(10-16-2011 11:42 AM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  I think that the big difference is that this is a VERY different league than it was in 2005 and now, we are really seeing teams live up to potential.

2005 Year End Massey Composite
93 Cajuns
101 stAte
102 MT
103 ULM
105 FIU
107 Troy
113 UNT
115 FAU

2011 Massey Composite thru 10/15 (41)
56 Cajuns
65 FIU
67 stATe
96 ULM
101 Troy
105 UNT
110 WKU
111 MT
117 FAU


Top SB team by year:
2005 93 Cajuns, 101 stAte
2006 69 MT, 70 Troy
2007 47 Troy, 61 FAU
2008 62 Troy, 80 FAU
2009 52 MT, 53 Troy
2010 73 Troy, 81 FIU

(10-16-2011 10:41 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Unfortunately I would say it is more of changing of the guard by default than any program really stepping their game up. Troy has slipped this year and others have moved into the top tier by default. FIU showed promise but quickly wilted in the limelight. MTSU has fallen off the deep end. Lafayette is showing promise, but getting 62 layed on them by Ok St is a black eye. I am pulling for the SB, but I honestly don't think we have seen the conference elevate their strength this year. The SB needs more than anything one team to have a breakaway year which will get ESPNs attention and help every team in the conference. SB needs new blood that can stir things up a little. Will that elevate the SB? No one can say for sure, but the conference is not improving under the current scenario. It will be interesting to see what direction the new commissioner takes the SB.

Dude, even someone with an education from the elite university Georgia Southern knows the Lafayette Leopards are not in the Sun Belt Conference!

(10-16-2011 12:11 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:01 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 11:42 AM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  le sigh...how many times to FCS trolls come on here proclaiming greatness. Maybe when the WAC becomes the worst conference, they will all flock there.

Anyway, onto the subject, Am I the only one seeing an almost eerie correlation to the 2005 season? 2005 marked the end of the Mean Green Era, the conference wasn't good OOC but the 3 teams tied for the Conference Title were ASU, UL, and ULM. Notice that ASU and UL are the top 2 teams in the belt right now and ULM showed some fire last week. I think that the big difference is that this is a VERY different league than it was in 2005 and now, we are really seeing teams live up to potential. I can see a situation where the league could have an 11-1 team and 2 9-3 teams in UL, ASU, and FIU. I doubt it will happen, but if those 9-3 teams would win their bowl games, we'd actually have 3 double digit win teams in the league in one year...remember in 2005 we were in danger of not having a bowl eligible team and UNT went to their first bowl game with a losing record. Everyone should be proud of where the league is now, the bar is being raised and in the future it should be standard to try to finish with 10 or more wins.

Correlation to 2005? So Louisiana, ASU and FIU are going to share the title this year, and then none of them will sniff it for the next five years?

I think only one of the three make it over 8 wins, let alone 9, and I believe MT will beat at least one of the three.

ASU and Louisiana and even ULM have sniffed the top of the league since 2005, all 3 have had 6-6 seasons, in fact UL had 3 of em and I think ASU had 3 as well, they just never got back to a bowl. With that said, I think we will see those 3 teams become the teams to beat in the belt with their coaching.

They've all had 6-6 seasons, some have "sniffed the top of the league" but none have really sniffed another championship.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2006, but went 3-4 in conference(three games off co-champs MT and Troy)

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2008 and 5-2 in conference finishing just one game off of champ Troy, but lost to Troy 48-3.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2009 but went 4-4 in conference finishing four games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2007 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2009 but went 5-3 in conference finsihing three games off of champ Troy.

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2006 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2008 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two game off of champ Troy

So I repeat what I said previously, none of the three have sniffed a championship since 2005, unless you consider one game off the champion(but that one loss being to the champions by 45 points) sniffing a championship

Now in regards to the three's coaching, for starters I'd put Hudspeth first among the three by a fair margin and I'll be shocked if he's still in Lafayette in 2014, bringing him back for next season will be a small victory and actually getting him for that third season in 2013 will be no small feat.

I'm not sure who to put next Freeze or Cristobal, I'm tempted to say Freeze because of how it's taken Cristobal a while to build up that program, but he did inherit a far worse situation than Freeze did. The point is, I wouldn't be shocked if all three are coaching elsewhere by 2014.

I don't see Troy just fading into obscurity and MT has proved to be the top overall athletic program in the conference on a consistent basis and have proven that they won't stay down for long in football. Also I'd say we've faced perhaps the most internal adversity in football between the Dasher fiasco and the revolving doors we've had at both coordinator spots.

Of the three I think Louisiana has the best shot at getting to and staying at the top of the league, provided they can find the right replacement for Hudspeth, but all three have a ways to go to prove they can do this on a consistent basis.

(10-16-2011 10:41 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Unfortunately I would say it is more of changing of the guard by default than any program really stepping their game up. Troy has slipped this year and others have moved into the top tier by default. FIU showed promise but quickly wilted in the limelight. MTSU has fallen off the deep end. Lafayette is showing promise, but getting 62 layed on them by Ok St is a black eye. I am pulling for the SB, but I honestly don't think we have seen the conference elevate their strength this year. The SB needs more than anything one team to have a breakaway year which will get ESPNs attention and help every team in the conference. SB needs new blood that can stir things up a little. Will that elevate the SB? No one can say for sure, but the conference is not improving under the current scenario. It will be interesting to see what direction the new commissioner takes the SB.

Go play.... First of all the Lafayette Leopards are a 1AA just like yours...secondly,I assume you are speaking of UL??? Have you seen the numbers Ok state has laid on people???

Z

(10-16-2011 12:40 PM)CajunT Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 10:41 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Unfortunately I would say it is more of changing of the guard by default than any program really stepping their game up. Troy has slipped this year and others have moved into the top tier by default. FIU showed promise but quickly wilted in the limelight. MTSU has fallen off the deep end. Lafayette is showing promise, but getting 62 layed on them by Ok St is a black eye. I am pulling for the SB, but I honestly don't think we have seen the conference elevate their strength this year. The SB needs more than anything one team to have a breakaway year which will get ESPNs attention and help every team in the conference. SB needs new blood that can stir things up a little. Will that elevate the SB? No one can say for sure, but the conference is not improving under the current scenario. It will be interesting to see what direction the new commissioner takes the SB.

Dude, even someone with an education from the elite university Georgia Southern knows the Lafayette Leopards are not in the Sun Belt Conference!

what a moron...

Z

(10-16-2011 11:13 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 10:56 AM)FIU4Ever Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 10:41 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Unfortunately I would say it is more of changing of the guard by default than any program really stepping their game up. Troy has slipped this year and others have moved into the top tier by default. FIU showed promise but quickly wilted in the limelight. MTSU has fallen off the deep end. Lafayette is showing promise, but getting 62 layed on them by Ok St is a black eye. I am pulling for the SB, but I honestly don't think we have seen the conference elevate their strength this year. The SB needs more than anything one team to have a breakaway year which will get ESPNs attention and help every team in the conference. SB needs new blood that can stir things up a little. Will that elevate the SB? No one can say for sure, but the conference is not improving under the current scenario. It will be interesting to see what direction the new commissioner takes the SB.

FIU at 4-2 has wilted? ULL at 6-1 has a black eye? 3 teams over .500, 11 OOC wins and no program has stepped up their game?

And georgia southern is gonna save the belt with their FCS talent?

Right now we are undefeated, #1 in FCS, #46 in Sagarin's. I can guarantee our talent is at least on par with the SB, the only difference being 62 vs 85 scholarships. The #2 team in the SoCon Wofford had Clemson on the ropes late in the 4th quarter, so there are very solid FCS teams out there. Wins over Memphis and UAB mean very little. Both of those teams are horrible. I am in no way saying Ga Southern would save the SB, but right now we would be in the top third of the conference and would be even better with 85 scholarhips. And with the talent in GA and only two FBS teams we would L-O-A-D up on talent. Last year there were 170 high school athletes that signed with FBS schools in GA and UGA and Ga Tech only sighned 35.

GSU would not win one game a Sun Belt competition. This is big boy ball not division II.

(10-16-2011 01:08 PM)MT FAN Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 11:13 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 10:56 AM)FIU4Ever Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 10:41 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Unfortunately I would say it is more of changing of the guard by default than any program really stepping their game up. Troy has slipped this year and others have moved into the top tier by default. FIU showed promise but quickly wilted in the limelight. MTSU has fallen off the deep end. Lafayette is showing promise, but getting 62 layed on them by Ok St is a black eye. I am pulling for the SB, but I honestly don't think we have seen the conference elevate their strength this year. The SB needs more than anything one team to have a breakaway year which will get ESPNs attention and help every team in the conference. SB needs new blood that can stir things up a little. Will that elevate the SB? No one can say for sure, but the conference is not improving under the current scenario. It will be interesting to see what direction the new commissioner takes the SB.

FIU at 4-2 has wilted? ULL at 6-1 has a black eye? 3 teams over .500, 11 OOC wins and no program has stepped up their game?

And georgia southern is gonna save the belt with their FCS talent?

Right now we are undefeated, #1 in FCS, #46 in Sagarin's. I can guarantee our talent is at least on par with the SB, the only difference being 62 vs 85 scholarships. The #2 team in the SoCon Wofford had Clemson on the ropes late in the 4th quarter, so there are very solid FCS teams out there. Wins over Memphis and UAB mean very little. Both of those teams are horrible. I am in no way saying Ga Southern would save the SB, but right now we would be in the top third of the conference and would be even better with 85 scholarhips. And with the talent in GA and only two FBS teams we would L-O-A-D up on talent. Last year there were 170 high school athletes that signed with FBS schools in GA and UGA and Ga Tech only sighned 35.

GSU would not win one game a Sun Belt competition. This is big boy ball not division II.

Georgia Southern doesn't play DII ball and your statement of "this is big boy ball not division II" makes you no better than than the SEC fans who say to us "this is big boy football not FCS" to us.

Make no mistake about it, Georgia Southern could absolutely beat UNT, WKU, FAU, and probably MT. Would they beat any of them? I dunno. Would they beat all of them? Not a chance.

(10-16-2011 12:17 PM)BlueRaiderFan. Wrote:  I doubt we win three more games this year.

Three more is definitely doable. FAU is terrible, UNT is definitely beatable and I have enough confidence in our talent level and coaching to think we can steal at least one from Louisiana, FIU and Arkansas State.

(10-16-2011 01:21 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Make no mistake about it, Georgia Southern could absolutely beat UNT, WKU, FAU, and probably MT. Would they beat any of them? I dunno. Would they beat all of them? Not a chance.

Seriously??

(10-16-2011 11:13 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 10:56 AM)FIU4Ever Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 10:41 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Unfortunately I would say it is more of changing of the guard by default than any program really stepping their game up. Troy has slipped this year and others have moved into the top tier by default. FIU showed promise but quickly wilted in the limelight. MTSU has fallen off the deep end. Lafayette is showing promise, but getting 62 layed on them by Ok St is a black eye. I am pulling for the SB, but I honestly don't think we have seen the conference elevate their strength this year. The SB needs more than anything one team to have a breakaway year which will get ESPNs attention and help every team in the conference. SB needs new blood that can stir things up a little. Will that elevate the SB? No one can say for sure, but the conference is not improving under the current scenario. It will be interesting to see what direction the new commissioner takes the SB.

FIU at 4-2 has wilted? ULL at 6-1 has a black eye? 3 teams over .500, 11 OOC wins and no program has stepped up their game?

And georgia southern is gonna save the belt with their FCS talent?

Right now we are undefeated, #1 in FCS, #46 in Sagarin's. I can guarantee our talent is at least on par with the SB, the only difference being 62 vs 85 scholarships. The #2 team in the SoCon Wofford had Clemson on the ropes late in the 4th quarter, so there are very solid FCS teams out there. Wins over Memphis and UAB mean very little. Both of those teams are horrible. I am in no way saying Ga Southern would save the SB, but right now we would be in the top third of the conference and would be even better with 85 scholarhips. And with the talent in GA and only two FBS teams we would L-O-A-D up on talent. Last year there were 170 high school athletes that signed with FBS schools in GA and UGA and Ga Tech only sighned 35.

NOBODY HERE CARES ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN.............GO HOME

(10-16-2011 01:35 PM)CrushMI Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 01:21 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Make no mistake about it, Georgia Southern could absolutely beat UNT, WKU, FAU, and probably MT. Would they beat any of them? I dunno. Would they beat all of them? Not a chance.

Seriously??

Not "probably MT" as in they could definitely beat those three and MT is somehow exempt. "and probably MT" was more to make the point that our(mine and his school) should be included in the group as well, but is not exactly the easiest thing to say.

Having said that homerism aside I believe that, at least if healthy, MT is the most talented of that bunch.

(10-16-2011 12:45 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:11 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:01 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 11:42 AM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  le sigh...how many times to FCS trolls come on here proclaiming greatness. Maybe when the WAC becomes the worst conference, they will all flock there.

Anyway, onto the subject, Am I the only one seeing an almost eerie correlation to the 2005 season? 2005 marked the end of the Mean Green Era, the conference wasn't good OOC but the 3 teams tied for the Conference Title were ASU, UL, and ULM. Notice that ASU and UL are the top 2 teams in the belt right now and ULM showed some fire last week. I think that the big difference is that this is a VERY different league than it was in 2005 and now, we are really seeing teams live up to potential. I can see a situation where the league could have an 11-1 team and 2 9-3 teams in UL, ASU, and FIU. I doubt it will happen, but if those 9-3 teams would win their bowl games, we'd actually have 3 double digit win teams in the league in one year...remember in 2005 we were in danger of not having a bowl eligible team and UNT went to their first bowl game with a losing record. Everyone should be proud of where the league is now, the bar is being raised and in the future it should be standard to try to finish with 10 or more wins.

Correlation to 2005? So Louisiana, ASU and FIU are going to share the title this year, and then none of them will sniff it for the next five years?

I think only one of the three make it over 8 wins, let alone 9, and I believe MT will beat at least one of the three.

ASU and Louisiana and even ULM have sniffed the top of the league since 2005, all 3 have had 6-6 seasons, in fact UL had 3 of em and I think ASU had 3 as well, they just never got back to a bowl. With that said, I think we will see those 3 teams become the teams to beat in the belt with their coaching.

They've all had 6-6 seasons, some have "sniffed the top of the league" but none have really sniffed another championship.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2006, but went 3-4 in conference(three games off co-champs MT and Troy)

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2008 and 5-2 in conference finishing just one game off of champ Troy, but lost to Troy 48-3.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2009 but went 4-4 in conference finishing four games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2007 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2009 but went 5-3 in conference finsihing three games off of champ Troy.

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2006 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2008 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two game off of champ Troy

So I repeat what I said previously, none of the three have sniffed a championship since 2005, unless you consider one game off the champion(but that one loss being to the champions by 45 points) sniffing a championship

Now in regards to the three's coaching, for starters I'd put Hudspeth first among the three by a fair margin and I'll be shocked if he's still in Lafayette in 2014, bringing him back for next season will be a small victory and actually getting him for that third season in 2013 will be no small feat.

I'm not sure who to put next Freeze or Cristobal, I'm tempted to say Freeze because of how it's taken Cristobal a while to build up that program, but he did inherit a far worse situation than Freeze did. The point is, I wouldn't be shocked if all three are coaching elsewhere by 2014.

I don't see Troy just fading into obscurity and MT has proved to be the top overall athletic program in the conference on a consistent basis and have proven that they won't stay down for long in football. Also I'd say we've faced perhaps the most internal adversity in football between the Dasher fiasco and the revolving doors we've had at both coordinator spots.

Of the three I think Louisiana has the best shot at getting to and staying at the top of the league, provided they can find the right replacement for Hudspeth, but all three have a ways to go to prove they can do this on a consistent basis.

Louisiana 2008 - Started the conference slate 4-0, and were 5-3 overall with close losses to Illinois and Kansas State, lost to FAU on the road and STILL had a chance to basically lock up the SBC title in the 2nd to last game of the season against Troy. Thats sniffing the title

ASU 2008 - Started the season 4-2 with a win on the road against aTm, were 2-0 in conference and lost at UL, at that time though they were one of the front-runners for the conference, that is sniffing the title.

ASU 2006 - Started season 4-2 and were 3-0 in conference. They were the FAVORITE to win the conference with them being defending champions, lost on the road the next week and faded down the stretch, they were DEFINITELY sniffing at that point.

ULM 2009 - Started 3-0 in conference, lost to Troy on the road, but managed to still pick up 2 more conference wins before they went to Lafayette, they were 5-1 in the conference before they lost their last 2 conference games. That is sniffing at the title.

None of them did it, but all 3 teams have had moments where they were in competition to win the SBC.

Good Lord why do FCS folks pop up on this board and think they are world beaters?!! Somehow, GSU fans (this one at least) thinks that because they are at the top of the totem pole they can magically jump in and start beating anyone and everyone. There is a reason why players sign with D1A and D1aa schools. The overall talent is so much better. The players are bigger, stronger, and faster. The depth is greater. The grind of the schedule is that much harder and these guys just don't get it.

Of course MTSU fans have every reason to see 3 wins. Every person on the planet associated with ASU and MTSU is well aware of what ASU's record in in Murfreesboro.

ASU still hasnt proven anything yet, to this point we have gotten lucky on the road against WKU, and overcame a gazillion penalties to win @ ULM We have been at this point (4-2, 2-0) before, and every single team we have walked out of that next game with our tail between our legs.

ASU is a culture where losing is completely acceptable, so long as it isnt an embarrasing loss. Its going to take more then just 6 games to get our fans and players to believe that we can win and compete in the Sun Belt Conference.

Under previous coaching staff's the FIU game would not be a necessity. Coaches would see games @ FAU and @ MTSU in the future and assume those are automatic wins, and accept losing to FIU if necessary. Then we went to those places, and got beat. Our coaching staff must convince our players that FIU is a must win game, and that we are here to win the Sun Belt Conference, not be satisified finishing 3rd.

(10-16-2011 01:49 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:45 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:11 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:01 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 11:42 AM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  le sigh...how many times to FCS trolls come on here proclaiming greatness. Maybe when the WAC becomes the worst conference, they will all flock there.

Anyway, onto the subject, Am I the only one seeing an almost eerie correlation to the 2005 season? 2005 marked the end of the Mean Green Era, the conference wasn't good OOC but the 3 teams tied for the Conference Title were ASU, UL, and ULM. Notice that ASU and UL are the top 2 teams in the belt right now and ULM showed some fire last week. I think that the big difference is that this is a VERY different league than it was in 2005 and now, we are really seeing teams live up to potential. I can see a situation where the league could have an 11-1 team and 2 9-3 teams in UL, ASU, and FIU. I doubt it will happen, but if those 9-3 teams would win their bowl games, we'd actually have 3 double digit win teams in the league in one year...remember in 2005 we were in danger of not having a bowl eligible team and UNT went to their first bowl game with a losing record. Everyone should be proud of where the league is now, the bar is being raised and in the future it should be standard to try to finish with 10 or more wins.

Correlation to 2005? So Louisiana, ASU and FIU are going to share the title this year, and then none of them will sniff it for the next five years?

I think only one of the three make it over 8 wins, let alone 9, and I believe MT will beat at least one of the three.

ASU and Louisiana and even ULM have sniffed the top of the league since 2005, all 3 have had 6-6 seasons, in fact UL had 3 of em and I think ASU had 3 as well, they just never got back to a bowl. With that said, I think we will see those 3 teams become the teams to beat in the belt with their coaching.

They've all had 6-6 seasons, some have "sniffed the top of the league" but none have really sniffed another championship.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2006, but went 3-4 in conference(three games off co-champs MT and Troy)

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2008 and 5-2 in conference finishing just one game off of champ Troy, but lost to Troy 48-3.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2009 but went 4-4 in conference finishing four games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2007 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2009 but went 5-3 in conference finsihing three games off of champ Troy.

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2006 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2008 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two game off of champ Troy

So I repeat what I said previously, none of the three have sniffed a championship since 2005, unless you consider one game off the champion(but that one loss being to the champions by 45 points) sniffing a championship

Now in regards to the three's coaching, for starters I'd put Hudspeth first among the three by a fair margin and I'll be shocked if he's still in Lafayette in 2014, bringing him back for next season will be a small victory and actually getting him for that third season in 2013 will be no small feat.

I'm not sure who to put next Freeze or Cristobal, I'm tempted to say Freeze because of how it's taken Cristobal a while to build up that program, but he did inherit a far worse situation than Freeze did. The point is, I wouldn't be shocked if all three are coaching elsewhere by 2014.

I don't see Troy just fading into obscurity and MT has proved to be the top overall athletic program in the conference on a consistent basis and have proven that they won't stay down for long in football. Also I'd say we've faced perhaps the most internal adversity in football between the Dasher fiasco and the revolving doors we've had at both coordinator spots.

Of the three I think Louisiana has the best shot at getting to and staying at the top of the league, provided they can find the right replacement for Hudspeth, but all three have a ways to go to prove they can do this on a consistent basis.

Louisiana 2008 - Started the conference slate 4-0, and were 5-3 overall with close losses to Illinois and Kansas State, lost to FAU on the road and STILL had a chance to basically lock up the SBC title in the 2nd to last game of the season against Troy. Thats sniffing the title

ASU 2008 - Started the season 4-2 with a win on the road against aTm, were 2-0 in conference and lost at UL, at that time though they were one of the front-runners for the conference, that is sniffing the title.

ASU 2006 - Started season 4-2 and were 3-0 in conference. They were the FAVORITE to win the conference with them being defending champions, lost on the road the next week and faded down the stretch, they were DEFINITELY sniffing at that point.

ULM 2009 - Started 3-0 in conference, lost to Troy on the road, but managed to still pick up 2 more conference wins before they went to Lafayette, they were 5-1 in the conference before they lost their last 2 conference games. That is sniffing at the title.

None of them did it, but all 3 teams have had moments where they were in competition to win the SBC.

Seriously? You cannot be serious.

ASU 2008 started 2-0 in conference, beating FIU and ULM who combined for 9-15(6-8) they had five conference games remaining, that is not "sniffing the title" that is starting the conference slate against two middling teams and beating them. Again, they finished two games off the champion.

ASU 2006 started 3-0 against FIU, ULM and UNT who combined 5-31(3-18) they didn't fade down the stretch, they started the conference slate against three terrible teams and got exposed and even at 3-0 they weren't even half way through their conference slate. Again, two games off the champion.

ULM 2009 at 3-0 still had five conference games to play and had beaten FAU, FIU, and Arkansas State who combined for 12-24(11-13) that's a slightly better resume, but with still five games to play, that is not "sniffing the title".

I could possible give you Louisiana 2008 as they started 4-0, so they were more than half way through their conference slate and finished just one game off from champ Troy, but the head to head 45 point drubbing at the hands of the Trojans makes it difficult to say they were really "sniffing the title".

(10-16-2011 02:15 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 01:49 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:45 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:11 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:01 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Correlation to 2005? So Louisiana, ASU and FIU are going to share the title this year, and then none of them will sniff it for the next five years?

I think only one of the three make it over 8 wins, let alone 9, and I believe MT will beat at least one of the three.

ASU and Louisiana and even ULM have sniffed the top of the league since 2005, all 3 have had 6-6 seasons, in fact UL had 3 of em and I think ASU had 3 as well, they just never got back to a bowl. With that said, I think we will see those 3 teams become the teams to beat in the belt with their coaching.

They've all had 6-6 seasons, some have "sniffed the top of the league" but none have really sniffed another championship.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2006, but went 3-4 in conference(three games off co-champs MT and Troy)

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2008 and 5-2 in conference finishing just one game off of champ Troy, but lost to Troy 48-3.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2009 but went 4-4 in conference finishing four games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2007 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2009 but went 5-3 in conference finsihing three games off of champ Troy.

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2006 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2008 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two game off of champ Troy

So I repeat what I said previously, none of the three have sniffed a championship since 2005, unless you consider one game off the champion(but that one loss being to the champions by 45 points) sniffing a championship

Now in regards to the three's coaching, for starters I'd put Hudspeth first among the three by a fair margin and I'll be shocked if he's still in Lafayette in 2014, bringing him back for next season will be a small victory and actually getting him for that third season in 2013 will be no small feat.

I'm not sure who to put next Freeze or Cristobal, I'm tempted to say Freeze because of how it's taken Cristobal a while to build up that program, but he did inherit a far worse situation than Freeze did. The point is, I wouldn't be shocked if all three are coaching elsewhere by 2014.

I don't see Troy just fading into obscurity and MT has proved to be the top overall athletic program in the conference on a consistent basis and have proven that they won't stay down for long in football. Also I'd say we've faced perhaps the most internal adversity in football between the Dasher fiasco and the revolving doors we've had at both coordinator spots.

Of the three I think Louisiana has the best shot at getting to and staying at the top of the league, provided they can find the right replacement for Hudspeth, but all three have a ways to go to prove they can do this on a consistent basis.

Louisiana 2008 - Started the conference slate 4-0, and were 5-3 overall with close losses to Illinois and Kansas State, lost to FAU on the road and STILL had a chance to basically lock up the SBC title in the 2nd to last game of the season against Troy. Thats sniffing the title

ASU 2008 - Started the season 4-2 with a win on the road against aTm, were 2-0 in conference and lost at UL, at that time though they were one of the front-runners for the conference, that is sniffing the title.

ASU 2006 - Started season 4-2 and were 3-0 in conference. They were the FAVORITE to win the conference with them being defending champions, lost on the road the next week and faded down the stretch, they were DEFINITELY sniffing at that point.

ULM 2009 - Started 3-0 in conference, lost to Troy on the road, but managed to still pick up 2 more conference wins before they went to Lafayette, they were 5-1 in the conference before they lost their last 2 conference games. That is sniffing at the title.

None of them did it, but all 3 teams have had moments where they were in competition to win the SBC.

Seriously? You cannot be serious.

ASU 2008 started 2-0 in conference, beating FIU and ULM who combined for 9-15(6-8) they had five conference games remaining, that is not "sniffing the title" that is starting the conference slate against two middling teams and beating them. Again, they finished two games off the champion.

ASU 2006 started 3-0 against FIU, ULM and UNT who combined 5-31(3-18) they didn't fade down the stretch, they started the conference slate against three terrible teams and got exposed and even at 3-0 they weren't even half way through their conference slate. Again, two games off the champion.

ULM 2009 at 3-0 still had five conference games to play and had beaten FAU, FIU, and Arkansas State who combined for 12-24(11-13) that's a slightly better resume, but with still five games to play, that is not "sniffing the title".

I could possible give you Louisiana 2008 as they started 4-0, so they were more than half way through their conference slate and finished just one game off from champ Troy, but the head to head 45 point drubbing at the hands of the Trojans makes it difficult to say they were really "sniffing the title".

Through 6 conference games in 2009 for ULM, they had only lost 1, which was the conference champion with 2 games left, if they took care of business they could have finished 7-1 in conference with the only loss to Troy, they were absolutely in the hunt with 2 games to go in the 2009 season, that is challenging for the title.

My point with the ASU teams is that at one point in the season, an argument could be made that they were the best team in the conference, ESPECIALLY in 2006 when they were the defending SBC champions, you'd have to believe they were the favorites halfway through the season. None of those teams won the title, but they were far from out of it which is a lot different than what you were making them out to be.

(10-16-2011 02:32 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 02:15 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 01:49 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:45 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 12:11 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  ASU and Louisiana and even ULM have sniffed the top of the league since 2005, all 3 have had 6-6 seasons, in fact UL had 3 of em and I think ASU had 3 as well, they just never got back to a bowl. With that said, I think we will see those 3 teams become the teams to beat in the belt with their coaching.

They've all had 6-6 seasons, some have "sniffed the top of the league" but none have really sniffed another championship.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2006, but went 3-4 in conference(three games off co-champs MT and Troy)

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2008 and 5-2 in conference finishing just one game off of champ Troy, but lost to Troy 48-3.

Louisiana went 6-6 in 2009 but went 4-4 in conference finishing four games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2007 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy.

ULM went 6-6 in 2009 but went 5-3 in conference finsihing three games off of champ Troy.

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2006 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two games off of champ Troy

Arkansas State went 6-6 in 2008 but went 4-3 in conference finishing two game off of champ Troy

So I repeat what I said previously, none of the three have sniffed a championship since 2005, unless you consider one game off the champion(but that one loss being to the champions by 45 points) sniffing a championship

Now in regards to the three's coaching, for starters I'd put Hudspeth first among the three by a fair margin and I'll be shocked if he's still in Lafayette in 2014, bringing him back for next season will be a small victory and actually getting him for that third season in 2013 will be no small feat.

I'm not sure who to put next Freeze or Cristobal, I'm tempted to say Freeze because of how it's taken Cristobal a while to build up that program, but he did inherit a far worse situation than Freeze did. The point is, I wouldn't be shocked if all three are coaching elsewhere by 2014.

I don't see Troy just fading into obscurity and MT has proved to be the top overall athletic program in the conference on a consistent basis and have proven that they won't stay down for long in football. Also I'd say we've faced perhaps the most internal adversity in football between the Dasher fiasco and the revolving doors we've had at both coordinator spots.

Of the three I think Louisiana has the best shot at getting to and staying at the top of the league, provided they can find the right replacement for Hudspeth, but all three have a ways to go to prove they can do this on a consistent basis.

Louisiana 2008 - Started the conference slate 4-0, and were 5-3 overall with close losses to Illinois and Kansas State, lost to FAU on the road and STILL had a chance to basically lock up the SBC title in the 2nd to last game of the season against Troy. Thats sniffing the title

ASU 2008 - Started the season 4-2 with a win on the road against aTm, were 2-0 in conference and lost at UL, at that time though they were one of the front-runners for the conference, that is sniffing the title.

ASU 2006 - Started season 4-2 and were 3-0 in conference. They were the FAVORITE to win the conference with them being defending champions, lost on the road the next week and faded down the stretch, they were DEFINITELY sniffing at that point.

ULM 2009 - Started 3-0 in conference, lost to Troy on the road, but managed to still pick up 2 more conference wins before they went to Lafayette, they were 5-1 in the conference before they lost their last 2 conference games. That is sniffing at the title.

None of them did it, but all 3 teams have had moments where they were in competition to win the SBC.

Seriously? You cannot be serious.

ASU 2008 started 2-0 in conference, beating FIU and ULM who combined for 9-15(6-8) they had five conference games remaining, that is not "sniffing the title" that is starting the conference slate against two middling teams and beating them. Again, they finished two games off the champion.

ASU 2006 started 3-0 against FIU, ULM and UNT who combined 5-31(3-18) they didn't fade down the stretch, they started the conference slate against three terrible teams and got exposed and even at 3-0 they weren't even half way through their conference slate. Again, two games off the champion.

ULM 2009 at 3-0 still had five conference games to play and had beaten FAU, FIU, and Arkansas State who combined for 12-24(11-13) that's a slightly better resume, but with still five games to play, that is not "sniffing the title".

I could possible give you Louisiana 2008 as they started 4-0, so they were more than half way through their conference slate and finished just one game off from champ Troy, but the head to head 45 point drubbing at the hands of the Trojans makes it difficult to say they were really "sniffing the title".

Through 6 conference games in 2009 for ULM, they had only lost 1, which was the conference champion with 2 games left, if they took care of business they could have finished 7-1 in conference with the only loss to Troy, they were absolutely in the hunt with 2 games to go in the 2009 season, that is challenging for the title.

My point with the ASU teams is that at one point in the season, an argument could be made that they were the best team in the conference, ESPECIALLY in 2006 when they were the defending SBC champions, you'd have to believe they were the favorites halfway through the season. None of those teams won the title, but they were far from out of it which is a lot different than what you were making them out to be.

There's a colossal difference between "in the hunt at one point in the season"(especially with four or five games to play) and even "sniffing" a title, let alone contending for one.

You've got a whole lot of IFS and BUTS in everyone of your scenarios. The fact of the matter is, Louisiana 2006 was the only team that finished the season within a game of the champs. Furthermore, everyone one of those teams had at least three conference losses and two of them had four. In ten seasons, only twice(2005 and 2010) has the title been taken by team(s) with even two losses.

(10-16-2011 02:39 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  There's a colossal difference between "in the hunt at one point in the season"(especially with four or five games to play) and even "sniffing" a title, let alone contending for one.

You've got a whole lot of IFS and BUTS in everyone of your scenarios. The fact of the matter is, Louisiana 2006 was the only team that finished the season within a game of the champs. Furthermore, everyone one of those teams had at least three conference losses and two of them had four. In ten seasons, only twice(2005 and 2010) has the title been taken by team(s) with even two losses.

I guess that our definitions of sniffing the title are different. UNT hasn't sniffed a title since 2004, WKU hasn't sniffed a title, teams that aren't even competitive aren't sniffing the title, but teams that are favorites a decent ways in the season, especially ones that are still in the top 2 with 2 weeks to go (ULM and UL) should be considered "sniffing" the title. Thats my point.

(10-16-2011 02:54 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 02:39 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  There's a colossal difference between "in the hunt at one point in the season"(especially with four or five games to play) and even "sniffing" a title, let alone contending for one.

You've got a whole lot of IFS and BUTS in everyone of your scenarios. The fact of the matter is, Louisiana 2006 was the only team that finished the season within a game of the champs. Furthermore, everyone one of those teams had at least three conference losses and two of them had four. In ten seasons, only twice(2005 and 2010) has the title been taken by team(s) with even two losses.

I guess that our definitions of sniffing the title are different. UNT hasn't sniffed a title since 2004, WKU hasn't sniffed a title, teams that aren't even competitive aren't sniffing the title, but teams that are favorites a decent ways in the season, especially ones that are still in the top 2 with 2 weeks to go (ULM and UL) should be considered "sniffing" the title. Thats my point.

I think the fundamental difference is you're viewing things from the perspective of where they were in regards to the title at any one point in the season saying things like "they were 4-0, IF they could have kept rolling they would have won the title, BUT they faded down the stretch."

I view it more as when you look back at the end of the season, most of the times a team was in a good position after 3 or 4 games it was because they played and beat bad teams early in the season. Or in the case of Louisiana in 2008, they may have been close in record, but clearly when they got run off the field by Troy by 45 points, it's hard to argue they were ever really close. Could that game have gone another way was it played over? Maybe, but that's not how it works, the only time Louisiana played Troy that year they got dominated the Cajuns may have finished 2nd in conference that year, but when you get beaten by the champ by a margin like that, it's hard to argue that they could have won the title.

(10-16-2011 03:02 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 02:54 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  

(10-16-2011 02:39 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  There's a colossal difference between "in the hunt at one point in the season"(especially with four or five games to play) and even "sniffing" a title, let alone contending for one.

You've got a whole lot of IFS and BUTS in everyone of your scenarios. The fact of the matter is, Louisiana 2006 was the only team that finished the season within a game of the champs. Furthermore, everyone one of those teams had at least three conference losses and two of them had four. In ten seasons, only twice(2005 and 2010) has the title been taken by team(s) with even two losses.

I guess that our definitions of sniffing the title are different. UNT hasn't sniffed a title since 2004, WKU hasn't sniffed a title, teams that aren't even competitive aren't sniffing the title, but teams that are favorites a decent ways in the season, especially ones that are still in the top 2 with 2 weeks to go (ULM and UL) should be considered "sniffing" the title. Thats my point.

I think the fundamental difference is you're viewing things from the perspective of where they were in regards to the title at any one point in the season saying things like "they were 4-0, IF they could have kept rolling they would have won the title, BUT they faded down the stretch."

I view it more as when you look back at the end of the season, most of the times a team was in a good position after 3 or 4 games it was because they played and beat bad teams early in the season. Or in the case of Louisiana in 2008, they may have been close in record, but clearly when they got run off the field by Troy by 45 points, it's hard to argue they were ever really close. Could that game have gone another way was it played over? Maybe, but that's not how it works, the only time Louisiana played Troy that year they got dominated the Cajuns may have finished 2nd in conference that year, but when you get beaten by the champ by a margin like that, it's hard to argue that they could have won the title.

in 2008 the Cajuns all world running back and qb in Fenroy and Desormeaux were injured, not to mention we used practice squad LB's in the game. if the game were played 3 weeks earlier, it would have been VERY different. With that said, I think we're just gonna have to agree to disagree on this because our definitions are different on "sniffing" a title. Good luck this week against FAU, both teams will be fighting to prove themselves.