[thepostman]

So (and I dont agree with ToC or IMBach or those of that ilk normally) we're mailing it in for 2012 essentially since according to comments we have very little shot against Stony Brook?

Have you ever thought we could lose a Big South game??

Seriously beej. We lost a ton and SB didn't. They are clearly the favorites. Does that mean I am an awful fan??? Of course it does to you.

Between you on one end of the spectrum and ToC on the other end, this board is starting to drive me crazy with the stupidity.

[Rooster Cogburn]

I would definately say SBU is the Favorite and we are #2 at this point. They earned it with a big wing Vs us and a great sshowing in the playoffs. Add to that the fact that they lost a lot less than we did, and the fact that we have a brand new coaching staff and we have some work to do. However, 100% believe we can win the conference this year.

[BJWilliams]

So (and I dont agree with ToC or IMBach or those of that ilk normally) we're mailing it in for 2012 essentially since according to comments we have very little shot against Stony Brook?

Have you ever thought we could lose a Big South game??

Seriously beej. We lost a ton and SB didn't. They are clearly the favorites. Does that mean I am an awful fan??? Of course it does to you.

Between you on one end of the spectrum and ToC on the other end, this board is starting to drive me crazy with the stupidity.

1. Frankly no. I wil say that in the last few years, there were I think only two games where we were really truly outplayed (in conference): Coastal 2010 and the Stony Brook loss last year. The Seawolves are going to be seen as the frontrunners because they won the Big South last year and because they won a playoff game and because they went down to the wire with the eventual national runner up. One thing that they haven't done (and really a lot of conference teams have done) is come into our house and win (although a couple came real darn close last year). If we can hold serve at home, and grab a couple road wins, we have a chance to be the top dog again come November. That's all I'm saying.

2. I didnt say you were an awful fan. Just that we cant be crowning anybody just yet. Fans are welcome to speculate and bloviate and discuss and what not, but a lot can happen between now and August. Not to mention, Its never really known just how good transfers can be. Coker did well at Iowa. Does he instantly become the top back in the Big South? On paper, probably, but until he straps on the pads and puts on the red and silver, we don't know how good he can be in the conference. We can speculate, but thats about it. As I said, I didnt say you were an awful fan, just that when the season starts in about 7 months, everybody will have the same chance to win the Big South because we will all still have a record of 0-0.

[thepostman]

And you have been dead wrong because we have lost Big South games. Your credibility was shot a long time ago. Much like ToC, who you dislike so much, you are just on the other end of the spectrum.

Our team will be fine, but SB will be a tough, tough game. Winnable, but tough.

It will be a fun season and I look forward to it and seeing how the new coaching staff and team turns out.

[D-ZasterLU]

There is no argument SBU is favored. I just don't think that the coaching change is going to be that big of a deal. A coaching change can turn a team around in a year, Gill did it at Buffalo and Rocco did it here. They didn't turn those teams all the way around in a year, but we don't need that much turning. We were a good #2 last year with a lot of sloppy playing. I have plenty of faith in Gill's ability and I think we still have a ton of talent on the mountain.

[Purple Haize]

Who was a bigger / better prospective transfer? Jennings or the kid from Iowa. If you think it is the kid from Iowa, look at what Jennings did and add some.
I think we are looking at a 2nd place finish. I wouldn't be shocked if we won it all but I would be shocked if we finished 3rd.

[jcmanson]

Who was a bigger / better prospective transfer? Jennings or the kid from Iowa. If you think it is the kid from Iowa, look at what Jennings did and add some.
I think we are looking at a 2nd place finish. I wouldn't be shocked if we won it all but I would be shocked if we finished 3rd.

The kid from Iowa. No question. He was 2nd in the Big Ten in rushing. Who was #1? Montee Ball. He's legit. I don't care if he hasn't strapped up yet or not.

[TDDance234]

Who was a bigger / better prospective transfer? Jennings or the kid from Iowa. If you think it is the kid from Iowa, look at what Jennings did and add some.
I think we are looking at a 2nd place finish. I wouldn't be shocked if we won it all but I would be shocked if we finished 3rd.

The kid from Iowa. No question. He was 2nd in the Big Ten in rushing. Who was #1? Montee Ball. He's legit. I don't care if he hasn't strapped up yet or not.

They didn't need any help running it down our throats either after they pilled up 287 yards last year. Stony Brook isn't going away.

[BJWilliams]

And you have been dead wrong because we have lost Big South games. Your credibility was shot a long time ago. Much like ToC, who you dislike so much, you are just on the other end of the spectrum.

Our team will be fine, but SB will be a tough, tough game. Winnable, but tough.

It will be a fun season and I look forward to it and seeing how the new coaching staff and team turns out.

I didnt say we didn't lose games, Im saying that of those losses, there were only a couple of them that we were outplayed in every aspect. Even in the losses (like to PC in 08 and even to SB in 09), we still had advantages in most every aspect except the final score.

[KD19]

This is such a dumb thread. Y'all are acting like we are about to run the same stuff that we did last year. This is a new coaching staff with new schemes and a completely new system. They will prepare differently for games and prepare our players differently. We have 4-6 freshman playmakers coming in that will contribute right away. A QB who can preform in the pro style offense in Tyler Brennan and plenty of pieces around him to be able to have a great year. Our defense will be fine and our o line is coming back. Ya we lost some great players but we are deeper than any other team in the BSC. Gill knows what he is doing. Stocking up on the defensive line because everyone knows thats the most Important position to have Depth at. Let's just close the thread and talk after the spring game.

[Rooster Cogburn]

This is such a dumb thread. Y'all are acting like we are about to run the same stuff that we did last year. This is a new coaching staff with new schemes and a completely new system. They will prepare differently for games and prepare our players differently. We have 4-6 freshman playmakers coming in that will contribute right away. A QB who can preform in the pro style offense in Tyler Brennan and plenty of pieces around him to be able to have a great year. Our defense will be fine and our o line is coming back. Ya we lost some great players but we are deeper than any other team in the BSC. Gill knows what he is doing. Stocking up on the defensive line because everyone knows thats the most Important position to have Depth at. Let's just close the thread and talk after the spring game.

+1,000,000

[R i]

Stony Brook is the favorite to win the league. Thats not dumb.

[jcmanson]

I don’t think people understand what most of us are trying to say. I think we’ll be good, every bit as good as last year if not better.

I also think Stony Brook will be good, every bit as good as last year if not better.

[Purple Haize]

Agreed R I. I think it is a testament to the new staff and recruits that we should be a solid 2nd with a solid chance of winning it all. But it's not like SB is just sitting there doing nothing. Would we be as confident if things had stayed the same with DR at the helm and our returning players? I think not.

[Rooster Cogburn]

I do think SB has the edge but we will be right there with them. It will come down to that last game for the championship, AGAIN! OH yea, and we'll win!

[KD19]

Yes, SB is the favorite but I still believe we have better athletes and better players. It's hard to stop SB run game when you run a 3-4 defense and just work on a 4-3 during game week. SB will be good. I just expect us to be ready to go next year to make a run at a conference title. We def have the best coaching staff. I think we will be prepared.

[phoenix]

Once again, the Big South championship will be decided at the LU/SB game in Lynchburg. It will be close, and LU will have to win it on defense. If our defense steps up, we've got a legitimate shot at a win. If the defense doesn't, we will lose. The only other game I'm nervous about is Coastal on the road. They're going to be out for blood after we humiliated them at homecoming.

I really think that last season can be a positive for the program, long term. We were starting to believe our own press, and we had the attitude that we were unbeatable. Stony Brook humbled us a bit, and I think we're going into this season with a more realistic perspective on what we can do, and what our opponents can do.

[Chris Lang]

I do think SB has the edge but we will be right there with them. It will come down to that last game for the championship, AGAIN! OH yea, and we'll win!

Except the last game is at VMI a week later.

[Rooster Cogburn]

OOPS Hopefully a meaningless game. haha!

[NotAJerry]

Stony Brook should go in as the favorite. It wouldn't surprise me if their early schedule actually beats them up a bit. They're a legit program and there's no shame in them being favored, especially when we're undergoing a transition.

The team I'd keep an eye on is Presbyterian. They played pretty well in conference last year and they get us, SB, and CCU at home this year. If things fall right, they could sneak out a conference title.

We're likely the favorite to be 2nd going in and that's fine. The recruiting class looks to be exciting, the schedule is very demanding, and while there is transition/adjustment time needed, the toughest part of the conference schedule is Stony Brook and it's both late and a home game. If we successfully navigate the game at Presby then the title is definitely within reach.

[seawolf]

Stony Brook also added fomer 101st ranked ESPN recruit Adrian Coxson to play WR and Idaho State DB Greg Melendez decided to use his last season of eligibility at Stony Brook after stops at Hofstra and Idaho St. (Melendez has started in every college game he has dressed for).

On paper Stony Brook is stacked, but we have a tough conference schedule with Presby, Liberty, and Coastal all on the road. I'm hopeful we can get an FBS win and try to make a case for an at large if we drop the ball in the conference. It'll be interesting to see how Liberty and Coastal respond to the coaching changes.

[ToTheLeft]

It will be interesting to see if no longer playing under the Mike Brown Show will improve the offense. Being less predictable on the offensive side, while still having crazy levels of talent, should help us.

The HUGE question mark is the defense.

[jinxy]

home team has won all 4 games in this series. We had an absolutely idiotic defensive game plan against SBU, remember Sigmo said Rocco's gameplan was to blitz the middle and force 2 dynamic running backs to the edge, thats just stupid. In the past we have simply reloaded and not had to rebuild, i dont see much different this year. Honestly, we cant be much worse on special teams and defense ( in big games than last year). We couldn't cover a darn kick last year if our lives depended on it. Part of that was because we couldn't kick the ball deep, hopefully Lunsford will help with a lot of that, as Minter said last night. I'm sorry I just dont see the pessismistic outlook. We bring a very talented and experienced defesne back that was young last year, plug Fewell in for Asa and add depth up front and Dallas. On offense of course the big loss is Summers and MB. The line returns almost everyone and a seasoned Grant Jones plus the new 3 star. Aldreakis was crushing people at the end of the year, add Abnar and Holloway. At TE remember we still have the kid from UVA Cordasco (spelling) he was a 2 star, plus the new comers. WR you still have Pat, Fergy looked good when played and Greg Pratt could be similar to BJ. Plus Peterson and Shells will add explosiveness this year. That leads you to QB, the one unsettled unproven spot. Who knows who else we plug in before the year starts as well...i.e (Ayers) from last year. SBU is good, dont get me wrong but they have barely beaten us both times and we curbstomped them at home both times...dont underestimate home field.

[D-ZasterLU]

D is the big ? And I think it comes down to coaching change. It is a great unknown but other than uniforms I don't expect our D to look anything like last year. With a new DC and the addition of the Co-DC we are stacked in the coaching department. and Torbush, its going to be like having a head coach just for D.
I also want to plug the quality control Guys. This may not be a glamorous position but it sounds like their addition in the game prep department will make a grand difference when sloppiness turned blowouts into close games and close games into decisive looses.

[blwall1416]

1. Frankly no. I wil say that in the last few years, there were I think only two games where we were really truly outplayed (in conference): Coastal 2010 and the Stony Brook loss last year. The Seawolves are going to be seen as the frontrunners because they won the Big South last year and because they won a playoff game and because they went down to the wire with the eventual national runner up. One thing that they haven't done (and really a lot of conference teams have done) is come into our house and win (although a couple came real darn close last year). If we can hold serve at home, and grab a couple road wins, we have a chance to be the top dog again come November. That's all I'm saying.

2. I didnt say you were an awful fan. Just that we cant be crowning anybody just yet. Fans are welcome to speculate and bloviate and discuss and what not, but a lot can happen between now and August. Not to mention, Its never really known just how good transfers can be. Coker did well at Iowa. Does he instantly become the top back in the Big South? On paper, probably, but until he straps on the pads and puts on the red and silver, we don't know how good he can be in the conference. We can speculate, but thats about it. As I said, I didnt say you were an awful fan, just that when the season starts in about 7 months, everybody will have the same chance to win the Big South because we will all still have a record of 0-0.