[jcmanson]

I remember last year about this time we were all wondering if we would ever “turn the corner.” From the W&M game through the Toledo game it felt like we were right there, but couldn’t win when the opportunity presented itself. We had a long discussion on here about if the team knew how to win and what it would take for them to learn how to win. After the embarrassment at Elon last year, I was very concerned about how high the roof was on our potential as a program.

With that being said, I think the bus ride home from Elon was when this team turned the corner. I think the upperclassmen took responsibility and determined they would not let that happen again. Since then we are 12-1 (only loss being to Toledo by 1), have an 11 game winning streak, and are ranked in the top 15. We still have a lot to accomplish this year and in the future, but this team has gone from a complete laughing stock in FCS to a legitimate playoff contender in less than 3 years.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

Well Arent we just full of questions in the last week.

[ToTheLeft]

I'm pretty sure BJ Hayes turned the corner against Coastal on that 60+ yard run and never looked back.

[SuperJon]

I think we turned the corner about five minutes into the Charleston Southern game. We had gotten killed at Elon, killed a crappy team, lost a heartbreaker to Toledo, and were quickly down 7-0. We could've folded, or we could've come back. We came back and outscored them 50-3 over the next three and a half quarters. From then on, it wasn't close the rest of the season.

[Fumblerooskies]

The moment Karcher and the former AD (Karcher's agent) were relieved of their duties!

[Iwasneverhere]

I'm thinking after we got whooped by Elon.

[SuperJon]

I can't say the Elon game because we still lost a close game to Toledo after that. Had we "turned the corner" a couple dropped passes wouldn't have been dropped and we would've pulled out the victory.

[BJWilliams]

I agree with Jon...we have outscored our opponents 339-201 since we lost to Toledo last season. We've scored 40 or more points 6 times and allowed 20 or fewer points 6 times. I think this team has turned the corner.

[Kolzilla41]

I think we will turn a corner versus Elon this year. Yea, we have gotten a whole lot better but if Elon keeps winning, they definitely will be a top 5 team.

[TDDance234]

I agree. I think the turning point begins against Elon.

We have been heartbroken before but this one is a biggie. If we come out and beat Elon with everything riding on that game (meaning--we don't get in to the playoffs if we lose), than I'm ready to lump us in with the best in all of FCS. That will be the game that they will judge us on.

Otherwise, we'll never get past the "big fish in a little pond" arguement.

[Ed Dantes]

The moment Karcher and the former AD (Karcher's agent) were relieved of their duties!

Beat me to it.

[Ed Dantes]

The moment Karcher and the former AD (Karcher's agent) were relieved of their duties!

Beat me to it.

I think the second 'turn the corner' moment was the homecoming game in 2006 against William & Mary, where we would have won the game if we had a decent kicker. At that moment, I think many Flames fans said to themselves 'you know, give this some time, this could work out'.

third 'turn the corner' -- the game the following year against Toledo that we lost. We came soooo close... we showed so much heart, too. I'm pretty sure that L lit a fire underneath everyones butts and it was off to the races from there, and the conference championship was ours.

fourth 'turn the corner' (wait, doesn't that make a circle? well... maybe 'turn the corner' is a bad way to phrase this) -- the win against #23 Youngstown State. At that point, everyone started thinking in the back of their minds... This is a playoff team. This team will compete for the national championship.

[01LUGrad]

This is a playoff team. This team will compete for the national championship.

And there you have it.

[qkslvrsrfrboy]

This is a playoff team. This team will compete for the national championship.

We are definitely a playoff team, but I dont know if we are quite ready to compete for a national championship in the sense I dont think that us getting to the playoffs will result in us making it to the championship game. I hope Im wrong, but I still dont see it happening yet.

[coolhandluke]

unfortunately for the rest of the season we are going to have to have to mentality that if we lose the next game, the playoffs are off. With that being said I think we can win out. Our team is focused and is not over looking any team on our schedule. The guys know that LC will be a good test for us and they are preparing hard for them. I think knowing that they will pretty much be the underdog from here on out (with the exception of conference games) will help them seek the finish that business even more.

[krautmasterflex]

I agree that right now with how things stand, looking down the road, it looks like the defining game of the season will be the Elon game.The Flames win that and the Liberty Football team will officially be able to shut the critics up that say the Flames can't win the big ones that matter.

[coolhandluke]

I agree that right now with how things stand, looking down the road, it looks like the defining game of the season will be the Elon game.The Flames win that and the Liberty Football team will officially be able to shut the critics up that say the Flames can't win the big ones that matter.

And if we go undefeated there is no way we get left out of the playoffs.

I know we could still get left out, but Elon will probably be ranked in the top ten when we play them and if we beat them, we should be in!

I think by the Elon game we might have a chance at being in the top ten ourselves if a few of the top ten teams lose a few more games...

Also the game against GW will look good for us if we win because of how close they played GT...

[Champion]

Being at number 15 right now I would think that getting to the top ten would be relatively sure if LU wins their next two. Of course a lot depends on what happens above them. Lafayette is considered a quality team and will probably be a playoff qualifier by virtue of winning the patriot league. Just by beating them we should jump two or three slots.