Latest / Troy Boyz / LA LA LA LA - Wait Til Keith Gets My Money Right
Transcript
- LaLaLa mixdown: This is Gunnar Watson, two-time Sunbelt Champion, and you're now listening to the Troy Boys Podcast. Yeah. Welcome back to the Troy Boys Podcast. we are here to celebrate the big win over Southern Miss and get ready for the next game against La La. I am Trojan Joe, but I'm not here to do it alone. Let me welcome in the Trojan who we refuse to let the Cajuns dip in a spicy batter this Saturday. The Birdman. Welcome in, Birdman. what's going on, Joe? Excited to break down this game, this high-scoring game. Yeah, I mean Also, like high amount of yardage from both teams. Insane. Let's let's let's get into it, man. Yeah, absolutely. unfortunately, the bass not here tonight. so swimming somewhere in the basin of the Alabama River. So we are hoping to see the bass again after the La La game. the Trojans opened Sunbelt play by running for 437 yards and beating Southern Miss 55 to 34 at the vet. the sixth straight win over Southern Miss in the series. So I think we can officially say that the Delta of Hate does not need a doctor, it needs a priest because it is dying. Troy is now three and two, one and in the Sunbelt. and the weeping and gnashing of teeth has been suspended just for now. if you know this show. so let's break it down. I'll take the defense. really a tale of two halves. Jared Parker with the first name spelled incorrectly called the first half, quote, as good and as clean of a half as we played all year. and I think he was right. Southern Miss had seven points going in the break. The problem was that the second half is a thing that happens. and that's when the Southern Miss Golden Eagles scored 27 points and had 512 yards, 391 of them through the air. however, the defense really did have a great night. Jabari Strait picked off Landry Litter Liddy at the Troy 5 early in the third quarter. Kaveyon Henderson intercepted him at the Troy 25. and Donnie Smith's strip sack was recovered by Mikel Green at the Troy 26. so making big plays, Donnie Smith once again is a dangerous man, had a sack. A tackle for loss and a forced fumble. He now has a sack in 14 games and a tackle for loss in 17 over the past two seasons. so I mean having numbers that that echo I want to say this, you know, very gingerly, echo a young man named Carl Carlton Marshall. Okay. I mean very you know, I mean definitely not not that level, but but very close. Delvin Whitaker added another sack. Jordan Peary had one and a half tackles for loft. And Keno Jones, who's starting that name, where you know, Mama, here comes that man again. we're talking about him again. He led the team with eight tackles, and Troy hit the quarterback seven times. the bottom line is Parker said it himself, the second quote, the second half would not say so in the way we played defensive football. So obviously played very well in the first half. Second half didn't play so well. and that's not gonna fly against Lala. they have not lost at home, and they average twenty-nine point and a half points a game. Birdman, tell us about the Trojan offense during this game against Southern Miss. Absolutely. It's really a record night for Six hundred and sixty-two total yards, four hundred and thirty-seven of those were rushing. They had thirty-three first downs. Fifty-five points and they maintained possession of the ball just over thirty-nine minutes. they scored on its first six drives for the first time since two thousand and fifteen and on nine of eleven overall went eight for eight in the red zone, zero turnovers, and they only punted once. every one of those is a big record for the Parker era. And the four hundred and thirty-seven rushing yards are more like that's the most that Troy has had since two thousand and two in a singular game. Goose Crowder also he didn't show up as quarterback this week. He was a running back. 18 of 21 for 225 yards and two touchdowns through the air, plus 17. 17 carries for 145 yards and two scores on the ground. those 145 rushing yards. They are the most by a Troy QB since 1987. And he had 74 rushing yards on 25 carries in the four previous games combined. So Parker admitted that there was some design QB run game there. And man, let me tell you, it definitely worked. it's like they listened to what we said in the last episode. but we also we also want to highlight Jordan Love it. He had 12 carries for a career high of 142 yards, including a 68 yarder with Crowder. Throwing the key block. There he is again. I mean, literally fullback, halfback, whatever you need him to be this game. and he had a 46-yard touchdown catch where he broke a tackle. So he and Crowder, they were just really good, really vibing with each other. They're the first Troy teammates to each rush for 130 plus in a game. also Gavin Griffin had was 15 for 78, and Jaheem Merriweather 15 for 72, each added a touchdown as well. So Five total rushing touchdowns that tied the Troy D1 record. we actually saw some efficiency during this game, too, which is crazy. You know, we've been talking about this so far in the season. Eight of fourteen on third down and two of three on fourth. eight point three yards per play in a second half that produced twenty-four points after two straight scoreless second halves. So overall. A lot of more of what we want to see. If if I look at a game and we're eight for fourteen on third down and two for three on four step fourth downs, first of all, that's a low number of fourth downs that we had to deal with. But second of all, I mean, just just good stats. also want to highlight Nick Hampton, the freshman tight end. He was Troy's third starter at that position, and he caught his first career touchdown as well. so just handing out awards, man. If you were there, if you were on the sideline, somebody like you got to do something. You even got an award for passing out water bottles. so yeah, context, Southern Mist missed 33 tackles by its own count. And Blake Anderson called their defensive performance unacceptable. They gave up two hundred and thirty-five rushing yards a game, so far, and Louisiana only gives up a hundred. So bottom line, ball security that killed us against Utah State was Utah State was perfect. The run game went from a bright spot to a historic one. And the offense finally scored after halftime. So lots of positives. The only question for the Saturday is whether our quarterback running game is is this a one hit wonder or are we going to see this stay on the charts for a couple more weeks? Yeah. No, absolutely. I mean I think there they're a lot of everybody was happy. You know, no no Troy person was was upset about the way things went against Southern Mess. The question the question has started to become You know, okay, did Troy kind of finally put the pieces together or is Southern Miss really bad? and and I I think that's that's a question we just don't know the answer to. It's too early in the season, but it's not that early. If I was a Southern Miss fan, if I was if I was Tim from the Everyday Eagles podcast, I would I would start to get worried about now because you know, one or two more games, you continue to look like garbage. people are gonna start to think like that might just be it, you know? and Blake Anderson's not a bad coach. when he was at Arkansas State, Troy and Arkansas State were butting heads all the time for the conference title. and so so to see him in Southern Mist, in Hattiesburg, it's it's just unusual, especially with all the movement we've seen in the conference this week that we're gonna talk about later. it's interesting because Southern Miss was that team that was thought of as being like this is a premier name team. Southern Miss, Marshall, these are brand names. And Southern Miss really has struggled. I and I get that they're gonna be someone at is screaming at their phone about baseball right now. but this isn't about baseball. obviously they're very good at that. but when it comes to football, used to be a team that was, you know, given Alabama fits, and now all of a sudden can't beat us and and can't beat the Jaguars. So definitely a tough time for Southern Mist. in terms of special teams, let me get back to my comfort zone here. the place kicking was perfect. as always, Troy got enough head when we needed it. And head came out and made everything he was asked to make. punting, one punt, you know, Evan came back. didn't didn't need a lot of work from him. nothing to complain about. kickoffs kicked off 10. two of them were out of bounds. That obviously we've got to fix that. we did finally have a big return, 52 kickoff return yards from Griffin. you know, so doing a little bit better. and I I would just say, you know, we kind of special teams finally got back to not being a factor negatively and just doing what we needed to do. La La obviously has been. Britt Gordon Jr. returning punts, who's definitely a factor, and a guy named Tony Stirner, who is eight for eight on field goals. So we're gonna have to go from just not being a negative to being a positive. all right, as we take another deep look inside this game, it is time, Birdman, for you to scratch around inside your nest and tell us who really shown this week individually for the Trojans in this week's edition of the best. In the nest. man, absolutely. Lots of highlights this week. Lots of people we could have gone with as far as the best in the nest. I mean tons of scoring opportunities. but let's show the backfield some love. Jordan Lovett had it with that career high of 142 rushing yards on twelve carries, the sixty eight yard run and the forty six yard touchdown catch, plus a hundred and ninety five yards from scrimmage. Like just just a fantastic performance. Like it's really good to see our run game. Like we like we we know that we can aerate it, but to to To be good on the ground. It's just something that we take a lot of pride in too. So but also honorable mention to Goose Crowder, hundred and forty five rushing yards being the most by a Tory quarterback since eighty seven. and he's one of four FBS quarterbacks this season with two hundred and twenty five passing yards and a hundred and forty rushing yards in the same game. So accolades all around. Like, you know, so you know, Goose Jordan, if you guys have room on your mantle, let's put this new best of the Nest trophy up there because you have very much earned it after your play this weekend. Absolutely. Nice job, fellas. and hope to see some more games like that in the future. Although I know some pundits are saying Troy will not see that kind of production again. I I believe in you. before we turn the page on last week, let's take a look around the Sunbelt Conference and see if that lady on stage in the weird commercial is in fact correct. And the Sunbelt Conference has continued rising. In this week's edition of The Rising Report. All right, birds. So very quick, we're all we're now we're we're playing each other. so if I re if I repeat some results, please forgive me. James Madison beats Georgia Southern 27 to 24. Coastal Carolina beats Marshall 27 to 21. Old Dominion beats App State. and South Alabama beats Arkansas State 56 49. La Tech beats La La 32 31. and then Southern Mist, lost to us. So that's all the games. We're obviously into the conference schedule now. so much more kind of condensed, and we're beginning to see what people are made of as we start to see the divisions kind of separate. all right. Bird, which of these results surprised you the most other than maybe the Troy game? Yeah, absolutely. I feel like besides the Troy game, there was a lot of close scoring games this past weekend. And one I want to highlight is the Coastal Carolina and Marshall game. Marshall was a five and a half point home favorite, and they had outgained Costa five hundred and five to three hundred and three. Marshall lost by six points. So they had six turnovers, three interceptions, and three fumble recoveries. including turnovers on turnovers on each of their first three possessions. Coastal scored the first 27 points of the game. Coastal did that with 73 passing yards. they had a couple of big playmakers, Deuce Bailey, which is a crazy cool name to be a football player. Deuce Baley completed he completed eight passes. Dominic Lee nicely carried 25 times for 160 yard nine yards with a 70 yard touchdown. And that was all on the first play of the second half. Marshall Zion Turner was 18 of 27 for 219 yards. Judah Price had a 50 yard TD, and they scored touchdowns on just two of five red zone trips. So the reason it's a surpr is kind of surprising is two weeks ago Marshall needed a last second field goal to beat an FCS team, and now they've lost two straight Sunbelt games at home. But meanwhile, it's Ryan Beard's first conference run as a coastal chancelier, and they are now one and four. So just i I don't know, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. the these matchups are just starting to prove like it's starting to expose some of the some of the teams out here. So I thought it was interesting the kind of trajectory that the Sun Belt is on at this moment. No, absolutely. you know, and I the football gods surely are gonna begin punishing coastal For those terrible nineties throwback jerseys that they're gonna wear against AppS they should. Yeah. I mean, so I would think that's gonna be their last win. I I s I s I saw that jer when you sent that photo in the group chat, like it immediately transported me back to the McDonald's that that used to be in Walmart. You know, it's absolutely. No, I was curious, like, is AC Slater gonna be the quarterback or the running back? Like what's what's happening there? but yeah, I mean it's it really is terrible. So hopefully they begin just to lose every game. You know, I don't know, Apollo, whoever you want to call, somebody come down and enact justice here. for me, you know, a big surprise was your favorite team, Los Angeles Tech, La Tech, 32, Lala 31. I mean, La Tech, the Bulldogs were actually favored to win at home. the interesting thing is that Lala was up 31-19. With just a little over eleven minutes left. so I mean, this is area where you start to think about, you know, is the team gonna kind of turn over on their back and give up? and in fact, you know, the Bulldogs refused to do that. you know, they turned La La ended up turning over three times. it was La Tech's first Sunbelt win ever. It's ninth straight win over Louisiana. so you know, definitely a big game for the Bulldogs and for the West Division. a big game for us. and obviously we have, you know, La La coming up on the schedule. So gonna be very interesting to see how they sort of react to that sort of devastating loss. we've been there before. and we just need to hope that La Law is just absolutely demoralized by it. up next, as we get ready to head. Into the future. we head to Lafayette, La La for a 4 p.m. kickoff at Cajun Field on ESPN Plus. it is family weekend in Acadiana and the Hall of Fame game for the Cajuns. I you know, DeMarcus Ware's in the Hall of Fame. I don't recall any Lala players being in the Hall of Fame, but congratulations for your whatever that is. they're coming off a loss, you know, so I but I do think they'll have. a good crowd, they usually do. we are three and two. The Cajuns are four and two. but Lala is a four and a half point favorite at home. so we'll have to see what Michael Desmero and the boys can pull off. you know, they've beaten Lamar, they lost to USC. they beat UAB, which isn't that impressive. they beat Charlotte 34 to 7. and then they had a 23-20 win over Arkansas State on a walk-off field goal. Lunch Winfield, their quarterback, you know, just a great football name, by the way. you know, he's continued having a great season. he is their leading rusher and their leading touchdown scorer. so you know, definitely a guy we've got to keep our eyes on. they're scoring about 29 and a half points a game. so they're doing very well. The defense, they're holding opponents to about 21 and a half points a game. so you know, very impressive. Names to know as Troy fans as we get ready to watch this game. Jake Saint Andre has 40 tackles, a career high of 14 on Saturday, and also a very cool name. so You know, very good for him. On special teams, I talked about him already a little bit. Tony Stirner is just automatic when it comes to field goal kicks. when it comes to this series, La La is 14 and 12 over Troy all time. 10 and 6 at home against us. but the last 10 are split even five and five. Troy has won three of the last four. So you know, heading into Saturday, I'd characterize the Cajuns this way: a run first team with a mobile quarterback who can turn it over, and a defense that doesn't give up rushing yards. and a group that just blew a 12-point lead and is gonna be pretty upset about it. so you know, if Troy's run game is the real deal, this is where certainly we are going to find out. as La La is going to be trying to make sure that they stake their claim in the West division. So much, you know, looking forward to all of that. now that we've broken down, la la, we can start to look at what some sports betting numbers look like. obviously still frowned upon in Alabama, but in the rest of the country, you know, people doing a lot of sports betting. and so we send bass down. to the friendly confines of Pascagoula to figure out what's going on with the wise guys out in Vegas in this week's edition of making moolah in Pascagoula. I love that so much. I'm so glad yeah shout out to the fan that sent that in. That's a gr a great suggestion. all right so La La is four and a half point favorites. The overunder is forty eight and a half Vegas's predicted score is La La 27, Troy 22. so you know, obviously we covered last week by over 40 points. so we were happy about that. this week we want to make sure we cover again. so it it'll be very interesting to see. I am not, you know, cashing out my HELOC. to put any money on this game. I think it's going to be a very important one. but I'll be happy if we win by one point, let alone by more than four and a half. But how about you, Bert? How are you feeling about these numbers you're seeing out of Vegas? Yeah, I mean, I definitely I definitely like the, you know, four and a half point favorite for La La, like just because like they are calling for a close game. so they're at least, you know at you know they're acknowledging like Troy definitely, especially after their performance against Southern Miss that they have the ability to play a good ball game and to be consistent. But I personally don't think it's gonna be this close. I think one team either either team is just gonna bulldoze the other. I I I I just don't I our defenses are just too good. so in in in my opinion. So I don't know. I I'm I'm I'll be very interested to see what this looks like. But also I'm not gonna tell you whether I would bet or not because last time I did that I had, you know, fans who told me I was wrong for that. so, you know, do do do it do what you want to do. That is the yeah, that is, you know, people people clamoring for the ink watch segment to return. I can hear it already. all right, now it is time to invite all of Trojan Nation to stand under the tree where the bird is nesting. and you know, wave some nets around. may you know, maybe put some peanut butter and bird seed on a pine cone or something like that, and see if they can catch a bird man in this week's edition of the Tackle Box. Feels so weird. It does, yeah. All right, bird. So here it is. I mean, no, no pressure. Bass just takes a week off when it is one of the most consequential weeks in the history of the Sunbelt, perhaps. but we do need to ask you, JMU has announced they are leaving the Sunbelt. all other fan bases are in extreme celebration. that jmu and their fans are leaving. so go ahead, give us your thoughts about their leaving. and who, if anyone, Keith Gill and the Sunbelt Conference should invite to replace the much disliked dukes. Yeah, I mean JMU they've been whining since they got here. So you know it's honestly like good riddance, you know, go go on somewhere else. I mean they they're the epitome of, you know Well, I get upset when my boss likes my message and doesn't tell me how great of an employee I am. so so I I I honestly like I I think we would be better off without them. as far as like an addition, you know, who would we bring in to replace? I mean, our obvious answers from like a Troy standpoint, bias wise, I'm like, man, let's you know, let's bring in JSU. let's bring somebody like, you know more you know, keeping it within the territory and where we are aligned so far. I I think we're we're doing great that we don't have somebody out in Texas right now. you know, that, you know, just it just doesn't make any of sense. so I think if we were gonna bring I mean, I think that there's been some talk about like what about like MTSU or somebody like in the Tennessee, I think we should just completely exclude that. Like we don't we don't want them. I don't think they would do anything for the conference. but JSU is in state rivalry and somebody that I think would You know, as much as I hate to say it, it would bring a level of competitiveness to the Sunbelt. so that that would be my first choice. you know, I almost said UAB, but then, you know, I probably like you would have hit stop recording right now and that would have been it. but 'cause they also wouldn't be very good for the Sunbelt either. So I I think that would be my personal pick. I don't think we would be losing anything as a conference by letting JMU just continue to, you know, hop around until they find somewhere that, you know, meets all of their needs and waives all the exceptions. So that that that's kind of my take on it. How are you feeling about it, Joe? No, I actually I I think that you're wrong about how I'm feeling about this because my my thought has been, you know, so here we are, we're losing a team to the American. so what how we move next determines how the Sunbelt sees itself as a conference. Are we Secondary to the American, are we a competitor? and if we're a competitor, I and I get that, you know, there's some JME fan right now squalling in the back of his limousine at even having to listen to this. but a good team to pick off from the American conference that would make sense for the Sunbelt are the Blazers from the south side of Birmingham. the it's a good media market. It's a terrible fan base. I mean terrible. Okay. You know, because most of them majored in sticks and or mud. but they are in a great market. and they're very central. And Birmingham could become a kind of hub for the Sunbelt Conference. with a squad there to kind of link us. So I you know, I I hate them. I want them to lose at everything, including existing. But I think that they would be a great choice. and I think they would be a better choice than Jacksonville State, who I think doesn't bring us a whole lot. really, okay. But you know what? We'll just have to see. Keith Gill is now in charge. So you know, if if what we see is Keith Gill belly up to the conference USA slash Mac bar and start making his decisions, then we know how the Sunbelt feels about itself. And if that happens, I think you have to start worrying about like, does Marshall leave? And so I hope we don't do that. I hope we I hope that we stand up for ourselves. and say, like, you know, why why is it that Tulane gets this massive TV deal that La La doesn't? Because Lala's been just as competitive as Tulane as, if not more impactful. Why why is Troy, you know, not considered as impactful on a contract as UAB when you can't get 12 people that are passed out in the back of good people brewery to get in to go into protective stadium if you pay Nah, you can't. You can't. So I mean, like I, you know, I d I I just don't get it. but I I think we've got to start kind of playing the hands that we're dealt. And I hope that we kind of deal a blow to the American because I I just don't think JMU is that much better than all of us. So I agree. And and and again, you know, the point of all that too is just to say, like, you know, we don't care if JMU stays or goes, but we do want to make sure we are finding, you know, a good market. Like there's something that's gonna continue to make the sunbelt look better. And I agree with that. Like would would JSU be that? I don't know. I think I personally think it would be a good addition. but I do like what you're saying as far as like central, like, you know, 'cause a lot of not a lot of people are flying into Montgomery, you know, to go to Troy. And people would still have to fly into Birmingham to get to JSU. So I mean, so yeah, I mean I that does make sense. I love that. And I I but at the end of the day, if we had another in state team join, I think it would only strengthen the West, you know, and and like what and like how we're and how we get people to attend games and building up building up the reputation of of of our conference. So Yeah, no, I agree with you. And and we gotta You know, three Alabama teams would help to balance off the the kind of Louisiana contingent we have now. Our conference is gonna start smelling a lot like crawfish here soon. So we've gotta be very careful about how we let these these Cajuns kind of control things. all right, very good, very good debate there. now it is time for our final segment of the evening. and that is, you know, it's getting getting a little cool in the mornings here, Bird, in the in the grandest valley in Alabama. still pretty warm in the afternoon and the evenings. but it is time for me to wander in to the hottest corner of the internet to bring all of Trojan Nation, a small piece of Troyfans.com, in this week's edition of the Troy Fans. Hot take of the week. It's so hot in here. Joy fans never ever disappoints, disappoints, disappoints, disappoints. Alright, so this is you know, if I I know you're used to a little hilarity in this segment and kind of but but this is a little different, but I did want to shout it out. because the fact is the whole reason this podcast started really is because of my love of Troyfans.com and the community that exists there. and there's obviously a lot of things that happen there. People argue, people say mean things to each other, but also there's a lot of community. you know, the Troy family, when when push comes to shove. is kind of thick as thieves. So this week's winner makes me really proud to be a Trojan. and so I'll I'll just read it here. Quote Good morning, guys, and a great morning it is. My granddaughter's surgery yesterday went extremely well. The surgeon was pleased with the outcome. She is fully awake this morning and really wants something to drink that'll come soon. I want to express my gratitude for the thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement. Encouragement offered over the past few days. We sometimes get contentious on this board, sometimes even downright angry with each other. But you guys have shown an ability to put that aside and come together for a common cause. That is a commendable trait. I can say that at this time, I have never been happier to be a Trojan. Thanks for screaming on my behalf Tuesday night. Thanks for having my back. As always, Havoc. Nice. Excellent. Excellent post. So happy to hear winner about your granddaughter. and obviously this is one of those moments where the Troy family always kind of comes together and realizes real life is bigger than football. and we have so much to be grateful for. and so thank you so much for sharing with your friends on TroyFans.com. and you certainly deserve this. and share this win with your granddaughter. You are this week's Troyfans.com Hot Take of the Week. All right, Birdman. we have done about as much as we can do. We are we are without our our aquatic friend, but we have tried our best to make it work. let's finish with some closing remarks. Bird, go ahead. Give Trojan Nation some closing remarks. Yeah, absolutely. win, lose, or draw. I'm proud to be a Trojan. I'm glad we get to continue to do this and we get to continue to have this game. you know, regardless of who our opponents are and what conference we're in. you can't take away the Trojan faithful spirit. So hopefully we hold on to what we did this past weekend and we replicate that on Saturday. I I'm just I'm hoping for a good game. I think this is gonna be a game that really I think it's gonna tell a lot becoming off a big win like this. I'm really hoping that we are continuing to be efficient and stay consistent. and also as Bass would say, make sure you like, rate, subscribe, review. If you have a friend who's a Troy friend and they're not listening to the Troy boys, let them know about us. and also if you haven't gotten your tickets, you can still buy your tickets. There are plenty of tickets options that you can get. plenty of season ticket options probably or single game passes. Troy will love nothing more for your donation to the athletics department and for you to be in attendance. So make sure to check that out at Troytrojans.com/slash tickets. Yep, absolutely. Thank you so much, Birdman. you know, this has been a an excellent opportunity to get together. and obviously you can hear the Duke dog in the background. Barking, you know, just ready to get out of of this conference. to the one JMU fan who once told me that they listened to every episode of the Troy Boys, I would like to tell you, much like Roach Poison, I hope that you'll take this message back to the rest of JMU fans. And that is please kick all of the rocks and take a very long walk off of a very short. My friends. You have been the worst thing that have ever happened to this conference. And I wish you nothing but disgrace in the American. Thank you, everybody, for joining us. I hope that you will be rooting on the Trojans as we play la la. For the Birdman, I am Trojan Joe. And as always, go Trojans. And God bless you, Blace Brown.