Tag: Sun Belt Heat

Sun Belt Heat: The College Football Playoff Is A Lie

The College Football Playoff Committee screwed the conferences that risked life and limb to save the season Contact @astatefanrules It was as anticlimactic as it was profoundly unjust. The College Football Playoff committee delivered their annual …

The College Football Playoff Committee screwed the conferences that risked life and limb to save the season

Contact @astatefanrules

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It was as anticlimactic as it was profoundly unjust. The College Football Playoff committee delivered their annual bounty to the game’s wealthy elite – the same committee who had once upon a time said that “if you take care of business, win your conference, and go undefeated, the Playoff will take care of itself.

This was a lie.

Even during an unprecedented season that turned the entire college football world upside down, the Committee did what they do best: maintain the status quo. Consider, not a single team selected for the Playoff is new to the format. Even worse, not a single team truly deserves to be there.

Alabama didn’t play a single opponent outside of the SEC.

Ohio State played six games. They shouldn’t even qualify.

Clemson and Notre Dame have already played twice, and canceled each other out.

Meanwhile, two programs – Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati – did everything the Committee told them to do, which is to beat Top 25 teams, win its conference, and (as if it’s not hard enough) go undefeated. The Committee’s response was to rank Florida, Oklahoma and Texas A&M ahead of the Bearcats, and rank the Chanticleers completely out of NY6 consideration.

It. Was. A. Lie.

I’m not the only one bitching. While the Committee patted itself on the back for rewarding the same wealthy programs year in and year out, a handful of pundits raised a voice to grouse:

The Playoff is just one insult. The Bowl lineup is a completely separate line-item of Power Privilege. Look at this ghastly menu of sub .500 SEC teams who are awarded a plum Bowl game in 2020:

2-8 South Carolina – Gasparilla Bowl
4-6 Kentucky – Gator Bowl
3-7 Arkansas – Texas Bowl
3-6 Tennessee – Liberty Bowl
2-7 MissState – Armed Forces Bowl

Combined, they have exactly two more wins than Coastal Carolina, And yes, 2-7 Mississippi State is going to the Armed Forces Bowl while 9-2 Army get the shaft. This system is complete crap. It rewards teams not for their merit, but for their privilege.

It was all a lie. The College Football Playoff was supposed to bring balance to college football. We were told we’d have a place at the table so long as we pulled ourselves up by the bootstraps and proved our mettle to out just and benevolent overlords. In this dumb season of COVID, you’d have thought that playing more than 10 games would count for something, or that playing only within your conference would count against you. Nope. Not a bit. It’s they eye test that counts.

Why do we even play?

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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The Sun Belt Is On ESPN College GameDay And It’s A Big Deal

After years of the Sun Belt not being any time to shine, ESPN College GameDay is making its first ever pilgrimage to a Sun Belt campus.

After years of the Sun Belt not being any time to shine, ESPN College GameDay is making its first ever pilgrimage to a Sun Belt campus.

Contact @astatefanrules

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It only took an NCAA baseball champion to get ESPN College GameDay to visit a Sun Belt campus.

This Saturday, the universally loved and over-produced college football carnival sets up tents at Coastal Carolina, where the undefeated Chanticleers take on Lib…uh, the BYU Cougars, who are also undefeated and monolithed* into the schedule thanks to COVID-19. As one columnist observed, this is the ULTIMATE 2020 college football game.

Perhaps to the chagrin of Troy, Appalachian State and Louisiana – all recent AP Top 25 Sun Belt Programs – #16 Coastal Carolina receives the blessing of the world’s leading sports network, bringing its upstart brand of suddenly very good football to a global audience. While that may make many in the Sun Belt orbit burn with teeth-gritting envy, the value Coastal is bringing to the conference is pure bitcoin.

The Sun Belt needs this juice, and the timing couldn’t be better. After all, once the mighty College Football Playoff Committee weighs in, anybody not in the Top 6 may as well spend their time polishing their Tinder profiles. On Saturday, College GameDay won’t be in Tuscaloosa or Clemson or Columbus – it’sConway, baby. You want an in-depth analysis of Ohio State’s scheduling situation? TOO BAD, YOU GOT COASTAL. Looking for a status report on Nick Saban’s health? PROGNOSIS UNKNOWN, SUCKER, YOU GOT COASTAL. How about a look at whatever Oregon is wearing? EAT IT! YOU GOT COASTAL!

Fortunately for America, Coastal Carolina plays an entertaining brand of football, well rounded on all facets of the game. By Sunday, freshman sensation quarterback Grayson McCall is going to be a household name. On the opposing sideline, BYU has already murdered Troy and Texas State, so the Chants have an obligation to avenge the Sun Belt. Chances of this game being a dud is small, giving Game Day incentive to visit the Sun Belt again.

Who’s going to win? Who knows? The Cougars are big and fast. But they haven’t played a team like Coastal Carolina, a school with a recent national championship and beach access. I give the edge to the Chants.

* To “monolith” is to appear suddenly and mysteriously

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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Appalachian State Battles Coastal Carolina In The Sun Belt Bowl

The Old School Marshall duels the Young Gun Chanticleers this Saturday when Coastal Carolina hosts Appalachian State

The Old School Marshall duels the Young Gun Chanticleers this Saturday when Coastal Carolina hosts Appalachian State

Contact @astatefanrules

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At the start of this stupid season, if you had told me that Coastal Carolina would be undefeated and ranked #15 in the nation after 12 weeks of football, I’d have probably said, “Yeah, okay” because Lord Entropy is the Sun Belt’s only master. If you told me Rip Torn would also lead in rushing, I’d have believed it, too.

Yet, the Sun Belt’s Sheriff’s badge still shines on the chest of the Mountaineers, its only blemish a loss to currently undefeated Marshall. Appalachian State may be a bit longer in the tooth than the Chants, but Zack Thomas is still a unit behind center, the defense is as stingy as ever, and the citizens of Boone are plenty surly that anyone would dare question their legitimacy.

Short story shorter, Appalachian State wasn’t letting anyone besmirch the supremacy of the Mountaineers. Respect and fist bumps, App fans.

However, to dismiss the Chanticleers is to make a very big mistake; they are legit good. The Chants shut-out a Georgia State offense that puts up 39 points per game. They’re a member of the Sun Belt’s 2020 Big XII Massacre Squad. They’ve defeated #21 Louisiana in Lafayette. Coastal’s freshman QB, Grayson McCall, has been added to the Maxwell Award watch list.

Coastal Carolina’s proficiency on both sides of the ball reminds me of…Appalachian State.

The Mountaineers are also legit good – and well-rounded. The offense and defense both rank second in the Sun Belt. QB Zac Thomas is having another elite season behind center. And they made Arkansas State look like a division two school in Jonesboro.

Yet, while the Mountaineers have been solid, they haven’t been dominating. Comparing apples, Appalachian State struggled in a 17-13 win at Boone over Georgia State – the same Georgia State that Coastal demolished 51-zero in Atlanta. Sometimes, the Mountaineers’ offense stalls. Coastal always seems to coast.

Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina enjoy an early tee-time in Boone this Saturday on ESPN 2. Whoever wins gets to pin the Sun Belt Sheriff Star on their chests, even if Lord Entropy remains the law of the conference.

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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The Sun Belt Opens The Season With An Opportunity It Can’t Possibly Screw Up (Right?)

The Sun Belt Opens The Season With An Opportunity It Can’t Possibly Screw Up (Right?) Never overestimate the Sun Belt’s capacity for calamity Contact @astatefanrules As I write this, the student news paper for the University of North Carolina has …

The Sun Belt Opens The Season With An Opportunity It Can’t Possibly Screw Up (Right?)

Never overestimate the Sun Belt’s capacity for calamity

Contact @astatefanrules

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As I write this, the student news paper for the University of North Carolina has already declared the semester “a clusterfuck.”  Meanwhile, Notre Dame is reporting a big spike in COVID-19 cases. The MAC canceled its fall season, and the Big 10 and Mountain West followed suit.

Yet, some college football conferences are heroically plowing forward. Among them, although from opposite ends of the FBS spectrum: the SEC and the Sun Belt. Why? America needs football, damnit! Who cares that Major League Baseball can’t field a weekend of games without creating a pandemic hotspot? Or that the NBA has only maintained its health by sealing itself inside the World’s Happiest Bubble?  The Sun Belt and the SEC may be divided by tens hundreds of millions of dollars, but they are united by life’s universally accepted coin – hardheadedness .

Whether it is wise to host a football season in this “time of uncertainly” is up for debate. However, what’s absolutely clear is that the Sun Belt has an opportunity.

By the time the SEC plays its first game (of an incestuous 8-game schedule), the Sun Belt will already be 3-weeks deep into its own schedule. The Sun Belt will have applied its molten heat on the likes of Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Memphis among others. That’s three weeks of owning the South with exclusive college football content. While SEC pundits are spitting out practice boring reports and cranky Saban quotes, the Sun Belt will be playing ACTUAL GAMES.

How does the Sun Belt handle this plum situation? The right answer is BALLSY, of course. But knowing the Sun Belt, and not knowing much about Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill (despite being on the job for more than a year and a half), the response will be prudent and cautious, and that’s just lame.

The Sun Belt should be negotiating a phat package with ESPN right now. Commissioner Gill ride a white steed right up to College Gameday’s throne and demand they visit some place ridiculous, like Monore. The SEC “Just Matters More?” For three weeks, they won’t even matter at all! 

By the time the SEC gets out of bed on September 26, the AP Top 25 will be stacked with laser hot Sun Belt (and whoever else manages to survive)! After all, how can you possibly rank a winless team three weeks in the season? You can’t, right?

We have three weeks, Sun Belt. Let’s make the most of them.

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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Sun Belt NFL Draft: Who’s Making Dat Bank?

Sun Belt NFL Draft: Who’s Making Dat Bank? Time to make the donuts, y’all. Contact @astatefanrules Let’s get this out of the way: The NFL Draft isn’t kind to the Sun Belt. We’re a Day 3 Conference with aspirations for someday becoming a Day 2. You …

Sun Belt NFL Draft: Who’s Making Dat Bank?

Time to make the donuts, y’all.

Contact @astatefanrules

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Let’s get this out of the way: The NFL Draft isn’t kind to the Sun Belt. We’re a Day 3 Conference with aspirations for someday becoming a Day 2. You know how badly it hurts to type that? I’m not some unfeeling keyboard commentator. I’m flesh and blood. Maybe more flesh than most.

Because I’m a patriotic Citizen of the Sun Belt, it is my duty to feel good about the 2020 NFL Draft, which opens proceedings on Thursday night and lumbers on through Saturday. Why feel so good, Sunrades? Nothing concrete, but the NFL Combine did invite 7 Belters to run, jump and perform feats of strength before grown men carrying clipboards. Seven isn’t a groundbreaking amount, but it’s four more than last year’s Combine and seven more invites than the MAC received this year.

Combine invites don’t guarantee a place in an NFL huddle. The Sun Belt received three invites last year and drafted one (1!) player. But there are other signs. For example, CBS College Sports has seven Sun Belt prospects ranked within the Top 255. But what do they know?

They likely know more than me. However, because I haven’t submitted content to this site in months (blame COVID19), I’ll go ahead a provide you my list of Sun Belt Superstars most likely to be selected on NFL Draft Day 2020.

Fo Sho

Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB, Appalachian State

Robert Hunt, OL, Louisiana

Kevin Dotson, OL, Louisiana

Prolly

Darrynton Evans, RB, Appalachian State

Omar Bayless, WR, Arkansas State

Tyler Bass, K, Georgia Southern

Meh-Meh

Kindle Vildor, DB, Georgia Southern

Kirk Merritt, WR, Arkansas State

Raymond Calais, RB, Louisiana

Get’n Robbed

Monquavion Brinson, DB, Georgia Southern

Ja’Marcus Bradley, WR, Louisiana

Victor Johnson, OL, Appalachian State

Kevin Thurmon, DE, Arkansas State

Bryan London, LB, Texas State

Jordon Fehr, LB, Appalachian State

Tra Minter, RB, South Alabama

Tra Barnett, RB, Georgia State

 

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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Sun Belt Heat Week 14: Thanks For Playing

Sun Belt Heat Week 14: Thanks for Playing With the championship game already set, the Sun Belt will attempt to avoid merely going through the motions. Contact @astatefanrules Sun Belt Heat is sponsored by O’Doul’s. Premium content requires a …

Sun Belt Heat Week 14: Thanks for Playing

With the championship game already set, the Sun Belt will attempt to avoid merely going through the motions.

Contact @astatefanrules

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Sun Belt Heat is sponsored by O’Doul’s. Premium content requires a premium, non-alcoholic pilsner. 

As it turns out, 2019 is the new 2018, with Louisiana and Appalachian State returning to the Sun Belt Championship game, to be held next week. Sure, the journey contained a few wrinkles, like Georgia State making a mini-run in the East and Troy producing its own Chernobyl mini-series. Otherwise, the new boss is the old boss in the Sun Belt.

Which leaves the remainder of the conference playing for the leftover trinkets. Two programs seek a sixth win for bowl eligibility– Troy and ULM. Neither are assured a post-season spot even if they scrape up the W. There are also a pair of genuine rivalry games on the table, with nothing more on the line than pride. The Red Wolves’ Omar Bayless will work to maintain his status as national receiving leader, and Appalachian State kinda needs a crushing victory to cement its place in the College Football Playoff Top 25.

Not exactly the most compelling storylines, but so what? It’s November, and any heat is welcome.

Arkansas State Red Wolves (7-4) @ South Alabama Jaguars (1-10), Friday, November 29, 4:00 PM on ESPN+

Red Wolves have an 11-point buffer

Musty, asbestos-y old Ladd-Peebles is a kind of second home to the Red Wolves, who played five straight GoDaddy Bowls in Mobile. Adding to Arkansas State’s plus column: the Jaguars are awful, losers of nine straight and without a single FBS win on the season. Yet, there is a sense of disquiet for Red Wolves fans, as 1) this feels like a letdown game after the win against Georgia Southern, and 2) this is Senior Day for the Jaguars. Don’t be surprised if the Red Wolves are caught looking ahead to whatever Bowl game comes knocking. Also, don’t be surprised if Arkansas State rolls by 50. Just do yourself a favor and leave surprise out of this.

VERDICT: Red Wolves with the win

#25 Appalachian State Mountaineers @ Troy Trojans (5-6), Friday, November 29, 5:00 PM on ESPN+

Mountaineers receive the 12.5-point nod of assurance

This is an important game for Troy, who with a win becomes bowl eligible, earns a victory over a Top 25 opponent, and besmirches the near-perfect season of a divisional rival. However, last week’s 53-3 pimp slap from Louisiana doesn’t inspire much confidence in the Trojans. Added to the dismay, the Mountaineers lost some footing in the polls after playing too cavalier with the Texas State Bobcats. On paper, this looks like a massive QB shootout between Zac Thomas and Kaleb Barker. In reality, it looks more like a Subway 5-inch tuna sub left in the sun.

VERDICT: Mountaineers grudge-pound the Trojans

Texas State Bobcats (3-8) @ Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4-7), Saturday, November 20, 11:00 AM on ESPN+

Chants by 7 points because Bobcats

A popular self-help book written several years ago recommended that you “eat your frogs” first thing in the morning so you could enjoy the remainder of your day unfettered by dread. There’s no froggier game than Bobcats at Chants this week, played in the morning so as not to spoil the rest of an otherwise fine day.  

VERDICT: Good work, Chants. Nice. 

O’Doul’s “Maintain Your Edge” Sun Belt Game of the Week

Georgia State Panthers (7-4) @ Georgia Southern Eagles (6-5), Saturday, November 30, 5:00 PM on ESPN+

Eagles get the 7-point Edge

Behind dual-threat QB Dan Ellington, the Panthers enjoyed a potency of offense they had previously never experienced as a member of the Sun Belt. Ellington is tied for 2nd in the Sun Belt with 21 TD strikes, and has run it in for another five. It may come as a surprise to some that the Panthers’ Tra Barnett is the leading rusher in the Sun Belt, and that the team is behind only Louisiana and Troy for total offense. What makes Vegas nervous is that Georgia State surrenders 205 yards on the ground per game, and the Eagles love to burn you on the ground.

VERDICT: Panthers out-sling the Eagles

ULM Warhawks (5-6) @ Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (9-2), Saturday, November 30, 6:30 PM on ESPNU

Cajuns enjoy a 19.5-point spread

Since losing to Appalachian State 17-7 early in the conference season, the Cajuns have stoically thumped the Sun Belt with a bruising mixture of power running and stifling defense. The punishment reached its climax with a 50-point spanking of Troy, and there’s no evidence to support that Billy Napier is going to ease the whip on the Warhawks. A funeral for ULM will be held immediately following the game.

VERDICT: Cajuns boil

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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Arkansas State’s Omar Bayless: The Most Disrespected WR On Earth

Arkansas State’s Omar Bayless: The Most Disrespected WR On Earth The nation’s leading receiver is have trouble gaining the respect of the establishment. Contact @astatefanrules Four years ago, the following video appeared in my Twitter feed: …

Arkansas State’s Omar Bayless: The Most Disrespected WR On Earth

The nation’s leading receiver is have trouble gaining the respect of the establishment.

Contact @astatefanrules

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Four years ago, the following video appeared in my Twitter feed:

Omar Bayless, a freshman WR and 3-star recruit from Mississippi, executing a flatfooted backflip. At six-foot-three, that was pretty damned impressive. Right away, I became a fan of Bayless. The next season, I wrote this about him:

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I had jumped the gun a bit. In 2016, Bayless recorded 117 yards and a single touchdown. In fact, for the next three seasons, Bayless would wait his turn, quietly doing his job while Kirk Merrit and Dijon Paschal and Justin McInnis received the spotlight. But then he did this against Georgia Southern:

In 2017, he did it again. The One Handed Catch became a Bayless speciality, reminding us that he was by far the most freakish athlete on the team. He has size. He has speed. He has strength. Most importantly, he has supernatural ability to power through the play after the catch, pushing the defenders aside the Black Friday shoppers at Walmart.

This season, Bayless put up the numbers (and circus catches) to catch the attention of the Biletnikoff Award List and even garner some goodnatured Heisman talk.  As of today, Bayless leads the nation in receiving yards and is tied for the lead in touchdowns. As if that were not enough, he’s blocked two punts.

In recent years, I’ve seen a number of great receivers in the Sun Belt: J.D. McKissic, Penny Hart and Jaleel Scott come to mind. Bayless is better than all of them. Layne Hatcher, freshman QB for Arkansas State, merely has to toss the ball in his general direction. Bayless makes the plays.

And yet, the disrespect.

This week, the leading receiver in the NCAA was not a finalist for the Biletnikoff. This isn’t a surprise. Post season awards are for the Privileged Five. But the lack of invitation from the Senior Bowl has not only been puzzling – it’s been downright insulting.

Jim Nagy, Executive Director of the Senior Bowl, doesn’t see much talent in the nation’s leading receiver. He sees more talent in a whopping nine other candidates. The only G5 wide receiver with an invite is Antonio Grandy-Gordon from Liberty. Devin Duvernay from Texas has 8 fewer touchdowns than Bayless. Chase Claypool of Notre Dame has more than 700 fewer yards. And how do you justify Vanderbilt’s Kalija Lipscomb (468 yards, 2 TDs) on this roster? How is the nation’s leading receiver omitted from this team – and bad-mouthed by the bowl’s executive director?

By my count, eight players from the Group of Five have accepted invites to the Senior Bowl (including three from the Sun Belt). That’s about 9% of the roster. Aside from a few FCS invites, the rest belong to the nation’s wealthy programs. It’s clear where the Senior Bowl’s allegiances lie – not with talent.

Omar Bayless is the nation’s best wide receiver. Too bad being the best doesn’t mean much anymore.

 

 

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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The 2019 Season Is A Triumph For The Arkansas State Red Wolves

The 2019 Season is a Triumph for the Arkansas State Red Wolves No matter what happens against South Alabama on Saturday, this season was special. Here’s why: Contact @astatefanrules The Red Wolves enter the last game of the 2019 regular season 7-4 …

The 2019 Season is a Triumph for the Arkansas State Red Wolves

No matter what happens against South Alabama on Saturday, this season was special. Here’s why:

Contact @astatefanrules

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The Red Wolves enter the last game of the 2019 regular season 7-4 and eliminated from the divisional title. By recent standards, the record alone rates a C+. And yet, the season is a triumph. A monument to perseverance. A benchmark for future Red Wolves teams to follow. Why?

Consider, the Red Wolves have won seven games despite:

  • Losing Wendy Anderson to cancer
  • Losing two Sun Belt All-Conference First Team defenders for the season
  • Losing a starting QB who was having a break-out season
  • Losing 10  players to season-ending injuries, including  Ryan Graham (RB), Isaiah Azubuike (RB), Logan Bonner (QB), Forrest Merrill (DL), Hunter Moreton (DL), Jerry Jacobs (CB), Tony Adams (DL) and Thomas Toki (DL)

Consider what the Red Wolves have gained along with those seven victories:

  • A wide receiver who leads the nation in yards and TDs and is a Biletnikoff Award semi-finalist
  • A freshman QB who stepped into the starting roll without blinking
  • A wide receiver squad featuring three of the top five pass catchers in the Sun Belt
  • A 9th consecutive year of bowl eligibility

The obstacle-to-achievement ratio is extraordinary. The Red Wolves passing attack is ranked 15th in the nation without the services of Dahu Green. Step-in quarterback Layne Hatcher ranks third in the Sun Belt for passing yards and second for TDs despite having only seven starts. Omar Bayless, he who leads the nation in receiving, also leads the nation in blocked punts. Even with a decimated defense, William Bradley-King leads the Sun Belt in sacks. Darreon Jackson leads the Sun Belt in tackles.

This is a team that was two special-team snafus from defeating a nationally ranked SMU. This is a team that could have crumbled when struggling against Coastal Carolina and still gritted out a win. This is a team that put the brakes on Georgia Southern’s triple option, and this is the team that flew into Las Vegas and stomped UNLV. This is a team that adjusted to an entirely new staff and has now rolled off four straight victories.

Most of all, the enormous weight of Blake Anderson’s trials cannot be understated. If you’re married, imagine plowing through the thankless grind of a college football season under these sad circumstances – and winning. Rather than selling all his worldly possessions and becoming a lumberjack in Alaska, Coach Anderson found solace and strength with his second family – the Red Wolves. We should be grateful and in awe. This season is a triumph for Blake’s courage alone.

Take joy in this season, Red Wolves fans. The team and its coach has earned it.

 

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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Georgia Southern Eagles vs Arkansas State Red Wolves: Dyin’ Times Here

Georgia Southern Eagles vs Arkansas State Red Wolves: Dyin’ Times Here The only thing this Thunderdome is missing is Tina Turner and a convoluted third act. Contact @astatefanrules Last season Georgia Southern effectively bounced Arkansas State out …

Georgia Southern Eagles vs Arkansas State Red Wolves: Dyin’ Times Here

The only thing this Thunderdome is missing is Tina Turner and a convoluted third act.

Contact @astatefanrules

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Last season Georgia Southern effectively bounced Arkansas State out of the Sun Belt West with a 28-21 victory – the first game of conference play. The Red Wolves never recovered. Arkansas State would finish behind Louisiana, and darkness settled over Jonesboro.

This season, the time of year has changed, but the stakes are just as high. For both teams. Both are 6-4. Both are 4-2 in conference. Both are glaring upwards at hated enemies. And a loss on Saturday removes all hope of winning their respective divisions.

Two teams enter. One team leaves with a shred of hope intact.

“Thunderdome’s simple. Get to the weapons, use them any way you can.”

The key to a Red Wolves victory is fairly simple – activate Omar Bayless, the offense’s greatest weapon, early and often. Against the Chanticleers, Bayless wasn’t seen until deep in the second quarter, and the Red Wolves struggled to find the end zone. Freshman quarterback Layne Hatcher needs to get the nation’s leading receiver involved right away to keep that stout Eagles’ defense on its heels. Don’t worry about the Georgia Southern DB combo of Monquavion Brinson and Kindle Vildor (who hasn’t suited up the last two games). They’re going to make plays. Bayless will make more.

“Remember where you are – this is Thunderdome, and death is listening, and will take the first man that screams.”

Last week, the Red Wolves coughed up the pill five times. Historically, copious turnovers haven’t necessarily prevented Arkansas State from beating Georgia Southern, but it’s not wise to test this anomaly of the universe again. Hatcher (again, a freshman) will throw a pick or two, but the remaining Red Wolves need to protect the ball at all costs.

Meanwhile, Georgia Southern is tied for 9th in the nation with only 9 turnovers, complements of a run-run-run-run again offense. Forcing mistakes from running back J.D. King and quarterback Shai Wertz hasn’t come easy.

“Right now, I’ve got two men, two men with a gut full of fear. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls… dyin’ times here!”

The stakes are big in Jonesboro on Saturday. While both teams are bowl eligible, not every bowl eligible team will go bowling. A win more-or-less cements postseason action. Neither teams can afford to crumble beneath the weight of the moment.

The Red Wolves have home field advantage, but Georgia Southern has already passed the road game test against the Mountaineers in Boone. Maybe that’s why the Vegas line, which started 1.5 points in favor of Arkansa State, has settled to EVEN?

“Thunderdome. How do I get in there?”

“That’s easy. Pick a fight.”

Eagles and Red Wolves are foes-made-rivals by Saturday’s circumstances. The heat will be felt on the field, and emotions will be dialed to 11. Arkansas State was sloppier than usual against Coastal Carolina. A public rebuke from Coach Anderson and a week of disciplined practice should help clean the laundry.

Final Analysis

Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome was a dopey movie, and Mel Gibson’s frizzy hair extensions were ridiculous. But Tina Turner produced a song that slapped, and I’m still steamed that we never got a Master Blaster prequel. 

As for the game, Vegas was too scared to call it, but I have the foolhardy courage to roll with Arkansas State’s Omar Bayless and a defense that has, beneath the radar, showed flashes of capability.

Georgia Southern Eagles @ Arkansas State Red Wolves, Saturday, 2:00PM on ESPN+

 

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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Sun Belt Heat Week 13: Win And Live

Sun Belt Heat Week 13: Win and Live Coffee is for closers. Time to sign the line that is dotted. Contact @astatefanrules Sun Belt Heat is sponsored by O’Doul’s. Premium content requires a premium, non-alcoholic pilsner. Tuesday night, the College …

Sun Belt Heat Week 13: Win and Live

Coffee is for closers. Time to sign the line that is dotted.

Contact @astatefanrules

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Sun Belt Heat is sponsored by O’Doul’s. Premium content requires a premium, non-alcoholic pilsner. 

Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff Committee rewarded Appalachian State’s comeback win of Georgia State by elevating the Mountaineers from 25th to 24th. One needn’t bump his head to know he’s hit a very low ceiling. Of the ranked Group of Five, I feel Appalachian State can beat any of them. Not that anyone has asked me.

Shout out to the Panthers for pulling a page right out of Coach Hayden Fox’s playbook and starting the seemingly mortally injured Dan Ellington on Saturday. This was literally a plot line from Coach. I’m not providing a link. Just trust my ironclad memory for 1980s situational comedy plot lines.

Despite Ellington’s surprise participation, Georgia State didn’t have enough defense to prevent their elimination from the Sun Belt Playoff Sweepstakes. Same for ULM, who gave up 51 to Georgia Southern. With the Panthers and Warhawks gone, Week 13 is a Win And Live week for Arkansas State and Georgia Southern (I can already taste the O’Doul’s) while everyone else plays for the pride and glory of their respective campuses.

Even Texas State.

South Alabama Jaguars (1-9) @ Georgia State Panthers (6-4), Saturday, November 23, 1:00 PM on ESPN+

Panthers have 9.5 points to play with

Congratulations on a solid season, Panthers. Dan Ellington was better than I expected. The wins over Tennessee and Arkansas State were both legit and impressive. But y’all need some defense if you want to thwart the Mountaineers and Bobcats of the world. Maybe start revamping those defensive schemes against the Jaguars, for whom I have no congratulations.

VERDICT: Panthers pound

Texas State Bobcat’s (3-7) @ #24 Appalachian State Mountaineers (9-1), Saturday, November 23, 1:30 PM on ESPN+

Mountaineers by 29, but don’t let that bug you, Bobcats

Monday on Wolf Den, Jay Bir and I discussed Appalachian State and tried to put a finger on their dominance. We couldn’t pinpoint exactly what made the Mountaineers special, except to say they are relentless in all facets of the game. They beat you on defense. They grind you with the run game. They can pass. They can boot field goals. All this shouldn’t bother the Bobcats, who can do those things too, just much worse.

VERDICT: Mountaineers play 4 quarters of murder ball

O’Doul’s “Maintain Your Edge” Sun Belt Game of the Week

Georgia Southern Eagles (6-4) @ Arkansas State Red Wolves (6-4), Saturday, November 23, 2:00 PM on ESPN+

Red Wolves have the 1-point Edge

Listen all! This is the truth of it. Fighting leads to killing, and killing gets to warring. And that was damn near the death of us all. Look at us now! Busted up, and everyone talking about hard rain! But we’ve learned, by the dust of them all… the Sun Belt learned. Now, when men get to fighting, it happens here! And it finishes here! Two men enter; one man leaves.

VERDICT: Red Wolves need every bit of that one point

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4-6) @ ULM Warhawks (4-6), Saturday, November 23, 4:00 PM on ESPN3

Warhawks get a Monroe 6-points

The Chants and the Hawks are playing for life’s most valuable coin: pride. Go get some pride, boys! Also in keeping with Thunderdome: the winner walks out with a shot at bowl eligibility.  While Coastal Carolina seems to be improving year after year, the Warhawks are treading water, showing signs of brilliance of offense (behind Caleb Evans) while failing again and again on defense. Coastal nearly upset the Red Wolves in Jonesboro. Find a bookie and put it all on Coastal.*

* Don’t

VERDICT: Coastal keeps the dream alive

Troy Trojans (5-5) @ Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (8-2), Saturday, November 23, 4:00 PM on ESPN+

Cajuns favored by 14, but I dunno

Cajuns are having an incredible season, with head coach Billy Napier and the conference’s mightiest run game rolling over opponents without granting quarter or mercy. Meanwhile, the Trojans have endured a dismal season under first year head coach Chip Lindsey. However, Kaleb Barker and Co. have put up 112 points the last two contests, seemingly signaling that the Trojans are not dead and would like to play some post season football. This is a classic original gangsta Sun Belt grudge match that’s worthy of a second six pack of cold-sober O’Doul’s. 

VERDICT: Epic victory for the Trojans

A former notary public, Jeremy Harper is a professional writer and Chief Instigator for Storm the Castle Creative. He spends much of his free time staring blankly into space. 

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