Greetings, Lion fans, and in this week’s edition of the Notebook, we’ll take a look at one of the toughest, if not the toughest matchups all season, the Incarnate Word Cardinals. More on that in a bit. For now, let’s take a look back at last week…

The Blue Gang had their best performance so far this season in the win over McNeese. Two turnovers, five quarterback sacks, and 280 yards of total offense was just a great effort. For those that have been around more than a day like me, 280 total yards doesn’t sound that impressive. However, now in the days of the Spread/Air Raid offense and more liberal pass interference rules as well as offensive line play, the days of holding opponents under 150-200 yards have faded away.

A constant rotation of players at all positions, having the right personnel packages in the right situations made all the difference. Like what was stated on the last Call the Roll Podcast, this game turned early in the second quarter, when the Blue Gang, who had been pushed around a bit, and wre down, 3-0, got a key stop on a 4th down play inside their own 10-yard line. The game was effectively over at that point. The Lions then scored 41 unanswered points until giving up a score in the last few minutes, long after the game had been decided. Whatever defensive coordinator Kyle Williams and his staff did or said, it worked. It ranked right up there with, during the 1979 season, after a huge loss at Southwest Texas, Bobby Fox and his assistant, Ron Newsome, placed red smiley face stickers on every defensive players helmet. The saying, according to Newsome was, “We killed them with kindness!” The next week, the Lions shut out the Javalineas of Texas A&I their only loss in a championship season. So, to Coach Williams, his staff, and the Blue Gang……JOB WELL DONE.

No time for resting on laurels, however. Incarnate Word awaits. Let’s take a look….

OVERALL:

Cardinal Offense:

Points: 35.8 ppg

Rush: 151.8 ypg

Pass: 317.0 ypg

Total: 468.8 ypg

Turnovers: 10

Blue Gang Defense:

Points: 31.6 ppg

Rush: 157.4 ypg

Pass: 284.6 ypg

Total: 442 ypg

Turnovers: 15

The Cardinals, while not lighting up the scoreboard like a Christmas tree (something they did quite often in the 2022 season), are still moving the ball up and down the field very efficiently and have been taking full advantage of every break in the game. They are a very experienced group (every starter is a graduate student) and are on the same page with first year head coach Clint Killough, and offensive coordinator Connor McQueen. If there is an Achilles Heel, it’s that the Cardinals suffer a bit from being bitten by the turnover bug, losing 6 fumbles and 4 interceptions.

The Blue Gang is quickly returning to form, even after the step back two weeks ago. Kyle Williams constantly has players shuffling in and out ot the game, and this defense is among the best in the Southland in sacks and interceptions. If there’s one other thing this defense brings to the game is physicality. Every play is turning into a fight, and they will hit their opponent. Hard. If they are able to generate some pressure, they will create some turnovers, and this game could get very interesting.

UP FRONT/TALE OF THE TAPE:

Cardinal Offensive Line: 6’4″ 300 lbs.

Blue Gang Front 6: 6’1″ 242 lbs.

The Cardinal offensive line is mad e up of Alex Costilla (6’5″ 310 lbs.), Mark Stanley (6’3″ 283 lbs.), Joe Bryson (6’6″ 300 lbs.), Silas Robinson (6’4″ 315 lbs.), and Jason Borjas (6’5″ 295 lbs.). They are the engine of the Cardinal offense, and they are a very good unit.

The Blue Gang is led up front by junior Warren Robinson (6’3″ 245 lbs.), senior Levi Drake Rodriguez (6’4″ 290 lbs.), junior Leon Young (5’11” 250 lbs.), and junior Clifford Funderburk (6’3″ 238 lbs.). Yes, they are a bit undersized, but the lack of size is compensated by speed, quickness, and relentless pursuit of the ball. Sophomore Kyree Anderson (5’11” 215 lbs.) and junior Darryle Ware (6’2″ 218 lbs.) fill the linebacker slots, and Ware is now third on the team in tackles with 24 (12 solo).

MOVERS AND SHAKERS/THE BACK LINE:

Cardinal Movers and Shakers: 5’11” 191 lbs.

Blue Gang Back Line : 5’10” 173 lbs.

The Cardinal offense is led by Texas A&M and Auburn transfer Zach Calzada (6’4″ 200 lbs.) who is 104-155 with 4 interceptions, and an average of 299.4 yards with 9 touchdowns, and a long of 73. Jarrell Wiley (5’11” 182 lbs., RS-Jr.) is the leading rusher with 44 carries for 205 yards, one touchdown, and a long of 17. He is closely followed by Timothy Carter (6’0″ 215 lbs., Soph.) who has 31 carries for 176 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and a long of 23 yards. Not to be outdone, grad student, Tre Siggers (5’10” 200 lbs.) has 161 yards on 33 carries, 2 touchdowns, and a long of 29.

The Cardinal receivers are led by Brandon Porter (5’10” 165 lbs., Gr.), who had 558 yards on 33 receptions, with three touchdowns, and a long of 73. Caleb Chapman (6’5″ 225 lbs., Gr.) has 287 yards on 15 catches, 3 touchdowns, and a long of 61.

This is an explosive group, especially through the air, and it will be the biggest challenge the Lion defense has faced all season. They are led on the back line by senior Dariyon Taylor (5’10” 160 lbs.), who leads the Blue Gang in tackles with 35 (23 solo). He is joined by junior Max Epps (5’11” 182 lbs.) who is second on the team in tackles with 28 (14 solo). Epps is also among the conference leaders in interceptions with 4. . Sophomore Jordan Polk (6’0″ 182 lbs.), sophomore Kendall Paul (5’9″ 161 lbs.) and sophomore Christian Shaw (5’10” 184 lbs.) round out the back line. If the front six can generate enough pressure, then the opportunity is there for the Lions to get some turnovers.

VERY SPECIAL, INDEED: Wow. Was this group ever more improved from last week? The coverage and tackling were solid, junior Mitchell McGarry continues to impress despite not having huge numbers (38.3 yd. average on 29 punts) but has been masterful at flipping field position in the Lion’s favor, and getting the Lion offense out of the occasional jam. Senior Emmanuel Adagbon probably had the biggest rebound of the week, with field goals from 51 and 41 yards, and was perfect on 5 extra points.

Sophomore Aiden Martin hasn’t been mentioned much this season, and the reason is, he just keeps booming kickoff after kickoff through the end zone. Martin is patiently biding his time and looks to take over Adagbon’s duties in 2024. Martin appears to have the leg to be a threat anytime the Lions cross midfield.

The Cardinal punter is sophomore Ben D’Aquilla, who has a 43.6-yard average on 15 punts. Translated, the Cardinal offense has been that good, and he hasn’t been needed. The Cardinal kicker is graduate student Mason Lawler, wo is 3 of 3 on field goals with a long of 43 yards and is a perfect 24 of 24 on extra points.

THE LIONS WIN THIS MATCHUP IF: The staff here at The Wire isn’t going to dance around this one: this game is personal. The comments and overall attitude of players, coaches, and fans from our neighbors in San Antonio wasn’t exactly what could be called classy, Rivalries are born this way.

The game comes down to these two areas: One, can the Lions offensive line, which has been improving all year and has only given up 6 sacks, control the trenches enough against that good Cardinal defensive front enough to give Josh Magana some time, and allow the offense to establish some sort of run game? and two, can the Blue Gang summon up one more effort and generate enough pressure to make Calzada uncomfortable in the pocket, and not allow the big play?

The Lion are certainly capable of doing both. Fresh off their most impressive game of the season, and with the memories of the 2022 game in their heads, the Lions could be very well positioned to pull off the upset of the year in the FCS ranks.

See You in San Antonio.