. Malachi Singleton gets...
Speaker: you know, absolutely bum -rushed by like JMU later in the season where it's like Defensively. JMU's here. Charlotte is way down here. And I'm just like...
Speaker: That seems like it might be a problem. that lasts into. later this season, especially if they can't if they can't run the ball. like that's the other thing is they're one dimensional like a lot of these teams are it's just Malachi Singleton so far other than Cameron Brown is like head and shoulders better than a lot of the quarterbacks in this conference And that's what's carrying them.
Speaker: So. ah Yeah, low B. it's ah It's a win. against a not very good team. You made it look. scarier than it probably should have with like a pick six. uh late Low B. is where I have it.
Speaker: Uh, Last game of the night. James Madison. uh braves the what 10 o 'clock kickoff uh and goes and beats san diego state on the west coast Uh,
Speaker: Camden Coleman played pretty well in this one, although I i did find it interesting that PFF. does not have him graded very highly for this week. ah They have him as the... fifth worst quarterback in the Sun Belt.
Speaker: And like. We. We like to use PFF, but there are times where our... Judgment. definitely breaks from what they saw. And again,
Speaker: these people have all 22 footage that we do not have access to so maybe There were guys down the field that Coleman was missing. I don't know. They don't post like an explainer. detailing like why they graded things the way they did. So we are kind of left to infer based on the statistics we're given.
Speaker: Coleman was 19 -27, 246, two touchdowns. Um, Petaway ran the ball fairly well. i Was it super explosive? 82 yards on 20 carries.
Speaker: I think Coleman's got to be your starter moving forward, right? Like JC Evans might've gotten himself Alonzo Barnett. where Alonzo Barnett back in 2023 hurts his finger after the first game, and then it's the McLeod season from heaven, and he is just blows everybody away.
Speaker: He... His injury, whether it be lower body. wrist we don't know billy napier won't tell us anything about jc evans or the extent of the injury You might just have to roll with Coleman full time because of what he gives you like with his arm. through the air.
Speaker: Yeah, I think I agree with you. You just kind of have to work with... What's going and maybe Coleman's on a little shorter leash because you know, you have a guy in Evans that you like behind him. Um,
Speaker: But you have to roll with what you have. Of note to the injury. uh because Old Dominion and James Madison play this week, and the Sun Belt last year added injury reports. We'll maybe get some clarity. I can't imagine it's going to be like...
Speaker: earth -shattering news. It's going to say what was hurt and whether he's questionable, doubtful, or out. Um, but we'll get some. clarity and that will obviously dictate what the quarterback position looks like. But you're completely right, Camden Coleman. um deserves to have this job thus far. San Diego State was...
Speaker: um It's in the same. tier of James Madison of like We're talking top five G6 programs. ah In the country right now, we're talking teams that are. I think James Madison was tied with yeah UMass. for the fewest.
Speaker: ah receiving votes among Um... G6 schools like teams that receive votes that are G6. It was UMass and Um, James Madison that each had two points, which would have...
Speaker: Long way we've come from the James Madison should be in the college football playoffs, but isn't allowed. versus 0 -12 UMass team. or whatever. um So I don't know who that speaks more. loudly about probably about UMass ultimately, but.
Speaker: um i This was a huge win for them. i think this is I'd have to look at their schedule again, but it's like, I don't know. who harder There's no one in the conference. that James Madison is going to play that's going to give them as much of a fight.
Speaker: as San Diego State did. um No. because Their only other non -con is UConn this year, and it's like... I don't know. I think you're favored in every game this year. it's like i Will they go 12 -0? Probably not. but It's hard to for me to pick a game right now where it's like shoot. Yeah, I think app is really going to upset them maybe because that game's at app
Speaker: But do i do I like them there? I don't know. they They played poorly against Georgia State. Georgia State has some juice. They're in Atlanta, maybe for the first time ever. Turner Field is going to have some sort of energy there.
Speaker: I don't know, but it's like it's hard for me to pick against James Madison in those games. um Is it crazy if we skip the A tier entirely and say this is an S tier win for James Madison?
Speaker: Yeah. Sure. I mean, i mean i i was I was grappling with A or S. um Because they didn't blow our socks off. they just won against her In a... very cleanly against a good opponent.
Speaker: And like you said, they they are. like both of us have said, you may have found your long -term starter at quarterback and the quarterback competition. ironically has kind of worked itself out where You started out the summer, or the spring rather, with like four potential guys. who we're going to start. One of them willingly converts to receiver in bell four.
Speaker: Evans and Coleman end up being like the 1 and 2 or A and B, you know, 1A, 1B. to the point where week one, you're playing them... intermittently against liberty.
Speaker: And didn't look great. And then Evans gets hurt and it kind of just... Decides itself like I said similar to like when um you know, Barnett got hurt in 2023 and it was like,
Speaker: Okay, should it have been McLeod or Barnett? We don't know. But it ended up being McLeod and he never let go of the job after he got it. And I'm i'm kind of... I think we're getting there with Colvin too, where it's like.
Speaker: just make him the guy until something happens or like unless you need like a spark in a game where you're down for some reason. But yeah, it's like go through now, look at the teams they play. it's like You open up at Old Dominion.
Speaker: you know, this week. Marshall. don't really They don't have a defense. Georgia Southern doesn't have an offense. and Georgia State, they do play Georgia State at home.
Speaker: Uh... Georgia State defensively this week. Gave me gave me some pause because I think JMU is closer to UCF. ah than than you know they are to Georgia State.
Speaker: App State. defensively, don't know. Rug. I think that'll be a really fun game. But then. Troy struggles to score points. Southern Miss is a mess.
Speaker: UConn. Again, out of conference doesn't really count toward the overall total. like They could lose that game and be 11 -1 and it'd be totally fine. And then you close the season with Coastal, who is a one -dimensional team that...
Speaker: doesn't. play a whole lot of defense either. So. Or when they do, it's like they can't. They can't get both sides to sync at the same time. It's not clicking yet. right you either get a bunch of points on offense and defensively you're a sieve Or.
Speaker: It's the other way where it's 22 -14 against Delaware, and you're like, man, if we just had if we could run the ball with any sort of consistency, like we would be... interesting to watch. but Yeah, JMU, I mean, through three games, they... They look...
Speaker: I think far and away best in the the conference. and you know You've got app hanging around there, but... I need to see app against more comparable competition because it's been. Waves. Yeah. yeah so um Yeah, I mean, no one else has ah has a team like San Diego State on their schedule. so It's really just get through this week and then it's conference play. We can really start evaluating against our our real peers.
Speaker: Um, I don't know if that's good, bad, or indifferent, but we're you know one step closer, obviously, this weekend. Thursday, right? do Don't they play Thursday, the ah the James Madison Coastal? so that's the same day our preview will come out Um,
Speaker: All right, man, it's going to be, I don't think that one's going to be pretty for Old Dominion. Yeah. Uh... All right, here, as we wrap up, Zeke, let everybody know where they can find you on socials, and I'll do the same, and we can get out of here.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm on Twitter at Zeke Palermo, Z -E -K -E -P -A -L -E -R -M -O. As always, you can find us on X or TikTok. at warm weather fans you can find me on x slash twitter whatever uh at watch the stone We will be back on Thursday to preview that Thursday night game as well as all of the week four action upcoming in the Sun Belt.
Speaker: Thanks for sticking with us. Hopefully the the ah visual element we brought was was interesting. If you liked it. you know leave us a thumbs up like subscribe Let us know how you felt about it.
Speaker: I'm going to try to work more time codes in as well so we have chapters so people can know exactly what game we're talking about and when. But again, thanks everybody for listening this spin. Warm weather fans.
