[ballcoach15]

I think we're in AAC for some sport.

[JK37]

Yeah, I think maybe swimming. I heard something about that somewhere.

[TH Spangler]

I would agree PH. That was my fear all along with that game. We started off looking good but ultimately laid an egg in front of a national audience.

I love Chadwell, but he got outcoached. The talent gap didn't help either. But winning that game would've been hugefor us. But no one's holding getting curb stomped by Oregon against us except the haters. I don't think that loss hurts us in realignment.

It doesn’t necessarily hurt but it does reinforce the perception that LU doesn’t belong. Getting there was absolutely awesome and amazing. Leading after 1 qtr was unbelievable. But after that all the criticism and stereotypes were just reaffirmed. Not being able to follow up with another CUSA championship continues to cement the perception

That team was mostly Freeze recruited, playing under Chadwell coaching. Freeze had recruited more depth than we had last year.

[jcmanson]

Starters in the Fiesta Bowl were recruited by:
Freeze - 12
Chadwell - 7
Gill - 2
Walk on - 1

[TH Spangler]

Starters in the Fiesta Bowl were recruited by:
Freeze - 12
Chadwell - 7
Gill - 2
Walk on - 1

And Freeze was recruting as an indy, with a bunch of P4 games on future schedules. It's more challenging now.

[Sly Fox]

Much more challenging. Coach Chadwell is among thse interviewed for this ESPN story on the state of G5 programs

State of the Group of 5: The challenges facing smaller conferences

David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
Dec 29, 2024, 08:00 AM ET

JERRY KILL KNEW when he took the head coaching job at New Mexico State in 2022 that the program was strapped for cash, but it wasn't until a few weeks into his tenure that he really understood the severity of the budget shortfall.

That's when they came for his coffee.

The budget was so tight, the school threatened removal of free coffee in the coaches' offices, which, for Kill, was a bridge too far.

Click Here for Full Story

[LUOrange]

I would agree PH. That was my fear all along with that game. We started off looking good but ultimately laid an egg in front of a national audience.

I love Chadwell, but he got outcoached. The talent gap didn't help either. But winning that game would've been hugefor us. But no one's holding getting curb stomped by Oregon against us except the haters. I don't think that loss hurts us in realignment.

It doesn’t necessarily hurt but it does reinforce the perception that LU doesn’t belong. Getting there was absolutely awesome and amazing. Leading after 1 qtr was unbelievable. But after that all the criticism and stereotypes were just reaffirmed. Not being able to follow up with another CUSA championship continues to cement the perception

Well, it's a different world with the portal & NIL as Sly pointed out. But as you can see with the current CFP, they're always going to down most any programs that aren't Blue Bloods. Look at Indiana. Now the buzz is that next season they won't seed Conference Champions 1-4. So your point is mostly valid in that with us they'll probably hold us to a higher standard than most G6's.

[LUOrange]

I would agree PH. That was my fear all along with that game. We started off looking good but ultimately laid an egg in front of a national audience.

I love Chadwell, but he got outcoached. The talent gap didn't help either. But winning that game would've been hugefor us. But no one's holding getting curb stomped by Oregon against us except the haters. I don't think that loss hurts us in realignment.

Coaching is easier when the players on your side of the ball are bigger, faster, stronger and more talented.

Getting outcoached or outplayed happens to everyone. But, I though we abandoned the running game way too early, especially with Cooley (like we've did much of this past season). Had we stuck to it, I think we could've slowed them down quite a bit. But just my opinion and my constructive criticism.

[LUalum12]

College Football is over as we know it. The damage is irreversible at this point. We must adapt or the gap will continue to grow. The sad truth is, there is zero guidance or leadership that is willing to stand up against the money. Eventually all rivalries, bowl games, and most pageantry will be non existent. Its the sad truth. College football was once something I looked forward too yearly, now I do not even recognize the sport most of us has grown to love. We will always be a feeder program until we get a shot at the P4.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... ayoff-2024

[Humble_Opinion]

We are by far the wealthiest school in the G5. We should be competing for whatever spot there is for the G5 moving forward. As I’ve mentioned a few different times, and that article co firms, resources will be the name of the game moving forward. You think Jamey Chadwell has to put in all of his time begging people for money like other G5s? I think this is also going to help us in realignment. If we can string together a couple of seasons where we compete for that spot, we will be sought out by a higher level G5 like the AAC or the new PAC12.

[jcmanson]

Starters in the Fiesta Bowl were recruited by:
Freeze - 12
Chadwell - 7
Gill - 2
Walk on - 1

And Freeze was recruting as an indy, with a bunch of P4 games on future schedules. It's more challenging now.

We have the two highest ranked recruiting classes in school history the past two seasons

[Ill flame]

Starters in the Fiesta Bowl were recruited by:
Freeze - 12
Chadwell - 7
Gill - 2
Walk on - 1

And Freeze was recruting as an indy, with a bunch of P4 games on future schedules. It's more challenging now.

One of freezes biggest complaints about being independent was not having a championship to compete for and having G5 coaches using that against us on the recruiting trail. I don't think it's a coincidence our recruiting has improved since joining a conference.

[TH Spangler]

Starters in the Fiesta Bowl were recruited by:
Freeze - 12
Chadwell - 7
Gill - 2
Walk on - 1

And Freeze was recruting as an indy, with a bunch of P4 games on future schedules. It's more challenging now.

We have the two highest ranked recruiting classes in school history the past two seasons

I hope that is the case. I've been getting discouraged reading here about all the portal guys we're losing out on.

[jcmanson]

Have you seen the ones we’ve added? Don’t focus on the negatives. Life is too short.

[TH Spangler]

Speaking of Freeze, he prioritized recruiting more depth on the offensive and defensive lines, so there could be better rotation. How are we looking there for next year?

[Humble_Opinion]

DL looks to be solid again, although I hate that we lost Nairne to Tulane of all places. We are bringing in a 6’1” 295lb DT from App St that has some experience and another guy (Jackson) from NCST that is 6’1” 272 that seems to have spent t some time battling with injuries and has less experience. I’d really like to see us get a little bigger on the defensive front, particularly in the middle that are if the 300lb+ variety.

OL seems to be a work in progress. We have a couple of seemingly solid guys coming in that have good experience. Durkin may be our best position coach, so I feel like we’ll be okay there. It’s continuing to concern me that we’ve seen very little in the way of commits at WR.

[Sly Fox]

The staff has been handing out offers to WRs left & right the past week or so. FBS, FCS, JUCOs ... just about everybody. Many of them seem like stretches based on past production but I trust their takes on the game film.

[Ill flame]

Considering we are bringing back nearly all of our receivers that completed a catch this season I think I'd rather wait until after spring and take a chance on another P4 backup with upside looking for playing time at this point. At the end of the day this staff has a good track record on offense so im not going to worry about it until they stop getting results on the field.

[Kolzilla41]

Considering we are bringing back nearly all of our receivers that completed a catch this season I think I'd rather wait until after spring and take a chance on another P4 backup with upside looking for playing time at this point.

I'm not sure if I agree with this. I think a lot of the offensive stalling this year was due to Salter having very little chemistry or even trust with anyone not named Sibley in the receiving core. I do agree that I trust this staff to find guys because they have a proven track record.

[Ill flame]

Considering we are bringing back nearly all of our receivers that completed a catch this season I think I'd rather wait until after spring and take a chance on another P4 backup with upside looking for playing time at this point.

I'm not sure if I agree with this. I think a lot of the offensive stalling this year was due to Salter having very little chemistry or even trust with anyone not named Sibley in the receiving core. I do agree that I trust this staff to find guys because they have a proven track record.

We didn't have a single receiver on our 2 deep that was healthy the whole season. Sibley was the healthiest by only missing the jacksonville st game and playing banged up in others. Our receiver problems this year felt like more of a health issue than a talent issue. My hope is that room will look a lot better next year with everyone having the full off season to get healthy and another year of development.

[Humble_Opinion]

I’ll agree we were banged up at WR, but the only game this year that had any resemblance to the efficiency and balanced attack of Chadwell’s offense was against ECU, and that was only for one half.

I had high hopes for Canion, but I didn’t see him separate enough. Donte Lee had some good games and I think he could become a go-to potentially with more reps and development. It was a shame that Copeland went down so early in the season. Hopefully he’s able to come back without missing a beat. All that said, I still think there’s the potential to grab some other guys out of the portal. Hudson would have e been an immediate upgrade had he stayed. I’m hoping we’re holding out for a couple of other P4 level back ups that want a chance to shine.

[LUOrange]

Any word if Victor Jones is expected to make a full recovery & be ready for the fall?