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2025 Sun Belt Football: Week 8 Recap
80 Plays3 days ago
Brian and Zeke are joined early by Jack Fitzpatrick of JMU Sports News to talk over the Dukes' 63-27 destruction of Old Dominion on Saturday and Alonza Barnett III's fantastic performance as well as what back-to-back losses mean for Ricky Rahne and ODU moving forward.
Outside of that game, the pair talk over Georgia Southern's win over Georgia State, a bowling shoe ugly win by Arkansas State, and another Texas State chokejob in the final minutes against Marshall.
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Transcript
JMU's Victory Over Old Dominion
00:00:15
Speaker
All right, welcome everybody into another edition of Warm Weather Fans. I'm your host, b Brian Stone, joined as always by Zeke Palermo. And today we have Jack Fitzpatrick from JMU Sports News here to talk about James Madison's huge win over Old Dominion on Saturday.
00:00:32
Speaker
Jack, thanks for so much thanks so much for joining us. How's it going, man? Appreciate you guys having me. I'm feeling real good after that dominant win yesterday, a game that I've described to my friends as the perfect football game because in the first half, it was back and forth. It was edge of your seat. It was electric.
00:00:51
Speaker
And the second half, your favorite team pulled away and just kind of flexed their muscle on the opponent. So I'm feeling great. Zeke, how's it going for you, man? I mean, we'll get to it later, but I did not have the same experience watching my team over the weekend. So, you know, I'm just glad it's at the end of the slate. So we have, you know, another half hour before we get to it.
Coaching Decisions at JMU
00:01:14
Speaker
and ah And Jack, on the JMU side of things, I actually do have two questions for you that don't necessarily relate to this game, but just kind of overall thoughts that we've had ah of the season as a whole. Because full transparency, I live in Louisville, so I went to the Louisville JMU game and...
00:01:37
Speaker
that kind of relates to a lot of my questions is some of the decision-making coach wise is sort of baffling to me. um it It's obviously worked kind of in spite of some of those questionable decisions because the roster is just so strong and like the coaching is good, but there are just things that happen that I'm just kind of scratching my head going, this team would be bulletproof if, if they just kind of made some heads or tails of some of these things. But Yeah. Yeah.
00:02:05
Speaker
It's that Louisville
Quarterback Controversy at JMU
00:02:07
Speaker
game. what What a time for you to kind of get, I mean, just in, I mean, just watching that game, it left all JMU fans, I think, scratching their heads going like, what, what is this? Is this what the rest of the season's going to be? This 50, 50 snap share between pure throwing quarterback in Barnett and Sluka, this Russian quarterback.
00:02:26
Speaker
And it became so apparent. And then even more so in the following weeks, where Matthew Sluka came in as a garbage time quarterback this last Saturday against ODU. And it was the first time since the Louisville game that he threw a pass.
00:02:41
Speaker
Like he has played in, I think, three other games. And it's just been clear fourth and short, third and short situations. They're lining up to run QB power. The opponent would stack the box. And you're just like,
00:02:52
Speaker
you you have to have a tendency breaker at some point. And I don't think they really gave a tendency breaker in this ODU game. I think it was just garbage time and they just started calling plays. So ah very head scratching quarterback decisions that we've seen from it, but we've seen them wean off more and more Saluka packages as the weeks have gone on.
00:03:13
Speaker
And I think it's partly because Alonza is starting to find that rhythm over the last couple of weeks. And I think it's also partly because the success rate on Sluka packages are next to zero.
00:03:25
Speaker
Sure. Yeah. Something that you mentioned about Barnett or something that we talked about in the preseason was, especially as we saw these Sluka packages so much early, was a concern of like, well, did they rush Barnett?
00:03:38
Speaker
Back to quick. Was this something where they just really liked Matthew Sluka? I know there's a history, ah you know, coordinator, co ah quarterback history there, but like, what was the situation? Was it really a competition? Were they trying to make it just package based?
00:03:53
Speaker
So i from from the outside looking in, what it kind of seemed like, because the the the coaching staff, they're very tight-lipped on everything. They won't give you any more information that they're required to.
00:04:04
Speaker
So something that kind of we all were speculating was, you know, Alonzo tore his ACL, according to reports, on November 30th, the regular season finale against Marshall.
00:04:16
Speaker
Final play of the game. So literally the last opportunity for him to tear his ACL in the regular season, and he does it. And typically an ACL repair takes nine to 12 months.
00:04:28
Speaker
ah And the season opener was nine months to the day after he tore it. He was cleared for contact about a week and a half before the season opener.
00:04:38
Speaker
And so he then started taking first team reps more and more. But with quarterbacks, I mean, you don't, you're already non-contact. So he was taking a lot of reps, maybe, you know, the full like 11 on 11 types of reps where, know,
00:04:52
Speaker
There might be guys falling at your feet. He wasn't necessarily taking, but everything else he was still involved with. And so when he was clear for contact, it was kind of like a hundred percent go. And based off the recruitment of Matthew Sluka and the recruitment of Camden Coleman, a Richmond transfer quarterback from the FCS level up,
00:05:09
Speaker
I don't think the coaching staff was expecting him him to be ready. Like Camden Coleman is a good quarterback. He is a starting level quarterback in the Sunbelt.
Barnett's Performance Analysis
00:05:20
Speaker
I was saying the whole offseason, I think Camden's going to beat the be be the starter, be the QB1, in part because I didn't think Alonzo Barnett would be ready. I thought they would kind of take it slow in his rehab, let him use a medical redshirt because he still has one of those to use this year, and then he'd come back next year and still have two years of eligibility.
00:05:38
Speaker
However, he kind of powered through the rehab and forced the coaching staff's hand, it kind of seemed like, where they were they sat back and they said, oh, crap, this guy's ready to – like, we weren't expecting this.
00:05:51
Speaker
Now we have two capable QBs. Camden Coleman, it seems, they're giving him his red shirt, so he'll sit out this year. ah But with Sluka, they're like, we have to figure out a way to make this work.
00:06:02
Speaker
And they tried to against Louisville. They've tried a couple of other times. It just hasn't. And I think we're going to see it kind of slip away and him become your traditional QB two. Well, okay, so that's actually a good ah opportunity for us to kind of break into this Old Dominion win and and kind of break that down more.
00:06:21
Speaker
I don't know, Jack, if you agree here, but I thought this was the healthiest that I thought Alonzo has looked all season. Like, running the ball specifically, like, that aspect had kind of been...
00:06:35
Speaker
not missing from his game, but had not been as sharp as it was, it seemed like, in, like, like last year. And, and obviously the ACL, huge factor, but he runs for 153 yards in this game.
00:06:48
Speaker
I mean, he was, he was doing it all. Like, a couple weeks ago, you know, we had kind of said, you know, the Georgia State win was, know, just putting them on notice and saying, Hey, yeah. Like it it was the closest thing to a loss that a win could feel like, but it put them on notice in a game that they still could win because they're, they frankly, the talent gap between them and Georgia state is just massive.
00:07:14
Speaker
And Zeke knows that firsthand. um But yeah, this felt like the first time this season to me that I was like, Alonzo's all the way back. It feels like he has no sort of limitations on his game anymore.
00:07:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it did feel that way a hundred percent because this season he's been a solid downhill runner, but whenever he's been asked to scramble specifically, he just doesn't, he didn't have the lateral quickness that was necessary. Then it was kind of fitting. I think it was the opening touchdown, like a 70 some odd yard run. And it was essentially a downhill run and he was getting going, but that kind of got the wheels in motion. And there was another uh i think he it was i think it was a touchdown run yeah it was his touchdown run maybe his third of the day he spins out of a would-be sack a free rusher comes off of his blind side i don't know how he feels it he spins out of the sack he finds the end the corner of the end zone and scores the touchdown that's the most athletic i have seen alonzo barnett since last season and even at times last season he lacked kind of that mobility because he was dealing with ankle injuries
00:08:18
Speaker
throughout the, and I mean, really from ULM on, he was kind of dealing with some ankle stuff. ah So he looked like he did UNC ball state a season ago. And I think that is because ah for a couple of reasons, I think he's now further and further away from torn ACL, which he came back from in nine months. he He's not wearing a leg brace, nothing like that. So he's been full to go, but that just takes a mental,
00:08:45
Speaker
even if your body's ready, your mental's not necessarily a hundred percent ready. I think he's now gotten far enough away where his mental is a little bit better when it comes to the ACL. And then he's gotten reps like something that he needs and something I think we all forget, even myself, when I'm complaining about Alonzo Barnett, he's a red shirt junior.
00:09:02
Speaker
Like, yeah, he's been around a little bit, but, Last year was his first full-time season as a starter. Like he is still kind of young. He's still needing some reps to understand what defenses are giving him and how to, and how to kind of figure that out. His decision-making, his processing, all of those words, all of the buzzwords you use when talking about QBs.
00:09:22
Speaker
He needed the reps to develop that. He's gotten the reps now. And I think he's gotten healthier. Like you said, it was on display with his lateral quickness and it was by far his best game, arguably. And some fans might say the UNC game. I think that was the best Alonzo Barnett game we have ever seen.
00:09:40
Speaker
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I mean, some of the stats that, you know, advanced analytic, you know, grading stuff from PFF, like even bears that out. i mean I mean, he had the 24th highest passing grade in the country on Saturday.
00:09:56
Speaker
ah He was the third best rushing grade of any anybody who took more than five rushes ah in the Sunbelt. He was the third best. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, the tell so take us through like the first half, because obviously that was the more competitive half of the two.
JMU vs Old Dominion Game Breakdown
00:10:14
Speaker
ah What was sort of going through your head as, you know, both teams are kind of trading possessions, just kind of marching up and down the field where you like, oh, man, this is one of those like last team to have the ball wins type games.
00:10:27
Speaker
I mean, I was settling in and i was like, this is about to be a fun football game. Like I, I'm the weird JMU fan and this might get JMU fans mad at me. I kind of like ODU. I've, I've worked with ODU. I do play by play.
00:10:40
Speaker
I've done a lot of work with their men's basketball team with, with their field hockey, soccer, all of that stuff. So I have a, I have a soft spot in my heart for ODU. They're a fun time down there.
00:10:50
Speaker
So, you know, watching the game, i was like, this is if Jamie wins this game, this is the best possible outcome. We get an instant classic. We get ODU showing like they belong in the upper tier of the Sun Belt. that This is awesome. I can't wait.
00:11:03
Speaker
As long as Jamie wins this game, but as it stands now, they're trading scores. There's nothing wrong with this right now. um And so that was my thinking through it. Like, it was just kind of sitting back, and i was just like, this is a fun football. Like, just – So weird. The fumbled kickoff touchdown, the Alonzo scamper for 70 plus yards touchdown, the 98 yard reception for a touchdown, the Nick DeGennaro slant for like ah another 70 yard touchdown, another 10. You're just like, what in the world am I watching? This is the craziest start to a football game I've ever witnessed.
00:11:38
Speaker
ah and And that I was just like, if this keeps up, this is going to be an all time great game. Yeah. Yeah. I want to ask your opinion on Colton Joseph and really what James Madison did that was effective to stop him because we've now seen two weeks in a row ah last week against Marshall and then this past week or I guess two weeks ago against Marshall and then this past week against James Madison.
00:12:02
Speaker
ah Colton Joseph still very good through the air. Yeah. But for the first time this year, really poor on the ground, only four rushing yards. ah That's his fewest by 45 rushing yards this season. So like what what what was James Madison doing that enabled them to kind of stop that? Because it's very obvious to a lot of people that this offense revolves around, except maybe Old Dominion fans, as we've heard a lot of, ah that this offense revolves around the success of Colton Joseph.
00:12:32
Speaker
I mean, JMU's defensive line, like it it has been since it jumped up to the FBS. It was with Bryant Haynes, the defensive coordinator, Kurt Signetti. It was with Lyle Hemphill last year, the defensive coordinator.
00:12:44
Speaker
It is this year under Colin Hitchler, the defensive coordinator. They stop the run. like You can typically pass pretty effectively against them because sometimes, although this year that's kind of not the case because Colin Hitchler is – I think the best defensive coordinator at the group of five level and will likely be in discussions for head coaching jobs this off season at whatever G fives open up when we have the craziest coaching carousel known to man. That's about a hit, but Typically they say you aren't going to beat us on the ground. You're going to have to throw against us.
00:13:18
Speaker
And that was the case against ODU. And they said, Colton Joseph, we are going to put a spy on you. We aren't going to overrush our pass lanes. We're going to keep you kind of bottled up in the pocket.
00:13:29
Speaker
We're going to have, not Not to pull out like every coaching cliche there is, but like we're going to stay home. We're going to have that type of just discipline where they have that weird like long extended read option play where sometimes he holds it and then goes to the blind side.
00:13:44
Speaker
i mean, they they really just locked him in where he didn't have those opportunities. And I think from there it resulted in him. I mean, it's a bummer because I love Colton Joseph. I think he's an elite quarterback.
00:13:56
Speaker
I think he's going to be, e i mean, the, the, the jump in talent we saw from last year to this year, i think we're going to see that again from this year to next year, if he stays with old dominion.
00:14:07
Speaker
ah But man, the turnovers popped up again for him and that's been his Achilles heel. ah he He has a little bit of a fumble issue, but in this game he had the interception issue and and that's just, that's just tough. And that's going to unravel all ODU plans.
00:14:22
Speaker
I was actually going to ask you about that because I think when they did the final total, I saw you guys post it on your on your Twitter account, but the the second half yardage total for Old Dominion was like 10 yards or something after halftime, which is nuts to hold team like... 275. 275 in the first half, the second half.
00:14:44
Speaker
Yeah, and that's crazy to me. And, you know, they put up a stat on the broadcast. I think there was 12 minutes to go in the game. Colton Joseph, through the the third quarter and the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, was 0-4 for zero yards passing and two picks.
00:15:02
Speaker
And I was just like... I think not only you guys not only have the the scheme to be able to do that, but you have the personnel as well. And I think that's what the difference is between JMU lot of other teams is a lot of other teams have the idea correct.
00:15:18
Speaker
And we we saw it with Marshall. you know One week, they're holding Old Dominion to 10 points through almost four full quarters. And then this past week, they're in a shootout with Texas State, who roughly, with Brad Jackson, has kind of the same quarterback. So I'm just kind of like,
00:15:34
Speaker
what what was different from the first half to the second half? And what did they do differently to kind of hem him in, I guess, to make him kind of one-dimensional passer? Yeah, I think we all know that ODU's got one of the more unique offenses in the Sun Belt.
00:15:48
Speaker
And I think that uniqueness just kind of offers up opportunities for them to have early success. And then Hitchler's a very, and we've seen it now, Jamie was not allowed a touchdown, has not allowed a score in the second half for the past three games. So over the last three second halves, zero points have been scored against him.
00:16:06
Speaker
Hitchler is an elite level adjuster, especially going into the second half. And that was the case in this one. But if you kind of take a step back with it as well, one of the touchdowns there in the first half, it's the special teams touchdown to open things up. So that kind of throws off your numbers a little bit. But I mean, at the end of the day, they didn't have 275 first half yards, which is nothing to sneeze at. And I think it just boils down to they hit a couple big plays.
00:16:32
Speaker
Trey Brown, their star wide receiver, I mean, he was a star in this game for sure. He showed out in the first half. I think he got, I don't want to say lucky, but couple busted coverages that he was able to take advantage of. And that's what good teams do. They take advantage of the opportunities and they just didn't have any opportunities in the second half because that defense is just elite at having adjustments and going into second halves of games.
Roster and Strategy Comparisons
00:16:56
Speaker
i I'm personally like Zeke knows this. I'm personally like a ah big like roster fit building type guy where it's like I think you need to have guys slated into certain types of roles like yeah, ah you don't necessarily need to have like a big X receiver that like goes out there and gets 15 targets a game, but you need to have somebody with kind of that profile and to me.
00:17:19
Speaker
The reason I always favored JMU over Old Dominion in this game is Old Dominion kind of profiles as a team that has a bunch of deep threats and guys that can win like down the field, but they don't have.
00:17:30
Speaker
I always compare Corey Rucker for Arkansas State to this because he profiles as that big X receiver. ah I need a guy that is going to go out and get me nine catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Like I need a guy on third and seven that I know we're going to.
00:17:45
Speaker
And that's the thing with Old Dominion is it feels like it's a collaborative kind of group effort, but it doesn't feel like we have an alpha guy that can go out and get us a big first down in a spot.
00:17:57
Speaker
It feels like, all right, well, we need to break a couple coverages here and there and and get loose and try to get something down the field. Because if we don't, we've seen what happens with Old Dominion when they don't get those breaks against like Marshall Indiana, who now we know is Indiana's amazing, but Indiana earlier in the year did kind of the same thing where it's like the you might get one or two guys loose, but if you don't have that guy that can win, it makes it really, really hard to to do that consistently. And that I just don't feel like old dominion from a roster construction offensive perspective has that guy.
00:18:33
Speaker
So I think that kind of puts a ceiling on ah what is a good offense, but just what they're able to kind of do on a down to down basis. Yeah. I think it's so Colton Joseph reliant where that fits really well into what Joseph does when he's on. And when that offense is firing on all cylinders where you can go, all right, we're going to go deep threat. If that's not there, Colton, you're going get the first down for us and they can rely on that. And then when it's not cooking, when it's not working the way it's supposed to, it looks like someone kind of threw some sand in the cogs and it got real nasty real quick.
00:19:08
Speaker
to To use you know an NFL analogy from you guys' neck of the woods, it kind of reminds me the Commanders a little bit. They're just getting blown out right now as we speak. Holy hell.
00:19:19
Speaker
It just reminds me of like all right when when Terry McLaurin's winning down the field, everything looks like gravy. and and you know jalett Jaden Daniels kind of profiles a little bit the same as Colton Joseph with his legs and stuff.
00:19:31
Speaker
But when it's like... I don't know, man, Terry's not here and, you know, the rushing lanes aren't available. Then it's like, oh, what are we doing now? Oh, no. So that's that's just kind of the vibe that Old Dominion always gave us. And and Zeke talked about this in the preseason. and And I agree. And we got crapped on by Old Dominion fans. But we're like this offense is too heliocentric around the quarterback to where it's like,
00:19:57
Speaker
every other piece feels ancillary to where if the whole offense is working, then great. But if not, it's like, who else is going to step up in a big spot? And we've now seen kind of two weeks in a row. It's like, if Colton Joseph isn't dead on and like ready to gun and do this, it just doesn't, it doesn't feel like it runs effectively. So I, I don't know This is kind of the Ricky Ronnie experience for them.
00:20:23
Speaker
Man, it you know the um the happy Gilmore meme where it's like, you're smart, I'm dumb, you were right, I was wrong. Every year they suck me in and every year i'm like, Sunbelt East, dark horse contenders, guys.
00:20:36
Speaker
Ricky Ronnie, he has this horrible record in one-score games. Eventually they're going to turn that around and they're going to be good in one-score games. And every year they start hot and I'm like, I'm starting to kind of – ah clap my hands. I'm starting to do my victory lap. I'm stretching for it. I'm getting ready for it. And then they fall on their face and it's like, I was wrong.
00:20:55
Speaker
You were right. And it's just, it's rinse and repeat every, and it feels like this for this year. I mean, a lot to work on. Yeah, I mean, we fell for this two weeks ago. is after I mean, Old Dominion just kept winning games, and we're like, all right, guys, eventually we're going to give you your flowers. Eventually you're going to get we're going to give you your flowers.
00:21:12
Speaker
ah What we were waiting on was really Old Dominion to step on the neck of another team, and when we saw them do that to Coastal, beat them 47-7, we were like, all right, fine. It's still Coastal, but you did what we've been asking, is actually like really beat down on a team.
00:21:27
Speaker
And I know I was like, all right, you guys were right. I was wrong. There's more to this offense than Colton Joseph. And then this ah offense has put up two back-to-back. I mean, it's still like three touchdown games, but relative stinkers compared to what we've been told to expect out of Old Dominion. And so...
00:21:43
Speaker
um Yeah, it's just really frustrating because we were sucked into that as well as people that were really, really down on this offense early in the year. um We let, i mean, as again, as we look back at it, maybe this was our own fault.
00:21:56
Speaker
An FCS win, a Virginia Tech win, a Liberty win, and a Coastal Carolina win really kind of changed how we perceived this team. i'm I know I'm the JMU rep here, but I'm going to defend Odu a little bit because I'm going to throw out the Marshall game entirely because I think every team gets kind of a mulligan. And when you have, what, two muffed punts, a pick sick, Marshall at 24 points off of turnovers. Like, that stinks. And, like, that's not going to happen again.
00:22:25
Speaker
Now, this JMU game, there are real issues here. For the Marshall game, I'm just like, that's weird. That's never going to happen again. going to throw that game out. ah So I will defend him a little bit. But, i mean, now you look at the upcoming schedule for ODU.
00:22:41
Speaker
App is app. they're just they're They're a nuisance. like they there They might be good. They might be bad. I don't know. ULM is ULM. Troy, Southern, Georgia State.
00:22:53
Speaker
you've got three winnable games in there down the stretch, two winnable games now, like for sure chalk it up as wins. And like, you better hope you bill out those two, like for sure wins. Cause you're still two games away from bowl eligibility. Yeah.
00:23:09
Speaker
Well, and the other thing we talked about, too, is, I mean, this game was basically the season in a nutshell for Old Dominion.
Old Dominion's Season Challenges
00:23:16
Speaker
because Well, especially for Old Dominion, because now you have two conference losses.
00:23:21
Speaker
You need JMU to lose three in order to propel you into the conference title game. And you can't have another hiccup, like you said, against... marshall And it's like, I said this to Zeke last week. I was like, I think after the, after they lose the JMU, they could lose like one or two more in the back stretch and kind of just be sitting at like seven and five, eight and four when it's all said and done. And I'm like, when you look at how they started and you look at that as a potential possibility, you're like, whoa, that is a huge backslide.
00:23:53
Speaker
Because, like, troy has Troy has come to life. Like, we don't we don't know what they're going to do against Troy. It's at Southern. Weird things happen in Statesboro. Like, that's tough. Really, the only game that I'm comfortable in saying is a win is home against Georgia State to finish out the season.
00:24:10
Speaker
Like, yeah that's the only one where I'm, like, for sure, dub. Because going to Monroe is difficult because there's nothing in Monroe. Like, that's just a horrible place to play.
00:24:20
Speaker
And, you you like, you've got to go there. I would hope you beat app. You're 14 point favorite this weekend. Like hope you do that. Hope you bounce back. And if you bounce back, I'm fully back in on the bandwagon.
00:24:33
Speaker
But if you look shaky doing it, I'm going to be like, oh no, oh I'm going to be looking for the first exit off. Something else I wanted to ask but about Old Dominion real quick. As someone who's ah you know much closer to that pulse than we are, what's the patience with Ricky Ronnie?
00:24:49
Speaker
Because we're in year six, and his ceiling has been a six and seven season. That's the best he's ah accomplished with this team. like where When does the buck stop? When do we realize that this isn't it?
00:25:03
Speaker
I think this off season fans were gathering the kindling. The fans were walking around Norfolk, Virginia. They were finding any little twig and they were getting ready.
00:25:14
Speaker
Maybe they were setting up his seat. They weren't lighting it yet, but it was set up underneath for, for a quick start. Then he has the awesome beginning of this year. They take down Virginia tech. I think fans forgot that they had to keep gathering the kindling.
00:25:29
Speaker
And I think these last two weeks have made the fans realize, huh? Guys, I think we need to find matches now. Like, I think we need to put a little oomph behind it.
00:25:40
Speaker
I don't think, and barring a catastrophic meltdown this season, I don't think he's fired this year. But I think things might get a little... I think his seat might get a little warm if, you know, they don't have a good season next year. Like, I think the seat is starting to warm up. But...
00:26:00
Speaker
I will say, I think ODU will right the ship here and will finish out in a strong way and make it to a bowl game and make it to a pretty solid bowl game. I don't think they're going to limp their way in by going with two wins down the stretch here. I think they're a good football team, and I think Ricky Ronnie will solidify his spot.
00:26:18
Speaker
But if they do limp down the finish line here, I'd expect his seat to get pretty warm pretty quick. Well, the other thing too, and I know Old Dominion fans don't want to hear this, is a possibility is some team with NIL funds shows up at Colton Joseph's door and goes, hey man, you've been really good for what has been kind of a shaky, iffy roster the last two years.
00:26:43
Speaker
Imagine you come play at enter power five school here. We'll figure it out around you. We're not going to make it so that you have to be Superman every single game yeah and lead us in passing and rushing.
00:26:57
Speaker
So then you're, you're kind of back at square one a little bit because it was like, they finally, I'm just saying this is a hypothetical, but it's like, if you finally identified a quarterback with Joseph and then you have to start over again. And it's like, I know people are high on that backup pinnacle who played a little bit in this game, yeah but I,
00:27:16
Speaker
I think Colton Joseph is a much more polished passer. Hennigle may be a better pure runner, but, But we've seen now, like, if there are multiple teams that have good running quarterbacks that are kind of throwing the ball, you know, Louisiana being and a prime example with lunch Winfield, it's like lunch. don't know, man. if If if if Joseph departs this offseason, like it could be it could be really bad next year. Like we we truly don't don't know what we might get out of Ricky Ronnie in twenty six.
00:27:48
Speaker
Yeah. And I think ODU fans like kind of cool because it reminds him of Heineke, like the greatest oh yeah quarterback in the, hit like, I think they just forget that he's a different person. ah But I thought they were going to lose Colton this off season.
00:28:01
Speaker
Like yeah I thought he showed the flashes last year. ODU has sneaky NIL funds. I'll say that like ODU has got a pretty, pretty solid. I w I know none of the numbers are are public, but if they were to become public, I'd expect ODU to be like in the top five of the Sunbelt in terms of NIL funds that they have available. Now, where does that stack up in the group of five?
00:28:24
Speaker
I'm not sure. Where does that stack up in the power four? Nowhere near them. So yeah, team could come in, but I think Colton Joseph, if he didn't leave this off season,
00:28:35
Speaker
then I think he may stick around for another year because I think he's only a redshirt sophomore. So if i'm not if I'm not mistaken, so he's still got three years of eligibility. He's still got his junior and senior year after this.
00:28:48
Speaker
Yeah. um i make him back Now that I say that, might actually make him a more desirable target for a power four. Maybe maybe a Vandy to come get him and replace Diego Pavia. Right.
00:28:58
Speaker
um All right. so That's assuming he doesn't come back for a ninth year. Oh yeah. i forgot his, his bending litigation chin right now that he's trying to sue for permanent residency at Vanderbilt.
00:29:10
Speaker
It's crazy. Um,
Inconsistencies in Barnett's Gameplay
00:29:12
Speaker
all right. So I had two JMU centric questions that don't necessarily relate to this game, but more just kind of the way that the team is run as a whole.
00:29:21
Speaker
Uh, We saw a couple weeks ago with the Georgia State game, Barnett just frankly didn't play very well. He didn't he didn't hit like 75 yards passing in that game.
00:29:33
Speaker
um There have been games like that in the past. Why do you think he has those games that are seemingly are dropped in? He shows up in big spots like he did last Saturday or yesterday against Old Dominion, but then he has these games where it just seems like i it's a big shrug and it's like, ah I can't really explain it.
00:29:55
Speaker
Is it the chicken or is it the egg? Is it the quarterback or is it the offensive coordinator? Is it the play calling or like, I think that's what it boils down to. And Alonzo Barnett is...
00:30:06
Speaker
The most volatile quarterback I have ever seen in my entire life. And I mean that now that they just did what they did to ODU. I mean that in a nice way. If they had lost this ODU game for the opposite way, it would have it would come out as a derogatory thing. But if he hits his first couple of passes, if he hits a big play early on,
00:30:26
Speaker
Oh boy. Oh boy. Watch out. This man's about to have the game of his career. If he misses a swing pass, if he, if there's a couple negative plays on that opening drive and they might have to go three and out in a punt, a boy, oh boy, you're in for a Georgia state type of game. Like that's just kind of the way he has played. He's very emotional. He's a very emotional quarterback.
00:30:46
Speaker
So the big plays are awesome. The bad plays are terrible. And you see it kind of snowball from there. And then add into the fact that the offensive coordinator this season, Alonzo Barnett's one of the best deep ball throwers in all of the Sun Belt.
00:30:58
Speaker
They were one of the, they would throw deep at one of the least highest clips the in the Sunbelt going into that ODU game. They just did not open it up a ton. i mean, really going back pre second half of Louisiana, he had attempted only a handful of balls that traveled more than 20 air yards.
00:31:16
Speaker
And that was where his, his bread was buttered last year. I mean, that is where he made a name for himself. The UNC game were deep balls. Ball state was deep balls. that That's what he's very good at. And he's not the best intermediate thrower. And they were asking him to do a lot of intermediate passes.
00:31:31
Speaker
timing plays, quick decision-making. And that wasn't really fully his wheelhouse. And then you add in the fact that he didn't have any reps this off season, really like true reps. You add in the fact that he's still coming back from an ACL. There was just so much to it that I think made it for a frustrating experience to begin the year that was culminated in the worst football game I have ever watched in Georgia state.
00:31:53
Speaker
Yeah. um All right. So my last question here, and and you made, you know, kind of reference to this early when we started talking. Why do you think they're so hesitant to kind of open up some plays for Sluka?
JMU's Use of Matthew Sluka
00:32:08
Speaker
I know that it's become, you know, very much like a Alonzo's the one Sluka's the two, but even still, you know, you mentioned it and I mentioned it like last week on our show, it's become very apparent that it's,
00:32:21
Speaker
When Sluka's in the game, it's, we're going to run left, right, center. And, like, that's the playbook. Like, we're not doing anything outside of this. why Why do you think that they're so reticent to kind of open it up and let him at least throw the ball just as a something to put on tape, you know?
00:32:37
Speaker
i I struggle with that, too, because wouldn't you want a tendency breaker? Like, yeah that's the biggest thing. you we We even saw in the Boca Raton Bowl last year when J.C. Evans, the true freshman, comes in to split snaps with Billy Atkins.
00:32:51
Speaker
It's JC run right, JC run left, JC run straight. And JC Evans had one pass in that game. It was a jump pass at the one yard line for a touchdown. And that wasn't even called according to the rumors and reports.
00:33:03
Speaker
He audibled, the true freshman audibled to that play at the line in the bowl game. And so the offensive coordinator didn't even want to throw it with him. And it's the same thing now with Sluka. genuinely, I wish I had an answer for that, but I do not know. i don't know if it's that they lack trust in Sluka for him to make those throws.
00:33:22
Speaker
um I don't know if it's, he doesn't have the arm talent. Like, I don't know what it is, ah but it is, it's quite frustrating when you see him come in and you're like, all right, I know what's going happen.
00:33:33
Speaker
Not going to be a pass. I can tell you that much. And the defense knows it when he comes in, all 11 defenders are within five yards of the box and he gets stuffed now every single time he runs it. And then, you know, like i said, I went to the Louisville game and it felt like the only time they gave him the opportunity to throw is when they ran that weird double pass with him and Barnett on the field at the same time where Sluka snaps it and throws it to Barnett and then Barnett needs to throw it now. And it's like, do you guys not trust him to throw it vertically like at all? Like, I i just I can't make heads or tails of it.
00:34:05
Speaker
He's he's it's so funny because in the Weber State game against an FCS opponent, he threw two deep balls. One was a touchdown. One was an interception. Then against Louisville, he had another interception. It was a deep ball pass.
00:34:17
Speaker
And then they were like, all right, maybe we stop throwing it because now he has four pass attempts. One's a touchdown, two are picks or it was some like so crazy stat. So they they took it away. My thinking is that he's just a point and shoot quarterback because against ODU, he had that garbage time touchdown to smoke Collins, Zeron Collins in the corner of the end zone.
00:34:36
Speaker
If you watch that replay, Sluka has no business throwing it. Like, no, just the vendor draped all over Collins. He throws a bullet to the back of the ODU DB's head.
00:34:50
Speaker
And Collins somehow manages to catch it. And it was just clearly like, that is who you're throwing to. You throw it no matter what. And he was like, all right, coach, got it. And then just zings it over And it's just like, I don't know. I don't think you should have thrown that pass. It was a great, ended up on sports center top 10. That's awesome.
00:35:04
Speaker
ah So I think there's some lack of trust and and i don't want to say lack of ability. Cause I think he is a very good quarterback. He was one of the best quarterbacks in all of FCS football two, three seasons ago. um But, but I think there's just some sort of weird,
00:35:18
Speaker
Weird vibes going around it. Yeah, we're kind of we're kind of dealing with something similar in Statesboro where we've got this like young, exciting quarterback who runs and then they refuse to let it. he threw one He threw one deep ball similar to Sluka in a game and yeah opposite of Sluka, it actually hit the receiver in the face mask and bounced off.
00:35:42
Speaker
And then they were like, we're never throwing the ball with you again. It's JC French. JC French, baby! Yeah, right. Zeke, do you have any last kind of questions or anything for Jack before ah before we let him go here?
00:35:56
Speaker
ah Not in particular. We just really appreciate you coming on, man. it was ah It's always good to talk with someone who's got eyes on teams outside of Georgia. ah So it's good to have another perspective. And you know you answered a lot of our questions, especially as it relates to how do you swallow Alonzo Barnett being two-faced every week ah and what was going on in those early seasons. So we really appreciate you coming on, man.
00:36:22
Speaker
Hey, thank you guys for having me. It was a blast. Yeah, and hopefully hopefully this is the sign of things to come, and we no longer get two-face anymore. We get a consistent quarterback, something JMU hasn't had all season.
00:36:36
Speaker
All right, Jack, thank you so much for joining us, man. Really appreciate it.
00:36:42
Speaker
All right. So thanks to Jack for joining us from JMU Sports News. Let's go ahead and get to the other games that we had around the conference. So last Tuesday, Arkansas State beat South Alabama 15 14. Um...
00:36:55
Speaker
um This was an ugly one. ah in the In the words of ah famous ah wrestling announcer Jim Ross, this was bowling shoe ugly, I would say. So it basically comes down to, for me, the end of the game, South Alabama lines up for a field goal with six minutes to go that would have put them up.
00:37:16
Speaker
I think it was 18 to 14 would have been the, or I guess... Yeah, or something like that along those lines. And they miss a 29 yarder with six minutes to go.
00:37:28
Speaker
And then Arkansas State walks back down the field, kicks a field goal, and then they're at Butch Jones is out of there with a win. ah This just continues the issues that South all south Alabama can't win for trying. I mean, it's it's really bad in Mobile.
00:37:45
Speaker
Yeah, I read a stat from, ah I think it was from Craig Stevenson, who covers Troy in South Alabama. And it was, you know, I don't have the exact numbers right, but this is the third or fourth straight game where South Alabama has allowed a score, lead changing score in the final like three or four minutes of the game.
00:38:06
Speaker
And this exacerbates the problems that we've had with South Al all year in that, um frankly, it's just not a great football team. The the quarterback play is incredibly shoddy.
00:38:18
Speaker
Kentrell Bullock has been like good, but not great. um I expected a lot. more of him in the departure of Fluff Bothwell. um Devin Voysen has not been the reception magnet than we anticipated.
00:38:31
Speaker
And then like outside of Blaine Myrick, I don't really know a ton of different make difference makers ah on the defense. And so this is just a... a What I'm really surprised out of this game is less so the the South Alabama angle, but rather the ah the Arkansas State angle.
00:38:49
Speaker
And remember, I'm not surprised because I've been on the anti-Butch Jones, anti-Arkansas State wave as long as we've had this show. But this is the problem. What happens when Jalen Rayner can't do it? what What happens when he can't put on the cape? This is what happens.
00:39:05
Speaker
you get the same performance that JMU had against Georgia state, where if you play any other team in the conference, you don't get out of this game with a win. And so this win, you know, this allows Arkansas state to move forward and like, shoot, they're probably going to end up bowl eligible after this.
00:39:22
Speaker
If you look at the rest of their schedule where you have um app and Louisiana and Georgia Southern, like those are winnable games for an Arkansas state team app kind of being the only one in the air for me still.
00:39:33
Speaker
And it's just like, What are we doing? when does When does this become unacceptable? Because you did this two—yeah, congratulations. You beat Texas State last week, 31-30. But two weeks ago, you put up—or I guess it was three weeks ago now—you only put up 16 against ULM or 21 against Kennesaw State.
00:39:52
Speaker
It's like, what which Arkansas State team is real? It's so clearly this version of the team. I mean, it's good that they were able to pull out the win. Ultimately, obviously, ah you know, you talked about what happens with Rainer when he can't put on the Cape. He kind of did though, in this game yeah a little bit, like he's the leading, he's the leading passer. He's the leading rusher.
00:40:15
Speaker
I mean, he had 209 yards, one touchdown, one interception. He ran for 76 yards, but Zeke to play your favorite game. He had a 42 yard run on that play.
00:40:26
Speaker
Um, um, I think we kind of know what Arkansas state is like, again, they have unlimited ceiling. This was a ah Tuesday night game, which, you know, even with bi-weeks, it doesn't seem like ah teams are prepared to play on Tuesday night. It just seems like, i don't know if the body chemistry or whatever is off or like what the problem is.
00:40:50
Speaker
They just don't ever seem fully prepared and like ready to roll. I think my big question for you is, and I know you said this about that that Arkansas State was kind of the big takeaway. When does South Alabama make a move off of Davenport?
00:41:04
Speaker
When do we see another quarterback take a full complement of snaps in a game? Because we had talked about Zach Pyron in the preseason. There was that other quarterback whose name escapes me that took some snaps when ah Davenport got benched earlier.
00:41:19
Speaker
who wasn't Zach Pyron, but frankly didn't make a huge impression. When, when do we just see another warm body take snaps for the Jaguars? Because it's not working. I really don't know.
00:41:30
Speaker
i think I'm curious to what's going on with Zach Pyron, because I've got a friend and I talked about this in the South Alabama preview episode. I think a friend that covers um Georgia tech for on three.
00:41:42
Speaker
And he told me that before, even before last season, um I guess it was kind of Haynes King's breakout season at Georgia Tech. He told me that going into the season and even kind of throughout, he he felt that Zach Pyron was maybe the better choice for Georgia Tech. Obviously, we now know that's not true ah and perhaps discredits a little bit the argument, but it's this idea that look at what Haynes King is doing at Georgia Tech.
00:42:07
Speaker
This is a guy, Zach Pyron, that ah Again, I trust my my friend here, Alex. I trust him in that Zach Pyron's a good quarterback. You know, he didn't, this isn't a, he got beat out by a really good guy in Haynes King. I,
00:42:21
Speaker
I don't understand. This is the same thing that we saw with or to some degree that we finally only saw change at Georgia State. We saw this. um We're seeing this at Georgia Southern.
00:42:32
Speaker
We ah didn't really. it We now know after talking with Jack, but it wasn't really the case, but it was a little bit of the case at James Madison. It's like, what are you waiting for? to make this change.
00:42:43
Speaker
What have you not seen that you are with? What, like, what is it? Tell me, define it for me. That's going to make you say Bishop Davenport. Isn't the guy. Is it that you're just trying to preserve red shirts for your own guys? Jared Hollins came in. He's a freshman through like two passes in this game. Is it because you're trying to preserve the red shirts? Is it because Zach Pyron just simply isn't him?
00:43:03
Speaker
Like, what is it? Because, ah Again, we've learned that Bishop Davenport can't do it, and he's got he has some really good receivers around him, but they're not getting the opportunity to, again, this is not a bowl-eligible type South Isle team, but you're putting a ah real hard ceiling by sticking with the same guy.
00:43:24
Speaker
Yeah. um All right. So let's move off of this game. I think we've pretty much done it justice. It was was not a good game one way or the other. Not a great win, but a win to win, I suppose.
00:43:35
Speaker
ah Let's move on to the Saturday slate. So Troy defeats UL Monroe 37 to 14. going to ask you a similar question about ULM that I just asked.
00:43:46
Speaker
When is the Aiden Armenta experiment over? Like, when do we, when does Bryant Vincent look at himself and go, listen, we, we can't just have a guy that puts a giant, you know, submit cap on this team where if we get down, you know, they were down 10 to nothing in the first quarter.
00:44:08
Speaker
By ULM standards, that means the game's over. they're Sometimes they're lucky. you know Last week against Coastal, they scored eight points. They scored 14 in this one. A lot of times they're lucky to score two touchdowns.
00:44:20
Speaker
So I don't know if there needs to be like a a total scheme change because what he did at UAB is not replicable here.
00:44:32
Speaker
But i mean Hunter Herring played better in spurts than what we saw from Armenta. I don't know if he's a better fit for what they want to do, but Armenta doesn't seem to be a great fit, even even in a run-heavy offense.
00:44:46
Speaker
i the The difference here is that we've seen the other guys. We've seen Landon Graves and we've seen Hunter Herring. um I don't think we've seen Bryson Kimbrough or Mason McHugh, two guys I frankly don't know a lick about.
00:44:58
Speaker
But we've seen Graves and we've seen Herring. um And so... i this is a little different to me in that we have seen these guys play snaps before and we and understand that frankly, the ceiling doesn't rise with them.
00:45:15
Speaker
Uh, this team was hit really, really hard by the loss of a mod Hardy. Um, and you don't want to discredit kind of the impact of living, losing a runner of his nature.
00:45:26
Speaker
Um, but like Braylon McReynolds has been good this year. You know, it's not like this has been a completely desolate running game where, Like, again, to use another Georgia State comparison, just because they're, you know, the team I'm closest to.
00:45:40
Speaker
It's like the whoever plays quarterback for Georgia State has a finite cap because of this team, that team's inability to run. With Braylon McReynolds in this offensive line, yeah, it's not Ahmad Hardy.
00:45:52
Speaker
But that's a good run game. That's one of the better run games in the conference this year, a conference that is pretty scarce for good running backs right now. So it's i I think this is a different situation. I don't think it's um better, but it's different in that we've seen the guys and there's clearly a cap for everyone on this roster that they've already seen.
00:46:18
Speaker
Yeah, I think what surprised me coming into this season was that we didn't really see a lot of different names, you know, in the quarterback room, because for me, from what I saw Armenta last year, and I'm not even the head coach, like I'm just a guy that watches them on TV.
00:46:37
Speaker
i I don't see this team winning maybe more than six games max with our Mentech quarterback. Because, again, the second you get down two scores, all the unlike a lot of other teams, you can watch...
00:46:51
Speaker
you can watch even the most kind of, I guess, bumbling teams like on Saturday, you can watch them and go, okay, when they go down two scores, they're not, they don't fly into a panic.
00:47:04
Speaker
ULM feels like they fly into a panic the second they get down like 10 points, 14 points. Like the game is essentially over because what you can't do a lot of times is just run the ball and be like, it'll all work itself out.
00:47:19
Speaker
Like, we're just going to keep running, and it doesn't matter what the scoreboard says or anything like that. they They truly, like... They don't have pass-catching weapons.
00:47:29
Speaker
They don't have a good quarterback. I mean, let's let's just be real. Like I said last week, Armenta has been the easiest guy to pin down for any quarterback in the Sun Belt because you know exactly what you're getting every single week.
00:47:42
Speaker
He will not throw for more than 171 yards whatever at so... one yard or whatever at max and so you're going to be barely scratching a bowl game. I don't, again, I don't know whether that's a a fundamental change that Brian Vincent needs to make, or it's a personnel thing where it's like, we need to hit the portal harder.
00:48:02
Speaker
We need to recruit quarterback better and tell somebody like, Hey, we're not just going to have you run bootleg ah play action. And that just be basically the the extent of the playbook for you. Like it needs to open up and they need another guy that can do it.
00:48:17
Speaker
Something that I was initially willing earlier in the year ah to give ULM kind of the benefit of the doubt is because... Uh, we saw the other team in this game, uh, Troy with Tucker kill crease plays to a similar tune in that they really don't ask a ton out of their quarterback.
00:48:36
Speaker
Uh, and the difference is, well, there are two differences, right? One general team composition. This is a much better Troy team than ULM. Uh, this is kind of what I anticipated Troy being last season.
00:48:49
Speaker
Uh, after, uh, after the summer all departure, I expected a lot of the remnants to, you know, but hold that team up. That ended up not being the case, but here we are now with Gerard Parker, but we're also seeing Tucker kill crease in recent weeks.
00:49:04
Speaker
He's in the early parts of the season look to be a, ah a Nermanta esque good enough to win you games good enough to, you know, with 170 yard ceiling ah still Do the job of a quarterback and take that responsibility and do with it a good job.
00:49:23
Speaker
But now we've seen in this game, for example, on 13 for 21, kill crease 200 yards. Last week, I think it was over 400 for the first time in his career, a career high by a large, large margin.
00:49:33
Speaker
that so that to me That to me is the key differentiator. I don't know if you played 12 quarters that Aiden Armenta would hit 400 yards. If you gave him three full games and pinned him, like just played 12 quarters straight, I don't know that he would break 300 yards.
00:49:52
Speaker
the way that i don't know And I don't know whether that is a, like I said, I don't know whether that is a schematic ah by design or whether he just has serious limitations. But there's that's the difference for me is Kilcrease has a ceiling that we've seen now that like, hey, he can elevate when he needs to.
00:50:11
Speaker
He may need to play like a bad defense, like a ah Texas State or whatever, in order to make it happen. Armenta, you could put against Georgia State. I don't know that he's cracking 200 yards passing.
00:50:22
Speaker
and he And he doesn't bring a lot with his legs. Kilcrease kind of does. So it's just fundamentally like totally different. and and And again, like credit to to Troy for winning this game. you know i thought killrease I thought ever since he really like bottomed out against Memphis, he's really gotten better every single week. And like the stats may not totally be there. like He's not throwing for 400 every week like he did last week.
00:50:49
Speaker
But the mistakes aren't there. He's not putting up like embarrassing like yardage totals. It's just, it seems to be kind of a gradual progression in the way that I haven't, I haven't seen two years of progression out of Aiden Armenta.
00:51:05
Speaker
Yeah. So I'm, I'm just like, where, where, where do we get off this, this train at is more what I'm asking. I, we talked about this ah last week.
00:51:16
Speaker
I don't know what stands between this ultra hot Troy team and representing the West. Like it it really is going to come down to that Southern Miss game. um Because i ah you gave me some pushback on it last week, and but I feel even stronger about it now. Like between Louisiana, Arkansas State, Old Dominion, and Georgia State, who is going to beat Troy and give them a loss before Southern Miss?
00:51:41
Speaker
Yeah. Right now, the only feasible opportunity there is Old Dominion. And I think we've solved... it It appears that Old Dominion has, to some degree, been solved from a defensive perspective.
00:51:53
Speaker
And teams now have the formula. Troy's a team like James Madison that has both the schematics and the talent to to you know stop Colton Joseph, like we've seen Marshall and James Madison do the past two weeks. And so...
00:52:10
Speaker
I'm becoming even warmer to the idea that Troy ends up playing James Madison, who it looks like will be out of the East in the championship game.
00:52:20
Speaker
Maybe so. i just, you know, I've been... i I always just want to give by rule of thumb, the, the edge to the quarterback, uh, coaching combo that Southern miss has that frankly, you know, Jared Parker, maybe he's figured it out with, with kill crease the way that he kind of did late last season with Caldwell. But then, you know, that was thrown into turmoil when Caldwell transferred out in the spring.
00:52:46
Speaker
Um, Yeah, maybe it does come down to the last game of the season, but I think from here on, Old Dominion's going to have to play there their brains out because it the the chances of them representing the East are incredibly minuscule.
00:53:01
Speaker
But if you lose another game, I mean, you might as well go ahead and you're you're writing your own ticket to play in the 68 Ventures Bowl and play Central Michigan. like This becomes... i This is where the argument certainly becomes a lot more theoretical as people who are so far removed from the... But what about a Ricky Ronnie coached Old Dominion team who, as we talked about with Jack, whose ceiling has ah only ever been six and seven makes you think that they can really buckle down and make that change in the second half of a season?
00:53:35
Speaker
It's not necessarily that. It's just that I think Colton Joseph's a better quarterback than Kilcrest at the end of the day. I mean, yeah. I mean, yeah that but but those are the those are typically the things that make the difference when it comes down.
00:53:48
Speaker
I mean, if you go back and look at quarterback matchups, nine times out of ten, the team with the better quarterback in the Sun Belt is going to get the win. it's it's not It's not typically, and and you know there are obviously games like Old Dominion JMU this past week where it's like Barnett can raise up.
00:54:07
Speaker
He's extremely volatile in the way that like Jack said. But you know, like he can elevate in a big game spot.
00:54:18
Speaker
Kill crease. It's like, yeah, he played really well against Texas state and, you know, Buffalo and, and ULM and these teams, but it's like, we'll get to the Texas state. They have some serious issues and,
00:54:34
Speaker
Buffalo, I don't think is that good of a team and ULM. I mean, we talk about how hard of a cap there is on this team and ceiling wise every single week, because frankly, there's nothing else to say. Like they, they don't, they don't change anything about what they are. It's like they had their identity and they're going keep doing it until, you know, they're going to keep beating their head against that wall until either their brains are showing or they get through the wall. And it's like,
00:54:58
Speaker
The wall's not going anywhere. Like, it is what it is. So that that's more where my hesitancy is. It's like nine times out of ten, the team with the better quarterback, unless they just turn in a total stinker, like, when wins those games.
00:55:10
Speaker
um All right. So let's move on here. Coastal upsets App State. Yeah. Samari Collier ah was a lot better of a passer this week. He completed over 30% of his passes ah through for one 18 and a score ah ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns. ah Coastal had four sacks in this game as a defense.
00:55:37
Speaker
It just feels like Collier, this is this is why I always push for maybe we look at a quarterback change because look at how this team with Coastal the last two weeks has as shifted now that they've put Collier in that quarterback spot.
00:55:51
Speaker
Versus a Tad Hudson, who to me is comparable to Armenta and Bishop Davenport. It's like when you go look at South Alabama and you look at, you know, ULM and you're like, let's just keep doing the same thing and hope that things change.
00:56:05
Speaker
And it's like we a couple weeks ago, we were talking about Tim Beck being out of a job at the end of the season. And now they've won two straight games. They've beaten app. um Collier has some juice. I don't know what kind of eligibility he has left, so he could be gone at the end of the season.
00:56:22
Speaker
um But, you know, well we we can talk about the app side of things. Like, their defense still has significant problems that aren't probably going to be solved by this the end of this season.
00:56:35
Speaker
But, yeah, Coastal's alive. They're not, like, yeah a free win on the schedule. They're not a free ah space on the schedule anymore. Yeah. No, I mean, this this change has really electrified them. And we talked about it last week that it's also just a really fun story that I hope people latch on to. This is a guy that last year was playing Juco ball, was ah Juco like all all country, you know whatever award that is.
00:57:02
Speaker
um but so So that's a really, really cool story for them. i I'm still...
00:57:09
Speaker
scared I think a lot of the issues that we saw, because it it wasn't just that Cad Hudson or MJ Morris or or whoever was going out there really couldn't play. I mean, there were some real defensive liabilities on this team that even against App, an App team that is itself a little more alive with J.J. Cole than it was with A.J. Swan.
00:57:33
Speaker
But... Um, I, the defensive issues on both sides still really, really scare me and feel like no matter how solved you feel, the quarterback position is like, these are not, uh, Braylon Braxton type discoveries. These are guys that can win you six, seven games discoveries.
00:57:51
Speaker
Um, and so there's still a real, real finite and that doesn't it shifts the gap, right? We, we've talked all year about how there's such the large gap between James Madison. And then, you know, jury's out on where the gap is before you hit old dominion, but then after old dominion, it's everyone else.
00:58:09
Speaker
Um, I don't think this shrinks the gap that much.
00:58:15
Speaker
No, I don't either. um You know, I think at profiles as like a fun team that can score points. Realistically, I never really thought they were going to push either JMU or Old Dominion for those two top spots. Like, especially when we saw the season open, you just can't.
00:58:37
Speaker
It's really tough to overcome getting beat in the way that Southern Miss beat them a couple weeks ago. And I understand that was one conference loss and you didn't have JJ Cole, but it just leaves you like next to no margin for error.
00:58:53
Speaker
And now we're kind of seeing that where it's like they, they like old dominion already have two conference losses and again, JMU is four, no, in the sunbelt, you're not competing really for the East. You're just, we, we want to get to a bowl game, you know, essentially is the goal at that point.
00:59:11
Speaker
Um, it feels like they found a guy in JJ Cole who can be that quarterback for them. You know, he was 27 of 41 to 78, two touchdowns. I think the thing that concerns me, if I was an app fan is kind of just their inability to run the football in this game.
00:59:27
Speaker
um, We had talked about in weeks weeks prior, Rashad DeBinion was literally the lifeblood of the team when AJ Swan was playing. In this game, he ran for 38 yards on 10 carries.
00:59:39
Speaker
ah Jakari Lewis, the other running back, 15 carries, 43 yards. None of these guys were really lighting it up on the ground. So that's the other problem is it then turns you into a one-dimensional team where it's like, all right, JJ,
00:59:53
Speaker
You got to go out and do it all for us because we can't run the ball. We can't play defense, you know, figure it out, buddy. And and if we don't win, then it's kind of just, you know, we move on from there.
01:00:05
Speaker
Yeah, I'm curious if there's something going on with Dabinian, perhaps injury-wise, because in the past two weeks, he's gone for 56 against Georgia State and 38 against here against Coastal, but the volume has also decreased.
01:00:18
Speaker
So not to mention the efficiency downgrade where this is guy that against Boise was running for 6.6 per carry and only runs 3.8, but the volume has also disappeared. He hasn't run for more than 20 times in a game since that Southern Miss loss.
01:00:33
Speaker
He ran 24 times for 95. His highest since then in the last four games is only 19 carries. So I'm curious if there's something, there's gotta be something else going on there because I mean, we, as you said, Rashad dominion was carrying this offense. And again, it is one of the upper tier running backs in a relatively weak ah running back conference right now.
01:00:54
Speaker
And so the ball, I mean, you're giving your best running back 10 carries again in a game you're losing. ah Same thing against Georgia State. You beat them, but you only give them 12 carries. So, you know, I'm curious what's going on there It's kind of crazy from last year how good the running backs were to this year. And I know it's been like injuries, transfers, but you go from like Ahmaud Hardy, Ismael Mahdi, you know, Jaquez Cross, like Jalen White, like all of these guys. And then this year it's like,
01:01:26
Speaker
Are two of or two or three of the top running backs in the conference all play for JMU? like Is that where we're at as a conference? I i mean, the the best runner in the conference is a quarterback.
01:01:37
Speaker
Two of the best runners in the conference are a quarterback. so Right. This has got to be a historically bad year for running backs just in general. like It's like the guys that show up are good, but they can't stay healthy.
01:01:52
Speaker
And then that there's like a slew of these other guys that are just like plotters that like, don't really add a whole lot. um All right. So let's, let's transition.
01:02:03
Speaker
Let's talk about Marshall, Texas state. So this was a wild one. ah Texas state for the third straight game. allowed a touchdown in the last two minutes that either allowed the other team that they were playing to tie or take the lead.
01:02:19
Speaker
They've done it against Arkansas state. They've done it against Troy. And now they've done it against Marshall. um It wasn't Brad Jackson's fault. He threw for 444 yards and two touchdowns.
01:02:31
Speaker
um I don't, I don't know. This was almost a a self-inflicted wound for ah Marshall though, a little bit, if they didn't win this game in overtime, because the way that it worked out is at the end of the game, Texas state's driving, they line up for a field goal, they kick it.
01:02:50
Speaker
It's wide. But they Marshall had called timeout. So the kicker for Texas state gets another crack at it, ties the game in regulation. They go to OT.
01:03:01
Speaker
That would have been an all time loss if they hadn't sealed this game in OT. ah But they do, they go to double overtime. They eventually win the game. ah Jakari Lewis ah cashes in a touchdown at the end there.
01:03:17
Speaker
yeah, Yeah, Marshall Marshall still hot ah defensively outside of last week against Old Dominion. They're not the best defense I've ever seen in my life, um but they are but they are finding a way to win games ever since they lost that that overtime game to Louisiana weeks back.
01:03:35
Speaker
Yeah. ah So this is also Texas State's obviously second consecutive overtime loss ah and also second week in a row where they took a field goal on the final play of regulation.
01:03:47
Speaker
ah they They made it this week, missed it last week, could have beat Troy on the final play of the game, but ended up missing. Yeah. Have fun in the Pac-12, man. I mean, this is it's this is what we've been saying, right? This is G.J. Kinney.
01:04:01
Speaker
This is what this team is about. they've backs they i mean They're doing exactly what they did last year where they came out. They started the year 4-2 and two ah and kind of started to kind of fell apart. They ended up going to a bowl game, but i mean it was just a very different ah Texas State team from week 1 to week 12.
01:04:21
Speaker
um And all of a sudden, you've lost three in a row, twice in overtime. um and we said this last week, I'll say it again. This is what you have criticized Georgia Southern under Clay Helton for in the past is like, awesome. You guys really have the rah-rah and the swagger of a cool head coach.
01:04:40
Speaker
um But when it comes down to it, you do not show a backbone late in close games or late in when it comes to important games late in the season. Um, the, Troy or Texas state had a world where they could still be in the hunt for a, a conference championship bid.
01:04:57
Speaker
But now having started the conference, Oh, and three, it's like awesome against Arkansas state, Troy and Marshall too. This is yet to mention that they've not played James Madison or a Southern miss yet.
01:05:09
Speaker
that Those teams are going to great road grade them. Like it is going to be Uh, yeah, Shout out Carlos Del Rio Wilson in this one. 277 through the air. One touchdown, one pick.
01:05:23
Speaker
Also led the the game in rushing with 88 yards. um This is another casualty from last year of like, AJ Turner was another really good running back.
01:05:34
Speaker
ah and And now he's gone. And it's just kind of like, I don't know. Marshall doesn't really have a running back that really makes kind of a difference, but you know, considering it Marshall and Texas state, this is a perfect style matchup. Cause it feels like these teams play this type of game, like almost every week.
01:05:52
Speaker
And Troy, you know, you throw Troy Arkansas state in that mix. It's like, Some mix of these four teams are going to be absolute cinema to watch because they're going to go to overtime.
01:06:03
Speaker
There's going to come down to the last play of regulation. It's just it's it's great football to watch. It's great from a viewing perspective. But realistically, like, are these teams going to do anything? Like, are they going to compete for the divisions they're in?
01:06:19
Speaker
Troy, maybe, but the rest, the other three, absolutely not. Like, you can't you can't play defense like this. And I think we said in the preseason, too, the past two years, Texas State has averaged almost like 38 points a game on offense.
01:06:34
Speaker
They've got to be hovering sort of around that number, but their defense is even worse than we imagined. And that's kind of hard to do compared to where they have been the last couple of years. Yeah.
01:06:46
Speaker
All we can say is told you so. i mean this is the exact I mean, this is the script, right? yeah what what do What have we learned this week or last week or the week prior other than like – I think the only positive to really take away from Texas State in this stretch is that Brad Jackson is legit.
01:07:03
Speaker
He had some shaky performance. not his fault. but It's certainly not his fault, and he's only a freshman. um he I just hope that he goes under the radar enough that you guys can keep him when you ship off to the Pac-12 because ah he, kind of like Colton Joseph, kind of like a lot of you know Jalen Rayner too maybe, it's like you couldn't get a job at UNC. You couldn't take that Gio Lopez job too.
01:07:32
Speaker
Yep. So, yeah. Uh, have fun the pack 12, like Zeke said, uh, cause, cause, uh, you may be, you may be going next year without, uh, GJ Kenny or Brad Jackson. If, if he leaves GJ, let's say GJ Kenny leaves and goes to Oklahoma state. Like people have been projecting. I don't know if that's going to hold if they keep choking away games like this. Cause Oklahoma state might look at them and go, uh, we, we got enough of that with Mike Gundy. No, thanks.
01:07:59
Speaker
But if he makes it over there and then they he brings Brad Jackson as his quarterback with him, Texas State could be back in the Jake Spavitol hole years that they had been in.
01:08:11
Speaker
All right, let's breeze through this one. This was pretty easy. Southern Miss defeats Louisiana 22 to 10. This game, Southern Miss felt like they just kind of had Louisiana in a headlock ah the whole time.
01:08:24
Speaker
ah We had kind of said this last week. Southern miss was going to get stops defensively. Louisiana does not really have defensive personnel that can make that happen. I mean, Braylon Braxton hits a nice, hits a 98 yard touchdown pass to kind of seal it to Micah Davis at the end.
01:08:42
Speaker
Um, but from the, I mean, it was just, we saw some Walker Howard reps, um, which which we did not think that we were going to get again because he had had that, what oblique injury that he had had, that seemed like he was out for the year, but then he came in and and played sparingly kind of throughout the second quarter.
01:09:00
Speaker
um Lunch played his worst game of the year. It threw for like 112. Yeah. yeah Louisiana, I mean, this is going to be a season to forget.
01:09:12
Speaker
i don't Like we said last week, or like I told you last week, I don't think this is grounds for firing Desermo, but Billy Napier's back on the market. So maybe... i was I mean, you are now one. going You're five games away from Billy Napier and Arch Manning, maybe.
01:09:34
Speaker
Coming home. to heat He makes the I'm coming home video. Exactly. That is that's the biggest takeaways, guys. You are at two and five. That means you only have five games left until you get to see Billy Napier back in red and black.
01:09:50
Speaker
ah I will say it's not it's not the greatest for Desermo that Billy Napier is available and out on the market and on a buyout.
01:10:01
Speaker
And so what you know I'm sure they've got offsetting contract language, but Louisiana is not going to have to pay him what they were paying him before because Florida is paying that. So you could pay him.
01:10:13
Speaker
You could fire in theory Desermo and then just pay him $300,000 because it doesn't matter because floor is paying that salary. And then once desert most paid off, you just give him the money that he was given prer up prior.
01:10:27
Speaker
So, i you know, I can't imagine that there are other teams clamoring for desert most signature as their head coach. No, ask him if he wants and a a demotion. You want it? You want to take your old job back?
01:10:40
Speaker
I don't think he's taking that to motion, man. Hey, man. Well, it's that or you're on the street if we we're taking Billy Napier. So it's like, go back and coach the tight ends or... you know, enjoy the streets of Lafayette.
01:10:54
Speaker
So Southern kind of had that option with Chad Lunsford and he was like, I'll go down to Boca and coach the tight ends rather than rather than stick around. So and he was like a lifer. So if if he didn't go for it nobody will. um Yeah. Braylon Braxton played pretty well, but Southern Miss continues to be inefficient running the football. I think If they do make it past Troy, you know, like you said, Troy's kind of presented themselves as a challenge.
01:11:20
Speaker
If they do make it past Troy, this we can't run the ball is not going to fly against James Madison. And like, I already know that James Madison's great at stopping the run. But if you come into the game and you're like, we're one dimensional, they're just going to see, they're going to seem like blood in the water and be like, Oh, cool. So we just, we just need to defend Braylon Braxton and then we, we win.
01:11:41
Speaker
Okay, cool. Yeah. All right. ah Last game of the night. It was our game, Georgia state, Georgia Southern. Uh, I know Georgia state's defense is not good.
01:11:54
Speaker
This was probably JC French's cleanest game I've seen since he played Boise last year, uh, two 10, three touchdowns passing added 85 yards, rushing in a score.
01:12:06
Speaker
ah Cameron Brown, I was really impressed with. He had, ah what, like almost 400 yards of offense by himself ah between the rushing and the passing production. They just, other than Ted Hurst, they don't have anybody around him that makes a difference on the offensive side of the ball.
01:12:22
Speaker
Yeah, not on a week-to-week basis. There have been several receivers that have popped up for one game at a time. Javon Robinson was one in this game, seven catches for 71. But yeah, i mean, on a week-to-week, it's Ted Hurst. And then it's like, I don't know, Lane Waddle is a good blocking tight end that can catch a couple passes. um the What's so...
01:12:44
Speaker
the Georgia State was not going to be anything this year. But it is so frustrating that we had to do this song and dance with TJ Finley and Christian Valera to find out that Cameron Brown is legitimate. Because, i mind you, what's been Georgia State's offensive problem throughout the season? Aside from quarterback inefficacy, we've both argued that it really starts with the run game and the inability to run a ball.
01:13:11
Speaker
And it's not like Georgia state ran the ball excellently. This game Rashad Amos was the leading rusher outside of Brown with 29 yards. It was all Cameron Brown, even against like this really bad rush defense in Georgia Southern Georgia state couldn't run the ball outside of Cameron Brown.
01:13:27
Speaker
So it's like, what were we doing all this time? And, ah that's what really, really baffles me and makes it feel like real gross mismanagement from Dell McGee, from a talent perspective in that, like this guy, Cameron Brown, who is only a junior, he has, I, I would imagine two years eligibility after this season, possibly three, you know, who knows?
01:13:53
Speaker
Um, uh, it's But the point being here, this is clearly the truth. This is clearly what needs to happen. Is he going to go for 400 combined yards week and week?
01:14:05
Speaker
Certainly not. Certainly not, especially not when he's got getting no help from the ah the rest of the run game. But this is better than what we were seeing out of TJ Finley and certainly better than Christian Valera.
01:14:17
Speaker
Oh, almost undoubtedly.
Georgia State's Coaching Critique
01:14:20
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. ah just to Just to add a little bit more praise on Cameron Brown, ah second highest PFF passing grade in the conference this week, just behind Alonzo Barnett with an 80.2, and then was the sixth highest rushing grade ah of of anybody that took more than like 10 carries ah with a 72.9 rush grade.
01:14:45
Speaker
ah to me This game was over. I mean, it was competitive all the way up until about 11, 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter when it was 27, 24, that fumble that Lane Waddell lost.
01:15:01
Speaker
And then the subsequent, um, uh, three and out on the next Georgia state series. And just to see, you know, the drive charts for, so for Southern be like touchdown fumble by state touchdown punt by state touchdown. It's like, yeah, that's, that's the game in a nutshell is like, they just didn't show up in the fourth quarter at all.
01:15:23
Speaker
and I'm ah i like Del McGee. Like I liked that. Obviously he came on and and took over for Fritz when he departed for Tulane and won us our first ever bowl game at the FBS level.
01:15:37
Speaker
However, I, I can't deny, like he, he probably, he shouldn't have a job any longer. Like he he's out of his depth. Like he should have, A, never named Hugh Jackson the offensive coordinator because that as has not worked, really. ah I mean, it's bad when there are there are Southern fans on Twitter making observations about, like, what why hasn't Cameron Brown played all season for State? And it and the answer is basically like, hmm.
01:16:08
Speaker
Like, that seems to be the the answer that we've gotten from from everyone. So... Yeah, i'm i'm I'm shocked he's still employed. I mean, we're recording this Sunday, the 19th.
01:16:19
Speaker
um Yeah, he shouldn't he shouldn't be employed as a head coach any longer. He should he should be on the street. ah Yeah. it No, I mean, it's frustrating because he... i think the way he speaks about Georgia State is, you know, maybe not as of late, but very early in the job, ah I was really...
01:16:38
Speaker
I guess impressed me, you know, it's all coach speak. So I, you can't put a ton of weight in it, but I thought he had a really interesting vision. He really um wants the the student body to be involved. I mean, obviously he comes from Southern, but he also comes from UGA, which, you know, is a whole different ballpark in terms of like student involvement in that football team and fan buy-in. So he had a really interesting vision.
01:17:04
Speaker
um But when you are, ah you know It's too ru early to write the obituary, but the epitaph is going to read it. like or you can't be a recruiting coach at Georgia State.
01:17:19
Speaker
It's just simply not – that doesn't align. would you know you're If you are at any P4 school, that works. but when yeah you got it when you're You have to bring something scheme-wise to Georgia State that like i mean is like a Jamie Chadwell where it's like it can't be denied.
01:17:39
Speaker
You
Future of Georgia State's Program
01:17:40
Speaker
know what I mean? like It may take time to get the personnel to play in that scheme, but you can't, like you said, you can't show up and be like, well, I don't call plays, but also I'm not even really in on me probably in on meetings like to to do anything with the offense. like You can have a and a Billy Napier where it's like, okay, Dezermo's here and he's an offensive guy and I'm an offensive guy. So we kind of work together.
01:18:06
Speaker
You can't, you can't have a CEO head coach come in and go Hugh Jackson's my offensive coordinator. No, no more questions. Thank you. It doesn't work like that. That's the problem. It's like the, because the biggest hope right now is that let's say Del McGee retains his job and is here this time next season.
01:18:27
Speaker
The hope is that the guys, and you know to no fault of his own, he had a really crappy start getting the job well after the recruiting cycle, um just by nature of when Sean Elliott left.
01:18:41
Speaker
But it's like what the ceiling is that some of those guys start showing up. these like what what What do you expect to change this time next year? I don't see anything that...
01:18:53
Speaker
indicates that it will be a positive change. And it's disappointing. um This is... um I'm relatively new to the conference and to Georgia State fandom, so this is my first ah failed coach here. I mean, Georgia State historically has not had many coaches.
01:19:09
Speaker
It's been a program that is really defined by longevity at that position. um They gave Trent Miles a ton of runway. like And I was like... hey guys, I'm not even a fan of this team, but outside of beating Southern in Statesboro in 2015, what are we doing here?
01:19:27
Speaker
like how how many more How many more years are we going give him? Yeah, so I don't know. i guess I'm dealing with the grief of understanding like, well, this this is what we are now.
Podcast Conclusion and Social Media
01:19:38
Speaker
we're We're just counting down the days. Yep. All right, Zeke, so that wraps up this edition. Do you want to tell everybody where they can find you on socials? Yeah, man, you can find me on Twitter at Zeke Palermo, Z-E-K-E-P-A-L-E-R-M-O. It is high school ah ah playoff season for my area.
01:19:58
Speaker
So if you're interested in Northwest Georgia playoff softball and volleyball, boy, do I have the Twitter account for you. Yep. um ah Thanks to Jack Fitzpatrick from JMU Sports News coming on. ah Throw them a follow on Twitter. They do a great job with all JMU athletics, not just football, but they're a really good ah follow for, you know, in-depth stats and things that, you know, frankly, ah we as a Sunbelt overarching podcast don't have time to kind of dig into the the nitty gritty a lot of times. So,
01:20:33
Speaker
Yeah, throw them a follow. You can ah send us an email, warmweatherfans at gmail.com. Check us out on YouTube, TikTok, all of that all that jazz. Usually at warmweatherfans is the handle.
01:20:45
Speaker
You can find me on x at watchthestone. ah We will be back Thursday to talk over all of the games for week nine. This has been Warm Weather Fans.