(10-13-2013 08:40 AM)tufinal4 Wrote:  We were playing with our 2nd string QB for pete's sake, and were up 10 points after 3 quarters. This win was no fluke; Tulane is for real.

Tulane has made great strides and played hard. They limited mistakes last night and made the big play to win. ECU failed on both of these.

That being said. Ill give you 14 points right now if we meet again.

(10-12-2013 07:45 PM)shere khan Wrote:  Tulane is awesome. I been tellin you guys forever

well played.

(10-13-2013 09:38 AM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-12-2013 11:43 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  

(10-12-2013 10:35 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Just confirms my concern about this conference going forward. After UL leaves next year, we're likely not going to have anybody consistently great or terrible in conference, and almost anybody can beat anybody else. Parity is exactly what plagued BE football, and it will hurt our chances at grabbing the access bowl slot. It's better if we have a few top teams who beat everybody else, as is perhaps more likely in basketball.

I heard on TV that until MO beat GA today, the top 6 teams in the SEC were undefeated against the rest of the conference over the past 5 years, or something like that.

I think parity is bad in the short term, yes... but in the long run this gauntlet of a conference will enforce a survival of the fittest amongst the head coaches.

The BE had no respect, but you couldn't question their postseason and OOC records. We'll beat each other up all year every year, but I believe this is exactly what the conference needs to take on the big name programs and WIN.

Memphis should know this very well in basketball. You guys have gotten soft with the years that C-USA has been down. Now that anyone on your schedule can beat you (or you may even be underdogs for once), ... you get the idea.

I'm talking specifically about our chances to secure the Access Bowl slot for our champ. Parity kills it. Domination by one or two is much better for that scenario.

I don't think it'll be as much of an issue as you think TripleA. Look at the other G5 conferences now. Fresno seems to have caught up to Boise and there are two or three other teams in that conference that can make noise "in conference". Same with the MAC, CUSA and the Belt. So I think the American has just as much of a shot as any of those even with the parity.

The American just needs a team or two (different each year)preferably to make a run in conference and the more parity/improvement we have across the board, the better chance I think we have of winning nonconference games against AQ teams. That's the bread and butter to gaining that access bowl when you really think about it.

The SEC didn't gain its reputation by just having one or two teams at the top of the conference, they did it by whipping their nonconference schedules.

JMHO.

Maybe I'm not being clear enough. If we have 2-4 teams tie for the conference best record at 5-2 (or now 6-2), as happened often with the BE, it is unlikely any of those teams will gain the access bowl for that season. We need one or two teams to go undefeated in conference, meet in the championship game, with the highest ranked one winning, to have the best shot. And winning most of their OOC games matters, too.

This is not my opinion. It's a simple mathematical fact.

After UL leaves, I'm concerned that won't happen often. As it looks, the MWC and MAC seem to offer more opportunities for a team or two to run through the conference. Heck, even C-USA, perhaps. Sorta like Memphis had it in basketball with C-USA.

I hope that is clearer now.

[quote='TripleA' pid='9852374' dateline='1381676799']
Maybe I'm not being clear enough. If we have 2-4 teams tie for the conference best record at 5-2 (or now 6-2), as happened often with the BE, it is unlikely any of those teams will gain the access bowl for that season. We need one or two teams to go undefeated in conference, meet in the championship game, with the highest ranked one winning, to have the best shot. And winning most of their OOC games matters, too.


I agree.....look at the teams that cracked the bcs from non aq conferences. In almost every case they went undefeated during the regular season. Last year was the lone exception.
2004-Utah 11-0, (12-0 after routing Pitt in the Fiesta) 3 wins over bcs teams OOC
2006-Boise (12-0, 13-0 after beating Oklahoma in the fiesta) 2 wins over bcs teams OOC
[2007-Hawaii (12-0, 12-1 after loss to Georgia in Sugar
[2008-Utah (12-0, 13-0 after whipping Alabama in the sugar) 2 wins over bcs teams OOC
2009-Boise (12-0, 12-1 after losing to TCU in the fiesta) 2 wins over bcs teams OOC
2009-TCU (12-0, 13-0 after beating Boise in the fiesta) 2 wins over bcs teams OOC
2010-TCU (12-0, 13-0 after beating Wisconsin in the Rose) 2 wins over bcs teams OOC

(10-12-2013 11:43 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  

(10-12-2013 10:35 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Just confirms my concern about this conference going forward. After UL leaves next year, we're likely not going to have anybody consistently great or terrible in conference, and almost anybody can beat anybody else. Parity is exactly what plagued BE football, and it will hurt our chances at grabbing the access bowl slot. It's better if we have a few top teams who beat everybody else, as is perhaps more likely in basketball.

I heard on TV that until MO beat GA today, the top 6 teams in the SEC were undefeated against the rest of the conference over the past 5 years, or something like that.

I think parity is bad in the short term, yes... but in the long run this gauntlet of a conference will enforce a survival of the fittest amongst the head coaches.

The BE had no respect, but you couldn't question their postseason and OOC records. We'll beat each other up all year every year, but I believe this is exactly what the conference needs to take on the big name programs and WIN.

Memphis should know this very well in basketball. You guys have gotten soft with the years that C-USA has been down. Now that anyone on your schedule can beat you (or you may even be underdogs for once), ... you get the idea.

Kruciff, I am afraid I'm on AAA's side on this one. No one remembers a season where there are 3 or 4 co-champions. In the years of the Big East, that signaled weakness in the minds of the pundits. That never changed, nor would it have ever.

When Boise (or Fresno) runs through the MWC with a 12-0, 11-1 type of a record against (perhaps) weaker competition, the pundits will give that preference over the AAC winner that goes 9-3 or 10-2 because the conference is "competitive".

Take the word of a former Big East participant - having a tough, competitive conference gets you nowhere.

(10-13-2013 12:39 PM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  

(10-12-2013 11:43 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  

(10-12-2013 10:35 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Just confirms my concern about this conference going forward. After UL leaves next year, we're likely not going to have anybody consistently great or terrible in conference, and almost anybody can beat anybody else. Parity is exactly what plagued BE football, and it will hurt our chances at grabbing the access bowl slot. It's better if we have a few top teams who beat everybody else, as is perhaps more likely in basketball.

I heard on TV that until MO beat GA today, the top 6 teams in the SEC were undefeated against the rest of the conference over the past 5 years, or something like that.

I think parity is bad in the short term, yes... but in the long run this gauntlet of a conference will enforce a survival of the fittest amongst the head coaches.

The BE had no respect, but you couldn't question their postseason and OOC records. We'll beat each other up all year every year, but I believe this is exactly what the conference needs to take on the big name programs and WIN.

Memphis should know this very well in basketball. You guys have gotten soft with the years that C-USA has been down. Now that anyone on your schedule can beat you (or you may even be underdogs for once), ... you get the idea.

Kruciff, I am afraid I'm on AAA's side on this one. No one remembers a season where there are 3 or 4 co-champions. In the years of the Big East, that signaled weakness in the minds of the pundits. That never changed, nor would it have ever.

When Boise (or Fresno) runs through the MWC with a 12-0, 11-1 type of a record against (perhaps) weaker competition, the pundits will give that preference over the AAC winner that goes 9-3 or 10-2 because the conference is "competitive".

Take the word of a former Big East participant - having a tough, competitive conference gets you nowhere.

Yep this is right. AAC needs 2 teams ranked every year, preferably if they play each other late in the season. They need 6 really bad teams who are never a threat to win. And they need 4 mediocre teams who play well OOC and lay down in conference (like USF used to do).

(10-13-2013 12:39 PM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  

(10-12-2013 11:43 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  

(10-12-2013 10:35 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Just confirms my concern about this conference going forward. After UL leaves next year, we're likely not going to have anybody consistently great or terrible in conference, and almost anybody can beat anybody else. Parity is exactly what plagued BE football, and it will hurt our chances at grabbing the access bowl slot. It's better if we have a few top teams who beat everybody else, as is perhaps more likely in basketball.

I heard on TV that until MO beat GA today, the top 6 teams in the SEC were undefeated against the rest of the conference over the past 5 years, or something like that.

I think parity is bad in the short term, yes... but in the long run this gauntlet of a conference will enforce a survival of the fittest amongst the head coaches.

The BE had no respect, but you couldn't question their postseason and OOC records. We'll beat each other up all year every year, but I believe this is exactly what the conference needs to take on the big name programs and WIN.

Memphis should know this very well in basketball. You guys have gotten soft with the years that C-USA has been down. Now that anyone on your schedule can beat you (or you may even be underdogs for once), ... you get the idea.

Kruciff, I am afraid I'm on AAA's side on this one. No one remembers a season where there are 3 or 4 co-champions. In the years of the Big East, that signaled weakness in the minds of the pundits. That never changed, nor would it have ever.

When Boise (or Fresno) runs through the MWC with a 12-0, 11-1 type of a record against (perhaps) weaker competition, the pundits will give that preference over the AAC winner that goes 9-3 or 10-2 because the conference is "competitive".

Take the word of a former Big East participant - having a tough, competitive conference gets you nowhere.

You guys had an AQ slot (including this year), so nobody really knows whether a 10-2 American(Big East) team would be selected ahead of an 11-1 Boise, because until next year it didn't matter. I think SOS/RPI is going to play much more into the selection of the Access Bowl rep than just being ranked in the Top 25 or being undefeated going forward which means you want all teams in your conference playing well. Kind of similar to how teams are selected for the NCAA basketball tournament. But I'm not disagreeing that we need a team or two to go 11-1 or 12-0 and that will increase our chances to get the access bowl.

(10-12-2013 07:44 PM)AusTxPony Wrote:  Happened to us last year by 1 point, so you're for a great deal of grief believe me. The straw that broke June Jones' back.

SMU came into that game with 3 losses; they made a bowl, and won it....they couldn't have done any better with their season had they beaten Tulane.

This won't affect ECU either. Their game is @ Marshall...win it, they play for the C-USA title, same as if they had won yesterday.

Tulane has made great strides for the last two years under Coach CJ. Johnson. Louisiana is known for the mother lode of high school football recruits. Under CJ Tulane have taken the lead after LSU A&M and Alabama in recruiting the best high school seniors in the state. Combine that with an awesome local Louisiana coaching staff.

(10-13-2013 01:03 PM)ECUPirated Wrote:  

(10-13-2013 12:39 PM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  Kruciff, I am afraid I'm on AAA's side on this one. No one remembers a season where there are 3 or 4 co-champions. In the years of the Big East, that signaled weakness in the minds of the pundits. That never changed, nor would it have ever.

When Boise (or Fresno) runs through the MWC with a 12-0, 11-1 type of a record against (perhaps) weaker competition, the pundits will give that preference over the AAC winner that goes 9-3 or 10-2 because the conference is "competitive".

Take the word of a former Big East participant - having a tough, competitive conference gets you nowhere.

You guys had an AQ slot (including this year), so nobody really knows whether a 10-2 American(Big East) team would be selected ahead of an 11-1 Boise, because until next year it didn't matter. I think SOS/RPI is going to play much more into the selection of the Access Bowl rep than just being ranked in the Top 25 or being undefeated going forward which means you want all teams in your conference playing well. Kind of similar to how teams are selected for the NCAA basketball tournament. But I'm not disagreeing that we need a team or two to go 11-1 or 12-0 and that will increase our chances to get the access bowl.

Thing that worries me, is that computer is completely taken out. Say what you will about computer rankings, but once the programmer lays out the algorithm, the computer does not care about the school's helmet. The computer does know what the strength of schedule is.

The fact that the BE had several good, but not great, teams, is what made them a top half BCS league (on the field) many years. With that gone, the talking heads pick the bowl participants, and I doubt any of them give us a fair shake.

Nothing against ECU, but I was glad to see Tulane win because of all the insults (many from ECU fans such as BondsJohn) that have been hurled at them since they were invited to the Big East. I have said all along that they are a valuable asset and are capable of having a good program.

(10-13-2013 04:52 PM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  Thing that worries me, is that computer is completely taken out. Say what you will about computer rankings, but once the programmer lays out the algorithm, the computer does not care about the school's helmet. The computer does know what the strength of schedule is.

The fact that the BE had several good, but not great, teams, is what made them a top half BCS league (on the field) many years. With that gone, the talking heads pick the bowl participants, and I doubt any of them give us a fair shake.

I share your concern on that.

Good game Tulane. I'm sorry I didn't get to see it.... sort of.

Not sure why what I said is so debatable. I simply said that to have the BEST shot at an access slot, we need a team or two to dominate everybody else in conference and win 3 or 4 OOC games. As opposed to having several co-champs at 6-2 next year, before divisions.

My concern is that it doesn't seem to be shaping up like that for next season, and perhaps beyond.

gotta be happy for the Tulane fans. They have suffered far too long!

I'm pleased to see Tulane and ECU doing well!

(10-13-2013 11:52 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Not sure why what I said is so debatable. I simply said that to have the BEST shot at an access slot, we need a team or two to dominate everybody else in conference and win 3 or 4 OOC games. As opposed to having several co-champs at 6-2 next year, before divisions.

My concern is that it doesn't seem to be shaping up like that for next season, and perhaps beyond.

no one can disagree with this. It was boise's playbook for years and now NIU seems to have copied it as well. It is working out for both very well.

I attended the ECU vs. Tulane game in New Orleans on Saturday. Tulane had a great game plan and executed it well. My Pirates had all the statistics in our favor (except the score), but could not punch the ball over the goal line in the red zone, which we had been doing with ease. Hats off to you Tulane.

Having stayed in New Orleans for 4 days to tour the city and take in the sites I see what Tulane is against when it comes to recognition. All around town you saw the Saints banners and flags. Saw several LSU fans wearing their purple and gold. The TV stations talk continually about the Saints and then LSU and occasionally about Tulane. As compared to Greenville and eastern NC the main topic on the sports channel in Greenville is ECU. While we share time with UNC, NC State, and the Panthers it is not nearly as much as what Tulane faces.

My hat is off to you Tulane. Good luck for the remainder of the year... except when we hopefully meet you again for the conference championship game.

(10-13-2013 07:06 AM)Bleeds_Purple Wrote:  I saw this upset coming from a mile away. Our fans need to chill and move on to Southern Miss. There is no reason we can't win the remainder of our games and finish 10-2. It won't be easy with the Injuries and suspensions but maybe we will get a couple of guys back.

Wise words. ECU fans should take heed.

Winning @Raleigh and @Huntington back-to-back won't be a walk in the park, but ECU has the talent and the mental toughness to do it, IMHO. Here's hoping.