(11-22-2019 08:52 AM)Gamecock Wrote:  Pacific beat South Carolina once, in 1981. Way before my time, but that one still stings the older fans.

1981. Clemson rolls into rivalry week with an undefeated record and an Orange Bowl bid on the line. South Carolina was playing @ Hawaii the next week so the running joke was “How do you expect to get to Hawaii when you can’t get over Pacific?”

(11-22-2019 09:51 AM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 08:52 AM)Gamecock Wrote:  Pacific beat South Carolina once, in 1981. Way before my time, but that one still stings the older fans.

1981. Clemson rolls into rivalry week with an undefeated record and an Orange Bowl bid on the line. South Carolina was playing @ Hawaii the next week so the running joke was “How do you expect to get to Hawaii when you can’t get over Pacific?”

Interesting and I took a look at the 1981 season.

Clemson, obviously, National Champs and Kevin Mack was on that team, one of my all-time favorite Browns. Mack and Byner!
William Perry played as a true freshman?

SMU was banned from a bowl game. They labeled their season ending game with Arkansas the "polyester bowl".

And to stay on topic, this was the first year of the California Bowl or "Mini Rose Bowl" between the Big West and MAC.

I've never claimed to be the greatest researcher, hope this is all true!

Note: I was 9 in 1981 so I remember SMU and Clemson, but very vague on actual information during that season.

Long Beach State's coach at the time before the school shut down the program was a former head coach of an NFL team who had connections to the NFL. It seems he had an NFL owner interested of building a stadium in Long Beach which could be shared with a pro team with the school. It was the school's ad and the school president conspired to kill the program. Most of the California's schools were run by ADs and presidents from schools like the Ivy League or D3 schools who either dropped football or stop given scholarships which wound up killing football in California.

(11-21-2019 10:50 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(11-21-2019 05:50 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  It’s a shame that some of these California teams went by the wayside. Imagine if there was still Big West football with:

Sac St
UC Davis
Cal Poly
Long Beach St
Cal St Fullerton
Cal St Northridge
Pacific
NMSU

Idaho and Utah State would likely be a part of that. Certainly Idaho.

Idaho yes. Utah St no—they’d take the MWC over this group.

Perhaps the Montana twins might have made their way to the Big West too.

(11-22-2019 09:51 AM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 08:52 AM)Gamecock Wrote:  Pacific beat South Carolina once, in 1981. Way before my time, but that one still stings the older fans.

1981. Clemson rolls into rivalry week with an undefeated record and an Orange Bowl bid on the line. South Carolina was playing @ Hawaii the next week so the running joke was “How do you expect to get to Hawaii when you can’t get over Pacific?”

Oof

If Hawaii upsets Boise State in the MWC championship game, the Big West will be represented in the Las Vegas Bowl for the first time since 1996 (Nevada).

The Las Vegas Bowl started out as the designated bowl game for the Big West and MAC champions in 1992.

(11-21-2019 05:05 PM)Cajuns1252 Wrote:  

(11-21-2019 11:00 AM)esayem Wrote:  What were some of the rivalries in the Big West involving Cal St. Fullerton, Long Beach State, and Pacific?

I didn’t realize Pacific was playing up to 1995 until I saw them on an old video game.

The big west was very different compared to what it is now in 1995, I mean USL (Louisiana) LaTech, NIU and a few California teams. So with that being said I’m gonna say Louisiana and La Tech

AState-LaTech and AState-USL.

Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech used to be a heated rivalry as in hey let’s have a bench clearing brawl every few years heated.


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(11-24-2019 07:34 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(11-21-2019 05:05 PM)Cajuns1252 Wrote:  

(11-21-2019 11:00 AM)esayem Wrote:  What were some of the rivalries in the Big West involving Cal St. Fullerton, Long Beach State, and Pacific?

I didn’t realize Pacific was playing up to 1995 until I saw them on an old video game.

The big west was very different compared to what it is now in 1995, I mean USL (Louisiana) LaTech, NIU and a few California teams. So with that being said I’m gonna say Louisiana and La Tech

AState-LaTech and AState-USL.

Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech used to be a heated rivalry as in hey let’s have a bench clearing brawl every few years heated.


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Is that a big reason why AState tends to get passed over when CUSA expansion comes up?

(11-24-2019 08:19 PM)Mav Wrote:  

(11-24-2019 07:34 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(11-21-2019 05:05 PM)Cajuns1252 Wrote:  

(11-21-2019 11:00 AM)esayem Wrote:  What were some of the rivalries in the Big West involving Cal St. Fullerton, Long Beach State, and Pacific?

I didn’t realize Pacific was playing up to 1995 until I saw them on an old video game.

The big west was very different compared to what it is now in 1995, I mean USL (Louisiana) LaTech, NIU and a few California teams. So with that being said I’m gonna say Louisiana and La Tech

AState-LaTech and AState-USL.

Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech used to be a heated rivalry as in hey let’s have a bench clearing brawl every few years heated.


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Is that a big reason why AState tends to get passed over when CUSA expansion comes up?

Only been three schools added since Tech got a vote. Interestingly one of us had other brawls those years and one didn’t. I’ve seen three football brawls in person two involved Tech one Memphis. Each had multiple brawls those seasons


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I wonder what will happen if the Big West gets raided by the MWC in the future? Long Beach State's AD mentioned of the idea of them joining in the future. We need to look at who Big West could add in the future. Would they add some older rivals in D2?

(11-24-2019 10:09 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I wonder what will happen if the Big West gets raided by the MWC in the future? Long Beach State's AD mentioned of the idea of them joining in the future. We need to look at who Big West could add in the future. Would they add some older rivals in D2?

The Big West is safe. There is no one in the MW with a football program that would move the needle and if there was one the CFP payout structure discourages the G5 from expanding.

Earlier this summer I started compiling throwback pictures of the Big West through its first 50 years, current and former members. Including the football-only members of the 90s. Went through old yearbooks, media guides, and so on. For example, I did not know that Jake Delhomme played in the Big West until this summer. Or that Brandon Stoakley played his freshman year in the BW. I found some really neat pictures from those days

(11-22-2019 01:33 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(11-21-2019 09:02 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(11-21-2019 05:02 PM)Fresno St. Alum Wrote:  Those 3 teams were almost never good. I think Fullerton was one yr in the early 80s. LBSU was like 6-5 w/ the old Redskins coach that died after the season.

I think CSUF vs LBSU was the end of the yr gm. Fresno v SJSU usually for the Cal Bowl bid. UOP was our geographically closest rival.

Pacific won a few conference titles when Amos Alonzo Stagg coached there for 14 years after he got forced out of Chicago for being too old.

Alonzo Stagg was forced out of Chicago at age 70 after 40 years. He posted a 7-2 record at Pacific at age 81 before retiring at age 84. He died at age 102 and was born in the heart of the Civil War.

Most fascinating guy in CFB ever? There needs to be a documentary on him. And both his programs are dead.

There are people alive today who remember Alonzo Stagg coaching. And Stagg started coaching in...1892.

I'm going off of my lifetime. I or from the 80s on. I started watching college fb in 84 but i remember Fullerton was good right before i started watching. Pacific was never good in my memory. So sure I'm sure everyone coulda been good at some pt before I was around.