Preview Week 2: McKendree
McKendree University, GLVC (D2)
Broadcast: Saturday 9/9 GLVC Sports Network ($PPV) 1 PM CST/2 PM EST
When We Last Saw McKendree
2023 Record: 0-1 (0-0 GLVC)
2022 Record: 5-6 (2-4 GLVC)
Last week: Lost 79-14 at Tiffin (D2, GMAC)
McKendree was a tale of two phases of the game in 2022. The Bearcats, lead by long term Head Coach Mike Babcock, finished the season 13th in Offensive SP+ and 11th in total offense per game (455.0 yards per), which was four spots better than the 2022 Argonauts’ potent offensive attack. Their offense was lead by multi year starter Turner Pullen at QB, the dynamic playmaking WR duo Yogi Flager Jr. and Jacob Bachman, and multi talented RB Narkel LeFlore, all 1st team All-GLVC honorees following the season. Meanwhile, the Bearcats struggled greatly on defense finishing 2nd to last in D2 for total defense per game surrendering a staggering 520 yards per game, allowing 42 points per game (156th/163 D2 teams), and only getting to the QB for 11 sacks in 11 games. Unfortunately for McKendree, they lost three of those top four playmakers off the roster last year, with Pullen and Bachman graduating and LeFlore transferring up to FCS UT Martin, so they’re in a rebuilding mode in 2023. They do return Flager, one of the best playmakers at WR in all of D2, and the offensive philosophy will likely remain the same with 3rd year OC/QB Coach Nick Miller also returning, so expect him to continue to be a huge part of their offensive game plan. Defensively they may have struggled but do return a lot off of that 2022 defense. The returners include seven of their top 10 leading tacklers and a lot of their snaps and production at DB and DL, providing some hope of an improvement over last year’s defensive fiasco. Although that potential improvement was not manifest last week when they got mollywhopped on the road by Tiffin, who scored NINE offensive TDs and racked up over 600 yards of total offense (292 on the ground 322 through the air). The Dragons went 6/6 in the redzone and only possessed the ball for 13 minutes, exploiting the McKendree defense for big play after big play. Flagler was still a bright spot, scoring the only two Bearcat TDs, but the Dragons’ defense allowed less than 300 yards, sacked new McKendree starting QB Caleb Fischer three times, and turned the Beacrats over five times, scoring twice on long fumble and interception returns. It’ll be interesting to see if the Bearcats can bounce back in week 2 with the Argonauts at home.
Three Players to Know
RS Freshman RB Eddie Clark 5’9” 180
2022 Stats: Did Not Play
2023 Stats: 13 carries 67 yards (5.2 YPC, long 23 yards)
It was a tough game for the Bearcats all over, but Clark was one of the few bright spots in the week 1 loss. He was the primary ball carrier and was able to break a couple of explosive runs (23 and 21 yards) in the first half. Clark did not play last year, taking a redshirt, when the Bearcats had a nice Running Back companion to a wide open passing attack. The now departed Narkel Laflore finished with 750 yards 6 TD and a solid 5.9 per carry average, Clark will be looking to fill that gap.
In Week 1 UWF saw a weird spread option look from Kentucky Wesleyan, and McKendree will also spread it out across the field. McKendree is probably going to throw the ball a lot more, but they might have a nice runner in the backfield to supplement. It is hard to say exactly what McKendree’s offense will be this season after replacing an All-Conference QB, but Clark should pose another nice test for the Argonauts front 7.
RS Junior S Andrew Sherry S 6’3” 175
2022 Stats: 69 tackles (52 solo) 1.0 TFL 2 INT 2 PBU
2023 Stats: 6 tackles (4 solo)
McKendree’s defense was not very good last year, and that trend continued week 1 against Tiffin. Sherry was a standout last season, finishing with team highs of 69 tackles and 52 solos. He was a good playmaker on the backend, finishing 2nd in INT, and 3rd in breakups. Sherry has nice length and good athleticism, and will be a disruptive player for the GLVC squad.
UWF didn’t test the deep parts of the field much against KWC, whether by design or due to lack of necessity, now they face a good, experienced Safety, who could make taking those shots difficult. Sherry is a long and active defender, so Peewee will have to be aware of where he is on the field. I’m hoping the Argos continue to utilize the TEs, who only had 2 receptions for 21 yards but were clearly a bigger part of the offensive plan in week 1 than previous seasons. Sherry should be a good matchup for that group if Coach Nobles and Coach Dickerson decide to test the seams more in week 2.
Junior Yogi Flager Jr. WR 5’10” 170
2022 Stats: 75 receptions 1144 yards (15.3 per catch) 10 TD
2023 Stats: 8 receptions 65 yards (8.5 per catch) 2 TD
Flager is one of the most exciting WRs in D2 football, and he made our Top Three Opposing WR list this summer. He was ascending last season and is set up to be a top D2 pass catchers in 2023. He will have to navigate breaking in a new QB, but they’re going to get him the ball in creative ways and let him work. The Junior is very quick, very fast, he can make guys miss but also take the top off opposing defenses.
I am curious to see how the Argonauts new DB group fares in their very first real test of the season. He had a nice opener finishing with 8 catches and the only 2 scores for the Bearcats, but the passing game doesn’t appear as potent as last season overall. UWF is going to have a size advantage, with both starting CBs from week 1 coming in at 6’ or taller.
Matchup of the Week
UWF Cornerbacks Virgil Lemons, Eli Williams, Brandon Cross, et. al vs. McKendree WR Yogi Flager
Flager is a great player, I profiled him a few weeks ago here, although at the time I was under the impression that the Bearcats were returning their starting QB as well. While he didn’t start out the season this year quite as explosive as last year, he was really the brightest spot on a struggling offense against a good Tiffin team. Flager isn’t the biggest guy, coming in at just 5’10”, but he can really do it all as a WR. He is a threat to take the top off the defense, he gets open underneath, runs good routes, and can create after the catch. He is also a potentially dangerous return man, but with his value on offense I am not sure they’ll utilize him there much in 2023. As for the matchup, UWF is breaking in a “new” group of CBs early in 2022, the quotes because despite 3/4 being new to UWF, all four of these guys have college (D2 or JUCO) experience already. This group was not tested at all last week, with KWC only throwing the ball 12 times, plus 2 sacks, for just 14 drop backs, completing just four passes. The Panthers just didn’t try much, and so we didn’t get much of a sense of what this CB group is going to look like. Flash forward a week, and they’re going to be facing a much more pass-forward offensive attack, lead by an experienced playmaker. Much like last week, I ultimately don’t think that McKendree has enough offensively, as a whole, to really threaten UWF, BUT I am very interested in the one on one matchups between Flager and this foursome of CBs, as it’ll be a good test before they face a similar type of player next weekend Jah’Marae Sheread.
Prediction
Early season road test, far from home, and with a HUGE in state game on the horizon next week, this one could be more interesting than the week 1 results may indicate. McKendree last year was very good offensively and really struggled defensively. Now with QB Turner Pullen gone the offense may be experiencing a regression to the mean, but I dont want to assume too much based on one week. Similarly the Argonauts traditionally high octane offense was much subdued relative to what we have seen for the last six seasons, however the defense was really good and the result was ultimately not that different than what we have come to expect, a 30+ point blowout win. How will the new staff and new players deal with the long road trip? Will the offense be asked to do a little more this week? There are a lot of questions I have about this contest, but what I do feel good about is where the defense sits after one game. Strong DL play can get you a long way, and UWF looks to have not only a good group of high end players, but a deep bench of quality depth pieces. So regardless of if the offense keeps it pretty mild again this weekend, I feel like the DL will be able to carry the Argos to another lopsided win with sacks and forced turnovers that lead to short fields. It’ll also be interesting to see if we get back some of the injured players that didn’t play week 1, WR Jared Smith, LBs Kode Lowe, and Willie Jordan, who are going to be needed soon as the Argos hit the meat of their schedule shortly. I think the Argos are set up for another solid win before returning to Florida for a highly anticipated tilt against FAMU next weekend. UWF 45 McKendree 14, the passing game hits more downfield this week and the defense posts another dominating performance when the score is still close.
