Louisiana FCS Football Preview Show, Mcneese at Tarleton St Preview and Prediction for Week 0

and welcome everybody to keeping it true by you in Louisiana this is of course our show for all of your favorite teams in Louisiana that aren't the big three if you know what we mean we'd like to cover all the NCAA teams here as well as some of the minor league teams that don't always get the same traction on other networks and we appreciate being able to bring in their fans and get to show them a little love throughout the season now today is a very special episode not only being our first episode of keeping it true by you in Louisiana it's also our FCS football preview episode where we're going to be taking a look first at the swack then moving on to get you ready for the start of football in the state of Louisiana when MCN heads over to tarlington State and kicks off on August 24th at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN 2 nationally televised game very much looking forward to that of course I'm Donald I'm your host for this episode and every episode as we March through the football season and get ready for all the fun Minor League Sports to come in winter and fall if you're interested go ahead and hit the follow and keep us uh right there at the front of your playlist for all your latest on some of these teams in the state of Louisiana let's go ahead and get started today with our preview of the FCS football action coming up in the St Louisiana this fall I think we have such a unique opportunity in this state to see some very strong talents to see some very competent players and competent play um the FCS level is often times very much underrated when it comes to not only the entertainment value but the quality of play obviously you should never compare it maybe to your power two conferences or even power four now for that matter when it comes to college football but make no mistake the FCS is very much able to compete often times with FBS opponents be it in the group of five or even of course they're amongst their own Elites such as North Dakota state which you all may be familiar with with the Bison as well as other former FCS great such as appalachin State this is where we find ourselves in 20124 I find that you have two teams that are making very strong cases to be able to win their conference and in one case for our swack Champion head to the Celebration bowl and in the case of the Southland Conference Champion head over to an FCS playoff birth got to love big time playoff football in those FCS schools particularly when you go up north you're playing some snow in games it's always a fun time and particular if you can get one of the Louisiana teams either they're coming down here and they're getting temperature shock or it's one way or the other it's always a good time so when we look at the swack and you know particularly you have two universities here in St Louisiana Grambling and Southern historic Rivals um you can go on for days it's important to look this year at what is one of the most unique coaching storylines I think we've seen um coming out of college football in general but it will never get the surface level traction that you would see if this happen at any other school so you have longtime Louisiana coaching Legend Mickey Joseph goes up takes the Grambling job uh he was a wide receiver coach for LSU during the 2019 Championship run amongst many other coaching resume and backgrounds please don't think it's just that this man is very talented and of course he is a expert recruiter of the New Orleans Market uh the New Orleans area uh he is named a top 25 recruiting genius in the country by his folks at ESPN Mickey Joseph knows what he's doing and he's going over to take a program that has seen some better days but is certainly still competitive when it comes to playing in the swack what he has at his disposal is a very unique thing and it is the previous two Southern head coaches Eric duly leaves Southern uh unannounced and heads over to Grambling in the off seon and then you also have as your defensive coordinator uh the previous Southern coach that's a little bit strange so to see the setup that they have going there I think that you're taking some of the best coaches in the swack putting them all on one team with an expert recruiter you're going to be able to get some great talent I can tell you that a one star that goes to a power five is very different from a one star that ends up with legitimate playing time under legitimate coaches like this in the swack you're going to get to see some very good football and one of those players not necessarily one star but a player that is being recognized for what he could be doing for us this year in St Louisiana of course I am uh not related to Grambling in any way but I support the state I support what they're doing up there it's good stuff um their quarterback miles Crawley has been named to the preseason watch list for the Walter Payton award now for those of you who may be getting your first taste of FCS football this weekend and you're may be trying to find a little bit better following for it the Walter pton award is basically the FCS is Heisman um of course named after Legendary running back he has uh submitted himself as the trophy namesake for the premier player in the FCS um some of these uh previous winners you can think of that may have come through Tony Romos uh Jimmy Garoppolo so forth and so on very big names that went on to play many years in the league but we saw miles Crawley last year um particularly if you're just a follower of LSU when it comes to college football in this state um put up a very strong performance in that first half against hu's defense last year showing that he can move the ball against some of the most elite players and that was cemented throughout the remainder of the Season where he put up a total of 2300 passing yards 16 touchdowns completing over 60% of his passes now one of the things to note is that in that Grambling system that they had going that was not necessarily the standard it was very much exemplary it was very much um a showing of skill level so with the most passing yards and the most touchdowns in the past 5 years he's being recognized and is on the watch list for the Walter Payton award now I don't think that a quarterback and a solid coach will win you the swack independently much less the always anticipated byou classic that will go down on uh the end of the year in New Orleans on national television with NBC glad to see that they moved it back to NBC so if that sticks we'd love to see that great National showing now to be fair Southern is also bringing some very talented players we're talking about all swack preseason players as well as uh FCS preseason all-americans uh with some of their defensive players you have defensive lineman and I'm hoping I'm getting it right to Kelby given who is a 62550 sorry oh Lord no not 500 250lb uh defensive lineman he definitely plays some Elite ball we covered him a little bit in some of my previous Ventures um just sort of giving him some recognition whenever he would win those players of the week award so forth and so on uh given is definitely a player to watch out for uh particularly when it comes to the line I think he's going to have a very strong gear this year and it's going to help Propel Southern with a new head coach like we said their coach went and left for Grambling but they took their interim who was able to win the Bayou Classic last year despite um a lot of things that were going on with that southern program some major health concerns um and took a team that at that point didn't have a clear Direction and at least started the process of getting them going in that direction this is going to be what I think could help prove to push Southern towards a potential run at a swack Championship um but Southern has a very interesting schedule to give you some context of course like I said we're going to end this episode with uh previewing the first game from MCN but August 31st the following weekend they head straight over uh to host the Southern Jaguars in Lake Charles so it's going to be interesting seeing that then later on in the season another Southland Team Heads to Baton Rouge this time to play Southern At Home in Mumford Stadium this is not always the standard scheduling procedure but it's good to see that there's going to be a lot of instate play a lot of things to talk about as we get going during the football season um besides that you have the usual um play from lower division HBCU so in this case it'll be Savannah State University coming to aw Munford stadium and then they have their standard swack opponents that will um go and give quite the show I think that you're definitely going to be looking at an opportunity for some big games to go down this year you're going up to Jackson Mississippi to play Jackson State that's all is a tough game and then you have prview who plays Some solid football you also are going to them on the road that puts you in a bit of a tough position for me to be able to say that I believe that this is a team that could contend for celebration bold birth however if we go over and we check out what Grambling has on their side of the ball and their side of the uh State it's a little bit different they uh start off the season in Lafayette at the newly named Our Lady of Lords Stadium we'll be covering FBS previews by the way for the Sun Belt and uh Conference USA and American Conference teams next week on keeping it true BYU in Louisiana so look forward to see the cinjun preview next week but before we get to that let's of course finish up what we have going on here the Grambling schedule is a much more forgiving schedule you get Jackson State at home you get Prairie View in the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair Classic which is you know while technically a neutral site we know it's going to slightly favor for Grambling um you also have some of the other more contentious teams in uh home situation for Grambling I really think this is a favorable schedule however of course that byou classic does always Loom at the end of the year and Southern does not give that one up easily honestly I think you're going to see Grambling have a better shot to compete for a chance at that swack title I think that you're going to see somewhere in the ballpark uh also for their other non-conference game they take on uh Tuskegee University from the smaller side of things and they take on Texas A&M Commerce out of the Southland so a lot of local teams this is uh good to see we like to see these small schools play locally helps fan bases travel get to some really energized crowds ultimately though I have to say this for Grambling I do believe that they might fall a game or two short in the standings as far as it comes to gaining that birth to a swack Championship although if the cards fold a little bit differently if they you know maybe take a turn or two differently here I don't see why this team couldn't compete um it'll be interesting to see what happens with this talented of a coaching staff if this ends up being a situation similar to what we saw with Deion Sanders where you're you know doing things that hadn't really been done in that space and you're doing things at a sustained and consistent level you know we'll see what kind of conversations take place right now the swack normally does not send anybody to the FCS playoffs we'll see if that changes this year but that is my effective preview of the swack I think that southern is looking for uh an improvement as far as the direction of the program but maybe a step back in record I could see anywhere from 5 and seven all the way up through maybe a 9 and three year if things went really well on the other hand I think for Grambling you have a opportunity to put together what could be a chance to do some really strong things I think you will end up uh taking a loss against your uh FBS opponent you will most likely struggle against uh the Southland opponent although Commerce is not the best in the Southland so they stand a chance there don't get me wrong at all um this team could easily end up with just a two- loss team uh just due to the way how their schedule Falls with the home game games against some of the stronger opponents you have the State Fair Classic of course that gives you an opportunity to do some things that maybe a team like Southern while maybe they equal footing right now and we'll see that in the Bayou Classic the end the year I still think that it's honestly going to be very contentious very close and we'll be of course watching what happens over there off of I20 to let you know what goes on for them and down off of 110 for the Jaguars now as we transition here to Southland Conference play Southland Conference standing this is a very different set of circumstances you had Nicholls come and put on a absolute clinic on how to make a run for your conference Championship last year with uh ending the season strong and ending up usurping the long ranked UIW throughout the year who you thought was going to have a chance to do some things in the FCS playoffs but much like an NC play basketball or any other sport the conference Champion is what matters so with Nicholls stealing their conference Championship away from a team like UIW last year uh although they made a very quick first round exit in the playoffs they still prove to everybody that they are a team to be reckoned with and a team to be respected and that ended up being the case whenever you took a look at what the pollsters put out at Southland Conference media day they currently have Nicholls with just one first place vote ahead of UIW and about six total votes overall now not far behind them is Southeastern the funny thing about that is sou Eastern was pre was uh the preview of last year to be the conference leader to defend championships which they had put up but that season did not hold together at the beginning of the year and it started to crumble now they ended up making some nice runs towards the end of the year they put some better games in place but it wasn't enough now the Southland Conference is at a very interesting position they always have a team in Uno who doesn't field a football team so you're already down a conference member compared to some other schools uh that have or conferences I should say that have full football membership schools um what the southon conference is doing that is different is that starting in 2025 they'll bring in uh Grand Valley University of Texas Grand Valley that's down um Way South uh if you know sort of where a lot of those g-league teams and then you previously had the uh Rio Grand Valley Toros uh if you're following any uh soccer in the US those are some of the locations where you'd want to look at to see where the school is located um down in the Texas Valley South of San Antonio basically um one of the main ways though is that in the acquisition of a football program in the acquisition of the school you know being elevated they really only started uh Fielding major NCAA Athletics within the past 20 years um they took over the former Rio Grand Valley Toro Stadium which was a small replica if you will of uh what was previously BBVA Stadium I believe it's now PNC Stadium which is where the Houston Dynamo play of course we cover you all across the B region so anytime you have some questions about what going what is going on over there in Houston be sure to let us know we are uh keeping an eye on that we'll talk about that another time but nevertheless um the league will have nine teams for the last time this year and this is important because usually the Southland comes in as one of the weaker uh FCS conferences one of the uh weaker uh opponents when it comes to FCS playoff time so as a defending conference Champion as a team that showed that they can put on a run last year Nicholls is currently ranked 23rd in the top 25 and they have an opportunity to maybe turn some heads with that early top 25 ranking but any mistakes could be something that sets the team back from being able to get another ranking uh I'll give you a quick look at some of the early parts of the year and I think this is why I talk about some setbacks could be detrimental so Nicholls as a defending Champion opens up with uh a bit of an onslaught and you know I can't blame them for taking these games they're going to get some nice payouts they're going to be able to do some things for a program at a university that is growing rapidly they are doing some major work down there in Tibido please do not ever sleep on what they have going on down there in Tibido uh I you know again don't have any affiliation with Nichols but I do uh respect what goes on down there I think it's a fun part of the State uh underrated part of the state for that matter but what is critical though is that they open the season on August 31st sort of with the rest of the national scene with Louisiana Tech going up to Ruston and then they follow that up the next week with a home opener for LSU so backto back uh just heavyweights I think they have a much better chance against latte they could even you know I'm not going to say they could upset but they could certainly keep that game closer than it should be by all traditional metrics you then play Sacramento State in California that has some opportunities for a trap game uh late kick locally you know 6:00 p.m. over there but 8:00 p.m. here so you're going to be playing closer to 11: maybe 11:30 that kind of gets weird and then you get a break with Mississippi Valley uh at home to finally open up your season on September 21st but you then immediately go back up to Southern and you know that could be a upset game a trap game uh and then you play your conference rival UIW who is supposedly uh your biggest Challenger and you finish out the year with of course the riverbell Classic this year hosted again in Tibido so that will be a home game for the colonels honestly that's a rough slate that's a rough slate that I don't anticipate being an easy resolvement being something that you can just uh passively assume is going to go well uh I think it will take some great effort by the team to be able to overcome this situation and then as far as you know the other contender in the state we look at Southeastern we look at what they've put up recently I think that they're sort of solidifying this football program I think that they're getting a little bit better every year but they suffer similar fate however they take a little bit of an easier route they go back to back to open the season at tlane at Southern Miss they then go up to what is uh excuse me they then host what is going to be a pretty fun one this is the home and home from last year uh they take on Eastern Washington which is a uh semi- Powerhouse out of the Pacific Northwest uh you may be familiar with the red field you may be familiar with some of their uh notable alumni Cooper cup uh just to name a few before a again host and this is going to be by the way a excellent FCS slate coming through Hammond this year head over the Hammond America catch some of these games because uh game number two at home is the FCS perennial Powerhouse South Dakota State rabbits jack rabbits coming to Hammond that will be a fun one uh I'm not going to say they favored but I think that the Lions will definitely be able to put on a bit of a show for that one um then they go straight into conference play as do most of the uh Southland Conference teams they don't really bounce in and out uh later in the year as much unless you know maybe somebody's getting a pay date in November but um what you do have is a pretty decent slate now you're going to play in late October and late November UIW Nicholls that could be tricky um you then of course have some other teams that are respectable Lamar uh and that'll be you know we'll see senior night you get a easy one against Northwestern now I'm going to transition out of Hammond here uh to sort of keep this episode moving get you ready for what we have coming up and briefly touch on Northwestern this is a team that you should give a pass this is a team that I am glad to see they are Fielding a roster I'm glad to see that they are Fielding a new coach who is trying to do some uh major rebuilding uh for those of you who may not be aware northwestern's season ended last year early um due to the tragic death of their player Ronnie Coleman this then led to what was already a season that was on the Rocks uh having to take further uh looks in the mirror he had a lot of questions surrounding the coach his involvement what ultimately happened was that coach was let go and then you now bring in coach mccorkel who who is going to take over for the demons um they are predicted to finish last they are predicted to probably be last by a good amount uh I would not expect much I do hope that they're able to find a win or two there just to briefly touch on their schedule as I pull it up here um it's going to be tough to find a win uh particularly uh a very strong win for that matter but I do think you'll see some fight out of the Demons I think you'll see some resolve some real you know um commitment to becoming better commitment to advancing the program but it is not going to be an easy route for them uh at all and honestly they open up against tolsa you see it there in the dropdown uh in the layout for those of you watching and you know you have a shot maybe uh you play some weaker teams you might be able to take one against Texas A&M Commerce at home uh another team that's predicted to finish in the bottom three of the Southland and that's about all they can do really um it'll be interesting their senior day is against MCN as we finally transition out to talk about game one of the college football season honestly Northwestern I think two wins would be very respectable you do get prayview A&M at home that might be one you can take um but it's they're going to give you a lot of fight they're going to give you a lot of fight and this like I said this team is rebuilding this team is trying to find a new sense of identity and trying to move on from a tragedy so you know like I say uh if the demons are able to play a whole year they didn't get to play a whole year last year if they're able to do that uh field successful hopefully non-injury Laden Seasons they're going to be in a good spot compared to where they were previously but let's go ahead and leave the last team uh in our list today for for of course the most important discussion which is opening the college football season now MCN is heading on the road to tarlington state that is a current whack uh Contender out of Texas but they have made their intentions very clear they look to move up with haste so who knows what that means for their program they talk about potentially having um FBS dreams maybe sliding into Conference USA or you know a rebuilding American even if the you know calls were to come I'm not going to worry too much about them but I do think that what MCN is walking into is going to be difficult for them to overcome uh MCN is a team that is building genuinely they are trying to do it uh the slow way the methodical way some would even say the right way they have stuck with their coach who has had some struggles as far as getting things going getting the winds coming and great volume but they are confident in the plan they're confident in where they believe the team can end up and they're going to play some of the roughest schedule that you see here right on track with Nicholls um like I said FCS 21st ranked charlington state uh that's going to be a tough one National TV they then again follow that up at home against Southern that's one you could maybe take but then they are heading over to College Station to play a Saturday game against Texas A&M slight redeeming quality that Saturday game against Texas A&M is an 11: a.m. kickoff which we know some FCS teams have caused some problems at 11:00 a.m. kickoffs um but outside of that they really play a schedule that will be tough on them they go UIW and Niels backto back in October um they can maybe try and find a little bit of a Saving Grace uh with the fact that they play too SWAT teams uh but this is a team that's going to struggle I think to hit 500 it's possible don't get me wrong I think they can you take a look at games like Northwestern Texas A&M Commerce the two swack schools and then maybe you could even make an argument for something like a uh hcu HBU for those that been around know some good people out of that area um and that's where they're expected to be middle of the road they were predicted to finish six honestly I think that if we're looking at this particular game just to give my preview of the first game in Louisiana here on keeping it true by you in Louisiana honestly I'm going to take the cow boys to come up shorten this one I think you're looking at somewhere around a 10-point difference there is no line published for this one right now so we have nothing to base it on from the sharps but um in my personal opinion I think that there's going to be a lot of good energy on Saturday it's a good uh you know sort of rest game after you watch Florida State and Georgia Tech open it up in the morning in Ireland but I think that honestly it will be a uh a tough game for MCN to get a w in but a certainly uh passionate performance uh MCN has some good guys on the line and a line backing core so some U some of the you know more guys that don't always get the love but I I think MCN has some players it'll be interesting to see if they can keep up it'll be interesting to see if they can make a challenge because if you open up the year with an upset of a top 20 ranked team in your uh league in your uh division of football on national TV hey Cowboys could be getting some uh unpredicted attention so we will certainly keep an eye on that we'll keep an eye on more as of course things get going we're starting off keeping it true by you in Louisiana on college football as that is of course the number one driver in the state and we're hoping to get you all along with us drop your predictions your comments your thoughts in the chat we want to hear from you it be it uh Southern Grambling or any of the four Southland teams we want to know what you thought about the episode what you thought about your team and where you predict your team to finish we're always interested in moving the conversation anyway my name was Donald this was the first episode of keeping it true by you in Louisiana and we'll look forward to next time we get to keep it true by you once again thanks everybody and enjoy the weekend at football this has been a True byou Media production this show is for entertainment purposes only and does not render legal or financial advice remember to bet responsibly distribution of this podcast is prohibited without the express written consent of True by Media or its subsidiaries thanks for being true by us we can't wait until next time we keep it true by you