Arkstfan

Unless something bizarre happens ASU will finish the year as the most penalized team in the nation.

For those that read the comic strip Gil Thorpe, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game inspired a storyline where Milford did the same thing.

Phpht. If ULL had wanted to go they shouldn't have let ASU rip off a 25-7 4th quarter. The only shame for ULL is the same shame MTSU had in 2001. They frickin didn't do it when it mattered.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff did it in the NAIA playoffs one year. Took the kickoff and marched down to score the winning TD on the final play. Many moons ago Missouri State did it it ASU. They failed to even pick up a first down after they got the ball.

Shame? My arse. No shame in getting what is earned.

Humph. We took 2,000 to New Orleans for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Found out where we were going on Sunday, game was that Friday so four days of sales. The Sun Belt didn't shoot itself in the foot. If we cannot support a bowl without the local team, we don't frickin need one and can go back to bidding for I-AA playoff games. As to bringing 20,000 less than ULL would have... another Humph. If ya'll were worried about the crowds you could have told the Sun Belt in 2001 to not apply for the waiver and send the 8-3 team that was drawing better crowds. Buncha bull.

That's very solid attendance with a losing season clinched.

From what I recall most of the folks here didn't think it was classless so why discuss it now since that has already been established?

The WAC didn't like that idea. They were willing to add one and only one team to appease Tech and nothing more. They don't like going east any more than we like going west.

Dang, hope Fichtner doesn't get the job. He was the guy who got DeAngelo at Memphis after recruiting him initially as ASU offensive coordinator.

Considering that Cal-Davis beat the team tied for 3rd in the Pac-10, I'd say its a fair assessment that some I-AA schools could win the Sun Belt.

Forgot my final comment. The Utah spread is the most interesting offense out there because it blends the wishbone's option ground attack and the R/S option air attack. Done correctly very hard offense for receivers to learn because they also function as halfbacks. Add a bruising tailback with breakaway speed and you can wildly capitalize on the offense's tendency to spread the defense from sideline to sideline.

Run and Shoot has a price. You play an inferior opponent and you can make the game a laugher very quickly. The flip side is this, I cannot recall a R/S team that could milk the clock effectively. Against a comporable opponent when you cannot score at will and you need maybe two first downs to salt a game away, the typical R/S team will have to throw to get those first downs they will normally stop the clock for their opponent on nearly half of those plays. La.Tech adopted a R/S variant after Houston routed them and I watched them encounter that problem. Mis-fired on 1st and 2nd down stopping the clock each time, 3rd down threw just short of a first down and forced to punt setting up the score that beat them. Houston had several games that way most notable was a game against Arkansas. Had the ball and the lead with about three and half minutes left, got one first down burned just a few seconds more than a minute. Arkansas scored for the win. The R/S is the brother of the wishbone. Both require less of the offensive line because blocks need only be held for a short time. Both demand quick reads from the QB. Neither requires an especially strong armed QB or one with great size. Both rely on small fast backs (wishbone makes 'em halfbacks, R/S makes 'em receivers). Both attempt to force one on one match-ups where breakaway speed can shine. Both are possession offenses counting on getting yardage in small amounts unless there is the breakaway. The difference is that wishbone can eat clock and hold a lead but is terrible for catching up as a general rule. The R/S can score quickly but is terrible for holding a lead in a close game.

John was my son's t-ball coach. Super nice guy and despite the win at all costs reputation he was the only one in the league sane enough to realize it was t-ball.

Excuses? You a dimwit? The question was that game a result of good coaching or pitiful Sun Belt. Most anyone could see that my opinion was that it wasn't good coaching by Bobby Ross so that leaves the second option.

Unfortunately under I-A rules they can only count one of those off-campus games a year. They need a dose of responsible leadership. Remember how ULM was supposedly teetering on financial collapse and a leadership change got them on track quickly.

Depends did Ross manage to convince ASU's QB to throw four lame ducks into traffic (two of which Army managed to actually catch and hold on), fumble three times (losing one), get TWO penalties behind the play on a punt return, and keep a couple Army drives alive with a variety of penalties including two 15 yard face mask calls. If Ross can do that, he's an awesome coach. If not...

Only if you exclude the three straight before it.

Considering that only Temple a worse total offense and only Temple, Buffalo and Miss. St. have worse scoring offenses, just who would you NOT swap offenses with? From what I've seen the past few years, the UNT offense has basically been "we're gonna whip your tail at the line of scrimmage." Well that worked fine in a league where half the teams were either on the verge of firing unsuccessful coaches or adopting new systems under the coaches hired to replace the unsuccessful. Other than being more entertaining you can't exactly say that Texas Tech is actually putting together great teams. They've won 8 games this year, but look at who they beat. The last place team in the Sun Belt. Two I-AA's one that is 3-6 and one that is 0-11. Kansas who is 5-5 but only 2-5 in the Big 12. Nebraska 6-3 but 3-4 in conference, Kansas State 4-6, 1-6 in conference, Baylor 4-6, 1-6 in conference, TAMU 5-5 and 3-4. They got routed by Texas and lost to Oklahoma State 4-5, 1-5 in conference. They've been routed by at least one quality team every year since Leach arrived and lost at least four games. Leach's winning percentage is a bit better than what Spike Dykes had but he's playing weaker non-conference games. It's a fun offense. It's entertaining but its not a cure-all.

Well the article is a little too glowing about the Run and Shoot. It did APPEAR unstoppable at first (most innovations do) but George Allen of the Arizona Wranglers solved the Run and Shoot problem after sending film of the Gamblers to Al Davis they cooked up a scheme to shut it down. I don't remember the particulars but as I recall most teams had blitzed up the middle for fear of the QB rolling away and either throwing on the run or rushing the ball. As I recall the scheme they cooked up eliminated almost all middle blitzes instead choosing the flood a side to force the play to one side of the field and stacking things up and basically leaving the QB the option of throwing across the field to hit one of the uncovered receivers. The danger though was that the QB would generally have to set up to make that throw allowing the d-backs a chance to break back across to break up the play. If you hit it, home run but if you missed, it was a pick. The Wranglers beat the Gamblers 17-16 less than half their normal scoring average. The word eventually spread and though it generally didn't help weaker teams, similar teams could stop hold back the run and shoot enough to have a shot at winning and better teams could beat them. Even at the height of the run and shoot Texas stopped Jenkins and Houston's unbeaten run with a 45-24 win. Pardee at hs two year peak lost to TAMU 30-16 and 17-13, Arkansas 26-21, and Washington State 24-22. The Run Shoot allowed for easier routs against inferior teams and maybe won some extra games against comporable teams by jumping out to quick leads.

I think we are stable from what I gather. Most schools are in one of two camps. Those that would desperately like to leave but pretty much get along because it is where they are and those that are happy with the association (though they wouldn't mind a call from another a league) and figure making the place you are at better, is in their best interest. I don't sense there is anyone would that leap at just any offer and we saw that in action with the WAC and with the Mid-Con's attempted raid of UALR, USA, and UNO. My impression is that there are a couple of I-AA's that have made some noise about wanting to come in and that the league feels confident enough in where it is that they better have a solid plan that is funded for moving to I-A and being competitive in basketball or they will be encouraged to not apply. All the signs point to the folks believing that when the normal five year shake-up rolls along that the shakes will be minor and are unlikely to impact them (ie. Big East won't expand or will only add one school).

As I said. I like ULM fans. But I intensely dislike numerous things that have been done over the years and they aren't the fans fault. ULM was going to have a place in the Sun Belt because they had the friends in the league to make it happen (notably Arkansas State and Louisiana Lafayette who were totally fed up with La.Tech), but issuing the a press release announcing your "secret" decision made the process harder than it should have been and it nearly caused UNT to balk because UNT was very anti-ULM at the time. ULM didn't make Sun Belt football happen, the ULM administration made it happen later than it should have. Then later when the NCAA hit us with new rules requiring 8 full members we were down to inviting flippin Idaho to join in all sports because ULM was trying to clean up a mess. All that said. Cofer from all accounts has been a great hire. That doesn't excuse forcing league members to pay for help. As to Weatherbie, he may be a good Christian and he is getting the program on track but he is the only coach in this league that I can think of to ever insult one player, much less two on the record.

Monroe has some really good fans that really deserve better. In the last two years their administration has held up a schedule change ASU needed (OU was dropping a game with us and we were able to get LSU to move a game from 2005 to 2004) until they got a $50,000 "fee" for their trouble in moving in game on "short" (ie. 7 months) notice. Then they did the same thing for UNT getting $50,000 out of the deal (at least LSU picked up the tab that time instead of UNT). Over the years ASU has had to shift games before to help out conference mates and never charged a fee and UNT has done likewise. ULM's administration is the only one that charges to be helpful. Same administration that was supposed to send a "secret" binding notice to the Sun Belt to declare whether they intended to join the Sun Belt for football and sent out a press release announcing their what their intention was. Any school sending in the declaration to join was obligating itself to join but it did not assure them of an invitation and since it would be secret they wouldn't be embarassed if they didn't get invited. ULM was afraid that enough intent letters would come in and they wouldn't be invited. The ULM announcement caused La.Tech to publicly announce that they would not join because if they did and ULM got left out it would be clear WHY ULM didn't get invited, that is that Tech successfully lobbied against them. So it was easier for Tech to just declare they wouldn't join and hope it fell apart. Tech publicly announcing they were out, caused Central Florida to pull out. If ULM had kept their trap shut Central Florida likely ends up in the Belt instead of the MAC.

Weatherbie is a frickin 'tard. This is from last year's game with ASU "Their punter is so bad, you don't know where to line up," Weatherbie said. The thing is he had a great average but the coaches had drilled into his brain the importance of net yards over punt average and taught him to kick away from good returners, put it out of bounds, etc, whatever it took to turn the field around without giving up a good return so kicked the ball over the place against Monroe and they had basically zip in returns and got pinned inside the 20 several times. As to thinking Weatherbie took a shot at JT, no doubt about it. According to an article that had been posted on TribalGrounds after the UNT-ULM game he apparently said that if Jamario didn't have learning disability he wouldn't be at UNT because he would have academically qualified to place some place else. (ASU fans HATE Weatherbie and we keep fairly close track of his horse arse comments). After that same game he whined about ULM having better stats but giving the game away. Just as he made the same complaint after the last two ASU wins over them. Did I mention that ASU fans hate him.

Wow, NIU had dropped 15 straight at Toledo. Most notable was the loss in 2003 that knocked NIU out of the hunt for the MAC title game and left them at home with a 10-2 record after beating Maryland, Alabama, and Iowa State.