Do many GSU fans regret moving up? I feel like it was more fun under Erk and PJ bringing home national championships compared to playing in second rate bowl games.

I say this as a Rice fan (essentially a team that has historically sucked no matter the conference/era/level).

(12-16-2018 12:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Do many GSU fans regret moving up? I feel like it was more fun under Erk and PJ bringing home national championships compared to playing in second rate bowl games.

I say this as a Rice fan (essentially a team that has historically sucked no matter the conference/era/level).

Meh. You can still find a small piece of the fan base that will argue for FCS. Their argument has now shifted almost entirely to the unlikelihood that we will ever see playoffs in FBS in its current form. I myself would love to see a format where all conference champions plus a few at large teams make a playoff in FBS. It won’t happen anytime soon (if ever), but I can see a single G5 getting in guaranteed at some point. The FCS playoffs were fun and all, but I myself am glad we are now FBS. Both App and GaSouthern were not with like minded institutions in the Socon. GaSouthern has only been to the Alabama bowls. Ask again when we’ve been to all the Sunbelt bowls a bunch of times.

(12-15-2018 06:55 PM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  Not that I would want to go back program-wise, but I sure do miss games at old Fairfield Stadium and tailgating at Prindle Field. It was always fun to walk from the house to the stadium, buy tickets from the green caboose, and walk through the old musty concourse and watch the Herd play in their Green and Gold. LOL!

There’s something to be said for 1-AA football.

Old 1-AA football. Only NDSU and JMU are left.

(12-16-2018 12:40 AM)EagleNationRising Wrote:  

(12-16-2018 12:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Do many GSU fans regret moving up? I feel like it was more fun under Erk and PJ bringing home national championships compared to playing in second rate bowl games.

I say this as a Rice fan (essentially a team that has historically sucked no matter the conference/era/level).

Meh. You can still find a small piece of the fan base that will argue for FCS. Their argument has now shifted almost entirely to the unlikelihood that we will ever see playoffs in FBS in its current form. I myself would love to see a format where all conference champions plus a few at large teams make a playoff in FBS. It won’t happen anytime soon (if ever), but I can see a single G5 getting in guaranteed at some point. The FCS playoffs were fun and all, but I myself am glad we are now FBS. Both App and GaSouthern were not with like minded institutions in the Socon. GaSouthern has only been to the Alabama bowls. Ask again when we’ve been to all the Sunbelt bowls a bunch of times.

Not sure who there is left to play in FCS. If the old guard from the early 90's were there then it would make sense. However it would make more sense to expand the FBS playoffs and allow at least the two conference champions from the highest rated G5 conferences a spot. 8 teams would make sense and it would provide almost certainly competition in each round.

The Camellia Bowl tweeted out that Georgia Southern set a record for most tickets sold by one school in their (albeit short) history. Since a majority of our alums live around Atlanta, this trip was a breeze for them. Not a bad trip from Statesboro/Savannah either. GS fans are lucky that the Sun Belt has tie-ins in Montgomery, Orlando, and soon to be Myrtle Beach. Most fans have to travel cross country for their bowl game.

(12-16-2018 12:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Do many GSU fans regret moving up? I feel like it was more fun under Erk and PJ bringing home national championships compared to playing in second rate bowl games.

I say this as a Rice fan (essentially a team that has historically sucked no matter the conference/era/level).

I believe I can almost answer this the same way GA Southern fans will/would answer it since we came up from IAA, albeit it was 21 years ago.

The playoffs were fun but its like NDSU (now, they will most likely tie GA Southerns record for the most IAA championships, so what else is there to do for them in IAA) has accomplished everything they can there in IAA. And unlike Marshall, Appy State, GA Southern NDSU has no where to go. They are stuck in IAA.

Winning the IAA national championship was great but believe it or not finishing even in the top 25 at the end of the season was better.

Also not having to go play at VMI, Furman, ETSU or UTC was a plus. Their stadiums were woefully inadequate and usually understaffed. In all 4 stadiums they would routinely run out of food or drink by halftime and sometimes both.

(12-16-2018 07:42 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

(12-16-2018 12:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Do many GSU fans regret moving up? I feel like it was more fun under Erk and PJ bringing home national championships compared to playing in second rate bowl games.

I say this as a Rice fan (essentially a team that has historically sucked no matter the conference/era/level).

I believe I can almost answer this the same way GA Southern fans will/would answer it since we came up from IAA, albeit it was 21 years ago.

The playoffs were fun but its like NDSU (now, they will most likely tie GA Southerns record for the most IAA championships, so what else is there to do for them in IAA) has accomplished everything they can there in IAA. And unlike Marshall, Appy State, GA Southern NDSU has no where to go. They are stuck in IAA.

Winning the IAA national championship was great but believe it or not finishing even in the top 25 at the end of the season was better.

Also not having to go play at VMI, Furman, ETSU or UTC was a plus. Their stadiums were woefully inadequate and usually understaffed. In all 4 stadiums they would routinely run out of food or drink by halftime and sometimes both.

I agree with you. And if everyone is honest, if Marshall were to stay in 1-AA until, say 2002, IN MY OPINION...and not being arrogant or looking through green-tinted glasses... we had a really great chance at winning six 1-AA titles (96, 97, 98, 99, 01, 02 plus 1992 for a total of 7).

But what would have been the point? App could probably have done the same thing. NDSU is doing it now, but they are content being a BIG fish in a small pond. JMU turned down the Belt (DUMB DUMB DUMB). We had already had a perfect season. Can’t get better. Time to move up. And I am so glad we did.

(12-16-2018 12:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Do many GSU fans regret moving up? I feel like it was more fun under Erk and PJ bringing home national championships compared to playing in second rate bowl games.

I say this as a Rice fan (essentially a team that has historically sucked no matter the conference/era/level).

Not at all.

I mean, the excitement of the playoffs just can't be replicated by bowls, but that's not really what's all that important. The TV coverage of the subdivision used to really be pretty good, but it has slid down hill a lot in the last 15-20 years.

On top of that, it's just not the subdivision that it used to be. A lot of the programs that were powers in the 90s and 00s either left for FBS or just have administrations that don't seem to care about their programs anymore.

(12-16-2018 07:53 PM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  I agree with you. And if everyone is honest, if Marshall were to stay in 1-AA until, say 2002, IN MY OPINION...and not being arrogant or looking through green-tinted glasses... we had a really great chance at winning six 1-AA titles (96, 97, 98, 99, 01, 02 plus 1992 for a total of 7).

Even the 6-5 team in 2000 won the MAC East with a tiebreaker over Akron. That team would have easily went 8-3 or 9-2 in the SoCon and made the playoffs. Most likely going to the quarters or semi-finals.

Could you imagine Rakeem Cato with his weapons of Tommy Shuler, Demetrius Evans, Antavious Wilson, Craig Wilkins, Eric Frohnapfel, Gator Hoskins, Kevin Grooms, Stewart Butler and Remi Watson (2012 Group, not 2014) playing in the SoCon. That group would have rivaled our 1996 team.

(12-16-2018 09:17 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

(12-16-2018 07:53 PM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  I agree with you. And if everyone is honest, if Marshall were to stay in 1-AA until, say 2002, IN MY OPINION...and not being arrogant or looking through green-tinted glasses... we had a really great chance at winning six 1-AA titles (96, 97, 98, 99, 01, 02 plus 1992 for a total of 7).

Even the 6-5 team in 2000 won the MAC East with a tiebreaker over Akron. That team would have easily went 8-3 or 9-2 in the SoCon and made the playoffs. Most likely going to the quarters or semi-finals.

Could you imagine Rakeem Cato with his weapons of Tommy Shuler, Demetrius Evans, Antavious Wilson, Craig Wilkins, Eric Frohnapfel, Gator Hoskins, Kevin Grooms, Stewart Butler and Remi Watson (2012 Group, not 2014) playing in the SoCon. That group would have rivaled our 1996 team.

Mapping those players into FCS sounds great and all, but what is the likelihood that you actually would have landed all of those guys as an FCS school? Thats why NDSU is curb stomping people right now. They only have to compete against FBS Minnesota and a few other FCS schools which they can usually win against because of who they are. Minus the fact that they are likely STUCK forever in FCS because of location, they are in a really good position.

(12-16-2018 11:38 PM)EagleNationRising Wrote:  Mapping those players into FCS sounds great and all, but what is the likelihood that you actually would have landed all of those guys as an FCS school? Thats why NDSU is curb stomping people right now. They only have to compete against FBS Minnesota and a few other FCS schools which they can usually win against because of who they are. Minus the fact that they are likely STUCK forever in FCS because of location, they are in a really good position.

Let's see here Cato's only other offer was FIU which he was committed to at 1st. Tommy Shuler committed to Marshall almost after signing day in 2010 and stuck with the commitment and is the reason Cato changed his commit. Demetrius Evans only other offers were Bethune–Cookman and Florida AM, Eric Frohnapfel was once committed to WVU but when his twin brother Blake committed to Marshall and Eric seen that Holgerson at WVU didn't use a TE except for blocking he changed his commit to Marshall. Blake played in a WingT in HS and Marshall was his only offer. He would have also been a 4 year starter had we not had Cato.

The only ones in that list that may have been unattainable is Gator, Grooms and Butler. Gator was a TE that Urban Myer was looking at while he was still at FL but he had no room for him so he contacted Doc and told him about him. But then again Grooms and Butler would have had to go Juco, they were both NQers.

Just take a look at the talent that Jim Donnan stacked up at Marshall in the 5 years he was there (1990-95). His recruiting is the reason we were so dominate in IA right off the bat.