The Belt had an impressive day, but realize that Neb, Tx Am and ND have a combined 1-5 record after 2 weeks and the one win was vs Sam Houston St.

Similar to the fall of the metro

(09-11-2022 09:01 AM)Cubanbull1 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:54 AM)dcg141 Wrote:  Lets face it adding UNCC and Rice was just a galactically stupid move. Rice is a great academic school that will always struggle in football. UNCC is a commuter school that will always live the the shadow of Chapel Hill. Being in a metro area does not make you football relevant.

It may have been, time will tell. But the conference will succeed not from what the bottom does but what the top does. Even now everyone is loving the SBC because of what Marshall and App State are doing not what the Texas State an Georgia State are doing.

Remains to be seen if Charlotte and Rice invest to improve as they promised.

I just ask why do you pass over schools that have some football history and relevance for schools with none just because they are in a metro area. Metro area's by their nature have spilt fanbases and usually never become huge fans of the school in town. A good example is Vanderbilt, all that SEC money and still Nashville is a UT town. There are probably more KY fans in Nashville that Vanderbilt. I will bet that most of the football fans in Charlotte are Clemson, UNC, NC State fans. Would not shock me for Appy to have more fans there than UNCC.

Promise I am not overreacting. Once we lose Cincy etc, we will struggle greatly with perception. Perception is everything in sports especially college football. I am not naive enough to believe that what the Belt did yesterday is sustainable, its not. What I am looking at however are the fundamentals of the two conferences and what the ceiling for each can be. The top teams in the Sun Belt will beat each other down just like it happened in the AAC. What the Sun Belt has going for it however, is a local footprint and the majority of its schools are football centric. The Sun Belt has been built for a modern college TV world. The AAC has lost its fledgling identity and any semblance of like minded values.The Sun Belt has a mission that will feed its member schools and give ESPn something to sink its teeth into..

(09-11-2022 08:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:24 AM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  Ha ha ha ha ha.

Sun Belt just had the biggest bestest day ever in their history....and I look at Sagarin and the AAC is ahead of the Sun Belt East, much less the Sun Belt West which is down in MVC territory. Navy with their loss to Delaware is still ahead of 6 of the 14 Sun Belt teams in Sagarin.

Massey Composite (still early in the week) same thing - AAC waaaay ahead of the Belt.

It is too early to draw conclusions about relative conference strengths this season and the present ratings take into account the departed three. Upon their exit, the prognosis for the dominance enjoyed by the AAC now is grim, IMO.

FWIW, the departing three aren't helping much so far. All of them have been tagged with a loss, and none have wins worth mentioning.

(09-11-2022 09:11 AM)dcg141 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:01 AM)Cubanbull1 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:54 AM)dcg141 Wrote:  Lets face it adding UNCC and Rice was just a galactically stupid move. Rice is a great academic school that will always struggle in football. UNCC is a commuter school that will always live the the shadow of Chapel Hill. Being in a metro area does not make you football relevant.

It may have been, time will tell. But the conference will succeed not from what the bottom does but what the top does. Even now everyone is loving the SBC because of what Marshall and App State are doing not what the Texas State an Georgia State are doing.

Remains to be seen if Charlotte and Rice invest to improve as they promised.

I just ask why do you pass over schools that have some football history and relevance for schools with none just because they are in a metro area. Metro area's by their nature have spilt fanbases and usually never become huge fans of the school in town. A good example is Vanderbilt, all that SEC money and still Nashville is a UT town. There are probably more KY fans in Nashville that Vanderbilt. I will bet that most of the football fans in Charlotte are Clemson, UNC, NC State fans. Would not shock me for Appy to have more fans there than UNCC.

Because the game unfortunately is NOT just based on wins and loses, it’s also based on how much money you can bring in. And large metros are preferred by TV Contracts. Metro areas do bring split fans, but if a team is able to have a couple of winning seasons, the amount of bandwagon fans and tv eyes they bring is way more than those small towns teams with winning traditions.
Time will tell, I say let’s come back and look at the pattern of both leagues after 5 years. The AAC won’t be better off every year, but I think they will be on more years and get more revenues every year. So we can argue till we are blue today predicting a future that all it is a prediction.

(09-11-2022 08:36 AM)goldeneagle21 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:24 AM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  Ha ha ha ha ha.

Sun Belt just had the biggest bestest day ever in their history....and I look at Sagarin and the AAC is ahead of the Sun Belt East, much less the Sun Belt West which is down in MVC territory. Navy with their loss to Delaware is still ahead of 6 of the 14 Sun Belt teams in Sagarin.

Massey Composite (still early in the week) same thing - AAC waaaay ahead of the Belt.

You keep analyzing your spreadsheets and charts while Appy parties with college game day lol.

100%

This thread is not a knee jerk reaction. The SBC has been on a accent for roughly 5+ years now. The previous big weekend was in ‘20 when the SBC went 3-0 vs. the Big12 in a single weekend.

The SBC is slowly becoming the premier G5 in College Football.

(09-11-2022 09:16 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:24 AM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  Ha ha ha ha ha.

Sun Belt just had the biggest bestest day ever in their history....and I look at Sagarin and the AAC is ahead of the Sun Belt East, much less the Sun Belt West which is down in MVC territory. Navy with their loss to Delaware is still ahead of 6 of the 14 Sun Belt teams in Sagarin.

Massey Composite (still early in the week) same thing - AAC waaaay ahead of the Belt.

It is too early to draw conclusions about relative conference strengths this season and the present ratings take into account the departed three. Upon their exit, the prognosis for the dominance enjoyed by the AAC now is grim, IMO.

FWIW, the departing three aren't helping much so far. All of them have been tagged with a loss, and none have wins worth mentioning.

The usual suspects (namely Boise State) for acquiring the golden NY6 invitation also already have one loss. The season is in its infancy and time remains for an AAC school.

(09-11-2022 09:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:16 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:24 AM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  Ha ha ha ha ha.

Sun Belt just had the biggest bestest day ever in their history....and I look at Sagarin and the AAC is ahead of the Sun Belt East, much less the Sun Belt West which is down in MVC territory. Navy with their loss to Delaware is still ahead of 6 of the 14 Sun Belt teams in Sagarin.

Massey Composite (still early in the week) same thing - AAC waaaay ahead of the Belt.

It is too early to draw conclusions about relative conference strengths this season and the present ratings take into account the departed three. Upon their exit, the prognosis for the dominance enjoyed by the AAC now is grim, IMO.

FWIW, the departing three aren't helping much so far. All of them have been tagged with a loss, and none have wins worth mentioning.

The usual suspects (namely Boise State) for acquiring the golden NY6 invitation also already have one loss. The season is in its infancy and time remains for an AAC school.

With current conference members and future members winning 13 games on the weekend being signification of it's death, pour Whiskey on our Grave!

(09-11-2022 09:45 AM)Pirate Rep Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:16 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:24 AM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  Ha ha ha ha ha.

Sun Belt just had the biggest bestest day ever in their history....and I look at Sagarin and the AAC is ahead of the Sun Belt East, much less the Sun Belt West which is down in MVC territory. Navy with their loss to Delaware is still ahead of 6 of the 14 Sun Belt teams in Sagarin.

Massey Composite (still early in the week) same thing - AAC waaaay ahead of the Belt.

It is too early to draw conclusions about relative conference strengths this season and the present ratings take into account the departed three. Upon their exit, the prognosis for the dominance enjoyed by the AAC now is grim, IMO.

FWIW, the departing three aren't helping much so far. All of them have been tagged with a loss, and none have wins worth mentioning.

The usual suspects (namely Boise State) for acquiring the golden NY6 invitation also already have one loss. The season is in its infancy and time remains for an AAC school.

With current conference members and future members winning 13 games on the weekend being signification of it's death, pour Whiskey on our Grave!

I agree - so long as every weekend is “schedule the body bag FCS opponent” weekend, but everything looks solid. Was it 10 wins against FCS, two against G5, and one against a conference mate?

(09-11-2022 10:02 AM)banker Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:45 AM)Pirate Rep Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:16 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  It is too early to draw conclusions about relative conference strengths this season and the present ratings take into account the departed three. Upon their exit, the prognosis for the dominance enjoyed by the AAC now is grim, IMO.

FWIW, the departing three aren't helping much so far. All of them have been tagged with a loss, and none have wins worth mentioning.

The usual suspects (namely Boise State) for acquiring the golden NY6 invitation also already have one loss. The season is in its infancy and time remains for an AAC school.

With current conference members and future members winning 13 games on the weekend being signification of it's death, pour Whiskey on our Grave!

I agree - so long as every weekend is “schedule the body bag FCS opponent” weekend, but everything looks solid. Was it 10 wins against FCS, two against G5, and one against a conference mate?

Tell that to Buffalo, Bowling Green, Nevada and Utah State

This whole thread is overly dramatic. Some of the folks on here need to remember to take their testosterone injections. I remember when Cincy was a mess with Tommy Tuberville as their coach and look at where they are now. These things go in cycles. The AAC has been the best G5 conference for many years but it is almost impossible to keep that going indefinitely. It looks like the Sunbelt might have a great year. Good for them. Let’s see if they can keep that going for as long as the AAC. I doubt it. I believe over the long term the AAC has the advantage because of the better financial resources our schools have when compared to the Sunbelt. I think there are schools in the AAC that are going to step it up in the near future.

This is the second time in three seasons (2020, 2022) where the Sun Belt has won three P5 games in the same week. The SEC would've been given a ton of credit for winning two OOC road games against Top 10 opponents in the same week. If the Pac-12 did it people would proclaim the conference as being back from the dead.

The Sun Belt does it and people start making excuses. Thats four P5 games in two weeks with another shot at one with USA and UCLA next week. Georgia State and App both had UNC dead to rights.

I think the AAC will be fine but this really cements that the G5 will be a three horse race from year to year: MWC, SBC, and the AAC.

(09-11-2022 10:18 AM)sunamiwave Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:45 AM)Pirate Rep Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 09:16 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(09-11-2022 08:38 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  It is too early to draw conclusions about relative conference strengths this season and the present ratings take into account the departed three. Upon their exit, the prognosis for the dominance enjoyed by the AAC now is grim, IMO.

FWIW, the departing three aren't helping much so far. All of them have been tagged with a loss, and none have wins worth mentioning.

The usual suspects (namely Boise State) for acquiring the golden NY6 invitation also already have one loss. The season is in its infancy and time remains for an AAC school.

With current conference members and future members winning 13 games on the weekend being signification of it's death, pour Whiskey on our Grave!

This whole thread is overly dramatic and funny. I remember when Cincy was a mess with Tommy Tuberville as their coach and look at where they are now. These things go in cycles. The AAC has been the best G5 conference for many years but it is almost impossible to keep that going indefinitely. It looks like the Sunbelt might have a great year. Good for them. Let’s see if they can keep that going for as long as the AAC. I doubt it. I believe over the long term the AAC has the advantage because of the better financial resources our schools have when compared to the Sunbelt. I think there are schools in the AAC that are going to step it up in the near future.

Better financial resources? How many of the new programs are going to run their programs to the Rev line (red line) to try to build something? Look at Jeff Compher and ECU when he did that. You can't build something with invisible money for a program with no foundation. You do that and you gamble.

That's what Rice, Charlotte, FAU, UAB, and a few others will be trying to do. They may kill their athletics department chasing money that will never come.

Furthermore, give me the comparison of athletics budgets between App State and Marshall against Texas A&M and Notre Dame. The AAC has never had two Top 10 wins in one week and as far as I can remember, they only have one that was with Cincy beating Notre Dame last year.

The problem I'd that Cincy was getting all of the juice after that win and you guys are making excuses for why Marshall won. Marshall's win was more decisive than Cincy's as well. If you didn't watch the game, go back and watch it.

(09-11-2022 09:05 AM)goodknightfl Wrote:  The Belt had an impressive day, but realize that Neb, Tx Am and ND have a combined 1-5 record after 2 weeks and the one win was vs Sam Houston St.

They were two Top 10 teams in the same week. Get over it. Something the AAC has never done and if they had the fans hear would be claiming P6.

(09-11-2022 08:59 AM)FastTheo Wrote:  Huge day for the SBC and Marshall/App/Georgia Southern. I'm still not sold on the market approach of the AAC, but we'll see how the next few years play out. Last night's ECU/ODU broadcast mentioned that ODU is basically cutting their travel in half by joining the SBC. I wouldn't be opposed to a Sun Belt superconference with ECU/Memphis/UAB etc being added. Just saying.

This is correct.

Look, people have spent nearly the last year now evaluating how the Sun Belt managed to get 3 teams to leave CUSA, and the focus has rightly been on football especially given yesterday.

But many forget that much of the reason that ODU left and Marshall for that matter is they got tired of flying their Volleyball program to Texas twice a year, including trips to El Paso every other year. A thing that got missed is the minute that the new teams joined, the SBC quietly redid many of the conference schedules to limit the # of games between East and West teams. Under the current format, ODU's Volleyball team will travel to Texas State once every 6 years, much like football now.

The only Olympic Sport that didn't switch to heavy division scheduling was basketball, but part of that is because of the need for 18 Conference games with OOC scheduling much more difficult.

Coastal Carolina 1
Tradition 0

Deleware 1
Tradition 0

ESPN Game Day SBC 1
ESPN Game Day AAC 0

Gill - winner
Aresco - loser

Markets - loser
Fan base - winner

Do I think this is an over reaction? Not really. Didn't pay much attention to realignment in the g5 but the AAC did make the Sunbelt a better conference. The American took worst of CUSA(excluding UTSA and UAB) while the Sunbelt took the best of the CUSA all because of markets the schools will not make a dent in. The Sunbelt already had the best of the FCS schools with tradition join. Wouldn't be surprised if they got more money than The American in the future.

.

It's about 9 months ahead of time to declare the death of AAC 1.0.

The AAC 1.0 won't expire until the end of the 2022-23 season.

At that point, the phrase will be:

"The AAC 1.0 is dead. Long live the AAC 2.0!"