(06-30-2014 08:45 PM)BleedsGreen33 Wrote:  I do not see any way that UTSA wins CUSA. Just don't see it. Not this year. I know you all are doing very well considering you are only 3 or 4 years old but you really have not done well head to head with winning FBS teams. You finished out the year strong beating North Texas but right now I don't think you guys are ready for that step. I know our game last year was less than competitive. I know that Bill Legg decided in the 2nd half to take the air out of the ball to the point it had fans booing the play calls and had Cato, Shuler, and other players frustrated that we weren't putting the pedal down.

That being said I see a bright, bright future for your guys. Your fans are invested, your town is invested, and your school is invested in building this program. I do believe in the coming years you will be a force out west.

Our record against winning programs in the first 3 years is misleading. In year one, our team was basically all freshmen. In year two, we were essentially all sophomores, and were limited to something like 65 scholarship players (per NCAA rules for a team in the first year of its transition to FBS). In that second year, we faced a mostly FBS schedule of teams with 20 more scholarship players than we had, and with a lot more junior and senior leadership on the field. Last year was the first year we truly had a good number of upper classmen and a full allotment of scholarships. So while I know your comment was well-intentioned, how many quality FBS teams should we have beaten in our first 3 years given those circumstances?

And btw, "force out west in the coming years?" We finished 2nd in the West just last year, and should have a better team this season. And while we didn't fare well against you guys in Huntington last season, again, you had two weeks to prepare for that game because of your bye week. Besides, one game doesn't always give as accurate a reflection as several games do, so if you look at our common opponents last season (Tulane, UAB, and Rice), you guys were 2-1 against them, as were we. You guys were a cumulative +36 in points against those teams, and we were a cumulative +34.

All said, there's nothing wrong with having a difference of opinions, as I think we both have valid points to make. I think you guys will be in the C-USA title game representing the East, and I hope we'll make it in the West because I'd love for our boys to have another crack, regardless of the venue.

Just can not leave the CUSA board after so many years of visiting here on a regular basis….So even though you guys really do not care what a ECU fans thinks about this topic I will post my thoughts any way.

Clearly Marshall is the most talented team in the league and have a stud QB returning. With that said, it is tough to go undefeated in any league and add to that the number of new teams it makes it hard to call.

It is hard being the favorite….You get every teams best shot. You have to be up each and every week..It takes a certain type of team and coaching mindset to handle this pressure. I think Marshall will win CUSA but I do not think they will make it through the league undefeated.

What's up with all the high praise for UTSA? From what I read on here (don't know ANYTHING else about UTSA) I thought they beat a lot of great teams last year...

or at least a few good teams.

Then last night I go look at the UTSA schedule and see other than beating UNT and a deflated falling on their face Tulane team no other team they beat was even close to .500. To be honest the way Tulane finished the last 5 or 6 games I don't even think that is a good win. And they basically gave that game away.

I understand a win is a win..to me there are no bad wins, just bad losses. But from what I read on here I was for sure UTSA was beating some good teams and dominating.

Did I just open a can of worms?

Marshall will go 11-1 win the east and the champ game.

I'm hoping for a clean sweep from the Herd. C-USA needs a Northern Ill. type run as a catalyst to start challenging the G5 supremecy.

I think we've got a strong line-up and with 14 schools soon to be playing football here, there's always going to be one or two schools who run away from the rest each year. If it's Marshall or UTSA's turn to take the lead, so be it. A clear champ is good for the conference and a clean sheet is even better.

(07-01-2014 02:08 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  What's up with all the high praise for UTSA? From what I read on here (don't know ANYTHING else about UTSA) I thought they beat a lot of great teams last year...
or at least a few good teams.
Then last night I go look at the UTSA schedule and see other than beating UNT and a deflated falling on their face Tulane team no other team they beat was even close to .500. To be honest the way Tulane finished the last 5 or 6 games I don't even think that is a good win. And they basically gave that game away.
I understand a win is a win..to me there are no bad wins, just bad losses. But from what I read on here I was for sure UTSA was beating some good teams and dominating.

Did I just open a can of worms?

No 'can of worms'. As a start-up UTSA is hitting the apex of their cycle this year with a ton of 5th year seniors. If UTSA were terrible last year, it wouldn't matter so much but given a reasonable strong performance last year the obvious assumption is for an even stronger performance this year.

Good news for us is that they will probably step off a cliff after this season.

(07-01-2014 08:23 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 02:08 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  What's up with all the high praise for UTSA? From what I read on here (don't know ANYTHING else about UTSA) I thought they beat a lot of great teams last year...
or at least a few good teams.
Then last night I go look at the UTSA schedule and see other than beating UNT and a deflated falling on their face Tulane team no other team they beat was even close to .500. To be honest the way Tulane finished the last 5 or 6 games I don't even think that is a good win. And they basically gave that game away.
I understand a win is a win..to me there are no bad wins, just bad losses. But from what I read on here I was for sure UTSA was beating some good teams and dominating.

Did I just open a can of worms?

No 'can of worms'. As a start-up UTSA is hitting the apex of their cycle this year with a ton of 5th year seniors. If UTSA were terrible last year, it wouldn't matter so much but given a reasonable strong performance last year the obvious assumption is for an even stronger performance this year.

Good news for us is that they will probably step off a cliff after this season.

Yeah, we've all known we'd probably take a big hit in that 5th year (2015) when that huge group of freshmen that opened our football program will have graduated. It's probably normal for startup programs. But when we go off that cliff, I hope we'll do it with a reverse 2 ½ somersault with 2 ½ twists in pike...lol. Hoping we can at least pull .500 in 2015, but I have every expectation for us to be back in strength again in 2016.

I am hoping that UConn will get Marshall on the football schedule one of these years. I have a lot of respect for Marshall's history and fanbase.

(07-01-2014 08:23 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 02:08 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  What's up with all the high praise for UTSA? From what I read on here (don't know ANYTHING else about UTSA) I thought they beat a lot of great teams last year...
or at least a few good teams.
Then last night I go look at the UTSA schedule and see other than beating UNT and a deflated falling on their face Tulane team no other team they beat was even close to .500. To be honest the way Tulane finished the last 5 or 6 games I don't even think that is a good win. And they basically gave that game away.
I understand a win is a win..to me there are no bad wins, just bad losses. But from what I read on here I was for sure UTSA was beating some good teams and dominating.

Did I just open a can of worms?

No 'can of worms'. As a start-up UTSA is hitting the apex of their cycle this year with a ton of 5th year seniors. If UTSA were terrible last year, it wouldn't matter so much but given a reasonable strong performance last year the obvious assumption is for an even stronger performance this year.

Good news for us is that they will probably step off a cliff after this season.

True, and they have 35 seniors. If they don't win the West this year, it could be awhile before they get close again.

(07-01-2014 10:59 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 08:23 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 02:08 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  What's up with all the high praise for UTSA? From what I read on here (don't know ANYTHING else about UTSA) I thought they beat a lot of great teams last year...
or at least a few good teams.
Then last night I go look at the UTSA schedule and see other than beating UNT and a deflated falling on their face Tulane team no other team they beat was even close to .500. To be honest the way Tulane finished the last 5 or 6 games I don't even think that is a good win. And they basically gave that game away.
I understand a win is a win..to me there are no bad wins, just bad losses. But from what I read on here I was for sure UTSA was beating some good teams and dominating.

Did I just open a can of worms?

No 'can of worms'. As a start-up UTSA is hitting the apex of their cycle this year with a ton of 5th year seniors. If UTSA were terrible last year, it wouldn't matter so much but given a reasonable strong performance last year the obvious assumption is for an even stronger performance this year.

Good news for us is that they will probably step off a cliff after this season.

True, and they have 35 seniors. If they don't win the West this year, it could be awhile before they get close again.

No! We should get close again in 2016, and I expect us to win the West again in 2017.

(07-01-2014 11:01 AM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 10:59 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 08:23 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 02:08 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  What's up with all the high praise for UTSA? From what I read on here (don't know ANYTHING else about UTSA) I thought they beat a lot of great teams last year...
or at least a few good teams.
Then last night I go look at the UTSA schedule and see other than beating UNT and a deflated falling on their face Tulane team no other team they beat was even close to .500. To be honest the way Tulane finished the last 5 or 6 games I don't even think that is a good win. And they basically gave that game away.
I understand a win is a win..to me there are no bad wins, just bad losses. But from what I read on here I was for sure UTSA was beating some good teams and dominating.

Did I just open a can of worms?

No 'can of worms'. As a start-up UTSA is hitting the apex of their cycle this year with a ton of 5th year seniors. If UTSA were terrible last year, it wouldn't matter so much but given a reasonable strong performance last year the obvious assumption is for an even stronger performance this year.

Good news for us is that they will probably step off a cliff after this season.

True, and they have 35 seniors. If they don't win the West this year, it could be awhile before they get close again.

No! We should get close again in 2016, and I expect us to win the West again in 2017.

You've got to win it once before you can win it twice. See you at Rice Stadium.

(07-01-2014 11:32 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 11:01 AM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 10:59 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 08:23 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 02:08 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  What's up with all the high praise for UTSA? From what I read on here (don't know ANYTHING else about UTSA) I thought they beat a lot of great teams last year...
or at least a few good teams.
Then last night I go look at the UTSA schedule and see other than beating UNT and a deflated falling on their face Tulane team no other team they beat was even close to .500. To be honest the way Tulane finished the last 5 or 6 games I don't even think that is a good win. And they basically gave that game away.
I understand a win is a win..to me there are no bad wins, just bad losses. But from what I read on here I was for sure UTSA was beating some good teams and dominating.

Did I just open a can of worms?

No 'can of worms'. As a start-up UTSA is hitting the apex of their cycle this year with a ton of 5th year seniors. If UTSA were terrible last year, it wouldn't matter so much but given a reasonable strong performance last year the obvious assumption is for an even stronger performance this year.

Good news for us is that they will probably step off a cliff after this season.

True, and they have 35 seniors. If they don't win the West this year, it could be awhile before they get close again.

No! We should get close again in 2016, and I expect us to win the West again in 2017.

You've got to win it once before you can win it twice. See you at Rice Stadium.

Very true. Looking forward to our game at Rice. It's one of the few games that isn't a road trip for me since I actually live in Houston. lol I usually have to drive 3 hours for our home games. Gonna be nice to christen Houston's new stadium and face you guys at your historic venue in the same year.

December 6: Rice @ MTSU

(07-01-2014 11:42 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  December 6: Rice @ MTSU

(07-01-2014 01:40 PM)MT FAN Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 11:42 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  December 6: Rice @ MTSU

Y'all aren't ready for that

Ootsa might have a bunch of seniors coming back and that will be a win but they also lost their best player the qb and that is a huge loss. Last year Soza won some games on his own and he had four years of experience at it. Putting in a fresh new face in a conference that really isn't that bad will be a big blow for this qb. I really don't think that they will vie for the crown at all.

(07-01-2014 03:42 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  Ootsa might have a bunch of seniors coming back and that will be a win but they also lost their best player the qb and that is a huge loss. Last year Soza won some games on his own and he had four years of experience at it. Putting in a fresh new face in a conference that really isn't that bad will be a big blow for this qb. I really don't think that they will vie for the crown at all.

You're right, a new QB can take 1/2 a season to get comfortable (if that's the right word) with the speed at this level. Better get to 'em early.

(07-01-2014 04:02 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(07-01-2014 03:42 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  Ootsa might have a bunch of seniors coming back and that will be a win but they also lost their best player the qb and that is a huge loss. Last year Soza won some games on his own and he had four years of experience at it. Putting in a fresh new face in a conference that really isn't that bad will be a big blow for this qb. I really don't think that they will vie for the crown at all.

You're right, a new QB can take 1/2 a season to get comfortable (if that's the right word) with the speed at this level. Better get to 'em early.

Our first conference game is week 7 against you guys (FIU) in our dome. Our second is in week 8 against La. Tech. Our third conference game is in week 9 at home against UTEP. Without intending to sound arrogant, I think we can win those first 3 conference games, and that would already put us well beyond that half-season mark with a 3-0 conference record. We then have a bye week before facing Rice in Houston. I'm not pulling the stuff I say out of thin air. I try to do my homework before making predictions.

Edit: Our first conference game is in week 5 against FAU, but we have a bye before that game. Forgot about that game because it's sandwiched between a couple of OOC games. But I think we can go into the Rice game with at least a 3-1 conference record (and 2-0 in the West).

I am optimistic, but not overly confident. The thing is that we won the east last year and went 7-1 in conference. To predict we would lose 3-4 conference games is just a little on the retarded side. We got drubbed by Rice, but our other three losses were by 3 points, 2 points (where we dropped two ints on the final drive and the opponent scored on the last play) and in triple overtime to VT on the road.

If you look at all the preseason rankings our 5 hardest games are Rice, MTSU, WKU, Ohio and FAU. All those games are at home. Yes, we played worse on the road last year going 4-4 versus 6-0 at home, but our road games included Ohio, Rice, Virginia Tech, MTSU, FAU and Maryland. This year our road games are Miami lite, Akron, FIU, UAB, USM and ODU. No offense to those schools, but last year's road slate was more than a little tougher.

Barring an injury to Cato, we will be favored in every game we play this year with most games having us as strong double digit favorites. That doesn't mean we'll win them all, but it also indicates that it wouldn't be shocking if we did.

(07-01-2014 04:19 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  Our first conference game is week 7 against you guys (FIU) in our dome. Our second is in week 8 against La. Tech. Our third conference game is in week 9 at home against UTEP. Without intending to sound arrogant, I think we can win those first 3 conference games, and that would already put us well beyond that half-season mark with a 3-0 conference record. We then have a bye week before facing Rice in Houston. I'm not pulling the stuff I say out of thin air. I try to do my homework before making predictions.

Edit: Our first conference game is in week 5 against FAU, but we have a bye before that game. Forgot about that game because it's sandwiched between a couple of OOC games. But I think we can go into the Rice game with at least a 3-1 conference record (and 2-0 in the West).

Sounds like yuo have a lot of time to season your new QB. Things appear to be breaking your way of late.