(12-21-2017 11:10 AM)baruna falls Wrote:  

(12-21-2017 10:58 AM)Dawgxas Wrote:  That’s hilarious!

I was actually really surprised with the lack of speed on SMU. Sonny is going have to pull some recruiting magic off

Even on ESPN radio this morning they were talking about how Smu players really did not show up or care they were playing La Tech.
La Techwon their super Bowl in the only Espn game they played all year lol.

That doesn’t explain the lack of speed and size on the SMU team. Did all their big fast athletic players transfer out too? Yes I know, Sutton is big receiver.

I saw Mississippi State early this year and the difference between P5 and G5 players is astounding

(12-20-2017 09:34 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:20 PM)fanhood Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:13 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:12 PM)GSUALUM17 Wrote:  Oh my....a team from the mighty Power 6 Conference getting embarrassed by a very average G4 team.

(12-20-2017 09:02 PM)pesik Wrote:  in b4 the g4 fans come storming in.

im sure theyll ignore smu's coach left and the interim quit 2 weeks ago when he wasnt given the full time job...and smu is currently being coached by dykes (their new coach) in a system he knows nothing about because 2 weeks is too quick to teach a new system

Certainly, the factors/excuses you laid out are valid. I agree with you. This game would be different if SMU had their staff.

However, what you will never acknowledge is that there is not much difference regarding the talent level of La Tech and SMU, or FIU and Temple, or UCONN and USM, or Marshall and Houston.......

becuase there is a talent difference... id take smu by 20 with morris ..

you can look at recruiting rankings, to see the talent difference...smu could have 3 wr drafted in the first 5 rounds this year...if they wanted, as none of them are seniors. smu is talent rich....but talent is only as good as the coach, and right now the coach doesnt know know any of them

usm and uconn have similar talent (usm probably has more) .....

the other 3 arent close.

but talent is only a small part of the equation...fsu is dramatically more talented than every team they play but lost to half of them this season

And you would have lost that bet dearly. SMU just isn't big enough and fast enough to play with LA Tech. The Mustangs --who I respect as a program-- were just too small & slow. I attended the Frisco Bowl last night, and it was very obvious from the start that LA Tech's players were bigger, stronger and much faster than SMU's. It wasn't even close. SMU was overwhelmed. Even SMU's new Head Coach Sonny Dykes, was quoted saying so after the game.

No disrespect intended to SMU, but they need to recruit bigger and faster players, if they are going to compete with LA Tech and the mid to upper level CUSA and AAC programs. Because right now, they just don't have 'em. The good news is, Sonny Dykes (a former LA Tech head coach) can and likely will load up on JUCO's quickly, which should bring SMU some much needed size and speed.

(12-20-2017 09:45 PM)Dawgxas Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:34 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:20 PM)fanhood Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:13 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:12 PM)GSUALUM17 Wrote:  Oh my....a team from the mighty Power 6 Conference getting embarrassed by a very average G4 team.

(12-20-2017 09:02 PM)pesik Wrote:  in b4 the g4 fans come storming in.

im sure theyll ignore smu's coach left and the interim quit 2 weeks ago when he wasnt given the full time job...and smu is currently being coached by dykes (their new coach) in a system he knows nothing about because 2 weeks is too quick to teach a new system

Certainly, the factors/excuses you laid out are valid. I agree with you. This game would be different if SMU had their staff.

However, what you will never acknowledge is that there is not much difference regarding the talent level of La Tech and SMU, or FIU and Temple, or UCONN and USM, or Marshall and Houston.......

becuase there is a talent difference... id take smu by 20 with morris ..

you can look at recruiting rankings, to see the talent difference...smu could have 3 wr drafted in the first 5 rounds this year...if they wanted, as none of them are seniors. smu is talent rich....but talent is only as good as the coach, and right now the coach doesnt know know any of them

usm and uconn have similar talent (usm probably has more) .....

the other 3 arent close.

but talent is only a small part of the equation...fsu is dramatically more talented than every team they play but lost to half of them this season

Tech has had the most draft picks for a G5 school the last 3 years. More than Houston, there goes your theory Pesik

I know....that Pesik guy acts totally clueless about talent and personnel. He acts like he has no clue that LA Tech had 3 players drafted just this past April. Of course, it's that same kind of ignorance that caused SMU to get their tail stomped last night.

(12-21-2017 10:58 AM)MechaKnight Wrote:  SMU's 6 losses were...

by 20 to #15 TCU (10-3)
by 7 to #12 UCF (12-0)
by 21 to #20 Memphis (10-2)
by 13 to Houston (7-4)
by 3 to Navy (6-6)
by 41 to Louisiana Tech (7-6)



SMU's performance against LT was absolutely impacted by the loss of their coach & interim coach. Maybe LT still would have won with Morris at SMU, but it wouldn't have been by 41.

If two questionable decisions go the other way in the Tulane and Tulsa game then SMU is a 5-7 team with just one win over a team with a winning record....Arkansas made a really bad hire in Chad Morris...

(12-21-2017 10:32 AM)fanhood Wrote:  

(12-21-2017 10:20 AM)coogrfan Wrote:  

(12-21-2017 10:04 AM)Comet Wrote:  Had we had some sense of coaching continuity this would have been a decent win.

We went thru the same thing last year in the Las Vegas bowl. Not fun.

I agree. Not having Tom Herman watching from the sidelines, caused Greg Ward to be confused and rattled, and ensured that the UH offensive line could not block SDSUs front seven.

Wasnt SDSU behind at the half? What I remember is the SDSU staff making great halftime adjustments with the Coogs staff having zero idea how to respond once their prepared game plan was disrupted. Applewhite had been able to talk to Ward from the booth after every series to discuss what to look for next series. As an HC, Applewhite was unavailable and a GA was in the booth. I doubt that helped Ward...but who knows, maybe he just had a bad day—that sometimes happens as well. Ward had a really bad outing against Tulane a few years ago—it’s part of the game.

As for the game against Fresno. Who knows? After a full season I still have no idea what to expect from this team from week to week. They could blow out Fresno or get blown out. Neither result would really surprise me.

(12-21-2017 11:24 AM)dirtydanchez Wrote:  

(12-21-2017 10:58 AM)MechaKnight Wrote:  SMU's 6 losses were...

by 20 to #15 TCU (10-3)
by 7 to #12 UCF (12-0)
by 21 to #20 Memphis (10-2)
by 13 to Houston (7-4)
by 3 to Navy (6-6)
by 41 to Louisiana Tech (7-6)



SMU's performance against LT was absolutely impacted by the loss of their coach & interim coach. Maybe LT still would have won with Morris at SMU, but it wouldn't have been by 41.

If two questionable decisions go the other way in the Tulane and Tulsa game then SMU is a 5-7 team with just one win over a team with a winning record....Arkansas made a really bad hire in Chad Morris...

You could be right. The Arkansas hire was definitely a head scratcher to me, but I'm just glad they didn't get our coach.

(12-21-2017 11:24 AM)dirtydanchez Wrote:  

(12-21-2017 10:58 AM)MechaKnight Wrote:  SMU's 6 losses were...

by 20 to #15 TCU (10-3)
by 7 to #12 UCF (12-0)
by 21 to #20 Memphis (10-2)
by 13 to Houston (7-4)
by 3 to Navy (6-6)
by 41 to Louisiana Tech (7-6)



SMU's performance against LT was absolutely impacted by the loss of their coach & interim coach. Maybe LT still would have won with Morris at SMU, but it wouldn't have been by 41.

If two questionable decisions go the other way in the Tulane and Tulsa game then SMU is a 5-7 team with just one win over a team with a winning record....Arkansas made a really bad hire in Chad Morris...

Ehh—SMU was a train wreck when he got there. He made them respectable very quickly and they immediately looked like a June Jones team as soon as he left. He’s a pretty good coach—but more importantly for Arkansas—he’s got a strong Texas recruiting background. That should help them upgrade their talent level.

SMU hired their version of Tommy Tubberville.

The Benjamin Button of Coaching.

(12-20-2017 09:56 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:45 PM)Dawgxas Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:34 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:20 PM)fanhood Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:13 PM)pesik Wrote:  

Certainly, the factors/excuses you laid out are valid. I agree with you. This game would be different if SMU had their staff.

However, what you will never acknowledge is that there is not much difference regarding the talent level of La Tech and SMU, or FIU and Temple, or UCONN and USM, or Marshall and Houston.......

becuase there is a talent difference... id take smu by 20 with morris ..

you can look at recruiting rankings, to see the talent difference...smu could have 3 wr drafted in the first 5 rounds this year...if they wanted, as none of them are seniors. smu is talent rich....but talent is only as good as the coach, and right now the coach doesnt know know any of them

usm and uconn have similar talent (usm probably has more) .....

the other 3 arent close.

but talent is only a small part of the equation...fsu is dramatically more talented than every team they play but lost to half of them this season

Tech has had the most draft picks for a G5 school the last 3 years. More than Houston, there goes your theory Pesik

we both had 6.
if you are going to try and call me out, atleast use real stats
and la tech has some talent, i never denied that, but top to bottom smu is much deeper..

thats why i just named one position group...everyone in smu wr line up includes 2 WR that are projected top 3 rounds this year (as juniors), a 3rd if he declared would be a 6th rounder

there are like 8 4star players on smu.. smu has top to bottom talent...and they are young...if morris had stayed, and the players dont declare, smu would have likely been a top 25 caliber team next year

FWIW BSU had 6 the last 3 years as well. And only loses 3 starters for next year.

(12-21-2017 11:17 AM)HogDawg Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:34 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:20 PM)fanhood Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:13 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 09:12 PM)GSUALUM17 Wrote:  Oh my....a team from the mighty Power 6 Conference getting embarrassed by a very average G4 team.

(12-20-2017 09:02 PM)pesik Wrote:  in b4 the g4 fans come storming in.

im sure theyll ignore smu's coach left and the interim quit 2 weeks ago when he wasnt given the full time job...and smu is currently being coached by dykes (their new coach) in a system he knows nothing about because 2 weeks is too quick to teach a new system

Certainly, the factors/excuses you laid out are valid. I agree with you. This game would be different if SMU had their staff.

However, what you will never acknowledge is that there is not much difference regarding the talent level of La Tech and SMU, or FIU and Temple, or UCONN and USM, or Marshall and Houston.......

becuase there is a talent difference... id take smu by 20 with morris ..

you can look at recruiting rankings, to see the talent difference...smu could have 3 wr drafted in the first 5 rounds this year...if they wanted, as none of them are seniors. smu is talent rich....but talent is only as good as the coach, and right now the coach doesnt know know any of them

usm and uconn have similar talent (usm probably has more) .....

the other 3 arent close.

but talent is only a small part of the equation...fsu is dramatically more talented than every team they play but lost to half of them this season

And you would have lost that bet dearly. SMU just isn't big enough and fast enough to play with LA Tech. The Mustangs --who I respect as a program-- were just too small & slow. I attended the Frisco Bowl last night, and it was very obvious from the start that LA Tech's players were bigger, stronger and much faster than SMU's. It wasn't even close. SMU was overwhelmed. Even SMU's new Head Coach Sonny Dykes, was quoted saying so after the game.

No disrespect intended to SMU, but they need to recruit bigger and faster players, if they are going to compete with LA Tech and the mid to upper level CUSA and AAC programs. Because right now, they just don't have 'em. The good news is, Sonny Dykes (a former LA Tech head coach) can and likely will load up on JUCO's quickly, which should bring SMU some much needed size and speed.

Um they easily beat North Texas the Cusa Champs in West. Let’s be honest La Tech and the rest of Cusa gets no exposure during year so when they get chance to play on ESPN they treat it like its an incredible opportunity and want to prove themselves especially because they were not chosen for AAC. Just look at regular season G5 win loss record and that will tell you everything about the Superiority of the AAC. Look at how many Cusa posters are here after the game of the year of the year of La Tech.

Also not buying the speed and size difference when people are playing poorly every one looks bigger and faster.

The game reminded me so much of the 2012 Compass Bowl. Pittsburgh came in favored over SMU, but Todd Graham abruptly resigned via text leaving Pitt to name an interim coach for the bowl. You could see in the player's eyes, body language, and interviews leading up to the game that this was not going to end well. SMU cruised to a 28-6 win - looking "bigger and faster" at almost every position.

Tech kicked our butt - no doubt about that. They came ready to play, taking advantage of every mistake. And there were plenty.

I put all the blame on the coaching staff now in Arkansas, who are obviously so very committed to the fine young men they recruited to play for SMU. They left at the very worst time, and created far more distraction and dissension than necessary. The team last night needed leadership. It needed confidence, and that does not come from GA's pretending to be Offensive Coordinators. It needed a complete coaching staff, and even that likely would not have been enough with the chaos sown by Morris and his merry men.

(12-21-2017 12:19 PM)Kandy Atz Wrote:  The game reminded me so much of the 2012 Compass Bowl. Pittsburgh came in favored over SMU, but Todd Graham abruptly resigned via text leaving Pitt to name an interim coach for the bowl. You could see in the player's eyes, body language, and interviews leading up to the game that this was not going to end well. SMU cruised to a 28-6 win - looking "bigger and faster" at almost every position.

Tech kicked our butt - no doubt about that. They came ready to play, taking advantage of every mistake. And there were plenty.

I put all the blame on the coaching staff now in Arkansas, who are obviously so very committed to the fine young men they recruited to play for SMU. They left at the very worst time, and created far more distraction and dissension than necessary. The team last night needed leadership. It needed confidence, and that does not come from GA's pretending to be Offensive Coordinators. It needed a complete coaching staff, and even that likely would not have been enough with the chaos sown by Morris and his merry men.

Yeah, the G4s over here rejoicing over that debacle don't realize it shows exactly why the AAC is ahead of them. Our coaches keep getting poached and it shows in bowl season, but not regular season where the AAC dominates the stats vs the G4 matchups. The prettiest girl is always hated by the ugly ones.

(12-21-2017 12:26 PM)ultraviolet Wrote:  

(12-21-2017 12:19 PM)Kandy Atz Wrote:  The game reminded me so much of the 2012 Compass Bowl. Pittsburgh came in favored over SMU, but Todd Graham abruptly resigned via text leaving Pitt to name an interim coach for the bowl. You could see in the player's eyes, body language, and interviews leading up to the game that this was not going to end well. SMU cruised to a 28-6 win - looking "bigger and faster" at almost every position.

Tech kicked our butt - no doubt about that. They came ready to play, taking advantage of every mistake. And there were plenty.

I put all the blame on the coaching staff now in Arkansas, who are obviously so very committed to the fine young men they recruited to play for SMU. They left at the very worst time, and created far more distraction and dissension than necessary. The team last night needed leadership. It needed confidence, and that does not come from GA's pretending to be Offensive Coordinators. It needed a complete coaching staff, and even that likely would not have been enough with the chaos sown by Morris and his merry men.

Yeah, the G4s over here rejoicing over that debacle don't realize it shows exactly why the AAC is ahead of them. Our coaches keep getting poached and it shows in bowl season, but not regular season where the AAC dominates the stats vs the G4 matchups. The prettiest girl is always hated by the ugly ones.

There sure are a lot of grenades in the CUSA.

(12-21-2017 10:58 AM)MechaKnight Wrote:  SMU's 6 losses were...

SMU looked wea/ slow vs LA-Tech, Tech just looked like it had way better athletes, like FAU did vs Akron. Coaching has nothing to do with that.

If this game was a close, tactical battle that came down to stuff like halftime adjustments, ball control, clock management, and critical go for it or punt decisions, then sure, coaching would be an issue.

But last night was just a bunch of comparative men rampaging over boys. Good luck coaching through that.

And remember, LA-Tech doesn't have Bill Belichick, it has Skip Holtz.

so I looked it, since the AAC became the 6th power conference:

32-71 vs the other P6s
15-12 vs CUSA

meanwhile since then:

CUSA 23-118 vs the P6s (includes a 12-15 mark against the AAC)

Looks as if the AAC continues to grow into the 6th best league and pull away from the G4. For crying out loud, 6th place AAC trucked CUSA champ Fla Atl this year. I cant imagine what Memphis or UCF would do to them.

(12-21-2017 12:44 PM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  so I looked it, since the AAC became the 6th power conference:

32-71 vs the other P6s
15-12 vs CUSA

meanwhile since then:

CUSA 23-118 vs the P6s (includes a 12-15 mark against the AAC)

Looks as if the AAC continues to grow into the 6th best league and pull away from the G4. For crying out loud, 6th place AAC trucked CUSA champ Fla Atl this year. I cant imagine what Memphis or UCF would do to them.

7th place UB from the MAC beat FAU. FAU then beat the 5th best MAC team by 47. They are a different team now. All of those transfers gelled by November.

(12-20-2017 03:39 PM)8BitPirate Wrote:  On ESPN at 8pm.

Changed thread title to reflect

I was at the game last night and before the end of the first quarter I knew it was game over. As some have stated, Louisiana Tech took advantage of an unfortunate situation at SMU much like SMU took advantage of an unfortunate situation at Pitt several years ago. That does not take away the deserved victory for La Tech. I think La Tech is a solid team. However, there is no denying that SMU was without its coaching staff. If you don't think coaching matters then please explain why Texas A&M just gave Jimbo Fisher a $75 million contract. I believe the betting line for this game was SMU as a 5 point favorite. With both teams at full strength that appears to be a solid prediction. Keep in mind the first 3 possessions of the game were SMU turnovers that gave La Tech great field position and led to TDs. SMU was great on offense all season, but our defense was terrible. We knew we were going to have our defense scored on, but no one can reasonably expect 3 consecutive turnovers to give points on the first 3 possessions. Without continuity at the offensive side of the ball SMU panicked after each of the 3 turnovers and never got into the game. It's not like La Tech blew away our defense. Take away those 3 turnovers and La Tech scores 30 points against SMU, which would be very reasonable for an SMU victory. Unfortunately, without our offensive staff we were unable to mount any sort of sustained drive and got beat. La Tech may very well have won anyway, but to say this game is an indictment on the American or says anything about the overall strength of the two conferences is laughable.

One factor that is being overlooked in comparing AAC vs CUSA is the regional rivalries. Bowl games are not necessarily even matchups. However if a conference is superior that usually shows in regional matchups.
UCF/USF v FAU/FIU
SMU v UNT
Houston v Rice
Tulane v La Tech
Memphis v Middle Tennessee State
East Carolina v Charlotte

I think it is safe to say that aside from Louisiana Tech, the American dominates these regional matchups. I think CUSA has a couple of good teams but overall is not nearly as strong as the American. The Mountain West looks to have the body of teams that can contend with the American but lacks the top heaviness of the American the last few years where we have had at least 3 teams in the top 25.

(12-21-2017 12:49 PM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  

(12-21-2017 12:44 PM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  so I looked it, since the AAC became the 6th power conference:

32-71 vs the other P6s
15-12 vs CUSA

meanwhile since then:

CUSA 23-118 vs the P6s (includes a 12-15 mark against the AAC)

Looks as if the AAC continues to grow into the 6th best league and pull away from the G4. For crying out loud, 6th place AAC trucked CUSA champ Fla Atl this year. I cant imagine what Memphis or UCF would do to them.

7th place UB from the MAC beat FAU. FAU then beat the 5th best MAC team by 47. They are a different team now. All of those transfers gelled by November.

You just made the argument making last night's game irrelevant. SMU was undeniably a different team last night without its coaching staff. See how we can cherry pick facts too?

(12-21-2017 12:34 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-21-2017 10:58 AM)MechaKnight Wrote:  SMU's 6 losses were...

SMU looked wea/ slow vs LA-Tech, Tech just looked like it had way better athletes, like FAU did vs Akron. Coaching has nothing to do with that.

If this game was a close, tactical battle that came down to stuff like halftime adjustments, ball control, clock management, and critical go for it or punt decisions, then sure, coaching would be an issue.

But last night was just a bunch of comparative men rampaging over boys. Good luck coaching through that.

And remember, LA-Tech doesn't have Bill Belichick, it has Skip Holtz.

Go to Big East board.