This week’s opponent for Florida State is Louisiana-Monroe…again. The Seminoles and Warhawks were originally scheduled to square off in the home opener at Doak Campbell Stadium on Sept. 9, but Hurricane Irma had other plans.
The two schools decided to reschedule the contest earlier this month and for FSU, the purpose is very clear — the Seminoles want to make a bowl game for a 36th straight year. The teams last met to open the 2011 campaign with FSU winning 34-0.
On Louisiana-Monroe
Record: 4-7
Offensive Ranks: 17th in yards per game (472.7), 21st in passing yards per game (290.3), 51st in rushing yards per game (182.4), 22nd in points per game (36.1).
Defensive Ranks: 129th in yards allowed per game (534.7), 128th in passing yards allowed per game (308.5), 119th in rushing yards allowed per game (226.2), 126th in points per game allowed (40.9).
Last Game: Lost to Arkansas State on Saturday, 67-50.
On Offense
As the second best statistical offense in the Sun Belt, Louisiana-Monroe is capable of lighting up the scoreboard. The Warhawks have hit the 40-point mark five times this season. Quarterback Caleb Evans is having a strong year and is coming off a season-high 454 yards passing and four touchdowns against Arkansas State, but did throw three of his six picks in that contest. Evans is a dual-threat, who ranks second on the team with 554 yards rushing and leads the Warhawks with 13 touchdowns on the ground.
With 569 yards, senior Derrick Gore is the leading rusher. Junior Ben Luckett is averaging a team-best 6.7 yards per carry. Marcus Green, R.J. Turner and Brian Williams are a competent trio of receivers with a combined 1,989 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns. Turner’s 18.8 yards per catch average ranks 25th nationally. The offensive line, which starts one senior, three sophomores and a freshman, has yielded just 19 sacks this season. While ULM has been a high-scoring team, it was held to just 14 points by Auburn in its only other contest against a Power 5 program.
On Defense
As good as the offense has been this season for Louisiana-Monroe, the defense has been a disaster. The Warhawks are near the bottom in virtually every statistical category. Redshirt senior defensive end Caleb Tucker leads the team in sacks with 4.5 this season, but as a whole, the Warhawks are yielding 9.5 yards per pass attempt and 5.5 per rush. Freshman Kerry Starks has a very promising future up front for Louisiana-Monroe.
Junior David Griffith is the best ULM has at linebacker as he leads the team with eight tackles for loss and ranks second with 71 total stops. Safeties Roland Jenkins and Wesley Thompson rank first and third on the team in tackles. Jenkins leads the squad with 81 tackles. Jenkins and Corey Straughter each have two interceptions for a team that has just seven this year.
On Special Teams
The specialists for ULM have had a decent season. Kicker Craig Ford is 9-for-12 with two makes from at least 40 yards while Harrison Heim is averaging 42.2 yards per punt. Marcus Green is an outstanding returner for the Warhawks with four kickoff returns for touchdowns this season. Louisiana-Monroe has yielded one return for a score.
Summary
To sum things up, Louisiana-Monroe under head coach Matt Viator is a good offensive team and a bad defensive one. It is worth noting that the production offensively has come against athletes not nearly as good as Florida State’s. To be fair, so has the meager defensive performance. The Warhawks will probably play with plenty of pride on Saturday, but they’re not a team capable of coming to Doak Campbell Stadium and beating a focused FSU team.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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