(06-16-2014 09:23 AM)invisiblehand Wrote:  

(06-16-2014 09:08 AM)wavefan12 Wrote:  

(06-16-2014 09:04 AM)invisiblehand Wrote:  

(06-15-2014 11:21 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(06-15-2014 05:38 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  What is the status of your team / fanbase, in terms of excitement / anticipation for the coming season?

Tulane hasn't been this keyed up in 15 years.

How much would that change if you guys didn't get out of Tulsa with the W? (However big of an "if" that is)

Not a ton considering we will be opening a new stadium the next week. But if we (surprisingly) get rolled in Tulsa, that would be a blow but not the end of the world as we will be breaking in a new QB (most likely). If we rolled Tulsa, that would make the opening huge.

I'm nervously excited to see if Blankenship can right the ship and get an offense going that can execute how he would like. The game vs. Tulane will likely make or break our season due to how the schedule goes. I think that our receiving core this year will be much better than last year (our best receiver broke his leg week 2 + we have some good freshman), and our secondary will probably be the deepest and best in the conference even after losing a starting corner.

Bold. You were 10th in CUSA scoring defense last year and CUSA stunk.

(06-16-2014 09:27 AM)wavefan12 Wrote:  

(06-16-2014 09:23 AM)invisiblehand Wrote:  

(06-16-2014 09:08 AM)wavefan12 Wrote:  

(06-16-2014 09:04 AM)invisiblehand Wrote:  

(06-15-2014 11:21 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  Tulane hasn't been this keyed up in 15 years.

How much would that change if you guys didn't get out of Tulsa with the W? (However big of an "if" that is)

Not a ton considering we will be opening a new stadium the next week. But if we (surprisingly) get rolled in Tulsa, that would be a blow but not the end of the world as we will be breaking in a new QB (most likely). If we rolled Tulsa, that would make the opening huge.

I'm nervously excited to see if Blankenship can right the ship and get an offense going that can execute how he would like. The game vs. Tulane will likely make or break our season due to how the schedule goes. I think that our receiving core this year will be much better than last year (our best receiver broke his leg week 2 + we have some good freshman), and our secondary will probably be the deepest and best in the conference even after losing a starting corner.

Bold. You were 10th in CUSA scoring defense last year and CUSA stunk.

True, but the talent is there. The 2 problems were that our interior lineman couldn't stop the run which led to the secondary having to help down a lot, and that our offense couldn't sustain drives which put our defense out on the field more frequently than it should be.

I agree that the Tulane game will set the tone for the season.

If we win by more than 2 touchdowns, we might gain some momentum and could possibly build off that.

If we win a close game I think we'll end the season with around 4 wins.

If we lose, I think we'll end with 1 or 2 wins.

We'll know a lot more after seeing if bill is willing to make adjustments or if he's just going to do the same old stuff that got us 3 wins in an awful league last year.

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(06-15-2014 05:38 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  What is the status of your team / fanbase, in terms of excitement / anticipation for the coming season?

My POV

2015 will be better than 2014. RS FR QB will start. OL still needs work but should be slightly better than last year. RBs are solid. WRs need to step up, RG3 to the Redskins was only guy that stepped up. Need Rush and Shak to have seasons like they had two years ago but that season we also had an SR NFL caliber QB throwing the rock, not a Frosh. Defense lost four SRs that are or were at NFL camps plus a fifth kid that was a freaking stud and all conference talent that could not stay out of trouble and off the Mary Jane so he had to leave the team. Defense was one of the better ones in the country last year and will undoubtedly take a step back. Solid starters but depth will hurt us this year. Sadly I predict 3-4 wins this year but think at this way too early to tell point in time that we win 8 or more in 2015. Curveball is the new stadium. Will it pay off in terms of home field advantage and bump a couple wins our way in 2014?
This defensive staff is really good though so if we get blown out it is because the offense and special teams (Syracuse game in 2013) kills the defense. I feel we can be in every game with the staff on the defense.

Fans are excited as hell until they read what I just wrote. The future is bright, we expect that we will at the very least become a .500 program and going bowling is a natural thing. Again, that is the minimum expectation IMO moving forward. We expect to compete with the top half of the AAC in terms of resources for programs including coaches salaries so with that we fully expect to win more consistently. Again, fans are pumped but you can't help but hold your breath or take a wait & see approach. We cross our fingers and hope that the administration has finally seen the light ($$$) and is willing to put the needed resources out there to field a consistently successful athletics program starting with football. I think football has to find a way to get to bowl game this year for the sake of the entire department because men's basketball is going to get murdered in the AAC for the first year or two. Pretty much any fan with half a brain on basketball feels the current coach will get tossed likely by the midway point of conference play and we better pony up the $ and get serious. I would like nothing more than the HC to stay here because that means he is winning (well, that is what it normally means at most schools) so I hope to be dead wrong. Our WBB program is solid enough to be competitive and in the top half or top 5 of the league. Like our MBB team the WBB team needs a couple solid 4's & 5's. WBB has beaten the Baton Rouge team 4 out of the last 5 times or something like that so we can hold our own most years. MBB has I think 1 true big man returning and he is a true Soph and has slow feet. We have a ton of solid guards, just need a couple guys to rebound and play defense at 4 or 5 and we don't have that yet. WBB returns the starting 5 and I think returns all the players that contributed last year. Our women's golf team was yet again in the championships and next year they will/should be better/ I think baseball will kicks ass next year and competes for a conference title. We have the talent already, just needed a change in scenerary.

I think 2014 could be a struggle year for the big two FB/MBB and I cringe at the thought of another round of "Why did we pick-up Tulane" jokes but overall I think when we look back 5 years from now Tulane won't be the same athletics program people make jokes about. Many of the schools we used to be somewhat on par with got a head start with their administrations support of athletics and we are quickly going to catch up as long as we keep the resources flowing for solid coaching hires and their staffs.

So what I talk too much.

(06-16-2014 10:56 AM)Mitch Rapp Wrote:  

(06-15-2014 05:38 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  What is the status of your team / fanbase, in terms of excitement / anticipation for the coming season?

My POV

2015 will be better than 2014. RS FR QB will start. OL still needs work but should be slightly better than last year. RBs are solid. WRs need to step up, RG3 to the Redskins was only guy that stepped up. Need Rush and Shak to have seasons like they had two years ago but that season we also had an SR NFL caliber QB throwing the rock, not a Frosh. Defense lost four SRs that are or were at NFL camps plus a fifth kid that was a freaking stud and all conference talent that could not stay out of trouble and off the Mary Jane so he had to leave the team. Defense was one of the better ones in the country last year and will undoubtedly take a step back. Solid starters but depth will hurt us this year. Sadly I predict 3-4 wins this year but think at this way too early to tell point in time that we win 8 or more in 2015. Curveball is the new stadium. Will it pay off in terms of home field advantage and bump a couple wins our way in 2014?
This defensive staff is really good though so if we get blown out it is because the offense and special teams (Syracuse game in 2013) kills the defense. I feel we can be in every game with the staff on the defense.

Fans are excited as hell until they read what I just wrote. The future is bright, we expect that we will at the very least become a .500 program and going bowling is a natural thing. Again, that is the minimum expectation IMO moving forward. We expect to compete with the top half of the AAC in terms of resources for programs including coaches salaries so with that we fully expect to win more consistently. Again, fans are pumped but you can't help but hold your breath or take a wait & see approach. We cross our fingers and hope that the administration has finally seen the light ($$$) and is willing to put the needed resources out there to field a consistently successful athletics program starting with football. I think football has to find a way to get to bowl game this year for the sake of the entire department because men's basketball is going to get murdered in the AAC for the first year or two. Pretty much any fan with half a brain on basketball feels the current coach will get tossed likely by the midway point of conference play and we better pony up the $ and get serious. I would like nothing more than the HC to stay here because that means he is winning (well, that is what it normally means at most schools) so I hope to be dead wrong. Our WBB program is solid enough to be competitive and in the top half or top 5 of the league. Like our MBB team the WBB team needs a couple solid 4's & 5's. WBB has beaten the Baton Rouge team 4 out of the last 5 times or something like that so we can hold our own most years. MBB has I think 1 true big man returning and he is a true Soph and has slow feet. We have a ton of solid guards, just need a couple guys to rebound and play defense at 4 or 5 and we don't have that yet. WBB returns the starting 5 and I think returns all the players that contributed last year. Our women's golf team was yet again in the championships and next year they will/should be better/ I think baseball will kicks ass next year and competes for a conference title. We have the talent already, just needed a change in scenerary.

I think 2014 could be a struggle year for the big two FB/MBB and I cringe at the thought of another round of "Why did we pick-up Tulane" jokes but overall I think when we look back 5 years from now Tulane won't be the same athletics program people make jokes about. Many of the schools we used to be somewhat on par with got a head start with their administrations support of athletics and we are quickly going to catch up as long as we keep the resources flowing for solid coaching hires and their staffs.

So what I talk too much.

It was long, but I agreed with everything.

4-6 wins for us! If we hit 6 then I think we win our bowl game.

I have a feeling this season will cause me to develop ulcers on my ulcers

Very thankful that we escaped the sinking ship that is CUSA.

Nervous about the season. I hate that GA Tech is the first game in our new stadium. We suck against the triple option always.

Expecting 4 wins, hoping for 6 and a bowl.

I'd say most Pirate fans are excited. Many would still rather see us play the D1 teams that surround us (minus the newcomers). I'm not getting too excited because there's no telling how long the league will look like it currently does, but if we were guaranteed this line up for 10+ years I'd be pretty excited. I know a lot of our fans wish we had more interaction with fans of other AAC schools. A product of growing up in ACC territory I suppose.

I think everyone is excited for the step up in competition.

This SHOULD be a very exciting time for Tulsa. We know the AAC is a step up in competition & we are re-united with SMU, Houston, Memphis & UCF. However, the monumental drop in Tulsa last season has everyone concerned. There are some fans who appear to want a bad 2014 season so we will get a new coach.

I am part of the fan base that hopes 2013 was just one bad season & we will return to our winning ways soon. There are very few Tulsa fans expecting a really good season. Unfortunately, there is much more pessimism than optimism this summer & it's keeping the enthusiasm for this coming season down.

Tulsa had a very young team in 2013 & the hope is the youngsters will improve a lot in 2014. We shall see in a couple months !

Excited; after last year anything is an improvement. I think with some success on the field we will be back to a packed staduim and it appears some stability for the future always helps. Last season was depressing in CUSA even with a 10 win season.

(06-16-2014 08:52 PM)PirateJeff Wrote:  Excited; after last year anything is an improvement. I think with some success on the field we will be back to a packed staduim and it appears some stability for the future always helps. Last season was depressing in CUSA even with a 10 win season.

Man, at this point I would take a 10 win season in the Turkish Federation League.

6 wins.

Very excited about the new conference. I feel like this conference and Tulane's renewed commitment will be great! In the future. Glad to be with these conference mates! Very strong conference and very strong universities!

(06-15-2014 06:22 PM)True Bearcat Wrote:  Thread raided by ECU fans in 3...2...1 go!


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Listen we are part of this conference so get use to it or STFU.