(04-13-2022 09:16 PM)JSUCleburneslim Wrote:  Don’t count on it we always played up to competition.
Or down so wku might have a chance.

We definitely took our lumps in our transition. Here's hoping you come along quickly.

(04-13-2022 09:23 PM)Hilltopper2K Wrote:  

(04-13-2022 09:16 PM)JSUCleburneslim Wrote:  Don’t count on it we always played up to competition.
Or down so wku might have a chance.

We definitely took our lumps in our transition. Here's hoping you come along quickly.

Man I’m impressed. So far I’ve triggered several Karen’s on here. Finally found an adult.
I think we all feel very lucky to have landed in cusa. For years we thought we’d be in the sbc or worse. It was a huge relief to me to join Cusa.

Of Jax State's "major" sports, the two performing the worst right now are football and baseball.

In football, we're 6 short years removed from an appearance in the FCS National Championship game (a run which included a 62-10 shellacking of a certain team in Texas) and one year removed from our last conference championship, which was our 6th in 10 years, and 9th in the last 20 years. (Full disclosure: The OVC sucks at the game of football.) Last fall, the team finished a disappointing 5-6 with bad losses to UAB, SHSU, and Kennesaw State, but we did at least beat FSU. Points for that, I s'pose. Where will the program stand moving forward? Anyone's guess. Coach Grass is now an offensive analyst under Dabo at Clemson, and our new coach is Rich Rodriguez. Most folks feel that's a solid upgrade. Coach Rod has a couple of years to get things back on track before we're bowl eligible, and it's not like the cupboard was entirely bare when he came on board, so there's hope we'll be competitive.

In baseball, our standards are so high that the coach we named our stadium after, who's won 600+ games and seven conference championships for us, is on the hot seat (or at least an uncomfortably warm seat) because we've been hovering around .500 the past couple of seasons. I mean, he's clearly got to go, since it's been three whole years since he won the conference tournament, advanced to the Oxford Regional, and beat Illinois and Clemson. If he'd only had the decency to beat Ole Miss, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

I kid. But seriously, our fans are restless. We don't like to lose.

As for other sports, basketball (men's and women's) will be OK. It'll be a MUCH harder road to win the conference in CUSA 4.0. I think we're ALL aware of that. But we'll be OK. Softball will be in the thick of it as well. We have similar confidence in our golf, tennis, and volleyball teams. (Rifle, too, but CUSA doesn't sponsor that one.)

Bottom line, even though we know the competition at the top will be a lot stiffer across the board, we do not expect to linger at the bottom of the conference standings in any sport. Cellars make us hivey.

With the portal it should be easier for school to move up and compete early on. If that team has the correct system in place and finds the prefect qb and the right rb and a couple good wrs....

competing or winning conference titles can happen earlier than most thought.

A case of having the right system along with finding the correct qb and good skills to go around the qb is CC. Without Grayson McCall, CC won 3,5, 5 games and back to back 11 win seasons with him. There's not a doubt in my mind that CC is a 5 to 7 win team without finding the prefect QB to run the system they play.

Its also why I dont see them as a top SBC team year after year...or most years. CC has not proved its the program and not "this" QB

Unfortunately, it not always about on the field/court metrics, but about perception in the media and media markets. Tech used to be known to "play anywhere anyone, anytime" or QB U or Kicker U. We've had the graces to have beaten Bama twice, MSU (Mississippi St and Michigan St), Illinois, Navy and many other P5's. BUT, only thing most people remember is the Cinderella story of App State beating Michigan. App State is still known for that, by the way I didn't hear about the Jax State FSU win this year because the narrative wasn't what the media wanted. It's tough, but stand tall, and trust and believe that this move is the right thing!

For fun, go to YouTube and watch La Tech versus Michigan State game. One of the best last minute comebacks I've ever seen.

And Welcome!

(04-14-2022 02:24 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  With the portal it should be easier for school to move up and compete early on. If that team has the correct system in place and finds the prefect qb and the right rb and a couple good wrs....

competing or winning conference titles can happen earlier than most thought.

A case of having the right system along with finding the correct qb and good skills to go around the qb is CC. Without Grayson McCall, CC won 3,5, 5 games and back to back 11 win seasons with him. There's not a doubt in my mind that CC is a 5 to 7 win team without finding the prefect QB to run the system they play.

Its also why I dont see them as a top SBC team year after year...or most years. CC has not proved its the program and not "this" QB

First off CC, looks weird. Use CCU or Coastal lol.

Don't you think FCS to FBS recruiting may have been an issue the first three seasons? Not to mention, head coach Joe Moglia had went on a medical sabbatical leaving first year offensive coordinator Jamey Chadwell to be interim head coach. Of course he went on to become full time head coach, after JoeMo ultimately stepped down.

Hard to picture a worst way to transition into a new division of play. All this to say, I can't imagine things get nearly that chaotic again.

Its a destination school, with the third highest athletic budget in the SBC behind JMU and ODU. Not saying Coastal will win the conference with double digit wins every season but just falling off the map in the SBC will not happen either.

(04-14-2022 02:41 PM)TealNation Wrote:  

(04-14-2022 02:24 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  With the portal it should be easier for school to move up and compete early on. If that team has the correct system in place and finds the prefect qb and the right rb and a couple good wrs....

competing or winning conference titles can happen earlier than most thought.

A case of having the right system along with finding the correct qb and good skills to go around the qb is CC. Without Grayson McCall, CC won 3,5, 5 games and back to back 11 win seasons with him. There's not a doubt in my mind that CC is a 5 to 7 win team without finding the prefect QB to run the system they play.

Its also why I dont see them as a top SBC team year after year...or most years. CC has not proved its the program and not "this" QB

First off CC, looks weird. Use CCU or Coastal lol.

Don't you think FCS to FBS recruiting may have been an issue the first three seasons? Not to mention, head coach Joe Moglia had went on a medical sabbatical leaving first year offensive coordinator Jamey Chadwell to be interim head coach. Of course he went on to become full time head coach, after JoeMo ultimately stepped down.

Hard to picture a worst way to transition into a new division of play. All this to say, I can't imagine things get nearly that chaotic again.

Its a destination school, with the third highest athletic budget in the SBC behind JMU and ODU. Not saying Coastal will win the conference with double digit wins every season but just falling off the map in the SBC will not happen either.

We all are stepping stones and only as god as the next hire. Till CC (sorry if that bothers you...its what I use every time) goes through a coaching or/and QB change you wont know if its the "program" or one or both of the other.

Some schools make a correct hire and win big and then never reach that level or close to it, again. If a coach wins enough and plays a system that is common or schools want....

there is not one damn thing any SBC or CUSA school can do about keeping that coach. He's gone if money or winning a national championship is important to him.

Western is on its 14th season of FBS football and on their 6th head coach. We all are one bad hire of falling to middle of pack or even the bottom of the conference we play in. Luckily for Western the one bad hire was bad enough(went to bowl his 1st season) to get fired after 2 years. Most schools are going to play it out 4 to 5 years and a few 3 seasons.

As far as a worst way to start when moving up....

Western went on a 26 game losing streak. But that paved the path to future wins because the coach Western moved up with redshirted the limit the first 2 years and that depth played a major role in the coming years. A lot of those losses were close games that would have be wins if not for depth issues.

As I've said over and over we are only as good as the next hire. Or getting lucky enough to find that prefect QB to run the system. Might not be the best QB but he's the best for that system and decision making

For me till a program has shown they can make that correct "next hire" and find QB after QB to fit the system they are playing....

their winning is lightening in the bottle

(04-14-2022 03:30 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  

(04-14-2022 02:41 PM)TealNation Wrote:  

(04-14-2022 02:24 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  With the portal it should be easier for school to move up and compete early on. If that team has the correct system in place and finds the prefect qb and the right rb and a couple good wrs....

competing or winning conference titles can happen earlier than most thought.

A case of having the right system along with finding the correct qb and good skills to go around the qb is CC. Without Grayson McCall, CC won 3,5, 5 games and back to back 11 win seasons with him. There's not a doubt in my mind that CC is a 5 to 7 win team without finding the prefect QB to run the system they play.

Its also why I dont see them as a top SBC team year after year...or most years. CC has not proved its the program and not "this" QB

First off CC, looks weird. Use CCU or Coastal lol.

Don't you think FCS to FBS recruiting may have been an issue the first three seasons? Not to mention, head coach Joe Moglia had went on a medical sabbatical leaving first year offensive coordinator Jamey Chadwell to be interim head coach. Of course he went on to become full time head coach, after JoeMo ultimately stepped down.

Hard to picture a worst way to transition into a new division of play. All this to say, I can't imagine things get nearly that chaotic again.

Its a destination school, with the third highest athletic budget in the SBC behind JMU and ODU. Not saying Coastal will win the conference with double digit wins every season but just falling off the map in the SBC will not happen either.

We all are stepping stones and only as god as the next hire. Till CC (sorry if that bothers you...its what I use every time) goes through a coaching or/and QB change you wont know if its the "program" or one or both of the other.

Some schools make a correct hire and win big and then never reach that level or close to it, again. If a coach wins enough and plays a system that is common or schools want....

there is not one damn thing any SBC or CUSA school can do about keeping that coach. He's gone if money or winning a national championship is important to him.

Western is on its 14th season of FBS football and on their 6th head coach. We all are one bad hire of falling to middle of pack or even the bottom of the conference we play in. Luckily for Western the one bad hire was bad enough(went to bowl his 1st season) to get fired after 2 years. Most schools are going to play it out 4 to 5 years and a few 3 seasons.

As far as a worst way to start when moving up....

Western went on a 26 game losing streak. But that paved the path to future wins because the coach Western moved up with redshirted the limit the first 2 years and that depth played a major role in the coming years. A lot of those losses were close games that would have be wins if not for depth issues.

As I've said over and over we are only as good as the next hire. Or getting lucky enough to find that prefect QB to run the system. Might not be the best QB but he's the best for that system and decision making

For me till a program has shown they can make that correct "next hire" and find QB after QB to fit the system they are playing....

their winning its lightening in the bottle

Yes but some G5 schools are more attractive than others into pulling the better FCS or even other G5 coaches. There are always solid coaches to pull from. It's up to your admin to be wise and make the best decisions. It's why App has had sustained success. Their admin makes the best coaching hires for their program.

Grayson McCall is a darn good QB that was recruited specifically for the system we run. He was a 2 star recruit. Can't ignore that we have been playing with a talent deficiency the first three years of FBS. Even into our 11 win FBS seasons, as most seniors and super seniors were FCS recruits. You could see it from overall size to pure talent in areas. Line play and skill positions. McCall's great play served as a vehicle to really outplay our talent level. Our departing seniors were thanked and rewarded with helping to elevate the program.

This season will be the first you'll truly see the benefits of a full roster of FBS recruits and depth. Starting experience will be lacking but you'll see a noticeable difference in size and the overall level of talent. From the line play and skill positions. The recruiting from 4-5 years ago isn't even comparable in that aspect.

I don't know how they're going to do it, but apparently every sunbelt school is going to win 12 games next season. Their standings are going to be something. Not sure how they'll do tie-breakers when every team is undefeated. Nothing but powerhouses over there.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping the portal allows Tech to bounce back fairly quickly from the last couple of seasons. Not sure what to expect for this upcoming season but by the time this new 9 team conference kicks in, I'm hoping football is back to contending for CUSA titles (it's about time we won one).

Give me the best OL and DL and you can have the skill guys.

(04-13-2022 12:07 PM)owl at the moon Wrote:  

(04-13-2022 08:40 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  This will read arrogant, I get it. But I’m actually not one bit concerned about us “struggling” right away in CUSA. Basketball will suck. But it sucked in the Southland and WAC, so that’s less of an adjustment thing and more of a cultural and program problem.

I expect football to be top 4-5 immediately. Sagarin had us rated behind just two CUSA 4.0 schools this season. I know that isn’t end all be all but if you take into account that we have 22 less scholarships and average at best facilities/resources for an FCS school and there’s little doubt in my mind that we should be able to come in and be competitive with most of these football teams when the transition is complete. Besides, I don’t expect the level of competition to be TOO much of an upgrade. I’ve seen LaTech, UTEP, WKU get into dogfights (and lose) to FCS foes recently. And I think we all know how embarrassing NMSU is. Aside from WKU, Liberty and MTSU, I fully expect to beat everyone in football from the get go, especially a JSU team we beat by five scores this year.

Not concerned about our baseball either. We should be competitive from the jump.

Did you just bring up Bearcats Baseball the day after getting swept home and home by the last place team in C-USA?

Sam will be back in baseball I’m sure, but they definitely have some work to do to get there.

That team you lost to yesterday 5-1 is 3-9 in league play.

In that case, Tennessee Tech is better than 33-2 Tennessee. #1 Tennessee has some work to do to be better than OVC teams

Would it be deemed "going out on a limb" to say that I fully expect the 9-team CUSA to rank above the 14-team Sun Belch in YEAR ONE, cumulatively, in both Football-Sagarin AND Basketball-NET?

The Belch got too big for their budgets. They also took a lot of the baggage that dragged CUSA down.

Yes. That is going out on a limb.

The basketball part isn't. And you might be ok on computer rankings that split the SB-W out.

(04-14-2022 04:56 PM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  Give me the best OL and DL and you can have the skill guys.

While both are important I believe Marshall had both of those last year or at least in the east and skill players put up 53 points on them and limited them to 31. App St same thing and Western's skill players put 59 while they were limited to 38

OL is hard to judge because while Western's running game was avg at best they protected Zappy. Put another qb back there that take another second or two to make a decision and that qb might get sacked often.

(04-14-2022 06:12 PM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  Would it be deemed "going out on a limb" to say that I fully expect the 9-team CUSA to rank above the 14-team Sun Belch in YEAR ONE, cumulatively, in both Football-Sagarin AND Basketball-NET?

The Belch got too big for their budgets. They also took a lot of the baggage that dragged CUSA down.

Basketball for sure year 1 but football may take until year 2.

(04-14-2022 04:56 PM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  Give me the best OL and DL and you can have the skill guys.

Not doubt this is true.

Depends on Jax St And Sam. It may not be that far out on a limb. SBCW is an FCS conference now[/u]

Fully expect CUSA to be better in football and basketball. Baseball could be a different story.

(04-14-2022 02:26 PM)tigtoodawg Wrote:  Unfortunately, it not always about on the field/court metrics, but about perception in the media and media markets. Tech used to be known to "play anywhere anyone, anytime" or QB U or Kicker U. We've had the graces to have beaten Bama twice, MSU (Mississippi St and Michigan St), Illinois, Navy and many other P5's. BUT, only thing most people remember is the Cinderella story of App State beating Michigan. App State is still known for that, by the way I didn't hear about the Jax State FSU win this year because the narrative wasn't what the media wanted. It's tough, but stand tall, and trust and believe that this move is the right thing!

For fun, go to YouTube and watch La Tech versus Michigan State game. One of the best last minute comebacks I've ever seen.

And Welcome!

App State at the Big House is absolutely one of the most famous underdog wins across all sports, it's one of the few sporting events that didn't involve one of my teams and was not a National Championship/Super Bowl etc. that I can tell you *exactly* where I was(tailgating at Lockhart before MT @ FAU).

The circumstances of that game were pretty special, opening weekend at the Big House, one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport won in one of the more dramatic ways a football game can end.

I don't know the circumstances of the game itself between La Tech and Alabama in 1999. I do know that was an eventual 10 win SEC champion you beat, but even just the difference in coverage in 1999 and 2007 anc opening weekend vs third weekend of the season, I wouldn't be surprised if more people saw the highlights of App State at the Big House within 24 hours of it happening than the total number of people that have ever seen the highlights of La Tech over Bama.

As for Jax State over FSU, that was not a good FSU team and the last five years in general, the program is at it's lowest point in more than 40 years. I'm curious what you believe the narrative should have been.

(04-14-2022 10:41 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(04-14-2022 02:26 PM)tigtoodawg Wrote:  Unfortunately, it not always about on the field/court metrics, but about perception in the media and media markets. Tech used to be known to "play anywhere anyone, anytime" or QB U or Kicker U. We've had the graces to have beaten Bama twice, MSU (Mississippi St and Michigan St), Illinois, Navy and many other P5's. BUT, only thing most people remember is the Cinderella story of App State beating Michigan. App State is still known for that, by the way I didn't hear about the Jax State FSU win this year because the narrative wasn't what the media wanted. It's tough, but stand tall, and trust and believe that this move is the right thing!

For fun, go to YouTube and watch La Tech versus Michigan State game. One of the best last minute comebacks I've ever seen.

And Welcome!

App State at the Big House is absolutely one of the most famous underdog wins across all sports, it's one of the few sporting events that didn't involve one of my teams and was not a National Championship/Super Bowl etc. that I can tell you *exactly* where I was(tailgating at Lockhart before MT @ FAU).

The circumstances of that game were pretty special, opening weekend at the Big House, one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport won in one of the more dramatic ways a football game can end.

I don't know the circumstances of the game itself between La Tech and Alabama in 1999. I do know that was an eventual 10 win SEC champion you beat, but even just the difference in coverage in 1999 and 2007 anc opening weekend vs third weekend of the season, I wouldn't be surprised if more people saw the highlights of App State at the Big House within 24 hours of it happening than the total number of people that have ever seen the highlights of La Tech over Bama.

As for Jax State over FSU, that was not a good FSU team and the last five years in general, the program is at it's lowest point in more than 40 years. I'm curious what you believe the narrative should have been.

Well there wasn’t social media back then, yes I’m old, but times are different now. App State has lived and prospered from that. Just sayin. No harm no foul.