Week 9 Recap: Second Half Explosion Leads Argos Past Choctaws 63-28

Mid Game Defensive Adjustments

This has been the story of the Argos, and this week was really no different. UWF just doesn’t play their best defensive football in the first half of the game. This week the Argos gave up 273 of their 356 yards allowed on defense in the first half. The Choctaws multiple option offense was really clicking in the first half, the team was averaging 6.5 yards per play and took a healthy 42 offensive snaps including 24 in the 2nd quarter alone. While they had some problems with getting off the field (combined 6-8 on 3rd and 4th downs), it was big plays that really hurt the Argonauts. MC had 8 plays of more than 10 yards, including a 30 yard scoring pass, in the first half. MC was rarely working behind the chains in the first half and the drive to tie the game before halftime exemplified most of what that looked like.

With just under three minutes left in the first half MC took possession down 28-21. They ran the ball 8 of 9 plays and got gains of 7, 8, 13, 11, 15, 3, 8, and 5, an average of almost 9 yards per carry. They ran a sequence of four plays where they converted on a 13 yard QB keeper, an 11 yard option pitch, missed on a tipped ball incompletion that was nearly intercepted, and a 15 yards on a QB keeper. All three runs were the same triple option look with an offset I type alignment. The help just wasn’t getting there and credit MC QB DeAnte’ Smith-Moore he was making all the right reads. But the second level defenders were slow to fill gaps or caught in bad angles and sometimes missing tackles that were there. The Choctaw runners were running hard and getting solid yards after contact, and really making the Argos pay for small mistakes. On the pitch to Marcus Williams, he got back to the line of scrimmage and nobody was in front of him for 5 or 6 yards, he wasn’t touched until he had gained 8 and finished with 3 more after contact. The two QB keepers, as was the case with a lot of the non-dive runs, were issues of guys not filling gaps and creating running lanes for a pretty slippery runner to cut upfield.

The contrast is stark when you compare that to how the very next MC offensive drive went, opening the second half. The Chocs came out and gave it to the dive man twice for a total of 5 yards, then Smith-Moore had a nifty run of about 8 to get the first down on third and medium, but the play was called back for a hold. It was kind of more of the same on that play, where Smith-Moore had too much space to operate Breland got cleared out by the Tackle and Stephon Williams, back after missing last week with an injury, got over extended and allowed the QB to make a cut back inside. The hold brought the play back for a 3rd and long pass attempt that was tipped at the line by Shea Campbell, and defended well by Shannon Showers on the back end. MC punted the ball back to UWF and the route was on.

UWF’s first half defensive woes turned into another absolutely stunning 3rd quarter turnaround. Much like the games against TAMUC and Delta State, UWF totally flipped the script after the halftime break, coming out and putting up a 21-0 3rd quarter, outgaining the Choctaws 220-64, collecting 7 first downs to 3 for MC, and not allowing the ball to pass the UWF 49 yard line in the quarter. This was UWF’s fifth shut out 3rd quarter of the season, and the Argos 3rd quarter scoring total for the season is now a lopsided a 97-16. The UWF coaches continue to push the right buttons at half, and the players have been able to execute on the plan. The West Florida defense allowed just two plays of 10 or more yards in the second half, and both came in junk time, after the Argos had gone up 42-28 in the 3rd quarter. They also reversed their conversion issues of the first half, allowing just 1 of 6 on 3rd downs in the final two frames. In a wild change of pace, after a tied game at half, UWF was able to get the backups in for the final couple drives on offense, including a scoring drive and ran out the clock with the second string offense in the game. After allowing 6.5 yards per play in the first half, the defense allowed just 3.2 yards per play, and MC’s offense didn’t even threaten to score in the 2nd half.

With two games remaining in the regular season, we are waiting for that full four quarter performance from the defense this year. They’ve been out gained in the first quarter five of eight games this year and 35% of points allowed this season have come in that opening frame. This is particularly shocking in comparison to the 3rd quarter where they’re only allowing 8% of their points against and have outgained all but one opponent to the combined tune of 1199-458.

Another Dominating Offensive Performance

While the defense took the first 30 minutes to get into form, the offense continues to operate as a well oiled machine. This is their second week of near full game dominance. After averaging 9.3 yards per play against the Hawks last weekend, the Argos stepped it up to another level against the Chocs averaging a staggering 10.9 yards per play. MC’s defense was quite a bit more stout, statistically, than Shorter coming into the games, although some of this can be attributed to their offense controlling time of possession. On the season MC is averaging 365 yards per game allowed and 6.3 yards per play. UWF hit well above that average tallying an all-time program high of 641 yards of total offense, 89 yards shy of MC’s season average. UWF raised the Choctaw’s season average by 40 yards per game after pasting them for 361 yards passing and 288 yards of rushing (excluding sack yardage and taking a knee). UWF more than doubled the Choctaws’ season average for passing yards allowed per game, which was 157 per game before the UWF. That number ballooned to 226 following the game, and dropped them from the 2nd best pass defense in the GSC to the 5th.

Austin Reed shined Saturday night, putting on maybe his most complete performance of the season. He finished the night 19-29 361 yards 4 TD 0 INT and a 65.5% completion rate. He added to his now six games with 4 TD passes on the season, including his third 4 TD 0 INT performance. His completion % was his second best of the season, and his 29 attempts was his second fewest (76.9% and 26 attempts vs SBU). What stands out was he averaged 12.4 yards per attempt, 1.8 yards better than his previous best of 10.6 against McNeese. He hit seven WRs with at least one pass, and got TDs from Ashley (61 yards 1 TD) and Rembert. His 29 TD have him tied for 7th in all of D2, while playing one less game than everyone ahead of him on the list. His average of 3.6 TD/game would place him 3rd in the nation. He is absolutely running away from the conference this year in terms of passing output. Now leading the GSC in yards per game (321.5), TD (29), efficiency (173.3), TD-INT (7.3), and is tied for 2nd fewest INTs among the leagues’ starting QBs (4). The next highest marks in those categories are 305.2/game, 19 TD, 153.1 rating, 5.3 TD-INT, and 3 INT. Over the last four games he really improved his accuracy, combining for almost 63% completions over that stretch. The four games have driven up his completion % from 56% to 59.6% which is good for 3rd in the conference. He continues to just have two sacks against for the entire season.

Reed’s primary target for the night was Larry Rembert, who came into the season as one of the handful of guys who was going to be fighting for the 3-4-5 spot at WR. Rembert has had a solid season already, he caught a long TD against Commerce, and has contributed in nearly every game this year, but with MC depleted at DB and UWF stacked at WR, it was just a perfect storm for the JUCO transfer originally from Mobile. It started off from the very first play of the game, and basically didn’t let up until the starters got pulled in the 4th quarter. He caught 6 balls, every one went for a TD or 1st down, every one was a 25+ yard gain. The MC play by play call erroneously wanted a OPI against Rembert on his 2nd TD grab, but in reality the Choctaws’ DB was hanging off of #16 for 5 or 6 yards with the ball in the air, and despite an obvious hold Rembert kept his feet and made a good catch in the end zone. Really MC didn’t have an answer for him coming out of the slot, he was too fast to be covered by a LB or Nickel, and he was too physical with the ball in his hands for Corners and Safeties to bring him down at first contact. Rembert, listed 6-0 225, has solidly stamped out his place in the WR hierarchy with David Durden still missing with injury. He and Jared Smith give the Argos two really excellent options in the slot, and best of all they’re guys who should both be back next year.

Lets not forget about Shomari Mason’s career night. The Sophomore continues to put his mark on this season, and is quickly moving toward another 1st Team All-GSC nod. The big gain was undoubtedly one of the plays of the year for the Argos, but what Shomari continues to do so well is get positive yards on touches. His shortest runs of the night, 1 and 2 yards, were goal line TDs, other than those his shortest run was a 5 yard gain. This season Mason has only lost 6 yards on rushing attempts against 711 yards gained. The 179 yard career best is also the all time team record for rushing yards in a game, beating out Chris Schwarz who had 175 against IUP in the playoffs back in 2017. The big difference being that Schwarz needed 29 carries (6.0 yards per carry) while Mason got his work done on just 12 attempts and a blazing 14.9 yards per carry average. After back to back 14 yards per carry games, Mason now leads all D2 Running Backs in rushing yards per carry with 8.59. He got a big chunk of his work on an explosive 73 yard attempt where he showed off his biggest strength (a couple times) the ability to cut laterally without losing a step. Had a defender not caught up with him as he spun out of a potential tackle, he may have housed the run for a 90 yard TD. As it stands, the 73 yarder is the longest run from scrimmage for the Argonauts, and the 5th longest play from scrimmage for UWF in program history.

Young Players Continuing to Step Up

This week marked the third time an Argonauts player has been named the GSC freshman of the week, and all three times it has been Freshman Linebacker Will Breland. Breland came into the season technically behind Shea Campbell and Ricky Richardson at MLB and behind Stephon Williams and Gael Laurent at SLB. Then week 1 happened, and I think that heat wave of a game in Lake Charles really affected his trajectory as a Freshman defender behind some experienced and talented players. He was able to make his way onto the field early in the game, due to heavy defensive rotations because of really harsh on field conditions, and while his output (2 tackles 1 solo 0.5 sacks 0.5 TFL) wasn’t amazing, it did get him mentioned as a potential Freshman of the Week. He parlayed that into an increased role, and the backup MLB spot going forward and hasn’t looked back since. This past week was one of his better performances of the year, which you’d expect with a MLB facing a triple option team, but he had 7 tackles (2 solo) and tacked on Freshman of the Week for the GSC. He now ranks 5th on the team in total tackles (35) and he adds to that 1.5 TFL 0.5 sacks 3 hurries and 1 PBU.

The next highest Freshman tackle total is another player who has seen their reps increase as the season has progressed. Local product, Pooda Walker, has been a quiet, steady presence on the Defensive Line, appearing in all 8 games, and similarly it started for him against McNeese in week 1. Another guy who wasn’t listed on the week 1 depth chart, Walker had a nice 2 tackles 0.5 sack 0.5 TFL performance that opening weekend, and has worked himself into one of the first DL off the bench. Walker is 3rd among DL in tackles this season (17) behind only starters Brandon Penerton (24) and Matt Gotel (22), and he adds to that 3.5 TFL (t-3rd on the team, 1st among DL) 0.5 sacks 2 hurries and a fumble recovery. This weekend he snagged his first career turnover, falling on a fumble in the 3rd quarter, and he put together 3 tackles (2 solo) on runs that went for a combined 3 yards. Walker is a big load, and when he wants to is hard to tangle with up front. He has the makings of a future star for the Argos.

Some other Freshman who have been making big strides this year are Jared Smith (11 receptions 229 yards 3 TD), Anthony Johnson Jr (15 tackles 10 solo 2 INT 5 PBU 1 fumble recovery), and Zac Elam (2 starts, 4 appearances at Center), so looking to the future the Argos continue to build quality through recruiting.

Playoff Implications Looming

We knew coming into the year that UWA and VSU to end the season would have far reaching ramifications on the Argonauts playoff hopes, and it couldn’t be more true with how the season has played out. The top 4 GSC teams have exchanged losses this year, with UWG beating UWF, VSU beating UWA and UWG, and UWA beating UWG. UWF made a 1 spot move in the updated SR2 rankings this week, and now at 4th would be projected to host a playoff game to open the post season. That was thanks to UWG losing to the Blazers last week in a game that was not close until it was, and in the end the Wolves made the Blazers sweat for the first time this season. Ultimately UWF will get their chances in the next two weeks, and should they win both games, would likely top the SR2 rankings heading into the post season. They play the teams ranked 8th and 1st in their super region in the next two weeks, and those games will hold a ton of weight in how the final rankings play out.

If UWF wins both games, it is hard to imagine they don’t take the 1 seed in SR2. They’d have the only win against Valdosta State and quality D2 wins against UWA and TAMUC, both of whom are still in the hunt for a playoff bid. Not only that, but their only loss would have come against a playoff bound West Georgia team. If UWF beats UWA and loses to VSU, they’re definitely in the playoff, but probably wont host a super regional game unless there are some upsets among the top seeds. If UWF loses to UWA and beats VSU, they’d similarly be in, and may be able to squeeze into the 4 seed. If UWF loses the next two weekends, it is going to be a tight race to see if they can make the playoff, the resume wouldn’t do them any favors because they’d have lost to three playoff teams, and it’ll be hard for the GSC to get 4 into an 8 team super region.

The real problem for the Argos are the two teams ahead of them not named Valdosta State. Albany State of the SIAC is ranked 3rd and Bowie State of the CIAA is ranked 2nd. This is where the super region math doesn’t always match up with rankings and/or expectation, because in comparison those teams are 22nd and 14th respectively in the AFCA coaches poll, while UWF sits in the top 5 at 4th. And while both are quality D2 programs, UWF would probably be a solid favorite even on the road against both of those teams. Albany State’s only loss is against VSU and they play a big rivalry this weekend against Fort Valley State (5-4). Bowie State’s only loss is against an FCS team, so it doesn’t affect their SR2 ranking. They have their regular season closer against Elizabeth City State (3-6), and they’ll face Fayetteville State (7-1) in two weeks for the CIAA championship. A loss by either one of those teams would really help the Argos’ bid to host a playoff game for the first time ever.

Final Thoughts and Players of the Game

Another game, another win, and another performance that left me wanting just a little bit more. On offense, there wasn’t much to complain about, but they did miss an opportunity early in the game to go up 14-0 after forcing the only Choctaws punt of the first half on the very first defensive drive. UWF turned around and went three and out, and gave MC the chance to tie the game, which they did. From there it became a weird run vs pass shoot out, but the Argonaut offense was just too fast and too powerful, and eventually having to string together long rush-heavy drives caught up to Mississippi College. Being up 14-0 early in the 1st quarter would have changed the complexion of the game early on, but in the end it didn’t matter as UWF got the opening stop in the 3rd quarter and took off rom there. On defense, it is just frustrating to watch this much talent not be able to get stops early in the game. I’m not sure if they’re playing vanilla and letting the opponent show their hand knowing they can implement the adjustments at halftime, or if this defense is just one of those talented units that need a jolt before they meet the call to action. Either way, they’re going to have to bring their A games the next two weekends. UWA and VSU are the 1st and 4th best offenses in the conference, VSU is a run heavy team with a capable signal caller who is very dangerous with the ball in his hands. UWA has an talented thrower, and weapons on offense to stress the defense in both phases. On the flip side, they’re also the #1 and 2 defenses in the conference, allowing less than 300 yards per game this season. This win against MC means the Argos remain undefeated against three conference foes, MC, Shorter, and NGU.

Offensive Players of the Game: Austin Reed

The Argos offensive identity is Austin Reed, and he continues to build off of the foundation he laid at the end of last season. This game was impressive because he broke down a defense that just wasn’t allowing a lot of production through the air, despite having played the other three top teams in the conference. His 65.5% completion rate is the kind of performance that Reed is capable of, and he has found the ability to win with the best matchup basically every game this season. It helps that he has 5 WR and a RB who are all dangerous pass catchers, but Reed doesn’t force it and is really just finding the open guy and putting it on him more times than not. Even with top target David Durden out the last two weeks, Reed has had some of his bestg performances of the season, and it is because he doesn’t just lock in on Rodney Coates or Ka’Ron Ashley. He trusts that getting it to his 3-4-5 pass catching options is going to work in the framework of the offense, and that was on display with Larry Rembert this week. When you’re averaging 12.4 yards per attempt in a game as a QB, you’re doing a lot of things right.

Defensive Player of the Game: Shea Campbell

Reed and Campbell could just win these every week, so I try to dig deep and find performances that aren’t strictly based on stats and based more on impact. That being said, nobody made more of an impact against the Chocs this weekend than the Grad Student Campbell at MLB. He ended with a season high 12 tackles (5 solo), which both lead the team this weekend. When you face an offense that wants to run the ball 50 times a game, your MLB is going to get a lot of run and that is what happened with Campbell who got busy near the LOS all game. He only had three tackles more than 5 yards downfield all game, and had 8 tackles against the QB and dive men. He was effective in slowing down those parts of the game, which is 2/3 of the triple option.