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[BeauFoster]

I give Aresco credit for talking up his conference and pushing the P6 agenda even though I don't agree with his message. It is nice to see a commissioner fighting the good fight. Heck, we can't even get all of our coaches in the SunBelt to recognize that Louisiana is a very good team and should get votes in the coaches poll, no unity in the Belt at all. The media isn't going to hype us so we need to hype ourselves as a conference, and we really don't do that well at all.

Said the exact same thing in another thread before reading your response. The guy is doing his job, wish ours would do the same.

[ericsaid]

Says he hates the G5 label and compares the AAC to the Pac 12 and ACC while eventually saying "“I don’t think any [other] G5 team should be ahead of our teams. Period,” Aresco said. “I don’t believe they should be. I don’t believe they have the résumés to match our teams.”

Essentially saying he hates the G5 label being attributed only to the AAC and not the other schools. Perhaps he should push for adding App's football program to the AAC and then he won't have to complain anymore?

Aresco said, "So a 1-loss SMU team should be ranked higher than Boise State or Appalachian State"

That "powerful" 1 loss P6 team with ~16 transfers only beat a lowly SB stAte team (currently 3rd in SB) by a TD. That same "powerful" P6 team took 3OT's to beat a 3-7 Tulsa team and added another OOC win against SB cellar dweller TXST. (App needs to beat the breaks off the bobkittens) TCU was a nice feather in the Mustang cap but the horned frogs are .500 on the season heading into the weekend.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here but as it stands, all the AAC's P5 wins came against .500 or worse A5 teams. When they have faced off against OSU, Wisc, OkSt, AU & IU (A5's above .500), they have been skull drug by multiple scores in similar fashion to SB teams who have faced off against UGA, Bama and LSU. This is not to say the AAC isn't a stronger conference top to bottom than the SB and their 1 loss team should get the Cotton bid but App has fared equally as well against common opponents with the AAC's top programs.

So Mr. Aresco may want to slow his roll when he says things like, “I don’t think any [other] G5 team should be ahead of our teams. Period,” Aresco said. “I don’t believe they should be. I don’t believe they have the résumés to match our teams.” (yes I realize he's cheerleading) Personally, I'm not afraid of any AAC résumé and I like App's chances squaring off against any team from the so-called "P6" conference. While I love the match-up with ECU, I wish DG could get Memphis, Cincy and UCF on the schedule.

Memphis is the only game, aside from Navy on a short week, that I could see App losing to more than 5 times out of 10 tries.

App's recruiting and footprint has improved dramatically in the Sun Belt. What do you think they could do with the obvious advantages of money and exposure that the AAC would provide? Many people seem to think the AAC wants Boise State, but they have a potential equivalent to Boise State within their existing footprint.

If you build it, they will come and so will the money.

Also, another article I read on 247 Sports said App has 3 Top 50 wins, according to FPI, which is more than any other ranked G5 conference team. If anything, based on the assumption of strength of schedule and wins, App should be the highest ranked G5 right now.

[AppInDC]

Says he hates the G5 label and compares the AAC to the Pac 12 and ACC while eventually saying "“I don’t think any [other] G5 team should be ahead of our teams. Period,” Aresco said. “I don’t believe they should be. I don’t believe they have the résumés to match our teams.”

Essentially saying he hates the G5 label being attributed only to the AAC and not the other schools. Perhaps he should push for adding App's football program to the AAC and then he won't have to complain anymore?

Aresco said, "So a 1-loss SMU team should be ranked higher than Boise State or Appalachian State"

That "powerful" 1 loss P6 team with ~16 transfers only beat a lowly SB stAte team (currently 3rd in SB) by a TD. That same "powerful" P6 team took 3OT's to beat a 3-7 Tulsa team and added another OOC win against SB cellar dweller TXST. (App needs to beat the breaks off the bobkittens) TCU was a nice feather in the Mustang cap but the horned frogs are .500 on the season heading into the weekend.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here but as it stands, all the AAC's P5 wins came against .500 or worse A5 teams. When they have faced off against OSU, Wisc, OkSt, AU & IU (A5's above .500), they have been skull drug by multiple scores in similar fashion to SB teams who have faced off against UGA, Bama and LSU. This is not to say the AAC isn't a stronger conference top to bottom than the SB and their 1 loss team should get the Cotton bid but App has fared equally as well against common opponents with the AAC's top programs.

So Mr. Aresco may want to slow his roll when he says things like, “I don’t think any [other] G5 team should be ahead of our teams. Period,” Aresco said. “I don’t believe they should be. I don’t believe they have the résumés to match our teams.” (yes I realize he's cheerleading) Personally, I'm not afraid of any AAC résumé and I like App's chances squaring off against any team from the so-called "P6" conference. While I love the match-up with ECU, I wish DG could get Memphis, Cincy and UCF on the schedule.

Memphis is the only game, aside from Navy on a short week, that I could see App losing to more than 5 times out of 10 tries.

App's recruiting and footprint has improved dramatically in the Sun Belt. What do you think they could do with the obvious advantages of money and exposure that the AAC would provide? Many people seem to think the AAC wants Boise State, but they have a potential equivalent to Boise State within their existing footprint.

If you build it, they will come and so will the money.

Also, another article I read on 247 Sports said App has 3 Top 50 wins, according to FPI, which is more than any other ranked G5 conference team. If anything, based on the assumption of strength of schedule and wins, App should be the highest ranked G5 right now.

Memphis does have three Top 50 wins based on FPI but all three are in the 40s. South Carolina ranks #36 so App's best win compares more favorably. That's the third strongest team the main G5 contenders have beaten after Cincy's win over UCF and SMU's over TCU.

[ericsaid]

Says he hates the G5 label and compares the AAC to the Pac 12 and ACC while eventually saying "“I don’t think any [other] G5 team should be ahead of our teams. Period,” Aresco said. “I don’t believe they should be. I don’t believe they have the résumés to match our teams.”

Essentially saying he hates the G5 label being attributed only to the AAC and not the other schools. Perhaps he should push for adding App's football program to the AAC and then he won't have to complain anymore?

Aresco said, "So a 1-loss SMU team should be ranked higher than Boise State or Appalachian State"

That "powerful" 1 loss P6 team with ~16 transfers only beat a lowly SB stAte team (currently 3rd in SB) by a TD. That same "powerful" P6 team took 3OT's to beat a 3-7 Tulsa team and added another OOC win against SB cellar dweller TXST. (App needs to beat the breaks off the bobkittens) TCU was a nice feather in the Mustang cap but the horned frogs are .500 on the season heading into the weekend.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here but as it stands, all the AAC's P5 wins came against .500 or worse A5 teams. When they have faced off against OSU, Wisc, OkSt, AU & IU (A5's above .500), they have been skull drug by multiple scores in similar fashion to SB teams who have faced off against UGA, Bama and LSU. This is not to say the AAC isn't a stronger conference top to bottom than the SB and their 1 loss team should get the Cotton bid but App has fared equally as well against common opponents with the AAC's top programs.

So Mr. Aresco may want to slow his roll when he says things like, “I don’t think any [other] G5 team should be ahead of our teams. Period,” Aresco said. “I don’t believe they should be. I don’t believe they have the résumés to match our teams.” (yes I realize he's cheerleading) Personally, I'm not afraid of any AAC résumé and I like App's chances squaring off against any team from the so-called "P6" conference. While I love the match-up with ECU, I wish DG could get Memphis, Cincy and UCF on the schedule.

Memphis is the only game, aside from Navy on a short week, that I could see App losing to more than 5 times out of 10 tries.

App's recruiting and footprint has improved dramatically in the Sun Belt. What do you think they could do with the obvious advantages of money and exposure that the AAC would provide? Many people seem to think the AAC wants Boise State, but they have a potential equivalent to Boise State within their existing footprint.

If you build it, they will come and so will the money.

Also, another article I read on 247 Sports said App has 3 Top 50 wins, according to FPI, which is more than any other ranked G5 conference team. If anything, based on the assumption of strength of schedule and wins, App should be the highest ranked G5 right now.

Memphis does have three Top 50 wins based on FPI but all three are in the 40s. South Carolina ranks #36 so App's best win compares more favorably. That's the third strongest team the main G5 contenders have beaten after Cincy's win over UCF and SMU's over TCU.

The article I had read said App was the only one. But glad for the clarification. At any rate, if anyone seems to be overrated to me it would be Boise and Cincinnati. Their best win is a 3 loss UCF team followed by UCLA. Their last few games have been close as well.

Memphis is realistically the only team I see that could be considered better than App at this point but after watching each team against ULM, I'm not so sure about that either. Transitive property doesn't work in football, sure. But overall, due to defense, I'm inclined to believe that any AAC team who ends up in the Cotton Bowl will be hard pressed to find a win. As has been stated here, none of the AAC's P5 wins this season came against .500 or above teams. As you stated, App's win against South Carolina is second best behind SMU but SMU lost to Memphis and gave up 500 yards passing to Holton Ahlers.

[yosef69]

App in at 25 behind Va tech and ISU. No doubt we would beat VT by 10+, havent watched ISU enough.

[Apexmountaineer]

App in at 25 behind Va tech and ISU. No doubt we would beat VT by 10+, havent watched ISU enough.

I say our dropping a spot is due to how bland we looked for the majority of the game on Saturday while also considering our slow start the week before.

We are a very good team but we have not played as a top 25 team the two few weeks.

[ArmantiWaterSafety]

At this point I think we could win out and not be ranked.

[yosef69]

At this point I think we could win out and not be ranked.

It is an absolute must to blow troy out this week. Otherwise were out

[hapapp]

App in at 25 behind Va tech and ISU. No doubt we would beat VT by 10+, havent watched ISU enough.

VT is 6-1 since the Duke loss and lost to ND by 1 point. Since they inserted Hooker as their QB they are 6-0 and have back to back shutouts. The "No doubt" comment is definitely doubtful. Could we beat them, of course. But to suggest that we would beat them by 10+ is a bit over the top. They are better than any team we have played this year.

[appstatealum]

Thanks SunBelt

[appstatealum]

We have been passed by mediocre teams in better conferences who have 3 or more losses on the season, and App hasn't lost more than 3 games over the last 2 seasons. The Sunbelt continues to battle a perception problem and their leadership does absolutely nothing to improve their image. Great job. They ought to offer us free concessions or something during the championship game in return for what we've done for them

[AppStFan1]

I got hammered on here by a couple folks for saying that I would probably drop us to 25 or drop us out just because of Sutton going down and the slow start against Texas State. The committee is looking for style points. We must make a statement. VT was the very team that I figured would move ahead of us. Losing Sutton and a slow start against TSU made me think we might drop.

I'm trying to look at this the way the committee would and I think the only way to believe a SBC team is top 25 caliber is if they are clearly a couple levels above the rest of the SBC.

If you notice the AP and Coaches both will move a team way up the poll that the committee has ranked but they had low in receiving votes. They did so with Iowa State and USC. I am going to guess that if we win by just 7-10 points over Troy we will drop behind VT if they look real good against UVA.

[AppStFan1]

App in at 25 behind Va tech and ISU. No doubt we would beat VT by 10+, havent watched ISU enough.

VT is 6-1 since the Duke loss and lost to ND by 1 point. Since they inserted Hooker as their QB they are 6-0 and have back to back shutouts. The "No doubt" comment is definitely doubtful. Could we beat them, of course. But to suggest that we would beat them by 10+ is a bit over the top. They are better than any team we have played this year.

I'm with you here. VT is a good team. We don't need to sound crazy proclaiming we could not beat them. I don't know if we could. They are better than anyone we have played.

[AppInDC]

App basically lost a spot in the race for the Cotton Bowl. Now seven teams back from Memphis the current leader. With the gap between App and Memphis/Cincy, I fear a split between the two may not be enough.

Good news is that Navy wasn't ranked this week. I think perhaps the best scenario for App is the following:

Beat Troy and Louisiana (Obvious)
Boise lose to Colorado State and/or Hawaii. Preferably Hawaii but I'll take either.
Cincy beats Memphis
Navy beats Houston. Navy advances to AAC title over Memphis
Navy beats Cincy

So then it comes down to one loss App vs two loss Boise or Hawaii vs Navy. I think if the committee thinks Army/Navy game could affect the decision, they would wait for that to happen. In that case, we also need Army to win.

So most likely best we can hope for is New Orleans Bowl but the Cotton Bowl path doesn't look totally closed yet.

[appstatealum]

I got hammered on here by a couple folks for saying that I would probably drop us to 25 or drop us out just because of Sutton going down and the slow start against Texas State. The committee is looking for style points. We must make a statement. VT was the very team that I figured would move ahead of us. Losing Sutton and a slow start against TSU made me think we might drop.

I'm trying to look at this the way the committee would and I think the only way to believe a SBC team is top 25 caliber is if they are clearly a couple levels above the rest of the SBC.

If you notice the AP and Coaches both will move a team way up the poll that the committee has ranked but they had low in receiving votes. They did so with Iowa State and USC. I am going to guess that if we win by just 7-10 points over Troy we will drop behind VT if they look real good against UVA.

Yep, it's going to always be an uphill battle for us in the Sunbelt bc we won't have any wiggle room unless some of our conference mates get their crap together. It's OK, let's just do our thing and do it big.

[JMappfan5]

A 1 point ballgame in the 3rd Quarter not going to "move the needle" for most pollsters. At least we are still ranked. I am relieved and somewhat surprised.

[AppInDC]

App in at 25 behind Va tech and ISU. No doubt we would beat VT by 10+, havent watched ISU enough.

VT is 6-1 since the Duke loss and lost to ND by 1 point. Since they inserted Hooker as their QB they are 6-0 and have back to back shutouts. The "No doubt" comment is definitely doubtful. Could we beat them, of course. But to suggest that we would beat them by 10+ is a bit over the top. They are better than any team we have played this year.

I'm with you here. VT is a good team. We don't need to sound crazy proclaiming we could not beat them. I don't know if we could. They are better than anyone we have played.

App beat two P5 teams with a losing record by a combined eight points and yet we have people saying App would beat an 8-3 ACC squad by double digits. I love this board.

[Rick83]

App in at 25 behind Va tech and ISU. No doubt we would beat VT by 10+, havent watched ISU enough.

Don't know if we'd beat them by 10+, but it's certainly possible. Looking at our one common opponent, UNC, it took them six overtimes at home to beat them...it took us zero overtimes to beat them on the road...just sayin'

[yosef69]

6 OT to UNC (at home). Lost by 35 to Duke, 2 FCS wins, and a win against ODU and Miami (the one that lost to FIU). And you people think we need to tone it down? What's the matter with yall. I stand by my statement that we'd beat VA Tech handedly.

[AppStFan1]

We have been passed by mediocre teams in better conferences who have 3 or more losses on the season, and App hasn't lost more than 3 games over the last 2 seasons. The Sunbelt continues to battle a perception problem and their leadership does absolutely nothing to improve their image. Great job. They ought to offer us free concessions or something during the championship game in return for what we've done for them

Here is what our fanbase must understand. 3-4 losses in the ACC, SEC, etc is probably as good as just having 1 loss in the SBC.

Here is the VT schedule: https://www.espn.com/college-football/t ... e/_/id/259

Be honest. What do you think our record would be? I think we would also be 8-3 but I don't think VT would have lost to Duke or BC with the current QB. They would be 10-1 had they started with him and probably be ranked 12-15 range now.

Outside of ULL the SBC is not seen as very good and the only conferences it is better than is the MAC and CUSA as a whole.

Again, there are people on here who argue with me that we don't have to make statements but simply just win. Just winning is not good enough. Message to Drink: You have to make statements. I agree with what the committee did here. If we were VT fans we would look at our schedule and laugh that we were even this close to them. We should be thankful we stayed in the top 25. We must beat Troy by 3-4 TDs and hope that 3-4 teams in the 18-24 range lose this weekend.

I feel like we are a top 25 caliber team but we have not had to play teams like South Carolina and UNC every week like teams such as VT have to do. We could have easily lost those games and I suspect we would be 8-3 right now instead of 10-1 if we changed schedules. I'm pretty sure VT would be 11-0 with our schedule.