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Boise has averaged 10 wins over the last TWENTY seasons and thats just insane regardless of conference. they beat P5 teams almost every year in that stretch, plus some very high profile wins. nobody makes more of them than they are, but what they are is just very solid.

louisville peaked at the right time and were way ahead of the curve facilities-wise. we were ahead of the c-usa curve facilities wise with varsity village which was huge for getting us into the BE, but left us cash strapped when the next round of realignment came only 7 years later. in those years we finished VV and continued making improvements adding sheakley and the bubble, but didnt address revenue generation until it was too late. a big reason for that was nippert being so landlocked it took longer to figure things out. we never stopped improving, but when our peers switched from c-usa to BE, there was much tougher competition for life rafts. as pointed out previously, had a few things gone different (i'd even add our epic letdown of just 44 points in the BE tourny finals loss to louisville in 2012) our win column would have been enough to overcome facilities and revenue.

we've been underrated because the big east was constantly underrated, which has already been talked about. what hasnt been mentioned is much of that lack of respect was caused in large part by espn who controls the vast majority of sports news and can make or break an image. they had an absolute steal on the BE contract and had no interest in growing the BE profile which would force them to pay more. they liked keeping us in our place. they then led the dismantling of the BE when we looked to get our fair pay elsewhere.

overall i'd say our reputation is about fair, but we're very underpaid. the real shame is how many P5 programs are absolute garbage but get grandfathered into p5 conferences despite bringing very little to the modern table.

Generating higher level talent in a conference must not really be much of a factor in being admitted to the P5 money show. I have always believed that was one of the greatest assets we could bring. If UC joins the ACC, Big 12 or even the SEC, local talent would commit at a higher level to UC and their new conference mates. This would draw talent away from the Big 10 positioning the conference for better results in head to head matchups with the Big 10 or even in the college football playoff. Also, recruiting more Ohio, KY and Indiana kids draws more eyeballs or games and takes them off of Big 10 play. One thing I know for sure is that if we were given the chance, we would succeed. Just look at what happened in the Big East.

All that said, we do need some signature wins when everyone is watching. For me, Boise earned credibility with that Oklahoma win. Everyone was buzzing following that. An occasional win over Va Tech isn’t enough for people to get jazzed about us. Beating an Ohio State or Notre Dame if they are ranked in the top 5 could maybe start to generate a buzz for us.

(07-27-2019 06:06 AM)iBinturong Wrote:  Generating higher level talent in a conference must not really be much of a factor in being admitted to the P5 money show. I have always believed that was one of the greatest assets we could bring. If UC joins the ACC, Big 12 or even the SEC, local talent would commit at a higher level to UC and their new conference mates. This would draw talent away from the Big 10 positioning the conference for better results in head to head matchups with the Big 10 or even in the college football playoff. Also, recruiting more Ohio, KY and Indiana kids draws more eyeballs or games and takes them off of Big 10 play. One thing I know for sure is that if we were given the chance, we would succeed. Just look at what happened in the Big East.

All that said, we do need some signature wins when everyone is watching. For me, Boise earned credibility with that Oklahoma win. Everyone was buzzing following that. An occasional win over Va Tech isn’t enough for people to get jazzed about us. Beating an Ohio State or Notre Dame if they are ranked in the top 5 could maybe start to generate a buzz for us.

Great points. We're starting to realize an uptick in recruiting despite not being part of a P5. Credit to Coach Fick and his Staff.
I can only imagine what that would be if we were in a top conference. With our upgrades/renovations to major facilities box checked, we have to win some big games to create the "buzz" on a national level. Guess what, we have some opportunities this year:

8/29 UCLA - Prime time game and eyes will be watching with the start of the college football season underway. IMO, this is a MUST game that we have to win at home to start the season on the right note. I gosh dern guarantee Chip Kelly will have his boys ready to play after we beat them at their house last year. There is no "sneaking" up on them and I believe they had several starters last year suspended or injured.

09/7 Ohio State - The goal is to come out of there playing the Bucks tough and not getting blown out. You're talking about "lightning strike" rarity of Ohio State losing in the Shoe so we need to make it a game to get national respect.

10/4 UCF - This game will get the hype. You know, Cincinnati will try to knock the defending champs off their perch and make a stake for the claim of the AAC East Crown type stuff. This is a MUST game if we want to win the East. No excuses. At our place. You want something? You have to go get it.

10/12 @Houston
11/23 Temple
11/29 @Memphis

IMO, we need to take 2 of 3 of these games and the Temple home game is a MUST win. I have a feeling the Houston game will get some national buzz assuming both teams are in the thick of the conference divisional races. Dana Holgie will get coverage also for leaving WVU to come to Houston. Much like our former coach.

12/7 AAC Conference Chip Game - Does it get any bigger than this?

12/28 Cotton Bowl - Yes, it just got bigger.

Will we get to the Cotton Bowl? Don't know but we have a better shot this year than in prior years of getting it done on the big stage. I'm just thankful that we have this opportunity.

We’re not going to beat tO$U. We’re going to blow them out.

(07-28-2019 10:18 AM)Dannyboy Wrote:  We’re not going to beat tO$U. We’re going to blow them out.

Herman Goering also said that no bombs would ever fall on Germany.

Yeah? Well I bet that German sumbitch couldn’t properly prepare for Coach Freeman’s defense.

(07-28-2019 01:44 PM)Dannyboy Wrote:  Yeah? Well I bet that German sumbitch couldn’t properly prepare for Coach Freeman’s defense.

True

You mention the need to win big games but settle for keeping it close against osu in a transition year. Either we need to win big games or not. Keeping it close gains us nothing. It’s the exact type of game we have to start winning to gain the respect we want. Boise didn’t get hyped for keeping things close with Oklahoma, and neither did we. They beat them and we didn’t. We have to stop setting such low expectations.

(07-28-2019 04:06 PM)cincy7718 Wrote:  You mention the need to win big games but settle for keeping it close against osu in a transition year. Either we need to win big games or not. Keeping it close gains us nothing. It’s the exact type of game we have to start winning to gain the respect we want. Boise didn’t get hyped for keeping things close with Oklahoma, and neither did we. They beat them and we didn’t. We have to stop setting such low expectations.

I hear ya but Im being realistic here. This isnt playing Ohio State on a neutral field in a bowl game. Boyzee was also ranked 9th and Okie was 7th when they played in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Someone else with the time can do the research but Ohio State just doesn't lose at home very often. We can gain some respect by keeping the game close vs getting our ass handed to us. A win would be incredible but not likely. The goal is not Ohio State. The goal is getting to a NY6 Bowl Game and winning it.

(07-28-2019 04:37 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(07-28-2019 04:06 PM)cincy7718 Wrote:  You mention the need to win big games but settle for keeping it close against osu in a transition year. Either we need to win big games or not. Keeping it close gains us nothing. It’s the exact type of game we have to start winning to gain the respect we want. Boise didn’t get hyped for keeping things close with Oklahoma, and neither did we. They beat them and we didn’t. We have to stop setting such low expectations.

I hear ya but Im being realistic here. This isnt playing Ohio State on a neutral field in a bowl game. Boyzee was also ranked 9th and Okie was 7th when they played in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Someone else with the time can do the research but Ohio State just doesn't lose at home very often. We can gain some respect by keeping the game close vs getting our ass handed to us. A win would be incredible but not likely. The goal is not Ohio State. The goal is getting to a NY6 Bowl Game and winning it.

I looked it up, and they have only lost a dozen times at homes in the past twenty years. Half of those losses were in “lean” years- 2000 and 2001 (John Cooper’s last year and Tressell’s first and Coach Fick’s interim gig in 2011. Don’t forget we will likely have B10 officials who grew up Buckeye fans to contend with.

I understand you’re being realistic about our chances of winning. But the discussion was about gaining respect. Keeping the game close won’t improve our reputation. Beating a UCLA team coming off a 3-9 season won’t either. And the AAC is not respected so none of those games will do it either. We have one chance this season for our program to make a statement and it has to be a win. Can still have a great season without it, but it won’t improve our rep by beating other underrated teams.

(07-25-2019 08:18 AM)Def Berkkat Wrote:  

(07-25-2019 07:08 AM)chatcat Wrote:  What? No Looseville?

But... But... it was their football prowess that was SO attractive to the ACC.

It was their MBB program.

Here's an interesting article:

https://www.hustlebelt.com/2019/2/6/1820...power-five

and another one:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footba...-34-years/

and probably the most interesting one:

https://theathletic.com/1090554/2019/07/...alignment/