Darnell Vidrine · UL Monroe Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Keep the faith, Warhawks! Good evening, good morning, good whatever-time-it-is, because I'm Darnell Vidrine, and I've hosted overnight sports radio out of the Delta for so long that every hour feels like 2 a.m. and every caller feels like family. I travel with this team and I live with this team. I keep an optimism counter on my desk, and every week, no matter what, I reset it to 100. It has been reset a lot. It still works. Every week you'll get the players, the matchups, the history and the hope, because I believe we are always one play away from greatness. I can FEEL it. When we win, you'll hear "I KNEW IT!" and you may hear a sniffle. When we lose, I'll say "Keep the faith, y'all," and reach for the counter. Thanks for tuning in.
The School in 60 Seconds
UL Monroe football dates to 1931. We were the Northeast Louisiana Indians for a long stretch and became the Warhawks in 2006. The program moved up to Division I-A, now FBS, in 1994 and plays in the Sun Belt. Our home is Malone Stadium in Monroe, listed at 27,617 seats and opened in 1978. Here's the hard truth, said with love: our only FBS bowl game was the 2012 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, a 45-14 loss to Ohio, and the drought since then is the longest in FBS. The last five seasons went 4-8, 4-8, 2-10, 5-7 and 3-9. Long nights make the sunrise sweeter. That's not a stat. That's just Delta truth.
The Coach and the Scheme
Bryant Vincent was hired Dec. 5, 2023. The 2026 numbers are what they are, and I'll read them to you straight, because the faith only means something if you're honest. ULM has 723 rushing yards on 197 carries and 1,325 passing yards in six games. The defense has given up 1,378 rushing yards on 255 carries, about 5.4 a carry. We've scored 120 points and allowed 247. The bright spots: two of the losses were one-score games, 26-20 at UAB and 38-35 to SE Louisiana, and we put up 35 points at South Alabama. When this offense gets rolling, it can score in bunches. And our penalties are low, 33 for 295 yards.
Players to Know
QB Aidan Armenta: 83 of 131, 974 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT. Against Louisiana Tech he was 14 of 24 for 105 yards with two interceptions.
QB Austin Carlisle: our leading rusher, 230 yards on 40 carries, 1 TD, and he's thrown for 358 yards and 3 TD.
WR Marcellus Jackson: 32 catches, 265 yards.
LB Noah Flemmings: a team-high 51 tackles. DL Tyrell Brown: 2.5 sacks. S Carl Fauntroy: an interception.
(The two stat feeds differ slightly on Armenta and Flemmings; I'm using ESPN's season-leaders feed.)
The Conference Picture
ULM is 0-6 and 0-2 in the Sun Belt. The schedule opened with a trip to Mississippi State, a 62-13 loss, and included Florida Atlantic, 45-17, and last week's 24-0 loss to Louisiana Tech. Nobody is ranked in this game. I'm not going to do standings math. I'm going to say this: the first one is the hardest, and it's coming. Here's my optimism counter's case, built only on the numbers. Troy is 0-3 away from home but 3-0 at home, so yes, we're walking into its strongest room. But Troy also scored just 6 points last week, and its offense has topped 24 points only twice this season. Our defense has been on the field a lot, and it's still swinging. If we can hold the Trojans near their road form for four quarters, the counter stays at 100 well past halftime.
This Week: UL Monroe (0-6) at Troy (3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 4 p.m. ET · Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, Ala. · ESPN+.
Last week: Louisiana Tech shut us out 24-0. Troy lost 33-6 at Louisiana; the AP headline says 33-7, but the story and the CFBD record say 33-6.
Our offense vs. their defense: Troy has allowed 828 rushing yards on 193 carries, about 4.3 a carry, and has 10 sacks. Its secondary has a sack leader, DB Donnie Smith, with 5, so Armenta has to watch the blitz.
Their offense vs. our defense: Troy runs it, 1,228 yards on 239 carries. Gavin Griffin leads with 359 yards. Our run defense has to get off blocks.
Series: Troy leads 11-8. The last six meetings split 4-2 for Troy, and our most recent win was 13-9 in 2024. So it's been done, and not that long ago.
Availability: I found no injury or availability report for either team as of Oct. 18.
What decides it: (1) Whether we can keep Troy's run game under its season average. (2) Turnovers: Armenta threw two interceptions against Louisiana Tech. (3) Whether Carlisle's legs can give us a spark.
And Marlo Pickens, Troy's insider: I hear you love a peanut pun. I love a comeback. Let's see whose story ends better.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
Back home in Monroe? Warehouse No. 1 Restaurant on Olive Street, down by the river, is where I'd take the family after a win.
My call: Troy Trojans 36, UL Monroe Warhawks 18.