Transcript
Speaker: All right. Welcome, everybody, back to Warm Weather Fans, the Sunbelt Podcast. It is Brian Stone and Zeke Palermo, your hosts of this here show. And we're going to talk about the 2026 Troy Trojans in a moment. Zeke and I were just reminiscing about.
Speaker: how much we don't miss covering high school sports for newspapers and things of that sort. Zeke other than that how's it going for you man? ah It's going, man. we're We're actually kicking off high school football in my local area right now, and as much as I don't...
Speaker: miss it as a individual career. I'm excited to just kind of keep tapped in. especially now that Kennesaw State is an FBS school in my local area. um they've They've done a good job.
Speaker: Honestly, better than like Georgia State and Georgia Tech. And, you know, obviously for Georgia Tech and Georgia, they can. I... you know splash on some of the more national prospects for, but as compared to like Georgia state, it kind of saw state has done a really good job of getting local guys in. So it's been a, it's.
Speaker: It's just fun to watch. Yeah, you can tell when a team like wants to be covered. Like, because they are such, I mean, I'm serious because there's such a new program. They're like, we welcome any sort of attention we get, you know, having Moved up from like. FCS. And you know.
Speaker: Started just. recently as like an entire football program. I mean, they're Probably one of the newer teams that has just... gone from we didn't have a team at all to now we are in FBS. in conference usa so Yeah, I mean...
Speaker: that's that's great that they are kind of making that effort and want to be covered um you know hopefully people take them up on that as far as publications or news or what you know news uh tv news stuff like that so hopefully it all works out um As I said at the top, we're here to talk about...
Speaker: The 2026 Troy Trojans. I... So i have I have already filmed my ah interview with Phil Steele. um And that will go up next week.
Speaker: I asked. One question about each team. So people who are preemptively, you know, doing the Arthur meme where you ball your hand up into a fist because Last year, I asked for questions to be submitted and no one sent any. And then they would be like, why didn't you ask a question about ULM?
Speaker: I asked a question about ULM. So. i don't want to I don't want to hear anything from anybody. um But the reason I brought that up was... I talked to him and I want to talk about.
Speaker: Once we get to the position group, what he said his biggest concern around this whole team is, it was something that I hadn't really thought about. Um, Mostly just because. you know, this position group and I'll i'll continue to tease it.
Speaker: Doesn't usually get a lot of. Talk. you know, just discussion because it's hard to kind of decide. determine like who's good and who's bad and make those projections in the preseason. But I was pretty surprised. I mean, he's He's lower on this team than he is on Louisiana.
Speaker: Hmm. Funny enough, I asked him, are we falling into the same trap we did with Louisiana last year? and He said no. But I'm like, Okay, but you would have said that last year. right where Where are we at with that? um But yeah, i mean a great season for them last year.
Speaker: Um... you know 8 -6, 8 -4 regular season. two losses to a number 19 ranked JMU who eventually went on to the college football playoff. And then in the veterans ah bowl, they lost to Jacksonville state by four points. Those were their two losses right at the end of the season. um I think...
Speaker: because one of the things that Phil steel pointed out was the, the, the negative yardage differential. And I'm like, I agree to an extent. But if you look at the teams that they lost to and how they lost, I think it would explain that a lot.
Speaker: where it's like... You have. Again, eight wins, great season. You know, beat teams like... Texas State in overtime. Louisiana last season. Georgia State.
Speaker: Not a great win, but you know whatever. Southern Miss. uh south alabama buffalo those types of teams you're like okay great eight wins you know it it is what it is But it's like when you look at the way that when they lost.
Speaker: They were getting drubbed. And so I think that explains a lot of the the yardage differential where it was like, But Clemson was a lot closer than it appears on paper. I mean, they were in that. I think they were up at one point 16 to nothing.
Speaker: um And then Clemson stormed back and scored 27 unanswered and won that game. Then Memphis used by three touchdowns. Arkansas State used by 13 points. Old Dominion get beat 33 -0.
Speaker: ah last season, which again... contributes to that negative yardage differential. And then... But JMU, you know they just kind of got outclassed by a team that was... Far and away better than anybody that played in the West last season.
Speaker: When you kind of look at 2025 in a nutshell, does anything else kind of stand out for you that we should hit on before we transition and talk about this year? Um... I think to the point about yardage differential, I mean, obviously that...
Speaker: points a lot to sustainability we talked about this with old dominion like this is Yardage differential yards per point is like... maybe the closest we have to like an underlying metric as far as offensive and defensive efficiency really goes.
Speaker: um We saw this with Marshall as well. where like their defense was good, but it looked a lot better because Boogie Trotter, who is actually now we know coming back to the team, was picking off every ball within like five miles of the Joan.
Speaker: um Right. So like you look at. ah Like. I'm looking at their schedule right now. Georgia State, for example, a game where you win 31 -19. uh but you actually go negative on the yardage differential um hints to me some possible unsustainability, but this team is so different. uh
Speaker: At pretty much every position other than quarterback, as I understand it, it's like... Quarterback and top tier edge rusher are the only things you bring back for this team. Those being Goose Crowder slash Tucker Gilcrease, depending on how injuries play out. And then Donnie Smith, who. led the conference in sacks last year.
Speaker: uh picked to be picked as the preseason defensive player of the year for the sunbelt this season so Um, I think i we've talked about this with every other West team. This is Troy's division to lose.
Speaker: And not necessarily in the sense that they are. head and shoulders above everyone else but they are Just kind of. On paper, the most. Good team.
Speaker: I'm not gonna say best. Just the most good. Among all the teams in the West. I think I'm... And doing like. actually getting to dig into them. I'm a little higher than I maybe would have been like two weeks ago on them.
Speaker: But again, there's like, this is. not a Troy team that is going to run through. like They have to play James Madison in the regular season as one of their non -divisional teams.
Speaker: i don't I think that might go a lot ah very similar to how the conference championship game went. Um, I think. yeah I don't know. I think Troy's in a good position. It could be a lot better.
Speaker: they're the best position team in the West, but I don't think that's going to be a good enough position for say the college football playoffs. Should that become a discussion? ah for the conference championship. ah you know whoever they face or might face out of the east I don't think they're probably, at least on paper.
Speaker: going to be in that conversation No, I mean, when you when you look at the way their schedule sets up, I do have two more things that I want to talk about about last season before we transition. But when you look at the way their schedule sets up, it's like...
Speaker: You play one power five team in Missouri. but Zeke, you know this. Missouri has a tendency to kind of crap their pants at the end of every season. So... as good as that may look on its face. heading into this season.
Speaker: By the end of the year. Even if you win that game, someone might turn around and go, okay, well, you beat an 8 -4 Missouri team. Like, who cares? So. I think that's the thing you got to kind of factor in is like. Yeah, they're probably even Even inside the conference, I mean, like you said, they're not going to run the table or do anything crazy like that. We're not going to get a 12 -0. John Summerall level season out of them. But...
Speaker: Even the way their schedule sets up, even if they did run the table, you'd be like, your best wins over Missouri. like that's kind of ah Unless Missouri is just amazing this year, that's ah that's a hard sell, I think, to to a committee.
Speaker: Um. the one thing The two things that stuck out to me that I... I... I don't know if we even noticed these at the time, but now when you but go back and look at these numbers. They really struggled to both run the ball and... and protect the passer. I mean...
Speaker: You averaged 2 .8 yards per carry as a team last year. Now. Most of your running back room is... is totally different than what you had last year. uh with with tay meadows leaving the team and not being there anymore And then you gave up 59 sacks as an offensive line slash.
Speaker: Quarterback, ah again... people say sacks are a quarterback stat, but when you're approaching almost 60, I'm like, some of it's got to be on the offensive line. Like even if we cut the blame pie. into thirds you could say two -thirds of it's on kill crease and Crowder. And then you could say,
Speaker: At least a third is the offensive line's fault. Um, And I'm going back and looking through the game log. It's like. Seven sacks given up at at Buffalo? Nine sacks in two weeks in a row against Arkansas State and Old Dominion.
Speaker: the The Sunbelt title game that we talk about all the time where a Crowder was getting knocked around eight sacks. given up to to James Madison. who was a good team last year, but they weren't. They weren't you know pulling in eight sacks a week. like That would have put them up at...
Speaker: 96 sacks last year or something insane like they were hovering around like 40 ish. So I'm just like. I think it's funny, and we'll talk about this as we go on, but it's like...
Speaker: I think the the big thing is Crowder's got to... get a lot better at getting rid of the football and just Living to. to play another day. um We've talked about... He has a tendency to get injured.
Speaker: I think that's because he takes unnecessary punishment. I also think their offensive line wasn't great last season and they are replacing I think four of the five offensive linemen from last year's team.
Speaker: Um. So it it just is like. I don't really know where to go with this team. I do think that they are the best of the West, which is more like best of the rest because it's like the West division itself is not.
Speaker: Great. But it's like... Crowder, i'd like I'd like you to stay healthy for a full season. I'd like to see at least 11 games out of you where you don't. do something crazy, crack a rib.
Speaker: hurt your collarbone. dislocate your shoulder, tear your tricep, something. Just stay. healthy and keep your team in contention because Up. I think that what they did last season was a little unsustainable, but I think it was for different reasons than you think. I think it was just like.
Speaker: When they got beat by... When they played a good team, it seemed like they got... They're. absolute butts beaten. And then when they... when they played. you know Like I read off some of the teams, South Alabama, ULM, Louisiana.
Speaker: Yeah, those are West opponents. and You're going to have to beat them and everything, but none of those teams were very good. Your best win, I think, is against Southern Miss at the end of the season with an injured Braylon Braxton on the other side.
Speaker: So it's just like... I don't know The... I don't know if this is necessarily the group that I have the most questions about, but the group that does need to improve the most this year is the offensive line.
Speaker: um This was one of the worst running offenses we've seen from Troy in a little while. um They were incapable of creating holes for like Kay Crowder. ah was kind of the primary back out of that offense, but Jordan Lovett did a lot of the running. They hit a couple other guys who would kind of swap in and out. Those guys weren't hitting the holes that were created.
Speaker: But the holes just also weren't there. um Right. ah The stat that I think really... Sticks out. to me, the most from last season as far as... um offense production is that Tucker Kilcrease had the third longest time to throw.
Speaker: of all ah minimum 100 dropbacks of quarterbacks in the conference. behind only lunch Winfield and Colton Joseph. who... Kill crease was mobile.
Speaker: but very mobile mobile in a much different way than lunch and Joseph were. last year. Those guys were guys where. They're taking a long time to throw. because they're creating something.
Speaker: Whereas kill crease. Just... Either stuff wasn't getting open or was. not seeing it open, right? And so the time that was taken to make that throw was not, oh, let me roll out. Let me find the guy that's you know underneath. Let that route develop. It is.
Speaker: Who is there? Both kill Kreese, but then Goose was also this way. Where it was like. Dude, you have to throw the ball at some point or else you get into this situation where you're injured twice in the same season.
Speaker: where you like break your collarbone against Memphis, come back, and then... playing the bowl game and get hurt. Um, I. That needs to be where the biggest improvement is.
Speaker: I think. I'm interested and we'll talk about this. i They bring in a new ah offensive coordinator. from Tarleton State. ah His name, Adam Austin.
Speaker: In hearing folks talk about this Troy offense, what it's going to look like, Austin, the three words I'm hearing the most is open. Or I guess the two words are open and fast. they're They're going to spread it out a lot.
Speaker: probably more than we've seen Troy teams traditionally. ah But they're also going to go very, very tempo. ah That's something that I heard from a couple different like radio shows and podcasts. um that were recorded throughout the offseason.
Speaker: I think that will... benefit this offense that last year lacked a true guy in the run game but also in the past game they had a bunch of really good players but no Dude.
Speaker: Um, So I think that will be to the benefit of this team, the ability to rotate through guys who have relatively similar ability or or or level of production. I do.
Speaker: But it's going to be on like. All right, well, if we're going tempo. you anticipate offensive line play to drop off near the end of drives because you've got 300 -pound guys. who just ran 30 yards in, you know. to get the snap going. so that That's where my biggest question is. and I'd be curious.
Speaker: Is that what... I don't know if you want to tip your hand now, but is that what Phil Steele was saying? or He was saying his big question is ah ah on the offensive line just because they are. replacing four starters and they weren't.
Speaker: great at run blocking last year. He was just like... I think my question is, is it? addition by subtraction, where you lose these offensive linemen.
Speaker: that and i And I can't tell if it's like a chicken or egg thing where it's like... teams had teams that figured Troy out. you know the the odu's the arkansas states like those types of teams Were they content to just sit back?
Speaker: And go. We're gonna stuff the run. Tame Meadows isn't going to beat us. let's watch one of these quarterbacks either kill crease or or crowder Let's see if they beat us and and just lived in that. I don't know if that was the case or they truly just were one -dimensional in that. they just weren't good run blockers i mean sometimes that That is the case. so Yeah, that was something that Phil brought up. He was like...
Speaker: he He brought the yardage differential, which I'm like, oh okay, but you know if you if you play games and the the the losses, you just get absolutely waxed off the field. like That's different. you can't you know you You can throw all the stats you want at the wall, but it's like... Okay, we'll take the losses out. What what did the... differential look like then and it's like I think that might be a little closer to a true test of.
Speaker: of what their team was. Um, But that was what he said, which was that the offensive line was the biggest question for him. He was like. He was like, can Crowder stay healthy and can the offensive line block? those are those are my those are my biggest questions for them and then he been he did mention the defense was turning over a lot so i But he didn't say that that was like the biggest concern. So like, I i don't know. um
Speaker: Like I said, Crowder and Kilcrease both returned. They combined for a 23 -12 touchdown -interception ratio. If you had them you know together... ah If you put their stats together. Um...
Speaker: you know, Completed both around 60%, so they were efficient with their their throws. Yeah, the the big thing that Phil Steele indicates in his magazine about... adam austin the philosophy that he's bringing in is is what's called the veer and shoot offense um I'm going to be totally honest. That is not an offense that I am acquainted with. I'm sure we've had a ah Texas State or somebody run something similar to that. However, I'm just like...
Speaker: I don't know what that entails, how that differs from say like... a spread an air raid like what what is the difference there so that's going to be the big wait and see for me. They were already pass heavy because they couldn't run the ball efficiently. So I'm like.
Speaker: Does throwing the ball more solve? I don't know. like I just truly don't don't know what kind of philosophy that is. I think my understanding, and again, I'm not... an expert on like especially with this naming stuff where you get like it it becomes so intricate and every vocabulary word is going to mean something different to every different coach. So it's like he's veering shoot.
Speaker: Um, i just fact checked this viren shoot was the vocabulary around like the rg3 baylor teams i believe um Okay. And again, my understanding about this is.
Speaker: you are just it's space it's spacing it's creating a lot more Like you talked about, were teams sitting back and letting Goose or Tucker kill Kreese? like beat them.
Speaker: You don't really have to worry about that because. it's right there it is that quick slant here it's the quick hitch here A lot of usage of the running backs in the past game is my understanding.
Speaker: So. I think maybe, maybe that helps offset some offensive line instability that helps. Forrest got these quarterbacks who we... think really want to hold on to this ball it forces them to get rid of it sooner Um,
Speaker: But again, these things mean. Literally. Completely different things depending on every coach you ask. I wonder. I wonder if it's similar to like. You know how Tennessee's offense operates? Like they don't.
Speaker: Oh, it was like mega wide split. Yeah. Yeah. The wide splits out like past the hashes. And, you know, they they have that running joke that they can't ever have a receiver translate to the NFL because when they get to the NFL, they're like.
Speaker: what's a post route i just ran nine routes all day and then like some guys are like i just run slants like that's my that's my role in this office it's a team full of michael thomas's Yeah. Well, it's just like everybody has their thing and they don't really expect receivers to be like.
Speaker: Okay, you need to have a diverse route tree. You need to be able to run a post. You need to be able to run a slant and go and in. a curl a hitch and out like all of that stuff they're just kind of like Like Chris Brazel, I'll give you an example. The guy that got drafted who just tore his ACL. sorry Sorry to him. In camp with the Panthers.
Speaker: The big knock on him was he just ran straight. And the same thing with like. Dante Thornton was another receiver that got drafted by the Raiders. when he was at Tennessee, that was his role. They were like, he just ran straight down the field all day. Like it was something like.
Speaker: There was a stat I remember hearing that was like, 3 % of his routes were like behind the line of scrimmage or at the line of scrimmage and the rest of them were like 12 plus yards down the field so it was like it was just like everybody again it's like everybody has their thing And they stick to what. they do best, but they don't ask them to kind of go outside their comfort zone. I wonder if that's if that's sort of what we're looking at as far as an offense goes.
Speaker: Um, So... we We talked a little bit about the quarterback spot. I don't really think there's much else to say. I think it all hinges on the health of Crowder. And if kill crease kill crease was so up and down last year, man, like I. It's hard to tell like what...
Speaker: he does well because it's like One game, he'll go out and be like... pretty good and you'll be like, oh, this was a strong start from him. And then the next week he'll go play against ODU and they'll lose 33 -0 and you're like...
Speaker: There's no continuity with him from game to game. It's almost like... You took somebody and like mind wiped them like with a men in black style, like the the thing. And then it was just like. Every game is like a new day or 50 first dates or whatever. Yeah. where it's just like Every day he wakes up, it's a brand new day and we we took over nothing from last week to this game.
Speaker: ah when he was good he was really good so it's like if if i mean this is He's a senior. I think he's been a Troy guy his whole time. Now is your time to, you know, if it's going to come together, it's this opportunity. I think they also...
Speaker: It's interesting because Troy is the only team I think that comes out of camp. With. or comes into, I guess, fall camp. with a clearly defined number one, but also a... backup that we No can play football.
Speaker: We have a couple teams like James Madison, Southern Miss, where they've got like three guys in this race. Or you are a team where it's like Marshall, where it's like we have Carlos Del Rio Wilson who's being heralded as the next.
Speaker: you know savior of this conference Asterisk, we don't. really buy that hype. um But, you know. After that, we're not sure what – are we going to have to go with – another one of the penningtons at some point like where are we gonna look um Right. Troy is like the only team where it's.
Speaker: QB1. And a guy that if he gets hurt, we know he can. Go with maybe $500. Yeah. Mm hmm. He's almost like a pitcher that can pitch. like He's like a relief pitcher that can come in and and do a spot start. and be the sixth man in a rotation if you need him i i kind of misspoke so Tucker, Killcrease didn't actually play in the old Dominion game that much. He kind of played cleanup duty when they were getting absolutely stomped. But I mean, if you go through and look at his game log from last year.
Speaker: This sort of illustrates the point that I'm making. it So I'm looking at it now. He'll have games like against. you know I know Texas State was a pretty embarrassing defense like last year, but in that game, 30 -39, 4 -15, five touchdowns, no picks.
Speaker: in an overtime win. ah The week before he beat South Alabama. 13 of 21, 203, two touchdowns and a pick. Pretty good. But then as the season rolled along, it was like.
Speaker: Okay, Arkansas State, a loss. He threw 34 times. completed 19 of them, 166 yards and a pick. And it's just like, you truly have no idea. Like, am I going to get a... a usable start or is he just kind of going to be.
Speaker: Like. toward the bottom of the the quarterbacks that play in this conference. And poor guy took nine s sacks in that game, too. Right. Yeah, that's the other thing too. It's like... he's not getting rid of the ball quickly or as quickly as he needs to. so we'll We'll see you know how much he plays, if any, because like if Goose Crowder stays hurt for or stays healthy for 12 games and doesn't get hurt, then we're looking at probably no playing time for Kilcrease in his senior season.
Speaker: Um, all right so let's change over this was the big sore spot like we talked about at the running back uh position here Tate Meadows is no longer on the team. Jordan Lovett, who was your second leading rusher from last season, who had 339 yards and two scores.
Speaker: I don't know if this is accurate, like depth chart wise, what the Phil steel has. He's listed as like the third or fourth running back on this roster. Like, I don't know if they were just kind of like.
Speaker: We didn't love what we saw out of him. So we brought you know, Gavin Griffin from East Mississippi Community College in. as a transfer. Dennis Palmer is another guy who...
Speaker: i think he He appeared in two games. He had 40 yards on 10 carries. So it's not like he's brimming with with um experience there. Yeah, and then Lovett's like third.
Speaker: down the list, and he's... you know again, the easily their most accomplished rusher from last year. So I don't know if that... just more reflects what they thought of him. after last season where it was like We could get better at the running back spot with Meadows gone. Like, we should...
Speaker: we should bring some people in or you know elevate some other guys Um, So yeah, I mean I said it they they have to get better at running the football if they want to kind of try to replicate last season's run.
Speaker: um Sure. You got it. As a team, you can't. average 2 .8 yards per carry like that's Dreadful. Um, So any thoughts on on like the running back room before we kind of get into pass catchers?
Speaker: I mean, if there is a guy Who wants it? that job is yours. Like if you are. willing and able, the job is yours. um My from what I was hearing about this running back room.
Speaker: It's going to be a big split between Griffin. ah Love it. Bryce Burgess, another Juco transfer that I understand they like. Um... it it's going to rely a lot on who can provide us again, based on what I understand and what the offense will look like.
Speaker: Who can provide us something in the pass game, be it blocking or... receiving, you know, can you squared out or can you you know pick up a blitz or something uh you can't really be a passenger in that phase of the game as far as I understand. uh for what they're looking for gavin griffin ran for almost 1200 yards last year ah He's a guy that...
Speaker: We've seen I mean, and he was doing so on like. almost six yards of carry as well. so yeah he's a guy who produced at a really really high level um And if they were to go towards a more like traditional.
Speaker: running back one, running back two, running back three type. system I think he would maybe be the preseason favorite to take that top role. Um... But yeah, I mean, it's just like Tame Meadows was disappointing last year. Jordan Lovett.
Speaker: was fine He was pretty good in the receiving game from what I recall. I think he might be their leading returning receiver. I was going to say that. To step point on receiver corner, he's the leading returning receiver. He had 13 catches for 86 yards last year. so I think there are from what I gathered...
Speaker: There are names that they like. um But with... As with any of these like Juco. d2 guys it's like I'll make a decision after I've seen you play. like FBS ball. We, you know,
Speaker: I'm willing to give you a fair shot but Let me see it first. Yeah, they're almost like... when we have the P five quarterback transfers come in, it's like some guys. are great and they work out and we don't have any questions and other guys are benched after three weeks. Other guys know Walker Howard.
Speaker: Right. yo Walker Howard. um Who was the guy they brought? Dima brought up that the... quarterback transfer from florida to state who played like three games and then like rodemaker tate rodemaker tate rodemaker like those level guys where you're like oh this guy was supposed to be really good ah he's not And we got to get him off the field.
Speaker: Uh... So, yeah, we we kind of started talking about it a little bit. Pass catcher -wise, yeah, your leading receivers from last year are... Mojo Dorch. who ah had seven catches, is actually a receiver, not a running back that just happened to catch some passes.
Speaker: Seven catches for 63 yards last season. And then Lovett, who I just reeled off his stats. All of their receivers from last year who really contributed are gone. No Rara Thomas, DJ Epps, Trey Taylor, Ethan Connor, Peyton Higgins. Mm hmm. Brand new slate, just wiping it totally clean.
Speaker: Um, At least in a three -receiver set, this is how... Bill Steele, who has spoken to... ah you know the head coach has Has them listed out.
Speaker: You've got. Jai won. Jawan. Boyd? ah Who played who appeared in 10 games. Last year, according to the magazine, I don't think he registered a single stat. Noriel White.
Speaker: is another receiver. He also comes over from East Mississippi Community College. He had 632 yards there last season. And then ah Howard Kitchen. or Kinchin, ah kind of came over from Pearl River Community College where he played nine started nine games and had 400 yards receiving.
Speaker: Um, Mojo. also similar to uh love it is also at least on the surface buried on this depth chart so they must have they must have been like we really need to start over like we can't just elevate guys that played spot sparingly for us last year so This is a big wait and see, man. like they're They're kind of doing the old Dominion thing from last year where you just bring over a bunch of guys that played community in junior college and then you're just like...
Speaker: We hope we get we get three very... confident, usable receivers out of this group. Who are they going to be? Take your pick. grab but Grab them out of a bag. I guess the bright side of that for Troy is that you don't have to replace...
Speaker: Like there's no you know receptions vacuum where you have to go out and say like uh georgia state or georgia southern both it's like man we have to replace 2000 yard guys that had 70 catches last year.
Speaker: um And gosh, I hope we can find two or three guys that can kind of sum up into that. You're looking for. you know five or six guys that Rara Thomas, their leading receiver, was the 21st leading receiver.
Speaker: in a 14 -team conference last year. You know, these these guys aren't a dime a dozen. they're They're difficult to find, but... There's also no shortage for these type of guys.
Speaker: you you know there there's the talent identification aspect to it but it's like You only need... a handful of guys to go out there and get. 30 catches for 500, 40 for 600.
Speaker: Um, So I think they're set up. fairly optimistically in that sense where It's okay if we don't have a stud. Um.
Speaker: However with that said, that I think that was outside of the run game. That's the big hit on the offense. or I guess that's the big hit of the passing game last year is. who were we going to in big moments they had a couple guys that would like yeah this is our third down guy but Really, you... Who are you turning to in big moments when the clock's low, when you're in a tight game late?
Speaker: um You get into like a ah overtime shootout, like the two -point conversions. Who are we isolating on the side? that was the hit on the offense. They didn't have that type of guy. so Right.
Speaker: again you want to find someone like that but You made the conference championship game last year without it. so Uh, you know i'd I'd say I'm less concerned about this than the running game, but...
Speaker: There is equal potential for this to just. Not hit. if the talent evaluation was wrong. or You know, maybe you hit on a Ted Hearst, Camden Brown type.
Speaker: And he gets hurt and you're left with. you know. Again, these. to 20 to 30th best receivers in the conference types. Yeah. Uh... One name, I don't know if people are... familiar this deep down the roster but One name that might be a little familiar is TJ Lott. who transfers in from Old Dominion. He only had 84 yards last year, but Old Dominion did a really good job of... of scouting their receivers heading into last season. So maybe
Speaker: Maybe he gives you something. Maybe he pops is as. you know, a slot receiver. He's 5 '11", 175, so he's not. He's not going to be running routes at the X position, but...
Speaker: You know. maybe Maybe you get like a Bo Sparks. I know we talked about Texas State last year about how all their top receivers were like 5 '7", 170. And I'm like, maybe maybe you find one or two of those kind of spark plugs that you can just like throw out there and they give you production.
Speaker: Um, tight end spot. Nobody really to talk about either. We always talk about how embarrassing kind of the tight end spot is in the slim bill. I don't know why this is a pandemic that happens across the conference, but.
Speaker: jackson worley actually played all 14 games for them last year he had 57 receiving yards so Not a pass catcher spot for them. i I don't know if Phil Steele like knowingly cuts the the yardage totals from last year off at 60 or not, but Worley wasn't even on the the list like at all. like I had to go through and find him.
Speaker: Um, And then the offensive line. Again, it's like. You got Tyler Cappy. Your center. uh, started, you know, Played in 21 games over the last two years. Started seven last year.
Speaker: he's kind of your guy. I mean, You got Elijah Prather. who was out for the season last year. He slots in at right guard. Luke Pettit played the last three seasons at Furman.
Speaker: ah We've talked a lot about guys who come over from the FCS ranks. you know he's He's played quite a bit, so he at least has game experience. He's played... Left guard center. Um, So you got a little bit of flexibility there.
Speaker: And then right tackle, you've got Jordan Jones who played... ah last year at Ohio was third team all Mac. So. not Not bad. You got somebody who has game experience and was a superlative you know in the MAAC. And then left tackle, you've got Darian Rivers who played one game last year at NC State.
Speaker: Um, This is, again, what... you know Phil Steele called out. You've also got guys like Antoine Breland. who was a first team. I think this is a community college.
Speaker: First team all... M -A -C -C -C I don't know what conference that is, but it's ah he played at Southwest Mississippi Community College. Um, Caleb Ash.
Speaker: It said started seven games last year. Okay. well he's he's also one of these guys that's like buried on the depth chart uh at the uh at the right tackle spot. so Yeah, the the offensive line is a huge question mark. i mean I think.
Speaker: Georgia Southern might be the only other team that I can go. Okay, who are any of these people? Like I've never heard of any of them, except I've heard of pray through. I knew he was out last year, but a lot of these guys, like I've never heard their name before.
Speaker: I think. Of the teams that have these huge question marks, I... I guess you could say on paper the resume is the most impressive here. having guys with High start counts.
Speaker: ah You've got the Mac, all ah all Mac team you get. Um, Jones, and I think Price. Prather were both all -conference preseason picks.
Speaker: in the Sun Belt this year. But again, it's like. i'll so I'll believe it when I see it. I don't Zzzz You can only go up. like this is This is kind of a Louisiana situation where it's like...
Speaker: Unless you are. actually a revolving door. it's going to be as good if not better than last year, especially from a run -blocking perspective. so i I guess, again, that bodes well for the offense if the idea is that you can only get better. It it is dart darn near impossible for a team to...
Speaker: regressed from where they were. I guess. yeah What are they going to do? Average under two yards to carry this year. Like, how could they get that much worse? Exactly. so I don't know. i We'll see it. I like that they they add starts. I like that they add. um guys that have played before. but It was rough man.
Speaker: Mm hmm. Prather, I forgot to single this out. um I think the reason he's getting preseason love is that in 2024, he started all 12 games that left tackle for them.
Speaker: and then last year he started six games at left tackle and got hurt for the it was out for the season Uh, Yeah, he's making the move from left tackle to right guard. um those are very different positions as far as you know what opposite as it gets on the line right like you know unless you're playing like center um you know that that's That's as different as it gets. so We'll see if that's like a better fit for his talents. I do think it's weird that they were like.
Speaker: Hey, the guy who's been the left tackle for us the past two years is now playing guard and we're bringing in someone who's barely played college football to play left tackle. That seems... like a odd yeah traditionally the most important offensive line position don't worry about it don't worry about it uh they ran for 2 .8 yards of carry last year don't worry about it um And so. Yeah, that's the offense in a nutshell. i mean they they As good as they were and the fact that they won eight games was great.
Speaker: They can be a lot better as an offense. I mean, if even if you go through and look, it's like. Their point total. was almost identical in what they allowed. And they had a pretty good defense last year, but they they scored 23 .5 points per game. and then gave up all those sacks, couldn't run the football.
Speaker: It's kind of I'm not saying this to be mean. It's kind of a miracle they won eight games last year. Um. I think if the Braxton, the Braylon Braxton injury doesn't hit, I think. Southern Miss is playing in that title game just based on the way that the season went. It was like...
Speaker: Again, the the teams they beat were like... Nichols, Buffalo, South Alabama, Texas State. who was good but had a terrible defense. ULM, Louisiana, who was a mess. Georgia State, Southern Miss with Braylon Braxton coming off an injury. so Yeah, I mean...
Speaker: I think everything just broke right for them. Like you you typically don't see teams that struggle to run the ball to this extent. Like... play in the Sunbelt title game like usually they're very like balanced and you know, you kind of know what you're getting. Yeah. They're complete. They tend to be complete football teams. Right. ah Something. Let me make sure I have this right.
Speaker: We had – because I was looking through our notes that we that I wrote before. hour. recap of last season when we kind of went back to last year's preseason.
Speaker: and evaluated where we were right where we were wrong. And in last year's preseason, we had them at around five and a half wins. um I think.
Speaker: i may have tended a little lower i think you tended a higher by like one win on either end Um, But then, like... When we came back at the end of the season, we were like...
Speaker: Honestly our assessment was not far off. we We had some concerns about Gerard Parker. um that Turned you know we were worried that he was excessively conservative That ended up not really being the case. He was kind of a first year coach.
Speaker: um issue. But they played like greater than the sum of their parts, and and that was the evaluation at the end of last season. And I think. I know I'm falling victim to this as we get further and further from last season.
Speaker: it's easy to forget that. It's easy to look at the eight wins and look at the conference title appearance and say, Oh, well, this was obviously the second best. team in the conference. When that. in reality may not have been the case. um Yeah.
Speaker: and that obviously comes back to what we're going to talk about here i'm sure ah The defense was... playing Troy football. as they have been playing for. I mean, all of Summerall.
Speaker: Did the defense go back to Neil Brown? Because I've only been acquainted with the... ah team since it was Summerall. Um... Neil Brown's defenses were always good I mean they weren't Summerall's level was just... something else. I mean, you you go back and look, it's like 2022, you give up. 17 you gave up 17 .1 points per game in 2022 and 2023 like
Speaker: Neil Brown's defenses were good, and they had... guys that could definitely go, but they... they usually weren't that level i think their offenses were usually better because He's an offensive guy. So they they usually had some pretty good quarterbacks cycling through as well. so Yeah. They they just...
Speaker: They were very good last year, you know, on defense. I know they're replacing a lot. You do get Donnie Smith back. That is a huge. oh yeah i know I know we've already talked about that, but he had 11 sacks last year.
Speaker: uh was a first team all sunbelt player preseason defensive player of the year this year So. that's good That's a big place to start to be like, we have our number one pass rusher who is... probably the best pastor pass rusher in the conference.
Speaker: And. you can kind of build everything out around that because then you could be like it do we need to be bringing a safety down in the box more to help with help with a run defense? Do we need to drop somebody back to help our new secondary? Like, where are we at with that?
Speaker: Last year. you know, 23 .9 points per game given up. that was very good ah They did struggle against the run a little bit. They gave up 176 yards per game on the ground.
Speaker: and had 37 sacks like again a lot of that is donnie smith with his 11 but it's like You had guys like... You know, I'm going through and looking. Let me see. um Jamal Williams had five sacks. He's he's no longer there.
Speaker: Jamel feels... Ame, I think his name is, Pernell, Ame. a mean ah had three sacks last year. You have a bunch of guys that have like two and a half. So stuff like that. I...
Speaker: a lot of the The part. The parts that were really good about their front seven getting to the quarterback. I think a lot of those, you can build those around Donnie Smith because he's kind of the one that's leading.
Speaker: the charge in that department. I think you just got to kind of fill out the rest of the ancillary pieces. I think it's going to depend. like I think he he obviously has the pass rush skill set to do that.
Speaker: But what's going to set him apart? from being a... a really good sack getter, an elite sack getter. from being like a almost mike green type where it is Like a ah a whole...
Speaker: Complete. defensive lineman, edge rusher type. Mike Green obviously now did really well in his rookie year with the Ravens. ah projects to kind of Keep finding a role with them.
Speaker: He's got to improve Donnie Smith in. the run game. It was so bad at some points last year where. he He wasn't even on the field for the first two downs. he was at times, exclusively a third. Third down guy. and you know if ah We joke about it. If PFF.
Speaker: exists this season. It's, it's something to watch is like how many. uh you know on schedule downs is johnny smith actually playing because he finished the year last year only 27 tackles And look, I'm not going to fault a defensive lineman for not recording.
Speaker: a bazillion tackles. um especially for a Troy team that... like You'll remember Carlton Marshall. They liked having high tackle guys. Obviously, a completely different position. but Um,
Speaker: in a defense that gravitates towards those types of guys. Last year, Troy had 270 -plus tacklers. Um, But he needs to improve that. and If you're going to build this defense around him. If you're going to fill in the linebackers, you recruit the linebackers around. Well, what can and can't Donnie Smith do?
Speaker: right If he's negligent in that part of the game, well, now we need guys that can stop the run, which means, well, now we have to sacrifice some of our past defense. at the linebacker spot. Now that we've sacrificed past defense, that means that, you know.
Speaker: ah Maybe the the middle of the field is very vulnerable, or or maybe that means we have to drop a safety in, which means... ah To cover that middle spot. So now the top is overexposed. And so.
Speaker: Sure. he I need to see him. round out. I think he's going to win defensive player of the year. because of the sack numbers that's just a so a sexy number that like Kind of trumps every other.
Speaker: aspect of football for defensive linemen. But I need to see him develop as a full defensive lineman before. we can like really talk about him in like the mike green echelon of like guys with nfl potential um guys that you can build a uber successful defense around.
Speaker: You can build a great defense around it. but I don't know if you can win build a ah championship. defense around a guy who Only plays two downs out of four. Yeah, I mean, I don't know whether some of that can be attributed to his size. Like, he's not the heaviest guy in the world. He's 6 '4". He's listed at 235.
Speaker: I know typically teams. beef those guys up and make them taller. Yeah. in the line the Yeah, I mean, he he is like built just like a specialist kind of at the pass rusher spot.
Speaker: a great specialist i mean you know To to be first -team All -Sun Belt with 11 sacks is nothing to... ah sneeze at but yeah you you're right I mean He has to be able to play first and second down. you know you got you got to be You got to be able to trust him that he's going to come up and make a tackle on a running back when you when you need it. Because again, their run defense was not.
Speaker: great last year. They gave up almost 175 yards on the ground per game. um Let's talk about some of the front spots. You got KV on Henderson at defensive end. He played two games at Arkansas last year, notched two tackles, so not a lot of game experience there.
Speaker: Cam Curry. at the nose tackle spot. Um, He returns from last season. You know the function of a nose tackle in like a 3 -4 type defense. They're just kind of meant to plug holes. He had 17 tackles last year.
Speaker: and two and a half tackles for loss and a half of a sack. so He's kind of going to fill that role. um And then. Ty Clemons comes over from Boston College.
Speaker: played there the last four years. He had ah appeared in 23 games and notched 19 tackles um over over a four -year span. So very inexperienced outside of the nose tackle spot defensive ah ends.
Speaker: Um, Again, is that a great sign for a defense that couldn't stop the run last year? Probably not. Um, But, you know. it's what It's almost... it's close to one of those things like with the the running back spots like it's got to get better right like it can't it can't be much worse i mean you could be
Speaker: I guess last in the country and in yardage given up to running backs, but you know, whatever. um We already talked about Donnie, Donnie Smith. He's going to play that bandit position. which is just basically a 3 -4 edge. Um,
Speaker: And then at the linebacker spot, you do have to replace guys like Jordan Stringer. um from last year's defense. So they have slotted in. Bryce Steele At one of the linebacker spots, also a Boston College transfer.
Speaker: Um... played in 10 games and had 16 tackles last year. And then your middle linebacker is Keno Jones. ah who played last year at a D2 school called Barton College. He did have 114 tackles. and nine tackles for a loss. So maybe you've got... a real disruptor in the middle.
Speaker: He's also a little small for middle linebacker in this conference I mean he's 221 is what he's listed at I know we kind of made jokes at the so during the Southern Miss episode about how light their linebackers were. They're on a different level. i mean Those guys should be playing like receiver ah with their size. but Yeah, I mean, the linebacker spots are going to be key if they can come up and make some of those tackles as well as.
Speaker: Like I said, the defensive ends who... Don't have a ton of game reps, and you know we'll see if how how they are stopping the run this year. I think defensively, the linebacker core and really like those just second level guys that are going to clean up, run plays. um have obviously some responsibility in the past. ah as far as coverage goes, but are not necessarily blitzers, but stand up.
Speaker: ah linebackers interior. uh more often than not between steel and jones i think that's going to be My biggest question mark for this defense moving forward.
Speaker: um like i said this is a defense that is historically Really enjoyed having the 100 -plus tackle type guy. Um... And what? I don't know if I have a strong feeling one way or the other on if that's like a good or bad. necessarily way to approach.
Speaker: uh you utilizing your line linebackers and having that like. I would akin it almost to like a center mid in soccer where it's like. We just need you. everywhere Right. would Just go.
Speaker: Show up wherever the ball is. Um, And what you do from there is up to you. I. I think again, it's like. Not to predicate every argument around Donnie Smith's run -stopping ability, but...
Speaker: They are going to. either make up for his deficiencies or be able to thrive in their own roles. And it's going to matter on Donnie Smith whether we bring these guys in to fill a gap.
Speaker: Or are we bringing these guys in based on their own? uh skill set to their own repertoire what they're able to do uh and play to those strengths and that's just not something we're gonna know for a couple weeks Yeah.
Speaker: Um, Getting into some of the secondary here, you have... Jordan Perry, who is at this like combo position that they call spear in their defense, he sort of looks like a...
Speaker: It's like a box safety linebacker hybrid. I would say. um He had 20 tackles over the last two years. He's appeared in 22 games for them. They also have this guy Doug Nelson come over.
Speaker: who was, again, one of the first team MACCC. See. Uh, at a different community college. So we'll see you know if he steps up and and plays some in that spot as well.
Speaker: And then. Corner. is a big question mark as well, because you got... Ty Terrell coming over from a community college. ah He only appeared or only played in eight games at that community college last year.
Speaker: and Shamar Welch. uh who was here last year played in 10 games and had three tackles. Outside of Justin Poe at the free safety spot, like this is...
Speaker: a very like inexperienced secondary. Um, They do have some guys that return, but... they're also sort of buried down the depth chart so i don't even know if they weren't mentioning or not like it is strange that they have these guys who are returning that played like a fair bit.
Speaker: Uh, you know, a TJ Thompson at the linebacker spot as a senior, but he's listed as a backup to Bryce Steele. uh luke hodge is another guy that's listed on here he's not a projected starter so it's just like They must have really not liked...
Speaker: some of what they saw out of this team last year and was like, we are flipping these positions totally. and just are going to start over other than like Poe and Smith. I mean, that that would support the argument that this team was... perhaps overperforming. record -wise uh and that the actual you know football skill that they were seeing did not necessarily match the the performances or the record that ah Again, like eight wins is...
Speaker: Exceptional, but Is that? enough to play in a conference title game. In most conferences, it's probably... Isn't right. And. They got there by nature to some degree of. ah having divisions here and not.
Speaker: ah you know Otherwise, it probably would have been Old Dominion and James Madison in the conference title game. ah Justin Poe, you mentioned... ah Top returning tackler for this team. The only returning tackler with more than Donnie Smith.
Speaker: Donnie Smith had 27. Justin Poe, 67. um He was also picked. for uh as a preseason like all conference picks so I don't know. I think.
Speaker: I think that. Like from a broad perspective, especially for the defense. um We've seen that.
Speaker: Gerard Parker's proven that he can win games. And bring in talent that wins games. Um, i I shudder at the idea of maybe.
Speaker: It's a... It's always greater than the sum of its parts because I think. Nothing ever is. Nothing is always greater than the sum of its parts. But those guys do exist. Those types of coaches do exist. um And I think through kind of two years, through this will be.
Speaker: year three with gerard parker I think that might be the way it's trending. um obviously four and eight in the first season. where you and I both kind of thought there was going to be some hangover.
Speaker: from the John Summerall teams that... was going to. you know, buoy them to probably a bowl game at the least. ah Then we overcorrect and think that this may not even be a bowl team. They end up going 8 -6.
Speaker: ah But again, remember they get. really 8 -4 because they get the two extra losses with the conference championship game. i It's just...
Speaker: I think this year is going to kind of define for me whether or not Gerard Parker is one of those coaches that can cobble together. 22 good football players and turn them into a great football team.
Speaker: Yeah. um which is getting increasingly harder to do. ah with every passing year is different eligibility things change. Um, But that's the way it's trending. and despite having all these questions about the running game and the defensive line and the linebackers and everyone but Justin Poe in the secondary.
Speaker: i'm seeing a trend here i liked what i saw last year in that I think he's able to put things together in a really nice way. Yeah. I agree. Um...
Speaker: So let's start talking about the schedule as we sort of close out here. um So you start off ah at home against Sam Houston. Um... I don't know if this means anything. Troy has won four out of their last five against Conference USA opponents.
Speaker: ah You know, Conference USA is not exactly... the cream of the crop as far as football goes. So same Houston's also been all over the place. Like two years ago. you know they were pretty good and then i don't i don't know what happened last year so it was just like who Who knows what you're going to get out of them.
Speaker: Uh, Week two, you play you stay at home and play Alabama State, who I believe is in HBCU. u um Not 100 % on that. And then, like I said, week three, you play at Missouri.
Speaker: Drinkwits does a lot of talking, and I feel like his his on -field results don't really back yeah back that up ever. like He's not like a Gary Pinkle type guy where it was like. Every once in a while, we're going to sneak into a Sunbelt or a SEC title game. It's like.
Speaker: He talks a lot and then they go like seven and five every year. So like, I don't really know. I don't really know where the confidence comes from. And something to point out, I didn't know this in 2004. Troy did host Missouri.
Speaker: and upset them. That was, again, something I didn't know until I started listening to the previews about. The season. And every time they go through the schedule, the Troy guy goes. Do you remember 2004?
Speaker: And it's like, I get. That I. ah It would appear that that is ingrained in Troy history forever that win. I think. 2004 was, I could be totally wrong on this. Troy fans, please don't. rake me over the coals this was a long time ago way before I started watching Sunbelt Ball I'm pretty sure that was the OC You mean your team?
Speaker: ah and who was out This is it was a ranked number 19 Missouri team, by the way. Yeah, yeah they they had to like one year. They had like two NFL pass rushers. on their on their team.
Speaker: And I think it was 04 was one of those years. Um, don't quote me on that But I think that was that was that year. or one of those years. And then... So week four, you go at Utah State.
Speaker: ah Blake Anderson now. Southern Miss' head coach, his old team. Um, They they last. Faced off in 2004. uh going back to oh four we i i don't keep up with utah state so i have no idea what to expect out of them either sorry everybody I think you can pretty reasonably expect to come out of this 3 -1. um and ah As with what you were saying about drink wits in Missouri and
Speaker: The funkiness that's happening there, it's like... 4 -0 is not out of the picture. You'd have to show up at Missouri. um on September 19th, but it's... I think you you... and expect him would be disappointed by anything worth worse than three and one out of those first four Sure.
Speaker: Um, And then... You get a buy on october the week of October 3rd. October 6th, a Tuesday night. We know that the Sunbelt loves these Tuesday night games off a bye. You play Southern Miss at home, Southern Misses.
Speaker: Starting over. Like. basically a brand new football team uh we don't really have anybody coming back that you should be scared of at least on paper i mean we we don't have any returning production to point to The big test is going to be... art of entry lidy i He's not even projected as the starter. I don't know. um And then, okay, so...
Speaker: October 17th is the real test. That's going to be the showdown, presumably on. on paper before we get started this season. for the Sunbelt West title. You play at Louisiana.
Speaker: This was a case of two teams that were remarkably similar last year. It was just things kind of fell in Troy's favor. Whereas Louisiana, they absolutely didn't. It was kind of worst case scenario.
Speaker: Um, That's going to be interesting. so Phil Steele has picked Louisiana to win the West over Troy. Um... So that's kind of where the rubber meets the road right there for you. Lunch Winfield versus presumably groes Goose Crowder slash. Kill Kreese if Crowder doesn't stay healthy.
Speaker: Uh, we'll We'll, yeah. We'll have to keep an eye on. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on that one that week. that That's going to be an early, I think. Because isn't James Madison Old Dominion also like really early in the year? I think we've got one other game.
Speaker: like in this mid early to mid -october range that, you know, at the end of the year could ultimately decide. who represents which division ah in the championship. so that That's an early pick for...
Speaker: Like. actual conference game that really has implications. Okay, so I bet... between Between talking, I've looked up the 2004 Troy roster.
Speaker: The pass rusher I was thinking of was Demarcus Ware. Oh! who was like ah one of the It was like a Hall of Fame defensive end. So had different seasons where.
Speaker: I think two of their pass rushers went on to play for the New York Giants like the years that the year they up upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 07. I think it was either. I think it was either Yuminorah and Kiwanuka.
Speaker: Or... Something like along those lines. like I'll have to do a deep dive and figure out who it is, but they've had some... hellish pass rushers like especially in the early thousands so Yeah, they were they were a problem for a lot of teams to deal with.
Speaker: um All right, back to the schedule. October 24th, you play ULM. That should be... Easy. uh you know Presumably ULN does not have. a quarterback that really scares you. We'll see if they make a move off of Armenta, which has been. long overdue. Uh...
Speaker: October 29th, on a Thursday, you play at James Madison. You get a re... due of the Sunbelt title game from last year. Um. James Madison's going to be an interesting team, too. you know our Our preview just dropped today.
Speaker: but We're recording August 11th. Um, Just dropped today, you know, they're... They're another team that's like, you can name a handful of guys off the team, Petaway. Smith on the defensive side.
Speaker: Outside of that, it's like three -way quarterback competition. and who knows, everywhere else. Um, I mean, that's so that's tough for for Troy. They're doing that on five days rest. We talked about this with Kara Ritchie. I'm surprised.
Speaker: They didn't do what Arkansas State did and get that conference schedule, say, you want us to go. At James Madison on 5D's Rest. They get a full seven days rest on. ah having played App State. the Thursday prior.
Speaker: I get that schedule and I say hell no. Right. ah So, you know. Happy trails. I I think there's a... No matter how...
Speaker: Poor. James like if we hit the floor on James Madison, I don't think it matters that In Harrisonburg. on five days rest ain't gonna happen Right.
Speaker: Yeah. I agree. And then I will jump into the next one too. You have a little extra rest on November 7th. playing Louisiana Tech. I think this could also be... one of those pinpoint games. I think Louisiana Tech.
Speaker: Is quietly. the third dog in the race. um for the west i i don't think there would be a ton i think arkansas state might Have a shot there, but...
Speaker: As it stands right now, I think I... like Louisiana Tech ahead of Arkansas State. ah This could be another one of those games and obviously a little more exciting because it'll be later in the season. We know how things are going to shake out better. I think this could also be kind of one of those determining tiebreak games.
Speaker: uh, for the West champion. as we get into November. Yeah. Definitely. Um... Yeah, Louisiana Tech's going to be interesting. Homecoming week. um They bring over from Conference USA at least a very strong defensive unit.
Speaker: Um... They like to run the ball, which was Troy's kind of Achilles heel last year. And you know we talked about Donnie Smith's. needs to make improvements in that area. So we'll see. That might be a stylistic matchup to keep an eye on for sure. It's like...
Speaker: What happens when you play a team with a good defense that runs the ball at will? And those are kind of your two. weak points it's like if you face a team with a strong defense and and they can run the ball Um, November 14th at South Alabama. That should be easy. South Alabama is not.
Speaker: Going to be doing very much. November 21st, you play at... at home against Georgia Southern. Georgia Southern during this part of the season is usually packing it in.
Speaker: and getting ready for Birmingham or Mobile or one of those low -level bowl games. um Troy is ahead in the series 5 -1, and they've won three straight against Georgia Southern at home. I don't really see any reason why that shouldn't repeat itself.
Speaker: Anytime Georgia Southern plays Troy, they they act like they've never played football before. So, um Yeah, I wouldn't be shocked to see them pull that game out. And then you end at Arkansas State in the finale on November 28th.
Speaker: Um, Troy in two straight seasons has not beaten Arkansas State. Now I will add the caveat that it was. ah Jalen Raynor, Arkansas State, and not. What we have now, which is.
Speaker: quarterback to be named yeah yeah q tbd qb um So. We'll see if if Butch Jones' team's turned back into a pumpkin. uh following you know jalen rayner's tenure where it was like The one thing you could always count on was that they were going to have strong quarterback play, and now it's like, who knows? So.
Speaker: we'll We'll have to see. Uh... i looked it up there troy's win total for the season is six and a half I think you win seven just by virtue of the West's thinking.
Speaker: Right. I think. Because you don't want to make the same mistake we made last year where we kind of... Set the win total. We set our predictions in like the four to six range.
Speaker: kind of neglecting the fact that they have to play all the other teams in the west um like if you took the win totals for all of our teams it would probably have come up well short of Right. however many Sunbelt games are actually played.
Speaker: um Yeah. I don't know. I'm left with. The feeling that I expressed at the top, this is the goodest. Of the West. It's not the best.
Speaker: It's just the team that is... has What I believe to be the most competent coach, maybe Sonny Cumbie's got something that I'm not really. familiar with, um with some continuity.
Speaker: arguably the most productive defensive player in the conference. and so Bye. I have to hand it to you, but it's like... Someone has to win the NFC South every year.
Speaker: Have you seen the meme of the NFC South where it's all four logos and they have a thought bubble above and they say, I'm the only good team here. That's basically the way the West looks this year. Louisiana and Troy and Louisiana Tech and and Arkansas State are are like sitting there and the thought bubble goes up and it's like, I'm the only good team in this group.
Speaker: And unfortunately, I just I think you're all. Just good. Not great. It is what it is. Uh, All right, Zeke, as we close out, this was our last.
Speaker: preview that we're recording. ah And and the the interview with Phil Steele is already in the bag. um The next episode you and I are going to do is a preview of week one. Once that. you know we get closer to that date Until then, is there anything yeah is there anything you you want to kind of...
Speaker: plug socials like any of that stuff Maybe by then I will have a chair that will stay at the whole same height the entire recording. You and I were at eye level when we first started.
Speaker: Hope so. We'll see. That's all I got. You can follow me on Twitter at Zeke Palermo, Z -E -K -E -P -A -L -E -R -M -O, but there's not a ton interesting happening there right now.
Speaker: uh as always you can follow us on x at warm weather fans you can follow me on x at watch the stone like i said the next time that you will hear us Us too. specifically because I'm on the Phil Steele episode that'll come out after this but the next time you will hear us too is getting ready for week one of college football season which is A crazy thought.
Speaker: But. A very happy one because it's a lot of projection up to this point. And. You're just sort of left going. I guess we'll see.
Speaker: you know Because it's a lot of guys that either haven't played or they played at a lower level. And I'm not scouting community colleges. I don't have that kind of time in my bag. So.
Speaker: Thanks, everybody, who tuned in to all of these ah previews. And we will be back next time with our week one. preview This has been Warm Weather France.
