for the third-straight game, Louisiana Monroe went toe-to-toe with a hyped power-conference opponent. on Friday night, the ULM Warhawks gave Baylor all they could handle before finally falling, 47-42.
the contest came after ULM knocked off Arkansas in Fayetteville and took Auburn to overtime at Auburn. the Baylor game took place at ULM's home field, and was an exciting shootout that lit up the scoreboard.
the Warhawks are led by the electrifying (to borrow a favorite commentator word usually reserved for black quarterbacks) dual-threat quarterback Kolton Browning. Browning's favorite target is wideout Brent Leonard, who leads the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. fellow White wide receiver Colby Harper is third on the team in catches (and fourth in yards).
in last night's game, Browning threw for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns, while running 13 times for 49 yards and another touchdown. Leonard had 8 catches for 72 yards and 1 touchdown and 1 rush for 5 yards. Harper had a team-high 82 receiving yards on 5 catches.
the Warhawks (what exactly is a Warhawk, anyway?) are fun to watch on offense ... and on Friday night were the first team i have ever seen to actually implement a system i've been talking about for several years: utilizing two dual-threat quarterbacks in the backfield at the same time.
ULM only used it for a handful of plays, but when quarterbacks Kolton Browning and Cody Wells were on the field together, the offense was incredibly effective running the zone read, with both QBs a threat to either run or throw the ball after the hand-off or fake. it was VERY fun to watch. and Baylor was completely unable to stop it. so it begs the following questions: 1) why didn't ULM run it more often? and 2) why don't more teams do this?
also, Baylor's quarterback Nick Florence put up HUGE numbers, throwing for 351 yards and 4 touchdowns (and 2 picks) while running 9 times for 55 yards. who needs Robert Griffin III?
Riddlewire is completely correct about Baylor's system ...
also i wonder, with both of these teams having incredibly productive quarterbacks, will either Florence or Browning be getting hyped as the best player in college football? of course, it's a rhetorical question, because we know the answer. :tape2: