(05-27-2021 07:34 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Why we don't try to play the 2 SEC Mississippi schools more is a mystery.

You forgot the 2013 Liberty Bowl?

(05-26-2021 11:29 PM)Ricefootballnet Wrote:  

(02-13-2021 07:36 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(02-12-2021 09:24 AM)Ricefootballnet Wrote:  Well, it’s been a while, but as I recall, they had a negative opinion of him said they’d be much better off without him.and felt like that they were just going to take the rest of the season up on their own shoulders. They were one and six at the time with only a win over VMI. First game after Hagan, they beat A&M 7 to 6 in Rice Stadium. Mike Spruill SWC player of the week. Then they lost 21-17to a Norm Bulaich-led TCU team in Fort Worth, and then finished the season beating Baylor badly at Rice. Self-vindication.

RFN, I think you are conflating the 1969 and 1970 seasons. The 1969 team was 1-6, and then beat aTm, lost to TCU, and blew out Baylor. But Bo left the following year, in 1970. That team was 2-5 when his termination was announced. The team decided they would be much better off without him, took the rest of the season on their own shoulders, and beat aTm 18-17, TCU 17-15, and Baylor 28-23, to finish 5-5. I worked with BOT for several years, and we have discussed this story a few times over the years.
One sort of quirky thing about the 1970 season is that in 5 of the first 6 games, the losing team failed to score.

69/70/75, I just stumbled across this. You were absolutely right it was ‘70. That means Jack Laurenzo could not have been in that training table group, as he had left Rice after two years. And Spruill’s back of the week honors did come in the previous year. I remember we put up a big cartoon poster taped to the front of his Lovett college room that said “Aggie killer“. Picture of Mike with the poster on the front page of Chronicle sports the next day. Great fun. Different year. But I think the rest of the story pretty well holds.

The rest of the story is entirely consistent with my understanding. I was off in the Navy by the fall of 1970, but in contact with many friends who were still there, and as I say, BOT and I have stayed in touch for years, and that is exactly the story I have heard many times.

(05-27-2021 07:41 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(05-27-2021 07:34 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Why we don't try to play the 2 SEC Mississippi schools more is a mystery.

You forgot the 2013 Liberty Bowl?

Or the 1961 Sugar Bowl? </sarcasm>

In seriousness, we've only ever played these two schools three total times. Besides those two bowls, we also played Mississippi State in a regular-season out-of-conference game in 1975 where we lost at home, 28-14. The Mississippi River seems to be our eastern border for building athletics relationships.

I imagine, for these specific schools, the reason is that neither are particularly close in geography or academics. I can't imagine that they're particularly motivated to play us since the SWC, either. If we're willing to go as far as Oxford or Starkville for a pay game, we might as well go to Gainesville or Chapel Hill, where we're more likely to get a 2-for-1 deal, especially since the Mississippi schools already get to play in College Station every other year.

Head-to-head histories
vs. Mississippi
vs. Mississippi State

(05-27-2021 09:19 AM)franklyconfused Wrote:  

(05-27-2021 07:41 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(05-27-2021 07:34 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Why we don't try to play the 2 SEC Mississippi schools more is a mystery.

You forgot the 2013 Liberty Bowl?

Or the 1961 Sugar Bowl? </sarcasm>

In seriousness, we've only ever played these two schools three total times. Besides those two bowls, we also played Mississippi State in a regular-season out-of-conference game in 1975 where we lost at home, 28-14. The Mississippi River seems to be our eastern border for building athletics relationships.

I imagine, for these specific schools, the reason is that neither are particularly close in geography or academics. I can't imagine that they're particularly motivated to play us since the SWC, either. If we're willing to go as far as Oxford or Starkville for a pay game, we might as well go to Gainesville or Chapel Hill, where we're more likely to get a 2-for-1 deal, especially since the Mississippi schools already get to play in College Station every other year.

Head-to-head histories
vs. Mississippi
vs. Mississippi State

LSU and Tulane notwithstanding !!!!!

(05-28-2021 05:51 PM)owl at the moon Wrote:  

(05-27-2021 09:19 AM)franklyconfused Wrote:  The Mississippi River seems to be our eastern border for building athletics relationships.

LSU and Tulane notwithstanding !!!!!

I thought they were both on the west bank of the river, but I was wrong on both counts

(05-29-2021 07:51 AM)franklyconfused Wrote:  

(05-28-2021 05:51 PM)owl at the moon Wrote:  

(05-27-2021 09:19 AM)franklyconfused Wrote:  The Mississippi River seems to be our eastern border for building athletics relationships.

LSU and Tulane notwithstanding !!!!!

I thought they were both on the west bank of the river, but I was wrong on both counts

Understandable ... as you are "frankly confused." :-)

So, the 3rd post of this thread was one expressing an unusual amount of optimism about this year's team. I'd love to read Ourland's or anyone else's breakdown of this...

(05-29-2021 02:06 PM)Barney Wrote:  So, the 3rd post of this thread was one expressing an unusual amount of optimism about this year's team. I'd love to read Ourland's or anyone else's breakdown of this...

To save others the time/effort to look back, here's the post that Barney referenced:

(01-27-2021 09:56 PM)Ourland Wrote:  We'll have a good team next year. It's a good schedule, but I'd trade WKU and Charlotte for any two Sunbelt West opponents. That how much I hate our Eastern counterparts.

I like every non-conference game. It's perfect. Three SWC rivals and TSU. I like our team so much that I predict we'll win one of the first three. I honestly believe we can beat any one of those first three schools on a good night.

In conference play, there are good odds against USM, UTSA, North Texas, WKU, and UTEP. That would put us at 7-5 and into a bowl game.

(05-29-2021 02:06 PM)Barney Wrote:  So, the 3rd post of this thread was one expressing an unusual amount of optimism about this year's team. I'd love to read Ourland's or anyone else's breakdown of this...

College Football News posted this on May 5. I have not seen it linked. This preview sees reason for optimism but set the win total at 5 for the season.

https://collegefootballnews.com/2021/05/...eview-2021

(05-29-2021 02:47 PM)ESE84 Wrote:  

(05-29-2021 02:06 PM)Barney Wrote:  So, the 3rd post of this thread was one expressing an unusual amount of optimism about this year's team. I'd love to read Ourland's or anyone else's breakdown of this...

College Football News posted this on May 5. I have not seen it linked. This preview sees reason for optimism but set the win total at 5 for the season.

https://collegefootballnews.com/2021/05/...eview-2021

“However, the Owls only ran for one touchdown, and it came from a wide receiver.”

For a team built on pounding the rock, that alone should have gotten Bloomgren axed after last season.

(05-29-2021 03:51 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(05-29-2021 02:47 PM)ESE84 Wrote:  

(05-29-2021 02:06 PM)Barney Wrote:  So, the 3rd post of this thread was one expressing an unusual amount of optimism about this year's team. I'd love to read Ourland's or anyone else's breakdown of this...

College Football News posted this on May 5. I have not seen it linked. This preview sees reason for optimism but set the win total at 5 for the season.

https://collegefootballnews.com/2021/05/...eview-2021

“However, the Owls only ran for one touchdown, and it came from a wide receiver.”

For a team built on pounding the rock, that alone should have gotten Bloomgren axed after last season.

I’m a bit afraid the vultures will be circling Bloomgren’s program after the likely 0-3 start. But the Coogs might be beatable this year.

(05-29-2021 02:06 PM)Barney Wrote:  So, the 3rd post of this thread was one expressing an unusual amount of optimism about this year's team. I'd love to read Ourland's or anyone else's breakdown of this...

7-5

They finalized all the home game times. Our first three home games will be 5:30 pm starts, and the last 3 will be early day games. All of the remaining games are now listed as part of the ESPN Network, which probably means ESPN 3 or ESPN +, but I guess if we somehow manage a great season, they could move the later games to a more significant ESPN network.

(06-01-2021 05:18 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  They finalized all the home game times. Our first three home games will be 5:30 pm starts, and the last 3 will be early day games. All of the remaining games are now listed as part of the ESPN Network, which probably means ESPN 3 or ESPN +, but I guess if we somehow manage a great season, they could move the later games to a more significant ESPN network.

Fan friendly start times. I like it.

(06-02-2021 08:08 AM)temchugh Wrote:  

(06-01-2021 05:18 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  They finalized all the home game times. Our first three home games will be 5:30 pm starts, and the last 3 will be early day games. All of the remaining games are now listed as part of the ESPN Network, which probably means ESPN 3 or ESPN +, but I guess if we somehow manage a great season, they could move the later games to a more significant ESPN network.

Fan friendly start times. I like it.

Indeed! I guess television doesn’t care when the Owls play.

(06-02-2021 08:46 AM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(06-02-2021 08:08 AM)temchugh Wrote:  

(06-01-2021 05:18 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  They finalized all the home game times. Our first three home games will be 5:30 pm starts, and the last 3 will be early day games. All of the remaining games are now listed as part of the ESPN Network, which probably means ESPN 3 or ESPN +, but I guess if we somehow manage a great season, they could move the later games to a more significant ESPN network.

Fan friendly start times. I like it.

Indeed! I guess television doesn’t care when the Owls play.

Or if they play.

(06-02-2021 08:08 AM)temchugh Wrote:  

(06-01-2021 05:18 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  They finalized all the home game times. Our first three home games will be 5:30 pm starts, and the last 3 will be early day games. All of the remaining games are now listed as part of the ESPN Network, which probably means ESPN 3 or ESPN +, but I guess if we somehow manage a great season, they could move the later games to a more significant ESPN network.

Fan friendly start times. I like it.

Indeed! I guess television doesn’t care when the Owls play. Or one of their scheduling executives finally attended one of those September 11am/noon kickoffs in Houston.

Here is a review and rating of quarterback play for C-USA teams.

(06-08-2021 11:34 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:   Here is a review and rating of quarterback play for C-USA teams.

We made the top 13!

(06-08-2021 12:11 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(06-08-2021 11:34 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:   Here is a review and rating of quarterback play for C-USA teams.

We made the top 13!

Quote:... the format is simple. There are three grading categories: “Great Shape,” “Good Shape,” and “We’ll See.”

... “We’ll See” means we have no idea if that position is going to turn out to be a plus due to a lack of proven contributors, questionable depth entering the season or the projected starter is coming in from another school.

“Good Shape” means known commodities are at the position but there’s still room for this unit to improve. Depth is above average to good, with a player or two having the potential to make an appearance on the all-conference team.

“Great Shape” means All-C-USA performers are at this position or there is good-to-great depth across the board.

...

Great Shape:
No Team

LOL!!

WTG, CUSA!