Watched parts of the MTSU-Marshall game tonight on Fox Sports 1. Pretty interesting game with MTSU pulling it out with 4th down pass play and 3 seconds to go. MTSU ran all over the Herd and were able to keep it outta the hands of the Herd offense (who also scored mostly at will) enough to win....I think MTSU had over 300 yards rushing in the game.
(10-25-2013 07:57 AM)axeme Wrote: [ -> ]OU's SOS is irrelevant.
Along with navy, I still root for teams like Marshall, Tulsa, and north Texas that can make our upper teams look better. Probably just me. Not too sure how much it really effects the conference.
I wonder if Herd fans will give some credit to MTSU or blame it on a bad night by their coaching staff or whatever. I hadn't planned on watching the game but once I turned it on I couldn't turn it off it was so entertaining. I never saw a team run so much on 3rd and long and be as successful as MTSU..they also went for a number of 4th down conversions and were mostly successful...their coach is pretty gutsy.
Also, one last comment....do you guys remember how Herd fans constantly disaparaged the MAC and our attendance, especially during those weeknight ESPN games....well, did you see the crowd at MTSU last night.....yeah, pretty non existent. (I'm not sure what the announced attendance was actually, but there were definitely less than 10K at the game). I'm not pointing this out to "knock" MTSU as we all know how tough it is for season ticket holders to get to those weeknight games. C-USA has always had much better attendance than the MAC, but with UCF already gone and ECU leaving, and given the replacement programs they are pulling in, the gap between the conferences will be much less.
Take a look at the stats...almost 600 yards offense by MTSU against the Herd:
Team Stat MRSH MTU
1st Downs 27 31
Total Yards 448 585
Passing 235 277
Rushing 213 308
Penalties 6-61 6-75
3rd Down Conversions 9-16 10-20
4th Down Conversions 1-2 4-5
Turnovers 2 2
Possession 27:11 32:49
Marshall hasn't beaten a team with a winning record all season.
(10-25-2013 07:57 AM)axeme Wrote: [ -> ]OU's SOS is irrelevant.
It's relevant for the SOS of NIU, which is locked in a dead heat with Fresno for the non AQ BCS bid. Thankfully NIU doesn't play Ohio, but some of our opponents do so there is a non-trivial negative impact on SOS.
The NCAA needs to investigate the Marshall program. During MTSU's final drive, Herd defenders not once, not twice, but three times, dropped sure interceptions. Using my DISH capabilities, I reviewed those plays in super slo-mo. Sure enough, you could see the Blue Raider receivers slipping some Benjamins into the trousers of the secondary.
In a related matter, how has the move been for Marshall since departing the MAC?
They have greatly increased their net stream of revenue. Uncheck.
They have joined a league that is significantly better than the MAC. Uncheck.
They have taken advantage of the greater bowl opportunities afforded them. Uncheck.
The have gone south both literally and figuratively. Check.
Look, things have to eventually get better for Marshall. But I suspect it won't happen until they successfully convince Oddball (an old anti-Herd poster) to remove the pins from his collection of 22 green and white Voodoo dolls.
(10-25-2013 10:04 AM)Max Power Wrote: [ -> ] (10-25-2013 07:57 AM)axeme Wrote: [ -> ]OU's SOS is irrelevant.
It's relevant for the SOS of NIU, which is locked in a dead heat with Fresno for the non AQ BCS bid. Thankfully NIU doesn't play Ohio, but some of our opponents do so there is a non-trivial negative impact on SOS.
I would say one loss by one team who lost to a team that you don't play will have a very trivial effect on NIU's SOS. You have 12 teams you do play whose secondary SOS has some effect on NIU's SOS. But one loss by a team (Marshall) that plays a team (Ohio) that plays a few of the teams who play NIU is pretty far removed to be statistically important.
One things for sure, it was a lot more fun than the UL-Lafayette vs. Arkansas State game from Tuesday.
That's fer sure, L&H...I tried to watch the La-L/Ark St game a number of times and couldn't stick with it.......just too boring and Ark St was pretty much uncompetitive.
By the way, MTSU announced a crowd of 19K plus for that TV game with Marshall...again, I realize it's not based on "butts in seats" but I wonder how they even got to that number with students plus tix sold as that place was really empty.