Will Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Fall With Browning Gone?

Last year was supposed to be the year for the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks to make some monstrous noise in the Sun Belt and compete with Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State for the conference title. But a bite from the injury bug and finishing losing to Western Kentucky, South Alabama, and Arkansas State probably wasn’t the plan for head coach Todd Berry’s fourth season at the helm.

The Warhawks finished behind all three of those teams, but winning the last game against Louisiana-Lafayette to get to 6-6 may have salvaged a little bit of the season. However, UL-Lafayette won the conference, which meant the Warhawks finished fifth.

With a minus-4 turnover margin on the year, an offense that ranked 98th in total yards and 100th in points scored, and a defense that

Sep 14, 2013; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Louisiana Monroe Warhawks head coach Todd Berry talks with players during the third quarter against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at BB&T Field. Louisiana Monroe Warhawks defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 21-19. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

ranked 90th in total yards surrendered and 83rd in points surrendered, how the Warhawks even made it to 6-6 is beyond baffling.

To be fair, those numbers are skewed a bit because this team didn’t run from talent. They played games against Oklahoma and Baylor and lost them by a combined 104-7.

Otherwise, the season was pretty decent.

Now, quarterback Kolton Browing is gone. It’s worth mentioning that he missed two games last year, and the offense looked pathetic in both. How will it manage a full season without him?

The good news is there’s lots of returning talent on the defensive side of the ball, and enough returning talent on offense. So the biggest question facing the Warhawks this year is if they can replace Browning. If that’s no problem, then this team should be even better than last year. But if they look anything like they did in the two games last year without Browning, then there’s a lot to worry about.