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THE Season Preview: 2026 · Troy Boyz

• THE Recording Studio: Welcome back, everybody, to the Troy Boys Podcast. We are happy to be broadcasting from Gordo to Pike County, from Ocean Springs to Sacramento. You can hear the Troy Boys nationwide as we get ready for the 2026 ⁓ season preview. ⁓ but I'm not here to do it alone. I've got all the Troy Boys with me, actually under the same roof. ⁓ so let's get the welcomes over with. Welcome in, the chairman of the board, the fish that is comfortable anywhere but a dish, the sea bass. Welcome in, sea bass. Really glad to be here. yeah, I'm I'm sure many people at home are wondering why does this sound so different? We're all in the same room for the first time in six years. The three of us are recording in the same room together. It's it's it's it's gonna be a fun one. ⁓ really excited to be here with full bars. It's gonna be a good day. Good grief. All right, get ready for a lot of that, ladies and gentlemen. next let's welcome in A Trojan that can paint with all the colors of the wind except on his own body, the Birdman. Welcome in, Birdman. what's going on, guys? That was a great joke, Joe. I appreciate that. ⁓ he checked my forearm before we recorded this, guys, just so be aware. ⁓ but yeah, super excited to be here. Like Bass said, it's been six years in the making to get us in person. We see each other pretty regularly, but not to record. So being able to plan this is awesome. It's really good to be under the same roof on the same Ethernet. ⁓ cable you know because if you're not on you know if if anything if you're not on the same router you're just not clicking ⁓ and I think that is the premise of what this season is going to until what do you think Joe? Yeah I mean as dumb as the Wi Fi thing was at Media Days, ⁓ I think we learned what some of the problems were last year. I think, you know, we were giving Jared a lot of great material But he would then in the middle of the podcast, he would move three feet over in his backyard and he would just lose connection. He couldn't hear the rest of the podcast. So I'm really excited that he's got that mesh happening. ⁓ you know, that Troy Cable went out there and took care of him. So really happy about that and hope maybe that's the last that we'll hear about that Wi-Fi segment. ⁓ sounds like it's not. It's not. Okay, so when you turn your head, you gotta move the mic with you. ⁓ okay. I can hear it and hear that you go wake. Okay. I told you he was gonna say shit. Jesus. All right. Let's ⁓ let's look around a little bit at all of college football, the Sunbelt Conference, Troy, anything we've heard in the offseason. I know it's been kind of a short offseason because the Trojans just got done, we feel like, in Omaha. ⁓ since this is a baseball conference, ⁓ you know, now that we've done well at it, we're joining the Sunbelt Syndicate and declaring this a baseball conference. ⁓ but as we get ready for football, that little sport ⁓ that only attracts thirty to forty thousand people on every campus and provides all of our revenue, we need to get ready for it. Have we seen anything in the off season, gentlemen, that's interest interested us? Anything floated to the bottom of the sea there, C Bass? ⁓ that so I'm gonna I'm gonna start with two things. So the first one I'm gonna talk about is that there's a lot of discussion right now about playoff expansion. not a fan. You know, I I I thought moving to twelve may have been a good move. You know, I I feel like there's some things we could have done a little bit differently. I feel like we've hashed that out already. But I I feel like the solution of moving to more people is not it. I th that that's not the move to me. ⁓ you know, it in and and one day we're gonna get to the Mike Leach. Let's just let a hundred and thirty something teams go out there and duke week to week. ⁓ yeah, at some point we gotta stop and say that the enough's enough. So I I I I'm not a fan of the expansion. ⁓ you know, and I know we've also hashed out the possibility of the G five pulling off and doing their own thing. I don't know how viable that that is ⁓ from a revenue standpoint. I I don't know that that's better for us as a conference, but ⁓ surely people have sat down and figured that out. ⁓ but I I I think I think twelve is where we need to sit at. But the the big one that I want to talk about is at Sunbelt Media Days and Joe brought it up, that they the coaches have done a preseason poll and in the West Troy was picked to be first. James Madison in the East picked to be first in their division. Overall, I'll just run it down real quick. The West, Troy first, Louisiana, Ark State, Louisiana, Southern Mist, South Alabama, and ULM at the bottom. No one shocked by that. And then on the east side, you got James Madison, Old Dominion, Marshall, Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, and App State kind of down here in the zone that they're not used to being. You know, and we can talk about that more if we want to. And Georgia State at the bottom, once again, no one's shocked. ⁓ so the coach's poll to me reads that Troy is being respected right now amongst the other coaches in the Sunbelt. ⁓ but but that doesn't mean anything in July. What matters is the results in November. ⁓ so there there's a lot of unknowns right now, and we'll dig more into that. ⁓ but right now Troy is being respected i in the conference. ⁓ and you know, I I feel like what we've built. Over time with Coach Parker has changed. It's gotten better. Year one was terrible. We can all say it. Year two is better. Year three, there's some optimism. So I let's play on that and not just say, ⁓ we're picked to be first and we're gonna be great. No, we we gotta do something about it for it to matter in November. I love preseason polls like these coaches' polls and media polls. Just because in the Sun Belt, when you have people who actually know what they're talking about, Troy does get respect. I mean, we did after even after those two years with Summerall. We lost a lot and still we're picked to finish first in the division because people that know or understand anything respect Troy. When you it's when you get down to the fans of this conference that you wind up with people whose teams put up permanent structures in their stadium to celebrate getting boat raced by Oregon, that then you start hearing like Troy's nothing, Troy's never been anything. Like, bro. Congratulations on losing to a highlighter wearing duck on national TV. And I'm glad that that's your top moment ever. But like Troy's been here and Troy's been winning. And like, you know, we made it last year. We were 60 minutes away and y'all weren't outplaying us every time we've gotten on a field with those guys. So I just love to hear anytime it's people who actually have an idea about the conference rather than going on Sunbelt uncensored Facebook group and hearing a bunch of Idiots on and on. And like you can go back to that James Madison game, that that conference championship game, we were in it until the very end, and then we kind of fumbled all the beans at the very end. So I mean, like you said, we are a competitive team, you know, and and people write us off because it's it's small Troy, it's little old Troy. But th this is a quality program and it has been for decades. We have little blips here and there. There was the five, six year dark era in the mid two thousands, we don't talk about a lot. ⁓ but I feel like overall we're in a good position. And we we need to do something to continue what we built here the last couple of years. Yeah, absolutely. Birdman, how about you? Up in the up in the skies, what have you seen this offseason? Yeah, I mean, it's surprisingly optimistic. ⁓ you know, no one saw us going eight and four last year in the regular season. You know, nobody really wanted us to lose those ⁓ two postseason games. But I certainly didn't see us being picked for the West favorite, not just bec and and I think this is the other side of the coin too, where it's like, You can look at the stats and say, ⁓ we went eight and four last year, but none of those coaches are looking at like what happened during the game played during that as well. Like there's some things we can dig a little bit deeper in. But I got I'm glad because that I mean, maybe that gives us a boost that we need. There's a lot of expectations. Troy doesn't seem to be one of those schools that's worried about the NIL noise too much. There's some NIL stuff going on, but it's not necessarily hurting us. The portal class this year was solid. The expectation for defensive authority is still very high. But I will say we need to figure out if we're going to be able to have above average QB play this year to get us over 500. Like I I I I think whoever is behind center, that's going to determine how this season goes. We've got to score points faster. We've got to establish dominance early in earlier in the game. Also, our O-line has to do a better job to let that happen. So I think Head coach Jared Parker has the ability to do that. I think he's got the offensive mindset to do that and the tools to do it. And based on the recruiting class, like I'm not like I'm not negatively thinking about this. Like I'm pretty optimistic. But there's gonna have to be some things that kinda go in. We'll talk a little bit more about some of the variables that I'm kinda concerned about later. But that I I'm I'm pretty positive. I think this could be a good I mean, especially looking at our schedule. I think the one game that I'm actually worried about is Missouri. No, yeah. This schedule has set up it's so well beautiful. Beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. The West overall is down. I I think it w we'll get into it. But I I feel like I gear I totally agree that this schedule that we have right now has set us up to be extremely successful this year. And if we're not, that's gonna be very telling of ⁓ yeah. What is to come in the future. It'll be a measuring stick season. Yep. ⁓ here we go. Somebody somebody called Neil Brown in Austin. We got another measuring stick season coming out. ⁓ you know, the one thing I've really have gotten out of this ⁓ postseason and preseason ⁓ is kind of like, you know, and I'm not trying to do like applied behavioral analysis here. ⁓ but you know, when you look at what the coaches are saying, and even to some extent what the players are saying, ⁓ you learn to like read different cues. Summerall was famous for Everything was terrible all the time. We're we're gonna lose to Charles Henderson. We're the worst team ever. ⁓ you know, Larry the legend didn't say much, you know. but you know, this group of coaches almost seem like kids before Christmas that have like accidentally seen their presence. They know they're getting good presents, and so they're just trying to be quiet and not get not getting any trouble and not let anybody know that they know. So to me, what I'm reading off of them is they've seen a good team. in practice and in conditioning and they think that we have a really good chance. ⁓ and so I'm excited about that. ⁓ and, you know, other than the Wi Fi debacle at media days, ⁓ you know, I really feel like Jared's kind of messaging has been even more positive than than outwardly. So I think ⁓ I'm really looking forward to seeing ⁓ what we have coming ⁓ under the proverbial ⁓ sunbelt Christmas trees. So ⁓ let's get a little bit into more into Troy. ⁓ let's look at players that we are excited about for Troy going into the season. First, a little breakdown for those of you that are big fans and listened ⁓ last year. ⁓ we're gonna go ahead and rank who we picked last time. ⁓ Bass picked a gentleman ⁓ who played offensive line who quit in the middle of the season and transferred out. So he is the loser. ⁓ Bird ⁓ really kind of Took the safe way out. He took Peyton Higgins, everybody's favorite Mars Hill Bible alumni. ⁓ and he had a good season. ⁓ Peyton Higgins did a lot for us. ⁓ so I'm putting giving him second place. I'm gonna give myself a very humble first place because I picked a young man who you might know, and his name is Evan Crenshaw, and he is simply the greatest punter of all time. ⁓ so, so the fact is, ⁓ you know, once again, if you want to really listen to this. ⁓ you you know where to put your confidence. So let's give Bass a chance to get back on the right side of this game. Bass, what is a a Trojan warrior that you're looking forward to seeing out there on the field of battle this year? Yeah, ⁓ I I'm looking forward to Jaheem Merriweather. All right. Tay Meadows is out. He's headed to Auburn. ⁓ Jordan Lovett, likely to get the RB1 spot. ⁓ but Coach Parker has openly stated that the running back position right now is our biggest question mark. ⁓ and he's anxious to see who will really take and build the reps that it takes to be our starting running back. ⁓ so that that leads me to suggest that they really don't know who's getting the nod right now. ⁓ Mary Weather is a junior from Jackson, Tennessee. He's transferring from Purdue. ⁓ coming out of high school, he was a very regarded running back. ESPN had him ranked number 10 out of Tennessee and number 19 nationally. and his time at Purdue was modest, but Purdue is not really known to be a a a powerhouse team here lately. ⁓ he had eighty-one career rushing yards, which is not stellar. ⁓ and ⁓ but he's he's had the time playing against quality Big Ten opponents. And so if you take somebody who's seen the reps, who's seen a quality defensive line and put them in the sunbelt, I I feel like he's built for the opportunity to have a good explosive season against a schedule that. That's really cut out for us. ⁓ so I I I'm curious to see how Jaheen Merriweather fits into the running back room and how we're gonna play him in conjunction with Jordan Lovett. ⁓ you know, week one and week two against Sam Houston in Alabama State's gonna tell us a lot about that. Yeah. ⁓ absolutely I completely agree with you. I think he is exciting. I think with this new offense, ⁓ he has a chance to be really exciting because we're not gonna be leaning on our running backs the way we have in the past. You know, he's not ⁓ mega chun. ⁓ he's gonna be his own style runner, but he's also not gonna be asked to do that. He's not gonna have the offense put on his back. So ⁓ I think he could be really exciting. I I agree with you there. Yeah, it's gonna add another layer of depth that we'll be missing here the last couple couple seasons. And Jordan Lovett has had I mean, we're not here to criticize players. That's not something we try to do. Jay Love has had some great games. He's also had some games where he kind of disappeared. ⁓ and so I think for him to have somebody behind him pushing him. ⁓ and also that he knows, hey, this isn't all on me. If I'm having an off night, somebody can come in and help to carry the load. ⁓ Birdman, who are you excited about? Yeah. So you guys y'all know I've I've been harping on the O line for literally since we started this podcast. I feel like we've always struggled in that area. And ⁓ but I'm looking forward to Darion Rivers and when you look at his stats, like I mean It's not super impressive. I mean, twenty twenty three, he was a red starter, twenty twenty-four, he didn't appear in any games. In twenty twenty five, he played in two games, only logging twenty-five snaps all at left tackle before entering the transfer portal. But Troy is looking at this as kind of like a high upside transfer. And I and this is why. He's an SEC ACC caliber size. Like he's like that's how they recruit him. Like they want those big guys to come out here onto the O line. Like he's got multiple years of eligibility remaining. And I mean, honestly, like He's six six, three hundred and like something pounds. Like I mean, like he's a big guy. Like we need somebody big, somebody athletic enough to play that left tackle, somebody who is willing to get on the line. And, you know, really it's it's not his physical ability, it's his experience. It's it's like how like like people like it's not that we are questioning whether he can do it. It's like will he be able to do it? And I think he has something to prove. I mean, why would you you know, SCC A C C program, like why would you come to Troll? You know, so I think like here he's gonna get s a lot of snaps. He's gonna get have the ability, especially the first two games against Sam Houston and ⁓ Alabama State. Like I think he's gonna have a lot to prove in that area. The whole O line is really, but like I'm looking forward to hearing his name a lot more and maybe like that's somebody who can help really shape the squad up a little bit on that front. Because our offensive line, if they cannot get it together this year, I don't know what our backfield's really gonna look like. So that that's who I'm excited about. You know, I'm excited about the O line in general just to see what they can do, but I'm hoping to, you know, really see him as an impact player. Well, to your question about why you would come to Troy, on behalf of Uncle Jack Hawkins, hashtag why not Troy, my friend. All right. You need to get it together. ⁓ and I hope Uncle Jack doesn't come here and and give you the what for. And if he does, I'll defend him. And it's worked out for us lately. Yeah. Basketball killing it. Baseball killing it. I just Keep it rolling. Yeah, I love the pick, Bird. I'm a little surprised. I mean, offensive lineman hasn't really played that much. I'm surprised Bass didn't pick him. No. I mean that's that's that's his kind of player. so but but but I am definitely staying on trend as well. My pick is Noreel White, ⁓ wide receiver. ⁓ I do think he has a a path to go from newcomer to major contributor. ⁓ he was rated among the top five junior college receivers. in our 2026 signing class, ⁓ transferred in from East Mississippi Community College. If you ain't been to Scuba, you ain't been nowhere. ⁓ and that was the home of Damian Willis before he came to Troy. And everyone who listens to this podcast or even just knows me, ⁓ knows that Damian Willis is on my Mount Rushmore of Troy receivers, one the best I've ever seen play the position for us. He's six foot one, 195 pounds, so he can play outside and also create yards after the catch. ⁓ we lost our three r ⁓ leading receivers. ⁓ so there's gonna be plenty of football to go around, especially as now ⁓ with Adam Austin's new offense, ⁓ we're gonna be more pass-oriented. I don't know who took the air raid siren off of the sounder board at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but they're gonna need to reinstall it. I hope we didn't lose that thumb drive ⁓ because the air raid is coming back to Pike County. ⁓ alert the armory. so I think it's gonna give him opportunities ⁓ to be ⁓ a really explosive newcomer for us. ⁓ and I hope to hear his name many, many times ⁓ right after the phrase touchdown, men of Troy. ⁓ all right guys, now for something a little bit less exciting. ⁓ let's talk about something that you're worried about for Troy going into this season. ⁓ Bass, what's what's got you ⁓ struggling to sleep in that pond of yours? Yeah, Bird and I talked about this for about an hour. Before we actually start a recording today. The pre game. The the pr yeah, the pre-game getting into the preview. ⁓ I I'm concerned about the depth behind our star players, the names that everybody knows, who's behind that individual. ⁓ Troy has added a ton of athlet athletes from the transfer portal. ⁓ but outside those headline names, there there's a lot we still don't know about those players in particular and how they're fitting into the fold troll with Troy schematically. ⁓ championships are just simply not built on key players. They're built on our depth. But historically, Troy has had players that have come out of nowhere and been key contributors. So who are those people gonna be? That's my biggest question and unknown. ⁓ players like Kamani Vidal turn into a a a stellar running back for us. You got players like Javon Solomon turning one of the best pass rushers in the nation out of nowhere in twenty twenty one. ⁓ this year's roster has got to produce those players. Because there's unknowns in the quarterback room right now. Yep. We're still questioning who's going to be in the RB one slot. You know, so we we have to have players step up that's beyond the names that we already know. And if we want to continue to compete for championships, which we have stated multiple times for multiple seasons on this show, is the standard at Troy. Yep. And Coach Parker, I'm sure, has already figured that out. So we have got to be developing those players. The question for me is who are those players going to be? And if we're not going to have those players step up, We're gonna have some problems that we just do not foresee right now on this podcast. Yep. Yep. Absolutely. ⁓ you know, I think a lot of our concerns here as I'm starting to look over them, are gonna kind of mesh well together. And and I think ⁓ if you go on to beautiful places on the internet like Troy fans, you see a lot of the same from the folks out there in Trojan Nation as well. ⁓ Birdman, you've got some of the top ones I've seen on your list here. Go ahead, talk to me about what concerns you as we get ready for this season. Yeah, yeah. I feel like like I said, we're on like you said, we're on the same page about things. I mean, mostly I'm worried about those who are on dial-up still versus the fiber optics. ⁓ like, you know, if they're not on the same one, I don't know how we're gonna stay connected by fire. ⁓ but really I think I could break it down into probably like three or four points. It's gonna all circle back to the same thing. So like number one, can we make sure the O-line shows up this year? Twenty twenty-five, we had thirty-seven sacks allowed, ninety-eight rushing yards a game, almost three yards per rushing temp. Over three hundred yards total offense. Dog, that has been a song and dance. Like it's it's brown thing. It's it's like ⁓ can our defense get a break? Like can can we stop the three and out, you know, within two th to four minutes, you know, of possession of the ball. ⁓ you know, it it's it's not good. ⁓ I I I I'm struggling with the physicality in our repertoire. It's like, you know, like I I think a lot of the games I saw last year, I was really struggling with the fact it's like ⁓ the defense is is struggling because they're tired, but also like, hey, like why did you stop your coverage because say through the ball? I mean defense is like state like defenses three and outside. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And it's like so all of these things are connected and it's and it kind of brings me to a final point too. It's like we we need consistent off the ball action and it makes me question like, what are we doing conditioning wise? Like our as as is our as our O line in the weight room, ⁓ our as our defense, are they, you know, what are they doing in the weight room? But also like how are we balancing that? Are we making sure these guys, if our offense isn't handling it well, can our defense maintain it? Like, you know, like I don't need everybody coming over here, dropping their assignments because they're tired or because they need a water break. Obviously there's gonna be situations and variables that that are like concerning, but what are we doing in the weight room and in the off season to make sure that and also during the week at practice, like how are we keeping these guys Physically fit to make sure we are taking care of situations. And I I I just we we need more. And like I said in the beginning, we need more dominance in the beginning of the games. We don't need to be a second half team. We don't need to ex I just hope that the other team messes up in in overtime. Like we need solid consistency and control of the game. And so that's my biggest deal. And 'cause like, you if our download speeds aren't on the same level, like like Like it's just it's just not gonna be good. So that ping is through the roof. Yeah. I'm I'm about to start lagging with all these Wi Fi jokes. ⁓ you know, I completely agree with you and things are only gonna get tougher on our defense. as ⁓ this new offense comes in. I mean we're he we're sitting here staring at the ⁓ graven image of ⁓ the Pride of Gordo, Alabama, Larry Blakeney. You know, when he came in and ran the sunbelt, ⁓ You know, we were running an air raid that was absolutely explosive. But as he said in a press conference when we lost to North Texas after scoring over 60 points, in this league, you've got to score more points than the other team. And while that while that is while that is simple, it is true. Okay. And I think what he was pointing to, if we go back and try to make a little revisionist history out of it, is that ⁓ you know, Troy was being successful by running that air raid. But if you're gonna be a team that scores 65 points, can your defense at least hold them to four scores, five scores, something like that, so you can get out of there with a win? ⁓ that was certainly something that Larry knew how to do. ⁓ you know, my biggest what I had written down is really a lot of what y'all talked about. I do think Troy has got to be closer to four yards per rush than we were last season. ⁓ and so instead of recapping that, I'm gonna go back to my same concern from last season preview. And that is, as y'all both touched on, so much of our offense, if you listen to people, is well, as how goose goes, that's the way that we'll go. What's if for in a very real way, what is good for the goose will be good for the gander. ⁓ and again, never want to talk badly about a young man and especially about injury ⁓ issues. But how many yards have we seen Goose Crowder throw for as a Trojan? Is it eight hundred? Is it a thousand? Mm-mm. It's not a thousand. I think if it's eight hundred, it's lucky. So the question is, do you believe that Goose Crowder has just had the worst breaks in the history of the game of college football? Or do we believe that we're gonna we're gonna get better play ⁓ out of maybe Tucker Kilcrease? ⁓ are the people in the sunspot of Brantley finally gonna be ⁓ the sun the Oracle the Oracle tell us you know that that he's gonna be the one that comes through. But somebody has to come through. And I mean, if you're a Troy fan and you tell me you're trusting Goose and to buy my goose calls again and bring ⁓ back to the stadium, I'll go with you. I don't have any other choice. But there is a part of me that goes, Man, we sure are leaning on somebody that has had a lot of trouble. Yeah. And I I've gone to back for that. We did. Well, I went to bat for that kid for two years. And and I feel nothing like he did with Gunnar Watson. And I and If either of y'all, I want to hold on for a second. You can keep this in and you can take it out. Either of y'all say something bad about two time Sunbelt conference champion, one time Sunbelt MVP Gunner Watson, and ⁓ the owner, future owner. Of the best gun store in the entire state of Georgia, I swear to God, I'll take every last one of you out. Okay. So just keep that in mind. I I have nothing negative to say. Thank you. ⁓ the sheriff will be here. But I I will say that I I I feel like Goose Crowder has has done a a good job at times. And and the the problem is, and and Byrd really hit it whenever he talked about it earlier on the on the quarterback issue. We we've got to have consistency throughout the season in order to not have those question marks appear. And I feel like we've done a pretty good job of weaseling our way out of these issues the last two years. But we're done with that, right? We we've got to be done with it. And and and so I you know, n no no negativity on the injury, but when he was playing there were times that I was like, What's going on? Yeah, yeah. And and and I think that's too where we're going into the season kind of like, you know, just like we're unsure if what ⁓ running back situations really gonna look like. Like we're really also unsure of like the first two games are gonna be very telling of that quarterback spot because ⁓ you know, they got this guy named Jaden Pete who came in from the transfer portal. He's a senior. Like he he came from Tarleton State and like, you know, like like why would you bring this guy on with you know one maybe two years of eligibility left? Like you want somebody that's gonna stick around a while that can control this team, lead this team in a very positive way. The the only re logical reason is insurance policy. Insurance policy. That's the only logical reason. Yeah, and and it's and it and I think Goose has, you know, I think he has the skill and you know, and it's not his fault that he is very injury prone. But also like if he goes down and all we have is Tucker Killcrease, unfortunately, like he won us some gain like he didn't he did what he could in a very tight spot, but like we we our depth, going back to the depth, like we don't have a security there where we know that we have somebody we can fully trust. 'Cause some of those games that we won last year, again, it was just that was the football gods, you know, at that point. Like like we I I'm I'm worried about that specifically, not because I don't think Goose is, you know, worthy of the spot, but it's like as a coach, what's the discernment look like here? And it's like, are we talking about feelings or are we talking about playing football? Like, you know, it's like, hey, I'm sorry, dude. I you're a great guy. You did great, like you did what you could, but we gotta move. You know, and it's no hard feelings. It's like like what are we doing to win chan and and and it's in any sport that you play. It's like we don't bring people on because we like you know, we have the same interests as them. It's like can they consistently show up and do the same thing day in and day out? And I think the wrap up is you you I I think Joe said it earlier that we're all kind of in the same thread. The question is depth. Yeah. ⁓ you know, and I yeah, I I'm I ha I have no doubt in my mind that everybody on that staff has had that thought too. Yep. And they have addressed it and we don't know the answers yet. And that's what this segment is about. What do we not know going into this season and we don't know depth? Yep. Right. Yeah, absolutely. ⁓ you know, and things don't get any better for Jared Parker. He is seems to just find himself under pressure because he also has Jack James in that quarterback room, ⁓ who most Troy people, unlike C Bass, Respect former quarterbacks ⁓ who've done great things for us. And obviously Corey Robinson brought this guy down ⁓ who and is kind of the future. Yeah, people think he's the future of Troy football as our quarterback. So ⁓ that's not gonna help if things start to go the wrong way. ⁓ but now that we've tortured Seabass enough for not being a loyal enough Gunnar Watson fan. I'm so glad it's not me this time. Let's ⁓ it will be in a moment. ⁓ let's get into the game by game breakdown. We're gonna do the hard work here, gentlemen. We're gonna go through every single game that the Troy Trojans are scheduled to play and see what we think about the team we've got in front of us. ⁓ so our first game, the Sam Houston Bearcats. ⁓ Saturday, September fifth, six PM at the vet. It'll be about a hundred and four degrees. It'll be hot enough it'll make you want to cuss, but please don't. It's a nice stadium. Don't curse in it. ⁓ last year the Bearcats were two and ten in the conference USA. I didn't even know that was a thing. I mean, I'm pretty sure the high school in the little town I'm from is in the conference USA. So I don't I don't know how you lose that many games. ⁓ you know, Sam Houston enters its second season under head coach Phil Longo. ⁓ that name probably sounds familiar if you're a big college football fan. ⁓ you know, he has had an accomplished career as an offensive coach, ⁓ but he's really got to get these Bearcats improving on both sides of the ball ⁓ in order to be competitive. ⁓ so Bird, let's start first to you. ⁓ what do you see out of this Sam Houston offense? Yeah, absolutely. And bearcats sounds like something you would see on like a Nickelodeon cartoon. Like that's a weird name ⁓ to have, but it does sound like Longo wants to operate an up-tempo spread offense, you know, quick decisions, spacing, and high volume plays. ⁓ last year they definitely still struggled to sustain drives and finished near the bottom of the conference USA offensively. ⁓ Bearcats, they gotta identify a reliable quarterback. It's not like they're in a similar position of us. ⁓ you know, improving offensive line that had difficulty protecting the passer. ⁓ they do have a running back, Dylan Brooks. He gives the offense an experienced option, but they need more explosiveness from its receivers. And, you know, they use a lot of screens, short passes, and tempo ⁓ that could prevent Troy's defensive front from controlling the game. But based on their stats last year, I don't feel like this is gonna be something that they rectify over the summer. ⁓ so that it might not be that much of a problem for a defense, ⁓ from Detroit Trojans. So Well Perfect. ⁓ Bass, what about you? How do things look on the other side of the ball? Yeah, defensively, ⁓ Sam Houston is not in a great spot. They were one of the least effective defenses in the country in twenty twenty five. ⁓ Sam Houston allowed ⁓ thirty-eight points roughly per game, four hundred and eighty four yards per game, which is atrocious. ⁓ schematically, the Bearcats are typically a four-man front. They they do run with aggressive linebackers and they do provide pressure at times. and and look, the opponents typically complete their passes. Their completion rate was just over 70% last season, ⁓ defend allowed defensively. the defensive line does not generate much pressure. They they they do have packages installed, but they're just not built for it. You know, that they do apply, they just don't get to complete. and and their secondary is allowed to be just be openly exposed. ⁓ so th this one will bode well for us. It'll provide us times and opportunities for the quarterback situation to to really gel. This'll be a really good tune up game for our offense. This will be a good game for us to say, Hey, this is what's working, this is what's not. ⁓ You know, no detriment or negativity to Sam Houston State, but defensively, this is a good matchup for us with our offense. Yeah, on on special teams, you know, Sam Houston, just like it sounds like with all the other phases of their game, what they really need is greater consistency. ⁓ unfortunately for Troy, I think they're gonna get it. ⁓ as far as their starting kicker, ⁓ he has had the position ⁓ ⁓ for four years, ⁓ just won the starting job and or won it in 2024. Marcus Hibbitt is his name. ⁓ he is one of Conference USA's most reliable kickers, ⁓ which is not saying very much at all. ⁓ but he is a very good ⁓ kicker. He has legitimate opportunities to make 50 year 50 yard field goals or more. ⁓ so we definitely ⁓ we're not gonna get any breaks there. ⁓ for the punters just get used to hearing me say this ⁓ Liam Corcran Of course, is not from America. ⁓ and so he is here ⁓ to do some bunning. so he's maybe he was left over from the World Cup or something. ⁓ but he has a forty forty-three yard average ⁓ last season, twenty punts inside the twenty, ⁓ but very few touchbacks. So ⁓ I do think that they are gonna see ⁓ you know, get some of that consistency that they really need. So I I don't know that it'll create a huge difference. I don't know that they're gonna be gangbusters on special teams, ⁓ but we can't count on that to to help us or give us any type of advantage. All right, gentlemen, I'm about to ask us all to pick. Before we do a quick question, ⁓ just we'll go around the table on this one, Bass. Should Troy expect to dominate this game or could Coach Phil Longo's offense create problems in the season opener? Look, he's a great offensive mind, but I really feel like that their defense just lets up too many points in this game. ⁓ ⁓ Troy should dominate this game. Okay. Birdman, what you think? ⁓ I think for head coach Jared Parker's state, like his state of mind and also like his state of his job, this has to be a dominated game. I don't think Sam Houston is gonna be a dominant. No, I don't think it's gonna be a problem for us. If it is a problem for us, every single prediction I have on my list right now, like I'm just like I lost I lost the fantasy football league this year. Like it's like it's it's a it's a bad it's a bad deal. ⁓ so yeah, that not a question at all. I don't think this is gonna be something that we have to worry about. I think we're just gonna have a good time with this. Yeah, I I I kind of see the same. I think that ⁓ this is gonna tell us whether Coach Austin's offense is gonna be successful. Because what we should do against a team like Sam Houston is come out and just absolutely flabbergate. By by the third quarter, they should be going, Coach, let's go get on the bus. It's time for us to go home. ⁓ and if we see that, then we know. We've really got a hold of something. If all of a sudden they're stopping our offense or our offense is stopping ourselves, then I think we're gonna know mm, we might be in for a little bit of a pro a a problem. So official picks here, Bass. Do we win or lose against the Bearcats? Yeah. I I I think we win this one. Yeah, just just keep their offense in check. And I think this is an easy game. Perfect. Birdman. ⁓ yeah. Big W on this one. I I don't have any doubts in my mind that we're gonna get this first win. Awesome. Yes, I am a win as well. So we are going to go into week two at one and ⁓ perfect. ⁓ next up, we are gonna stay in Veterans Memorial Stadium, the beautiful confines of the vet, ⁓ to welcome in our friends from about 30 minutes up the road, the Alabama State Hornets, ⁓ featuring the honeybees dance line that my wife loves so much. ⁓ they're coming in on September 12th at 3 p.m. ⁓ so that'll only be about 104 degrees at that point. ⁓ and so we are obviously ⁓ welcoming in our first FCS opponent of the season. ⁓ Alabama State is an improving FCS program. The SWAC as a whole is improving. ⁓ they're getting more athletic skill players. ⁓ they have several preseason all SWAC candidates. ⁓ the Hornets are definitely gonna treat this ⁓ as an important in state opportunity every time we play Alabama State. You see, not only are there players jazzed for it. Their fans come down. It's a short trip. Their band comes down. Their band has sort of a rivalry ⁓ with the Sound of the South, ⁓ who I'm sure as I speak this into a microphone is somewhere trying to do the wave. ⁓ and so you're gonna see a team come in that really wants to make a difference and would absolutely love to win a game against Troy. That to them would be ⁓ you know, kind of a Super Bowl type moment just because of how close we are to one another. ⁓ so Bird, go ahead, get us started. Let's hear about this stinging Hornets offense. Yeah, absolutely. That's ⁓ I was doing some research on this game, and there's several names that I felt like stuck out to me that ⁓ I was like, ⁓ they they could be a pretty key impact player for them. But the one that stood out to me the most was Andrew Body. He's the SWAC's preseason offensive player of the year. ⁓ he's highly ranked in the FCS, ⁓ HBCU. Like, I mean, it's just a dual threat player. He can extend plays, create yardage. Like, I mean, he he he's a key component for this team. ⁓ they really want to spread the field out and they want to isolate defenders in space and use the quarterback run game to create those advantages. And they have they got the speed. Like they really do to get those missed tackles or busted coverages. But I don't think their offensive line is gonna be much of a challenge for Troy's size and depth on defense. I think their best chance is going to be to shorten the game and avoid negative plays. But I've on ultimately, I mean, sick I mean five, six touchdowns for us. Like I like I think we could win this game big. ⁓ going into a much bigger game in week three. So definitely need it. ⁓ Bass, let's hear about that Alabama State defense. Yeah. Head coach Eddie Robinson Jr. coming into his fifth season with Alabama State. He is a known and respected defensive pedagogue. He he really focuses on strong defense, good ball control, ⁓ and discipline to win his games that he he does out there in the SWAC. ⁓ but the the Trojans have have a slightly ⁓ more deep schedule typically. So I I'm hoping that that that bodes well for us ⁓ building defensively. ⁓ the Hornets return several experienced defenders. They place multiple players in the preseason all swack. ⁓ Alabama State has has good athleticism, particularly in the secondary compared to the FCS. ⁓ but but like I've said ⁓ before I I feel like that the depth that we have in the sun belt is gonna be the issue for them. and that over time I feel like we're gonna whittle down their defense. And and I feel like the big matchup in this game that that's not gonna get talked about a lot is going to be their D line and our O line. You know, is our O line gonna be able to actually build up and capitalize like Bird talked about earlier. Are we gonna have an O line that's ready to go? an and I and I feel like that this is going to be that game that tells us a lot about the line. That this is going to be that game. Yeah. It's really crazy. Like, I mean, talking about depth, you brought that up multiple times. We're all kind of on that same page and like but we're also like we're not worried about our depth with Alabama State or Sam Houston that's necessarily. Like I feel like we're gonna be No, I'm not worried about the depth. No, I yeah, and and I feel like the first two games are gonna be I I hate ⁓ measuring games. I I feel like they're I feel like they're gonna tell us a lot about the rest of the season. Yeah, absolutely. I feel like the first game against Sam Houston's gonna tell us what our offensive scheme's gonna look like for the rest of the season. And I feel like that this Alabama State game is going to tell us is our O line built and do we have depth at times whenever they they actually pin us on defense? And and and and ⁓ so like defensively, Alabama State is a s is a stout team. They're they're good for the FCS ranks. This is a good team we're gonna come up against at that level. But I feel like we're gonna be in a better place. And so this game is gonna tell us whenever they do put us in a position for we have to pivot, can we pivot? Sure. Yeah, I you know, on special teams, ⁓ it's kind of a I don't know, a joke, a running joke that, you know, you bring in a SWAC team, you're not really worried about their kicker and their punter. ⁓ Alabama State proves that things are improving on an athlete level at the SWAC. ⁓ because you have great starters in both positions. Adonis Williams is a senior, he is the starting kicker, he handles all kicking duties. ⁓ he's eighty percent on field goals last year. He had a long of forty-seven yards. ⁓ you know, so he doesn't have elite range. He's not gonna be making it from sixty. ⁓ but you let him on our side of the fifty, he's got a chance to make it. ⁓ so you know, definitely not what you might have expected ten years ago when you were breaking down SWAC ⁓ special teams players. ⁓ at Punter they have Jacori Stewart, who's a senior. ⁓ last year he averaged forty-one ⁓ yards. ⁓ was really focused on hangtime. So ⁓ in the SWAC, obviously something that they're worried about is can one of those skill position guys ⁓ make a big return on you? So instead of having a really long punt, ⁓ they want punts that hang up there for a while, make sure that the coverage team can get down there. ⁓ so yes, I think they are better on special teams than most folks are gonna think. Do I think it's enough for them to kind of slip up and get some type of advantage on Troy? No, I don't. ⁓ but I do think. They do need to be respected. ⁓ and I have no doubt that our coaching staff and players will do that. ⁓ guys, before I get your official pick, ⁓ you know, we'll go ahead and round table this one. What must Troy accomplish against the Hornets? ⁓ for the Troy fans to feel confident before the trip to Missouri. Hmm. ⁓ I think this is something else, Bass and I talked about earlier. It's crazy how much pregame we did for this. But I I don't I don't know if Alabama State is a game that we can compare to playing Missouri. ⁓ like I I mean even if e even even if we score five or six touchdowns against them and our defense holds them to two, you know, like at most, it's like how how do you compare Alabama State to Missouri? Like like it's not gonna be like Missouri's not a powerhouse in the SEC. I'm not I'm not sitting here saying that they're like, you know, solid competition there, but they do have a different level of recruiting, a different level of conditioning and I gameplay, like it's just it's all different. So if we do really well against Alabama State That doesn't make me feel it doesn't make me feel confident that we're gonna do aga good against Missouri because that's like comparing Sam Houston to Alabama State. It's like both of those are winnable games. If we don't do great in those and do fundamentals in those, like I'm s I'm worried about the rest of the year. Like, you know, like what is what does Utah State or Southern Miss look like? There's a d there's a there's a strong degree of accuracy in saying that our first four games are all vastly different. Yep. That they they have very different objectives, they have very different ⁓ you know reads on what the outcomes will be. So I it you know, and to answer your question, what do we need to do? I I feel like we need to have clear and defined chemistry on offense in order to take care of this game, especially against a defense that is quality. Like this will be a quality defensive team. And so if we can have a clear front, if we can have a clear plan and execution, and then when it fails, can we pivot? If we can do those things offensively, I feel like I will be far more comfortable the rest of the season than I would be if we didn't. Yep. Yep. I mean, I I think I can give you some real concrete goals that I will say fans will feel more confident during the Alabama State game. If we're up enough that Troy fans are enjoying Alabama State's halftime show, ⁓ that's a good sign. And if Jack James comes out in the second half as the quarterback, then I think people go at that point they write everything else off. It doesn't matter. And Alabama State's going to play above their heads. ⁓ but if they if they come out and go, Okay, we're gonna we're gonna let this guy young guy go out here and play. And if y'all get a pick six or something, we're not worried about it because we have a deep enough lead, then I think people walk away going very, very good. Yeah. ⁓ so let's get some official picks registered here. Bass, how are we gonna do against the Hornets? Yeah, and and no disrespect to Alabama State. They're gonna be one of the better teams in the SWAC. They might come out on top in their conference, but they're not gonna come out on top. This game, I'll take the Trojans. There we go, Birdman. ⁓ full disrespect. We're Troy by Fifty. Troy by fifty, man. Okay. ⁓ with with all due respect, ⁓ because I want to be able to ⁓ eat at the Crystals on Zelda Road and other places like that. ⁓ I'm going to predict a win. ⁓ but I love the Stuart Vance commercials with your marching band. So ⁓ please write all criticism letters to the bird. All right, so everybody has the Trojans two and ⁓ heading into our third game. And that is going to be our first time away from the friendly confines of the vet as we take on the Missouri Tigers Saturday, September 19th, 1145 AM. Set your alarms, gentlemen. We need to be up early. A little bit of kegs and eggs action. ⁓ cause we are heading to Como, Columbia, Missouri Memorial Stadium to handle an SEC foe, which ⁓ you know, Troy may have played these guys before. I haven't looked up the record book, but I I feel like I remember maybe taking on Missouri a time or two. ⁓ Missouri ⁓ represents Troy's only SEC opponent ⁓ and is our clearest opportunity to earn a significant non-conference victory. ⁓ the Tigers enter the season with a talented roster, a physical offensive line, and a defense that ranked among the nation's best in twenty twenty five. ⁓ Birdman, we've got these talented Tigers waiting for us up there in Columbia. Tell us about the Missouri offense. Gosh, it's like offensive lines are important. Like I mean, so Michigan, they they do feature one of the more experienced offensive lines in the SEC. ⁓ they really want to establish a physical rushing attack, and you know, they want to use a lot of play X and passing to create some explosive plays. ⁓ Jamal Roberts, their running back, they definitely give him a good ball carrier and capable of wearing down a defense. ⁓ their uncertainty is at quarterback they they gotta replace some important production and establish some cons some consistency there, which we're starting to see a pattern amongst teams in this ⁓ weird NIL era. ⁓ but they also lost a major receiving production, making the development of its new pass catchers a very important storyline too. So we'll definitely probably talk about that in the pre-game ⁓ you know episode. And then our offensive coordinator Chip Lindsay, he's expected to incorporate tempo. Which he couldn't achieve on his ⁓ What? Like what do you mean? ⁓ I mean tempo to the bar, are you kidding me? Ex Yeah, Chip Lindsay is definitely expecting to incorporate some tempo and you he's got a lot of movement downfield shots he's wanting to maintain ⁓ with Missouri's physical identity, but you know, I don't I I why did they hire him? Like that's my question. Well, he's a man very concerned with the team's physical identity. This guy has got to be able to interview Really well. ⁓ he fails up. He fails up like nobody I've ever seen. ⁓ like a fat kid on a blob at summer camp. You know what I mean? That's a great movie. Fails right on up. all right. ⁓ now that we have gone ahead and and gotten cancelled, ⁓ Bass, tell us a little bit about the Missouri defense as you see it. ⁓ yeah, in twenty twenty five, Missouri finished eighth nationally in total defense, allowing two hundred and seventy seven yards per game. If you were in the nineteen points per game, that's pretty impressive. ⁓ and we knew going into this that ⁓ Missouri is known to be ⁓ aggressive, particularly on the edge. ⁓ they do have SEC caliber linebackers. ⁓ yeah, and they're ⁓ really good at creating negative plays. Their strengths going in are defensive front. ⁓ like I said, linebacker speed and red zone defense is also one of the best in the nation. ⁓ you know, I The Tigers have got to replace some starters. I feel like everyone does in this era of of NIL. There's gonna be people that leave to go greener pastures, quote unquote. And it really isn't if you just stayed, it would be all right. ⁓ that the Tigers will attempt to make Troy one dimensional, ⁓ and limit our offense. And so, like like Bird was saying, ⁓ anything that we see in the first two games, you gotta take with a grain of salt when you go up against this team. ⁓ because that This it this is going to be the best defense we face all season. That no questions asked. That this will be it. And and we have an offense that's ⁓ rather inexperienced together collectively and we're still trying to figure out where everybody's supposed to go, you know, ⁓ where we plug in everybody into individual letters, XYZ, all that fun stuff. So ⁓ Missouri will pose some problems for us defensively. That they're they're one of those teams, even in the SEC play. This is one of those teams that you don't want to play. But you're not worried about them being the SEC champion either. ⁓ this is that team that's the the Troy of the Sun Belt. The Missouri's that of the SEC. Yeah. ⁓ I I'll tell you, unfortunately, ⁓ not much better news on special teams. This is the best kicker and punter that we'll see all season. ⁓ a kicker they have Blake Craig Jr. ⁓ he was a blue chip recruit. ⁓ he hits about an eighty-five percent of his field goals. ⁓ he is comfortable way over fifty yards. So it's very comfortable taking long field goals if the situation presents itself. ⁓ Same at punter, Riley Williams is a senior, 45 yard average, has a high percentage inside the 20, ⁓ big, ⁓ really good hang time, ⁓ very dependable under pressure, doesn't drop a lot of snaps, doesn't mishandle things. So ⁓ we're not gonna see a lot of huge advantages on special teams, ⁓ though I doubt Coach Parker and company are counting on it. ⁓ so one question guys before we register our picks. ⁓ where does Troy have the best chance to create an advantage against Missouri? ⁓ you wanna go first? Well Yeah, you go. Okay, yeah. Birdman's gonna go first. ⁓ time of possession. ⁓ I I think I think that's gonna be our biggest way here to I mean, 'cause I think about I I I think back to like LSU. Different coach, obviously, but it's like It's not just time of possession, but it's also like what we do with it. And so it's like if we can get the ball for consecutively s you know, six to seven minutes and also score some points with that, I think that's gonna be what helps us, you know, kind of have the advantage over Missouri here. Cause at that point, I'm not worried about their defense or or their like scoring ability at that 'cause like we're also giving our defense a lot of time to just chill out for a minute, drink some water and like, you know, like they're we're not wearing them down. So I think time of possession is gonna be huge for them. Yeah, and and and you took one of my three, you know, I I feel like in a game like this where you are going up against an opponent that is on paper, ⁓ it's a better team. I I feel like you gotta go back to old school football ⁓ and and you've gotta win the old school metrics. Time of possession, turnovers, and third and long. That those are the big ones, right? So you you gotta win the time of possession battle, you gotta win the turnover battle, and you gotta force them into a third and long situation and hope that they get off the field. If we can do those things, I feel like we have a chance against them again this year. Yeah, I think our advantage ⁓ has probably been given to us most by ESPN or whoever holds the contr ⁓ contract for this game. ⁓ because much like we saw in person in Oxford, Mississippi, if you can go play an SEC team early kickoff, still early in the season, so it's hot, if you can go and make it to where it's not a huge blowout runaway win. And all of a sudden their team is having to compete with Troy and go back and forth play field position. You can see not great fans, but like students and other people ⁓ that go, Hey, why don't we just head back to the bar or wherever, go back to fraternity house, ⁓ and have a good time and not watch this. ⁓ you know, and and then all of a sudden you take away some of their advantage. ⁓ so I do think the early kick helps. ⁓ you know, does it help enough? ⁓ for Troy to come away with another kind of miracle win against Missouri. ⁓ that will come when we make these picks. ⁓ Bass, how are we gonna do against the Tigers of Missouri? ⁓ reluctantly I'm gonna say that I I feel like Missouri's depth and experience is going to be a little bit too much for us in this kind of not even really rebuilding era, but just kind of alignment era for us. ⁓ I I think it's just gonna be too much for us on this Saturday. So I'm gonna take Missouri on this one. All right. Birdman what do you think? Yeah, I'm gonna have to call a loss for this one, the Detroit Trojans, unfortunately. Not because I don't think we're incapable of winning, but I don't know if the first two games are gonna set us up for that kind of caliber of play. I think it's gonna be a game that where we get to see a lot. ⁓ I I I think we're gonna I think we're gonna be able to see what talent we have and maybe some things that we could do better moving forward. But this is one of those games that I would count as a throwaway game and it's I don't think it's gonna define our season, but I am gonna call a loss here and the Tigers are gonna take us. Yeah, ⁓ unfortunately I agree with you. I think Troy Bank and Trust would tell you this is in no way a throwaway game. That check is certainly going to help us out. but I just think we're not gonna be ⁓ prepared enough after Sam Houston and after Alabama State. ⁓ we'll probably learn a lot about ourselves. It's not a measuring stick game, ⁓ but I think we'll learn a lot about ourselves going on the road. ⁓ and then we can see kind of ⁓ every game after this one ⁓ really is attainable. The Buffalo Bills aren't on the schedule somewhere. So ⁓ this is where I think ⁓ you can kind of as a good coach ⁓ get your team looking forward and saying the rest of the season could be ours. ⁓ we just have to work towards it. ⁓ so starting that vision, ⁓ let's get ready for game four, the Utah State Aggies, Saturday, September 26th, 630 p.m. Central at Maverick Stadium in Logan, Utah. ⁓ they are in the conference formerly known as the Pac Twelve, ⁓ which I assume is now just written as the Texas State logo. Utah State ⁓ begins its first season in this rebuilt conference and its second year under Bronco Mindenhall, well known name, especially out there in that region. ⁓ the Aggies should be improved, ⁓ but it remains difficult to evaluate because of staff changes. And again, we've said it for every team. Significant roster turnover. This is the first time. ⁓ that we're gonna be playing the Aggies. ⁓ Birdman, go ahead and tell us what you see from this Utah State offense. Absolutely. Lots of ⁓ creative formations and unusual personnel groupings and a willingness to throw the ball downfield under veteran offensive coordinator Robert Anne. He's taking over the offense. ⁓ they produced one of the Mountain West most productive productive offensives in 2025. They got to replace some important personnel including production at the quarterback and receiver. But you can definitely expect him to use motion screens, qu QB movement, and vertical passes to stretch Troy horizontally and vertically. The altitude and a long road trip could definitely make this ⁓ very interesting and make Utah State's tempo more effective as the game progresses because you know is the further north you go, southeast, like in the the air is different. Just like in baseball, you can hit home runs better in different stadiums than others. So I think we're gonna have some environmental ⁓ effects there that might cause our guys to maybe play a little differently. But ⁓ yeah, I mean, I think they're gonna be a good opponent for us to face and to really show our defen so show what our defense is about. Yeah, absolutely. ⁓ definitely Troy doesn't take a lot of trips ⁓ west of the Mississippi to play ball games, especially now that ⁓ Birds' second favorite team, the Texas State Bobcats, are no longer in the conference. Which is a win, by the way. So ⁓ so ⁓ this will definitely be interesting and challenge our players and our coaches. ⁓ Bass, what do you see out of this Aggies defense? Their head coach Bronco Mendenhall is ⁓ famous for having excellent defense, discipline, ⁓ gap integrity, tackling, forcing offenses to execute long drives. ⁓ Menden Hall was a former head coach at BYU in Virginia before before finding himself at Utah State. ⁓ Utah State operates a 335 ⁓ with their coordinator Nick Howell. ⁓ and they're gonna They're gonna build pressure, right? They're they're they're designed to hide that pressure and then can ⁓ create some confusion on the snap. ⁓ you know, Utah State has got to provide that pressure, ⁓ and not rely on blitzing in order for our offense to feel that kind of pressure. so Troy's got to have multiple backs ⁓ in the field ready to go, provide ⁓ ⁓ just a little bit of resistance for their defense, right? Provide opportunities ⁓ for some some some deep throws, some short throws. We we've got to have some versatility was basically what I'm saying on offense in order for this defense to struggle. If we become one or two dimensional, this team's got us. ⁓ but i i if we can, as we've said before, build and and and have a diversified offensive portfolio, we will be fine against this team But if we become one or two dimensional, we're we're screwed. Yeah, you know, on special teams, ⁓ Logan, Utah is an excellent place to be a punter or a kicker. ⁓ you know, Evan Crenshaw might punt a ball all the way to Boston. ⁓ from this stadium, the altitude is just gonna help him. ⁓ and and good for us, their personnel really need that help. ⁓ Brock Warren is a senior. ⁓ he is reliable on extra points. ⁓ but he's about 75% on field goals, which at this level of college football you expect a little higher. ⁓ he is really not consistent beyond 45 yards. So you do not have to worry about this guy lining up and being a cannon. At punter, they have Tommy New. ⁓ he's a junior. ⁓ he is an athletic punter. He has a powerful leg. Again, his stats are a little bit skewed because of where he's played. He has a 44-yard average, but he has multiple punts over 60 yards. So he can really stretch ⁓ the field when you play field position. ⁓ but I don't see that ⁓ you know, being really the big difference in this game because of ⁓ you know, it's gonna it's gonna give Evan as much an advantage as it gives Tommy. ⁓ all right, a quick question, guys. Is the trip to Utah State the most dangerous non-conference game on Troy's schedule? if you're asking most dangerous as most losable, no. If you're asking most dangerous in ⁓ most flip of a coin, most close game, yes. I I feel like this is gonna be the one that I feel like we have the edge on here. but I really won't know until that Alabama State game. ⁓ like I feel like after Alabama State I'll have a much better read on what this Utah State game's gonna look like. ⁓ but yes, I I would say if most dangerous means most flip of a coin, yes. Yeah. Big big swing game. Like I mean I I I I couldn't agree more. I mean, I I I think at this point I'd be like Troy sixty five percent chance to win, Utah State thirty five. Like, you know, like it like it's gonna be competitive. It's not gonna come down to two or three more touchdowns than them. I think it's gonna be one score. ⁓ and and because Troy just doesn't travel well, especially with games like this. So I I I don't I don't think it's gonna be dangerous, but I think it's gonna be telling of how we handle ourselves on the road. We're traveling far. You know, the altitude is definitely gonna be an issue. It's not Texas State, but No. ⁓ but it's something we do have to think about and address. Yeah. You know, and and so like what does conditioning look like to prepare us for this game? Coming out of a Missouri game, well we're we're probably gonna be beat up. ⁓ ex we're gonna be beat up bad. Yeah, so I mean that there so there there are question marks there, but ⁓ you know, I yeah, I would say that yeah, this is probably the most dangerous game now that I think about it more. More and more. Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you. I th I think especially we're all picking Troy's coming off its first loss, if we're all right. ⁓ and I think Troy fans are gonna be looking at what happens in Logan and saying, you know, are are we turning things around and learning from Missouri? ⁓ or are we starting kind of a slide? So ⁓ let's make some official picks. Bass, what do you think happens out there in Utah? Yeah, it look, if we can win the battle up front. And if we can be efficient offensively, I feel like this will be a good game for us. If we can put points on the board early and let up a little bit in the third and the fourth to maintain win status, I'm cool with this. Optimistically, I'm gonna take the W on this game. Alright, perfect. Birdman, how about you? ⁓ yeah, I think I'll have to agree with Bass. If I can avoid telling my wife that I ⁓ lost my wedding ring ring again. My wedding my wedding ring. My wedding ring. ⁓ if I can avoid that, I think ⁓ the boys can go up to Utah State and win a game. So go Trojans, let's get a W. Yeah, I ⁓ I'm gonna join you guys and so Is this how she's gonna find out that you've lost your wedding ⁓ Yeah, you know, UA B grads don't know how to access the podcast app. ⁓ but no, I let alone the Wi-Fi, right? I agree with you guys. Finally, we are becoming the ⁓ sunny everything is great podcast that everyone has said they always wanted. We're great again. Yeah, I mean I am going to pick a win. ⁓ all right, let's go ahead and move on. We are going to start the Sunbelt Conference schedule, the most exciting time of the year. on Tuesday, October 6th. ⁓ 7 PM Central. So go ahead and take off work just from Monday to Wednesday, just to be safe. ⁓ coming into the vet are gonna be our old friends. ⁓ the Southern Mist Illegal Eagles ⁓ will be coming to see us. ⁓ they begin conference play against Troy after losing to the Trojans ⁓ in the regular season finale. ⁓ they did reach a bowl game in Charles Huff's first season, ⁓ but they enter twenty twenty six with major personnel changes, particularly ⁓ On defense. ⁓ Troy has won seven of the last nine. We are fifty-two and twenty ⁓ before that. Or fifty-two and twenty ⁓ was our last ⁓ score. So obviously we are doing ⁓ very well currently against ⁓ the mustard buzzards. ⁓ but this is gonna be a new chance. Obviously, a weekaday game that's not always great for our Trojans. ⁓ so we're gonna have to be on top of it. Birdman, tell me what you think about this mustard buzzard offense. Huff is what I say when they run out of Trem Tab Paradise now at the brewery. Huff. ⁓ but Charles Huff is definitely wanting a balanced physical offense that establishes the running game. Bastard, we talked about this earlier. Like they they've lost a lot. Like it's all new players. Like, you know, and and it's just been a consistent theme with Southern Mist. And also, like, I'm kind of sad that we are playing them so early in the season. I really like that end of the year ritual where we get to at least have one win that we know we're gonna play. Yeah, fairly. Yeah. ⁓ but their running back, Robert Briggs, isn't he's a pretty explosive player. He played for Utah Utah State previously, so we'll get to see ⁓ some of that action. Southern Mist, they've ⁓ also added former Illinois receiver Mario Sanders to strengthen its passing game. ⁓ the illegal Eagles, they gotta settle their quarterback situation, which is happens to just be a common theme. They gotta you know replace several important offensive contributors. Contributors contributors. ⁓ and then expect, you know, we've got to expect them to run ⁓ multiple backs and multiple ways, including screens and short passes. You know, I don't think they're gonna be depending on their run game much. They're definitely gonna be dump passes, short passes, definitely just trying to, you gain yardage any way they can because they're just not gonna be able to compete with some of the defensive lines ⁓ that they're gonna be up against. So they're definitely gonna be relying on that ball control and time of possession while their redef rebuilt defense really develops. So ⁓ it sounds like they're gonna be in a similar boat in a lot of our same games where just time of possession, pressure, how can we figure out how to make sure that we keep the ball as long as possible? So all right. Bass, ⁓ what do you think ⁓ about the mustard buzzards on the other side of the ball? Yeah. Yeah, the special teams coordinator Joe Bolden has moved over now. He's the defensive coordinator. ⁓ the Golden Eagles are rebuilding, you know, that unit. I feel like they've been saying that now for decades. Rebuild Will Hall. they allowed ⁓ more than four hundred yards and twenty-seven points per game in twenty twenty-five. ⁓ much of their defensive front and secondary have been replaced this season. That's a that's a running theme here this ⁓ so far, this episode. ⁓ Southern Mist adds, as as Bird has said, many transfers. ⁓ so th they need some time to develop their chemistry. ⁓ with this being the conference opener against a Troy team that they have You know, here recently really struggled with. I don't know that this is going to be a good game for them to get right into conference play. ⁓ the defense will need to emphasize pressure. ⁓ they need to create turnovers in order to be effective against the Trojans. ⁓ and and Troy needs to really push the tempo against this team. We really need to play disruptor on offense, ⁓ you know, ⁓ with with ⁓ tempo and formation and again varying the style of play. I know we're really pushing this pass offense, but if we can establish a good get out run game on against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, ⁓ I feel like we've really got a chance here against this team. the the question for me is is are we going to be able to limit their blitzing opportunities? ⁓ you know, with a lot of these guys that they got coming in, they're kind of small and fast. So can our line really get on the outside and limit their blitz? If we can do that, I have no questions about about this game. Yeah, I you know, I think on special teams, ⁓ I like for Troy fans that Bolden is no longer coaching special teams, but is still on the sidelines because I think it creates an atmosphere where ⁓ who are players listening to? They listen to the guy that was coaching them for a couple years, they listen to the new guy. ⁓ Tuesday night, that's where wild things happen. That's where the bad mojo is. ⁓ and so you know, there's just no telling what we might see. ⁓ as far as the kicking. ⁓ there really is no projected starter yet. They are still battling it out through camp. ⁓ what I can tell you, looking at both guys, ⁓ accuracy declines a whole lot beyond 45 yards. So I would not expect to see a lot. ⁓ Logan Gregory is a senior transfer punter. ⁓ he is from Clearwater, Florida, where all great punters are from. ⁓ Florida is just full of ⁓ punting in the ⁓ in the public water, apparently. ⁓ he averages around 44 yards per punt, ⁓ multiple punts, over 50 yards in his career. ⁓ he's not really a power punter, he's more of a technician, ⁓ and so definitely can pin you deep ⁓ using coffin corners and things like that. So ⁓ definitely have to be prepared for that. one question before we put our predictions down. How much should Troy's 2025 win, which you talked a little bit about over Southern Mist? influence expectations for this matchup. Not much. I I I feel like both teams have hit a big reset button. They're roughly seventy something new players. We got fifty-three new players on the roster. You know, I I feel like overall we're a better team. Yeah, I I feel like overall in in in the d the decade past we've been the better team. So I don't expect that to change tomorrow. But I feel like what we did last year should not influence what we do this year. And so I I feel like we should go into this game cautiously optimistic. But if this team comes off the rails and they're bulldozing people coming into this game, we should be concerned. Yeah, but even if we do lose to him, we're still gonna go to the College World Series. So like it doesn't matter. Like I mean, like there's this is this is a throwaway game. It is it is a baseball conference. It's a baseball conference. I mean, look, not everybody gets to host a super regional. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's you know, we are who we are. They hate us 'cause they ain't us. But no, I I agree with you. You know, Southern Miss has been since they've come to the Sun Belt, gosh, I hate to even get us into all this negative mail we're about to get, but they've been the most disappointing team that we've added. And it's unfortunate because they're they they've historically been a really good team in the region. But even just look at the fan base. I mean, we went to that away game that one year and we went all the way down there and they had twelve fans. Like like it like in that like it was that what was that, two years ago? Two years ago they were all related. And they were But ⁓ when we did go to that game w two or three years ago, ⁓ it genuinely it felt like there were as many Troy fans present as there were Southern Miss fans. They had their own home game. Twenty five percent upcharge on beer just to cover the people that didn't buy tickets, like you know. And I'll still pay it. Yeah, I mean I I think it's not You know, and I know I can I can see the Everyday Eagles podcast right now sending us an email, but I get that Old Dominion has not done as well win and loss. I don't think anybody expected. But they've had more explosive games. Yeah, no like they've been relevant. I don't think anybody expected much out of Old Dominion. So your Southern Myths, you were kind of on the martial tier where everyone was going, Hey, this is a big time program at this level. They're gonna come in and really do something. And I mean, look at the delta of hate. That is falling apart. And as much as I love to blame everything in the world on the Foo Crew down there in Mobile, it really is not on them. It's on the guys in Hattiesburg because they're just haven't been competitive. ⁓ especially in that in that series against the three of us. So ⁓ all right, guys, we have talked enough bad things about Southern Mists, which I rarely say. ⁓ let's go ahead and put some picks down on paper. Bass, who's gonna win this one? Yeah, I wanna take this one. W for the Trojans over the Buzzards. Perfect. Birdman. Yeah, I have no doubt we win this one. If we don't win this one, I mean you'll hear me on the reaction. Look, if we don't win this one, I think conference plays gonna be rough. If if we don't win this one, my response is gonna be huff. Like, you know, it's like it's like huff. I I mean, like, I if you were to ask me to rank the West and not, you know, this would be second from the best. So I I feel like if we lose this game we got issues. Yeah. I mean in this one of those situations too where we talk about the West and kind of the downfall of like just not our schedule looks great because they look so bad. I'm like, I I I kinda hate it because now I feel like we're gonna have people who are gonna come out with like, ⁓ well, like you had a cupcake schedule. And I'm like, dude, like So did James Madison, so did James Madison. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. So Yeah, I'm gonna join you guys. ⁓ that's another win. Everybody ⁓ has the Trojans at four and one. Troyfans.com is rejoicing ⁓ as they listen to this. Let's see if that holds out. Time to get to the midpoint of the season. Game six, the Lala. I know you guys love it. I hope you're listening, Lala fans. ⁓ the Lala Raging Cajuns ⁓ coming in ⁓ Saturday, October 17th. We're we are going. Good news, ⁓ we are not going to Monroe. Bad news, we are going to Louisiana. So ⁓ we're going to Cajun Field, gonna see their new stadium. ⁓ Louisiana has posted ⁓ consecutive six and seven seasons and enters an important fifth year under head coach Michael Desmero. ⁓ the Cajuns retain several important players and should be more experienced than many teams in the conference. ⁓ and obviously I think that's ⁓ referring mostly to Lunch, ⁓ the quarterback. ⁓ Bird, go ahead and talk about This la la offense. Well, it's just such a great name. It's pretty good. I mean, what in what sport would you name somebody dinner? Like, you know, like as let's say ⁓ you know, so Louisiana, it's kind of crazy, like doing research on this team ⁓ prior to recording this, it's like n they definitely have Louisiana, you know, with like a fifteen percent higher chance of like winning this game over Troy. ⁓ and not I mean they're a contender. Like, I mean, it it just is what it is. They are a contender. Lunch Winfield definitely gives them an athletic option. ⁓ you definitely's capable of pass and run. Like he's he's multifaceted there. The Cajuns, they definitely return a deep group of running backs as well. So they got a lot of legs back there, a lot of depth. ⁓ former LSU receiver Shelton Sampson Jr. also gives them, you know, a very dangerous outside target. ⁓ the offense wants to. be manageable. They they want to make sure they're managing their third downs, using play action, that time of possession coming back in to play there downfield. ⁓ consistency has definitely been a problem though, in particularly when they fall behind schedule. And Louisiana's offensive ceiling, they definitely depend on improved quarterback efficiency and stronger pass protection. So if our defense can shut that down, if they can break through the line, I mean, you know, w w what what are we s what what could happen in that situation? Not that they're it doesn't change their contender status, but I think this is a, you know thing our offense could score a lot more points than they maybe realize are what the experts are giving them if they're able to shut down stuff in the front end. Mm-hmm. Yeah, for sure. ⁓ all right, ⁓ Bass, that La La defense is gonna be waiting for us as we get there ⁓ to Cajun Field. ⁓ what do you think about them? Yeah, look, Louisiana La La, Raging Cajuns, Louisiana Lafayette, their favorite. ⁓ they they're a perennial powerhouse in the West Division. They're one of those teams that's That's always on the front edge of stuff. ⁓ and they're one of those teams that you should never count out. And and it's for good reason. ⁓ this team is traditionally a very gritty team. The the this team is usually really good defensively. They're excellent against the run. ⁓ they like to create pressure. ⁓ they like to force offenses into third and long situations. You know, good old school gritty football. That that's what this team is branded as. ⁓ and this is an experienced squad. It's probably gonna be one of the more experienced squads we come up against this season. you know, the opposing quarterbacks frequently complete sixty-five to seventy percent of their attempts, which has become an issue for them. ⁓ pass defense is has been a problem for them here of late, which is why they've not been able to maintain the status that they've had over the last couple of years. ⁓ so ⁓ i if if push comes to shove and this team coming into this game has those same struggles, I think we'll be fine. But if they've managed to solve the pass defense problem, we're gonna have issues. ⁓ yeah, the unit is ⁓ stronger on the line of scrimmage come coming into this game that ⁓ compared to teams that we played with the exception of Missouri of, of course. ⁓ so i i if we can provide opportunities for our offense to put balls into the air, ⁓ i I think it's all gonna come down to the same thing. If we can be multi dimensional. we'll be okay. And if their pass defense is still a still a problem for them, we'll just keep lobbing the ball like the like the the game plan is right now will be fine. But if that's fixed, we've got to be multidimensional against this game or against this team in order to win this game. ⁓ I think first downs are really going to matter in this game. I I think if we have positive yarders on first down, we'll be fine. ⁓ that's going to force them to be ⁓ a little more ⁓ scrambly on on defense and figure out what they're going to do. ⁓ so I I I I feel good about some of these matchups, but my concern is that this is an experienced team and I feel like they're gonna have gelled going into this game. And by week six, they they're a well-well machine now at this point. So where are we gonna be at? Those are my concerns. ⁓ you know, traditionally this is a disciplined, well-coached team. Des Moros on his fifth season, so he's real, real familiar with the expectations. They're gonna have a new stadium, they're gonna have field capacity, which has been an issue for them as well. They've not had a real good home field advantage of late. ⁓ so I I'm I feel like they're opportunities for us, but I feel like if we don't execute at a high level, this game is going to be an issue. Yeah, you know, this kind of the same song on special teams. ⁓ at kicker, Tony Stirner, Redshirt Senior, ⁓ probably the best kicker that we're gonna see in the Sunbelt. ⁓ he is ⁓ has a long career. ⁓ he has got about an 80% field goal percentage completion. ⁓ his long is 47, so he's not doesn't have a canon. but he's just smart. ⁓ plays smart and takes smart kicks. ⁓ they haven't decided their punter yet. They have a couple guys battling it out. ⁓ but Louisiana has a long history of emphasizing directional punting and coverage over sheer distance. So I don't think they're looking for. ⁓ the next embodiment of Evan Crenshaw. I just think they're looking for somebody that can ⁓ help them to ⁓ you know get the defense ⁓ you know get the get the offense off the field ⁓ and put the team in a bad position ⁓ which they'll definitely try to do Detroit and as you said they'll have more of a home field advantage. ⁓ before we ⁓ put the picks on paper here, ⁓ is the is La La's experience ⁓ and obviously they've been one of the top teams in the West. It was either them or App State ⁓ you know, going and playing in those for a long time. Is La La La's experience more important than its recent six and seven records? ⁓ I feel like they have kind of a I feel like they're gonna come into this with experience in mind. I I feel like they're gonna come into this season saying We are not like everybody else in the West, let alone the conference, ⁓ in that we have a basically half new team. I I I I feel like that they're more put together, they're more established. ⁓ and so I feel like the experience from the players is gonna be pivotal. I think it's gonna be important. I think the chemistry that this team is gonna have is gonna be far further advanced compared to other teams that they're gonna faced at this point, ⁓ including us. And I feel like the tradition of being a good team in the Sunbelt is going to matter. I feel like this is the year that Desmoro can finally say, Hey, this is our team and we have just kind of shit the bed the last couple of years. It's time for us to fix that. We're gonna go up again. Like the the only team that I feel like that they're gonna have a real issue with in the West this year is us. And so we're we're we're and and I feel like we're gonna get that from everybody, but this is the team that's gonna be able to probably capitalize on that. We're gonna be the team in the West that has the target on their back. And and and I feel like that that is going to be a benefit to them and a detriment to us in that they have the the experience and time and chemistry that we just don't have. And so yes, I feel like their experience is way more important than their record last season. Yeah, and I agree. I mean, experience is important. I mean you can look at I mean, if you look at our eight and four record in the regular season last year and like put it up on the on this schedule, I still have questions, you know. Like like there there are there are situations there I'm like we definitely shouldn't have yeah, we started in a rough spot. We started in a rough spot and then we won two back to back games in overtime that we shouldn't have won. You know, like like there I I I don't even know if records is necessarily something like when you talk about coaches' polls and stuff like that, it's like, okay, great, you went eight and four last year. I don't know if that qualifies you for a top West contender. Not because I don't want Troy to qualify for that, but like you like We watch those games. Like we we see what happens during that. I mean, devil's advocate here please please Arkansas State played that game for years. Arkansas State would go ⁓ and four and then run the table in the sunbelt and then play in the wet you know. And and and I'm not and and I'm not say I'm not saying it can't happen and it's just it's hard for me to be like experienced versus because you can have all the exp like 'cause that's also like, you know, don't you know, Troy fans will love this, but like John Summerall had two great seasons with us and then Jared Parker came in and they were like, ⁓ well, because we did this with John Summerall two years ago, that experience means we're gonna do this again. Like, you know, there's there's two different sides of the coin there. It's but Right. And and I I get what you're saying. A lot of fans were very upset. Yep. Having done those two years. So yes, I get that. Yeah. So r regardless, I mean, I I they're a contender. You know, we're like we're we're both I think I think this is gonna be one of the games, like, you know, besides JMU that we need to definitely be more concerned about. Yeah, no, I I think that this game is gonna I I feel like this will determine the West, right? I I feel like it's between us and them, you know, Troy, Louisiana. And then I feel like Ark State is, you know, potential dark horse nature for the West. But I beyond that, I'm not too concerned. But yes, I I totally agree with what with what you're saying. And and yes, I feel like that this is the experience is going to matter for them. And I'm concerned that this game will not go the way that we want it to because of Right. And you know, I I think I I lean more on the side of experience, but only because of how La La ⁓ and their fans are reacting to this recent mediocrity. ⁓ you know, App State ⁓ has kind of the same claim to success in the sunbelt, but you see their fans, even fans that are in the podcasting world, ⁓ that are kind of just like shrugging and going, Well, surely we'll be great again at any moment because we're supposed to be great. ⁓ because we're upstate and everybody we were on game day. ⁓ but that that doesn't happen in this conference anymore. You've got to work for it. ⁓ but La La seems to realize that. So I think there's I I don't see from their fans in any way fans that are saying, Hey, this is owed to us, just come give it to us. They're saying, No, we've got to figure out how we actually make this happen. ⁓ and how we compete for eyeballs and support. ⁓ with the team across the bayous. So ⁓ and now we've added another team ⁓ in their state. So I think you're gonna see a la la team that continues and program that continues to get more aggressive to get back to where they were. ⁓ all right, let's put some picks on paper. Bass, how do we do against the Raging Cajuns? This will be the first conference loss of the season. ⁓ and and and I feel like it's gonna be a tight one. I feel it's gonna reminisce a lot of twenty twenty three where it's gonna come down to the last couple of minutes. ⁓ but I feel like I'm gonna give the edge to experience and depth ⁓ in Louisiana on this one. All right, Birdman, how about you? ⁓ man, I just I don't know if we told the fans this, but all of these picks, like we don't know this ahead of time. Right. Like I this is all coming up. I definitely wanna like because we're at the halfway point here, I'm like, hey, ⁓ because I also am picking us to lose this game, unfortunately, because I I don't see us having a winning streak until the late half of the season. Like like a consistent, like more than two game winning streak until the late half of the season. ⁓ you know, and so and I I think again, experience, but also just like we're coming off we're probably gonna come off a big win off of Southern Miss. We're gonna get a little cocky, we're gonna lose some of those fundamentals, and then all of a sudden, you know, we're gonna be on another another away trip there, you know. So ⁓ I don't think we'll pick back up momentum until we come back home in the next game. So I think this is gonna be a loss for us. ⁓ I don't think it's gonna be a big loss, but I maybe two scores. So well. Yeah, and like and and and continuing the concept of what you're saying is that I I feel like we're gonna get ourselves into a position of the schedule is gonna kind of get us too. You know, we have a really long gap, right, from Utah State to Southern Miss, and then we have another big kind of large gap again until we play this Louisiana Lafayette team. You know, so we're gonna have, you know, a a span of we're gonna play a game on the twenty-sixth and then the sixth and then the seventeenth. We're gonna have like a three and a half ish week stretch of only playing two games. So I I I feel like that that's gonna get us to a little bit and that we're not gonna be in the rhythm of playing ⁓ like we would traditionally mid season at this point. So I I feel like that that's another layer we need to talk about as well before we glaze over that. Well, all that I have to say as I make my pick and ⁓ just a little bit of logic behind it, ⁓ is that Troy can't help it if we're custom made. We can't help it if we're custom paid. We can't help it if we can dance all night. Troy wins this one. Big, big win against the Cajuns. We're gonna win big big So as as we get to the mid middle of the season, ⁓ you two traders have us at four and two. How dare you? ⁓ and I've got the Trojans at five and one. All right, fellas, time to get ready for game seven. We're turning the corner, heading to the back nine here. ⁓ Saturday, October twenty-fourth. Kickoff still to be announced, as they'll decide whether this belongs on an actual TV channel or ESPN plus. ⁓ we are going back to the vet ⁓ to play UL Monroe and the Warhawks. So thankfully, playing them in Troy, Alabama, not playing them in Monroe, ⁓ which Coach Blakeney always told us was like playing in quote, a haunted house. Not judgment houses. No, not Judgment House, ⁓ maybe. ⁓ but I have been to some games in Monroe and weird things do happen. So ⁓ glad to have them in Troy, Alabama, ⁓ where we were be safe from the bad juju. ⁓ the Warhawks are entering a crucial third season under Brian Vincent of ⁓ UAB fame. ⁓ the Warhawks have adopted new offensive and defensive systems and are relying heavily on transfers in junior college editions. I don't know if you guys remember or the listeners remember the UL game, ULM game last season was when they came down and they didn't have any specialists. They didn't have punters or field goal kickers. ⁓ so we kept having these weird moments where they were sitting in like, well, it's left guard used to kick in high school and come out and play. Yeah, look, Monroe is one of those teams that I'm just, you know, living an advocacy for that the FBS is just too big. They definitely and there's some folks that have said that. ⁓ you know, I mean, their former athletic director was athletic director at Troy. ⁓ and he resigned after he was asked to cut a fifteen million dollar a year budget. ⁓ and really probably if you're not gonna willing to spend more than fifteen million dollars a year on sports, ⁓ you probably shouldn't be part of our proud baseball conference. ⁓ all right, Bird, let's go ahead and find out a little bit about this Warhawk offense. What do you think? Absolutely. When I think of ULM, I think of ⁓ the CAC campus in Alexander City. ⁓ that's what it is. They are under new offensive coordinator, Jesse Montalto. He's looking to install a spread and run pass options system. Their offense will definitely want to create space space. Simplify spas. They will want to create space, simplify quarterback reads, and use a lot of tempo. ⁓ they definitely gotta improve after struggling with the overall efficiency and consistency in 2025. The Warhawks have definitely added junior college and transfer players to increase speed and at the skill positions, but like a very consistent theme, the offensive line, it remains a concern in the Sun Belt West for some reason. ⁓ their best opportunity may come through quarterback runs, option concepts, and short passes that neutralize Troy's pass rush. ⁓ yeah, so at this point, you know, what is ULM? You know, I I mean their offense, you know, maybe they'll produce something, maybe they want. ⁓ hopefully the defense is able to stall that. Look, I'm gonna cut into all of this and I'm gonna make this really short for all of us. Here we go. U L ⁓ is like that middle school team that you ain't never seen before. Whatever. Look BB Comer? They just they don't put the resources forward necessary in order to compete at this level. And and and and I'll I'll go ahead and just start with. Are you saying that the Sunbelt is a competitive level? Yes. Are we rising? You're firing. Look, I would say that ⁓ it it ⁓ I feel like the sunbelt is in a better position than the Pac twelve. The new Pac twelve is. Absolutely. I feel like it is you I feel like it has bigger brands. I feel like the Pac twelve has all of that. But I feel like from a a football playing, you know, I I feel like we're in a better position. So I ULM is just not at that standard. They're not at that level. They haven't been for a couple of years and it's only getting worse. they they have a new defensive coordinator, Tim Rafflett. he's installing a brand new system. So so you have a bunch of new guys putting in a brand new system with ⁓ offense that's not in a good position. I I just feel like Monroe is just not where the rest of us are. I I I feel like they're so far behind and I feel like they have been behind i in that they just need to to keep it simple, stupid, and they're just not doing it. And and and I I feel like that Monroe ha has really struggled to produce significant defensive returns in what they put in. And I feel like Bird said the same thing offensively. They've struggled to put in solid offensive returns. And I feel like Joe's gonna say the same thing here in just a couple of seconds about special teams. ⁓ I'm gonna keep it brief. This team is not as good as the rest of the Sun Belt. And I feel like this is gonna be an easy one for all of us. Yeah. ⁓ so on special teams, I'm gonna go ahead and agree with you. ULM is a shocker for the whatever year in a row, hot garbage. ⁓ and and unfortunately, it really does degrade the rest of the conference. Imagine if you were ⁓ it does. It makes it makes the West look bad. Like you have that on your resume. You play them every year. It makes the whole level look bad. Imagine if you were a Cincinnati fan and last year you were like, ⁓ Troy's playing ULM. Let me go see what that looks like. And what it looks like is them traipsing out their third string tight end to try to punt the ball and us just letting Joe like chase after him and nearly murder him. Like that was the up because their offense wasn't terrible. Brad Vincent's not a bad coach. He has done more with less. If you've coached at this UAB program. You've done more with less because there is no less. They literally cut the program. So like at the risk, at the risk of sounding like a baseball enthusiastic. Is this good agreeable? It's this like trading your starting pitcher for a position player to go out there and pitch the ninth inning. If your shortstop has to go out there in the ninth inning and try to and try to clean stuff up. I just don't see it getting better this year. That I mean Abram Murray is there. There's some excitement among ULM fans for him as a place kicker. I just don't see it being I don't think it's a stopgap measure enough. And there's nothing stopping him from if he sees that things aren't going well. Let's say that ULM at the point that they're playing us is two and four. Why would Abram Murray not say, Mm, I think I'm gonna just keep my red shirt and and go play somewhere else? So I I think they're they're in the same bad position they were in last year. And it creates a bad product. For us as fans, it creates a bad product for people to see, and it creates a bad product for the poor people of Monroe. I've been to Monroe. It's not a terrible town. ⁓ you know, but I mean, let's let's give ⁓ a let's give ⁓ something they can be proud of. And this isn't it. I'm about to give you like aliens conspiracy theory moment here. Okay, here we go. Have we brought LaTeX on to drop Monroe? ⁓ I think so. I think that's the I've always believed let's go ahead We're gonna open the can of words. Hey on hey on hey on let's go ahead and break it down. Do what are their wings like? Stop. Yeah, I mean Rustin's fine. I think that I think stop. I think LaTeX was the whole idea was we're gonna replace Texas State, bird's favorite school, obviously. But then we also back we we We keep Louisiana as a two team state because ULM is eventually just gonna say we cannot afford to play Division One A football. Right. And then it will give us the opportunity to go grab Western Kentucky or Middle Tennessee State. Or Jacksonville State. How dare you? I would rather Middle Tennessee. I mean, like and they're in the C USA too. They don't make as much money as they do if they moved at the Sunbelt and they're a better team, clearly. Nice for one Whoop whoop jack state. Yeah, I d yeah, I don't know about that, but I do think you are right. I think Keith Gill and company were looking and going, eventually Monroe is just not gonna be. And their division one has ⁓ requirements. You have to sell a certain number of tickets to continue being a Division One A program. You don't have to have people in attendance, but Wiley Sanders or the like for whatever your program is has to buy. 12,000 tickets. The city of Birmingham for ⁓ UAB buys tens of thousands of tickets. ⁓ and that's what allows them to stay as a Division I program. Because if you go to a game, you quickly realize they don't have 10 fans, let alone 10,000 fans. ⁓ all right, a quick question before we get this ⁓ the picks on the paper. ⁓ can the Warhawks new system make them dangerous or is the roster still too limited? Nope. This is a great question because I imagine this like season six and season seven of The Office, whenever Michael Scott left, and then Andy and then Andy and then Andy Bernard took over. Just because it's a new system doesn't mean that they're great at all. I mean, he went on a three month boat trip and they did great without him. ⁓ so I I don't think new systems mean anything because at that point we could say that Jared Parker is a Hundred percent fantastic coach. Look The truck is so been out of shape that a new transmission ain't gonna make her run better. ⁓ th this ain't it. No. They need an alignment, they need you know rotate and balance. You need to send that thing to scrap and take the cash and move on. They're still using AOL chap features like Yeah, if you if you want an office quote for U L ⁓ the quote is I didn't say bankruptcy. I declared it. Yeah. That is what that is what they are doing. ⁓ so all right, let's go ahead and get some picks down. Gentlemen, bass. How do the Trojans do against these mighty war hawks? They're gonna win bigly. Excellent. Love it. Birdman, how we doing? I need this to be a cushion before what's coming next. Like before the push. A cushion before the push in. I think that's a great way to describe it. So like I'm gonna call this a W for us. Hopefully our offense or defense at this point, we are well established. Y'all are both idiots. Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and give a win as well. ⁓ and hope that everyone just fast forwards through that. ⁓ all right, let's go ahead and move on to game eight. ⁓ we have got the James Madison University Dukes. If you haven't heard of them, just ask any of their fans. They'll be happy to tell you over and over again how great they are. ⁓ we are gonna play them another midweek game Thursday, October 29th. ⁓ 6:30 Central Time, 7:30 ⁓ over there on the East Coast for our good friend Pete. ⁓ located in Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia. ⁓ so this is a rematch of the 2025 Sunbelt Championship game. ⁓ James Madison enters a new era under Florida head coach Billy Napier, ⁓ but remains, ⁓ at least in the public's consideration, one of the Sunbelt's most talented programs. ⁓ although obviously they were picked ⁓ by a smaller margin to win their ⁓ their division. ⁓ and they are excited, of course, to potentially throw some streamers ⁓ as they score against ⁓ the Trojans. ⁓ Birdman, go ahead, talk about this Dukes offense that we're gonna see on a Thursday night. Look, the Dukes offense, I and this is probably gonna be a hard topic for our listeners, but like if you've read Dungeon Crawler Carl, it's just like the AI, it's just like he like that is JMU. It's like they mold to whatever is going on. They try to put themselves where they fit and they try to def defend whatever's happening based on other people's successes and failures. And and I I don't want to talk good about them, but they are a solid contender in ⁓ you know the Sun Belt. I mean they they Napier is bringing a structured multiple offense that emphasizes the running game. ⁓ something that we have struggled with the past couple of seasons. They have a lot of pay play action and controlled quarterback decisions. ⁓ in they they gotta replace several stars. ⁓ but They are coming from a unit that averaged more than thirty seven points per game in twenty twenty five after replacing those stars. So it's a it's kind of hit or miss here. We don't know what is gonna happen productively for them. ⁓ they've used a transfer portal to rebuild their quarterback and skill position groups. You know, transfer portal can be hit or miss. I mean Troy, it looks like we ⁓ did a really good job, but that doesn't mean we're actually gonna be successful on that end with those guys that we've brought in. Again, talking about the senior quarterback we brought in versus, you know, is he gonna start versus qu ⁓ versus Goose Crowder. Like we like we don't we we don't know. Transfer transfer portal is a coin flip. ⁓ we can definitely expect him to use multiple tight ends, shift, and motions to create favorable matchups. So we're probably going to see a lot of audibles throughout the season. They're probably going to switch things up as, you know, during you know big game time decisions. Their atmosphere, it's a high tempo. It's very effective. I mean they they are a big win and they they're a winner, you know, like they're a good program that we're gonna fight, you know, and and and I think they're they're a contender also as well in the Troy ⁓ you know championship I mean I mean sorry, Sunbelt Championship. I just automatically assume Troy's gonna be in the championship always. for ⁓ for those who, you know, are mad at me for picking Texas State to lose ⁓ or win, whatever your preference is. You love the Blackcats, dude. But their offense might not be explosive this year. You know, I'm sure people at Sunbelt Syndicate will definitely agree disagree with that. You know, they like they're not gonna be as explosive. ⁓ but I think it's gonna be physical. I mean, it's gonna be, you know, you know, the the middle of the you know, after the middle of the season, they've picked up a few things, they've learned a few things, they're g they're probably getting into a rhythm too. This is gonna be a competitive game. You know, what our chances look like versus what we played, you know, I mean when we played in the championship game, like we sh we should have done better. I remember being I remember where I was when we played that game. I was in the waiting room as my wife was having surgery watching that game because that was the most important thing on my mind at that time. ⁓ so if you're a Troy fan and you aren't doing that, you're not a Troy fan. But like but but th those the I I remember watching that game and thinking, wow, why did we do that? And in and and I don't think we lost that game because we couldn't win, but because we just made very poor decisions in the wrong time. ⁓ so offensively. If James Madison gets the handle over us on defense early in the game, I think it's gonna be a bad a bad day. But defensively, if we are able to establish some dominance, they might not be that big of a big deal as we have previously encountered them in previous seasons. So that's what all I have to say about James Madison. All right, ⁓ all right. Bass, tell us a little bit about this Dukes defense. Yeah, the last year they were really good. ⁓ JMU finished fifth nationally in total defense and rushing defense. ⁓ they got a new coordinator with Billy Napier coming in, you know, get the whole reset with the coaching staff. So Robert Bala is gonna inherit a difficult task of replacing their production, being one of the best in the nation. ⁓ you know, ⁓ historically James Madison has been really consistent on the line. And that that's provided their defense the opportunity to get their opposing offense off the field and let their offense shine. And that's why James Madison has historically been in the last couple of years a really good team. They're a three and outer, let their offense lob the ball, points, streamers, rinse, repeat. And that's why they become what they become. ⁓ and that's what got us there at the end of the end of the game or end of the game last year. Right. W we were in a really good spot and then about I don't know what, five, six, seven min minutes left in the game. that they finally appeared and did what they traditionally do. Really stout on defense, force turnovers, three and outs, lob balls, score points. And that's my concern with James Madison right now. Is Billy Napier gonna complete or ⁓ repeat what they've done historically and keep that schematic alive or is he gonna come in with the Billy Napier set up and do his own thing? Remains to be seen. ⁓ they had they've lost some really big and important defenders though to the portal. ⁓ w which is to be expected. Their coach leaves for Greener Pastures, they're gonna follow him out. ⁓ defensively, they should still be aggressive, though. If Billy Napier maintains that that thought and look for James Madison, which I'm sure somebody's already told him this is what we expect, this is what we want to see. ⁓ they're gonna remain aggressive, they're gonna remain physical, they're gonna remain focused, they're gonna control the line of scrimmage. ⁓ you know, so Troy has got to prepare for the pressure that they're gonna provide. They've got to prepare ⁓ For defenders attacking from different ⁓ angles and levels. this game is going to throw fits at us. That this is gonna be a game that our offense has got to be really locked in on and be ⁓ a well-oiled machine at this point. ⁓ and I'm concerned that coming off of the loss of potentially Lafay ⁓ Lafayette and then Monroe being kind of a get right game, but it's not really gonna be because they're gonna be you know, a waste of space. We're not r we're not really gonna get to fine tune for this game. And and so I I I'm I'm worried about our O line versus D line matchup ⁓ or their D line matchup. That those are things that I'm worried about. what did we talk about earlier? We s how many how what percentage of their roster has JMU lost over the last year? Do you remember what that was? There was a high percentage. It it was a lot. I mean it wasn't it wasn't Southern Mist when they did. No, it it's no they have so it's roughly seventy percent. Yeah. Roughly seventy percent is new. ⁓ which which we kind of come to expect, right? We we we did that whenever we lost ⁓ all of our previous coaches, Chip Lindsay included. We we you have a big loss of returning production, especially after making a national championship bout. You know, that they did make the college football playoff, which allows those those kids to brand themselves a little better and find their way to another school. ⁓ but I I really I really feel like James Madison has a culture built in deep enough that new players are gonna come in and be able to fit into the fold because they know exactly what they want and they're gonna get those players. You know? And and I feel like Lafayette's kind of in the same boat, but they're not quite that deep. ⁓ So i I I feel like my concern is that this team, even though they're relatively new, they're relatively fresh, I feel like that they're gonna be just as competitive as they have been historically. ⁓ and and evidence against the Trojans proves the same. We've only played ⁓ twice since they've joined the conference and both times was a loss. Once was a heartbreaker at home, sixteen to fourteen. I very vividly remember that loss. ⁓ and then of course last year. in in the in the playoff or ⁓ the the conference championship game. So, I I feel like defensively I expect them to return and be stout again. ⁓ and so I that's a concern for me is are are we gonna be able to match up offensively against that that quality defense that I expect to see. Yeah, you know on special teams ⁓ JMU has sin in their time ⁓ been the most dependable team in the Sun Belt. ⁓ you know, they play to ⁓ create favorable field position. I don't see that that changes. There's gonna be some new names in the specialist ⁓ department, but ⁓ I think that that that remains just kind of a strong ⁓ area for them. ⁓ and I'm not sure given our situation and who our athletes are ⁓ that we can make kind of ⁓ huge hay out of that. You know, maybe if if Juwan Boyd or something starts having a huge year in front of in in terms of returns. ⁓ maybe that becomes a big thing, but I don't know. ⁓ before we lodge our picks on this, which this is probably the most important game of the season, I think. I I mean definitely if we if we do not take care of this Louisiana Lafayette team, this is this is a huge game on our schedule. So my my question to both of you before we do the picks is ⁓ you know, when the winner of this game, ⁓ does that team become the standard of the sunbelt. Obviously JMU feels like they're the standard. ⁓ they went and got boat raced by Oregon and they're very proud of it. ⁓ but I mean, but since the time they've come in, it's either been us or them. ⁓ and even last year when, you know, they talked down to us so badly, we were still, you know, the clock went off. We had sixty minutes to the championship. We could have won it. ⁓ so, you know, does the team that walks out of this contest in a midweek bout take with it being the standard of the Sunbelt. Well, I mean, let's talk about standard. You know, JMU, what, they're three seasons into the Sunbelt. Like like like can we consider them a standard contender? It's like where Troy's been in the Sun Belt for what? You know, like for a long time. Like I'd two years. Yeah, I mean, like we we have consistently played, you know D one football. Like like we we we are consistently competitive. We've we've been in the conversation forever. Like we've been in the conversation forever. And except for that that dark era twenty fifteen. But also it's it's like when we rank Troy as the West contender versus JMU in the E like I mean, there's I I think if you look at the big details there, like there's a difference in why we're ranking JMU versus why we're ranking Troy. Obviously we've got a terrible West schedule of ahead of us. Like those teams are very different versus the teams that JMU are playing. But also Troy has never not been in the talk of contention for anything in the entire time that we've been in school. Like you know what I mean? Like like like I I and when we talk we go back to experience and records, it's like, you know, J is James Madison the standard? I would never put them at the standard, even like Even if I wasn't a Troy fan, I wouldn't put them at the standard because what if they just come in, they're trying to take advantage of a really weak team of teams that are in the Sunbelt right now. You know, you know what I mean? The West is very down. The West is very down. And I and I'm I'm gonna be the hated person here. Yes. I I feel like if James Madison wins this game, I feel like that they're gonna be able to say that they are the bell cow. Because in the West In the West, it's been Louisiana and Troy for a while, Arkansas State for that little blip of excellence for them. ⁓ they would have beaten us three times in a row. Once at home and or well this would be twice now, right? 'Cause they come to us. Twice at home and once there. And I feel like that that that will matter. ⁓ and I feel like that they're gonna take advantage of a down west season in that respect. I I feel like most people have always pegged the East as being the better side than the West, like most pundits, like not us. I've always viewed the West as actually being the better side. Forever. I I've always thought that this is actually the better side. We're the more down nose blue blood football over here and they're like the more money new football. And this might be the year where I actually flip and I say the East is actually probably the better side. And and if James Madison takes care of us, that will solidify that and it'll be done. So I I I feel like, yeah, I feel like this game will actually matter. i in respects to the overall image of the Sun Belt. ⁓ but if Troy takes care of business, ⁓ then I feel like the conversation continues. There's parody in the conference. You know that yeah, I I I wanted to talk about it and we never really had the opportunity in our script. I know. But I feel like I feel like the parody in our conference is there's a lot of highs and there's a lot of lows. There's not a lot of middle ground. ⁓ this year, which is not normal. There there's usually a very good gradient of football in our conference. But this year I feel like there's a big split. And I don't know if that's because of the NIL era that we're in. I don't know if it's the transfer portal. I don't know if it's a combination of the two. but I really feel like if James Madison takes care of business in this game and it's convincing that'll be two years in a row, they convincingly took care of Troy, there's a chance they'll face us again. And and and it I I feel like that if we put ourselves in the position of being behind the back foot on this game, we're gonna go into that game potentially again being in the back foot. So I yes, I feel like them winning this game convincingly would put them as the standard. If it's close, we could debate it. But if it's convincing, yeah, I think that even with the new coaching staff, I I feel like this will be a standard game for them. Yeah, I'm gonna side with you, Bess. I you know, I think I think this is a huge game. ⁓ I think Keith Gill would tell you that he wakes up in cold sweats thinking about this game. Because ⁓ if JMU is able to dominate this football game, then their narrative about well, we joined the Sunbelt, but we're just we're so far ahead. ⁓ I don't believe that's the case, but I think they could make that the case with a win. So ⁓ Troy has some added ⁓ added responsibility here to see what we're gonna do. ⁓ let's put some picks down on paper. ⁓ all right, how do the Trojans do against the Dukes? Bass. This is gonna be the most important conference game of the regular season. I I feel like this is a preview game for the championship game. ⁓ I I feel like this game being on the road matters. I I feel like this is gonna be a tight game no matter where we played this one. Unfortunately, I feel like being on the road, the history of the team last year, playing them at home on the road, keeping it close and losing at the very end. I feel like all of that's gonna weigh us down just a tad. And I'm worried and concerned that we're gonna take the L on this one. ⁓ I don't like saying it. I don't want to say it, but I feel like Billy Napier's first run against the Trojans ⁓ is gonna feel reminiscent of the Billy Napier era. when he play when he was the coach at Louisiana against the Trojans. I feel like this is gonna be a really tight loss up in Virginia once again. So I'm gonna take the L for the Trojans and I feel like this loss in conjunction with my Louisiana loss is potentially gonna take us out of the conference championship race. Goodness gracious. All right, Birdman, big step to take. What do you think is gonna happen? Yeah, I mean, honestly at this point, I mean we talked about like the schedule and like how impactful it is, ⁓ you know, based on like what we're gonna get out of this season. ⁓ I do think this is gonna be a loss for our Trojans though. Like it's just gonna be a tough team. It's gonna like like we don't travel well, unfortunately. ⁓ and maybe hopefully I go back, you know, and you know, in a couple of weeks and I'm like, hey, like I've completed completely changed my positioning. We're not professional prognosticators here. ⁓ but I do think this is gonna be a loss for us before we go into ⁓ you know, the last quarter of our season. ⁓ I I just don't think we're gonna be able to maintain consistency, unfortunately there. And JMU's is going to be a good squad. They just they just they just they just know how they're going to be able to attack us even with you know fifty to seventy percent of their roster gone. Like Billy Napier is going to do a really good job of making sure they're prepared for this game ⁓ because they want that Sunbelt title. ⁓ yeah so I'm I'm I'm calling a loss here, but I haven't lost hope for the Trojan season's overall success after this. Yeah. ⁓ so I you know I am I am more confident. I I think JMU has hidden really well for a long time what happens to a program at the Division One A level. I think this is the season where they stop being able to hide it. ⁓ and so I have so much faith in how good a team we're gonna be. I'm putting a W down. That's a win for the Trojans, ⁓ and setting up, I think, a really interesting championship game potentially. ⁓ Alright, so let's go ahead and move on ⁓ to game nine. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Saturday, November seventh, coming into the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy. Boys, it's Hoko. Woo! It's time. Yeah, it's time to time to drink some Uzo, go down to Pete's package store. This is crazy. It's a quality weekend. It'll be a little bit cooler. We're entering or we're bringing in a new conference opponent. Amen. This is gonna be fun. Find yourself on the way down to Pell Avenue. and just, you know, have yourself a Flanders burger and enjoy yourself. ⁓ because homecoming is the time we all come together on the mighty walls of Troy. ⁓ and this year we are going to be sacrificing Bulldogs as our ⁓ most game. ⁓ this is the first meeting. ⁓ between Troy and Louisiana Tech ⁓ and the Bulldogs first season as a Sunbelt member. ⁓ La Tech is rebuilding after significant offseason changes and must adjust quickly to the new conference. We all understand ⁓ how that is. ⁓ all right so Bird go ahead talk about this Bulldogs offense for the first time ever. ⁓ man Bulldogs Louisiana Tech they've got a lot of ⁓ need for substantial production replacements at quarterback and the skill positions. They definitely want to use a lot of spread formations and play at a controlled but occasionally quick tempo. So they're definitely going to try to throw in some of that. Finding a dependable quarterback is going to be a big preseason question for them. I mean again, what is this common theme that we're seeing here? It's like it's crazy the backfield, like who's under center? Like a lot of teams are dealing with this right now. I feel like every year is so different. It's so different. Like even like when we started doing this what six years ago. Yep. I I feel like year to year, each year has getting has got getting gotten more ⁓ varied. It's it's ins it's insane. The variables are ridiculous. I like the consistency has dropped dramatically year to year. And I feel like we're now at the point to where teams at our level, the group of five level. The it the the initial purpose of the transfer portal was not us to the G four or power four or whatever. It was like FCS to FBS. Like that was the initial intent. And I feel like we've now gotten to the point to where any and everybody is transferring every season just because we can transfer. Yeah. And and I feel like that that is really a detriment to our level of football. And that is become gonna become a common theme. In that every year that we do this, we are gonna be constantly playing whack-a-mole. It's gonna get worse. Absolutely. I mean, it's just a chance that we're taking. I mean, Louisiana Tech, they have a lot of speed at receiver. They definitely want to create some, you know, problematic ⁓ matchups there if the quarterback play is stable. Once again, like we're we're looking at that quarterback variable here. ⁓ they've got a lot of offensive line consistency issues they need to be able to figure out and they needed a lot more dependable running game. ⁓ but you can expect a lot of short passes and screen to be used because their run game is probably not gonna be the best. So defensively, I feel like our ⁓ you know, linebackers and maybe even our strong safeties are gonna be very f ⁓ you know, a formidable, you know, opponent for them. But I mean, I I'm not super worried about their offense at this point because they're in such a rebuilding phase, like versus, you know, us we've got a lot of depth going on at the at offense right now based on the transfer portal. We're just work kinda worried about that quarterback. We can still make some production even if we have a s you know, below average quarterback play happening there if our offensive line can kind of stay up. So ⁓ Louisiana Tech, welcome to the conference. Let's see what happens. You know. There that that might be the phrase. Let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. Yeah. So ⁓ so Bass, you're like a mailman right now. You got a bulldog nipping at your heels. ⁓ tell me what you think about the Bulldog defense. Yeah, they've added ⁓ some transfers to help rebuild the line in the secondary for them from last season. ⁓ the Bulldogs, you know, ⁓ depth is gonna be their concern, which is gonna be a most people's concern with the transfer portal like we just talked about. ⁓ the Sunbelt schedule might be something that they're not prepared for. I I feel like people who are not educated in college football would say that the C USA and the Sunbelt are in the same league. We are not. ⁓ I feel like the Sun Belt has far more depth than the C USA. ⁓ I feel like the C USA is arguably the worst conference in college football. ⁓ and so they're gonna move from that level to this level where they were middle of the pack at best in the C USA. They're gonna move up to this level and you know, they're gonna struggle. And so I I feel like that they're gonna have some some growing pains this season. ⁓ defensively, they've gotta be able to improve ⁓ the ability to prevent explosive plays. Yeah. I I I feel like if our offense is doing the things that we expected to do, like we talked about at the top of the episode, they're gonna struggle. ⁓ the Bulldogs are going to ⁓ really gonna need to ⁓ address tackling. They're gonna need to address communication. They're gonna address ⁓ the line, openness in space, the secondary like there's a lot of layers and variables that they are not quite as prepared for coming into this as they would have been in the C USA because I feel like that they have rebuilt a C USA team to be a C USA team. They have not built a C USA team to be competitive in the Sun Belt, let alone against a team that is gonna be one of the top two in their division. ⁓ so with that, I feel like that they're gonna be extremely limited on defense and that ⁓ if we can put again a a quality offensive scheme, we're gonna be completely fine against this team defensively. Yeah, you know, on special teams, they haven't decided a starter, a kicker or punter. ⁓ you know, they're still kind of in the middle, as you said, of of getting their roster together, ⁓ for what's gonna be a much tougher Sunbelt schedule. So I I don't predict anything that's gonna shock us. You know, I don't think anybody's gonna come out here and be kicking field goals from sixty five yards. ⁓ a and they're coming to us on homecoming. So it's gonna be a great environment. ⁓ I think what we have to do is just make sure ⁓ that we don't lose lose contain ⁓ on some of those types of plays. So ⁓ one question before we put our picks down, ⁓ gentlemen, could Louisiana Tech eventually become one of Troy's natural Sunbelt rivals? Geographically makes sense. Also, I'm tired of Louisiana. What is going on here? Like we're playing three teams on our schedule this year. We just talked about how we're gonna ditch one in a couple of years. But but but ⁓ but I mean come on. I mean, I I feel like so. I mean, like what happens when you come over into this division? Like you find I mean, look at JMU, like they immediately were somebody we were looking at. Yeah. Like, you know, you know what I mean? Like But like when we said we were adding Louisiana Tech, I was I was pleased that it was in the geographic footprint. I was pleased that it made sense financially for all the institutions, particularly in our division. I was slightly disappointed at their caliber of literally all of their athletics. Everything. And they're not baseball school. They're I mean what their basketball teams okay? No, they're not great. No, okay, great. So I'm I'm sitting here struggling to figure out what what they bring to the table. Have you heard of something called the Bubba's Cup? They're gonna do great at Do you like the long jump? It's very important. Anyway. No. I I don't feel like that they're gonna be a a a natural rival fit. I feel like they're just gonna be another team in the West that we play. You know, kind of akin to Monroe or even Lafayette for that matter. Like I don't think that they're truly a rival in my mind. ⁓ like they're a team we play annually. And I feel like that's what La or LaTeX gonna be. ⁓ on another note, their schedule coming into this is quite brutal. ⁓ you know, ⁓ they're gonna play LSU, then Baylor, then Army, then La La, then Monroe, then an old Dominion, and then USA and then us. Like that's kind of a gauntlet. You know, ⁓ Monroe is gonna be a a a breath of air. USA potentially, because they're in a mega rebuild right now. But beyond that, they're gonna be beat to death coming into Veterans Memorial Stadium on homecoming midday hostile home environment, hopefully. I it I just I do not feel the rivalry vibes. I feel this is gonna be the high thank you. We will see you next year vibes. Yeah, you agree, Bird? Yeah, I mean I I I mean again, you know, we don't know. Like like we'll see what happens. ⁓ I mean And it's good to see new teams coming into the conference and switching things up a little bit. But also like why's everybody, you know, want to be the Sun Belt all of a sudden? Like I I I 'cause we're a good conference. We are a good conference, you know, and and it's just one of those things too. It's like people think they can compete and then they come and play us and they're like, ⁓ well, we weren't expecting this level, you know, and I just hope the fans kinda c stay consistent with that. I hope our fan base is able to kinda do that, especially for a homecoming game. ⁓ and I do feel like schedule wise we scheduled this game particularly for a reason. Like, you know, like we we're not gonna schedule LA Monroe or Raging Cajuns or Southern Mist for this game this year because why wouldn't we pick on the new the newbie in the in the conference? So I I I think there's a lot of validity to that. Yeah, you know what I mean? It's it's like you know, this what was that? What one year we scheduled app state for homecoming or something? I was like at the year after we beat them in the or they lost out in the the conference championship or whatever, I'm like, that was a terrible decision. Like, why would you do that? You know, I think we're making smart decisions right now besides money. You know, like I think we're making smart decisions. And if LA Tech is coming in and we're gonna like, you know, that's gonna be our win. I hope I if we win any game this year, besides, you know, that school down there that works at Foo Sackles, like I hope that it's this one. You know, if if we win those two games then I'm gonna be pretty happy about it. So Yeah, ⁓ I I agree. I I think it's the same kind of as what happened with Southern Mess. People kind of worked us into this idea of ⁓ this rivalry and it doesn't happen that way. So, you know, if we play La Tech over the next five years and every game is decided by three points or less and there are dirty hits and there's targeting calls and there's all that, then you know what? You're gonna see a rivalry, ⁓ because it'll just develop. You can't just say like, Well, you guys are close to each other. You know, so you'll be a rival. ⁓ most Troy fans and alums do not deal with Louisiana Tech alums on a daily basis. I I don't know anybody who went to Louisiana Tech. So like that's I think that's the big difference. It's much easier to kind of manufacture a rivalry when it's a regional school where it's like, Yeah, I got people in my office that went to that school mobile. So I'm very happy to like buy into that rivalry. But I don't have anybody who went to La Tech, so I don't care about it. But we'll see what happens. ⁓ let's put some picks down on paper, gentlemen. Bass, how are we gonna do against the Bulldogs? Yeah, we'll take care of this. Hoko 2026 is gonna be a fun one to the porch. Nice birdman. Absolutely. I mean, the porch, double branch, whatever y whatever your preference is there. Like I I think we're gonna be celebrating somewhere after this because I mean, it's homecoming. Why wouldn't you root for homecoming win? Like ⁓ you know Let's put the let's let's welcome the LA Tech team to the Sun Belt the proper way. All right. I'm gonna go ahead and and pick a win as well. ⁓ I also love that you continually call them LA Tech. I think that is proficient and like Los Angeles. Los Angeles Technology School. Yeah. Like like Robert Downey Jr. went to school there or something, you know. Like All right, guys. Last three games up. ⁓ game ten. We are going to play ⁓ that school in Mobile. Saturday, November 14th. Kickoff is not yet decided. It is going to be at Hancock Whitney Stadium. ⁓ and it is the battle for the belt, in case you were not aware. so obviously, this is one of our most emotional games. ⁓ the team in Mobile was picked near the top of the Sun Belt West. ⁓ they put a lot of players on the all conference teams. ⁓ but you know, we've we've seen that before and walked away with a victory. So ⁓ Birdman, why don't you talk to us about this foo crew offense? Look, look, I this is this is the one part of our podcast that I absolutely hate that people are like ⁓ well, we want to know what's good about South Alabama, blah, blah, blah. Like there's nothing We wanna know something good about South Alabama getting accepted and not going. Yeah, exactly. Like I mean, like they wanna operate a balanced attack with an emphasis on explosive plays. Great. Every football team wants to do that. Maybe you should do something a little bit different. ⁓ they've recruited and developed athletic receivers who can stretch the field. I doubt it, because most of their portal comes from Gadsden. ⁓ they're establishing a very consistent QB play. I mean, I don't know what consistent means to them, but based on our game last year, they weren't able to beat us in overtime, so whatever. they want to use a lot of motion and formations to isolate at skill players, but skill is definitely something that they shouldn't include in the vo vocabulary. I mean, like they can just To go outside and say it's raining and they get a meteorologist degree. Do they know what skill is? I don't think so. Like that's not in their Wikipedia searches whatsoever. ⁓ they they they are gonna attempt to test Troy horizontally with screens, but I don't know if they know how to operate a screen within the twentieth century. ⁓ so they're just gonna be taking a lot of vertical shots hoping that it something hits. Like the screen that's on your window. Like the screen that's on their window. ⁓ but Mostly at this point, Troy is gonna have to prevent their quarterback from extending drives with scrambles. I'm not gonna talk positively about any of their players or highlight anybody because anybody that chooses to go to South Alabama automatically just registers as the next Zack Spee's head chef. So when whatever look like I'm I would never count the Trojans against this. This offense, South Alabama offense is freaking terrible. They're not gonna be able to come on on us. I don't care what the stats say. This is a Big win for our defense, and hopefully we score six or seven touchdowns on these fools. Absolutely. ⁓ so Bass, these guys from Mobile, talk to us about the defense. Are they gonna be for real or are they gonna be like ⁓ Myler trying to download yet another copy of an Avril Levine album? Yeah, the Jags. ⁓ they returned some experienced defenders, ⁓ which I mean is like returning for your eighth year as fry cook and getting promoted to line lead. It's it's it's really not that important for them. ⁓ you're a shift leader you're now the shift leader. You get a new badge. ⁓ the Jaguars should be strongest on the secondary ⁓ which I mean again is like having a again an eighth year fry cook getting moved up to line lead. It's just it's the same kind of experience there. ⁓ You know, that the the only thing that I feel like their defense is quality at is providing speed. They're providing pressure. and so like they they can play disruptor. So I I feel like if we have a quality O line that provides an opportunity for someone in the backfield, ⁓ to move up in the gap and get a couple yards every now and again, then we we quick little dump pass and we we get first down. I I feel like we'll be fine. ⁓ but we cannot allow the Mobile Knight crew the opportunity to ⁓ prevent us from having first downs. I feel like first down is gonna matter a lot for us offensively and I feel like the way that we respond on the O line is gonna matter tremendously. ⁓ so defensively, like I said, they have a couple new player or experienced players coming back and ⁓ the way we control them is gonna matter tremendously. Yeah, I ⁓ I thought you meant that ⁓ there were some players who were literally delivering speed. ⁓ so you know on ⁓ in the City of Mobile on ⁓ Mob City On ⁓ special teams, I am not that concerned. ⁓ I'm not gonna tell you the names of anyone battling for these positions. Imagine finding yourself at a position in life where you are battling to be the punter at the worst school in the history of the world. one quick question before we put some picks down. ⁓ and this is an interesting one. ⁓ does the battle for the belt now mean more to that school in Mobile than it does to Troy? I I mean Honestly, I feel like this is a game that Troy should look at as like winnable. Like we we shouldn't even like give them the time of day. Like this like the battle of the belt, like you know, like it's not a battle. It's like we're just making sure that we're renewing our subscription every year. Like at this point, like this It's like the email. It's like the email you get. Yeah. It's like in fourteen days. Hey, don't respond if you want to leave it the same. Ex Exactly. Yeah. And and I I mean, you know, South Alabama is, you know, I h even hate to say their name. You we're gonna continuously like it's gonna be a rivalry, you know, the for the rest of our lives. You know, like I I highly doubt we'll ever not be, you know, big opponents against them. And I it might mean more because that's the only game of the season that they feel like they can prove themselves. You know, even if they went eleven and one and that was the only game that they lost against was us, like they would still feel like they had a terrible season because they didn't beat Troy. ⁓ so it probably does mean more to them because they have nothing else to live for. Look, I feel like means more does not mean means less for us, right? I I I feel like that because that they have not been as dominant in this rivalry compared to us, I I feel like that that's gonna make it mean more to them and that each individual win over the mass of our entire rivalry is gonna actually mean more game to game. But I feel like also for me as a t as a loyal Troy fan, and I feel like most Troy fans. This game is the one you circle as the rivalry game we play annually right now. Okay. I feel like fans of the past would say UAB. Fans even more past would say J E S U. Gross. And ⁓ you know, Middle Tennessee State at one point was also in the middle of all that for the Battle of the Palladium. ⁓ so ⁓ I feel like that just because we don't lose as often as they do. It doesn't mean the game means less to me, but I feel like to them this game might mean more because that one win, just like as we have seen in the postseason last year with Jacksonville State, that one win has meant more to them than it has the entirety of our entire relationship and rivalry as a college football fan base than anything that has happened in the last forty five years. ⁓ so I th that's my position on this. I feel like it yes, it means more to them now than it did. before, but it doesn't mean less to me just because it means more to them. Yeah. No, I I I feel the same way. ⁓ obviously, you know, five games from now, if it's 15 to 4, I I think we revisit it and you start to go, how do people really feel? You know, did our choice people really is invested, but I don't think we're there quite yet. ⁓ let's put some picks down in writing, gentlemen. The Battle of the Belt, Bass. How's it gonna go? This is a win. All right. Birdman, how you feeling? I'll I'll never pick South Alabama over Troy. Like it's always gonna be Troy. ⁓ so yeah, let's go, Trojans. Let's get the let's continue to keep the belt at home. Perfect. I am going with a win as well. I think South has a lot of changes going on, and I don't think they're gonna be ready for this Trojan squad. All right, let's head into the 11th game. Getting close to the end of the season here, the Georgia Southern Eagles, a school where only the worst kind of people have relatives or friends that attend. They are coming in on Saturday, November 21st. Gonna be getting a little cool in Veterans Memorial Stadium. ⁓ Georgia Southern enters an important season under Clay Hilton. ⁓ the Eagles should have dangerous quarterback play. ⁓ but they are also rebuilding significant portions of their receiving core and defense. Boy, I feel like it has been just ⁓ rebuilding forever since Clay Helton has gotten there to Statesboro. so Bird, go ahead, tell us what you think ⁓ about this Eagles offense. Yeah, ⁓ veteran quarterback Max Johnson definitely gives them ⁓ one of the most experienced passers here in the conference. ⁓ Johnson has the size and arm strength to attack. every area of the field, something we as a Troy quarterback is not used to. ⁓ backup Weston Bryant also gives the Eagles a capable option if Johnson is unavailable. ⁓ running back our backfield definitely has changed but should be ⁓ you know still pretty productive. ⁓ receiver is gonna be a big question for us though, although Josh Dallas definitely is returning from injury. ⁓ I think Georgia Southern is going to spread the field and throw frequently ⁓ but we're gonna have to protect against Johnson against ⁓ Joy Troy's pressure so ⁓ I don't know. I mean, I don't think this is gonna be a hard game for us, you know, defensively, but offensively they definitely have some weapons, so we're just gonna have to be careful what we're doing and make make sure we're maintaining coverage in all the areas. All right, Bass, what do you think about the Eagles defense? Yeah, ⁓ they have a brand new ⁓ defensive coordinator, Austin Armstrong, coming to us from Stephen F. Austin. ⁓ previously, ⁓ at the F F C S level, they led ⁓ the nation in tackles for loss. ⁓ and they were third ⁓ against the run in tenth and sacks. ⁓ Armstrong is extremely experienced, ⁓ bringing a a very aggressive style of defense into whatever team he's working with, which is what we expect to see now from S ⁓ Georgia Southern as he comes into them. ⁓ linebacker Brandon Tyson, ⁓ he's returning ⁓ after recording eighty-four tackles and generating ⁓ just ⁓ regular and frequent pressure against the teams that he plays against. The Eagles are going to need to work a little bit harder though. They're a little s sluggish against the Rush. ⁓ which is kind of weird because this team has historically been an option team and here of late that they have they have moved away from that. ⁓ so Georgia Southern historically has been a really good team against the Rush because that's what they see every day in practice, right? ⁓ so ⁓ i that's something that Georgia Southern's gonna have to address ⁓ pretty quickly. ⁓ i is fixing games against the rush. ⁓ so this new scheme may be ⁓ a little more productive, ⁓ and and provide more negative ⁓ offensive plays against who they're coming up against. But that that remains to be seen. I I feel like we're gonna know more as we get closer to this game with it being late in the season. We're gonna have more film to see, we're gonna have more ⁓ data and numbers to see going into this game. But ⁓ Looking at what we've seen in the past, the Georgia Southern defense is something we should be able to take care of and it'd be simple. ⁓ but if Austin Armstrong brings in schemes that we know that he has done in the past, he's gonna apply pressure. He is going to ⁓ try to throw fits in the backfield, especially and force your quarterback to make some quick decisions. ⁓ so I I we will see how this gets as we get a little bit closer. But this defense has a lot of question marks for me right now. We'll see how this ⁓ really develops over the year. Yeah. You know, on special teams, ⁓ they've got kind of ⁓ a yin-yang situation. ⁓ they have Trip Bryant, who's gonna be the kicker, one of the top kickers in the Sunbelt for sure. but then on Punter, they're still kind of trying to iron out who that's gonna be. ⁓ so Troy could have an opportunity ⁓ to make some ⁓ some hay in bad situations, ⁓ especially since the Eagles will be on the road. So we'll just have to see kind of what happens there. ⁓ a quick question before we move on to making some picks. ⁓ boys, do we think that Georgia Southern's new defense ⁓ will improve enough to complement quarterback Max Johnson and the offense? I I think it really remains to be seen. Yeah, I I I really think that if Coach Armstrong could put together the defense that we expect him to put together with the teams that he has done before, yes. I I feel like it's gonna work very well. I feel like it's gonna provide opportunities ⁓ for some three and outs on defense and give ⁓ the new quarterback Johnson time to do what he needs to do on offense, which has been which is is something that we struggled with for the Trojans, right? That that's something that we just as a team struggle with getting on and off. you know, but what that remains to be seen. That the Georgia Southern's defense, if if we have a solid run game and they play similar and akin to what they did last season, it will be okay. ⁓ but again, I think it remains to be seen, but if if it works out, In the way that they think that it will, yes, it will compliment. What do you think, Bird? I I agree with Bass. I mean, this is you know it's gonna be one of those games that we, you know, gotta come in, do fundamentals and you know, if I I I I'm I mean, that's just really it. I mean, this is not a game that I'm concerned about that if we don't do what we're supposed to do day in and day out, w You know, this is probably an L, you know, but at that but that I think it's too far to know. I mean, this is the you know, a week eleven at this point. I agree. I I think that this is a game that I'm not concerned about. But I feel like if the perfect storm of things happened, I would be. I feel like if we did not have a solid offense by week two, like, you know, like we've talked about Alabama State's kind of the game we're gonna know the offense. I feel like if that's a questionable game and I feel like if we get to mid season, week six, seven, eight. I feel like if we see that Georgia Southern's defense has turned the corner and has been able to eliminate runs and and and some deep throws, the secondary really locks in. This is a game I'm gonna say, well Yeah. I mean and at this at this point I'm like a four loss season versus a six loss season at this point, I'm there's there's big concern. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, like I mean when you look at like, you know, the games that we should win, Sam Houston, Alabama State. Yeah. Definitely feel like we're gonna lose Missouri, but like if we lost to Utah or the Cajuns, you know, or even La Tech, like you know I feel that every game we've talked about, there's a lot of unknown. ⁓ Louisiana Lafayette is one of the ⁓ teams I feel like we're more confident on. Missouri, I feel we're a little more confident on. This is probably one of those teams that I am the least confident on as to what we're going to experience, particularly on defense. But I feel like overall this team, I feel like we're gonna know way more about mid season than we do today. I think the important takeaway is just if you're somebody who watches this conference, who's had a team in the conference for a while, Max Johnson's the kind of player that if he had joined your Sunbelt roster twenty two years ago, he probably would have been worth three or four wins. ⁓ and now he's not. And that that doesn't mean he's not as great an athlete. It just means that things are getting better. And so you can't just bring in a hot shot ⁓ and let them go out there and run around and try to make plays because it's not gonna be enough to beat these teams. ⁓ because the talent's more dispersed. And that's more of what we talked about for us too. It's not about the individual player, it's about the whole depth. It's about all of it. So I agree with that too. Ethernet, man. All right. Ethernet ⁓ my gosh. All right, let's put some things down on paper. Bass, who's gonna win against Georgia Southern? ⁓ right now, given the information that I have, I'm gonna give this one as a big fat W for the Trojans. We're gonna take down the Eagles. Absolutely. I I think this is a big win for us. If it's you know, obviously the previous games are gonna give us a lot of information of what to this game could look like, but there's no doubt in my mind that we can beat this Georgia team. I have ⁓ the same feeling ⁓ as I once said to a group of Georgia Southern fans in Statesboro ⁓ that were there ⁓ with a friend of mine. ⁓ you know, I don't know how y'all ever eat soup or cereal because you never have bowls. So ⁓ you know, really, really happy to see that I think we're gonna do that again. All right, game twelve, guys, into the season. Arkansas State Red Wolves, the Scarlet Popers on the schedule. Saturday, November twenty-eighth. 2 p.m. Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro. Troy closes the regular season against one of the Sunbelt West's most talented teams. ⁓ Arkansas State placed a conference leading seven players on the preseason all-Sunbelt first team. So we certainly have some guys waiting for us up there in Jonesboro right after Thanksgiving. ⁓ Bird, what do you think about this Scarlet Pupper offense? Yeah, the Scarlet Puppers are definitely in an area where they are having to replace a lot of talent. They are replacing three year starting quarterback Jalen Raynor. They have also lost Corey Rucker, who was the Sunbelt's career receiving leader. They also have a new offensive coordinator, Garrett Altman. He is responsible for rebuilding the passing game. So they're just in a little bit of an era where what's gonna happen back there? Arkansas State still has enough returning talent at running back and receiver to be dangerous, but the new QB will benefit from an experienced reporting cast, or maybe not. You know, we never know what happens in these situations, but there is an opportunity for him to prove that he can perform in high pressure situations. ⁓ we can expect him to use a lot of tempo, a lot of spread formations, and design quarterback movement. ⁓ so Definitely gonna be a threat either way. There's no real ⁓ at this point, we've probably seen some film from their entire season. ⁓ we can kind of probably expect what's going to happen. I do think that they are going to be a good opponent for our defense, but I don't think they are going to be something that we can't handle in the event that we are doing and what we're supposed to and firing on all cylinders. Awesome. ⁓ Bass, what do you think about that Scarlet Pepper defense? Yeah, the Red Wolves ⁓ have added multiple defensive line transfers, tried to to rebuild themselves. ⁓ the the safeties are their biggest ⁓ strength right now on defense. They they've returned ⁓ plenty of production. AJ McGee and Brandon Barnes combined for 151 tackles and seven pass breakups in twenty twenty-five. ⁓ their secondary experience allows Arkansas State to continue to be aggressive with their front seven. Our primary concern is gonna be ⁓ have they been able to rebuild their front i in order to allow their secondary to be as successful as they were last season? ⁓ the the the name of the game though is the Trojans need to stay on schedule, right? ⁓ that they have got to live for second and five and not second and ten. They have got to push gradually over time to allow themselves to have opportunities to make those first downs because Arkansas State is a team With some defensive strengths. And if we allow them to get into this game and chip away at our offense, we're gonna have some problems. ⁓ so let's put the game in their terms, eat eat away gradually, not big plays, because they will not allow big plays. Their secondary is built to stop that. So let's work clean, simple, old school methodical football, and this defense won't be able to stop it. Yeah, in terms of special teams, if you follow some belt special teams at all, which most people don't. ⁓ it all comes down to three words for Arkansas State, and that is Clune Van Andel. He has been their kicker and everything else ⁓ for I think about a hundred and seventy-three seasons. ⁓ he's just really good. He does everything for them. ⁓ and he will continue to be a weapon. ⁓ if we go in expecting special teams to make mistakes for the Scarlet Puppers, ⁓ we should think again because they have ⁓ a really seasoned competitive guy back there ⁓ who knows how to avoid making mistakes and make the best out of special team situations. ⁓ a quick question before we make our final pick for this season. ⁓ could the regular season finale in Jonesboro determine the Sunbelt West champion? And I guess the better question is: do you think that the Sun the regular season finale in Jonesboro will determine the Sunbelt West champion? I think it really does matter. Look, Louisiana and Arkansas State both got the exact same draw for their eastern opponents. They both get Coastal Carolina. They both get Georgia State. Georgia State, bottom of the barrel, Coastal Carolina, really down. So down they're giving out free concession stands. All right. You can go get nachos, fries, and a hot dog for $0.00 and zero cents. All right. They are begging people to come to their football games. All right. So in theory they're gonna win both of those games. We cannot afford to lose to both Louisiana and James Madison. We just can't. If we lose to one of them, this Arkansas State game might be the most pivotal game in our postseason play. Right? If we win this game, that might afford us enough if we lose one of the other two games the opportunity to play for the Sunbelt Championship game. Now, if we go into this game losing to Louisiana and James Madison, I think we're out of it. But you know, that this game might be the deciding factor because they're gonna get handed the two easy roads and we're not getting handed that. So yes, I do think this Arkansas State game is gonna matter if we're provided built into the schedule, we will lose and win one of those other two games. Yeah, I mean, I can't disagree with you on that, Bass. I mean, this is the the problem sometimes when we talk about an easier schedule in our conference. It's like, you know, we we We look at the West, but a lot of people aren't considering what's happening over there in the East and and Yeah, and I think it's com I think it's complete trash. Like and this is the moment where I'm gonna come out and start bashing our conference. Our conference has done a really piss poor job at providing levity, at providing ⁓ parity, at providing an equal level playing field for both sides. And this episode is brought to you by Sunbelt Rising. There is there is no reason Whenever you have the three top in the West, right? You have Troy, Louisiana, and Arkansas State, there is no reason why two of those three schools are playing the same teams. Yeah. And those two same teams are arguably the two worst teams in the other division. Well there's no reason for that. It's it is not justifiable. Yeah. Well, in this situation too, it's like you would hope that this regular season finale is not something that we even are like thinking about. Like hopefully we have gone in and Our season has been just stellar. It's gotta be lights out. Like it it's just lights out, you know, at that point. And obviously it probably historically and realistically it's not gonna be lights out just based on everything that we've talked about. But also we have been proven wrong on this podcast. But like Keith Gill should not be able to sleep comfortably at night knowing that if we run the table in the West and we beat James Madison and we beat Georgia Southern. That we get to this game and they do the same thing, having beaten coastal and having beaten Georgia State and we and we lose by two, he should not be able to sleep at night saying that Arkansas State's better to me. And then that too is if we beat James Madison and then two out of the three LA or Louisiana, sorry, Louisiana. The LA schools. The LA schools. If we are if we have beaten two out of three of those, like even if we lose to Georgia Southern, we should still be a contender. Like you know, you know, you know, like I I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. Now, if we lose to the Cajuns, I'm I'm very pessimistic in that situation, you know. ⁓ so I don't I don't know. I think it's gonna be a toss-up. I think if we get to game six, we're gonna know at that point. Like I I think we can ⁓ depict within a you know, a ten percent margin whether this is gonna go one way or the other. I feel like once we get past I feel like once we get past the Georgia Southern game, which is like what the week before? Yeah. I I feel like at that point we're gonna actually know how impactful this game is. Like without a doubt. But I feel like James, Madison, and Louisiana, those are the two big hurdles. If we can get past those two big hurdles, I feel like we're in a better position. But I I feel like that the schedule has been handed down to us is very favorable. Like it it like if we're just talking generically, the schedule is very nice. But if we're looking at it from a conference championship perspective, the other two contenders from our division have been handed a much nicer schedule. Yeah. Yeah, no, I agree. ⁓ you know, I've just because of where I've picked things to go, I'm gonna say no, this game doesn't decide the division because I've just watched Arkansas State football enough to know that when they lose, they lose early. And so it's not uncommon for Arkansas State to start a season two and four. And then they come back and they have a great season. And if we mess up, it gives them an opportunity. But I mean, right now, I've got us at 10 and 1. So if we march into Jonesboro at 10 and 1, I don't believe that Arkansas State's that same. I think they have two or three losses and it'll be a fun game and everybody will go eat at Lost Pizza Company afterwards and have a great time. But it won't matter whether we win or lose. It might matter for who hosts the championship game, which is incredibly important, but it won't matter for who goes. But if it does matter, like it's gonna actually it's gonna be a detriment to our conference to allow a a 10 and two team to sit at home whenever you have that eight and four, right? Or seven and five team going on because you won the head to head and you have the two easy other side games. Yeah. Because I mean like I it it's it's crappy, you know, the way that that's gonna get handed to us. But well and just to make sure we go ahead and make every single fan base in the conference mad. ⁓ I mean it's it's also why like once ULM is dealt with It would be really favorable to deal with Georgia State. I would agree. I would I was gonna I was gonna say they would be a much more realistic idea. Because they're not even good. Used to Georgia State, you would say, well, they're not good at baseball, which were a baseball conference. ⁓ they're not good at football, but great basketball school. Yep. A lot of basketball talent. The thing is they're not even that anymore. The thing that I think people don't wanna hear is I would be happy to drop Monroe for JSU and I would happy to drop Georgia State. in favor of East Carolina. I think that those two moves would make more sense literally for every sport. I agree. I c I completely agree. But that that just leads us to that ⁓ that that way all four Georgia State fans can be really upset about that. ⁓ all right let's go ahead and put some picks to paper, gentlemen. Last pick of the season, Bass. How do we do against the Scarlet Puppers? Look, I think this is gonna be a win regardless. You know, I I feel like if we get put in a position of this game actually mattering, we're gonna actually show up and show out and we're gonna take care of business. ⁓ because I feel like we would have had the more tested schedule and we will take care of business. All right. Bird, what do you think? Man, what a wild year we're already predicting. That's like I I know We went from Piggy. Two years ago to barely making a ball. Yeah. So now I think all of us are in the ten or eleven. Well, I mean, and that's the situ I mean, and this is like again, for those who are listening, like none of us knew what these picks were. Previously we were doing like we were putting this in our preparation, you know, and like now we're like, you know, super close. Like in this situation, I I think we win the final game of the regular season. Like I I'm not, you know, I'm I'm th I'm taking nine and three overall, and that is if QB play is above average. We've established ourselves on O-line and we are being consistent across the board. There's a lot of variables there. I'm hopeful. I've also been proved wrong, but I've also been, you know, pretty on par. Yeah. I'm not, I'm, you know, there's been what one out of two out of six seasons where I've been pretty cr, you know, close. ⁓ so I'm gonna say nine and three overall, big win to the season finale here. And then ⁓ you know, we're just gonna keep on keeping on and hopefully playing for the ⁓ the Sunbelt Championship and maybe getting a ball game here. Like so well there'll be plenty of time for us to pick that Sunbelt Championship game should that come to pass. ⁓ for now we have picked the regular season Bass and Bird. You are both picking nine and three I am picking eleven and one. Woo! ⁓ so TroyFans.com. That would be so cool. He's gonna be very pleased with me. I don't know if I realize you picked eleven and one. What the heck? I sure did. Mazoo's Mazus are only lost. I feel very good about the ⁓ the Trojans this year. So we we will see. Troy fans is gonna craze you. Jared Harper If he's listening still, I'm sure he turned it off as soon as he listened Well he might have stepped three feet and then the Wi Fi cut off. He might not have gotten it. We gotta be on Troy Wi Fi. Look, if look, if he or his publicist or whatever is still watching, I'm sure they're smiling. Yeah. I'm sure they are too. I'm sure they're very happy. ⁓ all right, you know, we ⁓ we cannot engage in sports betting here in the state of Alabama. ⁓ Mimaw is still in charge for at least ⁓ another couple months, ⁓ and she says it's not allowed. So When we want to get some information from the wise guys out in Vegas, we have to put bass into the Cahaba River and let him swim all the way down into Mississippi to that gas station next to Bozo's Seafood Market in Pascagoula and find out what's the word from Pascagoula. All right, Bass. So so over under it looks like is six and a half. Yeah, yeah. The over under right now for the season is set at six and a half, and the line is sitting at minus one sixty, which means ⁓ people are hammering the over right now, which is probably a good thing. It's aligning with what the Troy boys are saying. They're already listening to us before we even publicize what we're saying. ⁓ so right now the wise guys in Vegas are are leaning towards ⁓ six and a half, leaning towards the seven ⁓ for our over under win total. Nice bird. What do you think? You gonna you gonna put some of your tattoo money on the on the over there? I'm not a betting man because the house always wins. ⁓ so but I will always bet on the Trojans and hopefully we come away with ⁓ more than five hundred. Yeah. We'll we'll integrate this segment with Inkwatch. Yeah. We We won't have to do inkwatch today because I literally did an inkwatch inspection and there is no ink. ⁓ but eventually we will have to return to everyone's favorite segment. ⁓ all right. Now it is time, Bass, a little bit more work for you, and then you're gonna be able to clock out for the for the day. we're gonna let Trojan Nation saddle up to the bond pond where you live and throw in some ⁓ worms and other bait. ⁓ to see if they can ⁓ catch a sea bass in this week's edition of the tackle box. All right, Bass. Very difficult one. You're not gonna like this ⁓ because this pretty much sums up all of Troyfans.com in one question. So what regular season record would represent a successful third year under Jared Parker? I ⁓ I feel like they're I feel like there are two reasonable answers. Okay. The first one is gonna be nine wins and three losses regular season. Cause that's one more than last year. Right. That's so that's that's a step in the right direction. That's what we predicted. I feel ⁓ stop. I feel like the second reasonable answer would also be eight and four, which is what he did last year, with one of those eight wins being USA. Thoughtsbird? Look. Jared Parker has proven in his time at Troy so far that six and six is not Something to frown upon. Like I would I I'm gonna go ahead and stop you there. No, no, no, no. I'm gonna go ahead and stop you there. And say that six wins is not acceptable. It's not acceptable, but do you think Troy is going to pursue somebody else if he's able to do 500? If if if he went if he went seven and five, he would stay. Yeah, he would stay. Exactly. But success does not mean retention. And and and I agree, and I agree. I I totally I totally but also like let's Because I mean we kept historically we we kept chip dip. Exactly. Yep, yep. And I think that that was a huge misstep and a total blunder. And I feel like somebody should have Been raked across the coals for the But but here. But listen to this. We beat Sam Houston. Nobody. In state in state team Alabama State. Yeah. We lose to Missouri. But then we beat Utah State, which is like, why are we playing them? Southern Miss and South Alabama. The rest of ⁓ like, nobody cares. Like But I mean, like, we live we live in a realistic universe, right? A realistic? Yeah, I mean like it like it's totally plausible. Like like things would have to go wrong, but You know, we said that last year going in that things were gonna go right and things went very wrong for a while. So like it's possible that we go wrong and lose to Utah State. Things go wrong, we lose to La La. Things go wrong, we lose to JMU, things go wrong, we lose to USA, things go wrong, we lose to Georgia Southern. Like, those are all possible losses. Yeah. So I think in order to define success, I think eight and four, with one of those being the rivalry game, is the one. Is that the ceiling? No, that's not the ceiling. I I think I think Joe's response of eleven and one is the ceiling. ⁓ wow. I think I think that's the realistic ceiling, but I think our realistic floor is gonna be one, two, three, four, five, six, six and six. I think that's our realistic floor. So I think in order you know, success would be eight and four with one being the rivalry game, nine and three potentially losing to USA is one of the three. I I think that those would still define a successful season. Yeah, I would be pissed that we lost to the guys in Mobile. But Well well let me let me ask you this. So this question is a regular season record would represent a successful third year under Jader Parker. Is this by university conference standards or fan standards? I think it's fan standards. Okay. I I think I think nine and three would show that we have continued growth You know, w we have gone from what did we have first year? Six and six? Six and six, eight and four, and then nine and three. Like that's continual growth. And then if even if we went six and six, eight and four, eight and four, I still feel like with having fifty something new guys on the roster, I I feel like that that is enough for me to say we're still at, you know, above six sixty. Yeah, I feel like we're doing well. Yeah. I I think the fan base has to recalibrate and last year didn't help. ⁓ Troy fans are not, ⁓ especially Troy fans on Troy fans, ⁓ are not very rational. ⁓ and that's fine. That's what you get to be as a fan, that's why you are a fanatic. ⁓ but the fact is, like if you want a logical reason to look at a coaching staff and say all you did was go to the conference championship game and earn a bowl bid, you're gonna have a hard time being like, well though all those coaches suck. Like I get that we're ma I was at ⁓ the Crampton Bowl. I watched us lose to Jack State. It was cold. It was terrible. But just because it happened to be Jack State and not Northern Illinois, that didn't make it worth more losses. But to some Troy fans, it did. And the same with like losing to JMU. That to them was worse than not going in a way. And you have to kind of get people to calibrate back and be like, no, it's good that we went. Like we were sixty minutes away and we weren't that far off. Right. And like I I feel like I feel like we could argue that I feel like losing to Jack State in that position would have been better than losing to Northern Illinois. Right. Like I it it's an in state rivalry game. It it actually weighs on us. It is in the postseason, it's in town, it's stuff people can make. Yeah. Like I I feel like that that was a a a more quality loss than somebody like a a a Buffalo. Right. I I I like the word recalibrate. I mean, like we we're we're not the same Troy team we were six seasons ago when we started covering. Troy. No one is the same team. No one works ago. Yeah. I mean and it but I mean, I just think about Troy in comparison to like other in state teams like Auburn and JSU, Alabama even. It's like there's a level there where they're like, you know, like no, we're gonna find somebody who is gonna meet this caliber where Troy is like, you know, Jared Parker and we c we we talked about this last season. It's like we didn't even like the announcement for him was like, hey, this is just another social media post. You know you know what I mean? Yeah. And the hard pill ⁓ the hard pill for everyone to swallow is that the average of everyone is five hundred. Yeah. The average. That that's the hard pill to swallow is that somebody has to lose. And that, you know, you're going to have coaches that go three and nine. That it's going to happen. And so like our definition of success can't cannot be 12 and it it's not plausible yeah well and and i also too i i think i want to be a little bit of devil's advocate here too it's like i i don't think jared parker is a bad coach i i think he's made bad decisions i think i i don't think his overall tenure with troy and like i'm getting a lot of looks for that right now i don't think he's necessarily a bad coach i think Some of his stuff that he's done, he's definitely gotten lucky with. I don't think he's unc incapable of having a very productive and winning season, but we haven't been proved as the fans that there's been consistency. I don't care who what Troy fan says or what anybody else has said. Like there the people who are on the Jared Parker train, like I'm not saying he's not capable. I'm saying he hasn't proven to us in his tenure. so far. I mean, but Bass, I feel like you have a different opinion. Are we going to open this can of worms today? Well I mean Or are we gonna wait? I wasn't planning on it. I mean, my bad I I think we'll save this for the Patreon. ⁓ I just I just ⁓ we get a lot of flack for not supporting A lot. I mean there there were things about John Sumraw that we did not like. Like if you want to go back and listen to those episodes, we criticized him intently because at the end of the day, the three people at this table do not care about the coach. We care about the team. Exactly. We care about the school and institution. We do not care about the man getting a play. What is the collective result? Yes. Exactly. You know, he could be a great guy. He could be a quote Troy kind of guy. Hate the phrase. TKG. Tired of hearing it. But at the end of the day, I want the men that we recruit to Troy to have a successful football career that launches them into something greater. And if we're not doing that, we are doing a disservice to them. And that is my position as I sit in this chair. Amen. All right, ⁓ let's get one more segment under our belts, boys, and we can let Trojan Nation go about their day. ⁓ and that is when I'm going to carry all of Troy Fans ⁓ into the hottest corner of the internet ⁓ to give you a little piece of what's going on over on Troy's message board board of record in this week's edition of thetroyfans.com. Hot take of the week. The first of the season ⁓ Yes, these are the sound effects very appropriate. ⁓ obviously it's been a long off season. ⁓ you know, unless you were Skylar Mead, ⁓ and you were taking strays and then being praised as the greatest ⁓ baseball coach of all time. Omaha. ⁓ Troy TroyFans.com was a little bit quiet. ⁓ but the football ⁓ thread is ⁓ picking up. So here is this week's winner, the first week ⁓ as we go into the twenty twenty-six season. ⁓ this was in a thread where they talked about us ⁓ playing James Madison for the championship in a rematch. and this week's winner said, Quote, I hope it pans out this way. I wanna rematch with JMU, but this time I want it to be in Troy. And since we don't have snowballs, we can we can throw rocks at their players. Turnabout is fair play. I think we need to let's not let's not throw rocks, I think. I think let's let's back off on that. Yes, let's do that. You know, the baseball team ⁓ famously fans threw rocks at Jay Barker in the nineties and Alabama wouldn't play us for like thirty years in Troy. So let's not assault student athletes. and let's just win. Why don't we just bring ⁓ down here, be nice to ⁓ and win. That would be Nice. It's nice to see that Troy fans is still on fire right now. I mean it stays that way. I mean it's it's ju it's it's July twenty fifth, twenty twenty six, and they're still like, hey man, we can't wait to pelt those dudes with rocks. Let's let's hit students with rocks. so you got a lot of hey, congratulations, winner. You are twenty twenty-six season's first winner of the troy fans.com. Hot take of the week. ⁓ all right, guys, we've done it. We have gotten Trojan Nation ready. For the season that is upon us. ⁓ I know we are excited for everybody to join the Troy Boys this season as we ⁓ will broadcast once or twice a week ⁓ to get people ready for games, break down the games that have happened. ⁓ and we're very excited to see that. ⁓ it's time now for some closing remarks. Bass, go ahead if you would, extend some closing remarks to Trojan Nation. Absolutely. We're looking forward to a great season, hoping we make it to the postseason. You know, twelve games ain't enough. Let's make it thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen games. Let's go go, Trojans. If you don't have your season tickets, go get ⁓ Troytrojans.com. Get you some tickets now. We'll be in section one sixteen raising hell. And if you're an alum and are not a part of the alumni association, go ahead and join. It is gonna be Troy.edu slash alumni. Join or renew your alumni association right there. Perfect. Birdman. So nice having you. We appreciate you ⁓ hosting. Go ahead and give some closing remarks to Charger Nation. Absolutely. Being in person with you guys has been great here in the Nest. ⁓ you know, we didn't have a best in the nest for this, but I'm ⁓ you know, I think the best in the nest is those who showed up. No, you're the best. I'm the best in the nest. I'm giving it to myself. ⁓ please guys, like, rate, and subscribe. Spotify podcast, ⁓ you know, Apple Podcasts, wherever you guys listen to. to your podcast. Like we would greatly appreciate it. ⁓ super pumped about the season, you know. I I mean even, you know, last year with all like I I I think it's fun. It's it's like just a good time when we are able to just like, you know, have an eight and four season, you know, and then go back and then we're like, I don't know if it's gonna be eight and four, but we're about to have a good time doing it. So I'm excited about what's to come. I'm excited about the transfer portal. I'm excited about what this team is going to do. You know, Troy Trojans all the way through ⁓ super excited about what this podcast is gonna do going into our sixth year. This is this this is wild. You know, we've been doing this for six years, and I was thinking about this earlier. I was like, you know, Joe and I started doing this just randomly as like a part of our like fraternities podcast. And then now and then one day he was like, Hey, what if we did it? this way. And and now we're doing this thing for six years. People are listening. Yeah, a hundred plus listens, you know, per episode. Like I mean we're, you know, I'm really appreciative of that. And I'm appreciative that we're continuing to do this. So if you're interested in ⁓ like something we started doing this season is like bringing people on to ⁓ sponsor, you know, their business like and whatnot. So if you're interested in having your business mentioned on this, we want to make sure that you get out there for the Troy community that you know they know who you are. If you're a Troy alum and you've got something going on, let us know. We want to give you a shout out. And I think that's a big thing. We want to build community in this in this fan base. So ⁓ yeah, go Trojans. Let's hope we're looking at, you know, eight plus wins for this season. I'm excited and ⁓ yeah, I'm just grateful to be here. So go Trojans and I hope Barry McKnight listens and he shares this. Yeah. Hope so too. ⁓ guys, thanks so much ⁓ for being on and being with Trojan Nation tonight. ⁓ Trojan Nation, thank you for listening, getting ready for the twenty twenty-six season. ⁓ I feel like Vicky Valencourt from The Water Boy. ⁓ when I say eleven and one ain't no guests, that's the way it's gonna be. ⁓ so I am looking forward to that type of winning ⁓ and seeing that type of success. ⁓ please continue sharing ⁓ the Troy Boys content with those. Who you know, who are Troy folks, ⁓ and help spread the word that we are out here ⁓ and we are making content for Troy people that love Troy. ⁓ as always, I will end today's podcast by saying, Go Trojans, and God bless you, Blade Spring.