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2025 Sun Belt Football: Bowl previews, JMU in the CFP, Coastal & Southern Miss hire new coaches
0 Playsin 7 hours
Brian and Zeke are here to run down both Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss, filling their head coaching vacancies with Ryan Beard and Blake Anderson, respectively.
In bowl action, we've got a CUSA/Sun Belt runner-up matchup with Troy and Jacksonville State, James Madison taking on Oregon in the playoff, and what should we expect from Quinn Henicle in his first start post-Colton Joseph?
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Transcript
Introduction and Sunbelt Football Overview
00:00:17
Speaker
Welcome everybody into another edition of Warm Weather Fans, the Sunbelt podcast. It is your host, Brian Stone, once again joined by co-host Zeke Palermo. And Zeke, we've got some coaching news.
Coaching Changes and Bowl Games
00:00:28
Speaker
ah One of our Sunbelt teams that was without a coach has hired one.
00:00:32
Speaker
And we've got five bowl games to talk about, including the Sunbelt's first ever playoff college football playoff appearance. But before we jump into all that, how's it going, man?
00:00:45
Speaker
It's good. I know it looks like I just came right out of a gender reveal party with a shirt in the background, but just out of my normal spot today. So excited to talk some. We got a big week. I mean, there's games pretty much every week or or every day this week, upcoming week for us to talk about, for us to watch, which I'm really pumped about, man. It's um it's kind of... it's I actually kind of like that we're front loading all of our bowl games from the conference because when we get to, you know, some of the flashier names, I don't have to feel bad about missing a Sunbelt game because I want to watch, you know, Texas, Michigan instead.
00:01:27
Speaker
So I appreciate that we're front loading them because I want to catch all of these, but there's like, frankly, a lot more interesting bowl games from, you know even diehards like you and I for this conference.
00:01:41
Speaker
I appreciate that they front-loaded them because ah there have been years where we've we've done either this or the Underdog Dynasty podcast, and it was like we would preview or recap games that had happened, and then there would just be like a week break a week-long like break between the games, and you were just sort of like...
00:02:01
Speaker
All right. So we're not going to do an episode, I guess, next week while we get ready for this January. You know,
Ryan Beard's Coaching Impact
00:02:06
Speaker
what what is it? The January 2nd Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl after New Year's. And you're just like, all right, well, we won't. We'll talk to you in two weeks, I guess, and when we talk about that one game on a podcast. And then we and then we're gone. Yeah.
00:02:21
Speaker
Yeah, there's ah there's a lot of interesting matchups stylistically that I want to get into. ah But first, let's go ahead and talk about a Coastal. ah Coastal hires Missouri State head coach Ryan Beard, who you and I were texting back and forth and...
00:02:40
Speaker
i I don't know if you you texted me. I didn't even realize this because I knew Petrino coached at Missouri State when they were in FCS school before they got called up. You texted me that Ryan Beard was his son-in-law, which I didn't realize.
00:02:54
Speaker
And then I texted you. I don't know if you realize this, but it was like Petrino basically handed the job to his son-in-law before he dipped out and went back to being an an FBS offensive coordinator. And so I was kind of like,
00:03:08
Speaker
Is this a little bit of the nepotism kicking in like for with this job, how it just got kind of handed to his son-in-law? Yeah. No nepotism involved in the in the Coastal Carolina hire.
00:03:21
Speaker
um I do find it a little ironic, I guess, that Coastal hired a coach that hasn't posted a record better than 8-4 in his, what, three seasons at Missouri State, which include an FCS season as well. He's a defensive guy.
00:03:37
Speaker
i watched a little bit of tape of their game. i want to say they played...
00:03:45
Speaker
Delaware or somebody like I watched them play like clips of them playing somebody. They run like a three, four at Missouri state. ah So that could be kind of a fundamental defensive shift for coastal Carolina in there, like how they handle personnel on defense and stuff. But it's an interesting hire. It's, it's one of the first,
00:04:07
Speaker
Defensive coaches, i I remember at Coastal, with going back, Beck was an offensive guy. Chadwell was an offensive guy. They're trying their hand at a defensive head coach. What do what do you kind of think of the hire overall?
00:04:19
Speaker
um I'm pretty, i guess, whelmed by it. I'm neither over nor underwhelmed by the move. Um, we, we talk the official stance of the pod is that your best bet is usually the best available FCS coach.
00:04:35
Speaker
Um, and he fits this mold to some degree over the last two years with Missouri state, uh, in 24, they were in the FCS. Uh, the bears went eight and four this year in their first year, of FPS football playing conference USA, they go seven and five.
00:04:51
Speaker
Oh, that's pretty darn impressive. Um, that that's enough. I mean, that is like, not a lot. Kennesaw state is the most recent example, one, like three games last year in their first year of FBS football. So, um, it's nothing to turn your nose up about, but I think what really,
00:05:08
Speaker
ah stands out to me is that that's it for Ryan Beard as a coach. He's 36. He's very young. um Again, three years as a head coach.
00:05:19
Speaker
Look at another guy that we loved the hire of was Bob Chesney coming over from Holy Cross at James Madison, taking over then for Kurt Signetti. Chesney had been an FCS head coach for, at that point, 15 years, going back to time in like New England football with Salve Regina. then did time and assumption.
00:05:38
Speaker
before then going to Holy Cross and making the national tournament for six years. So i I want a little more track record, I guess, when we're trying to define that mold that we're really looking for.
00:05:52
Speaker
But this is a really good start. I think going young is also kind of interesting because... those are the guys that have something unique to bring um because that's the other part of especially at our level with g5 stuff g6 stuff is you need a guy that can bring something very innovative offensively or defensively obviously with beard it would be something kind of a unique wrinkle defensively um and that can really set you apart and carry your as a coach will be your stepping stone to a bigger coordinator opportunity um like or a bigger head coaching job as chadwell made with liberty
00:06:27
Speaker
Although, you know, I don't know how well that move has panned out for either side. So I think it's an interesting move. i don't, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I think I like it a lot more than I like, like the Dowell Loggins hire, loved it, liked it a lot more than we liked him back.
00:06:45
Speaker
So I think this is like, to give it a grade, this is like a B, probably just a flat B of a hire in my book. is is i I think it's good to hire a guy that at least has head coaching experience. um You know, you talked about his experience at the FCS level. He's now ah had one season of experience as an FBS head coach. You know, you you have to grant them some level of kind of leeway just because the the transition is different for every team. You know, some teams come in and they're firing on all cylinders and some, like you said, Kennesaw take like a year or two to kind of
00:07:23
Speaker
figure out, get their legs under them as an FBS program. ah You might remember Missouri State this season as a Sunbelt watching group, ah having bit beat Marshall in the second week of the season, 21-20.
00:07:40
Speaker
i I looked it up. So the game that I saw highlights from was actually Middle Tennessee State, which was a game they won 22-20. Um, some other familiar teams that they played this season. Uh, they lost to Kennesaw by seven, but Kennesaw was a wagon this year in the conference USA. I mean, they were, they were awesome. Uh, they lost to Louisiana tech future sunbelt member by 12 points in the season finale.
00:08:02
Speaker
Um, So, yeah, I'm kind of where you are. i think it's ah a solid B. I think you're getting a guy that has head coaching experience, which is always a plus, because as coordinators, you never know how they're going to transition. Like, all of a sudden, you have all all this other level of responsibility, and you just don't know...
00:08:24
Speaker
how they're going to handle it, what their temperament is going to be. Um, I don't know if, I don't know if they're going to transition with the same type of offense that they ran at Missouri state, but it seemed very like air ready kind of from what I saw of that middle Tennessee state game. Um, it just looked like they were airing it out constantly and then they would just sort of run to kind of set up the pass. But, um,
00:08:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's a good hire. Like you said, you know going young, too, you're not getting a guy that's you know been in college forever and hasn't has' it found success. you know it's Again, he's only had three years as a head coach as a...
00:09:04
Speaker
as a football coach. So I, I think it'd be interesting to see, you know, how that philosophy changes. Cause the one thing we do know about what coastal had been running is whatever their offense was under Tim Beck, just flat didn't work unless it's Samari Collier was running quarterback power 30 times in a game. um
Blake Anderson's Hiring at Southern Miss
00:09:25
Speaker
Yeah. So it'd be interesting to see, I think number one is like, you got to get a good offensive coordinator in there because,
00:09:32
Speaker
the I think this has become a problem at all levels of football, which is the offensive coordinators are so highly regarded and sought after that when you have a defensive head coach, that those guys get poached like so fast. you know To use like a previous example, you know it was like...
00:09:55
Speaker
This doesn't have to do with the Sun Belt, but like Zach Kittley came ah from a small school. I can't remember where he coached, but he went to Western Kentucky for like one year and they were really good and and said a bunch of like huge passing numbers. And then all of a sudden Texas Tech comes in and scoops him up and he's the offensive coordinator after like one season. there. So I just, those guys are so sought after they, everybody is looking for those guys. So that's the only real hesitancy is like, can he nail down the offensive coordinator hire? Cause that's going to be huge. And, you know, Tony Gibson this year at Marshall kind of dealing with the same stuff where it's like,
00:10:36
Speaker
You know, defense is all right, although I think they fired their defensive coordinator after one year. um But, yeah, I mean, offensively is where you got to figure it out because when you have a defensive head coach, obviously, that's that's immediately, like, what they're focused on. So, we'll see how that all goes.
00:10:54
Speaker
Yeah, before we move, ah know we talked about it in theory in the last episode. is official Blake Anderson at Southern Miss. Oh, that's right. um Just real quick, give a grade on that move. What do real quick, because I know we've litigated it already.
00:11:11
Speaker
I think it's a B+. plus I think it's similar to JMU hiring Napier. Like, two two programs getting guys that have won Sunbelt Championships at that at this level.
00:11:23
Speaker
ah You know, the... I guess the field has changed since he was a Sunbelt head coach, just because we've had teams come in and out. Um, you know, I, I think he's a really good head coach when, when he's like focused and doesn't have off the field stuff affecting him. Uh, uh,
00:11:42
Speaker
He can, he can nail down a ah quarterback. Um, and that's, that's sort of building block number one when you're an offensive guy. So, you know, they're, they're moving on from the Braylon Braxton era.
00:11:54
Speaker
Uh, we remains to be seen if Landry Liddy is their long-term kind of answer at the quarterback spot, at least heading into 26. Like we don't know. ah Yeah, I think the only thing that would give me pause is like they were not good at running the football this year. And typically that had been something that was not a not like ah an ultra strength of his, but something that they were good at. And this year it was just a struggle the whole season. And I don't know whether that is...
00:12:23
Speaker
scheme offensive line trying to gel and not quite meshing or the, the talent at the running back spot, honestly. Um, but they kind of just put it all on Braylon Braxton shoulders. It was like, hey you're going to have to go out and win us every game this season. They need a more even approach to not have it directly on the quarterback's head every single week.
Troy vs. Jacksonville State Bowl Game Preview
00:12:45
Speaker
Sure. That's fair enough. I like the B plus evaluation. Um, I think of the three hires we've seen this year, it's already, you know, year above the guys that we brought in last year. So I'm excited to see how it plays out.
00:13:03
Speaker
Is it better than Will Hall getting hired at Tulane? Oh my gosh. Now that's just crazy. Um, And another team, I think Southern just got their defensive coordinator from Tulane.
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah. ah from ah No, he was from Stephen F. Austin at the FCS level. ah he He apparently had like one of the better defenses in FCS, and... ah They were in the playoff, I think, ah as of this past weekend. I think they got eliminated. I'm not 100% sure. i did not watch any FCS football this weekend. ah But he apparently has worked at Southern in some other capacity before, so he's kind of just...
00:13:48
Speaker
coming home. there was a There was a rumor that one of our former ah defensive line coaches was coming back to be the DC and everybody was kind of like, he's never never been a DC before. like That's not a great fit, especially for a defense that needs some direction. um I like the hire of the defensive coordinator. i think he'll do I think he'll do well, but again, the stink of Helton always is just going to be, hey, guess what? Just some weeks we're going to show up and we're going to look like we didn't watch film and we went to the ah the water park ah for a week and then we just showed up on Saturday. so i
00:14:23
Speaker
ah Good luck to Mutz. He's got his work cut out for him with this you know third worst defense in the country um ranking, but I don't know, man. this is This is Helton's third defensive coordinator and and going on five seasons. so Fair enough. yeah it you know All right.
00:14:42
Speaker
Let's break into these bowl games. So Tuesday at 9 p.m. on ESPN, we've got the Crampton Bowl fresh out of Montgomery, Alabama. You got two Alabama teams taking on one another in Troy and Jacksonville State.
00:14:56
Speaker
ah A battle of the runner-ups in their respective conferences. Troy finishes second in the Sun Belt, losing in the title game to JMU. Jacksonville State finishes second in KUSA, having lost to Kennesaw. Troy is a two-and-a-half-point favorite. I talked to you before we started recording. It looks like Goose Crowder is going to suit up and play for Troy.
00:15:16
Speaker
I like Troy in this one. Yeah. Jacksonville State, I've seen them a number of times over the past couple years because they keep scheduling Sunbelt teams, whether it be ah Coastal in the opener in 2024, Georgia Southern this season.
00:15:31
Speaker
it they are a They are good, but they are very much a one-note team. They run the ball with Cam Cook, and when that doesn't work,
00:15:41
Speaker
Trub, we got nothing else for you. And so Troy should just be focused on, you know, stacking the box and and taking the run away because, you know, what you saw in the Sunbelt title game, like, yes, the receiving game from JMU was not great.
00:15:57
Speaker
then they were They are worlds better than ja ah ah Jacksonville State is at throwing the football. So all you got to do is kind of stack the box and, and you know, dare, I guess, Cam Cook to break through 10 guys in order to to make it hurt.
00:16:12
Speaker
So I like Troy in this one. I think they win. I'm with you. I like Troy pretty comfortably in this. I think this is a situation where you go back to, gosh, this was, you know, midseason. So we're talking, you know, probably late October or so.
00:16:27
Speaker
mid to late October, and you just flip on whatever it is, game film, whatever it is, notes that you watched when you were going to play ULM and end up beating them 37-14. And that's with Tucker Kilcrease instead of Goose Crowder.
00:16:43
Speaker
um And you just flip on that tape and say, do this again. um you know i think Jack St. obviously does fits that mold a little bit better.
00:16:53
Speaker
Pure records alone will tell you that. um But in terms of kind of archetype and recipe to beat them, it's pretty similar. Their quarterback is not going to do much. they're not He's not going to be asked to do much. and then ah So if you can get it a lead early, just like against ah ULM, you're kind of coasting the rest of the way.
00:17:15
Speaker
That's what I didn't really understand about, you know, a lot of teams are like, oh, I want a run heavy, you know, offense for my team. And I'm like, okay, but Jacksonville state, like we are not a KUSA podcast, but they have had a hard ceiling on that team the last two years because they literally almost can't throw the football. Like it it is an Achilles heel for them. And it's like,
00:17:40
Speaker
Again, Cam Cook, their running back, has 1,659 yards and 16 rushing scores this year. So he is productive, and there's no doubt about that. However, it it's kind of the old Georgia Tech, we run the option problem. It's like, what happens when you get down by 14 points? What then?
00:17:59
Speaker
I mean, I don't know. and yeah i'm really impressedt I was really impressed by how Goose Crowder held up or tried to hold up in that Sunbelt title game against JMU before he got knocked out with an injury. I would have been a lot more hesitant had Killcrease kind of been the assumed starter going into this one because he's been...
00:18:17
Speaker
up and down, like real rocky ah in some of his performances. So, yeah, I like Troy. if If Crowder plays, I like Troy minus two and a half here. I think they they win the game straight up. I think they'll win the game by like a touchdown, honestly.
00:18:32
Speaker
I think so, too. I think the three-point spread isn't really giving Troy their credit and really just looking over at Jacksonville State's great accomplishments even at Conference USA and trying to equate them, but One team has a team in the playoffs, or one conference has a team in the playoffs, ah and the other does not.
00:18:55
Speaker
No, and Kennesaw was good this year, but they're not they're not a JMU-level team. you know
ODU vs. South Florida and Louisiana vs. Delaware Previews
00:19:01
Speaker
ah Okay, getting to the next one here. So Wednesday, December 17th, at 5 p.m. on ESPN, we have the Camping World Stadium Bowl between Old Dominion and South Florida. This is a very interesting matchup because...
00:19:17
Speaker
Old Dominion is playing without Colton Joseph, who has ah entered the the portal and is looking for work elsewhere. From what I've seen on Twitter, there are a lot of fan bases that are banking their next season on Colton Joseph coming to play for them. I've seen like Wisconsin. I've seen both of the Virginia schools being like, hey, come to Virginia Tech. You don't even have to travel that far to like come up here. And James Franklin's going to be our head coach. Come play for him. um Old Dominion is presumably going to be rolling out Quinn Hennicle, who has been the backup for the last two seasons of Colton Joseph.
00:19:57
Speaker
Hennicle, I think, if i'm has 15 pass attempts this year. He's thrown for 57 whole U.S. American in yards. um And I know Joseph was not you know injured majorly at any point this year, but still, like...
00:20:13
Speaker
it's kind of crazy that they they didn't get him more passing work when they were beating Troy, like 33 to zero or, or beating the crap out of Georgia Southern. um I'm trying to look up his passing numbers. So over the last two seasons, I know Joseph has not had any major injuries.
00:20:29
Speaker
Over the past two seasons, Quinn Hennekel has thrown the ball a total of 50 times in two years. ah I remember at the end of 2024, he had a game against Arkansas State where he had more rushing attempts than passing attempts.
00:20:43
Speaker
And he's he's a really good runner. but he doesn't bring that added level of of being able to throw the ball that Joseph does. um On the flip side, you know USF has this quarterback in Byram Brown who is sort of a Colton Joseph type. He both leads them in passing yardage and everything else and rushing, so he's kind of like a one-man team from that respect.
00:21:06
Speaker
um South Florida is a three-and-a-half point favorite, but they also don't have ah Alex Golish. ah who became the head coach of what Auburn, I think.
00:21:19
Speaker
See, is that where he took over? Yeah. ah Okay. So I actually, I got this wrong. This is the cure bowl. It's played at camping world stadium. um I think I like South Florida here and it's not, I'm not, I'm not taking a shot at old dominion. If Colton Joseph's in this game, I'm picking old dominion.
00:21:37
Speaker
I just, I don't, I don't know about Quinn Hennigle. He's had one full game of action basically over the last two seasons. Yeah, he's the wild card here. And I think for Old Dominion, um this is a great opportunity to see where you stand.
00:21:52
Speaker
um we We gave this team a lot of crap all year for kind of revolving around Colton Joseph. And this is their opportunity to find out um kind of internally with game game evidence whether or not that's the case, whether or not, um you know, and again, any team is almost any team the country is better with Colton Joseph at quarterback.
00:22:13
Speaker
where This is not a knock at them, but it's a matter of like how good is Quinn Heineckel? Can we get the gauge on him? um The fact that he's been there two years as the backup makes me leads me to think that you know they have some trust in him there.
00:22:26
Speaker
um and And you get to test some of the weapons some more. Again, a lot of ah Old Dominion's talent came from what was relatively unproven.
00:22:37
Speaker
And this is the opportunity to see those guys, again, before the season, unproven, Juco-type guys, you know special teamers from the previous season. From an offensive perspective, this is their opportunity to kind of test it without ah that Superman in the middle of Colton Joseph.
00:22:55
Speaker
I think South Florida here, um but there's there's a real, real world where Quinn Hennigle comes out. And if he performs, ah you know I think if he gives like – ah B to B plus effort. I think, well, Dominion can win this game.
00:23:11
Speaker
I'm just always hesitant about these quarterbacks that like haven't thrown the ball. you know as as Coming in as as starters all of a sudden and being like, all right, do you pick the the team that has you know a quarterback that threw for over 3,000 yards and ran for over 1,014 touchdowns? Or do you take the guy that hasn't barely played over two years?
00:23:34
Speaker
It's like, yeah I'm going to go with experience, I think. I think it's a safe pick, safer to lean towards South Florida. But again, you know, there if Quinn Henneple comes out and he shows to be one of the so many backups that we've seen in recent years out of this conference, um he can just take over the game and, you know, win it for him, frankly.
00:23:55
Speaker
And maybe maybe he ends up being like a Brad Jackson type at like Texas State where last year he just ran Wildcat and they never let him throw. And then this year he came out and was you know good pretty good for the Bobcats offense. So I lean South Florida, though. i just Again, if Colton Joseph was playing, I would take Old Dominion, no question. But I just don't know what I'm getting out of Hennekel at this point. And then also on Wednesday, the 17th at eight 30, we got the 68 ventures bowl. ah Louisiana is taking on Delaware.
00:24:29
Speaker
UL is a three point favorite. um I lean Louisiana. I don't, I frankly don't know anything about Delaware whatsoever. I know there are recent FCS call up edition.
00:24:44
Speaker
Um, their quarterback seems okay. Uh, I think his name is Minacucci or Minucci. I don't, I don't know how it's pronounced, but he has thrown for 22 touchdowns and seven picks and over 3,500 yards.
00:25:02
Speaker
um Yeah, i lean toward i lean toward Louisiana. I truly don't know much, or if anything, about Delaware. They're also a 6-6 team. um But i I just think lunch gives you like an added dimension with his legs, being able to throw the ball deep and not being afraid to throw the ball deep.
00:25:23
Speaker
And you know the running game seemed to kind of come alive in that win over ULM. So I'll lean the the Cajuns' direction. think they they end the season with a w I think Louisiana is just a little bit more of a complete team, especially from the offensive perspective where it's just kind of easier to identify who is and isn't complete.
00:25:45
Speaker
Delaware is as air-ready as you're going to get. They ah passed for over 3,500 yards this year, ran for close to 1,200. And Louisiana's past defense this year was good. It wasn't great. They, they buy game,
00:26:02
Speaker
ranked around middle of the pack in the conference, but we're actually in the bottom quarter when you look at per attempt. So, you know, mixed by a good, not great pass defense that was forcing interceptions that again, like a pretty relatively average pace. So um I think, I think that one game is going to really prove them, give them the opportunity to stay alive in
Arkansas State vs. Missouri State and JMU vs. Oregon Previews
00:26:24
Speaker
this. And I like Louisiana.
00:26:26
Speaker
Yeah, same. ah And then Thursday, the 18th at 9 p.m., you've got the Xbox Bowl. ah It is in Frisco, Texas. Arkansas State is taking on who we talked about, Ryan Beard, for formerly Ryan Beard's Missouri State team. Arkansas State is a one and a half point favorite. um I take Arkansas State here.
00:26:48
Speaker
I think Jalen Rayner is probably better than Missouri State's quarterback. ah Missouri State just lost their head coach to Coastal. You never know how teams react to that. Sometimes they show up and are like ready to kick butt, and then other times they just kind of fold and are like, all right, we don't even know who our next head coach is going to be at this point. um So I lean Arkansas State. I just think Rainer throwing to Rucker. I think they'll figure it out.
00:27:16
Speaker
I again, I saw clips of Missouri State's offense, but like some of their some of their wins this year, are like not really that impressive. I looked it was like they lost to like Western basically any team that they played that kind of had a pulse. They lost other than i guess Marshall, but Marshall was a five win team.
00:27:36
Speaker
So I don't I don't really know. Sure. I'm trying to pull this up because we we've talked about the late emergence of the Arkansas State pass rush, and that's obviously going to be a big field tilter in either direction. And wouldn't you know, Missouri State dead last in Conference USA, 44 sacks allowed this year.
00:27:55
Speaker
That obviously tilts the hand towards them. These are two teams that, from a very high level Love to put up points and don't love to put up a lick of defense for Missouri State in the last two games. They've allowed 83 points over their last two games, but they've also scored 64. So um over under set 56 and a half.
00:28:16
Speaker
That's a little juicy, man, because he' these teams score, man. They're not going to a whole lot else. I guess we, again, ah credit where credit's due, Arkansas State's going to create some havoc in the backfield, but Realistically, these teams just kind of like to put up points.
00:28:30
Speaker
I think Arkansas State gets through. i am hesitant to trust a revolving door off offensive line like that. um the The run game at Missouri State has been a lot more consistent than Arkansas State's this year um with kind of the Kenny and Clay, Demond Spencer, handful of guys there.
00:28:48
Speaker
um I lean Arkansas State here, but at 7-5, I feel like I'm missing some – something out of Missouri State. So it's a hesitant Arkansas State pick here.
00:29:01
Speaker
Yeah. um This is also Rutgers' last college game, right? believe so. He's been in college forever. i mean, he even had a year at South Carolina. So I feel like he's been there a long time. He can I was looking at it today.
00:29:17
Speaker
he would if he puts up like 80 yards, I think he finishes top three in all-time Sunbelt receding yards. um yeah I don't know how much he really cares about that, but from our perspective, that's pretty interesting. I think going out kind of on top as like one of the best receivers in the conference of all time should be something that, you know, he should be aiming for. And even just going out with like a really good performance in your final college game, you know, presumably he's not really in line. I don't think to be a draft pick. So he's probably going to be one of those UDFAs that try to catch on with a practice squad or something. um Sure. Yeah.
00:29:56
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, we'll we'll see how it goes. But yeah, I i like Ray. I always like to kind of give favor to the team with the better quarterback. And I think Rainer probably better than whoever the Bears are rolling out.
00:30:07
Speaker
ah And then this one. does what Can I really tell real quick? Let me just make sure I have this right. So Rucker is already the conference leader in receiving yards. He eclipsed Sam Pinckney this year.
00:30:20
Speaker
He's got 3903. He could hit four. um He needs seven catches to pass Pinckney for third on the all-time receptions list in the conference. well um you know he's He's disappeared a lot in this ah this season, but if they want to force-feed him seven catches, you can force-feed anybody seven catches if you really want to.
00:30:43
Speaker
Yeah, you could throw you could throw seven screens at the beginning of the game if you really wanted to do it. ah so Okay, so this one is the crown jewel, basically, of of bowl season for us. It is James Madison traveling to Eugene to take on the Ducks in Oregon.
00:30:59
Speaker
Oregon is a 21.5 point favorite. you know We've talked about JMU being on the the favorable side of a lot of these insane spreads. Sometimes they cover, sometimes they don't even get close.
00:31:11
Speaker
Over-under is 50.5.
00:31:13
Speaker
I mean, for the game overall, I have to go Oregon. like i I said this after the Sunbelt title game. ah The funny thing to me, I don't know if you noticed this, we had like a fight like an in-fandom fight with JMU fans where half of them agreed with us that ah ah what's his name Barnett didn't play that well, and then the other half were like, it was all in the receivers, Barnett played fine, like disregard all of the drops, like all that's their fault. And I'm like...
00:31:42
Speaker
Okay, but in a game like this, like I don't care whose's whose fault it is, like it will lose you this game. And I feel like Barnett is going to have to come out and just be guns blazing to even give them a chance. And i don't know, his his hot and cold nature leads me to believe that like the Ducks are going to be up 17-3 at the end of the first quarter or something like that. like I think it's going to be Oregon. I think it's going to ultimately walk away with the win in this one.
00:32:12
Speaker
I think you need the type of performance out of Alonzo Barnett we've seen maybe twice in his career um to to do anything here. And that' that's just to speak on the offensive side.
00:32:23
Speaker
I think James Madison has the ability to slow Oregon down more than people are anticipating, more than ah i think a lot of kind of nationally folks are going to give him credit for.
00:32:35
Speaker
But I think there's just going be too many points that even if Barnett is really hot, even if he's at his best, like we've never seen him contribute more than like four, I think, touchdowns in a game, at least through the air. He had that one game where he went like three on the ground and then three um through the air. I think that might have been against old dominion actually when they put yeah he was here he was he was really good against old dominion absolutely psycho um but like you from an offense perspective you need that top top top one percent um performance you need your receivers to get over the drops that they had against troy does not really bode well um i think we both
00:33:20
Speaker
thought the offensive line was also particularly underwhelming against Troy. Yeah. Um, it was kind of just Wayne night, you know, yeah. Going Superman mode. Uh, and then defensively again, like I think James Madison has a defense that can, that is a big 10 worthy defense, not Oregon, Ohio state, big 10 worthy, but a big 10 worthy defense.
00:33:45
Speaker
Um, it's just It's a tough battle. Oregon, of course, straight up. 21.5, man. that's I don't know.
00:33:56
Speaker
a Because we could go see we could see Georgia TCU again here. We could absolutely see this. But, like,
00:34:05
Speaker
I have no idea what to make of this spread, but Oregon very comfortably. Yeah. ah I think defensively, who was it? Sahir West ah in the Sunbelt title game that went crazy. I think you're going have to see a lot of him in the backfield. Like they're going to have to really get after Dante Moore, who's been good this year. And people are kind of looking at as a potential first round pick ah in next year's draft. So,
00:34:33
Speaker
Keep an eye out for, ah who is it, Bear Alexander over at ah Oregon as well. He's been a real disruptor. Former UGA player, of Zeke, who you should be familiar with. But yeah, I just think overall here, my the the the roadblocks I think I have are Oregon is just going to be better on defense than JMU is on offense because you can't you can't just bank on, hey, guess what? If we get in trouble, Wayne Knight's just going to rip off a 73-yard touchdown and get us out of trouble.
00:35:05
Speaker
Like, I just don't... I don't think that has been kind of the recipe for them for multiple
Playoff Models and Future Considerations
00:35:11
Speaker
games this season. They put the game away against Troy with it. They put the game away against Washington State with it. um I think they did the did something similar against Marshall when they looked like they were kind of in trouble and flailing.
00:35:23
Speaker
i just I think that's a lot to ask of a guy to just be like, hey, guess what? There's like a 50-50 shot that Barnett's just off, and and you you're going to have to win the game for us with your legs. And it's just like, that's a lot to ask of a guy against a Big Ten. Like you said, one of the better units in one of the best conferences in the country. I just...
00:35:46
Speaker
I would love to see James Madison pull a huge upset and shut up everybody in the media. I just don't know. i don't know how feasible it is. And again, if you want to lay the the blame for the Sunbelt title game on Barnett or you want to lay it on the receivers, either way, it was bad. Like it doesn't really ultimately matter whose fault it is. But if they come out and give like another one of those performances, this one could get out of hand real, real fast.
00:36:10
Speaker
i'm I'm really worried because this could really set back the G6 narrative a lot.
00:36:21
Speaker
Several years worth, it could set it back. um And then obviously Tulane's game as well is, obviously they don't have to play number five Oregon, but they don't get a much easier draw.
00:36:33
Speaker
so So it's like splitting time between Gainesville and, you know, new Orleans. So that that doesn't, know that doesn't help. you It's, it's a really tight spot. And I,
00:36:48
Speaker
it does not make me happy to think about like, how are these conversations going to go next year? When are we just going to decide that it's the big 10 and the sec and everyone else for these playoffs, which, you know, my soapbox here, if you want to name the big 10 champion or the sec champion, the national champion, I really have no qualms with that because, you know, we' we're not, we're not joking ourselves here, but I think if FBS football is the only league in the world where if you win your division, you win your conference, you win your whatever, you can be left out.
00:37:30
Speaker
And i think I think that's ridiculous. Yeah. I think eventually, if you're just looking at it from like a high-level perspective, I think the answer is eventually we may just move to an FCS playoff model, which I guess in theory should have been what happened initially, but you know they they wanted to start small with the four teams and you know get bigger and bigger from there.
00:37:52
Speaker
But the FCS playoff model is truly like it's like the the NFL playoffs. like It is fair. everybody you know You win your conference, you're in, and we don't have to worry about it.
00:38:03
Speaker
I think, and and also it's like, does anybody really care? Okay, think about it this way. So say you give the four best teams. I don't know how many teams in the FCS playoffs get buys. I think it's like four or something like that. So say you give this year, say you give Indiana, you give UGA, you give, i don't know, Ohio State and like a fourth team a buy. And you and you basically are like, are Texas Tech because they won their conference and they're like top five. Say you give all four of those teams buys and you let everybody else hash it out.
00:38:38
Speaker
Imagine you have like close to like the basketball model where you've got JMU is playing the winner is playing Kennesaw in the first round. And then the winner of that has to go play the big dog in round two.
00:38:51
Speaker
And then you get that jump up. I think ultimately that's what we're going to see at this level. Um, yeah. Or what we should see, because i I think, sorry to people out there, I think there's a lot of money in it if you do it that way as well.
00:39:05
Speaker
um And you can just take the bowl names and slap them on the game and be like, sure, this is the, but you know, this is the, what do you call it, Meineke Karkare Bowl or whatever is like the the first round of the playoff.
00:39:19
Speaker
I would love that. I don't know how likely that is because FCS plays 10 games already.
Podcast Closing and Future Episodes
00:39:25
Speaker
And that would require FBS teams. And again, Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, USC, they're not giving up at least one home game.
00:39:36
Speaker
yeah god um So i I agree. I think that is where we should have started with, but that's asking a lot from the folks that are really running the show.
00:39:47
Speaker
yeah We're not going to get it. um And then that game, that playoff game is on TNT and HBO Max if you're your're streaming only head. ah But yeah, those those are the five bowl games. We went over the coaching change at Coastal. We went over ah Blake Anderson becoming official in Hattiesburg.
00:40:09
Speaker
ah Zeke, let everybody know where they can find you on socials and then we'll get out of here. Yeah, it's real easy. At Zeke Palermo, Z-E-K-E-P-A-L-E-R-M-O.
00:40:19
Speaker
And then as always, you can find the show on ah X, TikTok, YouTube, just at warm weather fans. We're on there. You can find me personally on X at watch the stone. We will be back. We are not doing a Thursday episode because frankly, we, we talked about all these games and there wouldn't really be a point. If ah James Madison plays Oregon on Saturday, we'll be back next Sunday to run down these five games, talk about what is coming up in the week ahead. And then we'll just do it that way through the end of the season. But yeah,
00:40:49
Speaker
Yeah, just stick with us here in our coverage. And this has been another episode One Weather Fans.