2010 Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Football Preview

2009 Results: 6-6, No Bowl

Head Coach: Todd Berry (1st year @ Louisiana-Monroe, 39-60 Overall)

Home Venue: Monroe Stadium (30,427), Monroe, Louisiana

Much like their rivals at Louisiana, the Warhawks have had some misfortune when it comes to earning a bowl berth. Two of the past three years have resulted in postseason eligibility at 6-6 but UL-Monroe is still searching for their first bowl berth in school history. That bad luck cost former coach Charlie Weatherbie his job after closing out the 2009 season with a 2nd half record of 2-4.

In Weatherbie’s stead is former Army coach Todd Berry. Berry’s hiring raised a few eyebrows in Monroe after posting a 5-36 record at West Point in his only previous D-1A head coaching stint. He is also coming off of an average three year performance as UNLV’s offensive coordinator that ended with the firing of Running Rebel head coach Mike Stanford. On a positive note, he wisely retained popular defensive coordinator Troy Reffett after ULM allowed the 3rd fewest points per game in the Sun Belt in 2009. How will Berry do with a team that loses twelve starters from last season’s 3rd place finisher?

OFFENSE

The good news is that the offensive side of the ball isn’t completely decimated. Senior tailback Frank Goodin rushed for over 1,100 yards and 13 TDs in 2009 and was the driving force behind UL-Monroe’s best offensive output in the last decade. Along with senior dual threat quarterback Trey Revell (1,739 pass yards, 354 rush yards, 17 total TDs), the Warhawks have a pretty solid backfield in place.

The bad news is that the top two wide receivers are gone and the offensive line is very inexperienced with only two returning starters. Having a questionable O-Line is a big concern when your biggest strength is in the running game because Goodin needs to have some space to make things happen. I’m very concerned that he’ll have a weaker year because of the worries up front.

Overall, this should be the more effective of the two units but there are still some big questions. After small improvements in each of the past five seasons, it seems likely that their concerns on the line and lack of playmakers at receiver will cause the Warhawks to fall short of last season’s 25.6 points per game of production.

DEFENSE

Things look much more dire on defense, where only four starters return from 2009’s stellar unit. Up front, senior Troy Evans is coming off of a solid season that was highlighted by 6.5 sacks and a 1st team All-Sun Belt nod, quite a feat considering the Warhawks’ 3-4 formation. The bad news is that he’s the only returning starter from what was a very strong front.

The rest of the unit doesn’t look great either as three linebacker spots are up for grabs from a very inexperienced group that will be led by senior Theo Smith (57 tackles, 3.5 sacks in 2009), the only returning starter. While the secondary is more experienced, ULM loses a 1st team All-Sun Belt corner and lockdown cornerbacks don’t grow on trees.

When it comes down to it, there are a number of factors working against UL-Monroe’s defense this season. Their strength last year was the byproduct of a very good front seven and that group is all but gone. As that unit halved the 2008 defense’s rush yards allowed, I have a major concern that opponents will resume gouging the Warhawks on the ground. This looks like a defense that has too many holes to match last season’s strong showing and I definitely think that they’re going to take a step back this year.

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SCHEDULE

The Warhawks get no favors from their schedule. They have the first week of the season off and then reel off twelve consecutive games. Furthermore, their non conference schedule includes trips to SEC West powers Arkansas, Auburn and LSU! They also only have five home games, so things are not going to be easy. On the plus side, they do finish with three home games in the final five and a non-conference game with D-1AA Southeast Louisiana appears to be a good bet for a win. However, this could easily be the toughest schedule in the entire Sun Belt.

OUTLOOK

The Warhawks are in a tough position this fall. Weatherbie was extremely well liked by his players and the acquisition of Berry can’t be a major confidence-booster due to his spotty track record at Army and UNLV. Furthermore, UL-Monroe only has ten returning starters after a season that brought them great fortune in avoiding major injuries. With a really tough schedule, everything seems to point to a major rebuilding effort and it seems unlikely that the Warhawks will earn bowl eligibility in the first year of the Todd Berry era.

PREDICTED RESULT: 3-9 (2-6 Sun Belt)