Cougar Disrespect, Delaware's Blueprint, and Marshall's QB Dilemma

Mark Reynolds

Welcome to The Dynasty Report. It's Week 9, Tennessee is eight and oh, Miami is seven and oh, and Jack Fletcher's Washington State Cougars finally cracked the poll. They're at number 24. Emily, you spent a whole episode telling us this team was being snubbed. Is 24 still disrespect?

Emily Carter

Yes, and I'll say it again. Eight and one. Six and oh in the Pac 12. Five teams in the top ten have two fewer wins than Washington State, and the Cougars sit fourteen spots behind the lowest of them. Alabama, Utah, LSU, Indiana and Oregon are all six and one. Explain that to me.

Mark Reynolds

I'll try. A record isn't the whole résumé, Emily. Voters look at who you beat, and I said last time that the Cougars hadn't proven much against anybody ranked. I'll give you this, though. 272 to 145 is a plus 127 scoring margin. That's not a team sneaking by. That's a team dominating, and it moves me.

Emily Carter

Moves you how far? Number 24 is still the bottom of the poll.

Mark Reynolds

It moves me to say the Cougars belong higher than 24. It does not move me to say they belong next to Memphis.

James Wilson

Now this is where I get confused as an outsider. Memphis is seven and oh, ranked sixth, and everyone treats that like gospel. Washington State has one loss and it's practically a crime to rank them near that. Is that really about schedule? Or is it brand? Memphis gets the benefit of the doubt on being unbeaten, and Washington State gets punished for one defeat.

Mark Reynolds

Unbeaten matters, James. A zero in the loss column carries weight with voters. I just think six is generous, and I'm not saying it's because of the logo.

Emily Carter

So we agree the gap between six and 24 is too wide.

Mark Reynolds

We agree it's too wide. We don't agree on which end is wrong.

David Mitchell

Let me bring in the part nobody can argue about. Dylan Edwards has 1,229 rushing yards through nine games, twelve touchdowns, 8.6 yards a carry. That's over 136 a game. Voters can quibble about schedules, but nobody gets 8.6 a carry by accident, and defenses know he's coming.

Emily Carter

And it's not just Edwards. Owen Eshelman is completing 67 percent for 1,418 yards and ten touchdowns. Micah Mays Jr. has 437 yards, Ganashamoorthy has 337. Luke Webb has three and a half sacks and eight tackles for loss. This isn't a one man show.

Mark Reynolds

Fine, balanced. I'll say it plainly. If the Cougars keep winning in the Pac 12, the 24 won't last, and the committee conversation gets real. The poll is a rumor until November.

Emily Carter

A rumor with a number next to it. I'll take the momentum.

David Mitchell

Let's go to Newark. Jackson Harrison has Delaware at four and three, three and one in Conference USA, third place behind Missouri State at four and oh and Sam Houston at three and oh. Last time we argued about benching Riley Trujillo. He's still at 45 percent, five touchdowns, eight interceptions, 1,207 yards. Is there still no answer there?

James Wilson

There's an answer now, and it's not at quarterback. G. Spiller has five rushing touchdowns on just 46 carries. Viron Ellison Jr. leads the team with 383 yards. Harrison has a blueprint. Run the ball, use that defense, and ask Trujillo to manage the game, not win it.

Mark Reynolds

I like that, but be careful. Five touchdowns on 46 carries is efficient, yet it's a small workload. Ellison has the yardage lead. You can't build a whole offense on a goal line back.

James Wilson

I'm not asking Spiller to carry it forty times. I'm saying the touchdowns tell you where the offense is most dangerous, and it isn't when Trujillo is throwing.

David Mitchell

And the defense backs that up. Austin Ramsey three sacks, B. Marceau Olayinka three, D. Mann two and a half. That's eight and a half sacks from three tackles alone. Nasir Eatmon has 31 tackles and two interceptions. A team with that front can win ugly, and in this league, ugly might be enough.

Emily Carter

It might, but eight interceptions is eight short fields for opponents. At some point the defense can't cover that.

David Mitchell

Which is why simplifying the offense is the better answer than a quarterback change. There's no clear backup in the story, and the run game gives Harrison a plan.

Mark Reynolds

Now Marshall, where there is a backup, and that's the problem for Ron Cherry. The Herd finally won, they're one and six, but A.J. Fox has gone from twelve interceptions to fifteen. That's five touchdowns against fifteen picks, 973 yards, 53 percent.

Emily Carter

And D. Patterson is fifteen of 23, that's 65 percent, with three touchdowns and one interception. Do I know it's 23 attempts? Yes. Small sample. But you can't look at those two lines and say Fox deserves another Saturday.

Mark Reynolds

I can say it's still 23 attempts, Emily. Patterson may have played in softer situations. The source doesn't tell us the context, so I'm not crowning him.

Emily Carter

Then what's Cherry waiting for? Marshall has scored 116 points and given up 176. Bowl eligibility is virtually gone, the Herd sit behind undefeated Old Dominion and Georgia State, and the season is about what this program becomes. Find out if Patterson is the guy.

James Wilson

She's right on the logic. When the season is lost, the only mistake left is not learning anything. If Fox throws another few picks, that tells you nothing new.

Mark Reynolds

I'd concede the experiment is worth running. Where I'd differ is the timing. A quick hook after one bad series would be cruel. Give Patterson a full start, and let the evidence decide.

David Mitchell

That feels like where this lands. Three programs, three different questions. Can Washington State climb, can Delaware lean on the run and the defense, and will Cherry finally make the change in Huntington. We'll find out on Saturday.