[Purple Haize]

Or? And I'm asking. Did our dismal display at the Fiesta Bowl help or hurt our goal of entrance to the College Football Playoff? Will we be looked over for other G5's next year?

My opinion- We need to latch onto the dying whales of either the ACC/BIG12 (if possible). Then hope to be in the envelopment wave of the BIG 2 (SEC, BIG10).

Based on how other schools did against Oregon objectively it wasn’t a ‘dismal’ performance. At the time it certainly felt that way At the game it felt that way. But having time to look at how some other big name schools fared against Oregon it wasn’t as bad as it originally felt. Had it been an FSU sized blowout then I think you’d have something. Being in CUSA is still the best chance for LU to make the 12 team playoff. They can win the Conference consistently and the playoffs will probably put at least 1 G5 champ in the bracket. Granted probably playing the #1 seed but still in it

[WinterIsComing]

For clarification - I've been here from ('05) Karcher to Chadwell. I've seen bad D2 losses and amazing P5 wins. IMHO this Fiesta Bowl embarrassment, the way it was lost, did not help our future playoff aspirations. We would have been better off as a program winning (or losing) a lesser bowl.

I think the Playoff Committee (or whoever decides the "highest ranked G5") will think twice before placing us above most other G5's after our performance in the Fiesta Bowl.

It's why we desperately need to latch onto a bigger conference and hope for the best because we're about to be locked out. And the way we lost to Oregon didn't help.

I'm not trying to disparage the '23 year or Coach Chadwell's first year at the helm. IMHO we should have stayed Independent and latched onto something bigger than CUSA. We have the wins that prove we're better than lowering ourselves to CUSA standards.

[cruzan_flame13]

For clarification - I've been here from ('05) Karcher to Chadwell. I've seen bad D2 losses and amazing P5 wins. IMHO this Fiesta Bowl embarrassment, the way it was lost, did not help our future playoff aspirations. We would have been better off as a program winning (or losing) a lesser bowl.

I think the Playoff Committee (or whoever decides the "highest ranked G5") will think twice before placing us above most other G5's after our performance in the Fiesta Bowl.

It's why we desperately need to latch onto a bigger conference and hope for the best because we're about to be locked out. And the way we lost to Oregon didn't help.

I'm not trying to disparage the '23 year or Coach Chadwell's first year at the helm. IMHO we should have stayed Independent and latched onto something bigger than CUSA. We have the wins that prove we're better than lowering ourselves to CUSA standards.

LU was blessed to even receive a NY6 bid this time. The CFP will always look at the Mountain West, AAC or even the SBC before the bottom feeder CUSA. If we get comfortable with the idea of just winning with a bottom SOS almost every season hoping for that one G5 CFP birth, LU will remain in college football limbo for a long time. College football is not the same anymore and money is the main focus more than ever. I'm not saying that LU can easily get into a P5, but it might be the only way to get in from now on. A blank check sounds ridiculous, but hoping to win, make some bowls for years and get recognize and favored to get an invite like other former G5 programd in the previous realignment in the near future is quite as goofy also.

[Ill flame]

Our fiesta bowl blowout didn't happen in a bubble. Arguably the three best G5s behind us SMU, Tulane and Troy all lost to middling ACC teams. Off the top of my head I believe Memphis was the only G5 that beat a P5 in bowl season and it was a home game for them. Maybe I give them too much credit but I like to think the CFP committee is more informed than most and realize every G5 would've been blown out against Oregon.

Regardless that blowout loss did way more for us than if we had won a lower tier bowl game. The coaching staff has already said they've seen a noticeable difference on the recruiting trail and i assume retention is better as well which is probably more important for our long term trajectory.

[Purple Haize]

For clarification - I've been here from ('05) Karcher to Chadwell. I've seen bad D2 losses and amazing P5 wins. IMHO this Fiesta Bowl embarrassment, the way it was lost, did not help our future playoff aspirations. We would have been better off as a program winning (or losing) a lesser bowl.

I think the Playoff Committee (or whoever decides the "highest ranked G5") will think twice before placing us above most other G5's after our performance in the Fiesta Bowl.

It's why we desperately need to latch onto a bigger conference and hope for the best because we're about to be locked out. And the way we lost to Oregon didn't help.

I'm not trying to disparage the '23 year or Coach Chadwell's first year at the helm. IMHO we should have stayed Independent and latched onto something bigger than CUSA. We have the wins that prove we're better than lowering ourselves to CUSA standards.

I guess I don’t see it as an embarrassment upon reflection. The teams that were in contention for that NY6 bid didn’t fare much better
SMU was ranked right behind LU. Lost to Boston College. Not exactly a football powerhouse
Tulane was a media darling. Lost to an atrocious VT team by 21
JMU was everyone’s media darling. Lost to Air Force by 10.

If those teams can’t win those games how would they have fared any better against Oregon? I firmly believe LU would have beaten any of those 6 teams listed above. So if you objectively look back at how it all shook out, LU didn’t come out as bad as initially thought. Side note, the attendance at the game was shocking. It was a Sea of Red if you will That always looks good to any committee

Also, kudos to hanging on through the Karcher and even some of the Rocco years. Those were interesting days on the field for one and off the field for others. It’s why I absolutely wanted to be in AZ for the game. Mrs Purple and I just reflected on how far LU had come and wanted to bask in the achievement.

[flamehunter]

I believe as time moves on, in the not too distant future, the fact that the Flames made a NY6 bowl game will become much more important than the final score. LU Fans are probably the ones most likely to still hang on to the final deficit more so than the CFP committee and everyone else that matters.

[LUOrange]

I think we'll be fine going forward, as good as the NCAA & P2-4 will allow the G6 to be that is. The Oregon beat writer told the Flames Central Podcast during Bowl week that the CFP Committee all along was going to screw the Ducks and the G5 team by having them both play each other in the Fiesta Bowl. It was also a down year for the 65 with the B12 taking the best of the P5-lights. Next year will be no different, with SMU joining the ACC. It's now up to us and the rest of the G5 to make the most of the bad hands that we're being dealt. We're are fine with McCaw, Chadwell, and CUSA until the next round and the proposed semi-pro league comes into fruition.

[ballcoach15]

Losing Fiesta Bowl will not set LU back. Florida State lost Orange Bowl by 60 points. No one is ditching FSU . They will be ranked starting 2024 season.

[Humble_Opinion]

I don’t think you can compare FSU and LU with regard to this situation. FSU is… FSU. Their history (Bobby Bowden, National Championships, etc.) has earned them respect. Furthermore, they had tons of opt outs and were playing their 3rd string QB… We were almost at full strength sans Preston Hodge.

[JK37]

Losing Fiesta Bowl will not set LU back. Florida State lost Orange Bowl by 60 points. No one is ditching FSU . They will be ranked starting 2024 season.

Florida State is not a good analogy.

[LUOrange]

I don’t think you can compare FSU and LU with regard to this situation. FSU is… FSU. Their history (Bobby Bowden, National Championships, etc.) has earned them respect. Furthermore, they had tons of opt outs and were playing their 3rd string QB… We were almost at full strength sans Preston Hodge.

Brylan Green also didn't play due to injury, Those 2 kids could've saved us a TD or 2. Had we stuck with our usual game plan running with Cooley and pitching to Bedgood, along with Green and Hodge playing- we probably lose more respectably.
Oh well...

[Liberty22]

I do feel like we pressed throwing the ball more than usual for some reason. We were running so well, which is what we excelled at anyway. Head scratcher for sure