clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

First Ever Underdog Dynasty Social Media Mailbag

You sent us your questions. We answered almost all of them, because we thought it was silly to get mailbag questions from our own staff.

By UDD Staff

Haisten Willis: Uh, maybe we should have made it one per customer? Just playing Cordero good to hear from you.

Fun Belt: This is the best conference for us at the moment and I believe a better fit than C-USA. The key is to keep winning and drawing big crowds in preparation for the next round of conference realignment.

Future games: Hope so! It is well-publicized that nobody wants to play us, which is ridiculous. Would love to see a series against Marshall, East Carolina, maybe Southern Miss, UCF or those scaredy cats over at Vanderbilt. Maybe we should stop winning so much and it'll happen.

Stadium expansion: Would be very exciting but you've got to do it right. Adding seats is fun but a half-full stadium isn't. My dream is a giant five-story press box on the home side with some luxury boxes to bring in cash and create symmetry with the visitor's side.

Haisten Willis: Upshaw was quoted in the Savannah paper saying he's a better passer and Kevin Ellison is a better rusher, which could be good or bad. The important thing is to remember he played well when he saw action last year. We won't really know how much of a difference there is between the two QBs this year until game 3.

Jeremy Harper: Man, I have some good news for Mr. Jake Pendergist! Unlike Clive Owen, teen adventure trilogies, and True Detective, the Red Wolves haven't peaked at all. Because rather than resting on recent laurels, A-State is literally building on them. With a freshly renovated stadium and an impressive new indoor facility, Arkansas State understands the value that good football brings to the University. I expect A-State to compete and shine for another decade.

Jared Kalmus: Bogenschutz has the potential to put up some big numbers but playing five great defenses to start the season isn't going to do any favors for Bogie's stat line. I'd say Bogie ends up with 2,800 passing yards at a 59% completion rate with 22 passing TDs to 15 interceptions. Let's toss in 500 rushing yards and 5 TDs on the ground. I honestly see his ceiling as being the top quarterback in Conference USA.

By 2019 he'll have five years of experience. That's crazy to think about. I'm the worst at player comparisons but how about Jordan Lynch? Both were very successful in high school yet ignored by regional power programs. Both lead scoring drives in their first opportunities as freshmen and earned increases in playing time. Lynch was more of a power runner but both guys are just 6'0" and very accurate passers.

Jeremy Adcock: According to Ruffin McNeill earlier in the summer, things shouldn't change with the loss of a quarterback. I do not personally buy into that philosophy as Benkert was far and away the best quarterback on the ECU roster this season. Benkert has the ability to throw the deep ball better than anyone and would have added that dimension, which could have resulted in at least two more wins.

With him, I saw the Pirates going 8-4 but without him, they will struggle to get to six wins. Remember, the AAC is a tough conference and the goal should be getting to another bowl with a ceiling of eight wins if everything goes just right after the loss of Benkert. It is disappointing for the Pirates fan base to wait until 2016 to unleash Benkert on the nation.

Will Butler: Anyama is going to start, straight up. He'll probably take Aaron Shaw's spot at Rover and will be counted upon for his speed and athleticism in blitzing and run support as well as secondary duties. Jeff Banks did some good things in the spring game (2 sacks, 1 PBR) and also has a very good chance at starting. He should crack the two deep at the very least.

Bowens might not start out of the gate, but he's cementing himself as the WR4 or WR5 and could be a starter before the season's over if Gaines and Smith continue to put in inconsistent performances. He's done well in camp and is talented enough to take on Sun Belt defenses.

Beck isn't going to challenge for a starting spot, but he's going to be a valuable backup on a d-line that needs as much depth as it possibly can.

Nicolas A. Lewis: Well, I mean, there could only be two, right? And while it would be nice to see those kinds of matchups, I'm not sure that Georgia Southern playing Western Kentucky would be as big a boon to either program as the Eagles playing someone like Virginia Tech or the Toppers playing someone like Texas.

Nicolas A. Lewis: I think that number is pretty subjective, and it depends on both a) how capable you think any one underdog is of defeating their P5 opponent, and b) how likely they are to actually achieve that goal. Houston-Louisville, Memphis-Kansas, Western Kentucky-Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky-Indiana, Marshall-Purdue, Georgia Southern-West Virginia, and Arkansas State-USC are all scenarios where our teams are capable. But I would probably truncate that list to Houston, Memphis, WKU (over Vandy), and Marshall if I'm talking about likely wins. So, can I say somewhere between four and six and leave it at that?

There are obviously more G5 upsets to be had out there, but you'll want to go read up on Hustle Belt (Kent State-Illinois anyone?) and Mountain West Conference Connection (a whole bunch of games) to learn about those ones.

Thanks for your questions, and we enjoy answering! Keep sending them our way via Facebook and Twitter, and we will aim to answer whatever we receive every... whatever day we decide to do it!

More From Underdog Dynasty