September 10th, 2023 1:00pm
YouTube Auto-Generated Transcript:
[Music]
thank you [Music] well good evening everybody and welcome
to inside D2 football with Justin Polizzi Matt Wiki Chuck
Bittner Tony Nicolette and later Chris Ferguson I am Brandon Meisner thank you
very much for joining us tonight we have a fun fun fast show for you tonight so
on the show tonight Emporia State they're Victorious head coach Garen Higgins will join us to talk about the
Hornets win over Northwest Missouri State we also have some great Saturday results some great Saturday contests uh
yesterday CSU Pueblo was a Grand Valley mine Colorado Mines was at Angelo State
and Ferris State was a national those are top 25 matchups from last night we're going to feature a new segment
this week called stock up stock down is your team headed in the right direction find out in that segment and we will
also do our pick segment as normal but tonight we will start with Emporia State
for the first time in a long time Emporia State won at Northwest Missouri State a 33 to 13 win in Maryville
yeah what a privilege it was that this game was on Thursday night for us so we could really kind of Spotlight this and and really get a a close look at both of
these teams and the way some of the lightning delays worked out we really got to see uh all of this game huge huge
win for Emporia State I think that goes without saying and really you have to start the analysis on this one with
takeaways the Hornets were able to take the ball away from northwest six times
and anytime you can take the ball away six times you stand a really really good chance of winning and really it was all
interceptions tremendous work getting pressure on the quarterback and really it started from the from the outset you
know the Hornets really set the tone for this game with a pick six on the first series and it really just kind of set
that tone for the rest of the night the Northwest quarterbacks had a lot of trouble finding open guys had a lot of
trouble just keeping that ball in in the areas where they wanted to go with it and then of course Mike Owens C uh
Northwest starting quarterback got hurt on the second series actually did finish that series but then left the game and
did not return and certainly his absence had a major impact his leadership of course was was certainly missed and his
backup runkey made some nice plays showed some athleticism but also through four interceptions so uh just a really
tough night for Northwest but some outstanding play for Emporia State on both sides of the ball as well what were
some of your impressions of it uh I was immediately impressed with how athletic Emporia State was
um I you know it was interesting the way Chuck I thought the way that uh Northwest was able to drive you know and
and move the football pretty well but it was just really kind of you know bitten
every time with the turnovers I mean they end up winning the yardage contest but at the same time end up being behind
20 on the scoreboard um some of the things that I'm noticing with Northwest right away is you know do
you have to worry a little bit right now if you're Northwest about some of the points they're giving up Chuck and in
addition to that they don't have a sack yet this year through two games now if you take a look at that defensive line
over the last few years that's really been their situation and you know for
for employee to be able to go ahead and really take advantage of those turnovers they got I was really impressed uh with
how the Hornets played right very good and let's go ahead and bring on the Victorious head coach Garen Higgins from
Emporia State University joins us coach thank you very much for joining us and spending your time with us tonight on
inside D2 football you bet uh glad you guys had me on appreciate being here
well you know coach when when people talk about Emporia State the the thought is usually about offense
you know you guys have had some some great quarterbacks there and you still have one this year you had Brent Wilson in the past but you know as Chuck
mentioned the story of that game of the game was was all the turnovers that your defense uh was able to get what what
happened what did you guys do that allowed you to uh customize confusion for the Northwest offense well I think
um you know I think we got some really good secondary players I think we got some really good athletes back there and uh those guys made some plays and uh of
course turnovers are a part of the game and uh it was really I thought important
for us to get off to a good start and and we did you know they they took uh
the opening kickoff and drove it down uh and then we were able to get that interception return it for a touchdown
and that really kind of set the tone uh for the rest of the night so uh we
didn't really do anything different I mean you know our guys were prepared to play I think again our guys were definitely
at the right place at the right time coach you guys had uh you know a lot of
us I think expected you guys to have Success Through the air against Northwestern he had over 250 yards three
scores but I was a little bit surprised that you know Billy Ross Jr I thought ran really hard had over 100 yards
rushing for you guys not something we always see against a good Bearcat defense uh at the end of the game I mean
didn't you kind of walk away think of some of that same thing coach no question I mean I can go back to all my
years of playing Northwest and I remember one year our leading rusher was the punter we ran a fake Punt and he was
the leading rusher with 17 yards I think that's back in 2015 and we were really really we were a really good team in
2015 as well um but I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage that's been something that
we've really had a hard time against them and Billy as a returning player uh
for us from last year really kind of busted on the scene last year force and
played really well and and I thought you know the job that our offensive line did
of course we we lost three starters uh three all basically three All Conference players last year and for them to play
the way they did uh and then of course opening those holes for Billy and Billy
was definitely running with the purpose a very talented can catch the ball out of the backfield too as well and
um played a really good game coaches I was watching the closing moments of that game you know you guys
are up 20 points uh you know for the last few minutes of the football game when exactly did you kind of allow
yourself to start believing hey we beaten the Bearcats
a little bit over a minute uh left to play and believe me I stared at that
clock uh probably more than I ever have uh in a game you know and um
uh but that's when I kind of said all right it's gonna happen and uh it did
you know and I felt to be honest with you not to say that I was overconfident but
I really felt good about this team uh going in there uh this year you know we played them last year the last game of
the year and got beat 27 to 21 and we were on the two yard line uh with just a
little bit over a minute left to go in the game and we had a penalty backed us up then we threw an interception our
guys that pain that we had after that loss uh was something I felt like our guys uh
never had felt before and but I also think at the same time it gave us a lot of confidence in going into this year
you know maybe you've already addressed this but you've been the head coach at Emporia since uh 2007 you haven't been
able to get over the hump against Northwest which a lot of teams face that but what is different what you said you were
confident in this team what is different about this year's team that you not only got over the hump but you dominated the
football game you know I think to be honest with you and I just I kind of said it uh
just a while ago just our confidence level I think in all the years uh that
I've been here and we and like I said we've had some really good teams uh we've played them in the playoffs you
know in 15 and 16 and I think it's to be honest with I
think there's a little bit of a mental block there uh and I think that game because we've beaten uh everybody in the
in the league except Northwest has really been kind of a thorn in our side and uh I think just the level of
confidence that our guys had and I also think this is a very close team uh we do
have a lot of returners back from last year I think we lost some really good leadership last year but I also think
that uh there's some guys on this year's team that have really stepped up I think our commitment throughout the course of
the summer has been as best as it as it ever has been um and then you know when you go into a
game also with a three-year starter quarterback who's played really well and
he remembers that game from last year I I basically after that game last year I had to pick him up off the field uh you
know how you always tell your players you you want them to leave everything out there right uh and he did last year
and he threw that interception I Know It uh it heard him I had to console him and
um you know again we didn't talk about it over the summer it wasn't like we didn't put a sign up anywhere with the
score I think our guys just went about their business and um we were able to
get it done with with a complete uh it really in all phases
well coach it was a phenomenal win for you guys but it's only week two of a really long season in the MIAA so as we
look ahead a little bit you've got Northeastern coming up we kind of know what to expect there they're still trying to get it going but after that
there are no uh there are no down weeks in that schedule so what are some of the things you're talking about with the guys to maybe not allow them to get a
little too high with this win and just stay focused on the games in front of them well I think a couple things I mean
I think first you know leadership uh of this team I think these guys have been
around and they understand the difficulty it is to play uh an MIAA
schedule and you know we're definitely not gonna Overlook anybody
um I think that um I told him this after the game that we were going to enjoy the win I mean it's been 29 years we're
definitely going to enjoy the win uh we enjoyed it on Friday and then after that
and I said this after the game too we're going to close the book uh to this chapter and and uh it was a great win
for our program great win for the players uh not only the players on on this year's team but just past players
who have who have played here and I felt like that have really uh built this
place up the type of program that we have here the type of culture that we have here I know that word is overused a
lot um but I think
culture is real where it's real right and I believe it's real here I really do and uh but we've closed the book on that
now and we know we got to move forward uh we met as a staff on Friday and I
told the staff that hey we're gonna enjoy it today uh you know we we played on a Thursday and we don't play again
until Saturday but I said listen we're gonna we're gonna keep coaching these guys hard I've been doing this a long
time and really gave advice to my younger coaches about a lot of because all my younger coaches
played here the majority of them played here so that was a big win for them uh
just to keep coaching these guys and and stay focused on the little things and
and attention to detail because I think this team still has a long ways to go uh
for improvement and we've been in a lot of games there's a lot of guys on this team I got a lot of six-year players
that again have got a lot of experience playing in this league that understand that if you're not ready on a Saturday
uh you can get beat or definitely be in a dog fight coach uh you know you kind of alluded to
that this was obviously a huge win for the program you know when you beat a team that's kind of the gold standard in
in the MIAA not only is that a big win obviously in your conference but it's a national win
um how do you think this changes your program how you can recruit how it's going to affect uh former football alums
what are your thoughts well I uh how the football alums
still I was just telling Dawn earlier I still I don't think I've tried to return every text message that uh I can because
that's important to me and hadn't been able to do it so I know uh it's it's kind of I don't want to say re-energize
this program because this program's come a long ways and we've done a lot of great things here yes uh been the
postseason seven out of the last 10 years uh you know that includes bowl games and playoffs uh do I think it'll
help us in recruiting you know I do uh but at the same time I don't think it's going to change our recruiting
philosophy and how we do things here and the type of kids that we want to recruit uh in this football program uh but it's
it's not going to matter if we don't continue to take care of business uh each and every Saturday
very good coach well congratulations again and best of luck the rest of the
season you bet guys I appreciate you having me on thank you thanks coach that's Garen Higgins he is the head
coach at Emporia State University and he was Victorious over Northwest Missouri State on Thursday uh speaking of Victory
wit you and I will have a personal Challenge in a few weeks and uh we'll
have a contest that I believe we will come out Victorious having said that the gauntlet has been thrown down in our
eating contest by the owner of Bosses Pizza and Chicken check this out I'm
going to tell you you have absolutely no chance to finish the pizza challenge in
fact I have an extra five 100 bills on top of the normal prize oh my that I
will pay if you and your partner finish the pizza in the allotted time oh that's bullet board material I like
well there there you go wit so he does not have confidence in our ability to Chow Down well you know what Brandon
since he decided to get all chesty about this um I uh I was practicing a little bit
today while I was watching the Bears game and uh I'm feeling pretty good about things uh you know I'm just I'm
not you know trying to dupe my horn but too toot I think we're gonna be good to go very good so we're gonna do that uh
September 29th I don't know what time yet but that'll be when we do that uh pay-per-view what's that pay-per-view
paper fantastic yeah who wants to watch Brandon throw up on Flow Sports we're
putting it behind a paywall yes yes so uh so we will be at also be at the Auggie in Sioux Falls game I love it's
not a place that I've ever been to a game before if you see me I am hard to miss but uh say hi to me I'd love to
talk to you and uh again you know Bosses Pizza and Chicken is a uh a new sponsor
and uh to the web site and they would like to find people who would like to be
franchisees of boxes bosses peace and chicken go on their website see the contact there's a link in the upper
right then you can talk to them and maybe sign up and uh you know become an
entrepreneur and be in control of your own destiny but Jeremy would love to have uh somebody uh or anybody and
especially in my double A markets and be a great company and lots of MIAA
towns could actually use very much use a place like that so uh in any case uh we
will see you up there on the 29th is that right 29th and 30th of September
and that should be a fun time unless I embarrass myself I'm not worried about
you at all Whit I think that you are a gladiator when it comes to eating but I
am not so sure not just eating but yes uh by the way my podcast partner for
Northern on weekly Tom Frederick all of a sudden he's kind of excited about this
Brandon and I think that he is going to show up and video us and narrate which
might be entertaining and a lot of 60s and 70s references I'm sure and then uh
you know from there as small as Tom he should be able to join in
so he he's without without uh penalty much of anything yes yes yes all right
let's go ahead and uh look at some of the rest of the games that we mentioned from the top 25 uh this past weekend
um we'll start on uh Saturday night a fantastic game uh Grand Valley 57 CSU
Pueblo 49 in two overtimes what an outstanding contest that that was that
that was the kind of game that's the reason we covered D2 football Tony tell us about it yeah it is and um you know
it's a 24 hours later or 21 hours later or whatever it is I'm still trying to get my head around what happened in this
game uh you know Grand Valley uh put the hammer down early this was 21 to nothing
um uh Pueblo didn't have a first down until getting towards the middle part of the second quarter and uh then all of a
sudden you know they got broke a couple of plays uh got helped out by a penalty uh extending a drive and they've got it
to 21-7 uh Grand Valley then went down tried a field goal got blocked returned for a touchdown and pretty much
everything was Haywire after that so um you know got to give a lot of credit to Pueblo for just hanging in there and
kept bouncing back and taking advantage of uh you know things that game came their way when they happened and at the
same time Grand Valley uh you know gosh they had a lot of things go wrong in this game uh including eventually having
to go to their third string quarterback to be able to try and lead them the rest of the way home and they found a way to
figure it out and and get a win and defend the home field so uh lots to lots to wonder about with this one for both
teams but uh yeah it was a pretty entertaining game yep first win Grand Valley coach's
career all right well social look Colorado Mines a 31-21 win over Angelo
State yeah uh Brandon very good game uh right away Angelo State gets up
14-3 and you know you're thinking okay maybe mines is you know having a little
bit of the drama that we thought you know after having a huge win having to now get you know on a flight and go win
a game against a really quality opponent on the road uh then as the game kind of continued uh
you know when when mines was within Striking Distance I said to you Brandon I said matokea's gonna win this yep and
uh matoka kind of took over and uh with Angelo Angelo's offense kind of
sputtered uh from there on forward had a little bit of trouble in the passing game and uh uh you know Max McLeod hits
a 84-yard bomb where he just ran away from everyone and uh they're just a really
really resilient football team really impressive win uh those two wins start
off the season Ferris State won 38-28 at Ashland but it was not easy
Tony yeah this is the second strike we where the Bulldogs kind of had a little trouble getting out of the gate they
were down after one uh trailed with a break actually even trailed uh into the
late into the third quarter so um you know Ashland got its second straight week with a pump block and uh
turned that into a touchdown in the first quarter uh Malik Mitchell started this game for Ferris State but Carson
galker was the one who really did all the work uh in his time on the field uh rushing for 138 yards and a couple
scores and then throwing for three more uh Xavier Wade did Xavier Wade things Tyrese hunt Thompson did Tyrese hunt
Thompson things uh former Bulldog Dez libertas actually had a nice game for Ashland but uh yeah and a lot of this
for the for Ferris too take 21 penalties for I believe a buck 93 in this game which you know we've
seen that from them a couple times a year and this was one of their one of their instances where they just get flags thrown at them all night
and then the final game we'll look at in our top 25 in this segment East Stroudsburg a 13 to 12 win over iup and
uh Chuck described the ending for us please we have video too well I was at this game it was the second like of a
doubleheader for me on Saturday and you know leading up to this it was a tremendous defensive battle but it's
going to be remembered for what happens here right at the end a bit of a fire drill so iep's down a single point here
and they actually try to uh just kind of take a knee right in the middle of field to set up the game-winning field goal uh
players on the field don't realize the clock is running and that they do not have a time out so now they're rushing
the field goal unit onto the field and as we're about to see here clock expires they did not get lined up didn't get the
snap off uh unforgivable Mistake by the coaching staff and by the players alike
I think if you wind that back and look at it when they take a knee you start the 25 second clock uh they had about
the full 25 seconds on the game clock and failed to get a playoff so it's just a a massive error on the on the part of
the whole sideline and uh East Stroudsburg gets out of it with a very hard-earned win I will say a a win that
they earned they played a tremendous defensive football game got a little lucky there with iup blowing it but a a
very earned victory for ESU all right very good but we'll talk I'm sure about some other results uh later
in the show right now we want to debut a new segment we said we're going to call it stock up stock down sometimes the
stock market you're you're feeling good sometimes uh you're not feeling so good and today we're going to feature five
teams that could either be um heading up or down we're going to start first with a stock up team
and that is Texas A M Kingsville by the way guys check out the new
graphics from Brandon I like this um okay so stock up Kingsville uh you
know what one-sided win against what was it Colorado Mesa then uh they go ahead
and be a ranked West Georgia team and uh pretty pretty interesting contest in
that where you know they end up uh having just over 200 yards offense but they they got four picks and we're able
to you know kind of Outlast uh the Wolves so really nice start to the season for Kingsville here uh we may
start seeing them pop up in the rankings here Brandon all right stock down
we've already talked about them Northwest Missouri State I think we kind of had to expect this a little bit right
um so stock down because I mean there's a chance they could have been Owen too real easily here but moving past that
looking at the fact that they have injuries uh you know like quarterback position you know who knows exactly what
we have with the hoincy situation um I mean he didn't come back in that game that doesn't bode well uh wide
receiver injury uh defensive back I mean they've got some of the best players in this football team who are hurt uh which
kind of puts them at risk a little bit uh for a program that's uh used to that being the standard uh making the
playoffs okay we've got some good news the stock is up for Western Colorado
yeah you know the Mountaineers we didn't really know what to think of them coming into the season because they were a good team last year but it kind of trailed
off from where they were at the end of the 2021 season not really looking like a top 25 team at the start of the Year
well they're looking like a top 25 team now they've got two very impressive wins so far on the season both over Lone Star
Conference teams and really they're doing it with what we've become familiar with them being really good at they're
playing very good defense and they're having success running the football not a very explosive offense we still want
to see them try to you know overcomes a few deficiencies that they have they're not throwing the ball particularly well
I think only about 115 yards a game in the air but they've got some some running backs who are doing a good job
on the ground and they're playing very good defense so we'll see when they get into uh conference play obviously
they're gonna they're gonna need a heck of a defense to go up against Pueblo and mines but they're looking like a team that's up for the challenge
no a team that so far has not been quite up to the challenge Limestone their
stock is down yeah stocks down in Gaffney right now high expectations after first winning
season and making the playoffs last year and they've started out oh and two doesn't mean the season's over for them
but they put their backs against the wall it feels like the buzz and the excitement that they had when we started this thing is is gone
um and so it's Limestone stock is down as of week two okay and finally stock up
Central Missouri the mules you know this is an interesting one Brandon because um you know unless
you're kind of digging in a little bit to D2 you may have not have noticed this um uh you know quarterback uh transfer
from Southern Illinois Zach sabrowski he's thrown for you know 400 yards each
of the last two contests and five scores leads uh the NCAA in passing yard or in
D2 and passing yards uh and they're 2-0 obviously with wins over uh you know a
pretty steady uh Missouri Western Squad who you know we're not going to say that that's a a by any means a low-level win
and uh central Oklahoma who I gotta be honest guys I kind of thought that uh
maybe that'd be a squad who would be competing for a playoff spot they still made this year but uh I I think the mule
stock is definitely up all right very good there's your stock up and stock down after week two of the
division two football season we'll be right back just wanted to take this opportunity to
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but again thank you for supporting D2 football [Music]
right let's look at a couple other news and notes uh from week two of the season
and really what we have is a bunch of good news guys uh division two schools taking down FCS schools Colorado Mesa
beat San Diego Barton beat Davidson on Friday and Miles beat Alabama state so there have been
quite a few of them this year it's been uh been uh kind of surprising how well we've done now having said that there
have been some losses to some lower levels schools too so that that can even itself out all right
um let's go ahead and uh start looking at the Pick Em from last week and see
how we did uh who did the best just looking at this
I know somebody Justin was probably I haven't won yeah baby that's what I'm talking about well Tony yeah Tony and
Justin I think we're fighting Tony's five and one yeah I know I was three and two so uh overall not a bad it's not a
bad word yeah Chris's form one I was just going to say something an extra credit for games right yeah
[Music] um
apparently Justin was offered the money ball on one of these we just don't know which one it was
honestly at first glance I thought he got all five right and I was about to have have a heart attack
he did he actually really think oh my the way I've been doing this he said get the nitroglycerin out for
his heart because it's a yes it's a failing so all right very good so let's go ahead and look at the ones to watch
uh for this week and we'll have some comments about uh any of them what's
this what'd you call this the Brian Kelly bowl is that what you call this yeah yeah
the assumption is at Grand Valley um yeah it's a holdover game from the covet year
Brandon they actually had this on the schedule and uh weren't able to play it and assumption wanted honor the
agreement so this is one it fell so um yeah they're they're gonna come in they can they can win I know that for a
fact I mean you know they were a playoff team last year they got a couple of quality wins so far and Grand Valley
just has not looked particularly crisp thus far I mean they've given up 80 points in two games it took them until
game seven to give up 80 points last year so and we don't know what the health of uh Avery Moore or Kate
Peterson's gonna be so you know it could be Alex Tully or somebody else on the bench that's running the offense for the
Lakers yeah I I don't expect assumption to have the athletes to match up in that game Tony as as we would probably expect
but they are a very well coached football team very disciplined and you're absolutely right they're going to come in thinking they can win
well I mean big picture uh 10 years ago you'd have thought this
would have been a drubbing and their program has improved to the point where they're able to compete and that's
that's positive for them yeah I was gonna say you know Tony and I were talking about that yesterday at the game
about how you know some of these games will be you know probably blowouts but now it's just not the same anymore and I
think the one thing with Grand Valley is they let uh Pueblo score in all three
phases of the game so if they have you know more Mix-Ups like that I mean it
leaves them very vulnerable yep yep so all right uh what else we got here
um Sioux Falls is at Minnesota Duluth what are your initial thoughts on that
I think Minnesota Duluth is going to be a handful for anybody in the northern Sun they got a quarterback uh Mr wall
Jasper who is just a big fella hard to bring down and they have found a way to use him in all
kinds of different ways and uh they're gonna be real tough to be up there I think this year
all right uh Angelo State at Central Washington
um this is interesting to me because Central Washington started the season 0-2 but they haven't lost a division two
team yet they lost to Weber State and FCS team and then lost to Montana Tech
and NAIA team not exactly a dominant NAIA team either so in my opinion it's
kind of hard to know what central Washington is does anybody have a grasp on what they are at this point well they were very competitive for a half against
uh Weber State I think it was a 14-10 game at the half and then of course you
know they they fell behind in the second half which is what you'd expect to happen against a very good FCS team but
no I think that's that's kind of the point Brandon we don't really have a strong read on Central Washington losing Montana Tech was a surprise to me that's
that's not a bad NAIA team but it's not an elite an AIA team either at this point right so that kind of surprised me
but this is a difficult road trip for Angelo State to have to make you know going all the way up there to Ellensburg you know from from San Angelo and coming
off of a tough loss that's a really tough assignment to go up there and place you play a wounded Central
Washington team that we know is actually very good so I think this is definitely one to keep an eye on
and uh you know one other thing Central Washington was picked second in the Lone Star preseason right so if they're I
mean you know see every season is its own its own thing but uh maybe it will be an easy Road for Angelo if Central
Washington isn't what everybody thought they were uh the next game Kaiser an
NAIA team an extremely good NAIA team is at Valdosta State where you are by far
our ni NAIA expert tell us about this one well Kaiser uh just won at Lindsay
Wilson who's like a top five top ten Nai program and Kaiser was up big in that
game to be real Frank um now they lost to Mississippi College 17-14 first game of the year uh but you
know I'm Kaiser everything I've seen they've been better than worse this year and they're in the top five right now in
the NAIA and gave Valdosta everything they could handle last year I think Valdosta has gotten better defensively
uh they've had a chance to kind of reload a bit um and you know it's interesting
offensively no oh no Ivory Durham but they uh they do seem to have a whole lot of weapons at wide out and uh some
Playmakers so I'm interested to see how that one turns out uh you know in that
uh kind of cross game that we have right and finally Southern Arkansas is
at Ouachita Baptist um extremely interesting game in the GAC
yeah I think Brandon when I look at this one Southern Arkansas's offense is pretty potent and uh I'm I'm interested
to see watchtop play a a little more solid opponent uh this season and I
think they're going to get it here I think we're gonna get a lot of eyes on this ball game Northwestern hasn't Northwestern Oklahoma who they beat the
other day it hasn't quite been the same since Higgins left no so all right very good all right so that those are the
ones to watch this week and let's go ahead and move to the pickum segment of
the show this week our Pick Em will be West
Florida at Florida a m Shepherd is it California Saginaw Valley will travel to Truman
State CSU Pueblo is at Western Colorado and Ferris State is at Montana
uh let's take them in order and Justin you get the pick first who will win between West Florida and Florida a m so
I I think West Florida they're playing well right now 2-0 new coaching staff um I don't know if that's going to be
enough at uh Florida a m uh so I'm going to take Florida a m
okay and I will take Florida a m as well uh Chuck
you know I think West Florida hasn't really shown their full hand yet they are 2-0 against teams that they really
kind of overwhelmed talent wise I think the final in both of their games was 35-3 and I think maybe they haven't
really shown their full hand yet so you know obviously going up against an FCS team this this is where you have to show
what you've got but I think FAMU is pretty good and I think this is a very difficult assignment for West Florida
right now so I'm going to go with FAMU okay wit
I kind of went going back and forth on this one uh I really I really like some of the things that West Florida is doing
at you you really haven't seen much of a bump here since the the change in Jin regime and so forth but they also
haven't seen an opponent anywhere near this one yet uh I think FAMU is a pretty
solid FCS team and um I'm gonna take FAMU here okay
Tony yeah logically guys I'm I'm kind of in line with everybody uh hard uh really
think it's particularly viable for West Florida particularly with the new staff and all the turn changeover that they
had uh to go into an FCS uh building and get a win but you guys have all taken
Florida a m so far so I'm just going to take West Florida just to be just to be a nut oh man we could have been on their
bulletin board if not for that Tony okay Ferg what you got
yeah um Florida a m took South Florida um they played them pretty close yes
they did and I did like you know what I saw to that they have quite a bit of experience on offensive particular so
even if this gets into a bit of a track meet um I think that you know Florida a m
should have some depth to kind of wear West Florida down a little bit so I'm gonna go with FAMU
I think I think that's a good choice right end of the week show 2-0 will play at
California guys I believe that California will come out with a win in this one I am picking the Vulcans
Chuck you're next you know Shepherd's not really inspiring a ton of confidence right now because
they they struggled with Southern Connecticut State they were you know a few plays away from from losing that one
at home uh didn't have a great game at Edinburgh this past weekend
but I'm gonna go with them anyway um you know I think learning while you're winning is a lot better than
learning while you're losing and I think that they are learning I do think that they're getting better uh California coming off a pretty remarkable uh come
from behind win in the fourth quarter over Kutztown last week um so huge result for them but I'm gonna
go with the Rams okay Matt Wiki some folks in the comments had asked you
know why Shepard wasn't on the stock up stock down type thing the stock down well they were kind of the original
stock down a week ago when I talked about them but um I'm just they have not given me much
Faith right now um they I think they just need to play better football and have not shown it
yet they've been in really tight games at half against uh teams that they shouldn't be in the tight games with to
be honest and uh so I got Cal here okay uh Tony
yeah boy this one I sat and scratched my head over this one for quite a while and I
I I I think I'm I think I'm with wit on this one I I for some reason I just think the Vulcans are going to come in
and and smell a little blood here and figure out a way to show the shepherd maybe just isn't quite where they have been the
last couple of years and again we talked about them we did a great job last week talking about how they just lost so much
that has you know gotten NFL looks and whatever else it's just hard to replace that uh you know especially in the early
going of the season so I like the Vulcans okay uh Chris what do you got for us
um I'm kind of in the same boat uh I think that Shepard is is a little
wounded right now and they're just getting by and I think that Cal is gonna be the one to kind of give them that
first loss this year okay and Justin
yeah I'm pretty much with in agreement with what you guys are saying I mean I think it's hard when you lose that many
guys particularly the NFL and graduation that it's hard to come in there replace them but then also in a tight game
perform at a at an elite level so I think Cal's gonna give him the first loss of the year so okay very very
interesting our third game this week Saginaw Valley is at Truman State
Chuck's get us started you know I kind of like this Truman State team but I haven't quite seen
enough out of their offense just yet to make me think that um that that they're gonna beat a good
gliac team so I'm gonna go Saginaw Valley here I do think this is close but I'm going to go to Saginaw Valley
okay uh Matt with Wiki Chuck I think you and I are going off the same thoughts here buddy um I was
just I'm not quite there where I can pick Truman in this one and and Saginaw really impressed me with how they got
out of the gate against Winona a few weeks ago and uh I think that this is I think Winona and Truman are not all that
different a team so I got Saginaw here okay all right Tony can you pick or will you
pick against the gliac team I will not can I Brandon of course I can I will not however I will not however
simply for the fact that again if you look at I mean even without Jairus Grissom this past weekend I mean I get
that northwood's not anywhere close to what the Northwood you know Northwood was 20 years ago but that's still a
rivalry game and and Saginaw Valley came out and handled their business and ran for a big number again and I just think
I think they're going to be able to do enough physically on both sides of the ball especially in the trenches to be able to grind when out here on the road
Chris you're practically by default the gliac guy now after your trip yesterday
so uh will you pick against the gliac team well the one thing I kind of noticed
across the board is that the gliacs you know play it's a pretty good competition and it's a resulting in some you know a
very down to the wire games but I don't really think that this is a quite even match-up and and so it's I
can't really pick against the gliac here um just not just can't do it so Saginaw for me okay Justin
dang it looks like I'm gonna go against the grain every time I pick against Truman State I lose so I'm going with
Truman State for this one very good and I thank uh the offensive line are the
size of the gliac will be the difference in this one and I picked uh Saginaw Valley
all right what do we got next uh CSU Pueblo man this is an interesting one
who's whose record is wrong in this graphic should be one and one versus Western Colorado which is 2-0
and wit please start us yeah you know I I think Pueblo coming
off of a really emotional game uh you know Road Trip the whole deal uh
I don't like them in this game against Western Colorado who I think is maybe a
sneaky good team they're physical uh they play good defense um I I like Western Colorado here okay
all right how about you Tony yeah this is another one where I'm
really kind of struggling um you know Pueblo in the early part of that game yesterday
um just did not look like they were uh I mean that game looked like it was going to get out of hand and but you know they
found a way to kind of hang in there they found a couple things that worked they kept the pressing that button until
uh Grand Valley tried to do something about it which in a lot of cases maybe they didn't
um I think as the game wore on Grand Valley's ground game finally got going and so
um yeah that this is a tough one I think wit's onto something where you know coming off of playing Grand Valley
having been beat up a little bit physically I know there were a couple of defensive linemen in this game for uh
Pueblo that ended up leaving at different points uh and Western's a run-first team I I think Pueblo might be
the better team kind of weekend week out top to bottom something tells me to take Western Colorado here so I'm gonna do it
okay what you got Ferg
I'd like to first open up by just saying um if you're like the Grand Valley announcer this wouldn't be CSU Pueblo
this would be Colorado Mines that you'd have right here by mistake I thought that was the funniest thing
and everybody looked at each other like wait did we hear that right so
um anywho um you know uh yeah it was emotional uh
for Pueblo uh but I think that they kind of know the stakes are pretty high uh
against probably one of the the three top teams uh in the armac this year
I don't think this is gonna be very high scoring though because I think Western would agree with that keep it keep it
pretty pretty pretty low to increase their chances to win but I do think that Pueblo is going to
have enough to get over the Hub and and uh take this game all right Justin
I think Pueblo you know when you when you look at the schedule when you talk about it's an emotional game and things
like that you know that when you go into it I I I think if you want to be the best
you have to win those tough games or if you lose those tough games you have to be able to rebound and you have to be
able to play well the next week and you can't let that team beat you twice so I think Pueblo understands that I think
they're going to come in there and uh and I think they're going to win on the road all right very good I'm I'm hesitant
after Tony and Chris both said that they believe it'll be a low scoring game that makes me hesitant to pick Pueblo because
I believe they'd rather have a game that moved up and down the field yeah but uh my gut was CSU Pueblo so I'll go ahead
and pick them and that leaves Chuck yeah I um I think a lot of you have made some really good points and when these
two teams played a year ago it was a 17 to 10 game and Western won that if it's that type of game again I I think
Western wins I think Pueblo's got a little bit more offensive Firepower and um
and I think that they probably are overall the better team
um if it is low scoring I like Western but I think Pueblo is going to have enough in them and I'm going to take the Thunder wolves okay
all right and then our final game this week
Ferris State traveling to Montana in the FCS I'm gonna let Tony go last so we're
going to start with you Chris oh what a game
and I tell you this ain't the you know this is not the only two um D2 versus FCS games this week I mean
so because you got Delta playing in Mississippi Valley as well though aren't they that's the reason why
they're not on here right I mean I think that would be a clean sweep on here um but man like
I was reading an article about this game and how you know Ferris is just not any
D2 team to go to Montana and Montana is a really really top place to play I mean
it's it's probably going to be a larger crowd than you know Pharisees you know last couple years actually
um it and I'm a little worried about the volume of penalties that Ferris seems to
to drag up because you know on a team like this can really make you pay
I I really want to go Affairs but I don't think I'm bold enough to go with Ferris so I'm going to stick with
Montana and and the home team all right
all right uh Justin who do you have Montana
Montana all right um
I think that of all the teams
in division two that I can remember and the style of play
I think Ferris state has the best chance to go beat a very good FCS team
because of the way they're constructed because of that I am going to pick the Bulldogs to Come Away with what's what
would be an upset but uh I I believe Ferris State can pull this off uh Chuck
what about you um this is actually one of the games where I'm just not gonna over analyze it because I really just want to see how do
they match up I'm really curious and I just want to see how they match up with a very good FCS program
um I think Montana wins they are a good program this is one of the toughest environments to go into and for even for
an FCS team right so I'm going to take Montana but really I'm I'm just going in this completely curious and I want to
see how well Ferris can match up with them okay because I do think they can compete absolutely with
well I did notice that our friend Massey the computer ranking has Ferris getting
12 points in this one they got the Grizz kind of having their way with them well once again Massey's got it all
wrong [Laughter] [Music] uh the grooves are going to throw on the
the tape and they're going to take a look at Ferris State they're going to look at this offense and their defensive
coordinator is going to look around the room and go we got our hands full boys and I think the speed of Ferris I think
the experience and execution that they've shown in big games offensively
uh is going to surprise Montana so when you're watching the ticker and all of a
sudden it's 17-0 Ferris you heard it here first
all right and Tony you get the last word so I I I I I
just I it's the tonight's sign that the apocalypse is upon us I agree with wit I
I just I I look guys Montana everybody knows about that stadium and about the
Grizz and it's a big deal and their fans show up and it's crazy and I get all of that
Ferris doesn't care um and they've seen plenty of that at their own stadium and at Grand Valley
over the last handful of years uh that rivalry around they're not you they're not they don't care about that
um when I look at Montana yeah they're ranked I think top 10 top 12 whatever in
FCS so far this year they've knocked off a non-scholarship FCS team and a bottom
feeder FCS team and they've run over them and they average probably 240 250 a game on the ground
I think that'll be a challenge for Ferris is to slow down that ground game um even though they've done well against
the the run so far this year I mean that's Ashland's bread and butter and Ashland didn't run the ball well at all
last week the other night um but I think that's the one thing that I think Montana is maybe a little lulled
asleep and they're just they are going to be shocked by the speed I think that's the one thing about Ferris that
it's hard to be ready for is just how many guys they have that are that damn fast and
um you know I don't know if even in FCS maybe they see that many guys on the field at one time they have that kind of
speed that they have to defend um it might be it might not I could be all wet this may not happen that way but
something tells me that they've been working their way towards this one because they want to prove they're that good and I it's just hard to get about
spares bet against Ferris against anybody other than maybe North Dakota or South Dakota State at this point
awesome well what a great pick segment tonight all right you know we told you
earlier uh in the show that we're going to change things up again so I'm going to explain how things will go but first
I want to remind you guys to like share subscribe all those things that we ask you to do every week uh this is uh
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and uh I'll be here as long as it takes um some some of us might need to head out but uh again wanted to thank ksnt uh
gvsu Athletics Garen Higgins and Don Wiest uh for their work also want to
thank Emporia State athletics um and again that will do it for the
main show tonight stay tuned for the overtime and thank you for watching inside D2 football
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thank you
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