This is the Depth Dossier: the UL Monroe Warhawks, Week 7.

UL Monroe actually played well enough to end that losing streak for a half. Then everything fell apart, and the Warhawks fell 24 to 0 to Louisiana Tech in a game that was a lot closer than the final score suggests.

For thirty minutes, the Warhawks' defense was the best version of itself. It forced two missed field goals, two punts, an interception, and then, with two seconds left in the half, cornerback Tyrell Brown blocked a field goal to keep the game scoreless at the break.

Then it turned in an instant. Quarterback Aidan Armenta threw an interception on the first snap of the second half, Louisiana Tech scored, and a 66-yard interception return set up another touchdown on the very next possession. That was basically the game. Armenta finished 14 of 24 for 119 yards with two interceptions, the run game gained just 63 yards on 26 carries, and ULM converted only 2 of 11 third downs. The Warhawks are now 0 and 6.

Dig a little deeper and the first quarter tells a different story than the rest of the game. ULM's defense was genuinely winning that opening frame, holding Louisiana Tech's offense below its usual efficiency. Then the next three quarters collapsed as ULM's own offense kept handing the Bulldogs short fields to work with. The shutout bid basically died in about ninety seconds of game clock to start the third quarter.

The penalties were their own separate disaster. Eleven flags for 118 yards, nine of them in the first half alone, more penalty yards than ULM's offense gained in that half. There were personal fouls on linebacker Darrion Gilliam, and on Parker Fulghum and Chris Payne, a chop block, a face mask, even a penalty tacked onto the blocked kick recovery. Head coach Bryant Vincent didn't hide his frustration. He said, "Anytime we got a positive play, it looked like we had a 15-yard penalty to pull us back."

The run game was the real ceiling on this offense. Nine different running backs combined for barely over a yard and a half per carry, with more than a third of their carries stopped for no gain. That's a blocking problem, not a personnel problem, and it's why Armenta ended up throwing on roughly six of every ten snaps against a defense that didn't have to respect the run at all.

The bright spot was the pass rush. Four sacks, including one from defensive lineman Marcus Ross on just the second snap of the game, plus two tackles for loss from Billy Pullen, held Louisiana Tech to well under four yards per carry and only 18 rushing yards in the first half. If not for the turnovers and short fields, that defensive effort wins a lot of football games.

No injuries were reported, so this week is about performance and roles, not health.

The front seven is building a real identity even in a loss. Brown's blocked kick, ULM's first since 2025, came with 7 tackles and half a sack attached to his name. Kevontay Wells added 8 tackles, a tackle and a half for loss, and a pass breakup. Ross chipped in 7 tackles and a sack. Safety Armoni Rue picked off his first career interception, another sign the secondary is at least creating some takeaways, even if the coaching staff wants more than one a game.

Armenta's workload is worth watching. It was a rough outing by any measure, two interceptions and little support from the run game. Austin Carlisle came in for mop-up duty late, and while there's no clear quarterback competition being framed yet, if the run game stays stuck where it is, the staff may keep searching for answers at that position, or at least keep Carlisle ready.

Special teams actually earned a mention this week. Punter Makenzie Ryan averaged 37 point 1 yards per punt, and paired with that blocked kick, it was one of the few clean wins on the day. The question heading into next week is simple: was that first-half defensive performance real progress, or just a one-half mirage?

This was the depth dossier. For everything college football, be it depth charts, data or dossiers, head over to C F B Depth dot com. We will be back next week. This was an AI-generated podcast from content developed by real human beings passionate about college football.