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2024 Sun Belt Football: Week 5 Recap, Week 6 Preview
112 Plays8 months ago
Brian, Matt, and Zeke gather to haze Zeke about his takes on Texas State and Georgia State. They also talk about Louisiana's huge victory over Wake Forest and the Bobcats' blowing a 22-0 first-quarter lead against Sam Houston.
Later, the three make their predictions on week 6 and see where they can find an edge.
Email the show at warmweatherfans@gmail.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Overview
00:00:15
Speaker
What's up, everybody? Thanks for joining us for another episode of warm weather fans, the Sunbelt podcast. My name is Brian Stone, joined once again this week by Zeke Palermo and Matt Migas. How's it going, boys?
Sunbelt Football Highlights
00:00:31
Speaker
It was a it was a crazy week in the Sunbelt this past week, ah as as viewers can see, if you're watching this on YouTube, Zeke is shaking his head and we'll we'll go into the reasons why. ah But Matt and I have a little bit of ah I don't know, like frat style hazing to do. I don't know if we're going to like tape Zeke to the the base of the uprights or and leave him there or like what we're going to do. But it's a it's going to be a good good episode overall. But let's throw it over Zeke. How's it going? And then Matt and then we'll go ahead and jump into games here. I'm not good.
00:01:07
Speaker
All three of my teams lost this weekend, both my college teams and my pro team and the Sunbelt team that I've staked more than any, I've not staked, you know, I've been the poster child for this Texas state love and they let me down in monumental fashion. I'm not great. Things are not good over here. Mentally, physically, emotionally, not well. Matt, how's it going for you?
00:01:37
Speaker
Well, now I'm going to feel bad for roasting the ever living crap out of him. Um, so I'm kind of bittersweet, right? Uh, the Cajuns get this emotional ACC win on the road and you know, everything's biscuits and gravy. And then the saints.
00:02:02
Speaker
ah did so think ike yesterday they bluena I can't I can't believe it. So you know im I'm doing better than Zeke. And I'm certainly doing better than the Buffalo Bills. But I don't know that I would say that I'm doing well.
00:02:24
Speaker
Well, not that anybody asked, but I'm doing well. Uh, how you doing, right? What's going on, buddy? Yeah. Thank you. Uh, I'm doing well. Uh, Georgia Southern came through for me. Uh, and the Patriots continue their march toward the number one, best thing which I'm, your Patriots.
00:02:43
Speaker
Yeah, but i'm I'm fine with it. they have They need multiple years of having a ah top three, top five pick in order to rebuild this shit-stained sandwich that like Bill Belichick left them with as the former GM. so i mean i'm It's whatever for me. I'm i'm numb to it. um All right.
00:03:05
Speaker
Let's jump into this past weekend's games.
Impact of Hurricane Helene on Games
00:03:08
Speaker
First of all, I wanted to start off by saying and obviously acknowledging App State Liberty was canceled due to Hurricane, what is it, Helene? I think that was how it was pronounced. Obviously, we put you know people above football games. So we hope everybody in the the Carolinas and you know Upper Georgia and everything are are doing well and everybody's healthy and safe.
00:03:31
Speaker
um But yeah, it was a bummer they couldn't play. But once once you saw the state of Boone and how deep underwater it was, you you were like, OK, I get it. Yeah, no doubt. So so ah let's get to the games that did happen. I'm going to recount these as they're posted on ESPN dot.com as I'm looking at them right now.
Game Highlights: LSU vs. South Alabama
00:03:50
Speaker
So they're not going to be in chronological order. But Matt, let me go ahead and start off with the game that you attended. So you were at South Alabama LSU.
00:03:59
Speaker
um I was keeping up with this game you know a little bit uh i i was watching georgia alabama full disclosure like that that game was insane um what like the vibe that i got yeah that was an insane game the vibe that i got from lsu south alabama was that lsu went up big and then just took their foot off the gas do you do you think that that's yeah yeah that that's kind of exactly what happened um
00:04:30
Speaker
You come out first, play the game. Garrett Nussmeyer hits Cayden Durham, the true freshman running back out on the flat. And he takes off for a 71-yard touchdown. South Alabama gets a quick three and out. And then when LSU gets the ball back, they handed it back off to Cayden Durham, who ran 86 yards down to the one. like In a matter of three minutes, Cayden Durham had 150 yards of offense.
00:04:57
Speaker
Um, and so yeah, LSU jumped out to this huge lead. And then, yeah, I think in the second half, I think they just got a little complacent. Um, Garrett Nussmeyer made some poor decisions and South Alabama, uh, kind of benefited from good field position. Um, I thought Gio Lopez made a couple of really nice throws down the field, um including his one touchdown pass to Anthony eager. Um, it was just a great ball. Um, and look, you know, I think ah South Alabama did some things.
00:05:28
Speaker
some things well, and i and I think there's some positives that they can take away from this game. But man, you also, and obviously the the talent differences is there, right? But you got to get some credit to LSU. I mean, there're their offense was clicking from the job. I mean, Garrett Nussmeyer throws for a career-high 409 passing yards.
00:05:47
Speaker
That's just insane numbers. But no, I thought overall, I know the score looks kind of ugly. um But I thought especially offensively, it was it was a pretty decent night for South Alabama.
00:06:01
Speaker
Well, with the and not we'll get into the South Alabama side of it. But with the injuries that LSU's been experiencing this year, if you're up 35 to 3, you just want to get out of a game like that healthy. Like, you know it doesn't affect the standing of your season overall. And yeah you know this was obviously a ah paycheck game. So you know for for them, it was kind of a no-brainer to just take it easy and make sure it got to you know week six.
00:06:28
Speaker
um Yeah, I mean, this one wasn't a surprise with the the eventual outcome.
James Madison's Defensive Concerns
00:06:34
Speaker
um I mean, it looked a lot like ah you know Georgia Southern playing Ole Miss ah a week ago, ah where one team just doesn't have the the athletes to keep up with the other. So i I mean, you know. And South Alabama, like you said, can maybe build off of this a little bit. Maybe you can find some things to take away from this game that are positive.
00:06:54
Speaker
but ah you know i don't I don't really have much more to add than that because you were just thoroughly outplayed by a better team. so Zeke, if you don't have anything, we can go ahead and get off of this game. um So with that, LSU is now four and one this season. South Alabama drops to two and three. um This was a noon kick, I believe. James Madison Ball State or no, it was one o'clock or one thirty or something like that. I watched the beginning of this game because I saw
00:07:28
Speaker
So James Madison, offense continues to be extremely explosive. Alonzo Barnett played extremely well, 20 of 28, 280 yards, five touchdowns. But I told you guys last week, Ball State's not a serious football team. like they they They should not be taken seriously ever. So Ball State basically had one good drive where they were kind of moving the ball down the field and the rest of the time they just kind of shot themselves in the foot and anytime they would make a good play they would immediately ah commit a penalty or they would have a turnover or just some back-breaking thing would happen and i don't know I don't know that this is the game to kind of put this forth but the way that Ball State was kind of moving the ball early
00:08:17
Speaker
gives me a little bit of pause for james madison's defense like we talked about it last week with the unc game like they scored 70 points you can't really argue with that but on the other hand they did allow 50 so i think if there is going to be an issue that prevents this team from overtaking app and going to the sunbelt title game and representing the east or even hell winning the whole conference it's going to be their defense because i There are stretches where other teams, if they were more competent, would just be marching the whole time. But again, they play a pretty easy schedule overall. So I don't know that any of those teams are going to be able to take advantage of that. But offensively, again, they're they're electric. Alonzo Barnett's figured some things out off the bye week after Gardener Web.
00:09:07
Speaker
so yeah you know Yeah, I mean your note your notes on the defense were what I came in to say about this game. Ball State had several drives of 10 plus plays that one oddly went like 30 to 40 yards. I don't know how that's possible. I simply don't understand how that math works more than for just one drive. um You know, they've got a 17.
00:09:35
Speaker
Oh, I was just going to say they just kept throwing to the flat. Like they they refused to push the ball down the field is what it was. Yeah, ah they they had a 17 play yard ah drive that lasted eight minutes and they gave 35 yards, turned it over on downs. Again, I don't know how that's possible. 11 plays, 43 yards, ah ended in an interception. Brian, what you said is just like this is gonna this could bite them against teams like App.
00:10:07
Speaker
The teams James Madison has played up to this point are Charlotte, Gardner-Webb, Ball State, and then last week UNC. Of those four teams, to again to paraphrase what you said, who is serious about football out of those four teams? It's only UNC, and even so, you that's a generous even UNC, and you allowed 50.
00:10:30
Speaker
When this team plays Coastal, when this team plays a surprisingly good ULM team, when they get app later in the year, when they get, you know, if they make the Sunbelt championship game, when they get Texas State or whoever it may be, this defense is going to be in trouble. All right. Yeah. Get it out now. This defense is going to be in trouble.
00:10:54
Speaker
um I'm sorry, i think i think you I think you forgot somebody in the Sunbelt that has a pretty good offense. Oh my god. Anything to add about this game, Matt? Because I'm just reiterating what Brian said. And and you're doing a fantastic job. um And I know that you didn't say this team because James Madison doesn't play them. ah But say James Madison meets Louisiana in the Sunbelt championship game. ah yeah Because Texas State is a fraud.
00:11:22
Speaker
There, I said it. We're starting. all right yeahre what your They're a fraud. oh and and And guess what? They want to take their nice little beautiful offer out into the sunny west mountain west coast. Bye. See ya. What have you done for the conference other than one good year of football? Bye. Can we hold on? I have a larger point I want to make because we're going to talk about them right after this. But can we can we put a button on this so that we can move on to that game?
00:11:51
Speaker
Matt, anything on James? I'm James Madison, Blue Mountain, good job. He's chomping at the bit. OK, yeah, know he's he's pawing at the floor. He's like a dog ready to go outside. um Anyway, James Madison
Texas State's Mountain West Move Discussion
00:12:07
Speaker
moves to Fordo with the victory. ah Ball State is now one in three. Yeah, so we met Matt was like getting ready to it. ah Sam Houston kicks a game winning field goal. Hold on. So not only did Texas State lose this game,
00:12:24
Speaker
That's, you know, that's obvious. They blew a 22 to 0 first quarter lead to Sam Houston. I tweeted from our account mistakenly, hey, Texas State scoring so fast, McLeod might be able to take the second half off because this looks like they're running away with it. And then their defense which i have brought up many a time in previews in you know anytime we preview them in individual games i'm like i i like the offense again 39 points can't really argue with that the defense outside of like ben bell on the defensive line
00:13:09
Speaker
You don't have anybody. So if you're not, if it's not the Arizona state game and you're not getting constant pressure and and stopping the run, you know, like Mad Men, you're in trouble because other teams can just throw the football on you. And that's exactly kind of what happened here, which was they jumped out to a big lead. I don't know if they got like too comfortable or they felt like too confident in themselves based on the way that the game started, but What the hell? like what What are we doing? And then number two, Matt, you you already alluded to it. Zeke, is this worst case scenario for you if they if they blow this what we anticipated them to be one of the top two teams in the West and then they peace out and go play like Boise State and Wyoming every year? Is this like worst case scenario for you?
00:13:59
Speaker
Um, I'll tell you when I gosh, was it the week two episode that I missed and I left y'all like just 10 words or something, something crappy and short. My message on Texas state in that game, uh, was this team is either going to learn from, from a very poor performance against, uh, I believe it, I believe it was against Lamar.
00:14:24
Speaker
or they are going to prove to us later in the season that they are. Still dealing with the same issues that they had in the back half of the last season, that being inability to finish games, I called it a Georgia Southern like softness, which Brian you've talked about a lot before, and I think the latter is what we have.
00:14:49
Speaker
don i no and and and and no and and I'm not done. I'm gonna give you what you want Matt. I'm about to give you what you want Texas State you have made a fool out of me You have made a fool out of anyone that believed in you you are fraudulent You will lose that Troy next week this week And I hope you enjoy your time in the Mountain West, where the pa twelve or the or the Big Sky Conference, because for what you have done to me and my reputation is irreparable, and I will never forgive you. Damn. Is that what you wanted to hear, Matt? I mean, ah that was beautiful.
00:15:32
Speaker
um So, yes, Brian, you you brought up the 22 to nothing first quarter lead. i'm gonna I'm gonna add on to that. Try giving up 19 unanswered in the second half. What? To an FCS call up.
00:15:56
Speaker
And look, I'm not going to knock Sam Houston. I've watched them play. They're a solid team. They've got a lot of talent. They played in the FCS national championship game. What was that? Two years ago? Like, but they're they're not a bad program. They're not your typical FCS call-up, right? And I get that. However, Texas State, across the board, has more talent. we Yeah, no question.
00:16:26
Speaker
No question. Okay, we would agree. How? How do you lose this game? You have the Sunbelt Player of the Year. You have a guy at running back in Ismael Mahdi that people are talking about being an NFL Draft pick. You've got a backup running back in Lincoln, Paray, Payer, or however you say his name.
00:16:53
Speaker
that's been ripping off 10, 15 yards of carry in the Sunbelt his entire career.
00:17:01
Speaker
what What are we doing? What are we doing? i Hold on. now but and and oh good good but i I was I thought Zeke was gonna jump in so I just wanted to I wanted to give him kind of my two cents on this number one I mean we already talked about the defense is not good like I don' i don't know how many more ways this there's slice this you know it it's not good like the defensive line has a couple of good players and everybody from the linebacker in core to the secondary and
00:17:33
Speaker
You don't have any difference makers. Like you truly don't. Like you were now hindsight. I think you were very lucky to get as close as you did against Arizona state for it to even to be a field game. Like the defensive line for Texas state in that game played out of their mind in stopping the run and forcing Arizona state to throw the football. And the secondary played fairly well. I mean, you know, all things considered 31 points.
00:18:04
Speaker
But again, this is what my concern was the whole time, which is they have an amazing offense. But there's two again, two things. The defense isn't very good. And number two, there's something with G.J. Kinney and issues with consistency. And you saw it play out last year because he had a weird relationship with T.J. Finley that.
00:18:27
Speaker
you know he eventually brought a ah transfer into replace or compete with Finley and Finley peaced out and he was like benching him at the end of in the second half of games last year that they were close like what are I don't understand like it's almost like a guy where you you look at a I don't know, like a Cliff Kingsbury when he was coaching the Cardinals and you're like, you have all of the pieces. What is wrong? Like I truly don't understand where the disconnect is between the talent you have and the what we see on Saturday. There's just, yeah there are days where it all clicks and there are no questions. And then there's days where you're like, what are we looking at? Why is this happening? So, I mean, that's, that's sort of my thing. Like, I don't know if it's a motivational issue. I don't know if it's like,
00:19:15
Speaker
a preparedness thing or like what or if they don't make in-game adjustments, but like there's something here that's wrong.
00:19:24
Speaker
And Zeke, you have anything before I continue? No, I'm just defeated. And then and then shout out to, um, Kath. Sir Adello, I think is how you pronounce his last name. He's like the top Texas state reporter. Um.
00:19:44
Speaker
ah Shout out to him for exposing what a. um I'm going to be nice and say mean person that his head coach GJ Kenny is. The media goes down to field level for the post game press conference and officials from Texas Tech or Texas State say, oh, Coach Kenny's press conference has already been completed. To who? Yeah, I heard about this is crazy.
00:20:13
Speaker
Who did he talk to? That's so weird. So that right there is a coach that says, I screwed up. I got my ass kicked. I don't want to talk to anybody. And now you're going to be the little puppy dog that daddy told. No, you're going to tuck your tail between your legs and run to mommy, who is the Mountain West and say, please give me what I want.
00:20:44
Speaker
Please be the good parent. Can I ask a question? and i ask a question Yeah. he's Is the Mountain West that much better of a conference? like but is it no but i mean like What is the draw to the Mountain West? like is it a money like Can they offer more money? like I don't understand why that would be an upgrade. If the Pac-12 with, again, two former Pac-12, the way that the Pac-12 was, with like Oregon State and Washington State. And they're bringing in all these other schools, and I get that. It's almost like the way the Big 12 restructured.
00:21:20
Speaker
that If you're saying, hey, we're doing that, i'm I'm like, you know what? I don't really have any questions. like I'm sure the money is better. They had a rights deal. I mean, it was screwy, but they had a rights deal before the entire Pac-12 exploded at the end of last year. The Mountain West, I'm like, dude, there are games on like true TV. like I watched the Boise, Georgia Southern game like on mac HBO Max because it was on true TV.
00:21:47
Speaker
like how much How could the money be that much, how could it be that much better to where it is an actual draw that you go play Wyoming at 11 o'clock Eastern, 10 o'clock Central at night on on HBO Max True TV? Like, i don't I don't understand, like, how does that work? Do you guys know um the exact amount of money that each school makes in the Sunbelt? Y'all know offhand?
00:22:17
Speaker
not I'm trying to find it and i'll see it I don't see it online. I will say I know the Mountain West got a new TV deal. The Mountain West has a new TV deal with Turner Sports and Fox. As of this past summer. Right. That pays five million dollars a year.
00:22:40
Speaker
I think the Sunbelt, again, I'm just rough quickly googling this. I'm reading seven million on their ESPN deal. But keep in mind that yeah ESPN deal is what, three years old at this point. And the money in this, the money for these TV deals has just, you know, inflated exponentially even since then. So I.
00:23:04
Speaker
Is it a location thing? I mean, they're equally distant from like UTEP. Isn't UTEP in the Mountain West? i Hold on, I have a question. Is yeah is Nevada, Nevada is a Mountain West team, right? Okay. i i I got a mixed up. Georgia Southern Nevada was on true TV.
00:23:27
Speaker
That was the game not Boise Boise was on ESPN plus but because they played in Statesboro but the Nevada game was on true TV and was Commentated by Mike Golic jr. And somebody else I've never seen never seen so from before this is gonna be the Mountain West in 2026 when Boise and all of them go to the Pac-12. Mm-hmm the Air Force Nevada UNLV, New Mexico, San Jose State, and Wyoming. You get to be the best team in that conference.
00:24:08
Speaker
Do you, though? look at look at the Look at the teams you're playing, too. like the These are not going to be games that people are in demand to watch, and I assume The island games that they get in the Sunbelt where it's like a Thursday night and you're the only college game on or you're the only G5 college game on I assume those are out the window because I've never heard of one being broadcast on true TV in the middle of the week or whatever Fox I guess so
00:24:41
Speaker
it i I just don't get it like the money has to be Unbelievable for you to make that move because you go to a less competitive conference Which I guess you want to be the Liberty to the Mountain West Conference, but problem does it I mean think about it though does anybody I mean Liberty everybody kind of you know, wink wink surround it, but like nobody takes the conference they play in seriously. So, so so sucks so you lose one game and then all of a sudden you're disqualified because
00:25:17
Speaker
and And they've shown under GJ Kinney, they will drop a game here and there that they have no business losing. So I don't i don't really get what we're doing and unless the money is just through the roof. But with those teams, I can't imagine anybody's going to to the bank and like backing it up to watch UNLV and Wyoming play.
00:25:38
Speaker
But here's the thing, ah to to be perfectly honest, and this is coming from a person that, you know, journalistic bias aside, I hate Louisiana Tech. I just do, always have.
00:25:56
Speaker
ah Now, with that with that said, I think Louisiana Tech makes the most sense for a replacement school in the Sunbelt. And the reason the reason that I say that is you already have two built-in rivals in the conference with u l and UL and ULM. Potential for a third, there's there's kind of a little bit of one brewing with Southern Miss, right? And then the conference gets infinitely better in two sports.
00:26:29
Speaker
Men's basketball and baseball.
00:26:34
Speaker
it makes And geographically, it makes perfect sense. So if I'm the Sunbelt, if Texas State wants to go to the Mountain West, bon voyage. Have fun. Go get Louisiana Tech.
00:26:48
Speaker
Yeah, so I. You know, and this has nothing to do with changing conferences, but again, if the Mountain West wants their. Their big team to be Texas State and Texas State keep doing this.
00:27:09
Speaker
like games like this and games like last year when you play Arkansas State and you allow 77 points again Zeke I know I know again but Bon Voyage because you guys have come come in basically accomplished diddly squat I mean nothing let's be honest nothing you've accomplished absolutely nothing you were a joke before GJ Kinney got there and you still can't find a way to win like big games consistently so
00:27:40
Speaker
Whatever. See you. Hit the road. I mean, like yeah it's like we lost Coastal from the east. Great. You know, you guys want to go play in conference USA or whatever, like you guys have really never accomplished anything. I mean, you you basically set out a Sunbelt title game and got the tie like sweet. You know, whatever. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. Really? what What have either of those schools accomplished?
00:28:10
Speaker
I think the Coastal Carolina comp ah comp is too much. I hear what you're saying. That's a that's a little too much. Because Coastal, admit again, like they've not been able to push it past a certain point. But Coastal, at the very least, and frankly, it might just be because they've got a fancy turf field,
00:28:32
Speaker
is a national brand and at the very least has that to offer from a football perspective is that people have heard of Coastal Carolina are at least a little interested in Coastal Carolina, less so than when it was Grayson McCall and Chadwell, but I think that comp is a little too aggressive. But I feel like people only know and care about Coastal Carolina because of that one season.
00:29:00
Speaker
but that no that's the hair about no but that But that's kind of the point is like we don't have an Eastern comp for Texas State, which is a team that got really close and just Like a lot of these teams, you know, say what you want. A lot of these teams that have been in the basement, like the ULMs of the world have been in the basement for a long time. And then you have like the Troy's of the world that have multiple conference titles. You got app who has multiple conference titles. You got Georgia Southern's got one. So at least there's that, you know, it it's like.
00:29:37
Speaker
The teams that are bad typically stay bad. Texas State is kind of like a recent development, so I don't have a one-to-one comp except for Coastal because they got close and they basically have a share ah ah of a conference title by default. They didn't even play the game. So like that's kind of what I mean. is like And no, I don't really think Coastal's a I don't think Coastal is a national brand. like they Again, they had one really good season, and I know they had the teal turf and all of that stuff, but like yeah again, you have a team that is very good but has never kind of climbed the mountain, and now you're off to the Mountain West.
00:30:18
Speaker
so You know, have fun playing again, UNLV or whoever, like sweet. That'd be sick. um Do we have anything else on this game specifically?
Louisiana vs. Wake Forest Recap
00:30:29
Speaker
I know we talked a lot about realignment, but yeah, this was just a hideous way to lose. I mean, quite frankly, like this shouldn't have happened.
00:30:41
Speaker
yeah With Jordan McLeod and and again, Matt kind of read off all the weapons that they have. Why why are you in games that come down to the last play against a recent FCS call up that isn't named James Madison? It's kind of my question.
00:30:57
Speaker
Um, so, I mean, I know Sam Houston's good, but I don't, they, they have, they hadn't had that like immediate impact that James Madison had where it was like game one, you knew you were like, Oh, I totally misjudged this team. Like, I think Sam Houston two years ago or last year that they came up. last This is their first year.
00:31:21
Speaker
Oh this is their first Sunbelt season? is there Not Sunbelt season, the first FBS season? Oh wow, okay, so I thought this was year two. I thought this was year two and I thought they weren't in the flesh. Let me double check that. Because I thought Kennesaw was the new team this year. Yeah they are. I'm sorry, this is their second year.
00:31:43
Speaker
Yeah, so last year didn't go well as far as I remember. Yeah, even so. But all right. So Sam Houston with the victory moves to four and one this season. Texas State is now two and two. um This is going to hurt their chances of going to the playoff as the G5 representative.
00:31:59
Speaker
um And wait, Matt, can you answer me a question? Can you go undefeated with two losses? Is that how that works? No, no, you can't. No, you cannot. but right and So next game here, Louisiana, ah Matt, another one of your games ah defeats Wake Forest 41 38. Frankly, I did not watch any of this game. um I had a lot going on on Saturday.
00:32:27
Speaker
um i had a lot going on as far as keeping up with games and stuff on saturday um but yeah man dude great win for louisiana no question about it i will say when i saw i saw louisiana jumped up early in the first quarter and i was like damn i made the wrong pick louisiana and then wake forest kind of came storming back and i was like Ooh, I may have spoke too soon. Like we got a football game on our hands. So honestly, I kind of expected this to go like Louisiana, ah Iowa State a couple of years ago, where Louisiana just dominated them for like four straight quarters. And then when I saw right Wake kind of had a pulse, I was like, oh, this could this could come back to bite them. But it didn't. You know, they won.
00:33:09
Speaker
So Louisiana jumped out to that 14-3 lead in the first quarter. they They really were doing whatever they wanted to offensively. um And then in the second quarter was when things kind of got a little interesting. um You had two players get ejected for targeting?
00:33:28
Speaker
in the second quarter. um And so you know Wake Forest was able to take advantage of those penalties and you know the absences of those players, one of them being KCOSI, your leading tackler from the linebacker spot. And then in the third quarter, you ready for this? Two more players got ejected for targeting. The Cagers lost four players.
00:33:56
Speaker
Targeting and when you look at them to if you go back and find them because they're all you know on social media and whatnot two of them Obvious targeting like okay, I He's getting he's getting ejected The other two I'm not quite sure what this officiating crew was looking at Like I'm really I'm really not um and also I'm glad that Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest's running back, wasn't seriously injured. But there should be a rule. Where if you have to be carted off the field, you can't return to the game. Can't return to the game. The guy got carted off the field for a dislocated knee. Oh.
00:34:50
Speaker
And he came back. brought him They brought him to the locker room. They popped his knee back in. They put a brace on it and he came back in the game. And not not only did he come back into the game, not only did he come back into the game, he had a 60 yard touchdown run after he came back into the game.
00:35:10
Speaker
I bet he was, I bet he was like, do you guys remember that, that game years ago where Aaron Rogers like left the game and people were like, Oh, he dislocated his elbow. And then he came back and he, he beat the bears, but he went to the press post game presser, or no, he was talking to Aaron Andrews and he spoken with a Southern twang because he was so hopped up on painkillers. Like that's what that reminds me of. That guy probably couldn't tell you what two plus two equals at the end of that game. You're probably right. You're probably right.
00:35:39
Speaker
um And look, so the second half, you know it was 21-17 at halftime. The second half was an absolute shootout, just back and forth, back and forth. um and And right there at the end, the Cajuns got a field goal with 52 seconds left. Wake Forest marched down the field, lined up to kick the game-tying field goal, and he docked it.
00:36:03
Speaker
um yeah So look, you know, again, ah I was really impressed with the offense. they were They were able to do what they wanted pretty much all game. Ben Woolridge was 20 of 29 for 257 and three touchdowns. Elijah Davis had 95 yards on the ground. Defensively, I would have liked to see you make a couple more stops.
00:36:26
Speaker
I know you lost four starters, oh but look, the the resolve of the team to have to face all of that, that officiating, you're playing an ACC school on the road, you lose four guys to targeting and you still find a way to win.
00:36:45
Speaker
I mean, that's just, it's a huge win for this program. A huge win for coach Michael Desremo. It's his first P4 win as a head coach. And so it was a ah it was a really good day for Cajun Nation on Saturday. There's no doubt.
00:37:00
Speaker
Matt, what is the real Louisiana defense look like? Because this team is consistently putting up points across all opponents. But you held Grambling and Kennesaw to 10 each, but then against Tulane and Wake Forest is 41-38. Where in the middle of those two extremes is the real defense here?
00:37:24
Speaker
a happy medium but between the two. sure um you know I think that obviously you have a new ah you have a new defensive coordinator this year um in Jim Salgado. So I think there's still you know that that ironing out period, right? oh But when you look at the Wake Forest and Tulane game, a lot of the credit has to go to to the opposition. I mean, Tulane's legit.
00:37:50
Speaker
Yeah, they are legit. Right. um And Wake Forest, look, you know, im like like I said, I think you just you kind of fell behind the eight ball um with a couple of key players getting ejected. um And they were able to take advantage of some penalties and, you know, really just kind of capitalize on momentum. Right.
00:38:13
Speaker
um And so look, obviously, you don't want to give up 41 and 38 in back to back weeks. But I don't think it's a you know ah hit the panic button on the Cajuns defense. KCO side is still a fantastic linebacker. You've got pieces in the secondary with Keon Martin. I would like to see the front four get a little more of a pass rush on opposing quarterbacks. That's something that they've kind of struggled to do so far this year.
00:38:43
Speaker
But I think you're back, you know six or seven is in great shape as you head into Sunbelt play um But I when we'll get into it when we preview I am worried about next week's game against Southern Miss to be honest
00:39:00
Speaker
Okay, um Matt, just to put a button on this game, I forgot to bring this up after the two-lane game, but I watched your the the TikTok that you made about Desermo's press conference, where he was like, the Faintens just think I'm a dummy, or a dumbass, or whatever he said. yeah Well, it reminded me of, have you ever seen that show I Think You Should Leave on Netflix?
00:39:23
Speaker
okay it reminded me of the coffin flop sketch where he goes they just think i'm some dumb hick like that's why that's why him saying that reminded me the fans just think i'm some dumb hick and he's like and i was like that made me laugh so hard and so the reason that he was so fired up in that post-game press conference obviously you lost an emotional game that you feel like you shouldn't have um but that specific quote was uh if you remember late in the game there was a it was like a fourth and nine something like that and the caters go for it and they end up hitting the check down
00:40:02
Speaker
yeah he He hits Elijah Davis out in the flat and gets absolutely nowhere. And so somebody in the press conference said, you know, coach, what was the design on that play? Like, what was the play? What was the play was the i the idea or the concept? Yeah. And so Des was like, oh, you know, the The number one route was a deep shot down the field, but I guess Ben just thought it wasn't there. And then he goes, I know a lot of y'all think I'm a dumbass, but I actually had a solid play drawn up there. Like I know what I'm doing. Yeah. oh but which Which tells me that the coach reads social media, which. Don't love that.
00:40:45
Speaker
Do what you want, but that's not great. Well, I will say I kind of wish some Sunbelt coaches and wink, wink, wink read a little bit more social media ah because ah because some of them continue to do the same dumb stuff every single week. And if maybe if they read a little more social media, they would be a little more self-aware and go, hey,
00:41:12
Speaker
You know, if I do this, they're going to make fun of me on on Sunday. Maybe I should. Is this coach you're referring to in the Eastern Division? Yes. OK. Yeah. All right. So with the win, Louisiana is three and one this season. ah Wake Forest is one and three. OK.
00:41:34
Speaker
So I'm not going to call this the Georgia Southern Georgia State game by its dumb agriculture friendly name. I just, those words in that order will never leave my lips.
Georgia Southern's Victory Over Georgia State
00:41:46
Speaker
I promise you that I will go to my grave having never, having never said those three words in consecutive form. Okay. I want to set the stage for this because We recorded last Tuesday, and as far as people that listened know, Zeke took Georgia Southern plus three and a half on the road. Now, what I will say is what people don't know is Friday afternoon, I get an i get a message in our group from Zeke saying, you can put me on Georgia State minus three and a half. Freddie Brock is going to shred that defense. As far as I know,
00:42:22
Speaker
ah As far as I know, I looked at the stats. I'm pretty sure Freddie Brock ran for under 50 yards. Am I correct on that? 36 on 10 carries. Okay. rose So I just want it rose too ro just want to clarify. So I don't know if Ben Moore had you at gunpoint while you were sending me that text, but that was how it read. And I kept saying blink twice if you're in if you're in danger. So you know go like ah you can't tell me that that's not a like a solid line of thinking though right no it's not because what you were you were equating Freddie Brock with Ashton Jante or you know whichever Ole Miss running back decided to run for you know 150 yards against us like
00:43:10
Speaker
Freddie Brock's a nice little player. He is not etched to JT. So you being like, he's going to shred this defense. I was like, I know. I was like, is anything that me.
00:43:21
Speaker
if anything that made me If anything that made me double down on the Georgia Southern take. So Georgia Southern wins 38-21 in a game that was not even really as close as ah it seems because if they, Matt, I don't know if you watched this one, but if not if Georgia Southern did not attempt to return a punt in this game, they would have won by 30.
00:43:45
Speaker
Like Georgia State has one of the worst defensive units I've ever seen with my own two eyes. They literally, they cannot stop the run. They can't stop the pass. Georgia Southern dog walked them basically every offensive possession. If Georgia Southern did not score in this game, it was because Georgia Southern screwed up themselves. Not not that Georgia State made any plays. It was, hey, we went three or, you know, we we got to fourth down because of you know, are core are our dumb OC decided to run a quarterback power on third and one on the first drive and ran directly into the back of his lineman and it was fourth down. And like that was the type of stops Georgia State was getting in this game. So I have a question and I want to pose it to either one of you considering you both writing for either team.
00:44:42
Speaker
For somebody that didn't watch the game and has no idea how things transpired, it looks to me like Georgia Southern went back to being an option team. They dominated on the ground.
00:44:57
Speaker
not option but they They finally did what my big complaint was, and I guess it took getting their former offensive coordinator Brian Ellis out of the building to allow them to finally do this. But they had games in the past two years where if they just committed to running the football,
00:45:18
Speaker
it would have went like this. like There were games like, I think it was Old Dominion last year, like there are games that they've played where if they just kept doing what worked, they would have won and they decided, we're not gonna do that anymore.
00:45:33
Speaker
So what they did was basically they found out, hey, guess what? Georgia State can't tackle OJ Arnold in space. Or as the game went on, they they're getting worn down trying to tackle Jalen White over and over and over and over again. And basically what happened was Georgia Southern just shoved it in their face for you know especially in the second half when they were just trying to bleed clock and get out of there like Georgia State again they have no defensive playmakers they can't stop anybody like even when you go back and look at the game they beat Vanderbilt like it was a high scoring game so again I don't really understand where Zeke got the line of thinking of hey this is gonna go totally different Georgia State's gonna get stops
00:46:19
Speaker
I'm not well I'm not gonna let you get away with this because let's not discredit the fact Georgia Southern had go ahead of this game had like a bottom 10 rush defense in the country and if it has been good anything if they've been good at anything all year it's been loading the ball who they played it's different there are levels to this Georgia State was playing You know, they played Vanderbilt and like the Sisters of the Poor for the first like four games or whatever. Georgia Southern played a number six ranked Ole Miss team. They played Ashton Jante, who's probably, not even probably, he's the best running back in the country. Like bar none. I don't know if you guys saw the highlights on Saturday. what you saying he He did the Marshawn Lynch beast mode run impersonation. Like, yeah, he's the best running back in the country. Now, once I saw all of that,
00:47:13
Speaker
I said, Georgia State doesn't have anybody on that level to be able to run the football. Again, your Freddie Brock take, I was like, what are we talking about? Freddie Brock is not that good. He's just not. He's a fine running back. He ran for like 240, 250 in a bowl game. Against who? Utah State? Okay, there's your answer. Utah State!
00:47:40
Speaker
It was a program where I would have ran for 250 against Utah State, Zeke. Blake Anderson was off doing God knows what that ended up getting him canned. So like, yo, red, yo, red for one point nine yards a carry as a team. Yeah, dude.
00:48:04
Speaker
To answer your initial question, Matt, i Southern absolutely ran the ball down state's throat. There's no question about that. ah But consider that they also ran almost 90 plays of offense. And when you're running 90 plays of offense, you're bound to put up numbers like that. Obviously, the 5.4 is incredibly impressive. Because the Panthers' defense can't get a stop, which was my point. I'm not discrediting that. I'm just answering Matt's prior question.
00:48:32
Speaker
No, I know. The running game. Zeke, watch me. Watch me, Zeke. What am I doing? World's tiniest island. There was never expectations. I put my own foot in my mouth. I screwed myself. There was no expectations. van did it with and you did when we're beloved You did it with your beloved Panthers, and now you've done it with Texas State. It's OK, buddy. You're going to learn.
00:48:56
Speaker
I'm gonna learn at some point, I promise. he he called He called himself last week's episode a, quote, real ball knower and then made those two calls. And how about this? Again, we can move off of this game because I think we i think we've done it justice, but he he had the pick right. All he had to do was not say anything and he would have been hit correct. Yeah, all he had to do was shut his mouth. Yeah.
00:49:22
Speaker
So looking at this Marshall game. Foot? Foot? I know this isn't a foot, but like foot? Oh. Yeah, I know. Right in the mouth. Hey, Christian Valer, 356, that's pretty nice. He's never, I think he threw what, three picks? Yes. ka i don't know I don't know what kind of French y'all speak in Atlanta, but IEUMX is not an ER.
00:49:49
Speaker
Matt, I'm on your side. I have a i have a a take and there is no factual basis for this. He will not be a good quarterback until he pronounces his name the way that it should be pronounced. How about that? like i don't I don't know how you you get ER out of IEUX.
00:50:10
Speaker
Christian Valer also completed like basically half of his pass attempts. So yeah the yardage was good and like basically there were two like busted coverages that he took advantage of where he just threw it deep and Southern just had like one high safety and just didn't have anybody back there to ah kind of yeah you know play zone or bracket anybody. But other than those two throws, it was a lot of like He couldn't get out of his own way. States 21 points came off a 76 yard touchdown pass like Brian just talked about 58 yard touchdown pass like Brian just talked about. And then a one yard touchdown run from none other than Freddie Brock after the ball just kind of slipped out of JC French's hand. Just one of those things. He didn't like really fumble. It just kind of happened. I didn't take too much issue with the fumble, ah but that set up a six yard drive.
00:51:08
Speaker
Concluded by a one-yard run. Uh, so so state realistically Like if this game is played over again scores seven points tops Yeah, if the games played again, the final score is like 45 to 10
00:51:26
Speaker
So, and and I will say this, I have been, and I said this kind of to start the season, but it kind of got lost in, in the shuffle of things and ah how concerned I was about Georgia Southern's defense. I think JC French is a hell of a quarterback, like for what they want to do.
00:51:44
Speaker
Like he has been exactly what the doctor ordered. Now the defense could get a lot better. Like I'm not. I'm not saying that because that's the thing that's holding them back, but all they needed was someone that wasn't going to turn the ball over 100,000,000 times the way that Davis branded.
00:51:59
Speaker
that was all they needed make some throws make a couple plays brian ellis stopped throwing the ball 70 times a game with the most turnover prone quarterback in the nation that was all they had to do and he they they said nope simply couldn't do it last year so again he's exactly what the doctor ordered and and that you kind of see now you know if the defense was better they'd have a higher ceiling but right now he's he's exactly what they need as far as and a quarterback archetype and he can run too so he's not a total statue back there um but anyway Georgia Southern defeats Georgia State in modern day hate
00:52:38
Speaker
Georgia Southern is now three and two, one and O in the Sun Belt. Georgia State drops to two and two and is now O and one in the Sun Belt. All right, next game here. Marshall defeats Western Michigan at home, 27 to 20.
Marshall's Dominance Over Western Michigan
00:52:53
Speaker
Stone Earl returns from, what what was he supposed to have had? A finger injury or a hand injury ah that he suffered, I think, in the previous game, right? Like he had to leave.
00:53:05
Speaker
Am I wrong on this? he He did leave the game with injury against, was it Ohio that they played Ohio State two weeks ago? um yeah He left briefly in like the third quarter, but the game was obviously over by that point anyway.
00:53:24
Speaker
So Stone Earl throws three touchdown passes against the Broncos. um Marshall allowed Nixon, the Western Michigan running back, to run for 146 yards on 23 carries. Again, if Georgia Southern this upcoming week decides to establish the run again and will actually stick with it, that there could be a replay of this. And I think Southern is a better team on the whole than Western Michigan is. But regardless, good win for Marshall, man. These are the type of games you have to win because you don't have a lot of guaranteed W's on your schedule with the ah kind of the talent level they have.
00:54:06
Speaker
so You know, I don't think Charles Huff has, has quite saved his job. Um, but again, these these are the ones you have to win because in conference, there aren't a lot of gimmies, you know, outside of the Southern misses of the world. And maybe old Dominion, if they don't decide to score that week. So.
00:54:26
Speaker
Yeah, good. I mean, good win all around. you You kind of have found a quarterback in Stone Earl a little bit like I don't I don't think he's got the highest ceiling of any quarterback in the conference. Like he's not Alonzo Barnett numbers, but he's he's good enough, I think like he's a he's a good little quarterback. And it seems like they, you know, we'll see how it shakes out as he gets more volume, but it seems like they found a guy to replace Rashin Ali as well.
00:54:53
Speaker
with AJ Turner, 124 yards. He did it on nine carries. One of those was 67 yards, um but still eight carries for, you know, what is that 60, 50 and change. That's a pretty good day for him. I think.
00:55:09
Speaker
marsha I mean for Marshall, this is just like their first even comp game of the year because they played Stony Brook to start then played Virginia Tech Amid Virginia Tech team ah and Ohio State. So this is like their first even comp opponent ah And they want it and that that's all you can do when they play app this upcoming week. I think that'll be a ah real ah Indicator for each side as to where this team goes um but I think Marshall has proved at least through this game proved to me or Made me believe that it's not necessarily time to hit the panic button quite yet They're not in a place they need to be ah But like this is a martial team that could ultimately make a bowl um That I don't know if you would have said that about them two weeks ago
00:56:03
Speaker
no so matt do you have anything to add on this one i just realized that i was sharing some thoughts you know in between you guys talking and i was on mute um no i didn't realize you were talking that when i realized i was muted i was sitting here while Zeke was talking just going like
00:56:26
Speaker
but But anyways, oh no, I mean, i just it's a solid win for Marshall. um but Like you said, these are the games that you have to win. And they were able to do that, although it got a little scary in the third quarter. um they They were able to dig down deep and find a way to get it done, which is what good teams do. So you know credit credit to Marshall. um And now, you know like you said,
00:56:52
Speaker
theres There's not many gimme wins the rest of the way so <unk>re they're gonna have to find them where they can get them Yeah, so Marshall with the wind moves to two and two this season ah Western Michigan is now one and three with the loss Getting into this next one Old Dominion defeats Bowling Green on the road as a nine and a half point dog This is the quintessential How did Old Dominion win this game? game I think they have like one or two of these in them a year where you go through and you look at like the box score and you're like, where did the yardage come from? like where did the where did the How did they score points? I think Grant Wilson, I looked at the stats earlier, but didn't he finish six of 14 for 118 yards or something like that? Yep, and two touchdowns.
00:57:42
Speaker
Like again, how do you, how do you win games with that little efficiency is like kind of what a, I don't, I don't really understand how they find a way to do this. They do it like twice a year. Here's, here's what I don't understand. Bowling green finishes with 70 more yards of total offense than you. Seven more first downs than you and had the football for 17 minutes more than you. And yet you found a way.
00:58:14
Speaker
um and Bowling green and bowling green also had a receiver almost go for 200 yards and two scores and found a way to lose by three Against old Dominion of all teams Dominion and here's here's the disgusting thing talk about 118 yards from Grant Wilson 75 of them came on one play Yeah, like old Dominion wasn't good I But they they do this. like i don't but I don't understand it. But yet they won. i Look, credit to them. I mean, good good job. yeah I mean, I don't i don't i don't even know. yeah This is the you didn't deserve to win, yet you still did. Kudos. Good job, Monarchs. That's what they're best at. It really is. That's all I've got. Kudos to y'all.
00:59:13
Speaker
Were either of you watching any of this game or know why Grant Wilson left? Because I know he dealt with an injury a couple weeks ago. um And he came out at some point for Colton Joseph.
00:59:25
Speaker
um I'm just curious if that... Because Grant Wilson has been pretty solid this year. ah You know, out of character for an Old Dominion quarterback. He's been good enough. um So I just... He's alright.
00:59:43
Speaker
I mean, he's fun. Hey, man. i Here's the thing. Marshall's been struggling to find a quarterback that is all right and good enough. um Yeah. So Old Dominion had a guy I just, you know, you worry about that for their long term future if he has to miss more time.
01:00:01
Speaker
I don't know. i I did see that he left the game, but I didn't see the reason. I assume i mean, you know you assume it's injury, but I don't know if it's the same thing that was ailing him before or not ah that got exacerbated by it. um But yeah, again, Old Dominion just finds a way to do this like once or twice a season where you go look at the stats at the end of the game and you're like, your quarterback had less than 120 yards passing and your leading rusher only had 74 yards. How did you scrounge up? It's like someone going to the store with like a handful of pocket change and like dropping it on the the counter in front of the person and be like, count that for me. Like that's that's what Old Dominion, that's a weird analogy, but that's that's the way Old Dominion kind of plays football, which is like,
01:00:46
Speaker
Hey, I just saved up enough. You're going to have to count these pennies. And so that's that's the way they win football games at Old Dominion. um But Old Dominion is now one and three with the victory first win of the year. Bowling Green drops to one and three disappointing game for them, considering how they had played in recent weeks.
01:01:04
Speaker
um last game of the night all of us kind of saw this coming shockingly and it's it's always kind of crazy when a line like this goes up and you all three of us are just scratching our heads being like what is vegas thinking by putting this line at troy minus seven what has any what has anybody for troy done to earn us a touchdown favorite over anybody except like the florida a and m game is my question. they They have nothing on offense, nothing. They cannot score points. like And I know, what was it?
Troy's Offensive Struggles
01:01:43
Speaker
The quarterback, whose crowder got hurt, ah and Caldwell was already injured, I believe. So they were down to kind of their third string, Tucker Kilcrease.
01:01:57
Speaker
But even still, like they just don't have anything on offense. Everything that was a part of these previous Troy teams is just gone now. They don't run an exciting scheme. We talked about it last week. And so you're easy to plan for because you're not talented on ah offense and you don't run anything interesting. so And your defense looked you know passable in this game they've looked bad in in weeks before this but they were passable in this game anytime you allow 13 points you should probably win that game and they just they can't muster enough on offense to to make anything happen so it's gonna be a long season for them but there's two some belt titles i'll keep them warm at night i guess it's gonna be a long season for ul too though i
01:02:47
Speaker
shoot against this bad Troy team they were only able to put up 13 you know on the conversion said you mean ULM oh I'm sorry ULM did I say UL yeah why condolence no no no you all Monroe like shoot is this the least impressive three in one start ever I don't know, man, like they they shouldn't like it's impressive because of the team that's doing it. Not not you don't you don't need to watch the games, but the way they're doing it is it's like playing small ball and baseball. So here's the question that I have for you. You too. I'm going to read off the rest of. You let me schedule. OK, you tell me if they can find three more wins. OK. James Madison.
01:03:41
Speaker
No. Southern Miss. Yeah. very plus South Alabama. Probably not. I don't know.
01:03:53
Speaker
so like i follow them sometimes yeah South Alabama sometimes gives me pause. Like they will have a game like where they beat app and then they'll just have a a totally inexplicable performance and you'll be like, I don't understand what happened here. Marshall. That's another maybe.
01:04:11
Speaker
Texas State. No. Auburn. no That's a no. Arkansas State. Have youve ski you guys seen Auburn play this year? they're They're pretty bad. They're pretty bad. Arkansas State.
01:04:28
Speaker
That's another maybe you never you have you have no idea if they can. If they can run the ball and limit the amount of passes they have to throw and they just own the time of possession. Arkansas State could be in real trouble because their defense is along the lines of Georgia states where. That they they they you know thank the heavens when they get a stop on defense. So reason. The reason that I'm asking your your thoughts on this is because.
01:04:59
Speaker
Monroe has only been to one bowl game in their program's history.
ULM Bowl Game Prospects
01:05:07
Speaker
And it was in 2012. They got their doors blown off by Ohio. So, could could we see a world where Monroe wins three more games and goes to their second bowl game in program history in year one under Brian Vincent?
01:05:26
Speaker
Certainly. Well, that's what I need to think about. They might build a statue of the man grow. Yeah. it it it It is crazy to think about. We would have never said before the season, like this is gonna happen. i think we I think before the season, we said four wins would be like overachieving here based on the roster. And they're they're at three as it stands today. And they play Southern Miss again, or they play Southern Miss, ah which is almost certainly a fourth win because that team seems to have just thrown the towel in on this season already.
01:06:05
Speaker
And then you got a bunch of teams that are so hot and cold, you can't get a read on them. Yeah. You've got three maybes in there. Like... Yeah. We we could be looking at a six and six Montero team. Imagine... That's crazy. Imagine they lose to like, um you know, what South Alabama and Arkansas State are losses, and their sixth or fifth win of the season is against Auburn in Auburn.
01:06:36
Speaker
Like, think about that.
01:06:40
Speaker
Oh, God. Hugh Freeze. Hugh Freeze is going to get a rainbow strip like you do in Mario Kart out of Auburn. Like, he is just going to be, don't pass go, don't collect $200, go straight to jail. Get get out. Crazy things have happened.
01:06:58
Speaker
But yeah, again, going back to the game, obviously they they they run a very they have a very simple methodology of own the time of possession, run the football hardy one hundred and six yards rushing. And guess what? If the teams you play can't score points, they can't make you pay. So again, if any if any of those teams come out and they're offensively challenged or defensively, they can't get stops like, yeah, they could win six games. I mean, they go.
01:07:28
Speaker
Before we move on to our week six picks, Zeke, I just want to commend you ah for for being a good sport while eating your crow. You handled it very graciously. And for to as a token of Brian and I's appreciation, I would like to digitally present you with a warm weather fan sticker. Yeah! Come on!
01:07:58
Speaker
Much needed win for me, fellas. but there you go Very attractive. We'll find a way to get them to our fans. those are Thanks for putting those together, Matt. Big win for me to get one of those digitally. I've already updated my resume.
01:08:17
Speaker
Yes. All right. Whoo! So, so we are on to week six in the Sunbelt. Uh, starting on Thursday, ESPNU, uh, seven o'clock Eastern time, Texas State is traveling to Troy to take on the offensively challenged Trojans. I don't think we have any feel for who's going to start at quarterback for Troy, correct? Like zero. No clue. No clue. Okay.
01:08:47
Speaker
Texas State is a 14-point road favorite, which is nuts. That should tell you exactly what everybody thinks of Troy at this point. Over under 57 and a half, I'm taking Texas State for two reasons. Number one, we already talked about how offensively challenged Troy is, so I don't know how they're going to score any points. And number two, yeah, that was weird. I don't know how that happened. Number two, ah I think Texas State is going to be pissed.
01:09:16
Speaker
And I think they're going to take out all their frustrations on this Troy team that can't score the football, can't put the ball in the end zone. They settle for field goals way too often. And the coach just simply isn't aggressive enough when they are in those sort of goal to go situations. He's happy settling for three. So with all that said, Texas State, I think, routes them. And if they don't, then ZQ need to be even more concerned than you were after the same Houston game if they don't win this game big. Yeah.
01:09:46
Speaker
Um, for burning me last week and Matt's just playing with it. He's always got like, he's trying to figure out what feature he can turn on yeah at all times. And if you want to see what we're talking about, visit us on YouTube, warm weather your fans, uh, for burning me last week. Thank you. Uh, working on it.
01:10:08
Speaker
For burning me last week. I still think Texas State beats Troy But 14 at any point 14 is a fairly high line. Give me Troy to cover but Texas State outright Matt so I'm struggling with this one because I Feel like the obvious answers to be to take Texas State minus 14.
01:10:33
Speaker
But at the same time, this feels like the game where Troy shows up. It's at home. It's nationally televised. It's against a team that everybody thinks is better than you. Like, I don't know. I just have this weird feeling that Troy shows up. um I'm going to take the over in this game.
01:10:59
Speaker
Um, I think, I think for some weird reason, I think there's a lot of points scored in this game. Um, and, uh, so yeah, I'm gonna take the over. Of all the sides you could have taken the over would have been my absolute last on my list because I think if Troy wins this game, it's gotta be 20, 20 to 17. Like they're not going to put up enough points to, to help you hit the over.
01:11:27
Speaker
But hey, if listen, no, but listen, you can play it two different ways. You could say, hey, this is going to be a high scoring game. It's going to hit the over. Or you could say Texas State runs them out of the stadium and it doesn't matter. And they basically hit the over by themselves. That's fine, too. So you could hit it for two different ways. That's fine.
01:11:44
Speaker
Alright, starting with Saturday, we got kind of a short slate of games because a couple of teams are off and we're we're well into conference play. 3.30, ESPN+, app state is traveling to Marshall.
01:12:00
Speaker
in a semi mountaineer ish rivalry game they've got a weird kind of relationship between these two teams marshall a three point favorite at home over under 58 and a half how how far the mighty have fallen if what marshall is getting three at home against app um The pick in this one is simple to me, but I'm sure this is going to come back to bite me. But if app can't get up for this game after having, what, 10 days to kind of lick their wounds or whatever. um They're not going to do it at any point this season. So I'm going to take app plus three. I think they win the game outright. And if they don't.
01:12:42
Speaker
then I'm I'm not even an app fan but I'm officially on the fire Sean Clark bandwagon if they can't find a way to win this game. I'm not gonna go that far yeah strictly because strictly because of what they've dealt with this past week.
01:13:00
Speaker
that that can like Their practice schedule got all messed up. there like there's In a typical circumstance, I would say no question if you don't go to Huntington and win, Sean Clark's in serious trouble. um Now, I still think it's a bad loss if you go to Huntington and lose, but I don't think that I'm going to look at this game and get to be fired.
01:13:25
Speaker
Um, now with that being said, I agree with you. I think app gets up. Um, I think that Joey Aguilar has a great bounce back game and app wins by two scores. Um, but that'll make it even more special considering again, like I said, everything they've gone through this week with the hurricane.
01:13:47
Speaker
Matt, September 25th, 2006. Saints first game back from Katrina. They romp, romp the Falcons. Steve Gleason, baby. Nowhere near, uh, it won't be nearly as, uh, large a gap that was a 23 to three win for the saints. Uh, but give me app state year.
01:14:13
Speaker
All right. um A lot of seven o'clock. We're bringing up rebirth. Mm hmm. A lot of seven o'clock games this week. I wish they would have spread them out a little better um because we have four games going during one time slot, and it's going to make it really difficult to keep up with any of these. um But the first seven o'clock game, ESPN plus Old Dominion is traveling to Conway to take on Coastal Carolina ah Coastal.
01:14:41
Speaker
Coastal is a 5.5 point a home favorite. Overunder is 54.5. I'm going to take the under. ah Neither of these teams score a ton of points. I know Coastal, or not Coastal, ah Old Dominion hit 30 last week, but I don't think that's typical.
01:14:59
Speaker
I think that was they had again, they have one or two outlier games per season where you're like, I don't understand the box score doesn't this doesn't add up to me. So I'm going to take the under. I think this one is a really low scoring game because both of these teams are kind of offensively challenged.
01:15:14
Speaker
It's going to be low scoring, but it's in total, but I think the final is like Coastal 28 Old Dominion 10. Give me Coastal here. I was laughing as you were reading it off because that line feels far, far too generous in Old Dominion's favor. Give me Coastal. Yep. I agree with the Coastal straight up.
01:15:35
Speaker
Well, they they also old Dominion also does this where they play one of those games where they win a game they shouldn't have. And then usually they crash and burn the following week. And then later they sort of build back up to another upset victory. So yeah, if I was taking the side, I would say coastal as well. But I just don't.
01:15:56
Speaker
Neither of these Vasco has not looked good as of late So I don't think coastal is gonna score a ton of points and I don't know what the quarterback situation looks like with Grant Wilson Banged up or whatnot or whatever is going on with him So I I just can't I can't bet on those two quarterbacks to hit, you know 55 combined um another seven o'clock kick here South Alabama is traveling to Arkansas State in Jonesboro and yeah ESPN plus our South Alabama is a two and a half point road favorite over under 62 and a half um I'm gonna take South Alabama minus two and a half ah Until Arkansas State learns to stop an unopposing offense I can't in good conscience really
01:16:46
Speaker
I can take overs with them. I don't know that i can I can give them any real credit until they learn to stop another team. Give me the under for a team that I've been told has just this.
01:17:01
Speaker
better than I believe all fence in Arkansas State. I've been very underwhelmed by them and remember my bar for them was already very low ah South Alabama. i I mean they can put up points. They've shown that especially against teams without defenses. It's not going to be a replication of Northwestern State obviously, ah but they can score points. um Give me the under. I think it it could come close to 62 and a half, but there's no way both teams put up.
01:17:30
Speaker
What is that, like four touchdowns apiece? not Not a chance. Yeah. I'm actually going to take Arkansas State at home. um I've been high on them all season. Some people have called me crazy for for being that Zeke being one of them. I wasn't all knowing all knowers have called you. Well, no, you don't know you're not a ball. No, stop.
01:17:57
Speaker
that is a that if that was a ah boy scout badge that has been ripped off of your little sash it's done i'm digitally i'm digitally rescinding your your sticker um no give give me Arkansas State they're at home You know, I think Jalen Rainer is going to have a solid performance. It's going to be close. um I wouldn't be surprised if i can if South Alabama wins the game. But I don't know. i just I've got a feeling the Red Wolves can get it done at home. So I'll take Arkansas State. Can you guys fact check something for me? Because I'm not on a really high power computer here. Has Gio Lopez not thrown a pick yet this year?
01:18:42
Speaker
on ESPN, it has everybody's like leading passer stat line. It says, Gio Lopez, 1,014 yards, 10 touchdown, zero picks. Is that correct? No interceptions across 114 attempts, 10 to zero ah touchdown interception ratio. I just don't. care the phone I just don't have the faith that Arkansas State is going to be able to either get enough stops or force turnovers against Gio Lopez. That's kind of the basis of my pick. um Another seven o'clock game, all of them seven o'clock. ESPNU, James Madison travels to Monroe. GMU is a 17 point road favorite. Over under is 49 and a half. um I'll probably regret this. Give me ULM plus 17.
01:19:32
Speaker
same i like to pick i don't know alonzo barnet's probably gonna drop six touchdowns on them for some reason uh but i just feel ul monroe makes these games like really like down and dirty like dirty kind of like makes teams kind of get in the trenches and beat them one-on-one and i know james madison's been on a crazy tear the last couple of weeks. But again, you all Monroe, the only time they've looked truly bad, they played the number one team in the country. Correct. So, but yeah, i was there there's, there's something about Malone stadium. Um, the, the, the place needs a major upgrade, but anytime somebody plays there, it's a, it's down to the wire. I mean, look at app state was that last year?
01:20:25
Speaker
where ULM had ULM miss a field goal to to win it? No, no, even worse. Remember they had the ball, they were up, I think three. They had the ball on like the one and they ran on fourth and one. Oh, that's right. Like an, that's right. Like an RPO out of the I formation on fourth and one or like fourth and goal from the one. That's right. Yeah. So
01:20:53
Speaker
But I mean, i I was going to say was good. Look at those two teams the way that they stood last year and tell me why ULM was with it was in that game. One hundred percent. but but That's what I'm referring to as the as the Malone magic. oh Yeah. Yeah, I'm not going to say the ULM is going to win the game, but they're going to keep it within 17 for sure. I like James Madison to win, but ULM covers.
01:21:21
Speaker
Yeah, i that that's the way I feel about it too. I think James Madison pulls it out at the very end, but I think this is gonna be ugly. um You on Monroe, they did they they just got something about him. They just make teams play ugly. Like you have to win ugly unless you're Texas. So, and as good as JMU is, they're not Texas. ah The last game of the night, Louisiana Matt, going to Southern Miss, Hattiesburg,
01:21:48
Speaker
UL fourteen and a half point road favorite over under fifty seven and a half. Give me UL, dude. Southern Miss just feels like they are in the walking dead and they're just waiting to get their head chopped off by like a main character. And Will Hall kind of feels the same way. He feels like he just wants to get bought out so fat, like he just wants his buyout and wants to hit the road.
01:22:14
Speaker
Anybody? No, you're right. Pretty straight, cut and dry. Give me Southern Miss to cover. Explain this. Look at the history between these two. I don't care about the history. Southern is so bad, dude. I do. But Southern Miss is so bad. They weren't great last year either. They weren't good last year either. No, I agree. But they seem even they seem checked out as a team.
01:22:46
Speaker
like there there's a there's like being bad and then there's just not caring they seem like they do not care from like the coach all the way down to the players and at least last year you could be like well they got Frank Gore he might score some points this year i'm like who you think Tate Rotomaker is going to throw three touchdowns like probably not so here's here's here's here's my issue the Cajuns are 11 and 41 all time against Southern Miss the Cajuns haven't won in Hattiesburg since 1989. And they get their first to on Saturday. When was how many times have they played like since then? Because these teams weren't in the same conference forever. You know, this isn't like they've been. So since that game in 89, they played in
01:23:44
Speaker
So you're only looking at the past two years then. Yeah. Throw out the Brett Favre of years. Like I, I don't, they do not have Brett Favre of understanding. And that's fair. I just, yeah i don't I don't know, man. I think the Cajuns win, but I'm, I'm not comfortable picking them to win by two scores. All right.
01:24:08
Speaker
all right well you know we'll we'll see but i i just get a different even with the bad teams in this conference i don't get the same vibe as i get from southern miss southern miss feels like one of those nfl teams when it it's like in december you can tell the coach is getting ready to be canned and everybody is just like who cares you know what i mean like think about You want an NFL comp? Think about the Thursday night game last year between the Raiders and the Chargers where the Raiders scored 70 points or whatever it was in like the first half. I can't remember what the what the actual score was but yeah that that's the they give me like just quit on the coach vibes so I think that's where I think that's where they're at they're in a kind of a a unique situation they're not like old Dominion who's like not a great team but can get up for games they just seem like they don't care to me
01:25:00
Speaker
And until I see otherwise, like i'm just gonna i'm gonna that's going to be my kind of assumption.
Podcast Conclusion and Social Media Engagement
01:25:05
Speaker
But that will do it for this weekend's slate of games. Again, wish we could get a noon game so that all four of these aren't at seven o'clock Eastern time, so I could watch multiple games. um But other than that, guys, let let people know where they can find you on social media, and then we'll go ahead and get out of here.
01:25:26
Speaker
Yeah, you can, uh, you can find me on Twitter at Zig Palermo, Z E K E P A L E R M O. I realized as soon as I start talking that Matt usually leads us off when we sign off. And so I'm really sorry. I could hear him start his sentence. Matt, I'm sorry about that.
01:25:41
Speaker
It's all good, buddy. You can find me on Twitter at megasmat. Also, I've been showing these warm weather fans stickers. We have a very limited quantity of these. So if you are interested in one, reach out to us and we'll we'll figure out some some cool ways to to get them to y'all.
01:26:04
Speaker
Well, I'll take one. um Anyway, you can find it. Yeah, you can email the show questions, comments, warm weather fans at Gmail dot com. As Zeke said earlier, we are now on YouTube. So if you want to watch us talk to one another, ah we will be available there. And the talk of the ticks. Tick tock. Yeah. Yeah. The talk tick. Yeah. he yeah the The ticky tock. I assure you, no one calls it that.
01:26:35
Speaker
of yeah we're on tiktok as well i just i just got into that uh i just set up an account last week so we're trying to grow that account uh i'm not going to be doing any any whips any nays on the on that account uh it's just gonna be ball talk uh again you find me on x at watch the stone we will be back next week to discuss ah all of these games that we just made picks on as well as oh and one other thing i posted link on our twitter account to our betting sheet if people want to go but through and look at kind of what our records are what the picks are you know if you're curious about how we're doing overall last week we all kind of killed it i thought like i thought we did pretty well as a as a whole group so you can keep up with our our picks and sort of how they pan it out there this has been another episode of warm weather fans the sunbelt podcast