Transcript
Speaker: Welcome, everybody, into Warm Weather Fans. It is Brian Stone and Zeke Palermo, your hosts of this here podcast. And we're here running down all of the week one action in Sunbelt.
Speaker: Um, Zeke. Not a... Not a great slate, I would say. There were a couple of interesting games that had... you know some some back and forth some competitive results but i mean we were talking about it before we started recording it's like Some of these.
Speaker: You're just not going to learn anything from these. These games in week one, some of these you just kind of have to go. Great. it's it just rolls off your back like water on a duck and you're like all right well um Let's move on to week two and see how it goes from there. but Exactly. And that goes in both directions, right? Whether you won big or lost big.
Speaker: For a little more than half of the slate, to me, I guess it's a step in the right direction, but as I told you before we started. like really going it's like I don't know how much that changes for me in terms of projection. um you know to kind of step on the toes of like some of these games that aren't super interesting. It's like Georgia State beating up on North Carolina A &T.
Speaker: I... I'm still not fully convinced that this is a team that's not going to go 1 -11, right? I think you can draw comparisons to, like, this is better than they played against Murray State last year, their one win. um but also they're one more. win last year was also FCS. ah On the flip side of that, it's like...
Speaker: uh marshall getting down by penn state um i think we learned something Uh, like it. you know There may be indications that you and I were on the right side of history as far as the Carlos Del Rio Wilson.
Speaker: uh decision or you know uh prediction. ah But realistically, it's like I'm not going to dog too much on Marshall or. Doria Wilson or anyone within that program for getting beat down by Penn State. so On either ends of the spectrum, there's...
Speaker: There's a lot. Now in this middle, I think Liberty falls here. Troy falls here. Coastal is going to fall here. Arkansas State. Arkansas State.
Speaker: I think. Old Dominion is also here. And honestly, Southern Miss, even though they beat down on Alcorn, I think those are the games where it's like, I've really... materially learned something about this team.
Speaker: ah That's going to... that gives me something to watch for next week whereas with like right you know we talked about louisiana tech northwestern state it's like I don't know what to watch for out of la tech next week because they just played the worst division one team in the history of division one yeah they're they're extras from like a blue mountain state episode basically like they they're just like a cream puff team that you just roll over and you're like all right moving on Um.
Speaker: Yeah, so like we we're going to hit these pretty quickly. um Once these games get more competitive throughout the season, obviously when we get into Sunbelt. conference play that's going to be a lot more in depth and we're going to be able to like kind of dig in on some of those. But yeah, it's like...
Speaker: Friday night. you know, going back to your Georgia state, you know, Comment. I think the biggest takeaway for me. i i will say i didn't watch much of this game because by the time I got in from going out to eat putting the kids to bed, like all that kind of stuff. I looked on. my score app and it was 28, nothing Georgia state. And I'm kind of like,
Speaker: And then I think like literally five minutes later in like real. time like not game time they they took cameron brown out and i was like well that was really all i wanted to watch for right um and i mean he he was really good he went 15 for 20 190 passing yards um A whole bunch of guys on every side of the ball.
Speaker: ah contributed Jabril Rhodes -Nelson stuck out defensively with two sacks. um but from like a high level from a georgia state perspective the one thing that i really hope sticks um Or I guess the one thing that I anticipate will translate regardless of opposition.
Speaker: ah Lack of penalties. This this is ah ah when we played. or when they played Murray State this time last year. ah There were 13. Georgia State penalties in this game. ah They only got five. in this game that is that is like so much more manageable And penalties were not the reason Georgia State was a 1 -11 team last year.
Speaker: But it definitely like over the long run. contributes to like the difference between two and three wins versus zero to one. ah So I think that'll stick. It doesn't help.
Speaker: So I hope that sticks. you know obviously you want cameron brown uh to keep doing that he was fun he was electric but it's like dang we're really stunting on you know the blind sisters uh of the poor Lanier McCrary, the guy I told you in the preseason that I ah had known about ah from a previous job, nine carries for 75 yards.
Speaker: But we'll see if any of this sticks. um They play Kennesaw State next week, which I'm really excited about. Um, And that will be their first opportunity to actually say like, hey, are we? Are we the 4 -5 win Georgia State team that might keep Del McGee's job, or are we the 1 -3 win team that's going to see him canned before the end of the year?
Speaker: Yeah. it it was so bad this this week like this isn't necessarily about this game it was so bad about this week that like earlier i posted the pff ah quarterback grades for this week.
Speaker: And. they have this new like feature that's like a snap minimum that you have to hit before your like grade is displayed because obviously like If you take the... The snaps away.
Speaker: There are guys that are like super high up there, but it's like Okay, Henry Hasselbeck. was the highest graded. Offensive. Quarterback grade. in the in the conference this week for App State. He played 11 snaps.
Speaker: right So it's just like... Even some of the players that played and started. and like played significantly I guess significantly in air quotes, but it's like... you know, Blake Baker. for Louisiana Tech.
Speaker: he played 28 offensive snaps in a game where they scored 80 points so it's like yeah it is hard to like take much away from that it is positive though you know when Once you implement, I think the minimum amount of snaps is like 40.
Speaker: or something, Cameron Brown was the highest rated PFF passer that hit the hit the threshold this week. I... I mean, I'm gonna be honest, man. Like, if... If you...
Speaker: If Del McGee and I guess Hugh Jackson or whoever made this this call to switch quarterbacks 100 times last year for Georgia State, like... If there's just continuity. throughout the season.
Speaker: And Cameron Brown continues to improve, you know, like young quarterbacks typically do over time, like a linear. type of progression. I i think there's like... I'm not saying they're competing for the East or anything, but I'm just like...
Speaker: it's a nice it's it's something It's like a foothold, finally. like It's been... like trying to climb sand for Del McGee for a while. And it's like, Okay, well, if we have somebody in place that we feel good about...
Speaker: And is not going to totally embarrass us like a Christian Valer or a TJ Finley or somebody like that. You're like. Okay, well, that's one thing we can build off of. but That's one more thing we had last year. um I mean just from a Georgia State perspective the difference is That you beat down a team at all. I mean, you go back to 2024, you beat Chattanooga by only three. And then last year.
Speaker: uh against murray state you only win by 16. it's like the the ability to really put uh your foot on the neck of an opponent is something we hadn't seen yet out of this team. We'll see if that sticks as you play like now Kennesaw State, UCF, and Northern Illinois, the rest is non -conference.
Speaker: I I was uh from a fan perspective optimistic or was given things to be optimistic about moving forward Cool man. Like, that's that's more than you could have... been given I think the last couple years under no it's huge tell me we up
Speaker: All right, so transitioning to the Saturday games, the way yeah ESPN has them displayed, I i obviously have Georgia Southern favorited as my team, so they're displayed at the top. I'm just going to run through their game really quick and just some.
Speaker: takeaways that I saw. ah They won 31 -0 over Charleston Southern. It could have been... They could have... Probably doubled that. Um. But Clay Helton has to do the nice guy shtick of like, well, that guy over there needs to feed his family and I'm not going to embarrass him, blah, blah, blah. Okay, fine, whatever. The takeaways that I had were like...
Speaker: Number one. I don't think Max Johnson has the arm. to get it done. to be quite frank like the The touchdown that he threw to Hollins in like early in the game.
Speaker: He'd look like... Tour. Honestly. like and i'm dead serious it looked like have you ever played the game jackpot like with your friends when you were a kid where you threw the ball like straight up in the air and you said like a point amount Uh, That's what that touchdown looked like. He threw the ball literally straight up in the air. It looked like a fly ball.
Speaker: In, like, Little League. And Holland's... jumped up grabbed it over like two defenders made it due to spin move and scored a touchdown and i'm like everybody was go online was like awesome you know awesome play and I was like Yeah, by Hollins. Everybody else was like so substandard. I just...
Speaker: I don't think Max Johnson physically is going to be able to hold up, but also like, again, he looks like to a post like hip injury where it's like. He is putting his heart and soul.
Speaker: into every throw to get it. To go. like there's no zip without like he has to put his entire Like. torso into it. Um,
Speaker: One of the other things I saw too. i just think that like the other running backs that georgia southern has besides terence gibbs or just have more juice I think.
Speaker: i think the gibbs experiment needs to kind of come to an end if you want to bring him in as Clay Hilton to to pass block on third down. And that's like what he his role is. That's totally fine.
Speaker: Jamarian Samuel looks like he shot out of a cannon compared to... gibs It's just, it's night and day. And then the last thing I would say is defensively. It's hard to tell because you're playing a Charleston Southern level team like we'll see as the season goes along. They just seem to play with like more.
Speaker: Fire. like they just seem motivated like they wanted to go hit the person with the ball. Whereas like. multiple times last season, it looked like they were just on their heels and like waiting for someone to catch it so that they could come up and hit them, whereas it was much more proactive in this game. so ah the other The only other thing I had, ah Turner Helton came in. um
Speaker: earlier than i would have liked to have seen him he was bad dude Like, he was he was truly bad. Like, he... Right. He had a series that like was... i don't I don't know. i don't ah if If Max Johnson gets hurt and they're set.
Speaker: He's... Clay is set on playing his son, it's going to be... a long season and and clay is going to be out of a job because turner did not look good in the snaps that I saw against Charleston Southern. So it's like, imagine what he would do when he faced like a real.
Speaker: some belt -level defense. like he'd he'd be out of a job pretty fast anywhere else. Um, that I mean, that was my takeaway from this and from seeing like other Georgia Southern voices. It's just like, this is the first.
Speaker: competent defensive performance you've seen maybe since Helton got there. um Obviously, shutouts are hard to hold. First shutout for Georgia Southern since 2023. Season opener against the Citadel.
Speaker: Shout out The Citadel just upset Charlotte. Yeah. Triple OT. Triple it. how an instant classic if you will um but I... G -G - I mean, you said it just very aptly. This is the first time that they've.
Speaker: in a while that they've been out there and it's like Are you guys even on your toes or are we just sitting flat -footed here? Yeah. Last year, they looked, or the last two years or so, they looked like... um Team USA soccer in that game that they got eliminated in the World Cup, where it was like belgium they were just.
Speaker: They were just waiting on the other team to make a play, and then they were being like reactive versus proactive. this This season... or this game rather, they they were actually like... They were kind of getting to the passer more than I had seen ah out of a team. They were running like...
Speaker: corner blitzes that were taking place. The other quarterback off off balance, ah they were they were coming up and like actually making plays like on running backs, which is... you know, has not been a... real staple of Georgia Southern's defense is like.
Speaker: they They mostly just wait. for a guy to get six yards down the field. And then they're like, Oh yeah, I got to go tackle him. My bad. Um, So that's just more. That's just kind of what I got from this game, again.
Speaker: I don't know how much you can take away because it's kind of like... You played a lower -level team in the FCS Charleston Southern, but... I don't know. those were just Some positives and negatives that I kind of saw, which was like.
Speaker: i I think it's going to be a long season with Max Johnson playing Sunbelt football. I think if i was the court if I was the head coach and I... didn't have this weird. obsession with like transfer quarterbacks the way clay does i think west and brian should just be out there getting reps because it's like Offensively.
Speaker: Other than Josh Dallas and like. jamarian samuel and some of these like backs their backs are way better than like the offensive line is the quarterback is like all that stuff so it's just like I don't know i To your, I guess.
Speaker: Whatever the opposite of your chagrin would be to your rejoice. ah it is unlikely that he stays healthy for 12 games. so Yeah, but I still think i think Turner would... Turner Hilton would play the remainder of the season regardless of performance. um And that's what I'm worried about.
Speaker: It's like I have to watch 10 games of Turner Hilton after Max Johnson gets hit blindside next week against Clemson and then his season's over. Um, something like that so that's that's mostly what i'm concerned about.
Speaker: Uh... Alright. Next game here, ah Marshall loses 45 -0 to Penn State. You talked about this. I mean... We're not going to like. totally bury Marshall for losing to Penn State. We were making jokes at Penn State's expense like going into this one just because it's like...
Speaker: You know, Matt Campbell with, like, his his transfer quarterback coming over from Iowa State and Rocco Beck. Um... I think the number one thing I can say is.
Speaker: Carlos Del Rio Wilson still not throwing the ball. down the field at all. ah He had 17 completions and only had 102 yards passing. Um... defensively.
Speaker: It doesn't... ah At least in game one, maybe it gets better when you play like a more level. Uh... more even level of competition. Defensively, I'm like... I... I kind of think they have the same issues they had last year.
Speaker: Yeah. and You're going to have to put up, again, 31 points a game again to... scratch and claw to a a bowl. at that point i mean beck picked them apart he went 13 for 18 271 four passing touchdowns you're going to need a guy to step up like Boog Trotter did last year in order to.
Speaker: prevent that from happening uh now do you think he's they're gonna face quarterbacks that are that efficient. ah for that high volume on a week -to -week basis? Probably not. um But the the secondary was. picked apart i mean like a vulture eating road killer it was ridiculous To the Carlos Del Rio Wilson point. um
Speaker: This just seems to be the truth with him now. um Granted, one game, but we had it all of last season as a sample size. Among 116 eligible quarterbacks in FBS this year, he ranks 107th by ADOT.
Speaker: He kept the ball safe, but also it's hard not to do that when you're throwing the ball on average five yards downfield. um Right. Tony Gibson, I mean. I know it's not necessarily his offense, but it was scared.
Speaker: Um, And Marshall came into this game like a lot of the FCS teams ah playing. Even before teams come in, it's just like we are here for the check.
Speaker: And everyone, no one is under any illusion of otherwise. um And for that reason, I don't want to read too far into the the result here because… It does look like they just kind of laid down and took took their their lashings.
Speaker: Um... But if you come out like next week and you are also showing an equal. uh lack of fight i don't know who does marshall have next week um They play Middle Tennessee State.
Speaker: You know, that's supposed to be a little – if you come out flat next week, now we're going to have to start talking about like this is a coaching problem. This is ah is a team problem. yeah But through one week. you I'm willing to give you the mulligan here.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm... i'm i I don't want to say this too early, but... I think the possibility is out there that we were just desperate to look for another East contender. uh that wasn't named Old Dominion or James Madison and um It may just be a two -horse race again this year like it was last year.
Speaker: Uh, Next game here, ah Coastal Carolina, West Virginia. This one was very interesting. So I watched a decent bit of this because it was. This and Liberty james James Madison were going on at the same time, so I was kind of flipping back and forth. ah depending on what what was happening in either game.
Speaker: Uh... coastal looked dead in the first half they couldn't do anything Uh, Deuce Bailey. In the first half, Luke... poor like really really bad there were some plays where it was like There was an easy, I remember there was a third down specifically that was big for them in the first half.
Speaker: And... He tried to hit his tight end over the middle, and they were like, on the broadcast, they were like, That ball was just late, blah, blah, blah. No, he like fluttered it like it looked like.
Speaker: It looked like a ah duck. like in the air like it was just it the spiral wasn't tight it didn't have like the speed to get in there and i was just like Oh, no. Like if Coastal's fielding another team.
Speaker: because Because of how pass -heavy they are. I'm like. I'm like, if they field this team where with a quarterback that cannot. Throw the ball. like into tight windows like you're gonna be in some deep deep trouble because you need to be able to do that Uh, He really came alive in the second half, though. He finished with 373 yards and three touchdowns passing.
Speaker: um They made a run of it late. But I will say. This is what killed them, I think. ah you know the kind of turning point that put the game away for West Virginia. Besides not being able to stop the run, that was a big... a big part of this Uh,
Speaker: Let's see, when was this? The fourth quarter. West Virginia's last touchdown they scored. It was. Three minutes left. ah West Virginia was up. 24 to 14.
Speaker: They kick a field goal, West Virginia does. it's good West Virginia gets a roughing the kicker call. for for them. Two plays later, they punch it in. It's 31 -14.
Speaker: Game is basically... over. Because, again, Coastal mailed in two quarters of football to start and didn't score at all. And West Virginia jumped on them 24 -0 at half. And then...
Speaker: you know They made a ah very valiant comeback. But. ah Jacksonville, former Jacksonville State running back Cam Cook just absolutely diced them up. I think he had 142 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. um Couldn't stop the run.
Speaker: you know, First half especially, couldn't get off the field defensively, couldn't score. And then the second half, like I said, they came alive, but then it was just kind of too little too late. And then. West Virginia gets bailed out by that penalty. so a tough break. I'm really interested to see ah how it works out for Deuce in the long term. like i I would argue this is... probably the best individual quarterback performance they've had since like the Grayson McCall era.
Speaker: Um, It's not a high bar. Yeah, I mean, we're we're competing with the third string at Liberty now, Ethan Vasco's of the world. but Right. um ah If Coastal cannot...
Speaker: figure out one how to stop the run nearly 300 yards allowed in this one but then also run the ball themselves they averaged under two per carry 52 yards total yeah in the contest. like it's just going to be a long season i don't think this is a team I guess we'd need a greater sample size, but like there was one half of football where we're looking at Deuce Bailey and we're like, I'm not certain that this guy is.
Speaker: any better than the the Guys that you've trotted out in the past several years. the Noah Kims of the world. Um, I... I do want to say this is this is a huge credit to Ryan Beard.
Speaker: A Tim Beck team that goes down, what, 24 -0 at half? Loses that game 48 -7. Loses that game 48 -14. Um, And I think, I mean, that's just a testament to Ryan Beard. and um on him as a coach.
Speaker: How much does that matter? I really don't know. um But the early signs are... They just look like a totally different team in the second half. I mean, to to the difference that you described with the Georgia Southern defense, it's just like as it from an energy perspective, like this coastal team looks like they are here to play competitive football.
Speaker: um And it doesn't just kind of revolve around. Is one guy going to step up and kind of save us? ah through like four or five games of the year a la. Samari Collier last year. So I'm excited for Coastal, I think.
Speaker: I was definitely... I don't think I did not anticipate them being in nearly at all. close to being in this game. Um, I think they're a team to kind of watch is like if we are looking for a third.
Speaker: ah In the East, I think they're... They probably have the best argument through one week for that for that position. I just feel like their ceilings kind of capped if like. If they can't play defense... consistently like again.
Speaker: 24 unanswered in the first. first half and they can't run the ball. Like I think their ceiling is capped at like. last year's Southern Miss team. or something like that. Last year's Arkansas State, where it's like...
Speaker: We have some pieces. But we really can't run the football, and we kind of just put it on our quarterback's shoulders to go out there and win us a game every single week. And it's like... that's that's nice and you can win seven eight games as your ceiling and and go to a bowl but like But realistically, like a lot of these teams, you know, the JMUs and the Old Dominions are much... More. put together. And I understand it's Ryan Beard's year one. Um,
Speaker: i just If you can't run the ball, there's there's a hard ceiling on like where you're able to go. like Troy is like the 100th percentile outcome.
Speaker: of of those teams last, you know, the way that they played last year. ah so you know you You would have to play in the very soft division. for that to to work out for you. And i they don't. So that's.
Speaker: That's kind of where I'm at with that. Um, Next game here. James Madison beats Liberty 20 -13. Uh... I watched much more early of this game than I did like as the game went along because I just frankly felt like Coastal and West Virginia was like...
Speaker: not only more competitive but more entertaining like this game was kind of a slog to get through Like it was like. They very much. JMU. ran like a last year's Quinn Hinnickle ODU level offense where it was like Very safe. We're not going to let J .C. Evans put the ball in the air very much. We're going to run the ball a lot.
Speaker: Which, you know. Fine. but mixed results. You know, George Pedway, 3 .1 yards per carry. Uh, evans himself had 69 yards rushing which was nice uh and then You know, he threw a touchdown to Corey Scott, but this game was...
Speaker: Like. watching. paint dry to me kind of like i it was just like especially in the first half, like Jamie Chadwell. I mean, I tweeted that meme out of like goofy. where it was like, damn you live like this and that's how i felt when i was watching them in the first Liberty in the first half. I'm like, This is the same guy that coached Coastal Carolina to like.
Speaker: Chris McCall. and ranked nationally. yeah like he He feels like he's lost like his mojo or like whatever made made him special like as a play caller.
Speaker: um I... I was excited. i I enjoyed what I saw schematically from James Madison. I thought it was a fun to watch. Um, Or maybe it's like a fun offense, but not necessarily fun to watch in the the way that they were.
Speaker: not necessarily executing at the 90th percentile that you would expect. I was not in love with the idea that we're going to give our backup quarterback every four drives. ah Well, it worked so well last year. Of course, and it worked so splendidly. Like if I could go back in time, I don't know.
Speaker: Was it like Virginia Tech with like, wasn't it Tyrod Taylor and they had like Mike Glennon or something? At the same time. and No, know because Mike Glennon played at NC State.
Speaker: Whatever the genesis yeah of two quarterback was, if I could go back and like Thanos snap it, I would because but it's proven to be fairly inefficient. um right I get the idea. You get the quotes from Napier after about like.
Speaker: oh, well, you know, he's done so much for our team and like we wanted to rotate him in like you would any other like depth defensive lineman. I'm like. but this is Quarterback is the one – it's like quarterback – Kicker punches are the only position. that needs to be one deep and nothing else there's no need to over complicate this um And as we get. into maybe like conference play.
Speaker: you You cannot pull this. um You simply can't. JC Evans is very good. It's why they lost games last year. ah Early in the season, yes. ah The defense was very good. This is what we've come to expect. Again, you know.
Speaker: I... Part of that is it would appear that they've lost some of their juice. um This isn't like the Caden Salter Liberty teams of the world. um but he They didn't look good, like at all.
Speaker: like They did not look good, which is why the scoreline scares me. I mean, this I guess this is Sunbelt Billy. This is what the Florida fans hated so much. it's like James Madison had ample opportunity to shut the door. uh granted liberty dominated time possession they they were very content to have like five minutes six minute drives But...
Speaker: James Madison had. Let's see. Did not score in the final. 15, 27 minutes of the game. Yeah. And that's the Billy, unfortunately, but that's the Billy Napier experience.
Speaker: So they're going to have to kind of overcome that. ah I don't know if we necessarily expected new tricks out of an old dog in Napier, but... that's That's what he does, that's what he did, and that's what he does.
Speaker: I think the one thing that concerns me a little bit about JMU. Um, There were times where their pass defense was very soft. Mm -hmm They did not play to the level, and and I know that they've had a lot of turnover roster -wise.
Speaker: They did not play to the level defensively, especially in the secondary in this game. Like when I was watching Deshaun Purdy, like throw some passes. uh for liberty They did not play to the level that... we've kind of come to expect out of their secondary. Sure. um i I think that might be something to kind of put a pin in for later.
Speaker: ah Because... Frankly, it won't really matter until you get to conference play. because let's be honest like we're not projecting this year's JMU team to like undefeated, playoff, Sunbelt title.
Speaker: they They will probably be. right there with ODU at the end of the season in the East to to represent. the the east But. Yeah, it's almost like. What was it? Two years ago, I remember coming on with you and and Matt.
Speaker: And it was some game they played like. They played a weird team like Miami of Ohio or something. And I was like... with The first year that Barnett started, and I was kind of like...
Speaker: yeah like you won't see it on paper but this is going to be something to watch like their secondary like If you played a more competent quarterback against them, like... You were probably going to. shred them.
Speaker: defensively that's kind of the vibes I was getting out of this where I'm like All of this like really conservative offense with JC Evans is like nice and all. And it's great that like. Camden Coleman is getting...
Speaker: minutes for reasons that i don't really understand uh you know totally derailing like any continuity that JC Evans would have at the quarterback spot. defensively, I'm like,
Speaker: Run defense. Good. you know, B plus, A minus, whatever. Secondary wise, I was like. Mm -mm. there are There are like problems. I don't know if it's a scheme thing or if it was just like game one kind of jitters.
Speaker: The. if you start to play more competent quarterbacks like they're going to start to expose like this really soft coverage that they're playing. I think the the point that I saw from the JMU Sports News guys... ah was When those breakdowns happened, it was because it was like rotation. Like these are not necessarily our starters. However.
Speaker: To that same point. the backups or you know rotation guys or two deeps or whoever We're not playing because, oh, we want to give them a chance, but rather because... we kind of view them all on equal footing this is not like a starters versus backups but rather We have. Uh,
Speaker: cornerback kind by committee, edge rusher by committee or whatever. Um, We'll see if that plays out, but that was kind of my interpretation from the JMU perspective. Worth noting also, and I don't know necessarily how much this helps. In the past defense, but Gannon Weathers be dressed but did not play.
Speaker: ah He was supposed to be like their... Linebacker one green dot type guy. Yeah. Did not play the brace on his legs. so Again, read into that what you please. but For a team like James Madison, that was my preseason.
Speaker: Pick out of the East and probably for the conference. It's like I need something a lot more in the next coming weeks. ah if you want to retain that. Now, I don't want to jump the gun, but as we get to Old Dominion, I don't know if they necessarily moved their stock in the right direction for me.
Speaker: um I think it remained fairly neutral. but James Madison has to. Be a little sexier I suppose. Yeah, I mean, they're going to have to show that. they um are willing to kind of open it up.
Speaker: Like there's going to be a game where some team is really going to push them on the scoreboard. And they can't run this like. ball control. you know, JC Evans, like very safe. throw offense like that only takes you so far. Like eventually you're going to have a game where you're like, we're going to have to let him throw 31 times or we're going to have to get Coleman the start like full time.
Speaker: like we we need to decide like Do we want to like... Do we want to run basically spread options concepts and not ever throw the ball or do we want to like be able to like air it out in case we need to like that that's gonna be like a fork in the road that they're gonna have to pick because it really is I mean, it it Really, like when you look at those two quarterbacks, it honestly kind of is like Barnett and Sluka last year, where it's like...
Speaker: sluka looks like jc evans where it's like realistically, if he comes in the game, how much you want him bombing it out there. Probably not a lot. like you want to keep the damage to a minimum whereas like Barney.
Speaker: coleman I guess in this, in this scenario, who's like a more competent passer. I'm like, i don't know man i i'm i'm leaning more towards like we need to get him some reps because there's going to be a game where we really like if you play old dominion you know down the road or whatever they're gonna push you they're not just gonna sit back like liberty on their heels and be like
Speaker: I don't know. like let's Let's run the ball a couple more times into this brick wall and see what happens. It's like, no, they're going to get after it. so Yeah, and the and the way their schedule shakes out doesn't necessarily favor this indecision either because you play Wagner next week, so it's like we're we're going to split time. you know Three, four different quarterbacks are going to see time. And you play at San Diego State.
Speaker: But then week four, you're you're playing Old Dominion already. at yeah dominion So it's like you need to figure this out fairly quickly. Um, And you're probably not going to learn a ton from Wagner.
Speaker: So it's going to have to be those 60 minutes against San Diego State. Um, I hope you learned enough against Liberty because just there's so – you have such limited time. to actually glean anything useful.
Speaker: Right. ah Another game here, ah we could run through this one pretty quickly. App State beats Maine 55 -3. Uh... I will say I was texting with a friend of the show, Aikman Chambers, who came on, an App State fan, came on for our App State preview. He said that this, I mean, I know it's an FCS team, but he said this is like... basically one of the most pleased.
Speaker: performances he had he had seen since like 2021 he was like He was like, everything kind of clicked for us, so I'm i'm pretty happy with like us heading into the rest of the season. Maybe...
Speaker: Again, maybe Loggins gets it together in year two and they're making a push in the East. I don't know because, again, this is an FCS team. but ah you know Malachi Singleton threw three touchdowns and had 291 yards on and and only missed two passes. ah And was PFF's second... highest graded.
Speaker: Um, Or. One of the highest graded ah passers. of the of the weekend and the Sun Belt. You know, they had an evenly distributed rushing attack with Jakari Lewis and Jaquez Cross. um Kanye Roberts mixed in a little bit.
Speaker: Uh, Yeah, I mean, it sounded like it was just a ah thorough, you know, beat down across the board. and Everybody seemed like they were pretty like. okay with how this game went you know given that like yeah a lot of teams won in beatdowns but weren't like super thrilled you know the The onus now is just on App State to keep these things clicking, especially as you face like East Carolina next week and then Charlotte the week following.
Speaker: Well, Charlotte. Well, here's the thing is like the Citadel understood. Yeah, understood. But it's like. you need to keep Everything is working. You're you're a well -oiled machine. All phases are doing their things.
Speaker: um rush and pass offense and defense even special teams all all working very well. Um, But you got like as soon as one of I don't want to see the flaw. I don't want to know what your flaw is until you play at NC State.
Speaker: So that's kind of the the responsibility of App State now is to. prove to me that you know probably over coastal even that you are that third dog in the east um Because it's going to get a lot harder. They also play Old Dominion very early.
Speaker: Um, just Just show me that it it can be this clean week in week out. Yeah, early returns, i'm I'm... Early returns from what I've seen, I'm i'm probably taking app over NC State.
Speaker: NC State week one was. diabolically terrible. like it was It looked like you had gotten 11 guys on both sides of the ball that had never met. and decided to play an organized football game.
Speaker: Uh, So. I don't know. ah Next game here, you had Southern Miss beats Alcorn State. 49 to 3. ah They pick off ah Alcorn State's quarterback, Jalen Tolbert.
Speaker: Ha. jalen tolbert uh four times uh you know former receiver uh south of alabama uh four times Um... Ethan Hampton got the start, got the majority of the work. He looked pretty good.
Speaker: Steven Robinson was running back. might be the answer because i know that last year we talked about how How poor kind of... Briggs and some of those guys were Jones like guys like that last year were for them.
Speaker: Robinson ripped off 123 yards and three touchdowns in this one for Southern Miss and was the PFF's highest rated rusher in the Sun Belt. ah this week. so Yeah, it was a good it was a good start for Blake Anderson. um you know this Hopefully this is something they can build off of, maybe me make some noise and and win a couple of games. that you know heading into the season like we didn't anticipate because it looked dire um before
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, in his first game. Robinson, 123 yards. ah Southern Miss had one game with an 100 -yard rusher all of last season. correct And it wasn't just him though Jamaris Wilder went 90 yards on 14 carries. He scored two touchdowns.
Speaker: um So credit to the offensive line here. This is very similar to Georgia State, though, where it's like. Okay, we now know you're not going to go 0 -12, although I think the bar was a little higher for Southern Miss than it was for Georgia State, but not by.
Speaker: a huge margin just considering how much turnover they had. you had like 105 guys who have literally never played football together. Um, So... Which direction this moves to the needle, I don't know if it goes either way for me.
Speaker: um But the. ah ability Like this is something that. A 49 -3 trouncing was not necessarily a given. Um, yeah And so I think that's something to take ah into consideration. This run game looks legit.
Speaker: um You can't count on the four interceptions. This is kind of the Marshall problem of last year where it's like their ah secondary numbers looked a lot better because you've got a guy who made like eight picks over the course of the season. I saw one guy put ah Kobe Albert.
Speaker: in like his top 10 Heisman. I'm like, all right, well, now we're just being ridiculous. Do you think he's going to average three interceptions a game? Overreaction central for week one, yeah. For real. ah um I was like, that's that's maybe the most insane thing I've ever heard.
Speaker: That's the Kaoshi insiders trying to juice some extra money out of you. Holy market, trying to juice the market. um But in reality, I mean, this is... Just like Georgia State, just like... a apt to agree it's like i don't know what i learned per se but it's important that you got this result.
Speaker: Oh, yeah, definitely. because Because there were... I mean... I think we went back and looked at it with. Dima, who came on for the preview. It's like... There's not really, I mean, maybe Tulane now. There's not a lot of free wins like on this schedule. ah You know, UConn.
Speaker: Tulane, ULM. South Owl? Like, those might be the ones that are... Because, like, the rest of the schedule is pretty difficult, so I'm like... they They're not.
Speaker: It. I don't know. But it's ah it's very funny to look at one game a one -game sample like this against an HBCU and go, that guy's on the Heisman list. It's like, you watch Darian Mensah do what he did at Miami, and your first thought was, well, the DB for Southern Miss is definitely taking it home over him. And you're like, all right, what whatever, dude.
Speaker: Um... And then we you had kind of touched on this one earlier. ah Old Dominion beats Norfolk State 31 -10. Um, I think the thing that... that really surprised me i'm sure you kind of feel the same way is like I...
Speaker: At least early, Hennicle was really like in the pocket. like yeah he was He was just strictly drop, back, throw. you know. we We know he can run. like Everybody knows he can run. like That's the scouting report on him. is like you stop him running and then you just kind of deal with whatever he gives you through the air.
Speaker: 9 of 12, 137 yards, two touchdowns, had have had a pretty strong outing. Also ran for 68 yards and two scores. Um. you know, they kind of...
Speaker: did what we expected them to do. uh but i like i said i think this was a great game for him to get those passing rips because he desperately needs them in game situations because it's like,
Speaker: even going back to the bowl game last year like they weren't letting him throw the ball it's like Two years ago when he started against Arkansas State, like he had more rush attempts than pass attempts. And you're just like.
Speaker: no man he needs reps throwing the football like he can run we all know that like you need to get him in a game situation and let him throw against real live defenses and so I... I probably would have liked him to throw the ball a little bit more than 12 attempts, but...
Speaker: you know even Not just doing like a JC Evans. like stat line this week was was I think a step in the right direction Yeah, it took him a little while to really get into a rhythm here in this game, too. Only seven points in the first quarter. um I think they went like punt -punt to start the game.
Speaker: So it took a while. Also. If you're looking for early contender for ugliest uniforms in college football, Old Dominion has an argument from week one. It's like them and Michigan, and I don't know. Who else is necessarily in the conversation thus far?
Speaker: Um, I don't know man. Those Wisconsin uniforms last night were pretty bad. I don't think I saw them in that case because... they they were they both Them and Notre Dame both wore their primary colors because it was red and blue. Oh, sure. But it was it was navy blue and then that bright, bright red that they wear. and it But it was like...
Speaker: red from head to toe like the helmets were red the shirt the the jerseys were red the pants were red i think the socks were red like it was just you like the kool -aid man out there Not everyone needs Chrome, and that's okay.
Speaker: Yeah, um exactly. No, but I agree with you as far as the wanting a little more passing reps. This feels like. I compared their offense to what Georgia Tech was doing last year with Haynes King. I think they're just kind of falling even closer to that.
Speaker: trajectory because I think it would be a fairly cool take, unpopular not unpopular opinion to say Colton Joseph better passer than Haynes King. um So I think they're just kind of falling closer to that landmark. and ah With the Old Dominion defense, hold Norfolk State to 10 in this one. We're sneaky good last season.
Speaker: that may be a recipe for success. Um, Old Dominion is another team where it's like I don't know how much my needle moved in either direction. because Yeah. This was a ah good win, but an unspectacular win.
Speaker: Mm hmm. I agree. I mean, you know, it like you said, slow start. Um, if you can't i hate to say this but it's like if you're ricky ronnie and you can't take or who the the new offensive coordinator who was previously the wide receivers coach if you can't take the training wheels off against norfolk state and like let the guy just throw when are you ever going to be able to do it? You know what I mean? And like,
Speaker: This was the perfect opportunity. I know they started slow, but this was the perfect opportunity to do that. because like Realistically. you were never in danger of losing this game like if you really needed to and it got dire, just go back to doing the Quinn Hinnacle takes every snap and just runs around the end with it like they had been doing, or runs up the middle. ah
Speaker: I don't know. like you know i don't think I don't think their stock moved one way or or another for me based on this game. We'll we'll see as the the weeks kind of roll along and we get through. the out of conference games. before I can fully like kind of formulate an opinion.
Speaker: Uh... Another game here, ah Memphis beats Arkansas State 42 -24. Uh, Arkansas State just kind of has the same problems that they usually do, which is like...
Speaker: You can't run the ball. Kenyon Clay finished with 50 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. I... I would say you're missing Devin Spencer, but like realistically, i mean he wasn't that good last year either. Neither one of them were, and they brought both of them back as the the primary backs.
Speaker: Trey Owens was okay, but he turned the ball over through four picks. I mean, he was 21 of 30 for 325 yards. They're doing the thing that they did with Jalen Rayner last year with a quarterback that's not as good as Jalen Rayner, which is like...
Speaker: We can't run the ball. And we don't play a lot of defense. And we can't stop the run. quarterback go out there and win us some games and like They're just doing the kind of roll the ball out. Memphis ran for 335 yards. an average seven yards of carry.
Speaker: in a game, you know, in a, in a sport where sacks are negative yardage totals. right toward the quarterback. And they still ran for 335 and had two guys go over 100 yards. Yeah, the the pass rush. ah Hmm.
Speaker: Just... Aberration. ah as it appears to be now from last year. Only one sack in this one. Four tackles for loss for Arkansas State. Gosh, i mean you're just so capped offensively when your quarterback throws four interceptions.
Speaker: ah The yardage is nice. 21 for 30 is really nice, but it's like. You put yourself so far behind the eight ball. I don't know. I didn't. ah think to look at how many points off of turnover, but we've got...
Speaker: Ch -ch -ch -ch -ch -ch -ch This might make it all worse. i think they may have Seven points off of turnover. Memphis did. Oh wow.
Speaker: that's Yeah, that's bad. Because then that means that like they were they were like, oh, we didn't need the turnovers. we'll just No, thank you. I appreciate the offer awfully kind of you. Thank you, Trey, but no we're good.
Speaker: Um, Gosh, you got to step it up. I mean, but this is the story every year and it's going to be this story with Butch Jones is like. We've got a quarterback that we think can play football, and obviously sometimes that's going to be Blackman, sometimes that's going to be...
Speaker: rainer sometimes that's going to be trey owens and you kind of have different tiers within those ranks uh Go play backyard football and have fun. um and watch your defense let up 35 a game.
Speaker: Yeah. Uh... On the plus side, I guess, defensively, they did pick off Marcus Stokes for Memphis twice. uh so the secondary showed some signs of life but the way that the uh the past defense or a run defense rather did not. So that's going to be something to keep an eye on. It's like.
Speaker: if If they are... one of the worst run defenses um in the conference. and maybe the entire country. It's going to be a really long season because teams are just going to be like. If Trey Owens is good. against other you know non -menthys competition they're gonna be like all right cool We're just going to sit him on the sideline for 48 minutes a game as we run the ball directly up the middle every single play. And we'll just. We'll we'll give him seven offensive drives to put up.
Speaker: 40. 42 points or whatever. like Hope you can do it every week because that's what it's going to take. And while we're on the topic, Jalen Rayner and his debut for Iowa State, eight for 16, 184 yards, one touchdown, seven carries for 32.
Speaker: ah That was against Southeast Missouri. um So, you know, see how that translates. But it was a pretty good start for him. And again, looking at the four interceptions, like, man, wish we could have him back.
Speaker: Then it could have been 31 to 42 instead. Um, Next game here, South Alabama beats Southeast Louisiana -14.
Speaker: ah We're still doing the Bishop Davenport putting the ball right at the line of scrimmage every play. We're not pushing the ball. Um... 18 of 27, 154 and a touchdown in this game.
Speaker: Yeah. i I don't know that It was, it was like. This whole thing was just... Fine. like I guess this whole game for them was just kind of like a C -plus ah effort.
Speaker: Because it's like... Three running backs all finished around like 60 yards. two Three of them, you know, two of them scored Bishop Davenport. like punched one in on the ground. Um,
Speaker: I don't know, man. like This is another one where I'm like... level of competition really rings in my head because I'm like You can't. if you took these stats and ported them over to a game with an equal level of competition You're not putting up 39, but also like...
Speaker: The other team is putting up way more than two touchdowns. like this Right. This is just kind of more of the same that we we have gotten under the last two years with Major Applewhite here. And I think why this one stings is because we have so many other games just like this where it's a... fairly easy um you know penciled in win for the team but this is the least resounding Probably the least impressive of the slate.
Speaker: Um, And so for that reason, it's just like I so i still have some reservations. you know i This team could still win anywhere from like... three to six games, and I wouldn't be surprised at any number in that range.
Speaker: I'd be pretty surprised with six at this point. Um, You want to talk about, like I said... yeah you know We talked about Old Dominion. You want to talk about a game where... i looked at the score and the stats and stuff and i was not moved in any way shape or form Hmm. This is a textbook example. It's like nobody really stood out. Nobody shined, really.
Speaker: Everybody was just kind of... what they have been the last couple years. You know, you're missing your your number one rusher from last year. So like if we're splitting that workload up into a three headed attack. and we're not throwing the ball further than five yards down the field. like Major Applewhite might want to just start cleaning his his office out now.
Speaker: And then he can just save himself at the end of the year high having to hire movers. because like we're just not We're just not doing anything different than what we did last year. It's like, how did that work out? Four wins? Oh, okay.
Speaker: Sounds good. Um, Next game here, Troy ah edges out Sam Houston. 2421. uh goose crowder was Pretty inefficient in this game. 12 of 24, 165. But he he did throw three touchdowns, no picks. So that was a positive.
Speaker: They had run the ball with Gavin Griffin better than they did basically at all last year with Taye Meadows. Um, Meadows. Was. spotty like he would have games where he would be pretty efficient and then he'd have other games where it was just like erased from the scoreboard.
Speaker: Um, Yeah, I don't really know what to take away from this one because it's like... Troy's defense didn't play overly well. I mean, their run D did. ah But they got shredded through the air by Landon Locke. Luther for 335 and three touchdowns. Um,
Speaker: I don't know, man. like this is another one it's like yeah great but like Sam Houston won, what, four games last year or something? so It wasn't like you beat a team coming off of for like an amazing 9 -10 win season. right i think ah The Sam Houston team seems to be pretty regarded as much improved over the last season. ah But I agree with you as a team, that's kind of supposed to be incumbent.
Speaker: Top three. In the conference, I wanted something more. ah To the point of efficiency, Goose Crowder went exactly 12 for 24. With actually a pretty high ADOT, it went...
Speaker: 15 yards per attempt, which was like... Pretty. I think upper like. top 25 among eligible quarterbacks in the country um last week.
Speaker: So it was interesting because he was forcing the ball downfield. um He did take four sacks, which is kind of the recurring issue with him. I'm going to sit back. Exactly. I'm going to sit back here.
Speaker: And just kind of. put my life on the line for. Gerard Parker, I suppose. um Okay. That's your choice, not mine. Um...
Speaker: I don't know, Troy. This is another one where it's like... I think I wanted something a little more dominant. I definitely wanted something a little more dominant out of Troy. but Sam Houston played a lot better than I think. I... better than I anticipated and better than I think the kind of consensus was on them. so The further we get away from this, I think my my opinion on this result will change because it depends on like...
Speaker: how well -improved Sam Houston is. their conference USA, right? You see teams in that conference. swing from like bottom to top top to bottom in the span of three years so Oh definitely.
Speaker: yeah um so as we get a better read on sam houston i think my my real read from this game is going to evolve. I think outside of Gavin Griffin, all the all the issues that I had with Troy last year are still very present.
Speaker: Um, lack you you don't really have a number one receiver that you can point to and go, okay, that guy's going to make a play in a big spot. Crowder is taking sacks, like you said.
Speaker: Offensive line is a little spotty. Um... you know, inefficiency, like 12 of 24, you know, completing 50 % of your passes on a weekly basis. Like I don't, I don't think he's going to do that every week, but that's all not going to cut it.
Speaker: ah So that's going to be. I mean, they got a lot to clean up. If they want to go back to the. Sunbelt title game this coming season. ah Another game we could blow past pretty easy right here.
Speaker: ah Mississippi State beats UL Monroe 62 -13. I did think this was funny. Um... Austin Carlisle outplayed a Normenta. Um, But.
Speaker: I bet Armenta gets the start next week. Yippee. Armenta was 10 of 16 for 67 whole American yards. Um... I don't know Oh. Carlisle was six of 10, 73 yards and a score. He also added 50 yards on the ground. I don't know how much more of this you have to see if you're Brian Vincent before you're just like.
Speaker: does someone have to like threaten you like do you have to does someone have to like call your house with a voice changer and or like Bad things are going to happen if you don't put Carlisle in. Like, what has to happen? Like, did the C's have to, like...
Speaker: rise do you have to get hit with a typhoon like what at this point it's possible that he has the same degenerative disease that clay helton has where it's just i'm in love with this guy and therefore i have to start him at every available opportunity i mentioned at the top with ah the marshall game del rio wilson uh was like Bottom.
Speaker: bottom 10, I think, in ADOT. ah Only one Sunbelt Conference ah quarterback was worse than him last week. I'll let you guess. ah Spoiler, it was again Aiden Armenta.
Speaker: so It was so bad. It was so bad. I'll tell you this. This is so funny to me. It was so bad. That. I think it was ULM fan. Went through.
Speaker: and found a tweet of ours talking in 2024 about how bad he was and how he kept. the team with ahmad hardy and they responded and was like still garbage two years later and i'm like i'm like yes i know but the the fact that everybody with a pair of eyes and a brain can see that And they're, they're just looking at it. And Brian Vincent sees him every day in practice and goes, looks good to me. And just stamps him as a starter every week blows my mind. Like.
Speaker: Yes. Clay Helton would have been run out on a rail already out of Statesboro if we had three years of. Davis Brin. ah which is what they basically have. Um,
Speaker: So i don't I don't really understand the obsession. that brian vincent has with him but he definitely has one and i don't really understand it yeah ah credit Credit to ULM, though. ah The last time, only other time that they've faced Fluff Bothwell, he he ran for 120 yards on 17 carries.
Speaker: They hold him to... What's... 40 carries on 8. 52 yards on 9 carries. So, ah hey, hat tip there, you actually...
Speaker: on a per carry basis improved. Believe it or not. By 2 .1 yards. You lit. You let a guy named JJ Hill shred you instead. How nice. Um... ah Yeah, so another long season in the in the works for ULM.
Speaker: Uh... We can blow but by this one pretty quick too. Louisiana Tech hangs 80 on Northwestern State. Uh... Blake. Baker. 10 of 14, 232 and three touchdowns.
Speaker: um Mickens, the receiver here. ah What's his first name? Jalen Mickens. Three catches, 133 in a score. They were, I mean... Yeah, they were just. explosive offensively. Like you said, they they might be playing one of the worst quarterback or ah teams in the history of division one football.
Speaker: But this was a good way to... Zach Wilkie. showed up. I don't know if you remember him. Yes. Like old... Old Southern Miss quarterback. The Dark Days. yes It was in the dark days, that that weird rotation where they would just throw a guy out there. um Yeah. this was a good win to get their season started. But again, I didn i didn't learn anything more from them.
Speaker: watching the like the highlights of this game that I did before the season. ah It was funny because... who is I think I was watching Locked On Sunbelt, ah one of the other shows in the in the circle. and There was a... A Louisiana Tech fan who had tweeted out at the show and was like...
Speaker: Hey, just like heads up. Sonny Comby does not run it up. Update. Yes. He does they. To be fair, though, they they could have gone. I was hoping they'd try to hit 100.
Speaker: um I don't know. because northwestern states in louisiana yes I don't know All right. i don't know and i was hoping that they were going to go for it um a little disappointed um that they're not worth also noting incredibly efficient.
Speaker: 528 yards into. Is that 11 touchdowns plus a field goal? Um... Six six ah through the air, four on the ground.
Speaker: And then what did they have a defensive touch? Yeah, they had. a So yeah, they had 10 offensive touchdowns and oh and a defensive touchdown. right That is just, I mean. i don't think they're going to four different court They put four different quarterbacks out on the field. like Some teams don't have four quarterbacks on the roster. It was a great showing.
Speaker: um Worth noting as well, leading rusher was Trey Kukoc. Um, the backup quarterback, five carries for 50 yards. So I'm kind of curious. We still don't know what that. Running back room is really going to shake out too because your next leading rusher.
Speaker: was Dylan Brooks with six carries for 48. Um, Nothing worse. Your favorite game, his longest rush was 28 yards, so really it was five carries for life. 20 yards, which is fine.
Speaker: 5 carries. unfortunately uh doesn't really matter they they they smoked northwestern state who i googled it is in louisiana in a in a city that i cannot pronounce Um, As most of them tend to be.
Speaker: Yeah, but this one's particularly egregious. um I think it's Nechtoches or something. Oh, so it's like... It's not Cajun. It's more of like a Native American name. that you Yeah. it's that's what it That's what it looks like on paper. ah Last game of the night, Louisiana ah defeated Lamar 38 -7.
Speaker: Um. Not a Hallmark night throwing the ball for Louisiana. ah You know, Daniel Beal and Lunch Winfield. Combined to go 19 of 27 for 231 and three picks, no touchdowns.
Speaker: ah Winfield. Did punch in a touchdown. He had eight carries for 84 yards. um And Daryl Smith. Um... Seems to be the leader in the clubhouse to to get the majority of the carries. He had 10 carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
Speaker: They're going to be just very run -heavy again. and um I think it is a little concerning that you're starting quarterback through two picks. against a... Lamar team who you know you beat by 31 points i think that is something to be a little concerned about. They did only surrender one sack.
Speaker: So maybe they're... offensive line is improving, but Winfield's going to have to just continue to get better as a passer because... Again, he it's kind of the same thing with... um uh, where I'm like, yeah, I know you can run the ball.
Speaker: what What else you got for me? Be a running back, man. What do you want me to do with this? That'll be the case. They gave Daniel Beal some run. This is the best Daniel Beal performance we've ever seen, 4 -6 -42 with an interception. That might be a career low in interceptions for him.
Speaker: Um, Career high. ah passing you know completion percentage Right. this This is the same situation as South Alabama, where it's like, this is an incredibly unmiraculous win.
Speaker: where you don't move a ton, but I think Louisiana kind of gets the benefit of the doubt. that South Alabama does not. received based on last year's performances. Um, Lunch needs to improve as a pastor.
Speaker: I think. I came into this season very excited for him, I think. It's like him and Cameron Brown are probably the most two exciting quarterbacks in terms of like just just fun to watch. in the conference. um because they are both capable.
Speaker: In both phases, where it's like Hinnickle is like a runner runner that plays quarterback. Lunch is still a runner, but he actually throws the ball from time to time. um But that was predicated on some.
Speaker: Belief that he was going to take a step forward as a pastor and through one week I'm unconvinced that he has done that. Yeah. Same. That wraps up week one in the Sun Belt. We have gone through all of the games.
Speaker: Z, before we get out of here, let everybody know where they can find you on socials. Yeah, I'm i'm on Twitter at Zeke Palermo, Z -E -K -E -P -A -L -E -R -M -O. And then as always, you can find us on Twitter at warm weather fans. You can find us on.
Speaker: Tick tock at warm weather fans. You can find me on X at watch the stone. We will be back on Thursday to preview all of the week two games and get into those. This has been another edition of warm weather fans.
