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It feels very early to be making grand statements or judgments about a college football team’s chances, with just one completed game.
And yet.
With the way the schedule for the rest of 2026 shapes up, ETSU’s 49-37 loss to Campbell provides one and only one path if the Bucs are going to reach the FCS playoffs at the end of the season.
Win the Southern Conference.
League champions get automatic bids to the playoff, and with the defeat to Campbell, ETSU’s out-of-conference schedule simply is not going to be strong enough to warrant consideration, unless the Bucs can shock the world and beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill in a couple of weeks. Thomas Stokes, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of FCS football, wrote about this a couple of weeks ago.
ETSU’s upcoming game against Division II Tusculum does not count towards the win total with regard to playoff consideration. It doesn’t matter if the Bucs win by two points, or 200.
So, can this team win the SoCon? Sure. Can the Bucs win if they keep playing like they did Saturday against Campbell, especially on defense? No way.
I’m still not sure what was more costly, some of the blown coverages in pass defense or the continued inability to put pressure on the quarterback. The latter is arguably more of a concern. Especially since the defensive line was considered to be one of the strengths of the team. Especially since ETSU coach Will Healy called new position coach J.C. Price “arguably the best defensive line coach in the country” in last Monday’s press conference.
Now, one game doesn’t make or break a coach, and Price does have a strong reputation. But the way Campbell controlled the line of scrimmage was troubling. Kamden Sixkiller, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation (he’s one-eighth) looked more like Jim Thorpe out there as he racked up 400-plus yards of offense.
It probably got dismissed as coach speak, but Healy talked about how this would be a 50/50 matchup on Monday. That’s what happened, although the Bucs’ errors and execution issues had a lot to do with that.
“It’s not like we just line up and just, we’re superior than everybody else,” Healy said after the game. “If you don’t play well, we will get beat. Tonight was a prime example of that. So I mean, to me it’s not 50/50 as in doubting our guys. It’s 50/50 to say, I think it’s great to say every time you line up, you have a chance to win. That’s where I feel like we are. But we’ve got to play with them. And we can’t give up fourth-and-13s and third-and-15s, and can’t turn the ball over.
“I felt like there were a bunch of times offensively where it was like, man, we were one cut away, one block away. … and it’s like, can’t be one away. You know? And it was like consecutive plays: Oh, somebody missed this block or somebody did this or somebody did this. And it’s like it all goes together. And we played chase for a long time and then we ran into a stalemate.”
Next Level Locals
Athletes from the region had representation on both sidelines at William B. Greene Stadium.
Kingsport native Sam Browder made his first collegiate start, lining up at left offensive tackle. His older brother, Charlie Browder, started at tight end and made seven catches for 56 yards. Mason Ball, a product of Elizabethton, started at defensive tackle. He did not record a stat.
Meanwhile, Nick Youmans, a freshman lineman out of Gate City, made his collegiate debut for Campbell.
Ground game
The ETSU passing offense grabbed the headlines and did most of the damage. Sophomore QB Mason Mims set a program record for single-game completions, making 33 of 41 throws. I liked what we saw from some of the backs, particularly TJ Peyton, who ran for 80 yards on 15 touches; and sophomore Jaiden Daniels, who had 39 yards on five carries. Daniels wasn’t even on the pregame two-deep for the Bucs at running back, but showed good burst and was the best pass catcher out of the backfield, making four grabs.
The days of a workhorse running back who carries it 30 or 40 times are pretty much over in football, so it will take a committee to get through the season.
So what did we learn?
When you look not just at the ETSU-Campbell game, but results from across the FBS and FCS level in Week 0, it’s clear that trying to predict outcomes for the season opener based on the way last season ended is unwise. With so much roster turnover and almost every team having 50% or more new players, last season does not matter. Campbell’s hordes of newcomers didn’t care that the Camels went 2-10 last season. They just made plays for the team they’re on now.
That being said, having an experienced returnee at quarterback is going to be a huge edge for teams early in the season. Sixkiller looked like a world beater. It will be interesting to see how Campbell fares going forward, especially considering its next game is against another SoCon team, Western Carolina.
1 comment
That Campbell team is going to score points. I don’t know if they can stop anyone or not, but that was a strong o-line and a talented diverse attack. Was clear early that a win would come from out scoring them. Tough loss, better days to come!