After what many would characterize as a busy offseason, we finally got some football to discuss. More than any other school, Bethune-Cookman entered the season with many question marks. After Raymond Woodie was hired, he was tasked with turning over an almost entirely new roster at the eleventh hour. He gathered a decent collection of players through new recruits and the portal. But how will this new-look Wildcat football team look? Well, some of those questions were answered this weekend when they traveled to Memphis to kick off this critical year under Raymond Woodie. Here’s what we saw:
Overreactions
The offense (might be bad) – Well, that’s an easy answer to arrive at when you look at the 91 yards of total offense, the four first downs, the 21 passing yards, the questionable QB play, and vanilla play calling, oh…. and the 56-14 final score. The offense was as bad as I’ve seen it.
But let’s take a step back and put things in perspective. Our currently constructed team is not ready to keep a game like this close, let alone win. We’re just not there yet. Memphis is a D1 program; while not an NCAA playoff-caliber program, they’re still bigger, faster, and deeper than we are now. Not to mention, Memphis has the longest home winning streak of all the NCAA.
One key thing to point out is that we started the backup QB. Luke Sprague and Walter Simmons III are 2 and 3 on the depth chart. Cam Ranson, the listed starter, is awaiting an NCAA waiver ruling. Word on the street is that he’s been cleared, but we can’t confirm. Ransom earned the starting spot in camp, but no one knows when we’ll see him. Hopefully, it’s soon.
We know that the offense has to be better than it was Saturday night, or we’re in for another doozy this season. I believe we’ll be better this weekend against Savannah State and will continue improving as the season progresses.
Surprises
The defense (might be good)! I’m still determining what got into the defense, but that unit had a day against a good Memphis offense—three turnovers and two scores in game one, highlighted by Amarie Jones’ incredible pick-six. Without the defensive effort, we’re likely shut out. Because of our inability to sustain offensive drives, the defense was on the field much longer than needed, which made their performance all the better and further explains the 56-14 score. We hope this is a sign of things to come!
Highs
Max Tulen is both a high but also a surprise. You may not know this name now, but you will soon. Tulen is our new kicker from Australia. If it’s one thing the Aussies are known for, it’s kickers. Recently, there has been a surge of Ausie-born kickers in the collegiate ranks, and Bethune-Cookman now has one of its
own. He will be handy in SWAC play when the games slow down, and field position is critical. Keep a look out for Max Tulen.
Lows
While we don’t expect the offense to be as bad as it showed Saturday night, it is still the unit that has the most opportunity for improvement. We expected the game to get ugly. That’s how these money er’… non-conference games go, so we never take much away from them. However, some things can’t be ignored. Last year against the Miami Hurricanes, a much better opponent, we amassed 342 yards of offense (250 passing and 93 rushing). The offense has some work to do.
Outlook
Ultimately we didn’t learn very much this weekend, however, we still played an important game that gave us a glimpse into what we might see more (or less) of. Even in games like these, you never want to get beat by seven scores. But we understand how these can go. What we’re looking to for Saturday is to see a hungry Wildcats football program come out and dominate against a familiar face at Savannah State University. This is a team that we have historically had no problems with. However, the Tigers beat us in a close back in 2016, and the last two matchups in 2017 and 2018 were two score victories by the Wildcats. A win is likely but not guaranteed. Some good old-fashioned B-CU domination would make many of us feel better.
All Hail to Thee
