Week 7 Preview

We jump into the preview of Week 7 in the Sun Belt pretty quickly this week. Since TJ missed the JMU episode, we let him share his thoughts on the matter first. We recap last week's picks and scores before previewing each game for Week 7.

What are your thoughts on this week's matchups? Enter your picks on our socials when we share our pick graphic!

App State, Marshall, ODU, JMU, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, & Georgia State, Louisiana, Troy, Arkansas State, ULM, La Tech, South Alabama, & Southern Miss

#cfb #football #sunbelt

Box Score Brains : A Free Daily Baseball Podcast for Kids
Scores, stats, stories, trivia & Baseball IQ, every morning.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Welcome into another episode of the Sun Belt Syndicate with you from the first kick to the last pitch, part of the Syndicate Sports Podcast Network, a mouthful before we get started. TJ, we had some news. We won't dive too deep into it because we did a two-hour show, live show last night, which obviously, you know, we tried to get you to be a part of, but you had some other stuff going on. But I do want to grab your thoughts first and foremost, James Madison leaving the Sun Belt going to the American Conference.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Yeah, it's it's uh I'm not gonna lie, it's a bombshell. It caught me way off guard uh when you sent that to me yesterday. I was like, well, and and this isn't, you also gotta think this isn't something that you just do on a whim. This has been strategically planned, right? Like they knew that they were gonna make an exit probably a couple years ago, right? Like we you don't just do this thing or plan this thing out that way. Now, I will say this um there's an exit fee, right, for for leaving a conference. I think it's anywhere between like five to seven million dollars, depending on what that looks like. And then there's another $25 to $30 million fee for joining another conference. I will say if anybody can afford to do it, JMU can afford it, right? They've got and I'm sure you guys covered all of this last night. They they've got the funds to be able to do it, they've got uh the donorship, the infrastructure, all those things to to to be able to do it. Now, I will say the thing that uh I think disappoints me the most in is uh there's always been this irrational perception that the American Conference is somehow better than the Humboldt. Them leaving offers credence to that in the sense that uh they have been the class of the conference for the past uh you know several years. They're kind of on that strength of the or that streak of dominance that that App State had back, I think it was you know 14 to 18 or 19, however long it was, that we were constantly winning the conference, constantly in bowl games, and and you know, constant constantly kind of being the class of of what uh and there was a couple times there that we were ranked in both the coaches and AP polls, um and and uh JMU had their run at having done a similar thing. Um, you'd think that you want to keep that here, but then you've you know, I get it, you've got uh Memphis and and and the other thing too, you know, uh the idea about the conference being better or the thought process baffles me because outside of Memphis and I don't know, maybe I think UCF is is in their conference as well. Is it UCF or UF?

SPEAKER_00 2:54

Or UF, UCF and went one was there and went to the Big 12 for right.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

And so I guess my issue with that is outside of that, there's no definite like you can't draw a line and say that these teams are better than the teams that are in the Sunbelt. Uh it just it it you know yeah. I I guess if I'm a JMU fan and or alum, I get it, but as a whole from a holistic perspective, it hurts the entire conference.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yes, I agree. Um, and again, we did a two-hour show on it. There's a lot of different things, but you brought up some good points. The that the there's a much larger percentage of their alumni that are closer to American teams because they're located more towards the Northeast than Sunbelt teams. So that portion makes sense. The five million dollars will not be covered on the backs of students or fans, it will be funded by private donors. That that amounts to about five million dollars, like you said, could be closer to six or seven, depending on all these other factors. Right.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Yeah, there's you know, other taxes and variables, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Right. Uh, the entry fee to the American, we found this out today, so it is funny that you brought that up. The entry fee to the American, they already they already announced yesterday that it was going to be funded. Like, don't worry, you know, you guys aren't gonna be charged something crazy to make up for this. But the details of that did come out today a little bit further, not definitive uh as far as who it is, but there are uh businesses, companies that are helping fund the entrance fee into the American for James Madison, and it was contingent. The deal with the American was contingent on James Madison inclusion into the American Conference. So, what my assumption is is that there's somebody who's somehow attached to a James Madison alum or something along those lines, and they happen to own or manage one of these companies that has a lot of money to throw around, and that was what ultimately helped seal the deal, right? Like somebody or somebodies, exactly, yes, and that these somebodies are not nobodies, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Yeah, they got a little bit of influence, a little bit of more rank than you and I at App State, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Yeah, just just just a little bit. That's the other funny thing we'll talk about. I mean, you know, all a couple fans from a different fan base are saying, like, well, we're gonna go too. Well, where are you pulling this from?

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Yeah, and also who told where'd you get this information?

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Because where'd you get this information? Where do you think any of these schools are throwing $30 million around? Right. And if the Sunbelt increases the exit fee, as they're expected to do, possibly by the end of this week, uh, they're not talking about a small increase, they're talking about many times over. So by the time this week is all said and done, the exit fee just to leave the Sunbelt could be approaching about $25 million. Then you have an entrance fee of around the same to go to a conference like the American. There's other conferences that the possibilities, right? Packet, whatever. But anyway, 50 million bucks, give or take. Who's who's throwing that away just to move to a different conference? So it's about if you've got the money. Yeah. Uh, I don't know many schools in the Sunbelt that are able to do that when we're getting paid about a million dollars a year in marketing or a TV deal, right? Uh, where the American teams are making about six or seven. So um, yeah. Anyway, again, two hours worth of coverage on that last night. We had some people from the west, we had some people from the east. We had a little fun with it. We might have something more coming along that fact uh that we might have a little fun with. So be on the lookout for something further as far as that is concerned. Just something a little fun about which team could next jump into the Sun Belt. But speaking of jumping into things, we need to jump into our picks from last week, TJ, and let's put them up on the board here. We see that uh you won yet again. You always do this to us, uh, and you've done it again. You only lost two games all week. That was App State and Marshall. Um what do you what do you got to say for your picks there?

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Yeah, I mean, obviously disappointed, uh, you know, supremely disappointed in one of them. Um, Marshall, you know, I we talked about the Marshall and Coastal game. That could have gone either way. Um, well, in terms of where I was leaning pick wise, could have gone either way. And so um, you know, for me, uh I'm not too upset about that, but I will say Ap State versus ODU, not being able to run the ball, getting stopped on third, short, third and shorts multiple times. It it's it's disheartening to a degree that uh right now my rational brain can't it can't comprehend because uh because what do you mean we can't be ODU? What are you talking about? Right, you know, it's it's almost up there with you know Cowboys losing to a winless Tampa Bay team with a backup quarterback who's a Roger rookie, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

What would you know about that?

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Yeah, exactly. So it you know, it it's it's not a good week, not a good week for me at all as it relates to football.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

So uh but you got to see some brothers back from the 06 championship team national championship team, so that was cool.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

Um yeah, it was a good time. We enjoyed it. It was a little wet, a little rainy. Um, to the fans that did come out, we appreciate you, obviously, always. Uh, to the ones who didn't come out, we still appreciate you because I wouldn't want to be out there and and you know, wet either against uh a team we're supposed to beat by a hundred. So um, but no, it was fun, man. It was a good time, good seeing all the boys back. Armani was there, Leonard was there, uh, you know, Devin, a bunch, it was a bunch of us. So we we had a good, we had a really good time.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Yeah, coach was there, that was cool. You got it. You were like, hey coach, turn around, let the fans have it. You know, that was pretty cool. I like that moment. Uh uh luckily, me and you got to stay mostly inside for that one. Yes, yes, that's always good. Well, man, we I I think I told you I went to try and chance it with my son twice off out of the end zone, right? Go down to the seats. Uh, thanks, Marv, for the uh for the tickets there. Um, but man, it was a lot colder than I would have expected it to be. Uh so we we stuck around inside and uh man, I thought I thought we were gonna have a pretty good finish because all of a sudden both teams are kind of trying to make something happen, and it just it just didn't. But we did get to see app students sliding down the hill, and then of course, because of that, Obu got in on the fun and uh coach, head coach Ricky Ronnie got got to slide head first down that thing. I'm that's that's that's so I'm two ways about it.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Obviously, as an app fan, if you don't beat it, like if you know they beat us, right? So we don't really have a leg to stand on as it relates to that, and then you know, but also act like you've been there before, coach. Like act like you've done, act like you've won some things before, act like you're a quality program who has um you know has some decency about yourself. I'm not saying that don't I'm not saying don't celebrate, right? I know everybody in the world wants to be abstate. Anytime we play anybody, whether it's Big Ten, whether it's AC or ACC, SEC, doesn't matter, for whatever reason, uh people want to be App State because of our reputation. We've been known to upset people, and that's just kind of what we do, right? Like that's the expectation. So everybody wants to beat us. But relax, okay? Sliding down the hill in in your coach's uniform or whatever it is that you got going on. Shirtless. Yeah, grow up, okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

Grow up. I I I I you know, I have to I have to remove my app fandom for a minute and be like, that's freaking awesome in my my thought process, right? Now we don't have to.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

But is it though? And the reason I say is it is because, like, what I mean, do you do that when you win any other games?

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Well, you have to remember first ever winning boon for them. So that that part is an aspect, right? Like, okay, hey, we finally did it. This has been a miserable, like, weather day, right? You it's not even a player. Like, now you're talking about a coach who sat there and soaked head to toe, probably like, I'm glad we won, but man, is I'm not happy with like just how I feel, like, as is just a human being in the moment of like yeah, just being wet and cold, and it's like, screw it, let's go do it. And I I would assume that's more of what it was. I think if it's like a nice weather day, none of that even, you know what I mean? Like, none of that happens. It's just sure, but and who knows how many like TJ, if you and the boys had won a big game like that, and if you tried to get Coach Moore to do something fun, I don't know, you know, like, but I could see them kind of egging him on. Like, I don't know if he's like, I'm going to the top of that hill and slide. Maybe he did.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

I I I just I the expectation level was different for us, though. And the reason I say that is because like we wouldn't have we wouldn't have celebrated that because we were supposed to, we knew we were supposed to win that game, right? Like when we played, there was a level of expectation, like we stormed the field against Michigan because it was Michigan, right? And but apart from that, like we didn't storm the field when we beat Georgia Southern, had Georgia Southern because we were expected to win that game. Those games we know they're gonna be tight, we know they're gonna be close games, winner they're gonna be rivalry games, and we know these things are gonna happen in conference, right? Anything could happen. Yeah, we're not celebrating that in that fashion. We're just not true. That's like an that's also like an SEC team beating an SEC team and storming the field like you're supposed to. Some of those things could happen, though. Some of those things have happened. Yeah, and I I always think it's literally it's rare, yeah. Yeah, like don't do that, right? Yeah, but you know, also I'm hating a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Well, yeah, I mean, it's if it wasn't your team, we'd probably both feel a little bit different. That's why I'm saying I I have to remove myself from the situation and be like, man, if my coach did that, I would probably love it. Like, but I just have to be honest. Uh, I don't think Dal Logan's that kind of guy, and I don't think Jerry Moore was even that kind of guy, but you know, uh Sean Clark might have been that kind of guy, you know.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

Like, yeah, but I mean, but he would have done that at home after the win.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Yeah, I've just true, true, true. You know what I mean? Like, because that's where we do it at. Yeah, that's a good point. All right, uh, yeah, I I also got the abstate pick wrong. I got the coastal pick right. I just trusted them just slightly more, but it was like I said, coin toss going in. Georgia Southern and uh Louisiana, man, if I could have got those two, me and you would have been sitting neck and neck this week, which would have been cool for me. Uh, I picked a couple upsets, and I knew I had picked a couple upsets, but uh, you know, they didn't go my way. Herd bros, uh fairly decent. I mean, you know, that that South Alabama Arkansas State game was high scoring. He got that one wrong, though. He went with the Red Wolves. App State, everybody got wrong, as we talked about. Obviously, he was gonna pick his own team in Marshall Thundering Heard, got that one wrong. Uh, so he was still in second place, even as bad as a week as he had. I was worse because uh I picked so many upsets. Yes, I mean it happens, right? It it does, it happens a little bit, but uh yeah, it was it was fun nonetheless. The picks are always fun. Uh, just a quick look at the scoreboard, just as a little reminder before we get into the preview for week seven here. Again, that really high scoring affair between Troy and Southern miss 55 to 34 in that one, and almost uh, well, more points in total. Uh, but South Alabama beats Arkansas State 56 to 4. We had two pretty like entertaining games, maybe not the best of football, but two really entertaining games in the uh the games before the weekend. Uh and then App State and ODU came out and bored us all to tears in a 10-3 pillow fight uh in the rain.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Pillow fight, you're not wrong. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Uh the the coastal Marshall game was weird. I mean, it looked like a coastal blowout, and then Marshall comes screaming back.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Uh well, because again, we talked about Marshall Coastal not being able to finish, and that's exactly how I expected it to go. Except I expected Marshall to keep going.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

Yeah. Well, and Marshall had to overcome six turnovers in that game. Obviously, that is immensely difficult to do. I'd sure I'd have to look up the record books to see if anybody's ever done that. Six six uh turnovers is insane uh to overcome. James Madison escapes down in Statesboro. The power of Paulson is real uh and almost bit the Dukes right before that important American move announcement. Uh, and then LaTeX comes from behind to also beat the Cajuns by one point in Rust. And there was all kinds of hate and all kinds of stuff going on, social media in person. Uh so you love it though. You love I was gonna say that's exactly one reason why LaTeX may end up being a perfect fit into this conference. So, as much as some people didn't want it, uh it's it's kind of working out so far, and it's especially working out for them. Uh start it off this footing.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Yeah, starting off hot.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Yeah, absolutely. Uh, this is a look here at the standings before we go into the uh week seven preview. James Madison at top, perfect six-no record overall. So obviously ahead of the east. Georgia State right behind him. We'll tell you why that's important in a minute. Followed by Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina. Those two are uh the way they are because Georgia Southern's already beat Coastal head to head, so that's why that one is that way. Old Dominion above App State obviously makes sense. And Marshall is winless after two tries within the Sunbelt, so they are at the bottom of the East. And I had picked them to win the East, so that doesn't look great for me. But TJ, your James Madison pick looks pretty good there.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think we it's expected, right? Like we at this point, um, you know, I I want to say that I wish I could say that App State was one of those uh teams that we put in high regard as it relates to football here lately. But James Madison has been the class of us, and um, yeah, they deserve it.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

Yeah, absolutely. Uh, one team that also deserves it, South Alabama kind of came out of nowhere. I don't think a lot of people have them up towards the top of the West, but right now they lead. The only 2-0 team on the west side of the conference. La Tech, Troy, right behind them, both just one win apiece within the conference, followed by Louisiana, one and one, Southern Miss, ULM, Arkansas State, all winless. Only, I'd probably say only Arkansas State is really a surprise there, right, TJ?

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Yeah, Arkansas State is probably the only surprise. I I I didn't pick Arkansas State to win the West, but I certainly didn't pick them last.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

No, yeah, exactly. I I would say maybe mid-pack or just above mid-pack, if I can remember where we both kind of discussed them being. And uh, I don't think they're far away, right?

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Like I think we had, I think I had Troy, Louisiana, and I think Arkansas State maybe right after that.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

Okay, yeah, that's that would make sense. I'd be fair. Because I think both of us questioned how strong LaTeX was coming into this conference from conference.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

I had LaTeX right above um oh M.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Okay. And Southern Mist was above ULM then. Yep. Yeah, yeah. Well, we'll see what plays out, but let's get into what we're gonna see matchup-wise this week. Uh, we have two midweek games. You want to call them midweek. I mean, Thursday is obviously kind of a midweek game. Georgia Southern travels to Norfolk to play ODU. Uh, an interesting matchup. ESPN 2, like I said, Thursday, 7:30 Eastern, 6:30 Central Time. Your early outlook for this one, TJ, is what?

SPEAKER_01 18:19

I mean, I gotta go with with Georgia Southern uh on this one. Um, I think it's one of those games that uh Georgia Southern is supposed to win, and I think they will win. Um, I think they'll be able to kind of have a balanced offense, is what they've been had having uh really all season. So um I'm taking Georgia Southern on this one.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

Yeah, uh I think I agree with you there. Uh I would probably lean on the fact that Georgia Southern looked pretty good against James Madison, right? James Madison has been the class, like you said, of this conference as of late. They were expected to win rather easily by most people's assumptions. I'm not sure what the line or the book was uh for the game when it came time to play because their weather was supposed to be a factor, although ultimately it didn't get too nasty in that game. Much nastier for that App State ODU matchup.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Uh but the defense for Georgia Southern has made a massive jump, massive improvement, and I think they're gonna be able to hold this ODU offense in check. I think the question mark for me is does Georgia Southern's offense do enough? And I think they can. I just I don't think this is a blowout either way. Uh so I would favor Georgia Southern to win this one, even if it does remain kind of close. Um I I don't know. I I guess what we saw from App State last week defensively wasn't amazing, but also ODU wasn't great, and they haven't been great offensively yet this year. So I think a strong defense in Georgia Southern would be able to kind of hold them in check and expect them to get it done. Um App State at Coastal Carolina, Friday night matchup. We've seen the uniforms come out. Let's start there, TJ. Have you seen these things and what do you think of them?

SPEAKER_01 19:58

Yeah, they got a nice little 90s feel. I think they'd be better suited for people who are actually good at football right now. Um, but I will say they are dope. Uh that 90s feel, and uh I saw the picture with the Fresh Prince of Bel Air Um moniker that they had of it. It was cool, man. I I think they'll be it'll be tough, certainly, to come out with. Now, I say that I don't want to trash talk too much because we just lost to ODU and we've got to go to coastal. And and we know what happened last time we went to coastal. So um the hope is that we can bounce back. We need a get right game, and hopefully this is the one that that we get right on.

[Ad] Box Score Brains : A Free Daily Baseball Podcast for Kids

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Yeah, I think the last uh two times that App State has gone to Coastal haven't gone so well. So yeah, I I was surprised a little bit that

(Cont.) Week 7 Preview

SPEAKER_00 21:18

you you liked it. Um, I mean, I can see why you've sure you've gone to an App State game in a Fresh Prince of Bel Air basketball jersey once. Absolutely. So yeah, um, I I do like the fact uh talked about it before, like it is who Coastal is. Lean into it, don't take yourself too seriously. You're kind of towards the beach. That's kind of that beach flavor, that beach vibe. You're you're kind of a party school, like that it fits the mold. It absolutely is who they are, and just have fun with it. You know, uh, I know some people make fun of the entrance, I think it's awesome. Like, it's again, it's who they are, it's just leaning into everything about it. It's like uh TJ, when AppState has, you know, Joseph come out and do the like banjo and like the little like they're just leaning into like hey, you can make fun of us, we're just gonna own it. Right. So I think this is like Coastal's way of like, hey, we know we're gonna hear about it, like we're goofy and then and all this and whatever. So just lean into it. And I think it works for them because of that. Uh as far as the game goes, does App State have to establish a run in order to get a win here? Or could they win like they kind of were earlier in the season if they can get back to at least uh, you know, moving the ball somewhere?

SPEAKER_01 22:35

Well, that's going to be weather contingent, right? Like if uh, you know, apparently, obviously, you know, we can't run the ball in the rain or or really at all, you know, and and I mean establishing any run. So if there's weather, or excuse me, if there's no weather, we should be able to toss the rock for 300 yards. Um, but if you, you know, if you can't do that, then that's gonna pose a problem. And and I think that's where the issue has been lying is the fact that we can't consistently run the football well enough. We're one-sided on offense, and we put too much stress on the defense. I mean, anytime you hold a team to 10 points, you're supposed to win, right? Like the defense did their job. You're supposed to win that football game. And unfortunately, we, you know, we can't run the ball well enough on third down. We the the sign of a good team, the sign of a really good team is when everybody in the stadium knows what you're going to do, and it doesn't matter. You do it anyway because it's who you are. And we're just not in a position where where that's the case right now.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Yeah, I think that's fair. Makes a lot of sense. Like you said, 10 points. You absolutely can win that ball game. Um, but unfortunately for us, Abstate did not do that. Um, I expect them to rebound, just it's kind of like one of those things, like they're so mad they use it to to. I'm also wondering like, do we see a quarterback switch full time or do we give see them go back to Singleton? I would have liked to have seen that Hasselback move a little earlier uh last week against ODU. I don't think Singleton's a bad quarterback. I think the weather got the best of him and a couple of the receivers, and Hasselback can just run better. So, like, I just think that the thought process to try him out for a longer period of time or set of time uh wasn't done early enough to give App a better chance at winning. All right, that covers the week slate, but what about the weekend? Our first game may be the best one on Saturday, 12 noon Eastern Time, 11 a.m. Central on ESPN U, Georgia State versus James Madison. Who would have thought this could be the game of the week before the season started? Nobody would have circled this one, right?

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Sure, of course not. Because, well, I mean, based on and history tells us not to, right? Right. Uh the history tells us that that you know Georgia State just isn't in the in their class, but they've they've been they're proving everybody wrong. And I'm interested, I'm sure you still have the stats on where they're ranked uh offensively this year. Uh, but they've been lead, they've been up there high leading the conference and and certainly you know uh are top of the country in in their production so far. So I'm interested to see how this one goes.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Yeah, absolutely. Uh me too. Um, this, like I said, this is without a doubt the game of the week for sure. Uh Cameron Brown, a big part of why that offense is doing so well. They've been recruiting fairly well, uh, but you know, haven't put it all together now. It seems like they have done that. Um, I'm trying to find uh total offense here, I think is while you're looking for that.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

I will say the thing that surprises me the most is I'm looking at this here spread 12 and a half points in favor of JMU. That's a lot. That is a lot, and I mean I don't know if that's a respect level that ASPN has for James Madison, um, or if they know something that we don't know, you know.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Yeah, that yeah, that's a lot because here's the stat that's gonna surprise some people. Are you ready for this? Georgia State, the 19th, not I guess ranked, but statistically speaking, it's fact, the 19th best offense in the country. That's just three spots behind Georgia Bulldogs and a number of spots in front of number 33, James Madison. So uh there's your uh little early tidbit there about which offense may be more powerful coming into the game. Uh, it's again interesting because no one probably would have thought that that was going to be the case. But the other thing that you've got to realize is how good their defense has been, too. Georgia State's winning because they're well-rounded, not just because they're outscoring the opponent. Uh, their one their loan loss to uh power for conference member UCF that we talked about earlier, actually. So very, very intriguing matchup here. Georgia State uh 28th in total defense there. And uh James Madison is not even on the first page with them. So if you want to look at it like that, in fact, Old Dominion is there. Old Dominion's at 42, Georgia State at 28. So very interesting that the stats favor Georgia State. But what do you say? What did you say was the uh the early outlook on the line on this one?

SPEAKER_01 27:19

Uh 12 and a half and favor JMU. So 12 and a half.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

We'll see how it goes. That's a lot, though. That is way too much. That is way too much. Uh, here's the other aspect about this. What big announcement just came out? How much of a uh distraction could that play for James, even though they're at home, uh, but you know the broadcast's gonna be talking about it, all the tailgates are gonna be talking about it. You know, students are gonna be talking to the players about it all week. Uh, even though it's two years away, it doesn't matter. It's still gonna be in the ether. And you just wonder how much that could get them off their game at all, because Georgia State's probably gonna come in pretty focused for that one.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

Yeah, I mean, I don't think it'll matter that much to the team. I think they stay pretty insulated, which is why they're so good, right? Yeah, I don't think that they let any sort of outsoid no outside noise bother them. Um, so I'm I'm predicting it won't be that big of an issue because a lot of kids, too, that are there, it won't matter to them. True. There'll be a lot of kids that won't, I mean, this is just more news, right? Transfer portal is so wide right now that it they'll probably 35% of their team, they'll probably turn over, probably more. That's probably being modest. So they they won't it won't matter to these guys that are on the field on Saturday.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

Good point, fair point. Uh, definitely more of a distraction for the fans then. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. The tailgates will be uh a buzz. I'm sure everyone will be laughing apart, especially if uh let me let me scroll up for just a second. Uh yeah, 53 degrees, maybe partly cloudy, but it'll be by far the best weather James Madison has got for a home game yet this year. Yeah, monsoons.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

I'll tell you, 53 degrees is nice. I can play football in 53 degrees. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Maybe maybe a tad chilly for the the home fans, although it's 12 noon, so it's not gonna be, you know, sun's not gonna be setting at that point. So it should be very, very nice and comfortable for guys and pads for sure. All right. Uh are you are you you taking James Madison in that one? You taking Georgia State?

SPEAKER_01 29:14

I got James Madison. I can't bet against James Madison right now. I mean, they're the class, they are they're the class, and it's unfortunate, but that's that's just who they are right now.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

Yeah, and technically, I I shouldn't have made you pick because our picks will come out.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

No, I mean, but it's fine, they'll see it.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Yeah, uh, I I'll take you a little hint. I'm taking the Panthers in an upset. I I think just everything going on, I just see a focused team that knows we can't let this down, we can't have a letdown. Uh, and you know, I don't think I would love to see them, I would love to see them get beat on their way out. Right, right. Uh, I I think this is that like Georgia State's coming to try and beat App State for the first time ever. They're gonna try and say, hey, there's no way anyone's gonna be like, well, we should be an American instead, but you know, they're gonna the fans will make that argument if if they can beat them. So it'll just be a fun one for that reason. All right, Troy going up against the Cajuns. This one in Lafayette, Louisiana, one and oh Troy in the Sunbelt, one and one Louisiana. If we talked about that loss to LaTeX, but a very, very close loss. Uh, three and two Troy, four and two Louisiana overall. So everything's kind of close here. Do you expect this game to be close as well?

SPEAKER_01 30:28

Absolutely. Absolutely. I expect it to be close, and I expect it to be close because historically it's been close. Um, it's you know, Louisiana and Troy always put on a good show for us. I mean, it's just that Louisiana Alabama type of thing, right? It's never mind you, LSU and Alabama, um, and and a lot of those you know, rivalries. A lot of those kids have played against each other in high school. A lot of those kids know each other, like they they know the family. It's gonna be a good game because it always has been. And really, in these kinds of games, you throw the records out, right? Like the the this records don't matter, the spread doesn't matter, scoreboard doesn't matter, what's happened to the game prior doesn't matter. When these two teams play, it's always fireworks.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Yeah, I I I can't disagree with that. Uh the thing the aspect of this that I think is going to be really fun to watch is the quarterbacks, no surprise, right? We got Lunch Winfield on one side, who's statistically kind of the better quarterback as far as numbers are concerned right now. Right. Uh, and he's the leading rusher between the two teams, which is kind of crazy to think about. But Goose Crowder put on a show on the other side. He absolutely did. I I just think like, you know, it's the most obvious thing to be like, well, the the team with the best quarterback will win. But I think it absolutely still comes down to that in this game. Um, it'll be fun to see how we both pick for the week. We'll we'll save this pick uh for our picks because I think this one is a is quite a toss-up, honestly. Um, but this one is one not to be missed. I I do like how a lot of the games are spread out here, right? We've got a Thursday game, a Friday game, a noon game, a 5 p.m. game. So at this point of the week, you could have watched every single Sunbelt game without any overlap, right? So this is set up very well. The last two games do overlap, uh, but we'll see because you might be Sunbelt out by the time that they these two come to play, because I don't know if these ones are going to be as competitive as the rest of them. Uh, we've got the Red Wolves traveling to Hattiesburg to take on Southern Miss. Uh, now the records would indicate this game should be close, but I don't know, TJ, is there something that maybe you've seen or are thinking or leaning towards in this one? Uh it's 7 p.m. Eastern, six central kick on ESPN Plus.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

Yeah, so I'll tell you, man, I actually think this will be closer than people expect it to be. Um based on Southern and Southern Mist never gives you or hasn't traditionally given you any sort of cause for to celebrate or or sing their praises at all. But I I will tell you that third quarter that they had last week, where they were able to put up 20 straight points unanswered, it was a it was the eye-opener. And you know, the game wasn't out of reach by then. It's not like they had scrubs or backups in that were playing, you know, they were able to score 20 points and and make it a I don't want to say a close game, but certainly more competitive than it has been. If they can put together a few quarters that are, I'm not saying a full four quarters, right? But maybe a quarter here where they score seven, and then maybe a score, you know, they score 10 and then three and then 14 in the fourth quarter. All of a sudden you look up and say, you know, you got yourself a 35-34 ball game. You know, so I'm not saying it's going to happen. As a matter of fact, the SPN has got the spread minus seven Arkansas State. So, and I can't much argue with that. One score, that's fine. However, um I don't be surprised, is all I'm saying. And I'll save my for that reason.

SPEAKER_00 33:57

Yeah, and I think we talked about Owens, the quarterback at Arkansas State. You know, he had that the four-interception game, uh game one, and hadn't had a lot since then. Now he has had two since we've talked about that specifically. Uh, but overall, he's actually played fairly well. Um, we'll just have to see. Uh, Robinson on the other side on the ground for Southern Miss has been pretty solid, right? Uh 348 yards, four touchdowns on the season. So if they can control the rock in the time of possession, like you said, even though Arkansas State's got the more high-powered passing offense in this one, could it be close? Uh, I really like Hunter Summers, by the way. I've been singing his praises for the last like two years, uh, and he's finally blowing up a little bit there. The leading receiver, 408 yards, three touchdowns on the season. Now, a lot of that did come just last week, right? Uh, but he's still a guy that makes the highlight real tight catches, and it's fun to watch him. So he's kind of the guy to watch for me in this one. All right, but the nightcap, an hour later, 8 p.m. Eastern time, 7 Central, ESPN Plus, yet again, we've got La Tech going up against ULM. Is this one close, TJ?

SPEAKER_01 35:05

No, no, I don't think this one's close, man. I think, and I'm I'm siding with ESPN. I'm again looking at the the spread here, 15 and a half points. I say maybe even more. Uh LaTeX comes in and and and they just I think I don't think it's gonna be close, quite honestly. I think uh La Tech is gonna have their way. I think they're gonna do you know exactly what they've been doing. They're gonna run the football well, they're gonna play some solid defense, defensive line is gonna get after them. Um, I don't think ULM runs the ball very well at all. Really, they don't do much of anything great, if we're being honest, uh, but certainly deficient and running the football, and that's gonna put them behind the sticks a lot. And that means that LaTeX defensive ends are gonna be able to tee off, and that's gonna pose a problem.

SPEAKER_00 35:47

Yeah, I I want to say that this one's closer than people expect because you know ULM didn't play last week, and so the bye could help them, and and LaTeX was in a battle with Louisiana. So I think scoreboard-wise, this one could be tighter than expected. Uh, but I do like side with you with with with likely thinking that LaTeX comes out on top, even with all that being said. Yeah. Um, so it it'll be interesting to see if it could be a little bit closer because of that. Is it it is in Monroe, so that will obviously help the Warhawks to some extent. Um, but yeah, uh, you know what's nice? I think for the first time almost all season, we're gonna have really, really nice weather. Uh, we've had some sunny games to start with, but we haven't had a lot of um games where maybe the sun wasn't a factor because of the heat. But now we're getting that perfect time of year where if it's not raining and it's sunny, it's nice.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

It is nice, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Looking forward to that aspect of things. Um, any last news or notes from the expert of the show here before we uh did it. We'll keep this one rather short. Like I said, we went so long last night. Uh, everything's being talked about in the ether of the social networks.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

Yeah, absolutely. I will say this. Uh, in in I guess SEC news, um, your boy, your manning kid, he's not performing well at all. Uh I it is well, and and I think for for me, if we stop if we leave him alone and just let him be a regular, because by by college standards, for anybody who's in their second year, they would never get this much much attention at all, right? He's getting this much attention because of who he is. He's not the best quarterback in college football right now, and he won't be the number one overall pick because he's not deserving of it. I mean, I think Gunnar Stockton is better than him right now. Uh, your quarterback out of UCLA, uh, I think he messed up his knee over there with Chip Kelly. Uh, I think he'll be out the next few games, but he's been, they're undefeated, and he's been leading in pretty well, you know, this. And so I I think we got to give him a little bit of grace. And I know we in today's popcorn society where we want results right now, right? We live in a microwave universe right now where everything is quick. Nobody wants a home cooked meal in the oven. Um we, you know, it it we got to give these kids some kids. He's 19, what 19 or 20 years old? Let him let him play, let him develop. You know, led the NFL in interceptions as a 22-year-old, right? I mean, what do you think is gonna happen to his, you know, to his nephew at Texas? Let's pump our brakes, let's calm down, let's not expect him to be somebody he's not, he's gonna do immature things, make some immature decisions, sure. But you know, let's maybe pump the brakes on the expectations. That's uh that's that's my one big thing.

SPEAKER_00 38:32

Yeah, as far as expectations go, I knew Texas wasn't that great. I took I picked Oklahoma to win last week and I was right on that. So a little toot my horn on that. Uh, but yeah, you know, I actually uh XM guys were agreeing with you. Well, at least one of them was agreeing with you this morning and saying uh they need to Sark needs to not hold him back. Uh he thrives in the pressure. Yep. Yes, just let him let him let him run it more often if he wants to do that. Like, you know, uh, so it's interesting. And there's some other guys that need to probably be let loose a little bit more, even in the Sunbelt as well. And and you you picked out um UCLA, which is great, uh, because a little shout out to former James Madison Duke Wayne Knight, who's having a great season, went over 100 yards just last week. And they run the uh uh I don't even know what they're calling it out there, but you know, the some type of wildcat with him. So even if the show is out, then yeah the the brewing the brewing something on.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

See, I forget what they call it, a brewing boy, I I don't know, something bear, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 39:37

Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, that would make sense. Yeah. All right. Well, yeah, uh anyway, if you're out there watching other college football, there's some tidbits for you. Uh thanks for joining us yet again. Again, if you want to hear all the two hours worth, if you need us taking in smaller pieces, you can do that. Uh, but we do break down our thoughts and opinions on the James Madison exit, and you obviously got to hear TJ's as we open the show today. Uh thanks for joining us, and we'll see you guys next time.