ULM coach creating his own bulletin board material to fire up his ‘mediocre Group of 5 team’ vs. Texas football
Coaches look for bulletin board material anywhere they can get it. Heck, they’ll even make it up if it will help their players focus. How does a 44.5-point underdog find motivation going on the road against the No. 1 team in America? Louisiana-Monroe defensive coordinator Earnest Hill took the rope-a-dope approach during his news conference […]
Coaches look for bulletin board material anywhere they can get it. Heck, they’ll even make it up if it will help their players focus.
How does a 44.5-point underdog find motivation going on the road against the No. 1 team in America?
Louisiana-Monroe defensive coordinator Earnest Hill took the rope-a-dope approach during his news conference earlier this week to preview the matchup against Texas (3-0).
“Texas, they know they’re playing against a mediocre Group of 5 team,” Hill said, almost in matter-of-fact fashion. “Let’s be honest, they’re not going to prepare like they normally do. That’s why we are. We’re going to try to go do our best and, you know, see where the chips fall.”
Texas HC Steve Sarkisian still has not named a starting quarterback vs. ULM; no mid-week injury update on QB Quinn Ewers
As of Wednesday, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian still hasn’t decided on a starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe. Sarkisian said Monday that starting quarterback Quinn Ewers would be questionable with a strained abdominal injury. The top-ranked Longhorns have full confidence in backup Arch Manning, who accounted for five touchdowns in last week’s blowout win […]
A mediocre Group of 5 team? The Warhawks are 2-0 and led by quarterback General Booty, who transferred from Oklahoma. Well, OK, coach.
For the record, ULM head coach Bryant Vincent was more upbeat.
“We’re going into a No. 1 ranked team in the country, a team that has the opportunity to legit-ly win a national championship,” said Vincent, now in his first season at ULM. “They’re one of those teams that are in the conversation. They’re coached extremely well. They’re big, they’re long, they’re powerful, they’re experienced. Our team, we’re excited about the challenge.”
ULM is seeking its first win over a Top 25 team since beating No. 8 Arkansas in a 34-31 overtime win in 2012. This team has an eye-popping 73 new players compared to last year’s roster. Vincent and his staff signed 35 players in less than two weeks in December.
Phil Steele rated ULM has having the toughest schedule among all Group of 5 teams and the Sun Belt. ULM has future games against Texas State and Auburn later this season, too.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian followed the unwritten rules of Press Conference 101 etiquette and praised his opponent.
“Obviously, we got ULM coming in, a 2-0 football team,” Sarkisian said Monday. “I think coach Vince has done a terrific job. Those guys were 2-10 a year ago. He took over and they're 2-0 right now. They believe in hard-nosed, tough football. They’re going to run the ball, they’re going to utilize the play-action pass to take their shots at you. They play good defense.
“So they’re just playing sound, good football with a lot of new faces and transfers,” Sarkisian added. “We’ve got to prepare accordingly to put our best foot forward Saturday night.”
