Expectations can be very positive or very cruel in playing the marketing game. For CUSA, 2013 was a very positive year. Congrats to Marshall for their victory over ECU and Rice for their victory over Tulane, capping off a highly successful season for both CUSA schools.

Congrats to USM for getting monkey off their back and evidently also finding their qb Saturday.

Congrats to UNT on their victory over Tulsa. Combined with SMU's shutout by Houston, this certainly helps with the expectations game and definitely put the Mean Green on the Dallas map for public attention and recruiting.

Similarly, Marshall's victory over ECU boosts the case for Charlotte and ODU in pursuing public attention and recruits.

The standings below provide a glimpse on evaluating CUSA's expansion strategy. Conference play is a 50/50 game. Half will be winners; half will be losers. As reconfiguration plays out in each conference, new winners will emerge. It will be fun to watch this process play out.

As an aside, I would go to 16 teams if I were CUSA.

As a quick snapshot analysis, I note the following:
1. Old time members Marshall and Rice won their respective divisions.
2. CUSA/East is looking good, with 5 out of 7 teams 6-6 or better.
3. CUSA/West is not quite as deep as CUSA/East regarding winning teams but can take pride in their total dominance against AAC invitees Tulsa and Tulane. Getting USM up to its former level would not only boost CUSA/West but CUSA as a conference.
4. CUSA has 8 out of 14 teams with bowl elgible records.
5. In summary, CUSA has done a good job this season in setting up expectations. This bodes well for the soon to be upcoming tv contract negotiations. Congrats to CUSA!

CUSA/EAST:
Marshall, 9-3
MTU, 8-4
ODU, 8-4
WKU, 8-4
FAU, 6-6
Charlotte, 5-6
FIU, 1-11

CUSA/WEST:
Rice, 9-3
UTSA, 7-5
UNT, 8-4
La Tech, 4-8
UTEP, 2-10
UAB, 2-10
USM, 1-11

(12-01-2013 08:06 AM)Tallgrass Wrote:  Expectations can be very positive or very cruel in playing the marketing game. For CUSA, 2013 was a very positive year. Congrats to Marshall for their victory over ECU and Rice for their victory over Tulane, capping off a highly successful season for both CUSA schools.

Congrats to USM for getting monkey off their back and evidently also finding their qb Saturday.

Congrats to UNT on their victory over Tulsa. Combined with SMU's shutout by Houston, this certainly helps with the expectations game and definitely put the Mean Green on the Dallas map for public attention and recruiting.

Similarly, Marshall's victory over ECU boosts the case for Charlotte and ODU in pursuing public attention and recruits.

The standings below provide a glimpse on evaluating CUSA's expansion strategy. Conference play is a 50/50 game. Half will be winners; half will be losers. As reconfiguration plays out in each conference, new winners will emerge. It will be fun to watch this process play out.

As an aside, I would go to 16 teams if I were CUSA.

As a quick snapshot analysis, I note the following:
1. Old time members Marshall and Rice won their respective divisions.
2. CUSA/East is looking good, with 5 out of 7 teams 6-6 or better.
3. CUSA/West is not quite as deep as CUSA/East regarding winning teams but can take pride in their total dominance against AAC invitees Tulsa and Tulane. Getting USM up to its former level would not only boost CUSA/West but CUSA as a conference.
4. CUSA has 8 out of 14 teams with bowl elgible records.
5. In summary, CUSA has done a good job this season in setting up expectations. This bodes well for the soon to be upcoming tv contract negotiations. Congrats to CUSA!

CUSA/EAST:
Marshall, 9-3
MTU, 8-4
ODU, 8-4
WKU, 8-4
FAU, 6-6
Charlotte, 5-6
FIU, 1-11

CUSA/WEST:
Rice, 9-3
UTSA, 7-5
UNT, 8-4
La Tech, 4-8
UTEP, 2-10
UAB, 2-10
USM, 1-11

This just tells me that conference USA has become the ultimate cupcake.

Are you really including ODU's schedule in this season?

(12-02-2013 08:50 AM)GaSouthern Wrote:  Are you really including ODU's schedule in this season?

even worse, he's taking Charlotte's into account.

(12-02-2013 08:50 AM)GaSouthern Wrote:  Are you really including ODU's schedule in this season?

But, of course, when Nbe/AAC was doing its Times Square Banners thingamugig, it was flying Boise State banners. And, many posts included the Nbe conference standings with Boise in it....just as the old BE did when it invited Louisville.

I appreciate your enthusiasm for AAC as a conference. But just as a reminder, this is a board for all conferences, primarily the future as realignment plays out and, accordingly, this is probably one of the few realignment posts on this board and the most appropriate.

Enthusiasm for one conference doesn't mean one has to knock all other conferences.

Like a coin, every issue has two sides. If ODU and CHarlotte went 0-12 playing their respective schedules, I am sure the AAC boyz would let us know on this realignment board.

(12-02-2013 09:20 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-02-2013 08:50 AM)GaSouthern Wrote:  Are you really including ODU's schedule in this season?

even worse, he's taking Charlotte's into account.

He's is showing this year's records with next year's divisional lineup. How difficult is that to see?

He needs to indicate then that ODU and Charlotte were well 1-4 against FBS competition combined. Not 8-4 and 5-6. It's extremely deceptive.

And Trollgrass- the difference between what the AAC did and this is Boise was a FBS program. ODU/Charlotte- aren't this year. HUGE difference.

(12-02-2013 09:51 AM)Tallgrass Wrote:  

(12-02-2013 08:50 AM)GaSouthern Wrote:  Are you really including ODU's schedule in this season?

But, of course, when Nbe/AAC was doing its Times Square Banners thingamugig, it was flying Boise State banners. And, many posts included the Nbe conference standings with Boise in it....just as the old BE did when it invited Louisville.

I appreciate your enthusiasm for AAC as a conference. But just as a reminder, this is a board for all conferences, primarily the future as realignment plays out and, accordingly, this is probably one of the few realignment posts on this board and the most appropriate.

Enthusiasm for one conference doesn't mean one has to knock all other conferences.

Like a coin, every issue has two sides. If ODU and CHarlotte went 0-12 playing their respective schedules, I am sure the AAC boyz would let us know on this realignment board.

I have no problem with the inclusion of ODU and Charlotte in the "standings". Most anyone looking at this board pretty much knows the situation there. That's far less misleading that the UCF one-and-done thread painting the AAC financial situation as somehow more dire than any other G-5 conference---when the reality is just the opposite (though only marginally so).

(12-02-2013 10:58 AM)stever20 Wrote:  He needs to indicate then that ODU and Charlotte were well 1-4 against FBS competition combined. Not 8-4 and 5-6. It's extremely deceptive.

And Trollgrass- the difference between what the AAC did and this is Boise was a FBS program. ODU/Charlotte- aren't this year. HUGE difference.

For those of us who have been together for a long, long time, do you remember LoboBlast?