(08-30-2014 08:46 AM)Dannyboy Wrote:  That 4-8 year still annoys me. That team was way too talented to be 4-8.

agree

(08-30-2014 08:46 AM)Dannyboy Wrote:  That 4-8 year still annoys me. That team was way too talented to be 4-8.

Definitely.

Also if I am being honest, that 9-4 bowl loss last year is a bit irritating as well. All of the media I have seen say 'Cincinnati has had 9 or more wins in 6 of the last 7 seasons' when 5 of those were 10 wins. Ten would sound much more impressive to the standard football fans in the country and the casuals in the city.

As long as the playoffs remain at 4 teams, I don't believe we will EVER be in them. Sorry. The selection committee (ie, Friends of the P5), will never pick us or any other G5 team over, not one, but TWO P5 teams. Never happen.

Access bowl - sure. Playoff? No way.

(08-30-2014 09:42 AM)Bearcat85 Wrote:  As long as the playoffs remain at 4 teams, I don't believe we will EVER be in them. Sorry. The selection committee (ie, Friends of the P5), will never pick us or any other G5 team over, not one, but TWO P5 teams. Never happen.

Access bowl - sure. Playoff? No way.

Barring something very unusual, I agree. But I think once a few big time 11-1 teams get screwed, they'll expand to 8.

(08-30-2014 07:42 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Most critical year ever? Nah.
Have to kick everyone's butt by a convincing margin to make a statement? Nope.
Need to finish 12-0 and make the access bowl game? No.

What is critical is just winning games period and not how we win those games. When we play at Tulane on October 31st, for example, I don't care if we win by one point in double overtime, just get outta there with a win. An ugly win (on the road no less) still counts more than a loss. IMO, UC needs to at least match last year's regular season record (9-3) and get a bowl win (even if it is the Taco Bell Burrito Supreme Bowl) to remain in the "top dog still relevant G5 conversation." We will be vying for this distinction with several other teams especially since Boise State seems to have fallen back a step.

What is most critical in my estimation is not losing the momentum that this program has been building since Mark Dantonio's last season as head coach. Here are the records for UC football since that year:

2006: 8-5 (Bowl Win)
2007: 10-3 (Bowl Win)
2008: 11-3 (Bowl Loss)
2009: 12-1 (Bowl Loss)
2010: 4-8
2011: 10-3 (Bowl Win)
2012: 10-3 (Bowl Win)
2013: 9-4 (Bowl Loss)

What is apparent from this trend is a new coach comes in, has a transition year, and gets the system he wants in place and rolls with successful results. This "tradition" of recent success is already something we brag about and the media has picked up on in recent years, in particular the number of 10+ wins in a season. In moving forward, this momentum of winning has to continue not only this year but in the next several years when we have a renovated on-campus stadium that better have sell-outs and lots of energy with great atmosphere.

UC must be a step beyond the rest of the AAC if they want to maintain their recruiting advantage over the other AAC schools. Recruits can't look at Cincinnati, ECU and Central Florida together and think "What's the difference? They're all the same."

Right now there is a perception that Cincinnati is the "next in" for any conference expansion. Maintaining that perception -- and the perception that Cincinnati is "better" than the other teams in the AAC -- is paramount.

It's why, were I running the department, I would seek to distance myself from the rest of the conference all the time. I would have nothing positive to say about any of my conference mates -- they're all future competitors for limited spots in big-money conferences that open up.

(09-02-2014 11:10 AM)#41 Wrote:  It's why, were I running the department, I would seek to distance myself from the rest of the conference all the time. I would have nothing positive to say about any of my conference mates -- they're all future competitors for limited spots in big-money conferences that open up.

It sure worked for WVU (Oliver Luck, Don Neihlen, etc.).