Week 3 Recap: West Florida Wins Again on the Road

Before I get into the game, want to give a special shoutout and photo credit to the UWF team photographer Morgan Givens. If you don’t follow him on social media, go do it now, here is his Twitter and Instagram. He gets awesome shots of the team every week and was kind enough to give me permission to use them.

Going on the road into pressure situations continues to suit the Argonauts just fine, coming out of Commerce, Texas with a 35-17 road victory over the 2017 National Champion TAMU Commerce Lions. The Argonauts once again looked as comfortable on the road as they do at home, never letting the situation get out of hand. Despite trailing 17-14 at halftime, the Argos outgained the Lions 179-162 and were 4-5 on 3rd down conversions, and it just felt like a game where UWF was going to string together a few strong drives in the middle of the game and take a comfortable lead to the final. It didn’t even take large halftime adjustments, just continuing to do what they’d been doing all game, and the Argos put up a 21-0 second half, closing the door on a team who has already played and beaten two good.

QB Austin Reed was once again good, tossing 2 TDs and 0 INTs, and leading the team on 5 scoring drives and 7 red zone appearances. The defense continued to cause problems for opposing QBs, coming away with 5 more sacks bringing the season total to 12.

Not as Close as it Seemed

The final score, 35-17, doesn’t quite indicate the one sidedness of the game from the 2nd quarter on. Disregarding that the West Florida offense was knocking at the door a the end of the game, only to give a gentleman’s nod to the Lions and take the win with two knees, the Argos had three big missed opportunities, basically on consecutive drives, to put points on the board.

Twice the Argos were in scoring position, and on the verge of taking a lead late in the 2nd quarter. They had driven down to the TAMUC 19 yard line on a balanced drive that took 11 plays and 3:42 off the clock heading toward half. On 2nd and 3rd and 6, Reed just couldn’t quite connect with Coates and Durden in the red zone, and Danny Laudet missed a 36 yard attempt. They almost got redemption for this one immediately, the defense turned a quick three and out, and got the offense back the ball with just under a minute left, but Ka’Ron Ashley muffed the punt in traffic and the Lions recovered at the West Florida 40. Good field position and a personal foul on the Argos got the Lions in range to retake the least 17-14 with just 4 seconds left in the half.

At the open of the 3rd quarter, UWF fell short inside the 25 again, unable to convert a 4th and 8 from the 23. After getting into scoring position on 8 plays 54 yards, UWF tossed two incomplete passes on the goal line to turn the ball back over to TAMUC.

The game could have just as easily been a 17-14 or 21-14 halftime lead for the Argos, if not for a couple of plays late in the half. They also had the chance to take the lead out of the gate in the 2nd half, and couldn’t quite hit home. There are no moral victories in football, but they trailed or were tied for such a long time in the game and it never felt like it. Even on the scoring drives early in the game for TAMUC it seemed like they were getting just enough to keep it moving. While they averaged 7.1 yards per play on those two opening TD drives, 78 of the 150 yards came on just 4 plays, dropping the average for the remaining 17 plays to just 4.2. All in all, this game could have gotten out of hand early, but credit to Commerce for not letting UWF run away with it.

Offensive Line Off to a Hot Start

Coming into the season, the one group I was most interested in seeing was the Offensive Line. It was a position group, that for the previous three seasons, had seen very little turnover. Samuel Antoine, Joe Wintrick, and Devin Gibson were all three year starters for the Argos, having their careers culminate in that amazing 2019 playoff run and Championship. At a position where unit cohesion and continuity mean a lot, and where the team lost so much (57% of their starts from 2019), you may expect a step back, potentially a big one.

So far, I’d argue they may have taken a big step forward, even despite losing their starting Center to injury week 2. The stats bear out how well the OL performed, they opened holes to average 5 yards per carry on offense (excluding knees) and once again allowed no sacks on starting QB Austin Reed. The unit faced a defensive front that was really good at disrupting both the run (19 TFL, 119 yards/game, 3.2 yards/carry) and pass (7 sacks, 7 hurries, 50% completions) coming into the game, and was able to have success in both phases whenever they wanted to. West Florida’s Line responded to the challenge by allowing only 1 TFL on a Running Back (which was from a corner coming up in run support), no sacks and just 1 official hurry (although upon rewatch, there were probably 4 or 5 total pressures).

Now credit is due to the Running Backs as well, Shomari Mason was excellent at being patient and finding his hole with a cutback and Jervon Newton and Anthony Johnson Jr ran as hard as ever, barreling through tacklers. However, the Line was consistently moving guys off their spot, and opening those cut back lanes for bigger gains to happen. Considering the relatively short amount of time these 6 have been playing as a unit, this line is set up in a fantastic position to continue to grow into one of the best in the country.

Another Dominant Stretch Seals the Game

I touched on this in the First Reaction to the game, but for the second week in a row the Argos put together a stretch of offensive and defensive drives in the middle of the game that ended up being the whole game. This time it was six consecutive drives (3 offense 3 defense), that changed the course.

UWF comes out and received the second half kick, and drove down the field but turned it over on downs after a solid 10 play 54 yard drive that consumed 4:22 off the clock. West Florida got to 2nd and 4 at the TAMUC 19 yard line, but lost 4 on a run then had two incomplete passes to turnover the ball just outside the red zone. At the time Commerce was up 17-14 and it seemed like they could take advantage of the miscue.

1) Back on defense UWF came out and got a TFL from Stephon Williams, but TAMUC was able to convert on 3rd and short. They were unable to capitalize though, going TFL, incomplete, incomplete, punt (6 plays 14 yards punt).

2) The offense comes out and covers 70 yards in just over 3 minutes and scores on an 8 yard Jervon Newton TD run. The drive consisted of 6 rushes, 2 pass attempts (pass interference, incomplete), with the West Florida OL and running backs just shoving it down the Lions’ throat (8 plays 70 yards TD).

3) Next drive for the Commerce offense started off with an explosive 11 yard sack by backup Nickelback Dertontae Jordan, followed by an incomplete pass, and a run to avoid a big mistake (3 plays -7 yards punt).

4) With just over 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, UWF takes back over in excellent field position at their on 45. Austin Reed goes 3-3 52 yards TD on a quick drive that took just over 2 minutes of game clock (5 plays 55 yards TD).

5) The ensuing possession for the Lions doesn’t go much better, after getting a first down on a 16 yard passs on 3rd and 8, Lions QB Magalei had his comeback route snagged by Anthony Johnson Jr for his first INT of the season (4 plays 18 yards INT).

6) Again operating near midfield to start a drive, the Argos got a couple of big penalties (PI for 13 yards, facemask for 12) which set them up for 3 straight Shomari Mason runs until he hit paydirt (5 plays 45 yards TD).

In this stretch from 10:32 in the 3rd quarter to 11:47 in the 4th, the Argos offense scored 21 points, averaged 9.4 yards per snap (including penalties), and possessed the ball for only 7:11 of game clock. Over the same stretch the defense allowed only 25 plays, just under 2 yards per play, forced two punts, and snatched an INT. UWF has started out the season not being able to get stops on any of their opening defensive drives, and I give a lot of credit to opposing teams for taking advantage of the scripted parts of games. However, this defense has proven that as the games wear on, especially in the last two weeks, there is too much talent, and too much depth, and they start to key in on what teams are doing well. Meanwhile, all you have to do is give the offense the smallest window and they’re going to take advantage.

Emerging Players

I wanted to use this last section to highlight three young players who have really been making strides through three contests this year.

1) Freshman Cornerback Anthony Johnson Jr

Last week against SBU, Anthony Johnson Jr had an excellent coverage on a 4th down conversion attempt in the 1st quarter which set the Argos up to go ahead 14-7. This week he had a similar great coverage, this time in the end zone, on a 3rd down attempt that forced the Lions to kick a FG going into half time. He followed that up in the 4th quarter with his first career INT with the Argonauts. Johnson has worked his way squarely into the Cornerback rotation with program veterans Clayton and Oliver as well as Southern Miss transfer Showers, with those four, that position is even stronger than it was coming into the season returning both starters.

2) Freshman Linebacker Will Breland

We noted that Breland had been one of the younger LBs getting into the game early in the first two weeks, meaning before the massive rotation due to the heat at McNeese, and before all the backups got in after things were out of hand against Southwest Baptist. He hadn’t had a huge impact thus far, tallying 3 tackles (1 solo) 0.5 sacks in the first two games. This week he more than doubled his tackles adding 4 tackles (2 solo), and played a lot of snaps at MLB throughout the game. He was rewarded by being named GSC Freshman of the Week, an award he had been nominated for the previous two weeks. I love the situation Breland is in, because UWF has two talented, veteran LBs in the middle, so the Freshman can soak up as much of that knowledge as possible while also getting meaningful snaps year 1. He is really setting him up to be the guy next year at MLB.

3) Freshman Wide Receiver Jared Smith

#9 got his first run of the season last week, but was mentioned preseason as a player that the coaches liked at WR, so it seemed like it was probably just a matter of time before he made some plays. This week he really impressed me with 2 catches for 69 yards (2nd on the team), receptions of 24 and 45 yards. Listed at 6-2 190, I would have guessed he was heavier than that based on how he looks on the stream compared to other players, Smith was able to come down with 2 explosive plays on 3 targets. The first was a scramble drill by Reed, where Smith stayed alive and came back to the ball making a nice target for his QB, he caught the ball between multiple defenders and kept both feet inbounds on the sideline. The second play he just blew past the defender on a vertical release, and Reed put the ball up deep. Smith made a tremendous leaping grab to come down with the ball, both a little behind him and over the top of the defending Safety. If he keeps making these kind of plays, he is going to continue to see an expanded role in the offense.

Final Thoughts and Players of the Game

This is a great road win for the Argos. Yes, TAMUC was without their star QB, and maybe if the stars align we will see him in the playoffs this fall, but this Lions team is talented, has an accomplished coach, and had a defense as good as anyone in D2 coming into this game. While they slowed the Argos down somewhat, West Florida clearly wanted to shorten the game themselves, opting to go run heavy for long stretches in the middle of the game. The Argos continue to give opponents a lot to think about with their play through three games, the offense is multiple and can beat you in a lot of ways, and the defense is deep and has playmakers at three levels.

This week will be a bit of a tune up as the Argos finish their non-conference schedule with Ft Lauderdale (0-2), a non-NCAA division opponent. Not to diminish any team, but this will be a game to work the depth chart early, the Eagles have lost by a combined score of 121-3. UWF might play the whole roster this Saturday.

Offensive Players of the Game: The Offensive Line

For the third straight week this could have gone to the OL, and this was their best performance yet so they get the nod. The starting six (Juac Angoi and Oake Stipe basically split the reps at LG, but Angoi got the start) completely controlled the game up front, allowing the Argonauts offense to do whatever they wanted to for most of the game. The OL allowed 1 hurry and no sacks (0 for the season for starting QB Austin Reed), and paved the way for 168 yards of rushing (excluding the two end of game knees) on 5.1 yards per carry.

Defensive Player of the Game: Trent Archie

The “old man” of the defense has had a quiet start to the 2021 season, by Trent Archie standards (7 tackles (4 solo) 0.5 TFL 1 hurry), but that quiet start ended with a bang on Saturday. Archie paced the team in solo tackles (4) tied for the lead in tackles (9) and added 2.0 sacks, which also lead the team. He was everywhere during the game, and stuffed the stat sheet despite being spelled at times by Derontae Jordan (2 tackles (1 solo) 1 sack 1 fumble recovery). His biggest play of the night came on a 4th and 1 in the 2nd quarter. Commerce knew he was coming off the edge on a blitz, but didn’t get a body on him. Archie burst into the backfield and took QB Magalei down hard from the blindside as he tried to scramble away from pressure. This both ended a solid drive (9 plays 38 yards) by the Lions at the Argo 33, but also set UWF up with good field position to try and take the lead.