Transcript
Speaker: Welcome, everybody, into Warm Weather Fans. It is Brian Stone and Zeke Palermo, your hosts of this here podcast. And we are back. this week on a thursday to talk about all of the week two action in the sunbelt Zeke, we had kind of talked about it. briefly before we came on and started recording.
Speaker: not ah Again, not a banner week for for Sunbelt matchups. Uh, a lot of A lot of the things that we saw last week where teams were playing cream puffs.
Speaker: uh those are now flipped where now you're playing the the one game a season where you're just kind of expected to get beat down and collect a check on the way out the door Um, But we do maybe have a couple of like some interesting ones, but.
Speaker: I don't know. the this The early returns on these schedules to start are not. great as far as like getting insights from these. from these games like win or lose you're just kind of left to like Yeah, it was what I thought it was going to be.
Speaker: It's so frustrating from ah from a fan perspective because... the The games are either pay games. in our favor or or against us and there's very few right But then when you look at, like, there are a couple Conference USA games, a couple of American games, but it's like...
Speaker: Man, we probably scheduled this app state. East Carolina game four years ago. And. Conference USA, more than any of the other G6 conferences, which are also volatile as is.
Speaker: It seems like Conference USA is the most volatile. So it's like, man, who knows what. e It's a completely different program. Same thing, like UAB. Tulane even like in this is all.
Speaker: when When you scheduled South Alabama, when you scheduled Tulane, this was probably a banner matchup like, hey, we're going to go against the premier of G6. Um, Not anymore.
Speaker: okay you think do you think back when georgia state scheduled kennesaw like we we can get into that game in a second but you think when georgia state scheduled kennesaw they were like Finally, we're playing a team on our level within the state, and then Kennesaw goes like this last season, like goes a big level up, and you're like...
Speaker: Well... Shit. like i don't know I don't know when this game was scheduled, i and the and I'm sure it's easily found, but I don't have it offhand. There's a chance Kennesaw State gets paid to win this game.
Speaker: Considering they're in year three of the FBS. Yeah. I wouldn't be shocked at all. um Let's see. ah i can't I can't find it either. I would have to do some deeper digging to figure out what year it was scheduled. But let's let's break into some of these games. so Starting at noon.
Speaker: ah On the CW, you're going to get Old Dominion going to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech last ah last week with James Franklin. beat Virginia Military Institute 73 -3 again. Didn't take a lot of the way from that game that we had some similar results in the Sun Belt last week.
Speaker: ah This is going to be interesting because Old Dominion had kind of... been beating virginia tech on a regular basis like before james franklin took over like I think they beat him twice in the last like four years. Uh,
Speaker: when Virginia Tech was like really really helpless like as a football program so Um... You're going to have to take the training wheels off of Hinnicle, I think. Um... This is going to be one of those games probably where he gets pushed like.
Speaker: I know they have probably this golden number in their head that like we're not going to let him surpass. 25 pass attempts or something in a game, like if they feel really good about it.
Speaker: you're Again, you're going to have to take the the the cap off of that and let the genie out of the bottle because it's like... I'm sure James Franklin's looking at it going, no. Thing number one, we can't let him run. Then we then we just predicate.
Speaker: defensively, everything around that. And then it's like. Offensively, again, i don' I don't take a lot from... what Virginia Tech did last week. so Old Dominion is probably going to give them a real fight like on the defensive side of the ball. But offensively, I just don't know that they're going to be able to score enough to to kind of keep pace with Virginia Tech.
Speaker: I need a little bit, a lot of it more out of Quinn Hinnickle in this one. And that's going to set the tone kind of moving forward as you play East Carolina the week following and then an early conference start against James Madison on the 26th.
Speaker: um Both. James Madison and Old Dominion are kind of in interesting quarterback positions, both for ah different reasons. but It. Was good, not great against Norfolk State.
Speaker: Yeah. And what's kind of scary is that. I don't know how, if it gets better, right? I think maybe it retains ah remains the same. For Old Dominion, though, it just it starts and stops with Hennicle. I think before we can evaluate everything else, the defense still looks good. The cast around him looks...
Speaker: um comparable to what it was last year. Obviously, the quarterback play was better, so that mattered a little less than it will this year. but It just stops and starts there. Eh. When we're this early in the season, that's all I can really look for.
Speaker: Yeah, it's going to be a really interesting barometer to see where... Old Dominion is that as a program. um I said this, I think, before the season kind of like in passing.
Speaker: i I think... ah Who was it? Um, the the The quarterback that moved on that went to Wisconsin. Colton Joseph?
Speaker: Colton Joseph is going to regret by the end of the season that he he'd left. Old Dominion. And I think Old Dominion is probably going to be like... Man, if if he had just come back for another season, like we're cakewalking to the Sunbelt title game. Um,
Speaker: That doesn't seem like it's going to be the case with Hinnickle, unless... like we We talked about in the in the recap, like he's going to have to progress as a passer probably big time. to make that jump.
Speaker: um or they're going to have to play real conservative football. um So. I don't know. we We'll see in this game. This will be a good... like barometer for where both of these teams are actually at.
Speaker: Uh, Another noon kick. App State takes on East Carolina. East Carolina is coming off of a drubbing against Alabama. App State most recently, like we talked about, beat an FCS main team.
Speaker: ah Malachi Singleton looked very good. Um, Shaquari Lewis, Jaquez Cross, those guys were complimentary running the football. I feel pretty good about at winning this game. Like I just.
Speaker: I feel like they are kind of moving in the right direction. The defense is a big wait and see because it's like they weren't really tested against Maine. Now, if you play like a real team that can score, what does that look like? Because that was also sort of a...
Speaker: a sore spot for them as well as the quarterback position last year. Um, So. Yeah, what's what's what is the thing that you I guess are looking for in this one like that you maybe want to get answers to a question or two?
Speaker: I mean it's just show me that you can play Good football. Against. teams more close to your level. ah Everything worked. perfectly for app last week and you know To use your Singleton example, it's like 22 for 24. It does not get better than that. I don't anticipate – I don't expect him to go.
Speaker: 22 for 24 again. I don't expect him to go. right plus 90, plus 80, even plus 70, it's like I don't necessarily know if that's a fair bar. But show me that all four phases can actually play.
Speaker: good football at the same time. And i'll I'd be happy to say that App is on the right trajectory. But, you know, through only one week against Maine. It's hard to tell if that's legitimate. um And.
Speaker: Even if you don't win. But you have. If there are no glaring holes, I think that's a huge step in the right direction for app. Definitely. Yeah, I mean...
Speaker: The fact that you have Singleton back there, if he turns out to be... A top. three quarterback in the conference. like this year they they their ceiling is higher than a lot of other teams Just because they don't have that guy. under center that really makes a difference. like A lot of the quarterbacks in this conference that...
Speaker: especially going from last year to this year where last year it was kind of a renaissance of like We had all these really, really strong quarterbacks with like. Rainer, Barnett, like Joseph, you know ah all of these guys.
Speaker: And now it's like. Who would you say ah through one? I mean, I know it's really early, but who would you say through one week is like the leader in the clubhouse in that department? like It's not a tight race you know it's yeah not like a a race where you're like wow someone else is way out ahead of us like Everybody's kind of like in the same.
Speaker: Pack. outside. um We're going to see kind of an interesting divergence this year because last year. Over the past several years, the best Sunbelt quarterbacks have all been of the same prototype.
Speaker: I think we're going to see a bit of a divergence into three different molds. ah Maybe just different spots on the spectrum from pure runner to pure passer to somewhere in between. um I think the top three will shape up.
Speaker: Oh. With guys more on either extreme, whereas the past three years, it's been like Joseph joseph Barnett. Um, Oh, his name escapes me. Braylon Braxton. Braylon Braxton, the kid from Texas State whose name escapes me. Brad Jackson. These are all guys who are excellent runners but could also throw the ball like heck. so right I'm interested to see. like I think we're gonna lean maybe one way or the other.
Speaker: moving forward yeah A 3 .30 kick here. UL Monroe is traveling to Birmingham to take on UAB. Congrats to UAB on their first win in the season against UL Monroe. um I mean, if you're Brian Vincent, like if you truly if you want to win this game.
Speaker: And you're not just. obsessed with having our mints out there. taking snaps like Put Carlisle in. If you're not serious and you're just looking to get like a ah check. as you get fired and on the way out the door.
Speaker: Keep playing our Mint every week. It's been going great. through through three seasons so far. so you know why why stop now i guess you know there's There's like a quote from a movie. It's like, just because you've done something doesn't mean you have to keep doing it. And it's like, that's that's the way I feel about Armenta. It's like, just because you roll him out every week.
Speaker: Doesn't mean you have to keep rolling them out every week. And then. You know the The game they had last week, it's like... They're also lacking like that really prominent.
Speaker: rusher yeah you That like had become kind of a hallmark of... you know the ahmad hardy you know Zach Palmer Smith or whoever last year was in that mix. like you don't even have anybody seems like on that level so I don't know, man. like you You need to give yourself an out with with putting Carlisle in the game. like Even if you don't feel like he's ready, it's like...
Speaker: this team's not going anywhere like i don't think you understand like it's not like we're one player away from being in the title game in the west it's like you guys are like Distantly last so like Do something. Change it up.
Speaker: I don't know. From a UAB perspective, it's kind of interesting because over the past couple of years, this has been a pretty poor team, but they've never really been the kind of team that just gets walked over.
Speaker: even in their losses they're like hanging around. I think about last year's game against Tennessee. At Tennessee, they lost by like 20 points. That was a ranked Tennessee, by the way. But UAB went on to win like four games. so ah It's hard to make... Without having sat down and watched it front to end, it's hard to make much sense of their loss to Illinois last week.
Speaker: um I just don't think UAB is headed in. The right direction. I wanted to say they're not headed in any direction, but they are headed in a direction. It's just the wrong direction. We'll talk about teams that didn't seem to be moving at all.
Speaker: um after week one but Right now, ULM, it's like we are definitively making the wrong choice for our program, but that's okay because we're the only school in the state with actual money.
Speaker: Yeah. Fair. Uh... Another 3 .30 game here. James Madison is taking on Wagner.
Speaker: I've got to say this. I've never seen a team play two games in Wagner and have ah their leading passer has 63 yards this season for two games. Uh, So he's averaging a whopping, what, like 31 .5 yards per game?
Speaker: Okay. like Congrats to James Madison for going 2 -0 to start the season over Liberty and and Wagner, I guess. i just You hope for James Madison's sake that they have some guys on the staff who are just like insane quarterback evaluators because both J .C. Evans and Camden Coleman are going to stunt on Wagner.
Speaker: And it's to be like, oh, we're in the same position we were last week. We have no idea who's our best quarterback. Yeah. um So I hope you've got guys who can read mechanics and and can read decision -making, maybe even read these guys' minds because...
Speaker: Otherwise, you're going into week three and it's like we are no clearer. to finding out who our best quarterback is than we were. you know, in spring ball. Well, it it's like what we said on Tuesday about Hinnicle.
Speaker: It's like. Take the the training wheels off of evidence in this game. You're not gonna lose You're not. So go ahead. Cause you know, like I said, the one thing that I thought. in the Liberty game was that there.
Speaker: Past defense may have been a little shaky. but Wagner's quarterback has 63 yards through two games. You'll be fine. So just take the take the training wheels off.
Speaker: It. Coleman is a totally different type of quarterback, like where he seems to be much more. statuesque like in the pocket so take the training wheels off Evans let him throw more than like nine passes in a game Um.
Speaker: he needs reps like you need to get me if you if you're serious about starting this guy you have to get him game reps to throwing the football against competition. It's kind of, like I said, it's what we said about Hinnicle where it was like,
Speaker: You're in a position where you're there's there's no pressure. You're fine. Yeah, just go out and let him throw it and and get some. some run because Doing the like.
Speaker: We're going to play to his strengths and ignore. like this weakness until like it kills us i'm like that's that's how you lose like down the line so like Again, go out there.
Speaker: Play loose. Let JC Evans air the ball out in the on the the drives where he is out there. i I would honestly tell him. I don't want to see you run unless you're absolutely have to. like We're not going to call design quarterback sweeps power. like We're not running any of that. You're going to run strictly passing concept concepts. If you run in a situation where... like There's no pressure.
Speaker: I would be like, Coleman's coming in on the next drive. And that's how we're going to determine it. i I wish they could do that. i just I think James Madison's offensive identity is going to revolve around that like almost Rich Roddy type.
Speaker: Like we are going to be fairly fairly easy, but at any point our quarterback is a rushing option. So it's like, I don't know how you do that without. removing the identity of this offense. Well...
Speaker: it if If Evans gets hurt. or gets pulled for for negative play. Coleman's coming in. They're not running those same plays for him. So... Call the...
Speaker: Call the colman Camden Coleman playbook for both guys. and then determine where you're at. If you're like, well the ceiling's not really there for Evans as a passer but he gives us a lot with his mobility and we can kind of work with that that's That's great. At least you have discovered that about like...
Speaker: Evans and you know your team But like. Having the Evans snaps just be runs and then having the Coleman snaps be strictly passes, it's like... You already know what these guys do well. like Ask them to get out. I'm not I'm not saying we need to call quarterback power for Camden Coleman, but like sure.
Speaker: The Evan snaps need to be more. Like. we need to be exercising kind of the stuff that we don't do well so that we can figure out where we need to kind of improve or even make a change but like if if if If Evans has...
Speaker: 18 carries in this game I'm just going to be like what What are we doing? like what Who is this for? Um, ah Four o 'clock kick. ah Troy is welcoming in Alabama State, who I believe is also at HBCU. u Um...
Speaker: Troy was... They won their game over Sam Houston, but they were very shaky. Um... low completion percentage ah for Goose Crowder.
Speaker: You did show a little bit of fight with running the ball with Gavin Griffin. Um... Yeah, i i just I just would be like, all right, so here's what we're going to do. this is going to be kind of similar to the JC Evans game plan. I'm like,
Speaker: I want to see Crowder drop back and throw it maybe. 30. five times in this one, 30 times or something. like Gavin Griffin showed some nice... you know, ability last week. But... i We need to get.
Speaker: Crowder like into the. the swing of things and be like, ah You don't need to be bailing out of clean pockets. You don't need to be running into contact. We don't need you to get hurt. in week two against ah an hbcu like stand in the pocket make reads, deliver. I want to see the completion percentage come up.
Speaker: Like all of that kind of stuff. Like they've got a lot offensively. They still need to kind of like improve on. And then. uh defensively like the past defense has to be way way better or else they're not going anywhere anytime fast.
Speaker: I said this in our episode that we released earlier this week about. ah The game against Sam Houston, it's like... My evaluation of Troy this week after week two is really going to hinge more on how Sam Houston plays Tulsa. than it is how Troy plays Alabama State. and Hey.
Speaker: you know Again, against Tulsa, a team that's kind of had its ups and downs, they're 1 -0. I don't know who they played last week. They just beat Oklahoma State. um Yeah, 24 to 10 or something, right? yeah If Sam Houston shows out in this game.
Speaker: ah and puts up a fight against Tulsa, I feel a lot better. about your... slim win over Sam Houston than if they just come out and get drubbed. Um, I think from a gameplay perspective, I think you're spot on about.
Speaker: what you need to roll out you need to see the things that you're not necessarily good at and force them to work or at least force some good habits. um But from a Troy like whole.
Speaker: Overview Troy, it's just like... Well, how good was Sam Houston? Yeah. Are they closer to the four win team or whatever that they fielded last year? Are they closer to the 10 win team that they had two years ago? Right. That's that's got to be the question that gets answered.
Speaker: Seven o 'clock, South Alabama takes on Tulane as the stoppable force meets the movable object. uh you've got Tulane coming off of getting drubbed 17 -3 by Duke in their opener. ah Will Hall's first game as head coach is going...
Speaker: swimmingly spot on ah You know. South Alabama, again, is super conservative. I don't really know like what their end goal is here. like I don't know if...
Speaker: Like... Is Applewhite betting on like... interception totals by Bishop Davenport like is he betting the unders and that's like why he calls these games the way he is it's like I don't know, man. like If you can't uncork it...
Speaker: uh against You know, who did they play last week? Southeast Louisiana. like if you If he's still throwing for 154 yards in a game where you guys score 39 points, like that's probably a bad sign.
Speaker: Uh, But I don't know that it's going to matter. Because they might beat Tulane in New Orleans because of how bad Tulane is. looks to be. I mean, for one, from Tulane's perspective.
Speaker: Are you shocked? do you You saw what Will Hall did at Southern Miss. um South Alabama is the team that... um There's one other team that we'll talk about, but it's like... That is the team that I did not see go in any direction. We're not taking a step forward or a step back.
Speaker: uh after a week one it's just like we are still south alabama and we still have this identity of blah or lack thereof maybe like lack thereof Yeah. Of identity.
Speaker: I don't know how this game plays out. I think... I don't think Tulane's as bad as they looked in week one, but also I don't. necessarily know what to believe. um This is. Kind of.
Speaker: This might be my least interesting game of the week. Because. Is that a new segment? Zeke's least interesting game of the week. like Looking at the slate, and I'm looking up and down, it's like, it's them.
Speaker: Honestly, it's this one or Alabama State Troy are like the only two. yeah Because I think there are things to look for in other games. I just need you to show me anything if you're South Alabama. Show me something. Right.
Speaker: Um, Another 7 o 'clock kick here. Arkansas State is welcoming in West Georgia, who is already 0 -2 this season with losses. A 47 -0 loss last week to Kennesaw.
Speaker: ah in kit in the Owls opener. Um... you know I think this is a good game for them to get Trey Owens ah some reps against you know a non -Memphis defense, but also... We've got to cut down on the turnovers. Like, I understand.
Speaker: i and it's It's really tough because... Butch Jones is kind of putting him between a rock and a hard place here by being like, guess what? We don't have any running ah attack to to kind of take the ah the pressure off of you.
Speaker: ah But you're going to have to go out and win us every game that we play this year because defensively, we're also not. Not doing anything on the ground, run defense -wise. so ah Yeah, Troy, go ahead and and win us every game. I don't know. He just.
Speaker: Owens just needs game reps like a lot of these you know first time. starters kind of do but Again, Butchens kind of put him in an unwinnable position here with with the way that this like roster is constructed.
Speaker: Right. Bye. I gotta see some signs of defensive life. out of Arkansas State. I know that's never going to be the hallmark. um But they looked really bad against, yeah. memphis last week we talked about uh in the recap episode it's like They turned the ball over four or five times.
Speaker: By the way, Memphis only scored seven points off of those turnovers. So it... Those were just complete full length. On their own drives, yeah and you just kind of got swabbed. so If there's going to be ah an opportunity to show it, it's going to be against FCS West Georgia.
Speaker: Um, And if you. Can't. If you can't show life there, if you can't you know maybe hold them to... 21 or under. i I have to start asking it's like are we are we you know, Same song, different year with Butch Jones, which. Early signs are yes.
Speaker: Yeah. Uh... Another 7 o 'clock kick here. This is your game. Georgia State is traveling to Kennesaw, which is not very far away, but ah to take on the Owls. ah You know, like we said, Kennesaw drubbed.
Speaker: Who was it? West Georgia in week one. Um, This is going to be a really interesting one, actually. like i'm pretty Even as like an you know unaffiliated third party to this game, like I don't really care about either of these teams. like i'm not invested in like their success uh necessarily but like Kennesaw had a good team last year.
Speaker: um And... At least Georgia State, you know, with Cameron Brown showed some real. like improvement at the quarterback spot. you know over what they had been rolling out in previous seasons under Del McGee. so Yeah, how how do you...
Speaker: It's like what is Kennesaw like a seven and a half point favorite or something like that. I think I saw like ah yeah ESPN has them at nine and a half as we record this ah Monday night. I...
Speaker: I don't know. I think Kennesaw takes a step back this year, obviously because a lot of their success was predicated on Amari Odom, their quarterback. who I think ended up winning KUSA Player of the Year. He now plays for Syracuse.
Speaker: um he He was just an incredible quarterback for them last year. a big part of them beating jacksonville state in the conference championship game ah Played good, not great when they got drubbed by Western Michigan in the bowl game.
Speaker: Mm hmm. And then it's like it seems early signs are Georgia State might be in the, you know. headed upwards of one win uh from last year I I think I like Kennesaw pretty interesting here uh or pretty easily here but Um, from a someone who does have a stake obviously in georgia state but then is also like very local to this area um like I grew up like 30 minutes from Kennesaw State's campus. I'm just really excited because I think these are...
Speaker: Georgia Tech has shown. um By choice of schedule, but also... you know, they are just stature that they are more interested in being like UGA's younger brother, at least from a football perspective than they are in being Georgia state's older brother.
Speaker: ah Which is fine. I think that's probably from an administrative perspective probably closer to the right decision. um yeah But this is a you know two teams at roughly the same level. in terms of at least you know conference prestige. Kennesaw State in their two or three years of FBS ball have already outperformed Georgia State's ah best seasons, obviously.
Speaker: Um, And you have to be. the Georgia state administration and thinking. how on earth you know it's like uh it's like the scene from iron man it's like Tony Stark built this in a cave with rocks.
Speaker: And he's like, I'm not Tony Stark. And then, yeah, and then it's Sean Elliott and, oh, goodness. His name escapes me, but Trent something? Yes, yes, yes, Trent Miles.
Speaker: Chuck Miles, it's like, I'm not getting Stark. i want to I want to ask you, like, what is... could Because you guys obviously beat the brakes off of North Carolina A and &T. like what Going into this, what is the biggest area of concern?
Speaker: Like for Georgia state, like, is it, is it the D like past defense or like. what What areas are you like? This is where. Kennesaw is going to really take advantage.
Speaker: It is not pass defense for me, a although... No. Instead of saying where it is, and I'll tell you where it is. ah It's skill position. uh against um And CANT, it was so spread out.
Speaker: And. I think the initial reaction can be that we have a wealth of options. But you didn't have anyone like. blow the brakes off anyone you didn't see anyone get an insane amount of volume that gives you um You know, the hope that this is going to be our guy. And we've seen.
Speaker: um pretty consistently than unless you are jalen raynor or colton joseph both of which who by the way had guys and like to quez cross Corey Rucker. Corey Rucker or Colton Joseph, who had like some of the best Juco talents in the world.
Speaker: um you You do need some sort of ah supporting cast around a good quarterback. like Even at James Madison, it's like you have... weapons here around Um, around Alonzo Barnett.
Speaker: So the defense, obviously, it's like whole list, you know. Looking at last season, comparing it to now, yes, I want to see a broad increase in defense, but... I felt pretty good about what I saw against NC A and &T. It's do we have a guy?
Speaker: ah that can take volume. Yeah. That's fair Uh... Another 7 o 'clock game here, Middle Tennessee. is taking on Marshall in Huntington.
Speaker: you know marshall licking their wounds off of that what 45 nothing lost to penn state in week one ah Middle Tennessee beat Murray State, an FCS team 38 -14 in the opener.
Speaker: Um... They are typically a pretty middling football program in Conference USA. like they They're not. yeah i know I know you were you were saying like how these teams like had these like real peaks and valley seasons where... they're They're way at the top of the standings, and then the next week they're kind of, or next year they're kind of like toward the middle or the bottom.
Speaker: Middle Tennessee, I think, is... is Usually a very... middle to to bottom tier. kusa team so Um. Marshall, man.
Speaker: I got to see more out of Carlos Del Rio Wilson. Like we can't. we're We're doing the thing. Kind of last year, what we did with Louisiana, doing it with him this year, at least through one game where it's like.
Speaker: We just blow a bunch of smoke. And then week one comes out and you're just like. Oh, so nothing has changed from last year. So I feel like I've been taking crazy pills all off season, at least on paper so far where I'm like, right.
Speaker: Where was this giant step in improvement that everybody had? forecast that I'm like, at least take a shot if you're gonna like bestow all these like awards in the preseason.
Speaker: He's got to earn them, but also like... wouldn't you almost feel better giving it to somebody you don't know? Cause you're like, it's the devil I know versus the one I don't at this point. I don't know. Like he's going to have to really show me something in this middle Tennessee game. Cause he was.
Speaker: not good last week. ah He needs to push the ball downfield, something he did not do all of last season, did not do last week. um Which, is again, is crazy because you were never in a position in that game from like a game situation perspective to not be pushing the ball downfield.
Speaker: um Something I don't think we talked about in the recap, and it's only top of mind because we... record these back to back is that toby payne like for the first time ever in a Sunbelt game was a tight end that went off. Eight catches for 55 yards. I think that's the second most of his second highest ah receiving yard total of his career.
Speaker: Um, So like it's sweet. If you're Carlos Del Rio Wilson, because you get a guy in pain who's an excellent blocker, who's also proving to be ah a very... Feasible pass catcher um And if I just check it down to him for five yards every play.
Speaker: Well, he's gonna catch it. And he's going to make eight catches for 40 yards or whatever. And I get to look great because my completion percentage is through the roof. Right. I don't know what they saw. ah You and I have been pretty pretty in step on that all offseason, though. that Someone was seeing something that we were not.
Speaker: Yeah. Or a pretending to see. Yeah, someone was doing a lot of projection. uh in Being like well, this guy's obviously gonna take like a huge step and you're like But based off of what? like it's one Did they release the ballots? Because I'd be curious to know. like Surely he didn't win him. and Surely he was just the offensive player with the most preseason votes, right?
Speaker: There's no way that he took home like a majority of it. This has to be, oh, he took five of 14. part of me wonders if it's that or it's just the hive mind of being like well who's coming back but it's the coaches right don't the coaches take the preseason I think so. You hope the coaches are above that.
Speaker: Yeah. I don't know. It's one thing when you have a a quarterback who starts the season like last year, for example, starts the season poorly and then gets better by the end of the season. And then you're like. Oh, well, this will just keep progressing. into next year and that's something you can point to.
Speaker: It was the opposite with him. He started hot. was bad in the second half of the season got benched in the finale Again, might have been hurt, might have not. like There was no no like injury disclosure.
Speaker: And then we just turn around and basically... mind wipe the last half of this of last season out of our brains and that's the part that I always tripped up on I'm like So we're just we're just throwing it out. Like the last six games of last year didn't happen to everybody. Like we're just, we're in our head. We're going, well, they started five and one. It's like, yeah, but how'd they finish?
Speaker: And you're like. Oh yeah, sorry. and so like that's that's really the part that i always bumped up against um Alright. 7 .30 here. ah Georgia Southern is taking on Clemson. In Clemson.
Speaker: ah Clemson obviously coming off of a 51 -10 drubbing at the hands of LSU. You had Lane Kiffin shooting a basketball on the sideline during play because he was so bored. um I don't know I mean I tweeted it after the Clemson final went up I was like Georgia Southern has the chance to do the funniest thing next Saturday which is like If they upset Dabo...
Speaker: like You know how they like are like Clemson fans rush the field every game or whatever? They might just carry him off the field and then just like throw him into the nearest like body of water. Like if that happens, like this is going to be a. A Scott Frost, like, auto -firing. Like when Southern Beat... Nebraska a couple years ago and it was like Frost, I think it was like 730. there was like a scheduled tweet it was like scott frost was let go today and you're like wow like we didn't even wait he didn't even have time to put like cream in his coffee um
Speaker: Realistically, Clemson probably wins this game, but it would it would be very, very funny if like... Max Johnson and his like limited physical profile like went out and beat Clemson and they just kind of limped into the rest of the season like off of an 0 -2 start.
Speaker: Is there one thing you're looking for? ah like if Because I think... Personally, it's I need to see. The defense, does this hold up? um And then Max Johnson, can he?
Speaker: Have we seen his best already? Which his best was not good enough. know as As you talked in the recap. Does one of those take priority for you over the other? I mean, defensively, that's going to keep you in the game if if the defense is playing up to snuff.
Speaker: i'm kind of already I was already of the opinion in the preseason that like Max Johnson is like, it is what it is. like the he he was already he was limited physically and it was never going to get better And so...
Speaker: that's That's where I am in the going into the Clemson game. I'm like... I guess mentally I'm like, well, if Mike McDaniel could win games with Tua on the Dolphins, like anybody can do it, right? like two of his brains were like scrambled egg and his hip was like made of like dental floss like what you know if If you can do it, if somebody can do it with him, like anybody can get it done.
Speaker: I'm just... I don't know, man. I saw so many balls flutter from Max Johnson last week. Like, even in ah at a... blow out. shutout win. It's going to be the defense that has to keep them in it because I don't think they're going to score very much. like I again liked what I saw out of some of the running backs.
Speaker: And I think that maybe they might be able to rip off some. some chunk plays like if they get creative Uh... But defensively is going to be where it it it begins and ends. Because if...
Speaker: Clemson is held to like. 17, 20 points, then I'm like, all right, well, you're right in it at that point. But if... If it gets away from him, because... Georgia Southern's had three straight drives that have gone three and out and Clemson's had the ball for the last like.
Speaker: 20 minutes of game time like that's when it's going to be like a 42 to 10 final score type thing Sure. And I wouldn't put that on the defense, obviously. It's like the offense has to be able to sustain drives, obviously. Uh...
Speaker: 7 .30 speaking of LSU, taking on, ah welcoming welcoming in Louisiana Tech. Funny enough, you know, you were talking about Toby Payne. Eli Finley's actually kind of giving him a run for his money because he had four catches for 52 yards last week at the tight end spot, which is, again, not a thing we see out of tight ends.
Speaker: Um, I think Louisiana Tech's scoring average for the season is going to come way down. You know, they were scoring 80 a week. And now I think we're looking at like a 14 point performance, maybe.
Speaker: yeah uh it's tough i i'm interested you know obviously this is not the sunbelt angle but Between these two games, it's going to be really interesting to figure out how bad Clemson actually is and how good LSU. actually is obviously it's column a column b i think lsu's a little underrated coming into the season um And then Clemson unranked, I think.
Speaker: you know. Clemson is going to be whatever Clemson is as long as Dabo Sweeney's there ah for whatever time he has left. ah Louisiana Tech, just just show resilience because you're going to do you're going to take the kind of beating that you probably gave out, similar to.
Speaker: 35 .5 is the line here. Just show out, play good football, show identity, um and remember that. being on the drubbing of one end and then The other on the next week is not a great way to like.
Speaker: Really show the world who you are. Not that they care what we think, but... I don't know what I know about Louisiana Tech after two weeks. no I mean, nothing like yeah this will be the biggest swing in extremes between two weeks. You know, you you've got to have.
Speaker: somebody closer to their their level. like and And it's even tough because in week three, it's like they go play Baylor and you're like. They might beat Baylor, but that might say more about Baylor than it does Louisiana Tech at the end of the day. like you know I wasn't...
Speaker: i wasn't blown i had my socks blown off by that auburn game so i'm like I don't know Uh, Another 730 kick here. Coastal gets a chance to pick up their first win of the season over ah their but kind of play Fordham.
Speaker: Uh, who lost 38 -0 to North Dakota State. Last week. And then in week zero, lost by 10 to... Colgate. who is a toothpaste brand. um So...
Speaker: Coastal is going to get a chance to... I assume Deuce Bailey is going to be able to uncork it quite a bit in this one because... presumably they're not going to get down 24 points to start. But...
Speaker: I... Running the ball wise, it was just a total. zero for the Chanticleers last week. so like Maybe that's what I'm looking out for, but I think this is going to be a real Deuce Bailey showcase based on what I saw in the second half of the West Virginia game.
Speaker: For Coastal, if you can't run the ball against Fordham, though, who... What are you waiting for? it's like Oh, it's over at that point. like You might as well just convert yourself to a ah Mike Leach offense.
Speaker: so So that's the angle. I think Coastal... I may be forgetting someone here, but they're probably the best 0 -1 team in the conference. um I don't think anyone else is really in that conversation and the bit How high are you on Marshall?
Speaker: That wasn't bad. not ah Not. Not very. Um... Fair. But yeah, for Coastal, it's just like, hey, can we play a little closer to a more complete game? Is Deuce Bailey legit? Was this a one -half flash in the pan? He's fired up.
Speaker: um or or Or can he actually play some good football here? Yeah. ah seven forty five Again, speaking of Auburn, these games are really rolling one end into one after the other. ah Southern Miss is traveling to Auburn to take on the Tigers. ah Again, Auburn... barely edged out Baylor last week, Byron Brown.
Speaker: through three picks against Baylor. So that wasn't like. didn't didn't instill a ton of confidence in me uh in him Uh... Southern Miss, I think the big thing for me is like...
Speaker: we're just going to have to get more out of Ethan Hampton than we got. um You know, they they won. you know fairly handily And, you know, Steven Robinson was big for them with 123 yards and three touchdowns. Even Wilder, the backup, you know, you said had 90. You're gonna have to get something more out of Hampton than you know 13 of 23, 180, one touchdown and a pick like is not going to cut it. ah you're gonna he's really going to have to step up and like...
Speaker: Make it a game. along with the running game. Yeah, I... Very realistically, I think Southern Miss could leave this game leading the country in defensive interceptions forced.
Speaker: um after picking off Alcorn State four times. um Yeah, it's just play a little more complete if you can. ah Obviously, that means ah offensively running the ball a little bit better.
Speaker: um Southern Miss is a team that I'm still... unsure where to place. I think they're they're better than... what their floor was I think that we can confidently raise their floor on the season but It's still that floor is now anywhere instead of being anywhere from like one to five games. It's like from two to six.
Speaker: um And possibly even higher, depending on... ah how good like Steven Robinson is and how good this run, uh, running game is. Yeah. ah you know Maybe Kobe Albert is going to be on the Heisman watch list after this. If he if he finishes the this game having six picks in two games, like maybe yeah we're looking at like a modern -day... like
Speaker: You know, one of those guys from like old football, like night train lane level. Oh, when they're allowed to yeah put glue on all up and down their arms. Yeah, and they're like, yeah, he had 17 picks in a season. That's nuts.
Speaker: Uh, And then the the last game of the night here, 11 o 'clock Eastern time kick. I will be in bed for this, just a heads up. like I will be watching next to none of this game. I'll either catch the the the replay on ESPN the next day or or something along those lines. I will not be up until... 2 .15 in the morning watching ah USC.
Speaker: presumably beat Louisiana fairly handily. Uh... My Ava has been very good for USC through two games. He's thrown five touchdowns. um Louisiana beat Lamar, obviously, last week. but We were not super encouraged by the way that lunch went and feel through the ball. That's going to be a real Achilles heel for them in this game because.
Speaker: USC doesn't have like an amazing defense. But if you only are ah kind of like a one trick pony. at the quarterback spot, like they'll sniff that out and put a stop to that pretty quickly.
Speaker: Yeah, ah from Troy, it's very similar to some of the other teams that won last week. It's like, can you can you be complete, and can you do so for four good quarters? I think you're obviously anticipating you' ah you know a three -possession -plus loss here against a ranked USC team.
Speaker: But it's just like, hey, ah can we get lunch to to up the completions? And does that mean maybe putting the training wheels back on him? for for a couple weeks to kind of figure it out. ah Does that mean ah you know running the ball a little more effectively? does that mean what What does that look like? It means different things for different teams. ah But Troy's in the very same boat as...
Speaker: South Alabama, Georgia State, like these teams that won by large margins. ah Last week, it's like. proved to me that it's not. all a facade.
Speaker: and And we can kind of move on from there. We can reevaluate in a week. Alright. Zeke, that is the week two slate. Would you like people to let people know where they can find you on socials? And I'll do the same and then we'll get out of here.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm on Twitter at Zeke Palermo, Z -E -K -E -P -A -L -E -R -M -O. And then as always, you can follow us on X or tick tock at warm weather fans. You can follow me on X at watch the stone. We will be back next Tuesday to run down all of these games. And then the following Thursday to start our week three previews.
Speaker: Thank you, everybody, for tuning in. This has been Warm Weather Fans.
