One of the bigger questions that University of West Florida football head coach Kaleb Nobles fielded during his weekly availability was just how the locker room was after Saturday’s game.
It was a tough double-overtime loss to West Alabama, where the Argos fell one play short after not being able to convert on a two-point conversion in the second overtime. West Alabama quarterback Spencer Arceneaux had just run in for the score.
UWF appeared to have responded after a touchdown pass from Marcus Stokes to Da’Mani Brown, but Stokes’ second pass for the two-point conversion was swatted down . It’s the first time in a couple years that the Argos have lost their Gulf South Conference opener, coincidentally also a double-overtime loss to Delta State.
There was obvious frustration and disappointment after the loss, Nobles said. “If it wasn’t like that, I’d be concerned,” he added. But after spending essentially all of Sunday with the players after the game, Nobles understood where the Argos were at mentally.
“If they can go and play 60 minutes-plus like they did on Saturday, they’ll be just fine bouncing back and blocking out the noise of outside stuff,” Nobles said. “I know everybody on the outside will focus on, ‘Oh, well, we missed the two-point conversion, and (West Alabama) got it.’ That’s the easy thing to look at. There are so many plays in that game that they made and we did not make, and vice versa. … This is an opportunity: we get to go one way or the other. We get to move in a good direction because of it, or we get to move in a bad direction because of it. I feel confident that our team will move in the right direction.”
Even though Week 4 presents a non-conference opponent, it doesn’t get any easier for the Argos. UWF heads north to Michigan to play Grand Valley State University, a team Nobles called “historically great” at the Division II level , on Saturday at 2 p.m. (3 p.m. EST). It’s the first meeting between these two programs, but definitely not the first time UWF has played in Michigan.
UWF last played in the Great Lakes State in 2022, when the Argos fell to Ferris State. UWF also beat Ferris State in Michigan in 2019.
The week doesn’t change much as far as travel, Nobles said, since the team is chartering a flight to head straight into Grand Rapids – just a half-hour away from the college – however, Hurricane Helene might change things. As of Wednesday, there weren’t any special arrangements made.
“If we were bussing, it’d be a miserable trip,” Nobles quipped. “ Dave Scott, our AD, is phenomenal and wants us to play the best teams in the country when we get the chance to. Looking to fill a game in this year’s schedule, it presented a good opportunity and this made the most sense.”
Nobles expects a large crowd – over 15,000 fans attended Grand Valley State’s game on Saturday against Division III Wisconsin-La Crosse.
“It’s kind of like the SEC-Big 10, what you see on that level. We know it’ll be a great matchup, historically teams that have made it a little way into the playoffs when they make it,” Nobles said, referring to when Division I football teams play big conference crossover games. “We know that both end zones will be full of students. It’ll be a good opportunity to play a really good team. We’ve got to show up and play our best for 60 minutes, or however long it takes.”
Revisiting Week 3 vs. West Alabama
The Argos originally struggled out of the gate, achieving just 50 yards of total offense during the first half and only scoring a 28-yard field goal from Cade Lombardo. It wasn’t until the third quarter where a 73-yard passing touchdown from Stokes to Corey Scott was the spark the UWF offense needed.
Stokes and Scott, both redshirt freshmen, have had a “great connection,” Nobles mentioned, with both players working together a lot during the summer and after practices during the fall. Through two games, Scott leads UWF with 162 yards receiving on nine receptions for a touchdown. Stokes has thrown for 440 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.
“They’re both from the Jacksonville area. They came in together and signed together,” Nobles said, with Stokes from St. Augustine (Nease High School) and Scott from Jacksonville (Episcopal). “We’ve had a lot of opportunities to get Corey the ball, and we know he’s one of our special playmakers. We’ve got to find ways to get the ball in his hands.”
As the teams traded shots throughout the second half, what could have potentially put the Argos in the lead was a 56-yard drive that flamed out with a minute left in regulation. UWF got to the West Alabama 10-yard line, but an incomplete pass to Javon Swinton on third-and-8 saw Lombardo and the field goal unit come out.
Lombardo tied the game, and the defense prevented Alabama from scoring in the last 51 seconds of regulation.
“There were a lot of mistakes on our part where we were one guy away on a lot of things,” Nobles said. “West Alabama is a good defense, but we’ve got to play better and execute earlier in the game, and don’t wait for the third and fourth quarter to get hot.”
Looking at Grand Valley State for Week 4
A fast start will be needed for the Argos to stay with the high-powered offense of Grand Valley State. With the exception of last week, the Lakers have taken strong leads into halftime – a 30-0 lead over Central State in Week 1, and a 17-0 lead over Colorado State-Pueblo in Week 2. The only time it came back to haunt them was against CSU-Pueblo, who fought back with 21 points in the second half.
And with that, Grand Valley State has had a couple close calls in Weeks 2 and 3. The Lakers found themselves in a one-possession game with UW-La Crosse. The defense stopped a La Crosse drive late in the fourth quarter, and then drained the remaining 35 seconds to close the game out.
Grand Valley State allowed just 35 yards rushing, showing a strong defensive line, while putting up 398 yards of offense, showing the might of the offensive line – two pieces that Nobles highlighted.
“We took a day or two in the summer, as a staff, to watch and get ahead on them. We watched a little bit more (Sunday). They’re a good team, both sides of the football and on special teams,” Nobles said. “They do a good job of trying to move and win the line of scrimmage. We know we have to do our part of trying to win the line of scrimmage as well.”
Through three games, Grand Valley State has proven to be a pretty run-heavy team, already rushing for over 1,000 yards. Khalil Eichelberger (256 yards) and Kenneth Jones (206 yards) have led the way. Dual-threat quarterback Avery Moore hasn’t been afraid to show off his speed either with 120 yards rushing. The trio has combined for seven touchdowns.
Eleven of the Lakers’ 13 touchdowns on the year have come on the ground. UWF has allowed just 224 yards rushing and two touchdowns through a pair of games . Meanwhile, Grand Valley State hasn’t given too much up defensively, though teams have found relative success in the air, averaging 204 yards per game against the Lakers.
That could be good for Stokes, Scott and fellow receiver Da’Mani Brown, among others.
“(Stokes) grown up a lot the last couple weeks. He came into meetings (Sunday) and was in a good mood, a good headspace. I think this will build some confidence for him, with how he played in the fourth quarter vs. a very good defense,” Nobles said. “We’ve just got to help him keep growing and learning through the process of becoming a quarterback as a young kid.”
With UWF coming down to double overtime on Saturday, Nobles hopes that having tight-game experience will help, especially in the environment of the Lakers.
“It helps show our guys that every game is going to be a close game until the finish. When we have a chance to blow somebody out, we’d love to do it. There’s going to be tight games. We talked about it as a team that we’re going to get everybody’s best,” Nobles said. “We’re the University of West Florida, and we’ve been historically good since we started in 2016. People circle us, and they want to beat West Florida because of the past success. We’ve got to have our A-game and be ready to show up every game we play.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF football preparing for long road trip to 'historically great' Grand Valley State
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