MU- late loses becoming a stigma?

I feel like we had this conversation before. I'm sure no one is satisfied with losing.

That being said, all the conference games we've lost we've by less than a touchdown except for two. A 14 point loss to Western Carolina and a 28 point loss to Wofford last year.

We were double digit underdogs in every one of those games last year where were were always within 7.

The two big losses from last year, if you notice, were the two teams we just played. Wofford beat us by 28 last year and we just lost by 1 in OT. Western beat us by 14 last year and led the whole way and they just beat us by 4 with 40 seconds left.

Also, we just played last week and the 2nd half of the Wofford game without our starting outside LB, the backup outside LB, an impact receiver, our best OLineman that a central point (pulling guard) in our best running play, our blocking TE for said best running play.

I know everyone has injuries, but it's a lot tougher when you aren't even fully scholarshipped and have only been playing football games for 3 years.

Now, I would agree that we were less aggressive than I would have liked offensively in the 2nd half. But I'm not a professional football coach.

So, to your question. Of course we are better. You can just watch film and see that.

OK. Granted that was more than one word, BUT I think the success of the past two years have led to unreasonable expectations. Including my own. Having said that, I am still disappointed in the last 3 losses. Could have, should have won all three. No question in my mind. Just the fact that the Bears are competitive is impressive at this point. While we are all disappointed about is that we look back and see we SHOULD have won those games. I can (and have) pointed to particular mistakes made, but let's not lose sight of the BIG picture here. SoCon football is tough sledding. Mercer is light years ahead of where they were expected to be at this point. They will continue to improve. The future is bright.

Again I am an outsider, so this is worth all you are paying for it.

Mercer is an "on the rise" team. WCU floundered for years, and recent changes to our President, AD, and head coach made a huge difference (a leadership tree that I think Mercer is already strong in). The first 2 years of Western's new leadership tenure resulted in 1 and 2 win seasons because we were not a start-up and had a full slate of FCS and FBS games. We still have plenty of room to grow, but 2 or 3 years ago we lose the game to you guys this past weekend instead of making adjustments and then finding a way to win. Mercer is doing this the right way, and will build momentum based on having some OOC success and based on your leadership and talent level. The steps are have a plan and leadership, build with adding talent, learn how to be competitive, then turn the corner where those close games start going your way more than the other guy's. Coaching is part of it, talent is part of it, but the mindset and culture are also important. I don't compare Mercer to ETSU - I compare you guys to maybe a dominate team from the Pioneer league who has made the shift to scholarship football and are now trying to turn the next corner. Oh wait - that is exactly who you guys are.

I agree with you.

Again, outsider's perspective, but I think Mercer has done well in scheduling the past few years to give their fans an exciting look at a winning program.  The reality is Mercer is not going play Ave Maria, Warner, Reinhart, Stetson, etc. forever.  

While I think the schedule has given Mercer a great recruiting tool and a chance to promote a hot new program, I also think that Mercer's fan base might have been given an unrealistic look at FCS/SoCon football.  Many Mercer fans are completely new to this level of competition and this conference.  

Blowout wins are rare.  Most games are tough scraps.  Sometimes the fortunes shine on you, but most conference games and the overwhelming amount of out of conference games are going to be sharp fights. 

...and, so far, we have received NONE of the same courtesy from our SoCon brethren (VMI, Samford, Chatt, Wofford, and WCU). To be fair to WCU, I don't know that anyone tried to arrange something there, but we did reach out to the 1st 4 mentioned and rec'd 'brush-offs' from each.

We do have 2 current SoCon venues remaining that we have not visited and I am holding out high hopes for those games. The Furman setup looks like it's going to a be a sweet deal (set up with FU by Mercer's Alumni Association, who is doing Tailgating RIGHT for this game) and I think the folks at FU have done a fantastic job at setting up a great spot, facilitating vendor relationships, marketing the availability of such...and I bet they are making a few $'s on the deal. If they aren't, I think they should. I am, or at least I think I am, working with the folks at The Citadel to have an event down there, but what that ends up looking like remains to be seen. Fingers crossed!

Seems so simple to me...Every Team travels to the other's place every other year. Why not provide the visiting fans with a GREAT place to hold a GREAT Tailgate Event and be treated reciprocally by the other schools in the SoCon? With the attendance % of capacity I see at every school (ironically, except Mercer), I would think anything a school could do to draw additional fans to their games would be a top priority. Regardless of the colors they wear into the games, all of their money is GREEN...and Marshall has long-ago left the SoCon...thankfully!

Thanks for calling that out 95 - gave me an oppty to vent and to call attention to an opportunity that (almost) all of the SoCon schools are missing!

Back on topic.... I agree that MU is on the right path, however, losing tough games on a consistent basis does begin to add that stigma to a progeam that it cant win a big game. There is enough expereince now on the roster to put that to rest... but they are 0-2 so far so lets see how it goes. ETSU wont be a close game ( it shoudnt be) so this week isnt a measuring stick....expect a MU blowout, as it should be for a MU program "on the rise"

That picture is kinda old. About 4 years.