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2024 Sun Belt Football: Week 13 Recap, Week 14 Preview
65 Plays5 months ago
Brian, Zeke, and Matt gather together to talk all of the Sun Belt action from week 13, headlined by Appalachian State's big upset of James Madison and Marshall's victory over Old Dominion!
Email questions/comments for the show to warmweatherfans@gmail.com
All episodes are now available in video form on YouTube!
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Transcript
Introduction & Hosts
00:00:15
Speaker
Welcome everybody into another edition of Warm Weather Fans, the Sunbelt podcast. My name is Brian Stone. We've got the full crew on hand today. We've got Zeke Palermo, Matt Migas. We're here to talk about all sorts of Sunbelt action from this past weekend and look ahead to the Saturday ah or slash Friday after ah Thanksgiving, Black Friday. We have one of those games. But before we get started, how are you guys doing? What's up? ah Zeke, I'll throw it to you first and then we'll get over to
Personal Game Experiences
00:00:42
Speaker
Matt.
00:00:42
Speaker
Yeah, I'm doing well. It feels good to all be back here. um I joined the call last and, you know, having us ah everyone here is a different energy. I'm really excited for it. I had a pretty good weekend. I got to watch some Division three playoff football, oh which it was really enjoyable. I was out there at Barry College.
00:01:05
Speaker
And they were playing Maryville, Barry kind of sold. Um, and that was, that was disappointing because they're the team I'm there to cover. Uh, but yeah, uh, it was a good time. Uh, I enjoy, I, you know, we're here talking about the Sunbelt. Of course I enjoy watching non-SCC games. So, uh, it was a good time. Matt.
00:01:28
Speaker
living the dream. I got to attend a Louisiana Rage and Cajun football game as a fan yesterday. a For the first time in like three years. um Not even a lot of y'all felt wrong. Sitting in the bleachers, going to the concession stand like it felt wrong. But it was a good time. My wife and I enjoyed it. And today I didn't have the Saints to break my heart. So that's always a plus.
00:01:55
Speaker
And, uh, so now we're, we're here to talk about what's going to be a wild final week in the Sunbelt. Matt, that's a really, like, where'd you get that shirt? That that's really sick. So this shirt, I actually bought it from the university bookstore. Um, they came out at the beginning of this season with a vintage Louisiana collection. Um, in the nineties, UL had a helmet that it was, it was very similarly designed, uh, to the ones they were now red white stripe in the middle.
00:02:24
Speaker
And then it had this Cajun script on the side. If you actually go look on their Twitter, the Cajuns were last night. mom And yeah, just just a really sick design. um And it's probably the most comfortable shirt I own. I remember last year there was a guy on Twitter, and I don't know how big this ever got, but he had redesigned like a mascot and branding for the cage. Albino! Albino, did that ever catch any traction? Oh, it's a huge grassroots thing here in Lafayette. The band base is pushing really hard for that to be like the official mascot.
00:03:01
Speaker
Cuz I thought that was sick. I will say I thought some of this like images or the graphics looked AI ah And that turned me off a little bit But I I remember when that that coming out last year and I it just kind of disappeared the guy that made it's actually a really cool, dude he He graduated from UL and then went do his masters at Columbia Up in New York. Yeah And so now he works like graphic design up in New York dudes phenomenal. That's really cool Awesome.
App State vs JMU: Surprises & Performance Issues
00:03:33
Speaker
Yeah, I I'm interested to see what you guys kind of take away from this week's games. We had a lot of weird kind of results that ah we can definitely dive more into. So let's go ahead and get started. So the first I'm just taking these games in the order they present themselves on ESPN dot com. Again, they're not the order that necessarily they kicked off in, but we'll we'll make do ah the first game here.
00:03:56
Speaker
App State, I tweeted this the other day, sits up like the Undertaker. We thought they were dead. We thought their season was done. So they only are going to play 11 games this year. and And I said this to Zeke and, you know, people know this, but they had to win out against JMU and Georgia Southern in order to qualify for a bowl game because the Liberty game was canceled, obviously.
00:04:21
Speaker
They come out, they put up a 24 point second quarter and defeat JMU. And, you know, this game meant something to JMU, too. Like this wasn't a total like nothing game. JMU, if they had won this game and beat Marshall in the season finale, they would be in the Sunbelt Championship. So it wasn't like JMU came out flat because they had nothing to play for. It seemed like an extracurricular stuff aside, we can talk about that. ah It seemed like JMU had a lot to play for.
00:04:50
Speaker
And it ultimately didn't matter. like App kind of handed them their own backside, especially, like I said, with the 24-point second quarter. um you know It was the two turnovers, I think, that really made the difference for ah both teams. you know App eventually running away with it. But this is this is kind of like two ships passing in the night right like this is app who we who we basically considered dead which i feel like is not was not like unfair to consider. They they had turned in some real stinkers like in the past couple weeks and I mean frankly throughout the entire season and again JMU had everything to play for and but JMU is just so James Madison is just so inconsistent that there's really no way around it. It's like one week you're like oh man this team
00:05:44
Speaker
they They could go win the Sunbelt the next week. It's like, you know, they lost to a team that the fan base wants the head coach out immediately. And they're they're fighting for like a bull slot. So you really just don't even really know what to expect out of either of these teams on a given week. So kind of give me you guys this takes and then I'll i'll jump in the rest of the way.
00:06:06
Speaker
Well, this is this is the app state experience, is it not? ah Even in like internally in the game, they went down 14 to three to start the game and just kind of walked James Madison the rest of the way, scored 20 to six the through the back half of the second and then the rest of the second half. um I think for app fans, this might be the worst case scenario.
00:06:35
Speaker
And yeah because Sean Clark still has a job, a win against Georgia Southern would put App State in a bowl game. They're not going to fire Sean Clark after a bowl game. I think this might have been the worst case scenario for App State. um James Madison, as they did They looked a lot like they did when they played Southern in that they were just flat offensively not working ah well on third downs I thought they were very poor.
00:07:11
Speaker
um Although I felt like a lot of times watching this game that they were caught in third and longs, third and mediums, third and longs, it wasn't like they were not converting on certain third and short. They just weren't converting third and sevens. But then contrast that with the like the actual yardage numbers in JMU out yarded app state.
00:07:32
Speaker
Uh, and I, I have long subscribed to that being a coaching issue, not being able to turn your yardage into points as a, as a coaching issue. and Um, I, I thought that this was a very surprising result as as a lot of them were this week. Um, and I think we need to start reflecting on like these games where James Madison does look flat and consider why that might be.
00:08:00
Speaker
Do we think it's like like a coaching issue or? I think that's the only thing you can point to right now, because like Alonzo Barnett in a game where they scored 20 points was good. Ymir Knight in a game where they only scored 20 points was very efficient. Like this team yeah was they they forced, you know, for much of the first half, they they held app to very meager production.
00:08:26
Speaker
um So I think that's the only thing you can look to right now. Look, my my takeaways from this are you out gained at 400 to 365. You had five more first downs than they did. I think the key statistic in this game was the fact that you turned the ball over twice if you're James Madison. You gave up state bonus opportunities to capitalize and they did.
00:08:56
Speaker
and And also, you got to look at the what is on the box score as a nine yard punt return for a touchdown.
00:09:07
Speaker
I'm not sure if that's accurate. um That was a block that that was a blocked. OK, OK, because I didn't watch this game to to be to to be quite frank. yeah um But look, here's the thing, right? We're talking about the inconsistencies of James Madison. and I don't necessarily disagree with that tape. But how wild is it that we have this tone that James Madison is not a good football team? And they're eight and three.
00:09:36
Speaker
Yeah, I, I don't have that tone. I just, they're the most inconsistent. Like they have the highest highs and the lowest lows for sure. You just have no idea what you're getting. But, but typically when you have that point about a team, it's very negative, right? Like they're an inconsistent team because they're 500. They're an inconsistent team because they're below 500 and losing a lot of close games. James Madison is still eight and three with a first year coach. Right. So like,
00:10:06
Speaker
that That's the thing that that people have to, you know, because cause I've seen some so some fans, you know, kind of flying off the handle a little bit with James Madison and it's like, dude, you're eight and three, like, let's let's calm down. Kurt Signetti is not your coach anymore. right You brought a dude up from D2 and he's continuing to have success.
00:10:29
Speaker
um And look, you know, a good win from App considering, um you you know, I agree with Zeke's point. If you want Sean Clark to be fired, this is not the the result that you were looking for because this doesn't help that case. But look, I think that this was a prototypical Sunbelt game where even your 500 teams like App State um can can find a way to to have success, especially at home.
00:11:00
Speaker
and beat a team that on paper in James Madison. I mean, I had James Madison winning this game by two scores.
JMU Coaching & Defense Critique
00:11:08
Speaker
I want your guys' perspective on this because when I first joined the pod two years ago with Brian and then last year ah when we started this pod, both of you guys talked about, within the context of AppState, about … how ah Sean Clark was always feast had been feasting on previous success, the infrastructure and the recruits and the player the you know the the staff that had been left over from previous successes. I, as someone newer to this conference,
00:11:44
Speaker
Am I wrong to draw the similar comparisons to what Bob Chesney is doing? Because in these low games, ah you called them the lowest of lows, Brian, I feel incredibly underwhelmed by what Bob Chesney is doing. And it leaves me with a taste in my mouth of.
00:12:05
Speaker
are Are you really this good or are we just you know suffering from previous success? Are are we benefiting from Alonzo Barnett, a guy who was already on the roster last season and was supposed to start for the James Madison team last year? Are we benefiting from, albeit without its highest per ah highest production guys, one of the best defenses in the conference last season? I'm feeling i'm feeling that fatigue with Bob Chesney, right? now So I'm going to go first. Um, I don't disagree with what you're saying, but I will say that I, for me personally, I think it's too early sure to to to have that conversation ah because he's only coached 11 games at James Madison, right? If you're sitting here, you know, deep into year two, maybe even early to year three, and they look the same as they do right now. Okay. You know, then that conversation is is way more.
00:13:03
Speaker
you know, substantial, right? sure um but But for me, I like to give coaches a year, if not two, to to kind of, you know, get their feet under them um with with a new a new program, a new roster, you know, a new recruiting area, you know, things like that.
00:13:23
Speaker
Um, but I, I do see where you're coming from. Sure. Even, even though they're sitting at eight and three, you're kind of like, how is this teammate in three? Cause like this loss was not good. The loss to Georgia Southern, they did not look good. The loss to ULM. I frankly don't remember if that was back in October. And some of them, they didn't, they didn't look good.
00:13:45
Speaker
ah But like even not I guess it would be two weeks ago now like I remember Even in the win against Old Dominion Brian you and I talked about last week. I was very unimpressed by them there Yeah, some of their some of their wins haven't been pretty So I'm just going to take what I've seen from James Madison fans and kind of what they've said online about this team. I think a lot of the vitriol that I have seen is that it's toward Chesney, but it's because they named ah Dean.
00:14:18
Speaker
I can't think of his last name. Whoever the the offensive coordinator, apparently he's only had one season of full-time offensive coordinator experience before this, um where he was the OC at Holy Cross, which was where Chesney came from. um and being frank Dean Kennedy. And frankly, to a lot of people from what I've seen, people have just said,
00:14:41
Speaker
this isn't really like acceptable to like bring a guy up and him have essentially one year of ah offensive coordinator experience at a Holy Cross's FCS, right? Am I wrong about that? Yeah, they are. They're FCS.
00:14:58
Speaker
So people have kind of been railing on Chesney, but not because of him, but because of his coaching choices for his coordinators um and ah on the offensive side of the ball specifically. So that's one thing that I have seen is people say,
00:15:16
Speaker
you gave this guy that basically had no track record like full control of the offense and you know like we said Barnett didn't play last year like that was McLeod the McLeod show and and the other thing too Zeke I kind of disagree about Coasting off of they had so many guys transfer out after last year like this is right Are are you familiar with like? Theseus's ship where it's like, yeah read you Rebuilding all the part. Yeah, so like that's basically the way I feel about the James Madison team like this is not a one-to-one with those app teams where it was like The only thing that the app teams really did was every couple years They had to replace a quarterback, but like the receivers were the same the running backs were the same I mean heck like
00:16:04
Speaker
you know, I know we just transferred out, but like Nate Noel, who's now at Missouri, like that was a ah Satterfield guy, I believe. So like that goes back multiple head coaches. So that that's that was always my issue was like he didn't have Satterfield didn't have like the mass exodus that Signeti did when he left where like a ton of players didn't follow him to Louisville when he dipped and went went up here where I live now.
00:16:32
Speaker
um Frankly, he had more players, it felt like in the Sunbelt that played for other teams, followed him up there. Like Georgia Southern had two team, two players from like their, you know, 2020 season, which was fairly successful. Go up to Louisville and follow Satterfield. Whereas this was more like a, everybody just kind of went separate directions, like McClouds at Texas State.
00:16:57
Speaker
Sirot and Tyson Lawton and all those guys that followed, you know, Chesney or not Chesney, Signetti. Sorry, I'm getting my court, my my coaches mixed up. Signetti up to Indiana. They're there. A lot of these guys that are producing, you know, whether good or bad or whatever for JMU, like they're being coached kind of for the first time by by Chesney like they didn't really have meaningful they didn't play like meaningful minutes the last last year so i or even two years ago so i i'm willing to grant him a little bit of leeway but i will say i i agree like their offense seems like
00:17:35
Speaker
it's very like timing based and the one thing that I have found is when they get knocked off their schedule it just kind of all is flat and like you know for no reason at all Georgia Southern was able to do that they defensively they look what they've looked like crap in like you know, nine of the 11 games they've played this season, they've looked terrible in the defensive side of the ball. For some reason, they just showed up and they were just clicking like they were getting pressure, they were calling the right, you know, blitzes in spots, they were running stunts and things like that. And you just, we haven't seen any of that. And I think that they, whatever they you saw on tape, other teams have been able to take advantage of with ULM and now app. And so like, I don't, I'm i'm gonna grant,
00:18:20
Speaker
Chesney some grace just because it is his first year. He's at the FBS level. Finally, it's a different ball game. It's a different thing with like NIL like there's a lot of adjustment that has to be made. But yeah, I think it's fair to kind of look at the offensive coordinator choice and go. It's kind of a TBD man like we we need to see more next season or you might be the sacrificial lamb if this thing goes sideways. OK, so yeah, but here's the other thing.
00:18:49
Speaker
A couple of like weeks back, JMU beat the ever-loving crap out of Ball State. And I said, you know if Ball State was a better football team, they would have been able to take advantage of some of these opportunities that the JMU defense allowed them. And the games that JMU has lost, i mean other than ULM, this game and the Georgia Southern game, like their defense is not great.
00:19:13
Speaker
Frankly, like it's fine ish by Sunbelt standards, but it's not anything that you would be like, oh man, you know, it's nothing like last year. And I know that that's a that's a real tall task to kind of measure up, but it is absolutely nothing like what we saw out of them last year. So that that's kind of where it is. But ah the The weird thing about this too is like you know Joey Aguilar has been not great this season. like He's had a really rough season overall and he didn't even really play all that well in this game. He completed about half of his passes through for 2.16 and 2 scores. you know Good on him for not turning the ball over.
00:19:55
Speaker
But the they're just, you know, again, Jamie's defense, not great. They took advantage, you know, like you said, of like ah a block kick that got logged for some reason as a punt return for nine yards, which is seems like a scorers error. But, you know, there's no fantasy football that we have to worry about on defense. So, yeah, it's just like Aguilar hit like a long ball to Mackay Jackson. And that was one of his touchdowns. um And then, you know,
00:20:21
Speaker
Other than that, it was basically like all second quarter. They did all their damage and then they kind of just hung out for the rest of the game. Fantasy college football should be a thing. Just saying. I actually had this. It is. I think it is on the platform. Gosh, this was earlier this week and it'll it won't come until to fruition until next season. But we should start. We should get the three of us and then three or four more like Sunbelt creators, folks. And we may have to hands. Yeah. we We may have to hand score it ourselves, but we should do like fantasy Sunbelt. That would be interesting. I think that'd be a fun idea.
00:21:02
Speaker
don't you you will not do we know any app developers like we might just have to hand score it in excel Yeah, you will. So we'll basically have to do like best ball format because the other great thing about college football is you have no idea who's out until literally the game starts. And then they'll just be like, hey, guess what? Your first round pick, AJ Turner, um he's not even on the sideline for this game. So you can go ahead and you can go ahead and mark that a goose egg, my brother. He's he's in his apartment today. So.
00:21:33
Speaker
cool Well, I was telling Matt, I don't know if you were ah aware of this, but last week ah when Marshall beat, I think it was ODU, right? That's who they beat. AJ Turner was not only not playing, he wasn't even at the game. Like he wasn't on the sideline. So like, could you imagine you can't even set like a lineup because you have no, there's no injury report. So you're just like,
00:21:56
Speaker
Or, you know, you're like, Oh, man, I scooped Jordan McLeod. I really hope. Oh, it looks like Kenny just pulled him in the fourth first quarter for no reason. And now it's a third string freshman is starting for the rest of the game. Like you're just like, I don't know. It was coastal two weeks ago. You're talking about. Oh, OK. Yeah. Yeah. Coastal two weeks ago. It was just like, yeah, AJ Turner is just not on the sideline like.
00:22:20
Speaker
okay it sounds great love it all right so with that uh app moves to five and five with the win and is now three and four in the sunbelt uh jmu is now eight and three and is now four and three in the conference um let's get into this next one here so arkansas state ah was the most consistent team of all time because they scored one touchdown in each quarter, perfectly balanced, ah and beat UL Monroe 28-21.
Arkansas State's Season Review
00:22:53
Speaker
Jalen Raynor throws for 170 and three touchdowns and
00:22:58
Speaker
I'm sorry, but Ahmaud Hardy needs to file like a lawsuit or something against this this offense because how do you this is like the second time in I think three weeks that he ran for 200 yards and multiple scores and they lost like not even really all that.
00:23:16
Speaker
all that well like they didn't play all that well and we obviously like are pretty down on armenta as a quarterback and feel like they need to find another answer and this game you know just solidified that he completed half of his passes for 137 and one touchdown one pick They got to do something else at the quarterback spot. Like if you maybe go see if you can get Dexter Williams who recently left the team from Georgia Southern like this. This team feels like they are a quarterback away from being dangerous. And yet again, we don't get it. You know, General Booty did not take the majority of the snaps in this game. So all all I'm going to say, all I'm going to say is my Arkansas State haters sound real quiet right about now.
00:24:03
Speaker
No we don't. No we don't. That's all I'm going to say. You're going to apply it right now. No we're not. Butch Jones got them boys cooking. Let me tell you something. Let me talk to you, brother. Arkansas State has a better record than Texas State. Let that sink in for a moment. Yeah, you're right. You're right.
00:24:29
Speaker
Butch Jones got them boys rolling and I hate Arkansas State. I'm a Cajuns fan. I hate Arkansas State. But. Oh. I tried to tell y'all at the beginning of the season that this team was going to be sneaky good. I tried to tell y'all.
00:24:45
Speaker
tried to tell y'all I I never doubt I didn't doubt them I just was like their defense needs to get better no I was that was the only analysis that this team is not sneaky good they beat a tail spinning ULM team they were no Aidan Arment came on the last drive of the game They just had to run the clock, run the ball, get into the end zone. They couldn't do it. ULM threw an intersection on the final drive. get a nor No, who who is Arkansas beat? Arkansas State has wins against Georgia State, against Troy, against Southern Miss. I could beat those teams.
00:25:25
Speaker
I missed this. This is their own. I missed us. This is their only notable win. And here's the thing, I have been on a very, quite the tirade, ah because I am so opposed to like the three-loss SEC narrative. I am disgusted by it. And I hate the... Wait, which end of it? ah the The idea that quality losses mean anything.
00:25:50
Speaker
Okay, all right. so You're on the right side of history. Yes. I'm i'm the i yes. I I'm on the anti SEC train in that regard um So I'm gonna perhaps you know double double cross myself here But congrats you beat georgia Georgia State by seven you beat Troy by three. I I don't know. What is it about? I again like the the touchdown that gave Arkansas State the the lead in this game was just going over the top of a ULM defense that was I don't know if they weren't ready or if they're just stupid or what but it's not like Arkansas State looked exceptional in this game and I I'm not gonna let you get away with this oh y'all are so quiet this is the weakest seven and four I have ever ever seen
00:26:39
Speaker
Well, hold on. hold on that before you jump back edge before Before you jump back in, I don't think that's necessarily true because last week you asked me if Georgia Southern was the worst bowl qualifying team in the country. So I don't know that that's necessarily true because then you would have to decide on which one of those is.
00:26:58
Speaker
Here, well, here's the thing. Georgia Southern is the worst coached bowl eligible team at the least. Oh, I don't, I don't dispute that at all. But I would argue Arkansas State. So, so yeah. Zeke, Zeke, my boy, Zeke, my boy. um In the NFL, the world's greatest prize is what? The Super Bowl. Which is the trophy is named after who?
00:27:23
Speaker
Oh, ah Vince Lombardi, sorry. i was and and And Vince Lombardi's most famous quote is... Do you know? Let me let me let me enlighten wins championship let me let me let me enlighten you.
00:27:37
Speaker
Winning isn't everything. Yes it is! It's the only thing. oh all there is is wins baby it don't matter how they come that's what people gotta to understand i concur i concur but i have i have i concur i don't necessarily agree with that even matt like i i'll make a case when we get to my game i'll i'll make a all wins are not trading equal i i will agree with brian on that but they do need to take precedent over everything else they need to take precedent over everything else and i agree with that
00:28:10
Speaker
but you cannot So excuse my language, who gives a shit if they're seven and four? They're seven and four! It's so intellectually dishonest of you to imply that the Arkansas State Haters are quiet. Because they are quiet! No, this is a bad team with bad wins.
00:28:30
Speaker
And I agree with you that winning is ultimately what matters. Okay. So let me ask you this from a bowl game just because their losses are. So let me ask you this. So let me ask you this. What happens when they beat Old Dominion on Saturday? Because you have sat here and said Old Dominion is a good team. No, I'm not. This is revisionist because I've sat here and told you that Old Dominion can find wins unlike any other team possible. But I have never once in my life been high on Old Dominion.
00:29:00
Speaker
OK, so say they beat old Dominion finished regular season eight and four. And then go to a bowl game and win that city finished nine and four. Then what you going to say? You still going to think they're a bad team? I'm going to say Arkansas State earned their bowl win and their bowl appearance. I don't know if they would qualify for the se or the Sunbelt championship if they go eight. i Like, I don't know. They want like they would not. ah You know, let's say hypothetically, they did. I would say that they earned that. But I'm not going to then say that it's a good team. There are.
00:29:32
Speaker
Can I hand you an escape rope here? Do you mind? Maybe. You can try. ah i think And this goes back to my the point I made last week a bit about Georgia Southern. This doesn't speak to the prowess of Butch Jones or Arkansas State. This speaks to how bad, or not bad, but this speaks to how much of a step back the conference has taken from last year to this year.
00:29:57
Speaker
where it's like, think about the teams that sat at the top of last year's standings. OK, JMU just lost their third game to an app team that's like barely getting over 500 or like needs to win. Yeah, no, they're they're at 500. They have to win next week to finish over 500. That team was in the East title game appearance last year. JMU, again, just lost their third game against you know, frankly, three opponents that now we've seen. Southern is is super highly inconsistent. App speaks for itself and ULM is on a backslide. Those are their three losses. The third team, you know, you're like looking around and you're like, all right, so who's the third, you know,
00:30:41
Speaker
uh coastal's taken a step back they're like a 500 football team now they were eight and four last year so like i think that speaks to more the entire conference has taken like a level down and it's like yes louisian is good matt i will grant you that but the rest of the conference is like like it the Again, this is the question Zeke asked. He was like, are they the worst bowl eligible team in the conference? And I was like, probably, but look at how many, there's like three bowl eligible teams in the whole conference. So yeah, of course by default. Yeah. and And while all of this is very true, I don't agree with, I don't disagree with anything you just said. A team that wins two thirds of their game.
00:31:23
Speaker
cannot be a bad football team. That's untrue. buts no no There's no no such thing. I mean, it's like, OK, let's let's go outside the Sunbelt. Do you think Liberty was a good team last year? Yes. OK, I do.
00:31:40
Speaker
Well, I guess my question is, if a good team plays in a bad conference, does that but make them ah a good team by default? You know what I mean? with like so like Obviously, Arkansas State would not compete with like the other, like the the Power Five or Power Four, whatever. like that that I don't, Matt, yeah, Matt, you're not arguing that. I'm not. I'm refuting this idea that Arkansas State would, over the long run, be a 7-4 team. Like, if we ran this season over and over, Arkansas State is not 7-4 every year. I think they are, at best, five wins on average.
00:32:20
Speaker
If and so you're saying you're saying this is like a 100th percentile like outcome for that, like the way that this is. That's that's that's. that but No, I don't I don't necessarily think I agree with that. Like, I think I think if you ran this like Monte Carlo style, like you did it a thousand times, I think they'd finish six and six more often than not.
00:32:43
Speaker
Like, look, if you if you were just like, let's take this Arkansas state team, let's put them basically in one of those like bingo things where they roll the balls and you're like, let's put them in the in the 2020 Sunbelt Conference and see how they perform. It's like, whoa, they're taking a huge step back or, you know, whatever. I think again, I think it's more of a point of like this whole conference, like a lot of the contributing teams have just taken a giant step back. And that has let again,
00:33:11
Speaker
We'll talk about it with the Georgia Southern game, but that has let hey guess what? Clay Hilton just broke his six win ceiling. Does that make him a great coach all of a sudden? He's one game over 503 seasons, so like but he has. He has three wins in the month of the November done three years, but he's done a solid job this year.
00:33:29
Speaker
i don't even necessarily think i agree I don't even necessarily think I agree with that and we'll get let's save that discussion for the the coastal discussion but like ah with Georgia Southern Coastal but like I don't think I even necessarily agree with that I think you have to look at like the broader context and you can't just go well they've got more wins than losses so they've got to be a good team it's like I know you to look at the context behind it I agree with Matt though on this idea and Brian maybe you agree with this as well that like they did win like an ultimately you cannot discount that and like I'm not gonna say oh Arkansas State doesn't deserve to be in a bowl game right they did win seven games they've earned that and to get on my soapbox you know whatever like Indiana or Army or whatever they won 10-11 games so they deserve to be in the college football playoffs
00:34:20
Speaker
but it to to imply But to imply then that that means that they are a better team than a team with less wins, that is dishonest. But that's not necessarily what the the point I'm trying to make. i'm not I'm not saying that I think a seven and four Arkansas state team is better than a six and five Texas state team.
00:34:48
Speaker
Mm hmm. I think I think if that game happened nine times or ten times, Texas State wins it probably seven times. And they did. But I can't sit here. I can't sit here and look at a seven and 14, no matter how. Their wins and losses have come. After everything that they've gone through the last couple of seasons,
00:35:17
Speaker
Right now, because we're we're if we're if we're going to look at the previous seasons and factor that in, I can't look at a seven and four Arkansas state team and say they've had a bad year. I just can't. No, they haven't had a bad year by any stretch. But i again, I think the point is not all seven or eight win teams are created equal. I would agree with that. so So that was more the point I was making. All right, let's get back to the actual game at hand. like We've done a lot of arguments about Arkansas State. ah Courtney Jackson was good in this one. Six catches, 69 yards, ah including a 44 yard touchdown with 7.58 to go that iced this game for them.
00:35:55
Speaker
um Yeah, I, ULM, I said this, I think either last week or two weeks ago, they just, I feel like they need to clear the quarterback room out and just start from scratch, like find an FCS transfer, or like, I don't know what they're recruiting looks like from the high school ranks, but like find somebody, try to find like a cult.
00:36:17
Speaker
It's not easy to find a c Colt and Joseph, but like try to find just three guys that you think could compete honestly for the position and then sell them on. Hey, we can tailor this offense around you. You want to run, you know, bootleg action. Like we, we, we got a mod hardy running the football. You want to, you want to sling it all over the yard. Like we could, we could form the offense like around what you want to do.
00:36:41
Speaker
And like, I think you could sell it in that way and be like, listen, you could either be a cog in the machine or a star like that. It's up to you, you know, depending on how you want to play this. So like I think there's a lot of opportunity here for them to Bryant Vincent and to sell incoming potential like transfers or or high school recruits on this spot and be like, it's an open job. Like if you want to go take it like in spring practice or whatever, because we don't have anybody really. So I think he's It's difficult ah because a This position is a lot less sexier when this defense is not good and ULM started right offensively Exceptionally, but now I'm looking at you and I'm like you've given up, you know 28 points at least in the last five games Yeah, you know you give up 28 to Marshall 38 to Texas State 46 to South al like
00:37:37
Speaker
Now I'm in the position where I don't want to be a quarterback like, you know, like Colton Joseph, where I am the star, but I don't have any support. um Well, I think part of it, too, and you would never know this unless you were like in the locker room. But I think a part of this, too, is like maybe the defense has gotten tired of trying to carry them to every single victory and been like,
00:38:04
Speaker
you know offense you're on the field too for half the game it would be nice if you kind of chipped in occasionally and we wouldn't have to hold teams to under 17 points every week in order to win games and the offense is basically like you know chewing on a ah nail in the corner like ah you know being like oh we don't know what's going on so ah again it's like other than a mod hardy here's their total list of offensive contributors
00:38:31
Speaker
That's it. That's a mod hardy. Like that's the offense. So again, if they want to be a serious contender, they need to try to find a way to make a move like, you know, Texas State, not necessarily didn't necessarily even need to kind of upgrade at the quarterback spot last year, but they did anyway. So I think a big a big part of that is you can make a big jump if you bring a quarterback in that's like worth his salt. And right now they just don't have that guy on the um the roster. So.
00:39:00
Speaker
Uh, if we're if we're all good on this one, uh, all good Arkansas State is now seven and four and five and two in conference play. You all Monroe drops to five and six and is now three and four in the conference.
Southern Miss & Georgia Southern: Season Reflections
00:39:12
Speaker
um We don't have to spend a lot of time on the South Alabama Southern Miss game. I think the biggest takeaway I had was, wow, Southern Miss might have a semblance of a pulse, or at least they did in the first half ah when it was 14 to 11. But frankly, you know they got outscored 21 to 3 in the second half. This has kind of just been run of the mill stuff from Southern Miss. ah you know Before Will Hall was fired after, it's just kind of all been like, everybody just seems like they're ready for next Saturday.
00:39:42
Speaker
at, I don't even know what time they play. Next Saturday at four, there's probably going to be champagne popped in that locker room because the season's over. like they they They seem like a a team of 85 guys or however many are on a team that are just ready to be done with this season. And I can't really blame them. This has been a season from hell for them.
00:40:02
Speaker
they are in the position that you just described with ULM, where they need to go shopping for a quarterback. They need to do that with literally every position on the football team, in the coaching staff, adjacent to the football team. This team needs new janitors. They need new equipment managers. We need it we need new people washing the uniforms. They need a new eight year old to run out and grab the kickoff tee. Burn it down.
00:40:33
Speaker
and they needed to do so two years ago. Do they need a new football stadium, too, or? ah Because I know a guy who will fund that. Is is is that place just condemned now? yeah He may steal from Peter to pay Paul, but yeah, he can do that at first. At first, I didn't catch your reference, but I got it now. Yikes. Well done, Zeke. Thank you.
00:41:03
Speaker
oh Man, um God Gio Lopez look good. I'm gonna try to touch down but nice to say about Southern Miss no Rodriguez Clark. He's a man corey They scored more points than they have losses. Hey Good job Bravo Golden Eagles. Great job. Great job. Everyone look It's one of those things where you know obviously you want to win but like Does winning your final game when you're 1 in 10 give you any hope going into like what what's the difference between 2 and 10 and 1 and 11 like I Would say no because the next head coach is probably gonna come in and be like yeah You guys can all he's gonna be like Dion when he went went into Colorado and it's like ah you guys can like Y'all can all go
00:41:59
Speaker
Y'all could go screw. like i I do not care. like there here is ah Here's a lift coupon. like get Get out of here. so know there's nothing There's nothing positive to take away from this season at so at Southern Miss. You didn't uncover really anything of note. You didn't find anything out about yourself. The only thing you found out is what happens when you fire a guy one year too late versus it maybe a year too early. And even I can't make that excuse because everybody, including us and everything I saw online was like, yeah, no, I'm ready. I'm ready for Will Hall to kick the kick rocks like after the end of last season. And
00:42:38
Speaker
You know, it didn't happen. They they were like commitment to excellence in their little letter from the A.D. and it mattered all for nothing. Like they they basically, you know, pardon my French, pissed away an entire football season for really no reason. And. ah You know, you see where that gets you so.
00:42:58
Speaker
Uh, but yeah, Pritchett for South Alabama, 102 yards on eight catches, one touchdown. That was good for them. This was basically just them kind of toying with their food. I feel like in the first half and then the second half, they were really like, all right, let's get serious. And then they just kind of laid the hammer down.
00:43:13
Speaker
um I think Southern Miss or ah not Southern Miss South Alabama is a pretty good football team when they like take the game seriously. But even going back to when they lost to Southern, you know they outscored Southern in the third quarter that game like 17 to nothing and then got outscored 20 to zero in the fourth quarter and it was just.
00:43:32
Speaker
Like Applewhite just went brain dead. Matt, I don't know if this goes back to what you were hearing, like preseason, but like their play calling in the fourth quarter, sometimes they just go like brain dead and it doesn't make any sense. Like that game, especially they were they were like doing really well, mixing it up. And then they were like, hey, let's let Gio Lopez launch moonballs and scramble. And like, that's basically all we're going to do. So if they take it seriously and actually pretend like they're planning for things, they seem to be pretty good.
00:44:00
Speaker
But it's just, you you never know what you're going to get and that's kind of been the recurring theme for a lot of these Sunbelt teams but either way, South Alabama improves to six and five and it's now five and two in the Sunbelt southern misdrops to one in 10 is now, oh and seven in the conference.
00:44:15
Speaker
um getting into the next one here, Georgia Southern went into Conway and basically dominated Coastal Carolina 26 to 6. Vasco and Noah Kim combined I think had like 118 yards passing between the two of them. ah both Both of them were an absolute disaster.
00:44:36
Speaker
um and and that's single-handedly that and French played way better than anything I've seen out of him in the last couple weeks like the opening drive they ended up having to settle for a fuel goal but like I went back today and watched that that series and he was just dealing the whole way down the field. It was like he, the announcers kept and the announcers for this game were not good. Let me go ahead and say that now, but they they kept saying he's throwing it in the perfect spot. Like the the defenders for Coastal, like McDoom and those guys, they literally cannot make plays on these balls. He's throwing back shoulder things that look like, you know, for one game look like old Aaron Rodgers throwing back shoulder fades. So it was just like,
00:45:22
Speaker
You know he hit that long ball to ah Marcus Sanders that kind of broke it open early ah and frankly Coastal. Coastal is an unserious team. they They already fired their offensive coordinator ah weeks ago. People for Coastal that I've seen online and ah you know you can take this with a grain of salt are already kind of being like Tim Beck.
00:45:43
Speaker
Kick rocks, buddy. So yeah, Coastal might be going through kind of the post, you know, ah success era that the Troy's of the world and and those types of teams have really taken a step back right after. And and they're kind of seeing that as well. Post ah Chadwell and I guess McCall now. So Brian, let me ask you um because cause I'm going to be quick on my thoughts. I thought Georgia Southern played an excellent game and and Coastal just looked cool, but um How hard will you be cheering for Marshall to lose on Saturday? Because if you guys win and Marshall loses, you're in the championship game. I'm definitely going to be cheering for them to lose. um However, if they win, I will feel absolutely no sympathy for this Georgia Southern team. Like they have had
00:46:36
Speaker
ah They played Old Dominion with their control of their own destiny in their hands and they got blown off the field like the week before Halloween. Okay, so you can be like alright, you know one game whatever. Okay last week The Troy game, they go into that game once again with control in their hands. They all they have to do is win three games at the end of the season to go to the Sunbelt title game and they totally blew it. So like I will be cheering for Marshall lose, but if Marshall doesn't lose, I'm going to be playing the world's smallest violin for Georgia Southern because I'm just like.
00:47:11
Speaker
you guys have had chance after chance the universe has gifted you opportunities and you're basically like no i don't want that like slapping it out of its hands so i i'm just like i don't feel bad for them if they don't end up going it's it's 100 for their own doing and like now you know, one of the offensive linemen for Southern on Twitter has been getting really vocal about like, you know, don't jump back on the bandwagon if we start winning again. Where was this when y'all played Old Dominion and Troy? Like, where was all of this? Like, you have all this swagger now. Okay, great. You've single handedly eliminated yourself.
00:47:49
Speaker
from the conference race twice now. So maybe put a cork in it and and be like, hey, man, you know, we should have won those two games. So that that's what I mean is like, I don't have any sympathy for this team because they have blown every opportunity that they've had. And and Matt, going back to what what you were saying earlier, we could talk about this now about the Arkansas State team.
00:48:12
Speaker
I don't think that necessarily because Georgia Southern has seven wins that they are like a well coached team at all. Like, if you watch the games that they play in, it's like, okay, the teams that they beat are like, Coastal, JMU, we've seen how inconsistent JMU can be. You've seen Marshall feels like more and more of a total fluke aberration game that shouldn't have happened. They beat Georgia State, who's sitting at the one of the one of the worst teams in the conference. So like even when you go back and look through their resume, it's like, OK. like The teams that you beat, not not great or very inconsistent. And the teams that you lost to, you've lost to Old Dominion, who's inconsistent and had a good week. And you lost to Troy, who, again, is one of the worst teams in the conference. So I don't necessarily think like,
00:49:00
Speaker
Oh, they've won seven games. They're a well coached team like defensively, especially not like I can't make excuses for their defense. I two thoughts. One, I have I'm glad you brought up the offensive lineman on Twitter thing ah because I don't know why he's going to bat so hard. First of all, bro, you've played it for schools in four years.
00:49:21
Speaker
It's not a joke. Uh, transferred into Georgia state, uh, last season, the year before that was at Eastern Illinois. And the year before that, I think he was playing FCS. So it's just like, I w I uncertain where the live and die loyalty to the coach and program, uh, is coming from, uh, has a team. Because you'll remember last year when Grayson McCall was in the portal, it was going to be Ethan Vasco.
00:49:51
Speaker
yeah So hes that has there been a team as wrong about their quarterback going into a season in the Sunbelt van? ah No, that's untrue because it would be Marshall.
00:50:06
Speaker
um yeah but it's It's just fascinating. or or Or may I raise you another one? Do you remember the guy that played at Southern Miss last year, Billy Wiles? Yeah.
00:50:20
Speaker
Oh, that was bad. It's not had a good quarterback and God knows how bad. I mean, we met our ah Zeke, we talked about it last week. Southern Miss brought in Tate Rottamaker from Florida State and was like, we're we're healed. It's cured. body Well, hell, I don't remember. I remember saying when they brought Rottamaker in, I was like, oh, man, Southern Miss might actually figure some things out.
00:50:44
Speaker
i was just a my wrong I was the exact same way. I'm baffled how wrong Coastal has got this quarterback situation and now they are in a unwinnable position where everyone that they're willing to utilize and not waste their redshirt or are Ethan Vasco and Noah Kim the only quarterbacks on the roster because we've not seen them try anyone else.
00:51:07
Speaker
which I don't really I don't really understand what they're doing I it seems like it seems like they are just like we're gonna keep doing this if it kills us and I'm like great here's here's the knife like right yeah i like I don't know I don't really know what let's let's carry let's carry this along right yeah So, ah yeah, I mean, ah again, French played really well in this one. um I will say Bennett for Coastal ah did a really good job on the ground 138 on 16 carries, but when your quarterback is throwing for like, I think through three quarters Vasco had like 60 yards passing.
00:51:49
Speaker
So like that should let you know where where we were at. like They were down multiple scores and he couldn't crack 75 yards through the first three quarters. And I've complained about French, but French makes Vasco look like, I mean, plate gold. like It's just like, oh man, like we can't we can't say no to this great find that we've uncovered. And it's like, I look over at Ethan Vasco and I'm like,
00:52:15
Speaker
Yeah, we could be on Davis Brin again. You know, it could be it could be a lot worse. Yeah, yeah, it could be. um So yeah, ah Georgia Southern is now seven and four and is five and two in the Sunbelt.
Louisiana vs Troy: Game Analysis
00:52:30
Speaker
Coastal drops to five and six and is now two and five in the conference. um Matt, okay, so Louisiana Beach Troy 51 to 30. I have a question for you. ah lord What do we take away from this three week stretch for the Cajuns? Because you have a blowout dominant victory against Arkansas State three weeks ago.
00:52:51
Speaker
you lose last week to South Alabama in a game that frankly, you were playing catch up the whole time. So like, you can kind of take that and kind of shove it off to the side and be like, we really were in the game, like it was 24 to three, and you were just kind of chip it trying to do your best to chip away. And then you blow Troy out in this game. So I'm gonna ask this when when the preview for the next week comes up but like is this the start of like a concerning pattern of like one week we play like world beaters in the next week it's Are we gonna score points? Well look here's the thing UL won this game by 21, but it wasn't pretty early on I mean UL went right down the field early and got a
00:53:42
Speaker
85 yard drive in three minutes, scored a touchdown. But then Troy answered with back to back touchdown drives. It was 14 to seven Troy at the end of the first quarter. And then that's when UL kind of, you know, put their foot on the gas. It was all UL in the second quarter, took a 34 to 14 lead into that, to the half with 27 unanswered points. But then they let Troy right back into the game.
00:54:07
Speaker
Troy converted back to back two point conversions and it was 37 to 30 again. And then if it wasn't for a 96 yard kickoff return right there in the fourth quarter, I really think that game could have gotten even more out of hand than it was. Right. Um, and look, you know, going back to the South Alabama game, I think UL simply came out flat. South Alabama took advantage. And then like you said, the Cajun spent the rest of the game playing catch up and nearly pulled it off. Right.
00:54:36
Speaker
Um, it is concerning, but you know, when when you look at some external factors, right? Ben Waldridge goes down last week, uh, with an injury. Um, now we know that it's a, it's a broken collarbone and he's done for the year.
00:54:56
Speaker
um and so now you know you've got Chandler Fields who look let's be honest the Cajuns probably have one of the best you know quarterback situations in the conference uh you lose your you lose your seventh year senior let's turn it over to the sixth year senior like okay So like obviously the experience is there no matter which way you slice it. um It is concerning that that you know games have kind of gone this way and look you're going to go up and we're going to talk about next week's game here in a little bit but you're going to go up and play a ah monroe Monroe team who has been on a five game skip and now they're staring bowl eligibility in the face.
00:55:38
Speaker
they're going to be motivated. They're going to be ready to play. They have something to play for. And the Cajuns have something to play for too, right? Their theirre spot in the championship game is not shored up. It's not clinched yet. um And so they they still have something to play for too. So that's going to be a really interesting matchup on Saturday in Monroe. But Brian, no, i do to answer your question, I am concerned with with the way that ah this Cajuns team has played over the last couple of weeks.
00:56:07
Speaker
Matt, the more that you talked about it, the situation going for for Louisiana, the more that I found that it directly reflects what Georgia Southern is going through. Literally, like word for word, I was going, he this sounds really familiar. like This is weird. I've listened to this before. Well, what it's like, okay, app is playing for bowl eligibility next week. We played app at home.
00:56:33
Speaker
And it's like, you know we we're not a shoe in for the conference championship game like you like you mentioned earlier. So we have to win, which usually means we find a way to lose. And I mean, frankly, like that's what it's always that's what it always is but with Helton. And ah you know again, we we need to have the Marshall game go our way. But it's like that sounds very familiar. to That sounds like the exact situation that Louisiana is in right now.
00:57:01
Speaker
Zeke, did you have anything for this? ah I'm fascinated by what appears to me to be a turnaround from Troy over the past several weeks. They've got both of their ah ah FPS and conference wins against Coastal and Southern. They gave UL for the first half, gave UL some difficulty.
00:57:21
Speaker
ah and Granted, you know where I stand on Arkansas State ah yeah about a month ago, only lost to three to Arkansas State. And this was a team that for several weeks, especially in the beginning of conference play, I considered to be the worst team in the conference. And outside of Southern Miss granted. Uh, but that's a given. Um, so I, I'm curious, you know, I, this is fascinating to me. I think Matthew Caldwell has really figured it out in the past couple years. He's impressive man. Yeah. I, it's, you know, it's a shame that they started the year with Gooch Crowder, uh, and went back to him after Crowder got healthy. Um, cause they went to Crowder to start the year, gave it to Caldwell Crowder came back and.
00:58:12
Speaker
and lost it and got hurt then got hurt hot again he's out in the year yeah but then they didn't give it back to caldwell they gave it to tucker kilcrease so it's ah it's a shame they took so long to officially give him the job um yeah he's figuring things out and it looks like troy ah Is kind of settling in in the inverse way that ULM has done with their new coach where ULM got hot and now they're skidding ah Granted their two and two over the past four weeks ah Troy starting to string together some more impressive performances and that's really impressed me
00:58:46
Speaker
Well, the thing that I saw was that apparently they've had a really hard time keeping their offensive line healthy. like they've had ah From what I've seen Troy fans say, and and Troy fans feel free to chime in, which you can do at our YouTube page. ah We have comments open, so if you want to chime in.
00:59:04
Speaker
uh the one thing that i've seen is they've had like an unholy number of offensive line combinations this season and people have just been like there's just no there hasn't been any chemistry amongst the the offensive line until literally i think like three or four weeks ago someone said so it makes sense and zik that was the thing when you asked has there been a more you know ill-intentioned quarterbacks position and i'm like honestly i could name a bunch of them off the top of my head in the conference like literally over the last two years like you have troy what they did this year you have both jmu and ap last year who picked the wrong guy initially and only really benefited because that guy got hurt or was underperforming
00:59:48
Speaker
We would have not known Jordan McLeod's name if Barnett had played like he had this year. So like Caldwell's kind of the same way where it's like you picked the wrong guy initially, then you remade the mistake, then you made it a second time with a different guy and now you're kind of back on the right track. But I don't know how much of that is offensive line wise, but they have finally found Caldwell as kind of ah an answer because they were really struggling at the quarterback position like early.
01:00:15
Speaker
um Yeah, I think the other thing is their their defense just has to be better, like in general, I mean, their defense has to be a reason for ah a good bit of these losses like they're just they're kind of outside of their two conference wins, they're really struggling to like stop anyone.
01:00:32
Speaker
And it's like, even this game, you're like, oh, they're playing pretty well. They lost they they allowed 51 points. So like that only kind of goes so far. so And I know Matt was like, there was a kick return, but like that's 7 of 51. There's still 44 that are just like, you got to find something else. Matt, I didn't watch this game. Did did Parker do his ah patented pull up for three in a really easy spot where they could have just gone for it and got it? Because that's been kind of his calling card.
01:01:00
Speaker
and Not really, no. I mean, there was there was one scenario where I felt like they probably could have gone for it. um But no, for for the most part, I thought his play calling was was pretty solid. um I mean, all of their touchdown all of their points came via the touchdown.
01:01:23
Speaker
um So, look, I think it was one of those things where, you know, they looked a little more aggressive. They took a lot of shots to the end zone, which which was which was nice to see. Look, Matthew Caldwell's got a nice arm. he was He was making some really nice throws in this game. And I think, I know he's a junior, but I think You know, if you develop him in the offseason and and fully give him the keys to this offense next year, I think Troy could be a much improved football team in 2025. What what a what year is he? Does anybody know Caldwell is a junior?
01:02:04
Speaker
okay so he's got he's got maybe another year ahead of him all right yeah well that's okay well they they might have an answer at the quarterback spot for next year you just have to address like the 11 players on defense so good luck with that uh all right so louisiana with the wind moves to nine and two and is now six and one in the sun belt troy drops to three and eight is now two and five in the conference uh Zeke, what the hell happened with Georgia State?
Georgia State's Impact & Texas State's Challenges
01:02:30
Speaker
Bro, hold on. before you Before you break down the game, can I just say thank you? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Because now Texas State is completely out of the equation. G.J. Kinney is a fraud. I said what I said. ah Texas State has provided nothing to the conference with all due respect. You've provided nothing to the conference.
01:02:57
Speaker
give me one thing outside of a basketball championship and a baseball championship. The Texas State has provided to the conference.
01:03:07
Speaker
cricket I mean, now i thought those would probably be their answers. That's what I thought. So thank you very much, Zeke. You can continue. Matt, do you... Well, first, before we talk about the game, Matt, I think it was you that brought it up. This was several weeks ago where G.J. Kinney didn't show up for a press conference. Was that him? Yes. Yes.
01:03:28
Speaker
because wrong can i hold on hold on can i chip in on that yes so when i posted the tick tock for that someone commented that doesn't follow us on our account which is x dot.com slash at warm weather fans uh and was like this is fake news you guys apparently kef Sirodello or whatever the guy's name was apparently explained it later in a follow-up tweet but like I don't follow that guy and he tweets like 20,000 times a day and I'm just like I can't come back through every single tweet that he's ever sent I'm sorry guys so so I I follow up this up or bring this up because I Cannot confirm this I was not there in the press conference, but I read that on their senior night game
01:04:17
Speaker
On the night that Jordan MacLeod set several program passing records, it was a junior and a sophomo a sophomore available to the media. And i it was interesting because I saw what I perceived to be some frustration with how ah this G.J. Kinney regime has handled their media appearances. Football-wise,
01:04:41
Speaker
um I don't know. Their defense is cheeks. Dude, both defenses are cheeks. For most of this game, the team, like, it was in the second quarter is when Georgia store georgia State scored a bulk of its points. It had three touchdowns, all passes to Dorian Fleming, and then a field goal at the end of the half. But then after that, it was Georgia State's turn to kind of hot potato and say, we don't want to play defense anymore. It's your turn. Go ahead and score points.
01:05:10
Speaker
ah Baffling I think Georgia State This is not Like this is not like some sleeping giant that Georgia State has had and that was unleashed against Texas State I think this is a Texas State team that as Matt said may potentially be fraudulent ah Is certainly fraudulent in my eyes get it based on what I thought about them earlier in the year. He makes sense ah That was that was not ready for Georgia State to play play football. ah This is the Freddie Brock week that I've been prepping you for all year. He ran for 133 yards on 18 carries.
01:05:52
Speaker
um But even still, like you couldn't be scored 52 and you couldn't pull it out. This has been the difficulty with Georgia State all year when we were making the picks last week. Brian, I took the over, I believe, ah because think you did. I'm I'm I'm fairly sure I did because Texas State ah we knew was going to score points because this Georgia State. But Georgia State has always been scoring 21.
01:06:19
Speaker
28 a week. It's been the defense that has been the crux of this issue and the reason they only have two FBS wins this season. um I don't know. i Christian Valer looked legitimate. yeah This is a performance that I've been waiting all year for from him, and it gives me hope for next season ah that as a senior he may be able to. um You know, take the take the brunt of the offense, unlike he has in recent weeks ah where he was splitting time with Zack Gibson, who ah missed this game, presumably with injury.
01:06:58
Speaker
May have left the team. We're not really sure. I'm pretty sure he's a senior or has no eligibility. So don't know really the ins and outs of that. um
01:07:10
Speaker
Yeah, i happy to answer any questions, but this was just Sunbelt football. This is what it's about. Freaky weird stuff like this happening. Well, I have one question that's for both of you. And then I have a second question specifically for Zeke. And I'm going to get to the question for both of you. I posed this a couple of weeks ago.
01:07:30
Speaker
but I'm gonna reiterate, should we start looking at GJ Kinney in the same way that we look at, you know, we we had looked at Clay Hilton the last couple of years and say, the second half of the season, this team goes to the dumps. Like, they start very hot, and then all of a sudden it's,
01:07:51
Speaker
It's, when it's gone in the second half of the season, it is gone. I know we don't have as large of a sample size as these two coaches that I'm about to compare GJ Kenny to, but I feel like it's slowly starting to develop and I want to get your, I'll, I'll answer your question and then I want to get your thoughts on, uh, on this. Is GJ Kenny approaching the same level as Lane Kiffin and James Franklin? Like Teemu Brand.
01:08:22
Speaker
Well, I mean, sure. Right. But like, what what what I mean is a team that came into the season with so much expectation. And they were so hyped. Right. And they have fell flat on their face in terms of living up to it, right? Yeah. Everybody raved, oh, Penn State might be a real, you know, competitor to Ohio State and Oregon in the Big Ten. No. Yeah. Oh, what Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss might finally end Kirby Smart's reign of terror on the SEC. No. ah Like, it's kind of feeling the same way to me.
01:09:11
Speaker
Yeah, I don't I don't disagree with that. Yeah, I think that's an interesting point. But but not going back to the reason back to the good. The reason I said Teamu brand, though, is at least. By and large, and there are there are obviously exceptions with Lane Kiffin and James Franklin.
01:09:30
Speaker
i actually don't even think they're kind of they're really that similar James Franklin basically can't beat two teams like he basically can't beat Michigan or Ohio State and like if they're playing anybody else it's like okay we're probably gonna win it the thing with Kenny that separates him from those other teams and those other coaches though are they find ways to lose teams lose to teams like Georgia State where we had kind of left them for dead and like say what you want. Like I know Ole Miss lost to so Kentucky and ah Florida, but like by and large, you know, those are competent football teams. They're not losing to like
01:10:11
Speaker
I guess, knock on wood, they're not losing to like the Mississippi State to the world where it's like, these are the true like bottom feeders like G, GJ Kenny is losing to and, you know, no offense to Georgia State in their program. they've They've been like a bottom feeder this year. So the fact that Kenny is losing to them, I think should be of real, real concern considering like, is he going to feel the team better than this offense in the next couple of years?
01:10:39
Speaker
What if he doesn't? What does it look like then? Like, is it a four-win team, five-win team? Like, I don't know. I think if the if the West continues to dip, though, because I don't know what Louisiana's window looks like, but like Texas State, in its iteration, ah in in this current iteration,
01:11:01
Speaker
Like it clears obviously Southern Miss in the West. um It beat Arkansas State very heavily, but it may just depend on what time of the season because if Arkansas State played Texas State next week, I wouldn't be as confident that Texas State would beat them 41 to 9.
01:11:19
Speaker
um You know, ULM is in a backslide and we're kind of reconsidering that team's trajectory. South Al is very nebulous. So while I agree, like my my general stock on Texas State and GJ Kinney is down, like they might be in a position just given like the current landscape that this might be enough.
01:11:43
Speaker
And it depends on Louisiana's trajectory. Louisiana right now is by far the best team in the West without you know without ah peers and probably in the East as well, probably in the whole conference. um But as soon as UL starts to slip, like shoot, if texas Texas State could beat a UL team if they score 54 points, right?
01:12:07
Speaker
so Unlike Arkansas State, which is built in the similar archetype of ah offense, offense, offense, and the defense can kind of, we'll see what happens. I think like Texas State just does it better and in the right year, this could work for them.
01:12:29
Speaker
Okay, so I have one last question and it's specifically for Zeke before we move on from this game. I'm not i'm not looking to to bring back up that you you picked them to go undefeated and into the yeah CFP. all right But no no, the question is... What did we learn about trying to select a team to be in that kind of spot from picking Texas State this year? I want to give you the floor and then I'm going to tell you what the answer basically is. So give what did you what did we learn? Like you picked Texas State to run away with it. What did we what what did we learn about selecting these types of teams? But before before we before you answer, Zeke, I just got to say, Brian, you're such a father.
01:13:17
Speaker
like you are you are the guy sitting there with his five-year-old going you messed up what did we learn from this like how how do we avoid doing this in the future yeah and because look and also and also your tone sounded like I'm gonna ask you Zeke for your opinion And then I'm going to tell you the correct answer to why your opinions wrong. Yeah, I Brian. I know there is some combination of words you're digging for. I'll tell you what I learned. um I learned that.
01:13:56
Speaker
I think I learned that GJ Kinney and. Coaches in general need longer to establish dominance, ah that type of dominance. I learned that, um and I learned this with ULM this season as well, that flashes in the pan can happen, they will happen, especially in the Sunbelt where things there the parity is much higher.
01:14:25
Speaker
I learned that Jordan McLeod, possibly fraudulent. and i i don't I don't necessarily think I'd say that. but ah I think the general overall lesson is i don't I don't know what you're digging at. I was wrong. I don't know what you want me to learn.
01:14:45
Speaker
it It wasn't so much about this specific team. It was more like an archetype of a team. um it it was I don't necessarily think i I agree with the Kinney point because you could have made the same argument about Signeti. That didn't come back to bite them, so about having a longer runway. The answer that I was kind of fishing for was taking a team like this that clearly has a lot of question marks on defense is maybe not the best course of action because again we said in the preseason we were like they probably if you look at just talent perspective they probably have the most talented offense but defensively when you got one player of note in Ben Bell who you know he left the team so like whatever but a defensive end is not going to totally save your entire defense
01:15:39
Speaker
So even if he was still on the team, I can't say that any of these games end up differently. So I think it's more just saying like, if you if you're like feeling good about a team and you look at one side of the ball and you kind of just, you know, wave away all the concerns, I think that's kind of where I am with it is like, I just in good conscience can't take a team where I'm like, I can't name any of the defensive players. I hear what you're saying. And I, again, like, I think that is a valid point to bring up.
01:16:07
Speaker
But as you like as you look at Texas State's schedule and especially their losses this year, granted, this does not include last week's Georgia State loss, which I feel comfortable calling an outlier. um Any performance like that is an outlier.
01:16:25
Speaker
um Texas State has lost its games not because of poor defensive performances. And again, as I look through their schedule, Georgia State and Sam Houston are the two games you can point to and say, poor defense lost this team, this games. UL, they only scored 17. They held UL to 23. You should be able to win, like 23 points a allowed is a very winnable game. 24 points against Old Dominion, that is a winnable game. So I
01:16:56
Speaker
i I hear what you're saying and I know you're telling me this so I don't burn myself in the same way next year. Yeah. But I'm not going to listen to you because as I. And I look at this schedule and I look at like shoot again against you. Well, like, listen, Jordan McCloud's playing that game. That's it. That's a different game. Listen, you know, my my four year old has some of the same tendencies you do. Like one day we told her we were like, don't touch my white wife's like curling iron. And we told her and told her and told her. And she walked up and touched it and burnt herself. And I said, I guess she's one of those just has to learn by doing it.
01:17:35
Speaker
So I guess you're just going to keep sticking a fork in the electrical outlet and just hope for a different result next time. So this is fun. Hey, I can feel my teeth vibrating.
01:17:49
Speaker
It's kind of a fun feeling. It's worth a try. Yeah. Sometimes you need to feel alive. ah All right. So Georgia state moves to three and eight with the win one and six in the conference. Texas state is now six and five and four and three in the Sunbelt last game of the
Marshall vs Old Dominion: Key Players & NIL Impact
01:18:03
Speaker
night. This one was Marshall continues to play in these incredibly compelling games. They did it last week.
01:18:10
Speaker
Uh, they did it again this week against Old Dominion. So they went 42 35, uh, once again for Old Dominion. I mean, how many times we got to say it's the Colt and Joseph show. And it's basically just him on an Island by himself. He's got like one receiver and then some weeks Aaron young, the running back shows up some weeks. He doesn't, and it's basically like.
01:18:30
Speaker
It's like, hey guys, I could, have you guys seen the meme where it's like four people and they're talking and then there's one guy off to the side and it's like four people are like, help, we need help. This is the total inverse of that. Colton Joseph's like, please God, can someone else contribute? And then the four of them are like, yay, this is fun. and Like they're, they're losing a game. So this is, this is kind of what it is. It's like,
01:18:55
Speaker
You know, Marshall is is obviously ah better a better built team. They have a better, ah you know, this game didn't necessarily reflect it, but I think Colton Joseph's is very good quarterback. They have a better defense overall. ah They seem like they have a better head coach infrastructure from the top down. And this this goes back to the Ricky Ronnie discussions we have. It feels like every single season, which is, OK, you're not going to qualify for a bowl game. You're going to top out at five wins max. If you lose next week, you might have you might finish four and eight.
01:19:25
Speaker
At what point you got to have some expectations, right? Like you got to be like, we want to accomplish something. And it seems like every year it's just like, I don't know. I hope we go out there for 12 weeks and play football. And that's as far as it goes. So I don't, I don't really understand what we're doing here in Norfolk.
01:19:45
Speaker
Look, I mean, the fact that you guys are just kind of like, I don't know, like, that's exactly what ah what I mean. Well, it's true, right? i How do you how do you put a finger on what's happening? I mean, this this Colton Joseph kid has been incredible, right? He's a great passer. He runs the ball really well. um But he's kind of doing if it kind of like a mod hardy in Monroe, right? He doesn't have anybody else.
01:20:15
Speaker
Yeah. And so that's why they're on a three game losing skid. And but but look, you know, as crazy as this might sound, because they have been so bad under Ricky Ronnie, I still feel like they might be going in the right direction. See, now you're doing the I need to touch the curling iron thing like now. I know. I know. Like you've got this freshman quarterback that you have discovered that's like OK, you know if we can spend the offseason putting some receivers and offensive line around him. You might have something here. I don't know. I hold hold on I can't imagine Colton Joseph plays there next year.
01:20:56
Speaker
What, yeah, that was literally what I was going to say is I think there's a better chance it goes the other way. And some small P4 or maybe a bigger G5, like a Memphis or something comes calling and it's like, Hey, we've got these NIL funds. How do you feel about leaving this team behind and coming to play with a team that's actually got pieces around you? I think that's more likely than they restocked the entire cabinet around him. Hey, Colton, you sound like a young man that would drive a Ford F-150 Raptor.
01:21:27
Speaker
Uh, how do you, how do you feel about getting one from Bob daily forward? Right. We were in Washington Chevrolet. running
01:21:37
Speaker
Come, come play football for us. We'll, we'll paint a blue for you. Yeah, really. So that that's my question and Zeke brought it up as well, which is, I think there's a better shot that he pulls no offense, Matt. I don't i don't mean to poke it like an open wound, but he pulls like a Z on Chris and is like,
01:21:54
Speaker
I'm at, I'm at a town, man, like y'all. And it made less sense. I mean, I guess he got an n NIL bag either way, but it made less sense with a team like Louisiana than it does with a team like Old Dominion, where it's like, this is a one man squad. Like if he doesn't throw for 300 yards and run for 100 more every week, they've basically got no shot.
01:22:13
Speaker
and they don't even have a shot when he does do that right that's that's that's the thing that like is like if i'm colton joseph i'm looking around going uh would these guys be starting anywhere else if they weren't here next to me probably not so Um, but I will say Braylon Braxton did his thing on the other side as well. So he threw for two 10 and three scores and then added 18 carries for 140 yards. Uh, AJ Turner was back for this game, so he's not totally.
01:22:47
Speaker
I don't really and still don't really understand what happened last week ah with him, but he he is still in the mix. They had 471 yards of offense. oh Old Dominion had 513 yards of offense and lost this game. Now they did turn the ball over twice, but still.
01:23:05
Speaker
Uh, and again, you know, not even talking about the offensive side of the ball defensively. I think Jason Henderson's kind of the same thing on the defensive side of the ball. He's probably looking around going, uh, would any of these guys be starting at the, at the FPS level? If they weren't here next to me, probably not. So.
01:23:24
Speaker
i don't I don't really know. I don't really know. They they basically have a two man team. they're They're trying to run like a basketball style roster on a football team where it's like, we've got two two guys and it's like, all right, on a basketball team that works. But ah when there's 22 spots, a lot less. Does Monroe have any sort of a NIL bag to throw? Because, you know, with oh met imagine how good those teams are, though, with a quarterback like
01:23:53
Speaker
Colton Joseph or Breland Braxton like shoot that you elk M team is winning. How many games if they just have a competent quarterback? A group. Now it's it's true.
01:24:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I mean they would be I know I think they if if you put if you took Colton Joseph I'm gonna say him specifically because Braylon Braxton some games he kind of fades and you're just kind of like where what is what's he up to but Colton Joseph really has to put the team on his back like every week and I feel like if you took him and like claw picked him up dropped him onto the ULM team I think you're looking at like a 8 or 9 win team like no no joke and I just ah and you will and Old Dominion is probably a one to win football team without Colton Joseph back there There anybody Joseph away from being Southern Miss Yeah Exactly
01:24:48
Speaker
So again, if Old Dominion just wants to keep doing this with Ricky Ronnie every year, no matter what the roster is, results seem to kind of be the same regardless. And you know, they, they have had with Ollie Jennings and Blake Watson and all those guys, they've had contributors in the past dip out because they were frankly like, either y'all don't have the NIL or I'm tired of playing on like a one man team. So.
01:25:13
Speaker
We'll see we'll see what Colton Joseph does this offseason can be really interesting if they can get him to stick around or
Marshall's Strong Position & Upcoming Games Discussion
01:25:18
Speaker
not. ah But Marshall made another statement ah that they are not giving up the conference lead anytime soon. They are now eight and three and six and one in the Sunbelt Old Dominion drops to four and seven is now three and four.
01:25:32
Speaker
in the conference. So let's kick it off, ah kick it to next week's games before we do so. You can find us on Twitter or X, I guess, X dot.com slash warm weather fans. We are live on YouTube right now. So next week we will tentatively we are scheduled to go live again next Sunday night. ah So we'll be talking about the season finale games and get you kind of our initial thoughts on the ah the conference championship matchup.
01:25:59
Speaker
um But yeah, let's go go ahead. So Black Friday, we've got a game on ESPN plus at 330. Texas State is traveling to South Alabama. ah South Alabama is a one point home favorite over under 61 and a half.
01:26:15
Speaker
um Give me the over 61 and a half. I think both of these teams can score points. Texas State's defense, like we said, is absolute cheeks. And without Ben Bell, they can't even get pressure on the on the quarterback. And so I think Gio Lopez is going to have all kinds of time to throw. And South Alabama, frankly, can also short circuit their own brain, ah which I which I talked about. So Jordan McLeod might be able to throw for some serious yardage as well. So I'm taking the over. same I like South out here.
01:26:48
Speaker
Just to get back at my ex-girlfriend. Don't like you anymore Texas State. ah go This is like back in the day like in elementary school it's like someone used to send you a note it's like do you like me yes no and you're just checking the no box and handing them the notebook.
01:27:05
Speaker
absolutely they hurt they hurt me they hurt you it broke your heart uh it's always it's always the first ones that get you um saturday on esp and u uh at noon eastern time louisiana is traveling to monroe Louisiana is a nine and a half point favorite over under 48 and a half Matt I'm gonna let you go first because I would like to know your your thoughts on it because you are more in line I can't I can't keep up with what Louisiana is doing one week I pick them and they get basically blown off the ball against South Alabama and then last week I was like I like ah
01:27:44
Speaker
You know, I like the other team to keep it close, Troy, to keep it close, and then they just blow them out. So like, I need to know your thoughts on this game before I make a pick, because frankly, I have no I have no finger on the pulse of of this Louisiana team. I'm sorry that I'm squirming around like this. ah My wife just cracked open the office door and threw something at me. So, you know, well, anyways, look, no, I think the Cajuns go on the road and get a win. I don't think it's going to be pretty.
01:28:12
Speaker
um There is some you know juju about Malone Stadium um that that always makes things interesting. and And look, obviously we talked about it earlier, ULM is going to be playing for something, right? um but they've They've got bowl eligibility on the line. I just, I think the Cajuns are the better team. um And I think they're going to go up there. My hardy is going to get his, right? But I think the Cajuns are able to bend but don't break from that aspect.
01:28:41
Speaker
and they're able to eat out a close one. So wait, do you have UL covering or you have ULM plus nine and a half?
01:28:53
Speaker
that That was more of my question. I think Louisiana is going to win, but I'm like, it's a big difference if it's ah by a field goal or if it's by 17 points or whatever. I'll take the confident answer. I'll take the cadence minus nine and a half. I think they win by 10. I like that.
01:29:11
Speaker
I'll do the one by 10. I'm going to I'm going to take the over a 48 and a half. um I think Louisiana can score some points. The over under is pretty low. You all Monroe can usually score between 17 to 21
Coastal vs Georgia State: Predictions & Home Field Advantage Discussion
01:29:26
Speaker
points. So that, you know, we'll we'll see if that ah happens. um But i'll I'll take the over. Just it's a low number. I'll play it relatively safe. Now, watch. This is ah like a nine to six game. And, you know, we're just kicking field goals back and forth the whole game.
01:29:42
Speaker
um Okay two o'clock ESPN plus ah Sorry Zeke. What was your pick for the ULM? I like UL here. I like Louisiana. All right 2 o'clock ESPN plus ah Coastal is traveling to Center Park to take on Georgia State Coastal is at one and a half point road favorite over under 55 and a half Zeke I'm gonna let you go first I'm gonna see what you think about this one before I chipped in this is a tough one because these are two very unserious football teams and
01:30:18
Speaker
So it's difficult because like I part of me really thinks that Georgia State has the ability. We saw it last week against Texas State to get up and play spoiler in some sense. Coastal is playing for a bowl game here. um And I think Georgia State has the ability to get up or the capability rather to get up for this game and play spoiler.
01:30:43
Speaker
With that said, I don't think they can do it two weeks in a row. I don't think they can string together what they did against Texas State into a game a win against Coastal. ah Being at home means nothing to this team. um It is.
01:30:58
Speaker
you know this This is off the cuff. This is without insight. you know This is the final home game. this is you know You're not playing for a bowl. So this is when you put out all the seniors on kickoff um and things of that nature. So give me Coastal. I'm going to take Coastal as well. Or actually, no. let me I scratch that. I'm reversing course on that. I will actually take Georgia State.
01:31:25
Speaker
And the reason that I say that is because I think that this win over Texas State kind of gives them some confidence late that, you know, they they can hang with with teams in the Sunbelt. um It was a rough road to hold, you know, for most of their conference stretch, actually all of their conference stretches, this was their first win in the Sunbelt this year. ah um But look, I think that that gives them a bit of confidence.
01:31:53
Speaker
And they're at home, they're playing against a team that, you know, I think they feel like they can hang with. And I think i think they'll do it. so i'll take i'll just I'll just chime in real quick because if that were the case, would that not have happened after Vanderbilt?
01:32:11
Speaker
ah granted there was a biweek in between but after vanderbilt what happened georgia state came out and got beat by southern at home can it Can I ask a question? I totally forgot. Did Diego Pavio play against Georgia State? He didn't, right?
01:32:28
Speaker
no that's that's I think that's the difference I think he was I think if he was playing oh he was not he was not the Diego Pavio we knew ah but he he did play okay oh yeah he did okay I stanker all right um
01:32:48
Speaker
I'm gonna go Georgia State plus one and a half. um yeah If you guys watched back on the game, the Georgia Southern Coastal game from last week, Vasco can't hit water if he fell out of a boat. I mean, it's really bad. And like, Noah Kim got like, I think one snap and came in and threw an interception in that game. so like as bad as Georgia State's defenses I think maybe they're figuring some things out on offense and you just have no idea like again Vasco could show up and just be eight of 19 for 89 yards and is not even throwing it within 10 10 feet of any given receiver so like you just truly have no idea what you're getting and like
01:33:31
Speaker
There's a little bit like a tiny bit of no ability with Georgia State that I just don't have with Coastal at all. Like I truly don't know like other than Braden Bennett like what are they bringing to the table? Like truly so that that's sort of where I'm at with it. um Another two o'clock we've got Southern Miss traveling to Troy to take on the Trojans.
01:33:54
Speaker
Troy is a 17-point home favorite over under 48 and a half. um Give me Troy. Troy. Okay, cool. Glad that's over. Let's move on. southern Well, Southern Miss covered last week and I felt stupid picking against them because South Alabama basically kind of just took their foot off the gas um in the first half.
01:34:15
Speaker
but You know, I think Troy has really figured some things out and I think they're a full kind of tier above where Southern Miss is now So I think they I think Caldwell I think he's got it got it going. So, um, all right three o'clock ESPN Plus Old Dominion's traveling to Arkansas State to Jonesboro to take on the Red Wolves. ODU, this seems wrong. Old Dominion is a four point road favorite. Over there is 58 and a half. That is absolutely asinine that they are a four point road favorite, because that means that it's truly a seven point spread. And the the fact that anybody would pick ODU to win by a touchdown. Is insane.
01:35:05
Speaker
I'm gonna take ODU. I don't disagree with everything you've said, but the fact that they are a 4.5 and there doesn't seem to be a reason why they would be is the reason I'm gonna take them. Because there's gotta be something that I'm not that i'm not aware of. like Because it makes literally no sense.
01:35:30
Speaker
So that's, I can't come up with a reason why I'm going to take them. I guess Colton Joseph, but. Arkansas State also kind of has these games sometimes where they'll put up like 18 points and you're just like, you're better than this. Like you have parts that are are greater, these should be greater than the sum of its parts. And sometimes it's just not. So, I don't know. I don't even feel great about it, but I'm kind of just going against my own instinct to say like, oh, hammer Arkansas State, no questions asked. And I'm just like, there's gotta to be there's gotta to be something here, like a reason why this is.
01:36:04
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I think this just comes down to like can Colton Joseph Like how how good is he gonna be in this game? ah Is he gonna score five touchdowns or because the yard is just gonna be there. He's gonna combine 400 yards total So it's a matter of is he gonna score the five touchdowns that he needs to score or is it gonna be 400 yards and two touchdowns? um And against Arkansas shoot this like this feels like the hardest pick we're going to make this week. um I. I like Arkansas City. I think Colton Joseph is good enough to win this game on his own, but that doesn't mean he's going to do it. But that that that's a really tough one.
01:36:52
Speaker
Yeah. So Matt, you have Arkansas state, right? Correct. And I do as well. All right. Uh, 6 p.m. yeah ESPN plus app state is traveling to Georgia Southern to Paulson to take on the Eagles. The Eagles are a two and a half point home favorite over under a 62 and a half. Um.
01:37:17
Speaker
I really want to take app plus two and a half, honestly, like
01:37:23
Speaker
I'm just going to do it. I'm going to hedge. I'm going to be like, if Georgia Southern wins great and if they don't, then at least I didn't throw a pick in the garbage on top of it. So I'm going to hedge and say app plus two and a half. It's not that I feel great about either of these teams because they are mammamama mid both of them. So I I would ah this is like mid versus slightly more mid. So um I'm going to take app and just be like they're playing for a bowl appearance.
01:37:53
Speaker
Georgia Southern has showed even when they need to win games and everything is on the line They can still find a way to just come out and just turn in an absolute stinker of a performance. So I Think app gets up for this one wins straight up. I Think Georgia Southern You guys are in both a win-win and a lose-lose at the same time because you lose here and app keeps Sean Clark for another year, which is a net win for everyone in the conference except for app. Yeah. And you guys are closer to firing clay help.
01:38:31
Speaker
we're We're not firing Clay Hilton this year, right? But but you're a step closer to it with a if you lose. So that's that's the the win win there. ah And if you win, but then if you win like shoot, you're going to the conference championship, you know. Well, Marshall has to lose, too. Mm hmm. But then the lose lose side of it is if you win,
01:38:59
Speaker
You're one step closer to cleat key. Keeping Clay Helton.
01:39:07
Speaker
I didn't think this fully through. I think you mean it's a win, lose, but not a win, win, lose, lose. I think it's like you win, like right if you win, there's a good and a bad. And if you lose, there's a good and a bad. And like, i yes, um i don't i don't i don't just I don't disagree with anything you said, Frank. Right. Thank you. It's funny that both of these teams are like, God, I hope we fire our coach. And yet it's a rivalry game where they hate where they hate each other's guts. So ah give give me give me upstate. I don't trust Georgia Southern down the stretch.
01:39:42
Speaker
I'm going to be the oddball here. I like Georgia state. at home I mean, I like Georgia Southern at home. Matt, you love like home field advantage. I do. I think it matters.
01:39:56
Speaker
i think it I think it matters. and Especially in a rivalry game, I think home field advantage plays a big role. Well, I, the other thing too, and Matt, maybe, maybe this is something you weren't privy to, but the other thing too is there's a chance that, you know, this being the Saturday after Thanksgiving, that a lot of our fans just stay home and like don't come to this game. Yeah, that's always, that's always the case, right? That Saturday after Thanksgiving stuff. No, no, but it's not just that. Like they think about.
Marshall vs JMU: Stakes & Predictions
01:40:31
Speaker
If a rabid fan base showed up to watch us play Troy at home two weeks ago and just watched us get road graded for four quarters, you've got to be like, why would I go back to school to watch that again? That's the that's the taste that our fan home fans have left in their mouth. But that's a lazy mentality.
01:40:54
Speaker
Yeah, but if it's the difference between like, you know, again, you're like, if you're a casual fan, like we Zeke and I have talked about that talked about this last week. If you're a casual fan and you're like, I don't know, I go to as many Georgia games as I do Southern every week. Like you're not like a diehard, like, oh my God, I have to be at every home game. And you're kind of like, so we have to win. Clay Helton's team has to show up in a key spot. I have to come back from Thanksgiving early to go to this game. And if we win and Marshall wins, it doesn't even matter if we won or not. I think a lot of people are with after the Troy game are like. Dude, if you wanted me to come to the finale, beat Troy two weeks ago, you know what I mean? I think the only excuse there that I agree with is Thanksgiving. um good Look, I wouldn't come if if I go out of town for Thanksgiving, I wouldn't come back early either. Right. Like I get that point.
01:41:50
Speaker
Um, but the fact that they got skull drug at home two weeks ago by Troy shouldn't matter because there's still a chance that they play in the sub belt championship game. I think it doesn't matter to like the season ticket holders or the people that live in Savannah or Statesboro that live in the area or always make the trip down, but to the entire half of the stadium, because Paulson half of Paulson is student section.
01:42:20
Speaker
yeah to the half of that, unless you are a football fan. And I think you are going to be more tepid on that. um
01:42:33
Speaker
i don't know i because i mean again also it's it's a it's a rivalry game we're playing app i i acknowledge that app is a 500 football team too so it's not like oh man we we could kill this like really good app team season like we have in years past when we used to play them on like halloween and they would come in like ranked or something like this is like cool, we're going to prevent app for making a bowl game and we have to sit and watch the scoreboard or whatever of the Marshall game. And if Marshall goes up 21 to seven in the third quarter, like we're, we're done. So anyway, like we're playing, you know, Buffalo in the 68 ventures bowl, uh, on December 26, like sweet. it's So like, I just feel like the casual fans, the casual fans are might like the student casual fans might be like,
01:43:29
Speaker
i'm good good on I agree with you on that point, but I don't think it'll be so great that it impacts like the mojo that Matt was talking about about getting from playing at home because so I do believe it'll be less. But for the folks that do show up, it is going to mean something and those may honestly counteract.
01:43:49
Speaker
Mm hmm. OK. All right. So last game of the night. This one's going to be a must watch. You know, if you like Sunbelt football, you got to keep an eye on this one. ESPN, you eight o'clock. Sunbelt with two ESPN games on a Saturday is pretty good. Eight o'clock. Marshall is traveling to Harrisonburg to take on James Madison. James Madison is a three and a half point home favorite.
01:44:14
Speaker
Does that make any sense to anybody? ah Over Under's 52 and a half. I'm taking Marshall because, frankly, James Madison has nothing to play for at this point. They can't really do anything if they win. It doesn't improve. The only thing they can do is spoil Marshall's season.
01:44:32
Speaker
And these two teams aren't rivals. are Are they rivals? Is there some sort of rivalry? OK, so as far as I'm I'm aware, they're not really rivals, even though they're in Virginia and West Virginia, respectively. And Marshall has everything to play for because they get to go to the Sunbelt title game if they win. So give me Marshall, like give me the team that has stuff to play for over a team that's like, hey, man, we don't really care for eight and four and nine and three.
01:45:01
Speaker
These two teams have played each other four times, and two of them have been since they've joined the Sunbelt. OK. Well, yeah, no, no rival. So they really don't care. Yeah, no. I'm going to take Marshall here as well. I think they just have a ton more to play for. And I think that's going to motivate them. And like you said, James Madison can only spoil, and I don't think they're going to care about. Yeah. So I'll take i'll take the herd.
Conclusion & Social Media Promotions
01:45:31
Speaker
ze um
01:45:35
Speaker
this This is another tough one because like Marshall first of all five straight wins like you can't just look past that, but it's not the strongest five straight wins, um so it's difficult to really have a barometer on this team where they stand.
01:45:49
Speaker
um Although, you know, I can't, I may walk that back because the only loss that interrupted that streak was the ah Southern game and losing that game was the best thing that ever happened to this team because it got Braylon Braxton this job. Um, I'm overthinking this. Give me Marshall. Yeah.
01:46:09
Speaker
yeah it's so wide I fully expect it to be Marshall UL in the conference championship. i I think those are the two best teams in the conference. like No matter what happens on Saturday, if Southern finds a way to snake its way in, I still don't think they're really that much better of a team than Marshall.
01:46:29
Speaker
i think that that that That comeback is, like I said, is as fluke-y as you could possibly get. 21 points in the last five minutes, including, ah you know, led by a backup quarterback who left the team three weeks later. Like, yeah, that seems like the fluke-iest thing you could imagine. All right, boys, as we wrap up here, Zeke, let everybody know where they can find you on socials. Matt, do the same and then kick it back to me and we'll sign out.
01:46:55
Speaker
Yeah, I'm on Twitter at Zeke Palermo, Z-E-K-E-P-A-L-E-R-M-O, post about the pod, post about ah college sports, pro sports, local high school sports in the Rome, Georgia area. If you are from out there, Matt, where can they find you? You can find me on social media at megasmat. Hopefully the New Orleans Saints can continue winning so that my content outside of the Louisiana Rage and Cajuns is enjoyable. but You know, we'll see.
01:47:26
Speaker
You could always cultivate, you could do what I do in Southern like slides and you could just cultivate like animosity. like that's That's something. like The one thing I can't do is is just total apathy like toward a team. like I'm just like...
01:47:42
Speaker
what you want me to tell you I don't care because we lost five in a road in the season last year so I'd rather I'd rather it be some sort of feeling than being like oh boy can't wait to get out of here ah all right you can find me on x ah at watch the stone like I said we will be back next Sunday night broadcasting here to talk about you know the results of this week we could look ahead a little bit to the conference championship game although we will do a full episode breaking that down and maybe even some early bull stuff depending on what gets announced and when um we also will have bonus content on our YouTube page
01:48:20
Speaker
The week of the conference championship, I am putting up the Sunbelt family feud that we did a couple of weeks ago. I had been holding off on that to when we had like a shorter episode and kind of less going on. So be on the lookout for that. Make sure you subscribe youtube dot.com slash at warm weather fans. We will be back next Sunday. Like I said, peace everybody.