August 20, 2025 • 34 mins
On this episode, Sam and Zach discuss some storylines for Week 0.
Games include:
No. 5 UIW at Nicholls (ESPN2)
Idaho State at UNLV (Mountain West Network)
No. 10 Tarleton State at Portland State (ESPN2)
No. 8 UC Davis vs. No. 11 Mercer (ESPN)
NC Central vs. Southern (ABC)
The podcast is presented by HERO Sports and BetMGM. Visit Hero Sports for FCS coverage and BetMGM for online betting odds.
Games include:
No. 5 UIW at Nicholls (ESPN2)
Idaho State at UNLV (Mountain West Network)
No. 10 Tarleton State at Portland State (ESPN2)
No. 8 UC Davis vs. No. 11 Mercer (ESPN)
NC Central vs. Southern (ABC)
The podcast is presented by HERO Sports and BetMGM. Visit Hero Sports for FCS coverage and BetMGM for online betting odds.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
All right, welcome in FCS tackle football fans to another
episode of the FCS Football Talk Podcast, presented by Hero
Sports and bet MGM. I'm your host, Sam Herder with
hero Sports, and I'm joined by my co host, Zach McKinnell.
He is with FCS Football Central and the blue Bloods
Football is finally here. We got some games to talk about.
(00:37):
Four or five actually five week zero matchups featuring FCS teams.
Four of them our FCS versus FCS games, and then
we do have one FCS versus FBS game. You know,
pretty good slate. This year, we have four ranked teams
in action. That's compared to last year. There was only
(00:59):
I want to say two ranked teams in action last
year for a Week zero Tarleton State they were ranked.
They played McNee, then Montana State played New Mexico and
got that FBS win. So to quickly go over you
know these games. Probably don't need to tell you listeners
which you know about these games, but we have number
five ui W at Nichols that's on ESPN. Two Idaho
(01:20):
State goes to UNLV that's on the Mountain West Network.
Number ten Tarlton State at Portland State. That's on ESPN
two Number eight UC Davis versus number eleven Mercer at
a neutral site that's on ESPN, and then another neutral
site games NC Central versus Southern. That game is on ABC,
So really great TV coverage here. ABC is always phenomenal
(01:45):
for to get a game on there. So that's great
for the me x SWAC Challenge, a couple of games
on ESPN two and then another one on ESPN and
so we'll have And the nice thing too, Zach, is
they're all pretty spread out, right, They're not all starting
at one o'clock or whatever. We have twelve Central, three, three, six,
and six thirty. So what do you think overall about
this slates as you kind of look at it on paper?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I love the fact that both the you know and
I call them both the kickoff games because you have
the Mix Whack Challenge which is every year on Week
zero and the FCS Kickoff Game, And I'm glad that
they finally have matchups with two really really good teams,
like I think there's been years, especially recently with the
FCS kickoff Game saund where the matchup just hasn't been
(02:29):
that intriguing, even if the game ends up being good
the matchup isn't between two top fifteen preseason eight teams,
So I thought they did a really really good job
of picking two good teams. Mercer has been in it before.
The fact they went out and convinced you see, Davis
to jump into this game is huge. And it just
happens to be that both programs are probably coming off
the best year they've had maybe ever in the case
(02:52):
of Mercer, right, And so I think there's so many
storylines to that game. I think it's going to engage
the local community, it's gonna engage the FCS just fan
base as a whole across the nation. And for the
Swack MEAC or the Meax Swack Challenge really really big man.
The fact that you had the two teams that finished
you know, second in each conference were one game away,
(03:13):
each of them from making to the Celebration Bowl, each
of them with hopes of returning and maybe getting to
the Celebration Bowl this year. And it'd be really cool
to see a team finally, you know, the saying is
starting the starting the A end in the A and
so so far as Sam, no one's been able to
do it. Gonna be very curious to see if one
of these two teams could do it. But I always
(03:35):
I'll say this, I'm a little torn as a fan.
I love the fact that we have a matchup like
Nickels and Incarnate Words so early in the season because
it's an important game. It could have postseason impact, conference
race impacts. But at the same time, as an analyst,
and I understand this for coaches, it's so tough to
have a week one, week zero conference game because really
(03:58):
and truly what two years ago this is the game
that decided the Southland Conference when Nichols ended up running
through the conference and getting to.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
The FCS playoffs. So that's a massive game.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And I think the curious thing to Sam, just to
kind of wrap it all up, is that in every
single game, outside of maybe the Idaho State FPS game,
there's at least one team in the game, Sam, that
comes into the year with massive preseason expectations. We get
the first looking Incarnate Word after there's been a whole
bunch of talk about did they do enough to enter
the national title? Pitcher Tarleton, building on the quarter final
(04:33):
run from last year. I mentioned both the teams in
the x Y Challenge are going to be conference Celebration
Bowl contenders. And then you got UC Davis Mercer, two
top fifteen teams, both of which have the possibility to
make runs in the FCS playoffspan for four games to
have potential posts and implications, and at least one team
(04:53):
that's going to impact the national landscape. Man, I love it,
and it's good for FCS football.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, And keep in mind too that starting next year,
the FCS will fully move into Week zero with the
ability to play twelve regular season games year a, year
in and year outs. And not only could the FCS
take over this Saturday, but they're also allowed to play
games Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, you know, of this week
(05:21):
and then so potentially we could see, you know, some
of these games be played on Thursday of this week
and Friday of this week, then obviously a handful of
games on Saturday as well, where the FCS could really
take over some TV windows where you know, they get
you know, a game Thursday night on ESPN and ESPN two,
and same thing on Friday. Now, I expect at some points,
(05:43):
maybe sooner than later, that the FBS is also going
to fully move into this new Week zero and just
start the season. You know, even earlier because it allows you,
you know, from an FBS perspective to also as they're
probably maybe expanding the their playoff brackets again, you know,
that's really getting deep into January, so this could help
(06:03):
the FBS out as well. But as far as next year,
I do think it's exciting for the FCS to move
into fully into Week zero. We haven't gotten a whole
lot of games announced just yet. NDSU going to UIW.
I believe that's next year that's going to be a
Week zero you know matchup. So that's that's a great one.
(06:23):
We know the Big Sky is because they're adding a
ninth conference game. Now, the Big Sky plans to play
a conference game actually to start the season for the
new Week one slash Week zero, then going to non
conference and then play eight you know, conference games. So
that's obviously an interesting scheduling quirk there for the Big Sky.
I did this is kind of a random question because
(06:44):
I was thinking of this, Zach, what do we call
next year's opening weekend for the f CS? Do we start?
Do we call it week one or do we just
keep it week zero? And then that way FCS and
FBS Week one is a line week two is aligned, like,
what are we calling that next year? Are we calling
it week one or are we just sticking with week zero?
(07:05):
Do you have any any thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
No, but man, my anxiety is like ramped up now
because I like to have like some sort of continuity.
I'll be honest, I think at the end of the day,
people are probably gonna stick with week zero just to
kind of keep it on the same track as the FBS,
because you don't want it'll be weird to say, you know,
the FCS is in week two while the FBS is
in week one, because like the Ivy League doesn't start
(07:30):
till what is it, like week four, but they don't
call that week one for them, So I think it
keeps on the same schedule. It'll still be week zero,
and that's kind of what week zero was made for, right,
So it was made for kind of the FCS to
have their own weekend, and also too for Hawaii to
have their own weekend because Hawaii needs that extra game.
So I just I'm hoping that I agree with you,
(07:51):
the FBS is coming to take over the weekend eventually,
especially if they expand the playoffs as much as they
are maybe talking about but like like you said, I
think it would be good for the FCS to be
put in the spotlight and then not only do you
have that NDSU and Cardinal Word game, you potentially have
some big conference games across the Big Sky, maybe some
other conferences that are moving to non games.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
And on top of that too.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
The big news this week was the Vegas Kickoff Classic,
and you're gonna have some really really big games with that.
And I do wonder if we could see Sam maybe
some other classics across the country and or an ability
to start new classics if that can be utilized, And
I would really like to see Sam. The FCS Kickoff
go back to on campus. Yeah, I would love to
(08:38):
see it revert back to what it used to be
where it was always a signature matchup. And then you
can still have a Classic in Montgomery if you want,
and then do your thing with that. But the FCS
Kickoff game should be the ultimate event on week zero
or week one, whatever you want to call it moving forward.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, I think I like keeping it at week zero.
I'm just so everything is aligned FCS and FBS. Plus
you can kind of brand it as well instead of
calling it week zero, you can call it FCS Week zero,
and I guess kind of brand things that way. And yeah,
I'm with you there as far as the FCS kickoff.
You know, this is it is an ESPN event's you
(09:18):
know game, and so they kind of have say over it.
And you know, I really started with just having an
FCS spotlight game where it was on campus and we
had some great games like Sam Houston went to Eastern Washington,
that was a shootout. NDSU went to Montana in twenty fifteen,
I believe you know, that was a heck of a game.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
You know, even believe it or not.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Charleston Southern with the NDSU the next year in twenty sixteen,
and Charleston Southern was was really really good that year
and that was a heck of a game. I think
it was either twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen is when
they moved it to Montgomery, you know, because ESPN, you know,
found a sponsor for that. I think it was the
Guardian Union or something, does that sound right, you know,
(09:59):
out of UNP something like that. They found a sponsor
and moved it to a neutral site game and you know,
you're you're kind of limited in in your matchups there,
there's been you know, decent games. I think Jacksonville State,
NC A and T. You know, that was a pretty
good preseason ranked matchup there. But you know, obviously the
the home crowd or not the home crowd, but the
crowd overall just doesn't fill out, you know, the stands there.
(10:21):
And even this UC Davis Mercer game, you know, had
they played it at Mercer, like you know, Mercer has
a nice home you know atmosphere especially you know typically
you especially get good student turnout for you know, the
home opener as well, so probably could have had a
better scene, you know, for for the ESPN cameras. If
you can play this on a home site, I don't
(10:44):
know where that's at. Yeah, it probably seems like maybe
they'll they'll keep it at a neutral site for the
time being.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Yeah, And also to the thing that hurts them with
playing in Montgomery is, like you said, they got UC
Davis this year, so maybe you know, there's some sort
of entice that they can entice some of these West
Coast teams, but it's just tough to convince a team
from the West coast SAM to travel all the way
to Montgomery for week zero, because you're already kind of
at a disadvantage starting the season early, and now you've
(11:12):
also got to travel across the country. It's just a
tough thing to ask teams to do this early in
the season. And also to we know, travel budgets are
big in this new age of college sports, and we
got to save money somewhere, and so asking someone to
increase their travel budget like that is kind of tough.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Yeah, So let's dive into that FCS kickoff game this year.
You know, I would say the highlight game of this weekend,
just with the preseason rankings number eight, UC Davis, number eleven,
Mercer two quarterfinal teams from last year. To me, like,
we won't dive too much into the x's and zero
(11:46):
as an offense versus defense and those sort of and
those sort of things for these games. More more so
kind of higher level macro viewpoints of these games. And
I think, you know, it feels a little too early
to talk about playoff positioning, but the great things about
these sort of non conference games are these are big
(12:08):
data points for the FCS playoff Committee, and especially for
a conference like the SoCon which you know, we've heard
their commissioner, you know say that, you know, he thinks
his conference deserves more respect from the FCS Playoff Committee,
and you know they deserve to have three four bids
every year just with the overall strength of the conference.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And you know, big.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Data points for the SoCon would be getting some of these,
you know, big non conference wins. I mean imagine if
Etsu beat NDSU last year or Western Carolina beat Montana
last year like that, those are huge feathers in the
caps for the SoCon when it comes to the bubble.
You know, you could you could say, well, this is
the third place team in the SoCon. They have eight wins.
(12:53):
A lot of other a lot of other teams from
other conferences also have eight wins. How do they stack up? Well,
this SoCon team beat the fourth place team, the Big Sky,
and that Big Sky team is you know, already in
the field for US. So I think a win like
this would be huge for Mercer and the Silicon overall.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, this has so many implications for a week zero game,
and I've talked about it before. Is that I just
think the so CON, I don't even know, Sam, if
Mercer has to necessarily win the game, but if they
don't look competitive. It's going to really really hurt the
so CON's perception when it comes to the bubble, and
(13:32):
especially in a year where the bubble kind of shrinks
with the adding the Ivy League schools to it, and
so there's going to be one less at large bit
So I think Mercer faces a ton of pressure because Sam, well,
what's to say that Mercer is not the team that's
on the bubble right could come the end of the season.
So how big would a win over UC Davis be
(13:53):
when you're arguing for playoff position there?
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I'll be very, very curious to see for Mercer.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I think obviously Dj smith Man, I'm really interesting how
he plays his weekend man because he got so hot
to start the season last year, Sam, and then after
his injury, he really wasn't the same gob And I
think I don't know if he was one hundred percent
healthy when he came back, and so I really want
to see if he's one hundred percent what he can
do against really what's going what It seems to be
(14:23):
a very good you see Davis defense, but also too
with U C. Davis on the bubble, I know the
big skot schools tend to get the benefit.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Of the doubt.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
But if you ask UC Davis fans, they would disagree
with that because said they've been the team that's kind
of been left out at times. There's been multiple years
where UC Davis has been right there on the bubble.
And just remember the what was it three years ago
when they beat Sack State even though the state got.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
In over them two years ago.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah, So how big of a win could this be
for their resume? Because I know it should and me
and you have our opinions on those. I don't want
to get sidetracked about now ranked wins versus then ranked wins. Yeah,
but the committee looks at then ranked wins and this
this is gonna with the wholesome value as a top
fifteen win. And I think UC Davis could could really
(15:16):
set themselves up for a good shot at least in
a large bit with the win here, because they do
have I think a few chances in the big Skys
schedule to make a statement, but I don't think it's
I don't think they have one of the tougher schedules,
and I think they'll ability to get through. And if
they can get to eight wins, that includes a win
against Mercer, They're gonna have a really good shot to
get it at large. But I want to ask you, Sam,
(15:37):
does a UC Davis loss change your opinion on their
trajectory in the Big Sky and how you feel like
they're going to compete in conference?
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Yeah, I think it would a little bit. I don't
think it'd be an awful loss, and obviously final score,
you know, that'd be a little more tell any you know,
if it was like forty two to ten or something
like that, that's different. But you know, they lot they'd
lose like twenty eight twenty. Maybe you feel a little
bit differently about UC Davis because I right now, preseason wise,
(16:08):
you know, I'd probably have them right outside of the
top five, just the more I look at the ages
and you know what they have coming back on offense,
and you know, some some transfers that that you expect
to plug and play defensively, and you know Mercer, you know,
there's still a rankable team to me. But their losses,
you know, certainly are more significant, especially on the defensive
side of the football. So I would go into this
(16:31):
game leaning a UC Davis win, and if they were
to lose, you know that that may that makes you
reevaluate the Aggies a little bit more, but I also
think it obviously would boost up mercer as well. This
would be a signature win for for the Bears and
for the so kind I think, and you kind of
like what we were talking about earlier. I do think
things you and I both look at things like very
(16:53):
fluid weeked week, especially early on in the year, and
sometimes things age well and sometimes things don't age well.
And so for either of these teams, if they get
a win here, that's you know, a massive win, you know,
a win over a top eleven, top eight sort of team.
But if the team whoever loses, if they go on
and finish six and six, okay, that it's a good win.
(17:15):
But to me, it's not like a eye opening win
on your playoff resume, because the team you beat, you know,
kind of kind of fell off and weren't as strong,
you know, as we think. And so I do think
this is a major game in a major moment for
for both of these teams whoever gets a win, but
certainly how the other team. You know, I always say
it once you if you beat a ranked team, you
should now be cheering for that ranked team to you know,
(17:36):
to stay in the rank and just so at age
as well on your playoff resume.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah, you don't want a situation with like Steven F.
Austin and what they went from like eight to unranked
or kinnessas State the one year where they dropped out
right before they.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Went up to FBS.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
But I'll be very curious, and the thing I like
about these type of matchups, Sam, is that we get
to learn a lot about the team. Like I hate
and I know you hate this as a voter. Me
and you are sitting there filling on our ballots in
Week four and we have a team that's two to
one with a D two win, an FBS loss, and
then a win over a FCS team that's not very good,
like a Pioneer League team or something. I have no
(18:12):
idea what to think about this team, Like there's been
no competition to give me any data points on how
I think they could compete nationally in the top twenty five.
The reason I like this is that on one hand,
you have a new quarterback in Caden Pinnick who's going
to be taking snaps for UC Davis. He gets to
go up against a really good defense with Andrew Zack
and a bunch of other contributors coming back from Mercy.
(18:33):
They have some turnover, but they're still going to be
really talented. And on the flip side, Mercer's offensive line
has been in the question of art. You get to
see how they react to a very experienced defensive line
that has a lot of new faces, but they added
a ton of guys with the playing experience at the
FCS or FPS level. So I really like saying that
we get a lot of good data points and a
(18:53):
lot of good learn like film that we can watch,
and that we can learn a lot about these teams immediately,
because I really hate being sitting there at week three
or four seven not knowing anything about a team because
they just haven't played a really good schedule.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Yeah, exactly. Let me ask you about the MIAC Swack Challenge.
You know, I think it's going to be an exciting game.
You have two teams who were near the top of
their conference standings last year in NT Central in the
MIAC and then Southern in the SWACK. To you, how
important are these games? Is it more so breaking rights?
(19:27):
You know, because we know there's there's a lot of
pride and a lot of online banter if you want
to call it banter, a trash talk between these two conferences.
But you know, the winner and loser, they still obviously
have to you know, go on and win their conference
to you know, to to either reach the Swack Championship
game or to advance right to the Celebration Bowl. If
you're the MIAC and so to you, is this more
(19:49):
of a kind of more of a breaking rights, you know,
sort of game for the winner.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
And the funny part, Sam, is Southern to be the
first team to tell you that that's all it is,
because at the end of the day, they've lost some
really big out of conference games and guess what's now,
They just they find a way to get to the
Slack Championship come hell or out water, whether it's close wins,
whether it's back dooring their way in, because a team
(20:17):
just falls off a cliff like they just keep.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Finding their way there.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
And if you lose a competitive game, I mean, I
don't think it alters their season one way or the other.
But the thing with Southern is I do think this
game is important to them, Sam, because they just haven't
been able to win against elite teams, especially in HBC football.
I want to say they're like, they're three and sixteen
against in conference teams above five hundred, and if you
(20:42):
extend that to out of conference play, it's not great.
You look at last year, I think they lost bo
almost fifty to Nicchols. They collapse against McNee, so that
there's been a few times where the Southern hasn't been
able to deliver, and this is a really good opportunity
in my opinion, for them to get that signature win
under head coach Terrence Grace. And you want to talk
about a guy who wants to make a statement, Sam,
how about Trey Oliver who has finished four and one
(21:05):
in conference for like what the past four seasons, And
they've really been one game away every year of winning
the MIAC four straight years in a row. They only
got one of them and made it to the Celebration
Bowl that year and won it. But this is a
team that could be on a dynasty run in the
MIAC if they could just finish the games they're supposed
to win.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
They had that.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Weird collapse against Howard, They had the horrible first half
against South Carolina State last year, they get beat by
Elon out of nowhere, which probably keeps them out of
the FCS playoffs last year. And so this is a
team that's been one game away and if you're Trey Oliver,
you probably want to come out there and put in Obviously,
start the season with an exclamation point and with a statement,
(21:45):
and that starts with a dominant win against Southern. So
bragging rights are a big part of this tam but
I do think this is massive for the trajectory and
the momentum of.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
These teams going into twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, for fans watching this game, keep an eye on Givens.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
I believe he's.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Number Where's number one off the top of my head
defensive end for Southern. Uh to me, I think he's
I don't want to say the front runner. It's way
too early for that, but he's certainly going to be
in the conversation for buck by Cannon Award. I mean,
nearly thirty tackles for loss last year just went off.
He's a multi time All American level guy, So that's
certainly got to watch out for in this matchup. You know,
(22:24):
another game, I guess we touched on it already. A
little bit, but number five ui W going to Nichols,
you know, starting off with with the conference game, you know,
for the Southland super interesting. I think Nichols front seven
should be decently strong. So I do think this is
a good test for a UIW offensive line that you know,
(22:45):
I think should be solid, should be a good offensive line.
But as we've said multiple times, you know, being a
good offensive line doesn't usually get it done. You know,
in December, you really need to have a great o line.
And we've certainly hyped up ui W, you know, top
five team in the rankings, top five team for in
both of our ballots. I think I had them five
(23:05):
and you had you had UIW number three, and we
touched on that. It's a couple of weeks ago. But
the talent level here is immense, both in returning talent
and being able to retain you know, most of their
guys they were able to retain, you know, plus bringing
in you know, former All Conference running back here, former
All American safety there, you know, another former All American
(23:28):
you know running back, and so just the overall talent
level for UIW is is really eye opening. How they
play against Nichols, you know, I think is going to
be super interesting. You could you can sort of see
how this could be a sloppy game. You know, it's
week zero, it's going to be in the heats. You know,
maybe there's a little bit of nerves with being on
(23:48):
national television. But I think it's an opportunity for UIW
to make a statement to a certain extent. And now,
you know, we'll see how good Nichols is. Obviously not
preseason ranked. Maybe they go on and have you know,
a strong season, so it's not you know, necessarily going
to be this you know, ie opening win or anything
like that compared to UC Davis Mercer. But but I
(24:10):
do think, but I do think, you know, a strong win,
you know, a clean crisp performance, uh could could really
go a long ways for U i W and just
their perception because you know, there's there's gonna be fans
of the Big Sky in the Valley, you know, watching
games like this, and they'll they'll certainly, you know, throw
their opinions out there. You know, if U i W
isn't looking super crisp, or it's a close game against
(24:32):
a Nickels squad that isn't ranked, you know, you'll definitely
hear and see some tweets out there like oh, this
is the this is the fifth best team in the country, Like,
are you kidding me? So I do think I'm fascinated
in how u I W looks in this one to
open the season.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, I'll be honest, I'm not gonna hear any of
the the talk from those type of fans because they're
say I said this on on my show, it hardly
working with six to nothing Sam, and they would say.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Nichols, this is terrible. That's gonna be the narrative.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
But if they struggle, it's going to be in carnate
Ware was overrated, Like, I don't think there's anything in
carnet Ware could do this weekend to get credit from
the fans that are already gonna detract from the high
preseason ranking. But to me, I think the offense is
gonna be fine.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
I don't have.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Any qualms or worries about the offense. Now I agree
with you that the offensive line is going to have
a tough matchup against that front seven, but you got
too much talent. You're gonna have to put on points
or put up points. The spot where this game falls
Apart from me sam Is defense is defensively for Incarnate
Word and offensively for Nichols, because I just don't see
(25:42):
the potential there for Nichols offense. With a new quarterback
that does not have a ton of experience, you're replacing
a ton of weapons. I mean, your your best running
back is on the on and Carnate Words offense, now
wide receiver. You don't have a ton of proof. You
got a bunch of guys that have played, but none
without standing production. Offensive line, you're replacing a good bit.
(26:04):
I just I personally think that Incardinate Words should dominate
this game defensively, and I think for me, Sam as
good as as much as I want to watch the
offensive line is I love offensive line play, and we
know I'm going to be tuned into that, I'm more
interested see how if the defense could be dominant. Can
Incardinate Wars defense dominate a game? And to me, that's
going to be my number one thing I want taken
away from this one. Because they haven't overmatched offense are
(26:28):
going up against, they should dominate this game, and if
they struggle to stop Nichols offense, to me, that's more
concerning than if the offensive line takes a little bit
to gel in this game.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, it's kind of along the same lines too. When
it comes to number ten, Tarlton State going to Portland State.
You know, really that's an interesting game. It's a good
get for Portland State obviously. I mean just with some
of their budgetary issues. You know, it's hard for them
to get you know, good non conference opponents to go there.
(26:58):
And I mean they had you see last year, but
you know that game, you know, didn't get played for
you know, the whooping cough, you know, outbreak. But for
Portland State to get Tarleton State to come in there
have ESPN cameras there as well, it's a great it's
great for Portland States. And this is again, you know,
similar to U I W and Nichols. You expect Harlton
(27:19):
State to go in there and win. Although someone mentioned
to me, I can't remember what they were referencing, and
it may have been like Massy Ratings or something like
that that had this game as a pick them. I
didn't look into that too much, but I was kind
of surprised to see that. I was like, you sure,
that's right. I don't see how this game could be
a pick them. I would expect Tarlton State to win
by a couple of scores, but you know, it's it's
(27:41):
similar to that UI W. Nichols game. You expect Harlton
to win. But but how they win, I think could
tell us a lot, because you know, they do have
potential to be very explosive offensively, led by Victor Gabalis,
you know, quarterback defensively, return a good chunk of their
production from last year, so much talent, you know, most
of their guys are coming back from last year. Plus
(28:02):
they add Josh Griffiths from Oregon States. And that was
kind of when I was talking about them not having
their roster updated for a while, that was kind of
the main thing is I heard that Griffiths was back
with Tarlton State and he was a second team All
Conference guy two years ago and then transferred to Oregon States.
Didn't there is some off the field you know stuff there,
(28:24):
So I don't know if he was ever really listed
on their roster or he got booted, you know, off
the roster. But he's now back at at Tarlton State.
And I had heard that, but I couldn't verify it.
So then once their twenty twenty five fall roster came
out outside that he was on there, So that's just
another good boost for that defensive line and defensive unit
as a whole. So what do you make over all
(28:45):
of this matchup? You know, it's on one hand, it's
UAC versus Big Sky, a top ten team going to
a Big Skys team. On the other hand, obviously, Portland State,
while can be dangerous, they've certainly had their their struggles
in recent years.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Should be a blowout. If Tarlton State, Like if I'm
Tarlton State, that like the standards should be able to
win and the pick them things insane that that's legit,
because yeah, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Follow up and see where they saw that, but I
was kind of like I do. If it's a pick them,
then then I don't know. They either they know something
we don't or it's an opportunity to hammer Tarlton State.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
I guess, yeah, that's free money if it's a pick them,
if the line comes out as a pick them, if
or Portland State has a quarterback I just don't know about,
and like I just I think when you look at
Dante and all the plays he made a quarterback for
them last year, Sam and it still was only enough
to win three games. And they're gonna start a kid
I want to say. He's a sophomore restro sophomore. He's
(29:43):
only about six foot, a bit undersize. I just don't
like the matchup that they always have good individual weapons Sam,
but then they just get ravaged by the portal. And
they're one of the schools in the FCS and get
that other FCS schools will take their players. And it's
an impossible position to being because you're losing players to
the FBS. You're losing players to other FCS programs in
(30:04):
your conference. Their best linebacker, if I'm not thinking, is
that Montana Yep, right now, And so you just look
at all the talent that they've lost. I just don't
see how Tarlton State doesn't dominate this one. I think
Victor really has a chance to put up some stats here.
Now there's safety room in Portland State's really good. But
(30:24):
at corner and some other spots like Victor and this
wis in this revamp wide receiving court with Tayer Young
coming in from lock Caven, with Cody Jackson stepping into
a starting role, I think I think Tarlton State has
a chance to put up a lot of points. And
like I said, the defense is so experienced with Tolbert
Griffith Kerns at corner. I mean that y'assier Holmes coming
(30:46):
up from Frostburg State who had a twenty tackles for
loss last year. So they just have so much talent.
I think Tarlton should win this game pretty convincingly.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Yeah, last game we can touch on a little bit here,
Idaho State, Idaho State going to un l V. You
know this one. I did see a line youn LV
is favored by twenty four and a half to twenty
five and a half somewhere around there. Uh So, you know,
the books certainly don't expect to see an FCS over
FBS win. You know, I'd be curious to see if
(31:18):
this sort of gets it, sort of gets into shootout
territory or not. Youn LV should be good. They were
picked to finish second in the Mountain West. I've even
got like three or four first place votes. You know,
idahost State maybe can compete just with their their offense.
I mean they're gonna they're gonna winging around, you know,
under new or second year head coach Cody Hopkins. Now
(31:38):
there are are going to be explosive offensively, you know, defensively,
I just don't imagine them getting enough stops. But you know,
with quarterback Jordan Cook, I believe, you know, coming back
is likely going to be the starter. He was the
starter two years ago, and you know, I actually played well,
you know, showed off a really talented arm. I'm still
a little bit unsure on why he sat out last year.
(31:59):
But if he comes back and plays like he did
a couple of years ago, I know Ho State has
a chance to score you know, a decent amount of points.
So I don't think this will necessarily threaten for an
FCS over FBS win. But you know, I do wonder
if maybe Ida host State can hit on some explosive
plays just to you know, make it a little interesting,
stay within reach for a little bit, and get people
(32:22):
a little curious about the game before un LV probably
you know, probably pulls away for a somewhat comfortable winning
this one.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Yeah, this isn't the one I'm looking at for an
FBS upset at all. As good as Jordia Cook as too,
we struggled with turnovers, and I think UNLV is going
to probably take advantage of that. I will say I'm
very curious because ida who State's offensive line is going
to be super experienced. I want to say they bring
back all five starters from last year. They bring back
I think four wide receivers that played over three hundred snaps.
(32:49):
But like you said, I mean outside of really Mason Young,
maybe like Nathan Reynolds at linebacker, I just don't think
they have the talent defensively to hang in there for
sixty minutes.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
And you kind.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Of mentioned the way they've been winning these games and
when they have one is offensive explosion and they just
outscore people.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
What was it the was it two years ago?
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Was Jordan Cook when they had that big comeback against
Eastern Washington when they scored like a ridiculous amount of
points in the second half. I think it was ended
up being like fifty something to forty something or.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Something like that.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
So they're gonna have to put up a ton of points.
I just don't think the defense sound is gonna be
able to stop you in v enough. And if they
turn the ball over a few times, I think this
thing gets out of hand.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
After that, Well, we will will wrap it up here
and we'll be back next week to recap these games.
I also look ahead to the full slate of of
FCS games for Week one. Definitely some some juicy matchups
there that we'll be able to to to talk about.
But until then, thank you everyone for listening, and we'll
catch you guys on the flippity Flip the ba
All right, welcome in FCS tackle football fans to another
episode of the FCS Football Talk Podcast, presented by Hero
Sports and bet MGM. I'm your host, Sam Herder with
hero Sports, and I'm joined by my co host, Zach McKinnell.
He is with FCS Football Central and the blue Bloods
Football is finally here. We got some games to talk about.
(00:37):
Four or five actually five week zero matchups featuring FCS teams.
Four of them our FCS versus FCS games, and then
we do have one FCS versus FBS game. You know,
pretty good slate. This year, we have four ranked teams
in action. That's compared to last year. There was only
(00:59):
I want to say two ranked teams in action last
year for a Week zero Tarleton State they were ranked.
They played McNee, then Montana State played New Mexico and
got that FBS win. So to quickly go over you
know these games. Probably don't need to tell you listeners
which you know about these games, but we have number
five ui W at Nichols that's on ESPN. Two Idaho
(01:20):
State goes to UNLV that's on the Mountain West Network.
Number ten Tarlton State at Portland State. That's on ESPN
two Number eight UC Davis versus number eleven Mercer at
a neutral site that's on ESPN, and then another neutral
site games NC Central versus Southern. That game is on ABC,
So really great TV coverage here. ABC is always phenomenal
(01:45):
for to get a game on there. So that's great
for the me x SWAC Challenge, a couple of games
on ESPN two and then another one on ESPN and
so we'll have And the nice thing too, Zach, is
they're all pretty spread out, right, They're not all starting
at one o'clock or whatever. We have twelve Central, three, three, six,
and six thirty. So what do you think overall about
this slates as you kind of look at it on paper?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I love the fact that both the you know and
I call them both the kickoff games because you have
the Mix Whack Challenge which is every year on Week
zero and the FCS Kickoff Game, And I'm glad that
they finally have matchups with two really really good teams,
like I think there's been years, especially recently with the
FCS kickoff Game saund where the matchup just hasn't been
(02:29):
that intriguing, even if the game ends up being good
the matchup isn't between two top fifteen preseason eight teams,
So I thought they did a really really good job
of picking two good teams. Mercer has been in it before.
The fact they went out and convinced you see, Davis
to jump into this game is huge. And it just
happens to be that both programs are probably coming off
the best year they've had maybe ever in the case
(02:52):
of Mercer, right, And so I think there's so many
storylines to that game. I think it's going to engage
the local community, it's gonna engage the FCS just fan
base as a whole across the nation. And for the
Swack MEAC or the Meax Swack Challenge really really big man.
The fact that you had the two teams that finished
you know, second in each conference were one game away,
(03:13):
each of them from making to the Celebration Bowl, each
of them with hopes of returning and maybe getting to
the Celebration Bowl this year. And it'd be really cool
to see a team finally, you know, the saying is
starting the starting the A end in the A and
so so far as Sam, no one's been able to
do it. Gonna be very curious to see if one
of these two teams could do it. But I always
(03:35):
I'll say this, I'm a little torn as a fan.
I love the fact that we have a matchup like
Nickels and Incarnate Words so early in the season because
it's an important game. It could have postseason impact, conference
race impacts. But at the same time, as an analyst,
and I understand this for coaches, it's so tough to
have a week one, week zero conference game because really
(03:58):
and truly what two years ago this is the game
that decided the Southland Conference when Nichols ended up running
through the conference and getting to.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
The FCS playoffs. So that's a massive game.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And I think the curious thing to Sam, just to
kind of wrap it all up, is that in every
single game, outside of maybe the Idaho State FPS game,
there's at least one team in the game, Sam, that
comes into the year with massive preseason expectations. We get
the first looking Incarnate Word after there's been a whole
bunch of talk about did they do enough to enter
the national title? Pitcher Tarleton, building on the quarter final
(04:33):
run from last year. I mentioned both the teams in
the x Y Challenge are going to be conference Celebration
Bowl contenders. And then you got UC Davis Mercer, two
top fifteen teams, both of which have the possibility to
make runs in the FCS playoffspan for four games to
have potential posts and implications, and at least one team
(04:53):
that's going to impact the national landscape. Man, I love it,
and it's good for FCS football.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, And keep in mind too that starting next year,
the FCS will fully move into Week zero with the
ability to play twelve regular season games year a, year
in and year outs. And not only could the FCS
take over this Saturday, but they're also allowed to play
games Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, you know, of this week
(05:21):
and then so potentially we could see, you know, some
of these games be played on Thursday of this week
and Friday of this week, then obviously a handful of
games on Saturday as well, where the FCS could really
take over some TV windows where you know, they get
you know, a game Thursday night on ESPN and ESPN two,
and same thing on Friday. Now, I expect at some points,
(05:43):
maybe sooner than later, that the FBS is also going
to fully move into this new Week zero and just
start the season. You know, even earlier because it allows you,
you know, from an FBS perspective to also as they're
probably maybe expanding the their playoff brackets again, you know,
that's really getting deep into January, so this could help
(06:03):
the FBS out as well. But as far as next year,
I do think it's exciting for the FCS to move
into fully into Week zero. We haven't gotten a whole
lot of games announced just yet. NDSU going to UIW.
I believe that's next year that's going to be a
Week zero you know matchup. So that's that's a great one.
(06:23):
We know the Big Sky is because they're adding a
ninth conference game. Now, the Big Sky plans to play
a conference game actually to start the season for the
new Week one slash Week zero, then going to non
conference and then play eight you know, conference games. So
that's obviously an interesting scheduling quirk there for the Big Sky.
I did this is kind of a random question because
(06:44):
I was thinking of this, Zach, what do we call
next year's opening weekend for the f CS? Do we start?
Do we call it week one or do we just
keep it week zero? And then that way FCS and
FBS Week one is a line week two is aligned, like,
what are we calling that next year? Are we calling
it week one or are we just sticking with week zero?
(07:05):
Do you have any any thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
No, but man, my anxiety is like ramped up now
because I like to have like some sort of continuity.
I'll be honest, I think at the end of the day,
people are probably gonna stick with week zero just to
kind of keep it on the same track as the FBS,
because you don't want it'll be weird to say, you know,
the FCS is in week two while the FBS is
in week one, because like the Ivy League doesn't start
(07:30):
till what is it, like week four, but they don't
call that week one for them, So I think it
keeps on the same schedule. It'll still be week zero,
and that's kind of what week zero was made for, right,
So it was made for kind of the FCS to
have their own weekend, and also too for Hawaii to
have their own weekend because Hawaii needs that extra game.
So I just I'm hoping that I agree with you,
(07:51):
the FBS is coming to take over the weekend eventually,
especially if they expand the playoffs as much as they
are maybe talking about but like like you said, I
think it would be good for the FCS to be
put in the spotlight and then not only do you
have that NDSU and Cardinal Word game, you potentially have
some big conference games across the Big Sky, maybe some
other conferences that are moving to non games.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
And on top of that too.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
The big news this week was the Vegas Kickoff Classic,
and you're gonna have some really really big games with that.
And I do wonder if we could see Sam maybe
some other classics across the country and or an ability
to start new classics if that can be utilized, And
I would really like to see Sam. The FCS Kickoff
go back to on campus. Yeah, I would love to
(08:38):
see it revert back to what it used to be
where it was always a signature matchup. And then you
can still have a Classic in Montgomery if you want,
and then do your thing with that. But the FCS
Kickoff game should be the ultimate event on week zero
or week one, whatever you want to call it moving forward.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, I think I like keeping it at week zero.
I'm just so everything is aligned FCS and FBS. Plus
you can kind of brand it as well instead of
calling it week zero, you can call it FCS Week zero,
and I guess kind of brand things that way. And yeah,
I'm with you there as far as the FCS kickoff.
You know, this is it is an ESPN event's you
(09:18):
know game, and so they kind of have say over it.
And you know, I really started with just having an
FCS spotlight game where it was on campus and we
had some great games like Sam Houston went to Eastern Washington,
that was a shootout. NDSU went to Montana in twenty fifteen,
I believe you know, that was a heck of a game.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
You know, even believe it or not.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Charleston Southern with the NDSU the next year in twenty sixteen,
and Charleston Southern was was really really good that year
and that was a heck of a game. I think
it was either twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen is when
they moved it to Montgomery, you know, because ESPN, you know,
found a sponsor for that. I think it was the
Guardian Union or something, does that sound right, you know,
(09:59):
out of UNP something like that. They found a sponsor
and moved it to a neutral site game and you know,
you're you're kind of limited in in your matchups there,
there's been you know, decent games. I think Jacksonville State,
NC A and T. You know, that was a pretty
good preseason ranked matchup there. But you know, obviously the
the home crowd or not the home crowd, but the
crowd overall just doesn't fill out, you know, the stands there.
(10:21):
And even this UC Davis Mercer game, you know, had
they played it at Mercer, like you know, Mercer has
a nice home you know atmosphere especially you know typically
you especially get good student turnout for you know, the
home opener as well, so probably could have had a
better scene, you know, for for the ESPN cameras. If
you can play this on a home site, I don't
(10:44):
know where that's at. Yeah, it probably seems like maybe
they'll they'll keep it at a neutral site for the
time being.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Yeah, And also to the thing that hurts them with
playing in Montgomery is, like you said, they got UC
Davis this year, so maybe you know, there's some sort
of entice that they can entice some of these West
Coast teams, but it's just tough to convince a team
from the West coast SAM to travel all the way
to Montgomery for week zero, because you're already kind of
at a disadvantage starting the season early, and now you've
(11:12):
also got to travel across the country. It's just a
tough thing to ask teams to do this early in
the season. And also to we know, travel budgets are
big in this new age of college sports, and we
got to save money somewhere, and so asking someone to
increase their travel budget like that is kind of tough.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Yeah, So let's dive into that FCS kickoff game this year.
You know, I would say the highlight game of this weekend,
just with the preseason rankings number eight, UC Davis, number eleven,
Mercer two quarterfinal teams from last year. To me, like,
we won't dive too much into the x's and zero
(11:46):
as an offense versus defense and those sort of and
those sort of things for these games. More more so
kind of higher level macro viewpoints of these games. And
I think, you know, it feels a little too early
to talk about playoff positioning, but the great things about
these sort of non conference games are these are big
(12:08):
data points for the FCS playoff Committee, and especially for
a conference like the SoCon which you know, we've heard
their commissioner, you know say that, you know, he thinks
his conference deserves more respect from the FCS Playoff Committee,
and you know they deserve to have three four bids
every year just with the overall strength of the conference.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And you know, big.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Data points for the SoCon would be getting some of these,
you know, big non conference wins. I mean imagine if
Etsu beat NDSU last year or Western Carolina beat Montana
last year like that, those are huge feathers in the
caps for the SoCon when it comes to the bubble.
You know, you could you could say, well, this is
the third place team in the SoCon. They have eight wins.
(12:53):
A lot of other a lot of other teams from
other conferences also have eight wins. How do they stack up? Well,
this SoCon team beat the fourth place team, the Big Sky,
and that Big Sky team is you know, already in
the field for US. So I think a win like
this would be huge for Mercer and the Silicon overall.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, this has so many implications for a week zero game,
and I've talked about it before. Is that I just
think the so CON, I don't even know, Sam, if
Mercer has to necessarily win the game, but if they
don't look competitive. It's going to really really hurt the
so CON's perception when it comes to the bubble, and
(13:32):
especially in a year where the bubble kind of shrinks
with the adding the Ivy League schools to it, and
so there's going to be one less at large bit
So I think Mercer faces a ton of pressure because Sam, well,
what's to say that Mercer is not the team that's
on the bubble right could come the end of the season.
So how big would a win over UC Davis be
(13:53):
when you're arguing for playoff position there?
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I'll be very, very curious to see for Mercer.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I think obviously Dj smith Man, I'm really interesting how
he plays his weekend man because he got so hot
to start the season last year, Sam, and then after
his injury, he really wasn't the same gob And I
think I don't know if he was one hundred percent
healthy when he came back, and so I really want
to see if he's one hundred percent what he can
do against really what's going what It seems to be
(14:23):
a very good you see Davis defense, but also too
with U C. Davis on the bubble, I know the
big skot schools tend to get the benefit.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Of the doubt.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
But if you ask UC Davis fans, they would disagree
with that because said they've been the team that's kind
of been left out at times. There's been multiple years
where UC Davis has been right there on the bubble.
And just remember the what was it three years ago
when they beat Sack State even though the state got.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
In over them two years ago.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah, So how big of a win could this be
for their resume? Because I know it should and me
and you have our opinions on those. I don't want
to get sidetracked about now ranked wins versus then ranked wins. Yeah,
but the committee looks at then ranked wins and this
this is gonna with the wholesome value as a top
fifteen win. And I think UC Davis could could really
(15:16):
set themselves up for a good shot at least in
a large bit with the win here, because they do
have I think a few chances in the big Skys
schedule to make a statement, but I don't think it's
I don't think they have one of the tougher schedules,
and I think they'll ability to get through. And if
they can get to eight wins, that includes a win
against Mercer, They're gonna have a really good shot to
get it at large. But I want to ask you, Sam,
(15:37):
does a UC Davis loss change your opinion on their
trajectory in the Big Sky and how you feel like
they're going to compete in conference?
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Yeah, I think it would a little bit. I don't
think it'd be an awful loss, and obviously final score,
you know, that'd be a little more tell any you know,
if it was like forty two to ten or something
like that, that's different. But you know, they lot they'd
lose like twenty eight twenty. Maybe you feel a little
bit differently about UC Davis because I right now, preseason wise,
(16:08):
you know, I'd probably have them right outside of the
top five, just the more I look at the ages
and you know what they have coming back on offense,
and you know, some some transfers that that you expect
to plug and play defensively, and you know Mercer, you know,
there's still a rankable team to me. But their losses,
you know, certainly are more significant, especially on the defensive
side of the football. So I would go into this
(16:31):
game leaning a UC Davis win, and if they were
to lose, you know that that may that makes you
reevaluate the Aggies a little bit more, but I also
think it obviously would boost up mercer as well. This
would be a signature win for for the Bears and
for the so kind I think, and you kind of
like what we were talking about earlier. I do think
things you and I both look at things like very
(16:53):
fluid weeked week, especially early on in the year, and
sometimes things age well and sometimes things don't age well.
And so for either of these teams, if they get
a win here, that's you know, a massive win, you know,
a win over a top eleven, top eight sort of team.
But if the team whoever loses, if they go on
and finish six and six, okay, that it's a good win.
(17:15):
But to me, it's not like a eye opening win
on your playoff resume, because the team you beat, you know,
kind of kind of fell off and weren't as strong,
you know, as we think. And so I do think
this is a major game in a major moment for
for both of these teams whoever gets a win, but
certainly how the other team. You know, I always say
it once you if you beat a ranked team, you
should now be cheering for that ranked team to you know,
(17:36):
to stay in the rank and just so at age
as well on your playoff resume.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah, you don't want a situation with like Steven F.
Austin and what they went from like eight to unranked
or kinnessas State the one year where they dropped out
right before they.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Went up to FBS.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
But I'll be very curious, and the thing I like
about these type of matchups, Sam, is that we get
to learn a lot about the team. Like I hate
and I know you hate this as a voter. Me
and you are sitting there filling on our ballots in
Week four and we have a team that's two to
one with a D two win, an FBS loss, and
then a win over a FCS team that's not very good,
like a Pioneer League team or something. I have no
(18:12):
idea what to think about this team, Like there's been
no competition to give me any data points on how
I think they could compete nationally in the top twenty five.
The reason I like this is that on one hand,
you have a new quarterback in Caden Pinnick who's going
to be taking snaps for UC Davis. He gets to
go up against a really good defense with Andrew Zack
and a bunch of other contributors coming back from Mercy.
(18:33):
They have some turnover, but they're still going to be
really talented. And on the flip side, Mercer's offensive line
has been in the question of art. You get to
see how they react to a very experienced defensive line
that has a lot of new faces, but they added
a ton of guys with the playing experience at the
FCS or FPS level. So I really like saying that
we get a lot of good data points and a
(18:53):
lot of good learn like film that we can watch,
and that we can learn a lot about these teams immediately,
because I really hate being sitting there at week three
or four seven not knowing anything about a team because
they just haven't played a really good schedule.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Yeah, exactly. Let me ask you about the MIAC Swack Challenge.
You know, I think it's going to be an exciting game.
You have two teams who were near the top of
their conference standings last year in NT Central in the
MIAC and then Southern in the SWACK. To you, how
important are these games? Is it more so breaking rights?
(19:27):
You know, because we know there's there's a lot of
pride and a lot of online banter if you want
to call it banter, a trash talk between these two conferences.
But you know, the winner and loser, they still obviously
have to you know, go on and win their conference
to you know, to to either reach the Swack Championship
game or to advance right to the Celebration Bowl. If
you're the MIAC and so to you, is this more
(19:49):
of a kind of more of a breaking rights, you know,
sort of game for the winner.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
And the funny part, Sam, is Southern to be the
first team to tell you that that's all it is,
because at the end of the day, they've lost some
really big out of conference games and guess what's now,
They just they find a way to get to the
Slack Championship come hell or out water, whether it's close wins,
whether it's back dooring their way in, because a team
(20:17):
just falls off a cliff like they just keep.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Finding their way there.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
And if you lose a competitive game, I mean, I
don't think it alters their season one way or the other.
But the thing with Southern is I do think this
game is important to them, Sam, because they just haven't
been able to win against elite teams, especially in HBC football.
I want to say they're like, they're three and sixteen
against in conference teams above five hundred, and if you
(20:42):
extend that to out of conference play, it's not great.
You look at last year, I think they lost bo
almost fifty to Nicchols. They collapse against McNee, so that
there's been a few times where the Southern hasn't been
able to deliver, and this is a really good opportunity
in my opinion, for them to get that signature win
under head coach Terrence Grace. And you want to talk
about a guy who wants to make a statement, Sam,
how about Trey Oliver who has finished four and one
(21:05):
in conference for like what the past four seasons, And
they've really been one game away every year of winning
the MIAC four straight years in a row. They only
got one of them and made it to the Celebration
Bowl that year and won it. But this is a
team that could be on a dynasty run in the
MIAC if they could just finish the games they're supposed
to win.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
They had that.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Weird collapse against Howard, They had the horrible first half
against South Carolina State last year, they get beat by
Elon out of nowhere, which probably keeps them out of
the FCS playoffs last year. And so this is a
team that's been one game away and if you're Trey Oliver,
you probably want to come out there and put in Obviously,
start the season with an exclamation point and with a statement,
(21:45):
and that starts with a dominant win against Southern. So
bragging rights are a big part of this tam but
I do think this is massive for the trajectory and
the momentum of.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
These teams going into twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, for fans watching this game, keep an eye on Givens.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
I believe he's.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Number Where's number one off the top of my head
defensive end for Southern. Uh to me, I think he's
I don't want to say the front runner. It's way
too early for that, but he's certainly going to be
in the conversation for buck by Cannon Award. I mean,
nearly thirty tackles for loss last year just went off.
He's a multi time All American level guy, So that's
certainly got to watch out for in this matchup. You know,
(22:24):
another game, I guess we touched on it already. A
little bit, but number five ui W going to Nichols,
you know, starting off with with the conference game, you know,
for the Southland super interesting. I think Nichols front seven
should be decently strong. So I do think this is
a good test for a UIW offensive line that you know,
(22:45):
I think should be solid, should be a good offensive line.
But as we've said multiple times, you know, being a
good offensive line doesn't usually get it done. You know,
in December, you really need to have a great o line.
And we've certainly hyped up ui W, you know, top
five team in the rankings, top five team for in
both of our ballots. I think I had them five
(23:05):
and you had you had UIW number three, and we
touched on that. It's a couple of weeks ago. But
the talent level here is immense, both in returning talent
and being able to retain you know, most of their
guys they were able to retain, you know, plus bringing
in you know, former All Conference running back here, former
All American safety there, you know, another former All American
(23:28):
you know running back, and so just the overall talent
level for UIW is is really eye opening. How they
play against Nichols, you know, I think is going to
be super interesting. You could you can sort of see
how this could be a sloppy game. You know, it's
week zero, it's going to be in the heats. You know,
maybe there's a little bit of nerves with being on
(23:48):
national television. But I think it's an opportunity for UIW
to make a statement to a certain extent. And now,
you know, we'll see how good Nichols is. Obviously not
preseason ranked. Maybe they go on and have you know,
a strong season, so it's not you know, necessarily going
to be this you know, ie opening win or anything
like that compared to UC Davis Mercer. But but I
(24:10):
do think, but I do think, you know, a strong win,
you know, a clean crisp performance, uh could could really
go a long ways for U i W and just
their perception because you know, there's there's gonna be fans
of the Big Sky in the Valley, you know, watching
games like this, and they'll they'll certainly, you know, throw
their opinions out there. You know, if U i W
isn't looking super crisp, or it's a close game against
(24:32):
a Nickels squad that isn't ranked, you know, you'll definitely
hear and see some tweets out there like oh, this
is the this is the fifth best team in the country, Like,
are you kidding me? So I do think I'm fascinated
in how u I W looks in this one to
open the season.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, I'll be honest, I'm not gonna hear any of
the the talk from those type of fans because they're
say I said this on on my show, it hardly
working with six to nothing Sam, and they would say.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Nichols, this is terrible. That's gonna be the narrative.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
But if they struggle, it's going to be in carnate
Ware was overrated, Like, I don't think there's anything in
carnet Ware could do this weekend to get credit from
the fans that are already gonna detract from the high
preseason ranking. But to me, I think the offense is
gonna be fine.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
I don't have.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Any qualms or worries about the offense. Now I agree
with you that the offensive line is going to have
a tough matchup against that front seven, but you got
too much talent. You're gonna have to put on points
or put up points. The spot where this game falls
Apart from me sam Is defense is defensively for Incarnate
Word and offensively for Nichols, because I just don't see
(25:42):
the potential there for Nichols offense. With a new quarterback
that does not have a ton of experience, you're replacing
a ton of weapons. I mean, your your best running
back is on the on and Carnate Words offense, now
wide receiver. You don't have a ton of proof. You
got a bunch of guys that have played, but none
without standing production. Offensive line, you're replacing a good bit.
(26:04):
I just I personally think that Incardinate Words should dominate
this game defensively, and I think for me, Sam as
good as as much as I want to watch the
offensive line is I love offensive line play, and we
know I'm going to be tuned into that, I'm more
interested see how if the defense could be dominant. Can
Incardinate Wars defense dominate a game? And to me, that's
going to be my number one thing I want taken
away from this one. Because they haven't overmatched offense are
(26:28):
going up against, they should dominate this game, and if
they struggle to stop Nichols offense, to me, that's more
concerning than if the offensive line takes a little bit
to gel in this game.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, it's kind of along the same lines too. When
it comes to number ten, Tarlton State going to Portland State.
You know, really that's an interesting game. It's a good
get for Portland State obviously. I mean just with some
of their budgetary issues. You know, it's hard for them
to get you know, good non conference opponents to go there.
(26:58):
And I mean they had you see last year, but
you know that game, you know, didn't get played for
you know, the whooping cough, you know, outbreak. But for
Portland State to get Tarleton State to come in there
have ESPN cameras there as well, it's a great it's
great for Portland States. And this is again, you know,
similar to U I W and Nichols. You expect Harlton
(27:19):
State to go in there and win. Although someone mentioned
to me, I can't remember what they were referencing, and
it may have been like Massy Ratings or something like
that that had this game as a pick them. I
didn't look into that too much, but I was kind
of surprised to see that. I was like, you sure,
that's right. I don't see how this game could be
a pick them. I would expect Tarlton State to win
by a couple of scores, but you know, it's it's
(27:41):
similar to that UI W. Nichols game. You expect Harlton
to win. But but how they win, I think could
tell us a lot, because you know, they do have
potential to be very explosive offensively, led by Victor Gabalis,
you know, quarterback defensively, return a good chunk of their
production from last year, so much talent, you know, most
of their guys are coming back from last year. Plus
(28:02):
they add Josh Griffiths from Oregon States. And that was
kind of when I was talking about them not having
their roster updated for a while, that was kind of
the main thing is I heard that Griffiths was back
with Tarlton State and he was a second team All
Conference guy two years ago and then transferred to Oregon States.
Didn't there is some off the field you know stuff there,
(28:24):
So I don't know if he was ever really listed
on their roster or he got booted, you know, off
the roster. But he's now back at at Tarlton State.
And I had heard that, but I couldn't verify it.
So then once their twenty twenty five fall roster came
out outside that he was on there, So that's just
another good boost for that defensive line and defensive unit
as a whole. So what do you make over all
(28:45):
of this matchup? You know, it's on one hand, it's
UAC versus Big Sky, a top ten team going to
a Big Skys team. On the other hand, obviously, Portland State,
while can be dangerous, they've certainly had their their struggles
in recent years.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Should be a blowout. If Tarlton State, Like if I'm
Tarlton State, that like the standards should be able to
win and the pick them things insane that that's legit,
because yeah, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Follow up and see where they saw that, but I
was kind of like I do. If it's a pick them,
then then I don't know. They either they know something
we don't or it's an opportunity to hammer Tarlton State.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
I guess, yeah, that's free money if it's a pick them,
if the line comes out as a pick them, if
or Portland State has a quarterback I just don't know about,
and like I just I think when you look at
Dante and all the plays he made a quarterback for
them last year, Sam and it still was only enough
to win three games. And they're gonna start a kid
I want to say. He's a sophomore restro sophomore. He's
(29:43):
only about six foot, a bit undersize. I just don't
like the matchup that they always have good individual weapons Sam,
but then they just get ravaged by the portal. And
they're one of the schools in the FCS and get
that other FCS schools will take their players. And it's
an impossible position to being because you're losing players to
the FBS. You're losing players to other FCS programs in
(30:04):
your conference. Their best linebacker, if I'm not thinking, is
that Montana Yep, right now, And so you just look
at all the talent that they've lost. I just don't
see how Tarlton State doesn't dominate this one. I think
Victor really has a chance to put up some stats here.
Now there's safety room in Portland State's really good. But
(30:24):
at corner and some other spots like Victor and this
wis in this revamp wide receiving court with Tayer Young
coming in from lock Caven, with Cody Jackson stepping into
a starting role, I think I think Tarlton State has
a chance to put up a lot of points. And
like I said, the defense is so experienced with Tolbert
Griffith Kerns at corner. I mean that y'assier Holmes coming
(30:46):
up from Frostburg State who had a twenty tackles for
loss last year. So they just have so much talent.
I think Tarlton should win this game pretty convincingly.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Yeah, last game we can touch on a little bit here,
Idaho State, Idaho State going to un l V. You
know this one. I did see a line youn LV
is favored by twenty four and a half to twenty
five and a half somewhere around there. Uh So, you know,
the books certainly don't expect to see an FCS over
FBS win. You know, I'd be curious to see if
(31:18):
this sort of gets it, sort of gets into shootout
territory or not. Youn LV should be good. They were
picked to finish second in the Mountain West. I've even
got like three or four first place votes. You know,
idahost State maybe can compete just with their their offense.
I mean they're gonna they're gonna winging around, you know,
under new or second year head coach Cody Hopkins. Now
(31:38):
there are are going to be explosive offensively, you know, defensively,
I just don't imagine them getting enough stops. But you know,
with quarterback Jordan Cook, I believe, you know, coming back
is likely going to be the starter. He was the
starter two years ago, and you know, I actually played well,
you know, showed off a really talented arm. I'm still
a little bit unsure on why he sat out last year.
(31:59):
But if he comes back and plays like he did
a couple of years ago, I know Ho State has
a chance to score you know, a decent amount of points.
So I don't think this will necessarily threaten for an
FCS over FBS win. But you know, I do wonder
if maybe Ida host State can hit on some explosive
plays just to you know, make it a little interesting,
stay within reach for a little bit, and get people
(32:22):
a little curious about the game before un LV probably
you know, probably pulls away for a somewhat comfortable winning
this one.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Yeah, this isn't the one I'm looking at for an
FBS upset at all. As good as Jordia Cook as too,
we struggled with turnovers, and I think UNLV is going
to probably take advantage of that. I will say I'm
very curious because ida who State's offensive line is going
to be super experienced. I want to say they bring
back all five starters from last year. They bring back
I think four wide receivers that played over three hundred snaps.
(32:49):
But like you said, I mean outside of really Mason Young,
maybe like Nathan Reynolds at linebacker, I just don't think
they have the talent defensively to hang in there for
sixty minutes.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
And you kind.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Of mentioned the way they've been winning these games and
when they have one is offensive explosion and they just
outscore people.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
What was it the was it two years ago?
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Was Jordan Cook when they had that big comeback against
Eastern Washington when they scored like a ridiculous amount of
points in the second half. I think it was ended
up being like fifty something to forty something or.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Something like that.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
So they're gonna have to put up a ton of points.
I just don't think the defense sound is gonna be
able to stop you in v enough. And if they
turn the ball over a few times, I think this
thing gets out of hand.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
After that, Well, we will will wrap it up here
and we'll be back next week to recap these games.
I also look ahead to the full slate of of
FCS games for Week one. Definitely some some juicy matchups
there that we'll be able to to to talk about.
But until then, thank you everyone for listening, and we'll
catch you guys on the flippity Flip the ba
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