ursus
Spires Bear
Posts: 222
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Post by ursus on Oct 24, 2017 21:31:03 GMT -5
Jerry Moore @ App. State? No, wait...I’m going to change that to Wofford & Mike Ayers...and I still haven’t Googled. What do I win, ursus? OK - I googled Woffy...wasn’t them...but to your point...they were... 2013 - 5-6 & 4-4 2014 - 6-5 & 4-3 2015 - 6-5 & 4-3 It was Russ Huseman and Chattanooga 2009-2012. Here he is from 2013-2016. | Overall | Conference | | 8-4 | 6-2 | | 10-4 | 7-0 | | 9-4 | 6-1 | | 9-4 | 6-2 |
3 conference titles, 4 top 25 finishes, and 3 playoff appearances. In the previous 4 years before that I counted 9 games they lost by a possession or less. We're at 14 over the last 4 years, but they also lost 6 games by 2TDs, while we only had 4 2TD losses. I guess my point is we've been knocking on the door since Day 1 in the SoCon and might could be 1 year away from a SoCon title. A 6-5 and 5-3 finish would be exactly the same record that Chatt had before they rose to the top of the conference. |
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Post by BearDownMU on Oct 24, 2017 23:18:47 GMT -5
Pfft. Logic. You can't expect that to work around here.
We should just fire everyone. Unthinkable that a 5 year old football program hasn't won a title in the 3rd best conference in FCS.
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Post by FUBeAR on Oct 25, 2017 0:27:42 GMT -5
OK - I googled Woffy...wasn’t them...but to your point...they were... 2013 - 5-6 & 4-4 2014 - 6-5 & 4-3 2015 - 6-5 & 4-3 It was Russ Huseman and Chattanooga 2009-2012. Here he is from 2013-2016. | Overall | Conference | | 8-4 | 6-2 | | 10-4 | 7-0 | | 9-4 | 6-1 | | 9-4 | 6-2 |
3 conference titles, 4 top 25 finishes, and 3 playoff appearances. In the previous 4 years before that I counted 9 games they lost by a possession or less. We're at 14 over the last 4 years, but they also lost 6 games by 2TDs, while we only had 4 2TD losses. I guess my point is we've been knocking on the door since Day 1 in the SoCon and might could be 1 year away from a SoCon title. A 6-5 and 5-3 finish would be exactly the same record that Chatt had before they rose to the top of the conference. Good stuff ursus. I thought the Mocs went right from being 1-10 every year (essentially, not having a football program) to winning 3 SoCon Championships in a row. I guess, sometimes, building a championship program CAN be a multi-year process. |
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Post by FUBeAR on Oct 25, 2017 0:37:12 GMT -5
Pfft. Logic. You can't expect that to work around here. We should just fire everyone. Unthinkable that a 5 year old football program hasn't won a title in the 3rd best conference in FCS. * 2nd ...at the end of 2016 & will be again at the end of 2017. JMU gives the CAA a nice bump and they would have you believe that Richmond, Villanova, New Hampshire, and this year, Elon (who would lose to FU by 2 scores now) are great Teams, but it’ll become clear in the Playoffs that they are not. And the SoCon will be back to #2...maybe #1. I’m having some doubts about the MVFC & I know the Big Lie can’t hang. |
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Post by jackal on Oct 25, 2017 4:08:15 GMT -5
If I recall, during his early time at UTC, Huesman lost a bunch of very close games late in the fourth quarter too.
It would be nice to see the SoCon with four teams in the playoffs and potentially avoiding one another in the second round (likely won't happen). While the depth is there, I don't think we can boast a team like James Madison and NDSU, though. Those teams appear to be on a collision course at the moment.
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Post by chez23 on Oct 25, 2017 10:21:11 GMT -5
Funny how some in here get so defensive and twists things...... No one ever said "fire" everyone or that MU is no good. What is been said is that MU has had opportunity to be at the top of this conference this year but continues to lose 4th quarter games....which is holding the program back....and how long will MU deal with that? Even the HC said it in the locker room after the win at Citadel about the late 4th quarter losses. That tells you this program/staff knows the program has the label of losing ball games late. A 5 yrs old program in Georgia isn't an excuse anymore. If you cant coach in the 4th quarter then does it matter how old the program is?
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Post by jackal on Oct 25, 2017 10:46:30 GMT -5
Funny how some in here get so defensive and twists things...... No one ever said "fire" everyone or that MU is no good. What is been said is that MU has had opportunity to be at the top of this conference this year but continues to lose 4th quarter games....which is holding the program back....and how long will MU deal with that? Even the HC said it in the locker room after the win at Citadel about the late 4th quarter losses. That tells you this program/staff knows the program has the label of losing ball games late. A 5 yrs old program in Georgia isn't an excuse anymore. If you cant coach in the 4th quarter then does it matter how old the program is? So, what's your solution? What did you find objectionable about how Mercer coached in the fourth quarter? |
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Post by BearDownMU on Oct 25, 2017 11:07:24 GMT -5
Funny how some in here get so defensive and twists things...... No one ever said "fire" everyone or that MU is no good. What is been said is that MU has had opportunity to be at the top of this conference this year but continues to lose 4th quarter games....which is holding the program back....and how long will MU deal with that? Even the HC said it in the locker room after the win at Citadel about the late 4th quarter losses. That tells you this program/staff knows the program has the label of losing ball games late. A 5 yrs old program in Georgia isn't an excuse anymore. If you cant coach in the 4th quarter then does it matter how old the program is? So, what's your solution? What did you find objectionable about how Mercer coached in the fourth quarter? This is exactly my point. While I sure would have preferred a different outcome, the Furman-Mercer game was one of the cleaner FCS football games I've seen (I've watched it twice now) and both teams played HARD. And, honestly, there weren't a bunch of glaring mistakes to point at, in my opinion. There are always execution things that can be cleaned up (penalties, missed assignments, etc.) but those things happen. The game was back and forth game and Furman scored last. Here was the scoring progression, 7-0 Mercer, 7-7, 14-7 Furman, 14-14, 21-14 Mercer, 21-21, 28-21 Furman. That's about as even as you can get. But, to Jackal's point, I'd love to hear what the corrections need to be. |
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Post by jackal on Oct 25, 2017 11:14:45 GMT -5
So, what's your solution? What did you find objectionable about how Mercer coached in the fourth quarter? This is exactly my point. While I sure would have preferred a different outcome, the Furman-Mercer game was one of the cleaner FCS football games I've seen (I've watched it twice now) and both teams played HARD. And, honestly, there weren't a bunch of glaring mistakes to point at, in my opinion. There are always execution things that can be cleaned up (penalties, missed assignments, etc.) but those things happen. The game was back and forth game and Furman scored last. Here was the scoring progression, 7-0 Mercer, 7-7, 14-7 Furman, 14-14, 21-14 Mercer, 21-21, 28-21 Furman. That's about as even as you can get. But, to Jackal's point, I'd love to hear what the corrections need to be. I just don't think that's the game you want to point to supporting a theory that Mercer has a coaching problem in the fourth quarter. Maybe others fit that bill, but not that one. There are always things to pick about, but my assessment of the game was similar to yours. That was four quarters of a hard fought football game. Both teams played their tails off. |
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Post by chez23 on Oct 25, 2017 12:32:32 GMT -5
Cant say there was one or two things that where glaring... and yes it was a close game all the way thru. All I can say is these are the games that something special needs to happen...a bnoig play for the D, a turnover or a conversion on 3rd downs late in the game.... to take next steps that you have to MAKE something special happen....MY hasn't had that "statement" game in the last tow season when the team is very good and equal talent to anyone in this conference. It just seems stuck in neutral.
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Post by jackal on Oct 25, 2017 13:21:34 GMT -5
Cant say there was one or two things that where glaring... and yes it was a close game all the way thru. All I can say is these are the games that something special needs to happen...a bnoig play for the D, a turnover or a conversion on 3rd downs late in the game.... to take next steps that you have to MAKE something special happen....MY hasn't had that "statement" game in the last tow season when the team is very good and equal talent to anyone in this conference. It just seems stuck in neutral. I think you are just overlooking that winning at this level isn't easy. Mercer has had a team for a couple of years, and has generally far outpaced most teams that entered the SoCon. Elon was hammered for years when they joined. They looked like a glorified high school team. Samford was a perennial out of conference doormat for many SoCon teams, and still hasn't really come close to reaching its potential. Wofford struggled initially and occasionally will have bad seasons even still. Each of those teams was already an established program when they joined the conference. UTC was awful for years before they started to slowly climb under Russ Huesman, and have now slid back. Same with WCU and Spier. Mercer essentially started from whole cloth. They've done more in a shorter time than any program I can remember. I just think you are going to drive yourself nuts if you watch every game always expecting Mercer to "take the next step." Those type of advancements, in my opinion, take years to accomplish, not something you can measure game to game. |
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Post by chez23 on Oct 25, 2017 15:31:27 GMT -5
Cant agree with all you said. Programs in today's environment no longer take as long as you think to develop....MU had it's chance this year to really make its mark and was in position to be sitting undefeated in the SOCON and at worse 5-1. You cant deny that. But here they are middle of the pack once again. Again, MU has done a nice job from facilities/academics to Georgia recruiting ( which would of been special this year if they were 6-0 right now) the program is set up to be a power house....however, in the end W's is what matter most.
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Post by FUBeAR on Oct 25, 2017 15:46:43 GMT -5
Programs in today's environment no longer take as long...to develop Examples, please? Pretend it's real estate though...make sure your examples are "comparables.' For example....DON'T give me Kennesaw, who has NEVER defeated a full scholarship D1 Team with a winning record. Their current record has been achieved by defeating a D2 Team & D1 Teams, whose combined record is 5-28. They are also projected to lose 2 of their final 4 games with a 3rd being a toss-up. If those predictions are accurate, they will probably not make the Playoffs; not even with an 8-3 record..definitely not at 7-4. And...they are a public university with over 35,000 students and virtually no admissions standards beyond requiring a high school diploma. They still require that, right? GO! |
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Post by jackal on Oct 25, 2017 15:47:16 GMT -5
Cant agree with all you said. Programs in today's environment no longer take as long as you think to develop....MU had it's chance this year to really make its mark and was in position to be sitting undefeated in the SOCON and at worse 5-1. You cant deny that. But here they are middle of the pack once again. Again, MU has done a nice job from facilities/academics to Georgia recruiting ( which would of been special this year if they were 6-0 right now) the program is set up to be a power house....however, in the end W's is what matter most. Honestly, from where do you draw the conclusion that Mercer is "set up to be a powerhouse?" You keep harping on Mercer being located in Georgia. That's great, but its not like Mercer has a cornered market on recruiting in the Peach State. Just use Furman as an example. Antonio Wilcox scored three touchdowns Saturday. He is from Fitzgerald. Our starting CB Quan Weems is from Griffin (one of two Griffin CBs that play a bunch). Our top QB recruit last season is from Waycross. We have a freshman running back whose seen a lot of playing time from Greensboro. That's not metro Atlanta (though there's a bundle of Furman players from that area). That's rural south and central Georgia. Heck, arguably the greatest Furman football player in the last 40 years was from Fort Valley. I'm not just trying to be contrarian, but my impression of your argument is that Mercer should be dominating the SoCon because they have good academics, good facilities, and are located in Georgia. There are a lot of SoCon schools that have good academics, good facilities, and recruit well in Georgia. |
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Post by chez23 on Oct 26, 2017 10:17:37 GMT -5
If Mercer wins those tight games instead of losing them then they win the conference.....which then would draw better recruits....and there are better high school players coming out of Florida, & Georgia then anywhere else in the country. Texas is strong as well but too far. Simple formula. So yes, MU could be a powerhouse....but they have to win the tight games to win the conference which they have shown ( and now have the stigma attached) they have a tough time doing. I am not promoted this idea....but do you feel MU could be winning more with a different coach? Is there a next coach out there that can get this program to a title? Talent is here, that is obvious, so the recruiting has been good and really would be very good if they win.
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