(12-27-2014 12:07 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  Which 4 MAC teams is Marshall facing OOC this year?

Purdue (at home)
Ohio
Kent State
FCS

(12-28-2014 12:40 PM)MU ATO Wrote:  Marshall will be the favorite to win CUSA again.

Probably, but I wouldn't be shocked to see WKU or La Tech favored to win the league either.

I can say with confidence, however, that it will not be us.

(12-28-2014 01:53 PM)Niner National Wrote:  

(12-28-2014 12:40 PM)MU ATO Wrote:  Marshall will be the favorite to win CUSA again.

Probably, but I wouldn't be shocked to see WKU or La Tech favored to win the league either.

I can say with confidence, however, that it will not be us.

Rice with a 5th year senior QB should not be overlooked.

My waaaayy too early pre-season ranking would be -

WKU
MT
Marshall
Rice
La Tech

Bailiff thinks the Owls can win it all next season and he may be right. Doc thinks we can be just as good or better than 2014 if the QB and Lines play well.

(12-29-2014 04:40 PM)SVHerd Wrote:  My waaaayy too early pre-season ranking would be -

WKU
MT
Marshall
Rice
La Tech

Bailiff thinks the Owls can win it all next season and he may be right. Doc thinks we can be just as good or better than 2014 if the QB and Lines play well.

While wku will have their qb again next year they need a secondary. Central Mich. showed what their flaw is in the fourth quarter and everyone will try to mimic that game. No way wku comes out first. It'll be Rice then La Tech, MT and even UTEP in the mix.

My ballot as of now (may chance drastically in spring ball as all of these are a shot in the dark)

1. WKU
2. Rice
3. Marshall
4. MT
5. FAU
6. UTEP
7. La Tech
8. ODU
9. USM
10. FIU
11. UTSA
12. UNT
13. Charlotte

All throwing darts at a wall until spring. 4 months and these conversations will contain much more substance.

(12-29-2014 04:45 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  

(12-29-2014 04:40 PM)SVHerd Wrote:  My waaaayy too early pre-season ranking would be -

WKU
MT
Marshall
Rice
La Tech

Bailiff thinks the Owls can win it all next season and he may be right. Doc thinks we can be just as good or better than 2014 if the QB and Lines play well.

While wku will have their qb again next year they need a secondary. Central Mich. showed what their flaw is in the fourth quarter and everyone will try to mimic that game. No way wku comes out first. It'll be Rice then La Tech, MT and even UTEP in the mix.

What happened to WKU was not because of some magic bullet flaw. Their defense sucked all year, was 122nd i think in the country giving up 40 pts a game.

But in that CMU game, it was the coaches that took their foot off the gas and played like idiots for the whole 4th qtr. WKU needs to get a new DC. It worked wonders for us. We were exactly like them in 2012. Its scary how similar they are to 2012 Marshall honestly. Thats why i put them #1 next season. That offense will maintain and the defense would be hard pressed not to improve. If they can get their pts allowed per game down by even 7-10 pts(not that big of a task) and maintain their offense, they will be in a position to win 9 or 10 games and the league if they don't get too many bad breaks and stay focused.

(12-29-2014 03:23 PM)mrbig Wrote:  

(12-28-2014 01:53 PM)Niner National Wrote:  

(12-28-2014 12:40 PM)MU ATO Wrote:  Marshall will be the favorite to win CUSA again.

Probably, but I wouldn't be shocked to see WKU or La Tech favored to win the league either.

I can say with confidence, however, that it will not be us.

Rice with a 5th year senior QB should not be overlooked.

And with a powerful defensive line. If Covington comes back, it may be our best DL in decades. Depth, experience, and power.

Top 4 teams (no order):
Marshall
WKU
Rice
La Tech

Those are my Top 4. I still think everything goes through Marshall in the East and Rice in the West. WKU and La Tech will be there close with WKU's offense and La Tech's D.

(12-29-2014 06:24 PM)CrushMI Wrote:  Top 4 teams (no order):
Marshall
WKU
Rice
La Tech
Those are my Top 4. I still think everything goes through Marshall in the East and Rice in the West. WKU and La Tech will be there close with WKU's offense and La Tech's D.

Way to go out on a limb there, picking the four bowl winners; or didn't you notice.

(12-29-2014 06:53 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(12-29-2014 06:24 PM)CrushMI Wrote:  Top 4 teams (no order):
Marshall
WKU
Rice
La Tech
Those are my Top 4. I still think everything goes through Marshall in the East and Rice in the West. WKU and La Tech will be there close with WKU's offense and La Tech's D.

Way to go out on a limb there, picking the four bowl winners; or didn't you notice.

I'll add FAU to the list for the 5 bowl reps....

I will say WKU needs to split its games against Vandy and Indiana. WKU usually drops it's share of conference games. WKU could easily be 1-3 in OOC...

(12-29-2014 07:05 PM)CrushMI Wrote:  

(12-29-2014 06:53 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(12-29-2014 06:24 PM)CrushMI Wrote:  Top 4 teams (no order):
Marshall
WKU
Rice
La Tech
Those are my Top 4. I still think everything goes through Marshall in the East and Rice in the West. WKU and La Tech will be there close with WKU's offense and La Tech's D.

Way to go out on a limb there, picking the four bowl winners; or didn't you notice.

I'll add FAU to the list for the 5 bowl reps....

I will say WKU needs to split its games against Vandy and Indiana. WKU usually drops it's share of conference games. WKU could easily be 1-3 in OOC...

Based on what I saw out of IU, VU and WKU, I'm betting you beat both of those teams.

(12-29-2014 06:17 PM)goherd24herdfans Wrote:  

(12-29-2014 04:45 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  

(12-29-2014 04:40 PM)SVHerd Wrote:  My waaaayy too early pre-season ranking would be -

WKU
MT
Marshall
Rice
La Tech

Bailiff thinks the Owls can win it all next season and he may be right. Doc thinks we can be just as good or better than 2014 if the QB and Lines play well.

While wku will have their qb again next year they need a secondary. Central Mich. showed what their flaw is in the fourth quarter and everyone will try to mimic that game. No way wku comes out first. It'll be Rice then La Tech, MT and even UTEP in the mix.

What happened to WKU was not because of some magic bullet flaw. Their defense sucked all year, was 122nd i think in the country giving up 40 pts a game.

But in that CMU game, it was the coaches that took their foot off the gas and played like idiots for the whole 4th qtr. WKU needs to get a new DC. It worked wonders for us. We were exactly like them in 2012. Its scary how similar they are to 2012 Marshall honestly. Thats why i put them #1 next season. That offense will maintain and the defense would be hard pressed not to improve. If they can get their pts allowed per game down by even 7-10 pts(not that big of a task) and maintain their offense, they will be in a position to win 9 or 10 games and the league if they don't get too many bad breaks and stay focused.

Our DC is not going anywhere next season, his son will be a senior and start and his other son is walking on...With him back not as optimistic, but they have to find a scheme that fits better with our players or change some guys position...We have to figure out our defense to have a chance to win the conference next season...All we need to do is go from 122nd to 80-90 ranked in defense to have a good season....

As far as our secondary, not sure where ollibaba has been, but our defense has sucked all season....The bowl game our offense did not help our defense with numerous 3 and outs....Our defense will eventually break if they are on the field that long, offense has to figure out how to play a whole game next season and not take our foot off the pedal and relax...

Our 2015 football season is going to suck goat balls.

1. La Tech
2 OOC games vs 2014 playoff contenders. (KSU & MSU) Capable of splitting those 2 games and running the rest of the table, if so that's best path for a CUSA team to the access bowl. MVP RB returning for Senior season locks them as top pick.
2. Rice
2 OOC vs former SWC opponents (UT & Baylor). If we can get the Horns while they're still down, and knock off the (ranked?) Bulldogs, Rice could battle WKU for the access bid Ina winner take all conference championship. Driphus Jackson has already won two bowl games vs. MWC teams, next year he's a senior and if he avoids injuries he could truly take the team to the next level.
3. WKU
Split 2 games with the SEC (LSU, Vandy), take care of business in CUSA, and the Toppers will definitely be in this conversation. The East should be up for grabs with Cato gone- but I give WKU the inside track.
4. UTSA
This team fell apart after a torrid start against UH and Arizona. I have them here partly because their entire OOC is vs teams ranked at some point in 2014. We know from last 2 years what they are capable of. With mostly new players, will this young team rise up to surprise a couple of unsuspecting OOC opponents? And even if not, they should be battle tested heading into conference play.
5. Marshall
Even with Cato gone, we expect them to be bowl eligible at the very least, and to contend for the division. I truly believe that Marshall would have deserved the Access bowl this year with one more win, and could earn it in 2015 with a 13-0 run against a stronger schedule and a P5 opponent. I don't expect them to be quite the same force this year, though.

(12-30-2014 12:17 PM)owl at the moon Wrote:  1. La Tech
2 OOC games vs 2014 playoff contenders. (KSU & MSU) Capable of splitting those 2 games and running the rest of the table, if so that's best path for a CUSA team to the access bowl. MVP RB returning for Senior season locks them as top pick.
2. Rice
2 OOC vs former SWC opponents (UT & Baylor). If we can get the Horns while they're still down, and knock off the (ranked?) Bulldogs, Rice could battle WKU for the access bid Ina winner take all conference championship. Driphus Jackson has already won two bowl games vs. MWC teams, next year he's a senior and if he avoids injuries he could truly take the team to the next level.
3. WKU
Split 2 games with the SEC (LSU, Vandy), take care of business in CUSA, and the Toppers will definitely be in this conversation. The East should be up for grabs with Cato gone- but I give WKU the inside track.
4. UTSA
This team fell apart after a torrid start against UH and Arizona. I have them here partly because their entire OOC is vs teams ranked at some point in 2014. We know from last 2 years what they are capable of. With mostly new players, will this young team rise up to surprise a couple of unsuspecting OOC opponents? And even if not, they should be battle tested heading into conference play.
5. Marshall
Even with Cato gone, we expect them to be bowl eligible at the very least, and to contend for the division. I truly believe that Marshall would have deserved the Access bowl this year with one more win, and could earn it in 2015 with a 13-0 run against a stronger schedule and a P5 opponent. I don't expect them to be quite the same force this year, though.

Very interesting.
2 curious things for me on your list. You cite La Tech as #1 because they return their RB, but Marshall returns their much more effective back and is 5th?

The other one is UTSA, which loses nearly all its starters. The battle tested theory sounds great, but it doesn't work in practice. Ala utsa 2014. I don't see how this team improves much next season. Maybe in 2 years, and i think Coker will get it done. But not next year after losing all those senior starters. I would pick utsa to win 3 games next season.

Others seem reasonable to me. This is purely dialogue, looking for a discussion to understand the deeper "why" if you will. Thanks

(12-29-2014 06:24 PM)CrushMI Wrote:  Top 4 teams (no order):
Marshall
WKU
Rice
La Tech

Those are my Top 4. I still think everything goes through Marshall in the East and Rice in the West. WKU and La Tech will be there close with WKU's offense and La Tech's D.

Two of these return their starting QBs. Two don't. When starting with a new QB, it could go great (LaTech) or poorly (UNT, UTSA).

Top 5, no order:

Marshall
Western Kentucky
UTEP
Rice
UNT

(12-30-2014 01:34 PM)goherd24herdfans Wrote:  

(12-30-2014 12:17 PM)owl at the moon Wrote:  1. La Tech
2 OOC games vs 2014 playoff contenders. (KSU & MSU) Capable of splitting those 2 games and running the rest of the table, if so that's best path for a CUSA team to the access bowl. MVP RB returning for Senior season locks them as top pick.
2. Rice
2 OOC vs former SWC opponents (UT & Baylor). If we can get the Horns while they're still down, and knock off the (ranked?) Bulldogs, Rice could battle WKU for the access bid Ina winner take all conference championship. Driphus Jackson has already won two bowl games vs. MWC teams, next year he's a senior and if he avoids injuries he could truly take the team to the next level.
3. WKU
Split 2 games with the SEC (LSU, Vandy), take care of business in CUSA, and the Toppers will definitely be in this conversation. The East should be up for grabs with Cato gone- but I give WKU the inside track.
4. UTSA
This team fell apart after a torrid start against UH and Arizona. I have them here partly because their entire OOC is vs teams ranked at some point in 2014. We know from last 2 years what they are capable of. With mostly new players, will this young team rise up to surprise a couple of unsuspecting OOC opponents? And even if not, they should be battle tested heading into conference play.
5. Marshall
Even with Cato gone, we expect them to be bowl eligible at the very least, and to contend for the division. I truly believe that Marshall would have deserved the Access bowl this year with one more win, and could earn it in 2015 with a 13-0 run against a stronger schedule and a P5 opponent. I don't expect them to be quite the same force this year, though.

Very interesting.
2 curious things for me on your list. You cite La Tech as #1 because they return their RB, but Marshall returns their much more effective back and is 5th?

The other one is UTSA, which loses nearly all its starters. The battle tested theory sounds great, but it doesn't work in practice. Ala utsa 2014. I don't see how this team improves much next season. Maybe in 2 years, and i think Coker will get it done. But not next year after losing all those senior starters. I would pick utsa to win 3 games next season.

Others seem reasonable to me. This is purely dialogue, looking for a discussion to understand the deeper "why" if you will. Thanks

We have a lot of good players coming back on O & D and the 5 guys that decided to skip school and miss the last 2 games has helped us out.

Our RSFR QB looked really good last summer and the coaches are very high on him and if he pans out we will be solid again next season and maybe we can play you'll in Ruston next year.

I'm not going to predict but give some insight into 2015 La Tech.

We are losing some impact players from 2014 but we should also improve in some areas.

Improved:
Offense line should be better with more depth than we have had in years.
TE and FB should be better this year.
WR a couple of redshirt freshman studs should see some playing time. Henderson will be the leagues most feared receiver.
Special teams because it can't get worse.

Down from 2014?
DL, LB and QB

DL should be fine but bates will be missed.

LB we are returning no starters but the backups got some playing time and should be good.

The biggest question is QB. If price or Higgins start, Holtz will be ultra conservative and that could cost a game or 3. Loved Sokol but he had at least 1 or 2 turnovers a game when tech opened the playbook.

We should be good next year but not picked to win the conference. We will have 1 or 2 WTF games so Bowl eligible is about as high as I can hope.