Photo by Kristi Camara
By: Jackson Wolek / Staff Writer
Following the team’s largest margin of victory of the season against rivals FAU, the Panthers now travel to Louisiana at Monroe to take on the Warhawks. Despite being out of contention for a bowl bid this year, the Warhawks have not shown signs of giving up after beating Middle Tennessee 42-14 last week.
Since head coach Mario Cristobal brought redshirt freshman Jake Medlock out for his first start over senior Wesley Carroll in the Shula bowl, there was a question of whether he would remain the starter at ULM. On Monday, Cristobal said that going into the week Medlock would be the starter, and on Wednesday it became conclusive.
“As of right now, yeah,” said Cristobal on Medlock being the starter. “There’s really no controversy or games to it, he played a real solid game last week and he’s continuing to get better, as is Wes, and we’re just going along with the process.”
ULM is ranked No. 1 in defense against the run, allowing 101 yards per game. However, FIU still has the second leading rusher in the conference after ten games, Kedrick Rhodes, who runs for 93 yards per game. Rhodes had his own theory on how FIU can counteract the Warhawks run defense.
“They stack the box a little bit, run a little 4-3 with an extra man hanging over, but this game I don’t think that extra man is going to hang over because we start to get a threat going deep with T.Y Hilton down the side,” said Rhodes. “He will probably be hanging over him and it will probably open up the box a little bit more, so as a running back we should have a good game.”
The two biggest threats for ULM on defense is defensive end Troy Evans, who is fourth in the conference with six sacks, and Darius Prelow, who leads the team in interceptions with four. The pressure that Evans and the rest of the defensive line provide helped ULM force quarterbacks into 11 interceptions.
“A lot of the success they’ve had in turnovers is related to the way they pressure quarterbacks and not always with blitz and brining an extra guy but what they do up front,” Cristobal said. “Their explosive, their quick and do a heck of a job. Troy Evans has been one of the better players in the conference three years in a row, so it’s no surprise that he’s doing the same this year.”
ULM’s biggest strength has been their first quarter play, where they have outscored opponents 56-14. The Panthers’ biggest deficit in the first quarter this year has been down 7-0 to Troy, which they won in overtime.
Offensively, the Warhawks have run the ball 382 times, and the second leading rusher behind main running back Jyruss Edwards is quarterback Kolton Browning. When FIU faced quarterback Ryan Aplin of Arkansas State, he ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
“When it comes to the run game, the defensive line and the linebackers have real discipline because we have to treat their quarterbacks as an option as well, not just the running backs,” said linebacker Winston Fraser. “That’s our main focus, stopping the run first. If we don’t stop the run, that’s all their going to continue doing all game.”
About Post Author
