I was thinking about the games this weekend and I thought I’d share my feelings. I feel like the toughest pill to swallow is NMSU. They had a prime time matchup with a national audience and laid an egg against the team most were predicting last, or at least close to last, in FBS. Those are games we have to win. Jax St got a great win but another tough one for the conference imo. National television and one of our more recognizable brands losing to a team moving up from FCS (MTSU is known to do that too so no shade here). LT did what they needed to do to get the win so that’s good. FIU couldn’t get the passing game going to save their lives. That could look better depending on how those teams perform OOC. At the end of the day all of the games were fun to watch and I feel like kept the audiences engaged. Not how I would have liked the weekend to go but I am excited to have some new teams to pull for!

I expected a 3 or 4 win season and I expected utep to lose to JSU. So yesterday didn't surprise me. Dimel and Hardison just ain't it and that became obvious last season. Congrats to JSU for their W. I just hope that UTEP wakes up, realizes athletics matters and makes major changes. Starting with the AD.

First week is usually frustrating, as fans we never think our team performs to all the expectations we've built up over the off season. The NMSU game hurt, but Kill will get them ready and they'll improve. Congrats to JSU on a nice inaugural win! Time to move on to Week 1. Best of luck to CUSA. Let's take care of those OOC games!

PS: I reserve the right to be completely bitter and pessimistic next week if LU bombs our opener!

Impressed with quality of TV production on CBSSN. Had never watched a full game on there, or at least haven’t in years, and thought they had a strong effort yesterday with their CUSA coverage.

Unimpressed with quality of play. Teams didn’t look good. Coaching was questionable. QB play stunk. Lots of mistakes. Expected established FBS programs like UTEP and LaTech to look better. Things should progress… hopefully. Can’t say I expect NMSU to win any football game, but getting beat by UMass is low. Subpar FCS level-team low.

Happy for Jax State. Defense looks FBS ready, and gutted out a win in their debut.

Unimpressed with crowds. JSU has a good fanbase, would’ve thought more would come out for their home opener. All looked like FCS crowds. Need to fill the stands on national TV, especially at schools who have the followings to do so (JSU, LT).

(08-27-2023 10:33 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  Impressed with quality of TV production on CBSSN. Had never watched a full game on there, or at least haven’t in years, and thought they had a strong effort yesterday with their CUSA coverage.

Unimpressed with quality of play. Teams didn’t look good. Coaching was questionable. QB play stunk. Lots of mistakes. Expected established FBS programs like UTEP and LaTech to look better. Things should progress… hopefully. Can’t say I expect NMSU to win any football game, but getting beat by UMass is low. Subpar FCS level-team low.

Happy for Jax State. Defense looks FBS ready, and gutted out a win in their debut.

Unimpressed with crowds. JSU has a good fanbase, would’ve thought more would come out for their home opener. All looked like FCS crowds. Need to fill the stands on national TV, especially at schools who have the followings to do so (JSU, LT).

You don't understand how the new transfer portal rules and having a highly respected coach can transform teams. Don Brown is not here for himself, but to return UMass to it's past. We have 27 transfers, 8 from Arizona and they have jelled well.

(08-27-2023 10:33 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  Impressed with quality of TV production on CBSSN. Had never watched a full game on there, or at least haven’t in years, and thought they had a strong effort yesterday with their CUSA coverage.

Unimpressed with quality of play. Teams didn’t look good. Coaching was questionable. QB play stunk. Lots of mistakes. Expected established FBS programs like UTEP and LaTech to look better. Things should progress… hopefully. Can’t say I expect NMSU to win any football game, but getting beat by UMass is low. Subpar FCS level-team low.

Happy for Jax State. Defense looks FBS ready, and gutted out a win in their debut.

Unimpressed with crowds. JSU has a good fanbase, would’ve thought more would come out for their home opener. All looked like FCS crowds. Need to fill the stands on national TV, especially at schools who have the followings to do so (JSU, LT).

To our credit, it was blazing hot and humid out there, and we still pulled 17K.

CBS Sports should remain our #1 partner as long as they are interested. Their broadcasts are better than ESPN, their studio coverage is better. Everything about it is better.

I wish it were in more households but man they put on a great broadcast. I remember their broadcast of the CUSA championship a couple years ago in the Alamodome looked like an NFL production

(08-27-2023 11:12 AM)smith79jordan Wrote:  

(08-27-2023 10:33 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  Impressed with quality of TV production on CBSSN. Had never watched a full game on there, or at least haven’t in years, and thought they had a strong effort yesterday with their CUSA coverage.

Unimpressed with quality of play. Teams didn’t look good. Coaching was questionable. QB play stunk. Lots of mistakes. Expected established FBS programs like UTEP and LaTech to look better. Things should progress… hopefully. Can’t say I expect NMSU to win any football game, but getting beat by UMass is low. Subpar FCS level-team low.

Happy for Jax State. Defense looks FBS ready, and gutted out a win in their debut.

Unimpressed with crowds. JSU has a good fanbase, would’ve thought more would come out for their home opener. All looked like FCS crowds. Need to fill the stands on national TV, especially at schools who have the followings to do so (JSU, LT).

To our credit, it was blazing hot and humid out there, and we still pulled 17K.

I was going to say the same. When they said the heat index was triple digits on the field, I can only imagine what it was like in the stands with direct sunlight for a couple hours.

(08-27-2023 11:04 AM)Steve1981 Wrote:  

(08-27-2023 10:33 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  Impressed with quality of TV production on CBSSN. Had never watched a full game on there, or at least haven’t in years, and thought they had a strong effort yesterday with their CUSA coverage.

Unimpressed with quality of play. Teams didn’t look good. Coaching was questionable. QB play stunk. Lots of mistakes. Expected established FBS programs like UTEP and LaTech to look better. Things should progress… hopefully. Can’t say I expect NMSU to win any football game, but getting beat by UMass is low. Subpar FCS level-team low.

Happy for Jax State. Defense looks FBS ready, and gutted out a win in their debut.

Unimpressed with crowds. JSU has a good fanbase, would’ve thought more would come out for their home opener. All looked like FCS crowds. Need to fill the stands on national TV, especially at schools who have the followings to do so (JSU, LT).

You don't understand how the new transfer portal rules and having a highly respected coach can transform teams. Don Brown is not here for himself, but to return UMass to it's past. We have 27 transfers, 8 from Arizona and they have jelled well.

Respectfully, I don’t know who Don Brown is or why he is highly respected. I just know that UMass lost to Maine by like 30 last year. So it’s embarrassing to lose your home opener to them. I think most here would agree.

Fully aware of how transfers can impact a team, my school has reaped the benefits of automatic eligibility for decades. Transfers can boom or bust, but they’re transfers for a reason. Good luck to your Minutemen this season.

(08-27-2023 11:12 AM)RustonBulldog Wrote:  CBS Sports should remain our #1 partner as long as they are interested. Their broadcasts are better than ESPN, their studio coverage is better. Everything about it is better.

I wish it were in more households but man they put on a great broadcast. I remember their broadcast of the CUSA championship a couple years ago in the Alamodome looked like an NFL production

Thought their focus on CUSA was consistent, concerted and detailed. Not sure if this is an issue for G5 fans, but at the FCS level, ESPN spends about half the time rambling about the BIG or $EC game that weekend. Studio and announcers seem to know little about the schools playing in front of them often. CBS’s announcers and hosts talked almost exclusively about the CUSA games and were educated on the teams and programs.

Refreshing. Glad our game against Air Force at NRG will be on CBSSN. They’ll make it look good.

(08-27-2023 11:38 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  

(08-27-2023 11:12 AM)RustonBulldog Wrote:  CBS Sports should remain our #1 partner as long as they are interested. Their broadcasts are better than ESPN, their studio coverage is better. Everything about it is better.

I wish it were in more households but man they put on a great broadcast. I remember their broadcast of the CUSA championship a couple years ago in the Alamodome looked like an NFL production

Thought their focus on CUSA was consistent, concerted and detailed. Not sure if this is an issue for G5 fans, but at the FCS level, ESPN spends about half the time rambling about the BIG or $EC game that weekend. Studio and announcers seem to know little about the schools playing in front of them often. CBS’s announcers and hosts talked almost exclusively about the CUSA games and were educated on the teams and programs.

Refreshing. Glad our game against Air Force at NRG will be on CBSSN. They’ll make it look good.

It's no different for G5. ESPN always focuses on the P5 games during G5 games. Hell, they not only do it during breaks but during game play. Very frustrating.

(08-27-2023 11:12 AM)smith79jordan Wrote:  

(08-27-2023 10:33 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  Impressed with quality of TV production on CBSSN. Had never watched a full game on there, or at least haven’t in years, and thought they had a strong effort yesterday with their CUSA coverage.

Unimpressed with quality of play. Teams didn’t look good. Coaching was questionable. QB play stunk. Lots of mistakes. Expected established FBS programs like UTEP and LaTech to look better. Things should progress… hopefully. Can’t say I expect NMSU to win any football game, but getting beat by UMass is low. Subpar FCS level-team low.

Happy for Jax State. Defense looks FBS ready, and gutted out a win in their debut.

Unimpressed with crowds. JSU has a good fanbase, would’ve thought more would come out for their home opener. All looked like FCS crowds. Need to fill the stands on national TV, especially at schools who have the followings to do so (JSU, LT).

To our credit, it was blazing hot and humid out there, and we still pulled 17K.

It really is hilarious reading this guy’s comments, so ridiculous it’s funny considering Sam Houston State averages 7k a game with 14k stadium.

We had close to 18k announced and La Tech had 16.2k both more than double Sam Houston State average attendance

As far as play, yeah early season games are tough. UMass could easily have reloaded on the portal, and definitely not “subpar FCS level”
QB play wasn’t great, but La Tech QB threw for 333 yards and has an arm.

La Tech QB was good enough to start at Boise St who everyone seems to adore.

There weren’t a whole lot of games to talk about yesterday. Let’s see how the studio show covers us when there’s 60 other games on the schedule to talk about.

(08-27-2023 12:08 PM)AssKickingChicken Wrote:  There weren’t a whole lot of games to talk about yesterday. Let’s see how the studio show covers us when there’s 60 other games on the schedule to talk about.

CBSN might mention a big game taking place but 90% of their attention will be to the game they are covering and to that conference. They are usually well informed on the teams and conference...

unlike espn

-----------------------------------------------

Was surprised by the poor QB play yesterday in CUSA lets hope it gets better and probably will. Though Jax St defense was quick to the ball but will wait till they play a team that can throw the quick short passes to form a overall opinion.

Its different when you have to defend the pass and run. Same for Tech, their defense looked also as bad as last year in that first half. Then they figured out the QB couldn't hit anything past the LOS

The biggest disappointment for me was the NMSU QB. He looked like he did early last season....awful. But he did improve during the season.

NMSU could have 7 wins or 4 wins. But I think that in either view, UMASS was a win. Here is hoping for better moving forward.

(08-27-2023 11:41 AM)JackedUp Wrote:  

(08-27-2023 11:12 AM)smith79jordan Wrote:  

(08-27-2023 10:33 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  Impressed with quality of TV production on CBSSN. Had never watched a full game on there, or at least haven’t in years, and thought they had a strong effort yesterday with their CUSA coverage.

Unimpressed with quality of play. Teams didn’t look good. Coaching was questionable. QB play stunk. Lots of mistakes. Expected established FBS programs like UTEP and LaTech to look better. Things should progress… hopefully. Can’t say I expect NMSU to win any football game, but getting beat by UMass is low. Subpar FCS level-team low.

Happy for Jax State. Defense looks FBS ready, and gutted out a win in their debut.

Unimpressed with crowds. JSU has a good fanbase, would’ve thought more would come out for their home opener. All looked like FCS crowds. Need to fill the stands on national TV, especially at schools who have the followings to do so (JSU, LT).

To our credit, it was blazing hot and humid out there, and we still pulled 17K.

It really is hilarious reading this guy’s comments, so ridiculous it’s funny considering Sam Houston State averages 7k a game with 14k stadium.

We had close to 18k announced and La Tech had 16.2k both more than double Sam Houston State average attendance

As far as play, yeah early season games are tough. UMass could easily have reloaded on the portal, and definitely not “subpar FCS level”
QB play wasn’t great, but La Tech QB threw for 333 yards and has an arm.

Expectations are relative. SHSU doesn’t have a fanbase and the students don’t go to games. Nobody is surprised when we draw 5,000 fans to a game.

JSU is the opposite (supposed to be). I’ve seen that place packed with 22k plus for OVC games. So yeah, was a bit surprising to me to see the stands half empty for a big game when my memories of attending the place revolve around it being packed and loud.

(08-27-2023 10:33 AM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  Impressed with quality of TV production on CBSSN. Had never watched a full game on there, or at least haven’t in years, and thought they had a strong effort yesterday with their CUSA coverage.

Unimpressed with quality of play. Teams didn’t look good. Coaching was questionable. QB play stunk. Lots of mistakes. Expected established FBS programs like UTEP and LaTech to look better. Things should progress… hopefully. Can’t say I expect NMSU to win any football game, but getting beat by UMass is low. Subpar FCS level-team low.

Happy for Jax State. Defense looks FBS ready, and gutted out a win in their debut.

Unimpressed with crowds. JSU has a good fanbase, would’ve thought more would come out for their home opener. All looked like FCS crowds. Need to fill the stands on national TV, especially at schools who have the followings to do so (JSU, LT).

JSU’s home attendance yesterday (18K) seemed to be on par with their home average attendance in recent years.

I loved the coverage of Cusa football and how much they showed our campuses and such. It seemed like we were watching a Cartel team playing but it was just little ol' us. Cusa should lobby to remain on Cbssn, they were tops.

Congrats to CBS for a great job.

I didn't know Enemas U. lost til now. It seems that the Utep and Enemas U. game will be the pillowfight of the year. We both suck it seems but now we'll see who sucks the most. I'm overly pessimistic of Utep's fortunes on the football field and unless we fire the coach and "hallelujah" the AD too nothing is gonna change. Growing up my high school sucked on the football field but was very good in baseball and basketball and like always when we lost in football our mantra was, "wait til next year" but we said it in jest. It's the same thing with the Miner football team. I'd cry but I don't have anymore water in my tear ducts.