The five home games sucks but we need the cash. It is what it is. Until we have more alums that support the school with their wallets than this is what we have to do to survive. The TV cuts hurt. We are in an arms race for facilities and we are losing. We won 8 games including a an SEC game. The offense should be just as good next year as 2018. Want to make a wager on how much we grow the base? Like I said it sucks but I think they have given up on our fickle alums coming through with support. Our fans suck. Look at hoops. Just won the conference, made a tourney run, and have a big 3 that is as fun to watch as any team in basketball but we played Wednesday in front of maybe 3000 ppl.

We are broke. It is like a struggling business with a cash offer that will keep it afloat vs going in debt with the hopes that it turns around on its own. CM is looking at the market(our fans and alums) and taking the cash and frankly I don't blame him. Our fans would rather list all the reasons they refuse to support than actually support the team.
"I'm not supporting as long as Coach x is on staff"
"I'm not supporting until Delta Tau Chi is back on campus"
"I'm not supporting until we change the name"
I could keep going but you get the point. We have had good runs and they don't move the needle. The truth is most of our fence sitters will be more fired up about a road game against UGA than they will be about a 6th home game against Ball st.

I do take issue with the recent price increases if we are going to continue to have 5 home games, but that's a whole separate thing.

(12-22-2016 10:49 PM)BlueRaider0x0 Wrote:  Our fans didn't even show up for the 5 given in 2016. Why would they show up for 6? Might as well take it on the road for the money instead of wasting resources for 5,000 to show up in Nov.

This

3 road games against SEC teams will leave the Blue Raiders battered and bruised for conference play. If our teams are hurting that bad for cash then the regional alignment needs to happen soon.

(12-23-2016 06:47 AM)TeKERaider Wrote:  The five home games sucks but we need the cash. It is what it is. Until we have more alums that support the school with their wallets than this is what we have to do to survive. The TV cuts hurt. We are in an arms race for facilities and we are losing. We won 8 games including a an SEC game. The offense should be just as good next year as 2018. Want to make a wager on how much we grow the base? Like I said it sucks but I think they have given up on our fickle alums coming through with support. Our fans suck. Look at hoops. Just won the conference, made a tourney run, and have a big 3 that is as fun to watch as any team in basketball but we played Wednesday in front of maybe 3000 ppl.

We are broke. It is like a struggling business with a cash offer that will keep it afloat vs going in debt with the hopes that it turns around on its own. CM is looking at the market(our fans and alums) and taking the cash and frankly I don't blame him. Our fans would rather list all the reasons they refuse to support than actually support the team.
"I'm not supporting as long as Coach x is on staff"
"I'm not supporting until Delta Tau Chi is back on campus"
"I'm not supporting until we change the name"
I could keep going but you get the point. We have had good runs and they don't move the needle. The truth is most of our fence sitters will be more fired up about a road game against UGA than they will be about a 6th home game against Ball st.

I do take issue with the recent price increases if we are going to continue to have 5 home games, but that's a whole separate thing.

Agreed 100%

(12-23-2016 06:25 AM)BlueRaider0x0 Wrote:  

(12-22-2016 11:15 PM)MTowho Wrote:  

(12-22-2016 10:49 PM)BlueRaider0x0 Wrote:  Our fans didn't even show up for the 5 given in 2016. Why would they show up for 6? Might as well take it on the road for the money instead of wasting resources for 5,000 to show up in Nov.

Let's just play all 12 on the road and concede any chance of growing our fanbase ever again.

What fan base are you talking about? We have the worst fan base in this conference

We're in the same conference as FIU.

I get the UGA beef but I love beating (I mean playing) Kentucky.

(12-22-2016 10:13 PM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  Ok folks. I've gotten myself pretty fired up over this and need some outsider perspective on whether I (along with some other Raiders) are on point here or doth protest too much.

It has been announced that 2018 that we have added UGA and Kentucky to the schedule-both on the road as guarantees. This means a couple of important situations will occur.

1. We will play three SEC teams on the road in a year when you presume that you have maybe one of the greatest pass and catch duos in college football history (Stockstill to James) not to mention what we expect will be a very experienced and dynamic offense. Don't think it is too much of a stretch that Brent's final year would be anything but epic assuming he avoids another injury.

2. This also means that we are only going to have five home games and the one non conference home game is almost guaranteed to be a I-AA pansie.

So, I'm literally boiling over this. What could arguably be projected one of our best teams ever and we only get five freaking home games. And on top of that three hard to win situations. Sure if we go on the road and beat three SEC schools that certainly would be awesome and what not but realistically we all know that's not happening.

Further, given a similar situation happened this year (5 home games) Brent and Company will only get six home games twice in their four years. Hell, I argue that if there was ever a time to schedule 7 home games with winnable OOC games '18 would be the year but crap we can't even seem to pull off six. It could have been "Let's try to have a Western Michigan type season." But nope not the geniuses that run things at Middle Tennessee. They just sentenced the football program to one of the toughest non conference scheduled possible instead.

So, am I off my kilter or do I have a reason to be utterly pissed off?

Awhile ago we had a season with only 5 home games and it drove me insane too. This past year we had 7 home games and that was a good time. I guess we can't all be Ohio State and play 8 HOME games EVERY YEAR.

Middle Tennessee is gambling its future on the Stockstill family. Right or wrong, MTSU thinks it can make big strides in the college football world in a relatively short period of time (next 3 years?) by taking its show --and a 3rd, 4th and 5th year QB-- on the road to bigger venues against bigger opponents. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, except it can be risky. Just as we saw this year, if their experienced QB gets injured, things can spiral downward quickly.

(12-23-2016 08:20 AM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  3 road games against SEC teams will leave the Blue Raiders battered and bruised for conference play. If our teams are hurting that bad for cash then the regional alignment needs to happen soon.

In 2006, Rice played guarantee games against UCLA, Texas and Florida State. That same Rice team beat East Carolina, SMU, and others to become bowl eligible and play in the New Orleans Bowl.

Probably used that cash to pay the buyout costs for the Ken Hatfield contract. But it did not lead to the outcome you fear.

These payout games are good if they are a means to reach an end. If they are just paying the bills, then a change is needed.

USM is getting right at 3.5 million to go to Auburn twice. That's 17 years worth of our share of C-USA TV revenue for two Saturdays work, let that sink in.

I feel you. Although, we kind of have to go big or go home at this point. It just might be the best decision ever to pit our best team in ages against the toughest schedule. See Marshall a couple years ago, went something like 12-1 and nobody cared because they played nobody.

I want our best foot forward to prove we can hang. This is what it takes.