2014 Expectations Have Changed

[Sig381]

After five games my bowl win high is gone. a little upset on the talent evaluation at the QB position. The last five game has shown us the Good, Bad and Ugly. now i feel like we have a pretty good idea of what this football team can do. the defense has a learning curve on that note so does the offense. we are doing great for how young most of our guys are. we are in the same place as last season. This up coming game is big do to the fact its on the road and will give us a 1-1 record in C-USA right in the middle of the hunt. i will be happy getting to six wins but that will not get us into a bowl game with C-USA looking good this year. we will a least need 7 or 8 wins. How has your expectations changed this year? .

[oldguystudent]

I think we're looking at 5-7. It's very possible to win out at home. I think we end up 5-1 at home, 0-6 on the road. Could be 4-2 at home, 1-5 one the road. Don't think it's gonna get to six, would lay money against it getting to 7. This team just doesn't isn't last year's team.

Mac:road games::Dickey:OOC games

[UNT90]

I think we're looking at 5-7. It's very possible to win out at home. I think we end up 5-1 at home, 0-6 on the road. Could be 4-2 at home, 1-5 one the road. Don't think it's gonna get to six, would lay money against it getting to 7. This team just doesn't isn't last year's team.

Mac:road games::Dickey:OOC games

Why are you so negative?

[oldguystudent]

Why are you so negative?

Some jerk I sit next to is rubbing off on me.

[risinggreen]

If we win on Saturday, I see no reason that we can't win 4 out of the last 6 with 3 of the 6 being at home. That would give us 7 wins, and this isn't exactly an imposing schedule that we're facing. Saturday's game is crucial to say the least. Time to forget about a road loss to a much improved team that beat Top 20 Missouri.

[MEANGREENCOACH2]

I envisioned us mowing people over with our offensive line being one of our biggest strengths. With a combination of play actions hitting our TE's down the seems, some boot designed roll outs with short to intermediate routes.

The amount of shotgun this year is surprising.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

Look...

...The C-USA sucks, okay? There. I said it. It's nothing more than Sun Belt II with a couple of FCS/Startups included to make it suck even more. Alright?

So, what does that mean? It means we don't have to be great to go to a bowl game in this conference. We are the de facto old Sun Belt, so we only have to be old Sun Belt good because C-USA had many more bowl contracts than the old Sun Belt.

(That, of course, will change when the contracts expire and the bowl boards and advertisers see that C-USA is now AAC and Sun Belt is now C-USA. But, for now, it plays into our hands very nicely.)

So, don't worry. Teams who get to bowl eligibility in the current C-USA do not have to be world beaters. Not even close. They will all be like us - win every other week.

Just admit to yourself - or, just realize - that the conference we are in sucks, with teams sucking and with many questions about themselves as we have with half the season gone. Okay?

Edited October 9, 2014 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

[IslandEagle]

Look...

...The C-USA sucks, okay? There. I said it. It's nothing more than Sun Belt II with a couple of FCS/Startups included to make it suck even more. Alright?

So, what does that mean? It means we don't have to be great to go to a bowl game in this conference. We are the de facto old Sun Belt, so we only have to be old Sun Belt good because C-USA had many more bowl contracts than the old Sun Belt.

(That, of course, will change when the contracts expire and the bowl boards and advertisers see that C-USA is now AAC and Sun Belt is now C-USA. But, for now, it plays into our hands very nicely.)

So, don't worry. Teams who get to bowl eligibility in the current C-USA do not have to be world beaters. Not even close. They will all be like us - win every other week.

Just admit to yourself - or, just realize - that the conference we are in sucks, with teams sucking and with many questions about themselves as we have with half the season gone. Okay?

Yeah. Marshall really sucks.

[tmjerm]

The West is so down this year....I can't wrap my mind around what to expect. Us, UTSA, Rice...all disappointed. Won't really know until we start playing our division...but, keep in mind DW only has 2 games under his belt. In one he put up huge numbers, in the other he had is second start ever on the road against an improved Big 10 team. We're definitely going to have to outscore folks this yr so I'm antsy to see what happens too...but I believe the offense will get moving in the next 2 games. Our Oline is too good and DW is too talented not to. CUSA is just weak - we'll have our chances.

Plus the east teams we play aren't Marshall...

Edited October 9, 2014 by tmjerm

[JRock]

No way we go 5-7.

[MEANGREENCOACH2]

we will go 7-5 BOOK IT

hopefully we pound UAB in the trenches with our offensive line and we have 3 people going for over 100 yards.

Edited October 9, 2014 by MEANGREENCOACH2

[MEANGREENCOACH2]

Yeah. Marshall really sucks.

Marshall is our Golden Boy in CUSA but they havent had a tough game this year. They will go undefeated unless they fall asleep at the wheel. I love the way they scheduled games. They basically destroyed the state of OHIO

[untjim1995]

The West is so down this year....I can't wrap my mind around what to expect. Us, UTSA, Rice...all disappointed. Won't really know until we start playing our division...but, keep in mind DW only has 2 games under his belt. In one he put up huge numbers, in the other he had is second start ever on the road against an improved Big 10 team. We're definitely going to have to outscore folks this yr so I'm antsy to see what happens too...but I believe the offense will get moving in the next 2 games. Our Oline is too good and DW is too talented not to. CUSA is just weak - we'll have our chances.

Plus the east teams we play aren't Marshall...

I'd like our chances--or just about any other G5 school in America--with Marshall's schedule this year. But I do give Marshall big time credit for something--their administration basically told the AD to make a very manageable schedule for their team and if they do what they think they could accomplish, they might just make up the revenue from a guaranteed ass-whipping to some P5 powerhouse by getting ranked and possibly earning a BCS bowl game spot. Imagine that, UNT administration and BOR!! A school that is in podunk West Virginia and is in the same conference as us has basically said, we are gonna try to make money by investing in the program and helping it to become a big winner that will get ranked, which is far from guaranteed, but the KNOWN COSTS aren't going to dictate the budgeting decisions for the best window of advertising the university has to offer to the general public and alumni base--what a crazy scheme they are trying!! Marsahll is really jeopardizing their ranking, though, on the Best College Value Rankings list...

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

--- If we don't believe in ourselves ... don't expect others to do so. If you saw New England and Brady a couple of weeks ago ... you might have thought they were near the bottom of the league... The next week proved otherwise... Keep your chin up and keep plugging... Things change ... be optimistic... we have been worse and in worse conferences. CUSA isn't the SEC but it isn't awful either .... Don't trash yourself or your "friends". You might convince others you are trash.

Edited October 9, 2014 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[GreenTexan13]

After five games my bowl win high is gone. a little upset on the talent evaluation at the QB position. The last five game has shown us the Good, Bad and Ugly. now i feel like we have a pretty good idea of what this football team can do. the defense has a learning curve on that note so does the offense. we are doing great for how young most of our guys are. we are in the same place as last season. This up coming game is big do to the fact its on the road and will give us a 1-1 record in C-USA right in the middle of the hunt. i will be happy getting to six wins but that will not get us into a bowl game with C-USA looking good this year. we will a least need 7 or 8 wins. How has your expectations changed this year? .

Did you say the same thing last year? Look, we haven't played our conference yet this year (besides latech). We lose to teams like Texas and Indiana and we are calling it quits for the season. The way I see it, we go to a bowl game this year. After we play our conference opponents this year, then we can truly evaluate this. I'm not giving up on the team this year, I know we can have a 2013 repeat. If we give up, then why should the players keep trying?

GMG!

[Ben Gooding]

No one on this board is "giving up." We will do our part. Most students aren't diehards yet. The student section has turned into a monumental advantage for us, but they come to games bc it is the thing to so bc of the momentum built from last season. If we keep losing expect that student section to keep shrinking. We need our student section and we have to have them turn into diehards and eventually stumble across this board and follow North Texas. They are the future and younger people don't have the patience to watch us keep getting not just beat, but get our teeth kicked kicked in. We have to win these next 2 games. They are without a doubt must win games.

[jacksondf]

7-5 if we win Saturday

6-6 if we lose Saturday.

I have two reasons for optimism: A very inexperienced defense should improve a lot as the season goes on. And with strong quarterback play our offense could be something special.

I'm not worried, as I expected to be 2-3 at this point anyway. I just picked the SMU and La Tech games backwards.

[CMJ]

I expect a win Saturday.