USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll - App #48

[MAD Doctor]

Keep the chip and lose the penalties and turnovers. We’ll be good.

[ah59396]

The Sun Belt is a featured discussion this week on r/CFB.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/ ... rediction/.

Interesting posts but it’s mostly “Coastal, Louisiana and the rest of the Sun Belt looking up”. It took one “down” year for us to be an afterthought.

[VNova]

The Sun Belt is a featured discussion this week on r/CFB.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/ ... rediction/.

Interesting posts but it’s mostly “Coastal, Louisiana and the rest of the Sun Belt looking up”. It took one “down” year for us to be an afterthought.

I wouldn't call us an afterthought with that crowd. Most of those posters don't follow Sun Belt football. They just know what they read in the news and that's currently Coastal & Louisiana sitting in the rankings after becoming division champs.

That'll change when we win the SBC again.

[AppStFan1]

I get the sense from the players that they are feeling a heavy dose of disrespect and looking forward to proving themselves. I think the love fest over Coastal and ULLLLLLL is adding some extra juice as well. Excited to watch these guys!

GO APPS!!

I am nervous about contact tracing and testing policies. Will AHC be testing no matter if vaccinated or showing symtptoms? We have to be nervous about whether we can avoid players being quarantined. Last thing we need is to see key starters out for a game like CCU, Miami, etc.

I think we have a chance to be very good at QB but until we see Brice do it we just don't know how that will look. I feel like our season hinges on COVID (which everyone else has), injuries (like everyone else), and QB play (CCU and ULL don't have that issue if healthy).

[AppStFan1]

The Sun Belt is a featured discussion this week on r/CFB.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/ ... rediction/.

Interesting posts but it’s mostly “Coastal, Louisiana and the rest of the Sun Belt looking up”. It took one “down” year for us to be an afterthought.

If we want to change the focus then we have to win those games. Those teams beat us and deserve this hype. To be the man you have to beat the man and those teams beat the man in 2020 so now they are the man until proven otherwise. Hopefully we begin to change that next month on the field.

[AppSt94]

I get the sense from the players that they are feeling a heavy dose of disrespect and looking forward to proving themselves. I think the love fest over Coastal and ULLLLLLL is adding some extra juice as well. Excited to watch these guys!

GO APPS!!

I am nervous about contact tracing and testing policies. Will AHC be testing no matter if vaccinated or showing symtptoms? We have to be nervous about whether we can avoid players being quarantined. Last thing we need is to see key starters out for a game like CCU, Miami, etc.

I think we have a chance to be very good at QB but until we see Brice do it we just don't know how that will look. I feel like our season hinges on COVID (which everyone else has), injuries (like everyone else), and QB play (CCU and ULL don't have that issue if healthy).

I agree with the first two factors. Brice is better than McCall and Lewis.

[AtlAppMan]

If Brice is better, I also agree with that statement, but we have to see it first, then will Ponce open it up and let him sling it around to loosen up the run game and let the QB "attack" the defense with his arm? I think yes and really would like to see that approach to the offensive play calling. What I mean by that statement is, assuming QB can deliver by hitting receivers in tighter coverage and be more crisp with down field passing, (I am not at all suggesting we abandon the run), this will result in a much more lethal passing attack which definitely loosens running lanes because defense has to back off the line of scrimmage or pay dearly. We have not consistently had that level of passing precision since the Penn State game. We saw it from Zac at times but not as consistently as what I hope to see this year.

[AppSt94]

I don’t know that he is going to necessarily have to. We may spread teams out with formations. We are more balanced this year with personnel. Teams won’t be able to load the box this year.

[JPatH3292]

Sometimes it takes being out of the spotlight to realize how much you want back in. And the guys have a great chance the first 2 weeks to prove that. Week 1 to knock off an in state recruiting opponent. Week 2 to take aim at a (most likely) beat up team from their date with Alabama the week before.

[AppSt94]

Sometimes it takes being out of the spotlight to realize how much you want back in. And the guys have a great chance the first 2 weeks to prove that. Week 1 to knock off an in state recruiting opponent. Week 2 to take aim at a (most likely) beat up team from their date with Alabama the week before.

All indications are that this team is angry. As much as we fans were disappointed with 9-3, they seem to be more so.

As for beating ECU, no doubt that it would be huge, but I think the recruiting angle get played to easily. We rarely go head to head with them, and even when we do, decisions aren’t made based on scoreboards. Coaches have different evaluations and kids have their own needs.

[hapapp]

I get the sense from the players that they are feeling a heavy dose of disrespect and looking forward to proving themselves. I think the love fest over Coastal and ULLLLLLL is adding some extra juice as well. Excited to watch these guys!

GO APPS!!

I am nervous about contact tracing and testing policies. Will AHC be testing no matter if vaccinated or showing symtptoms? We have to be nervous about whether we can avoid players being quarantined. Last thing we need is to see key starters out for a game like CCU, Miami, etc.

I think we have a chance to be very good at QB but until we see Brice do it we just don't know how that will look. I feel like our season hinges on COVID (which everyone else has), injuries (like everyone else), and QB play (CCU and ULL don't have that issue if healthy).

I agree with the first two factors. Brice is better than McCall and Lewis.

Based on what? Perhaps he is, but there is nothing in past performances that demonstrates that. That's not an anti-Brice statement but we need to see what he actually does in an App uniform.

[Saint3333]

Hot take here. ULL will be the best team we face in 2021.

[AppSt94]

I get the sense from the players that they are feeling a heavy dose of disrespect and looking forward to proving themselves. I think the love fest over Coastal and ULLLLLLL is adding some extra juice as well. Excited to watch these guys!

GO APPS!!

I am nervous about contact tracing and testing policies. Will AHC be testing no matter if vaccinated or showing symtptoms? We have to be nervous about whether we can avoid players being quarantined. Last thing we need is to see key starters out for a game like CCU, Miami, etc.

I think we have a chance to be very good at QB but until we see Brice do it we just don't know how that will look. I feel like our season hinges on COVID (which everyone else has), injuries (like everyone else), and QB play (CCU and ULL don't have that issue if healthy).

I agree with the first two factors. Brice is better than McCall and Lewis.

Based on what? Perhaps he is, but there is nothing in past performances that demonstrates that. That's not an anti-Brice statement but we need to see what he actually does in an App uniform.

Brice is a better passer and is capable of making some next level throws. He has better touch than ZT. Not disparaging ZT. But he just throws a better ball which should increase our Red Zone output. To be fair, he is playing with a stacked deck at WR. I don’t expect him to be a 3,000 yard guy, but he should prove to be one of the more efficient QBs that we have seen.

[mike87]

Hot take here. ULL will be the best team we face in 2021.

I think they will be the best team not named Miami. King is going to be a handful.

[AppStFan1]

I get the sense from the players that they are feeling a heavy dose of disrespect and looking forward to proving themselves. I think the love fest over Coastal and ULLLLLLL is adding some extra juice as well. Excited to watch these guys!

GO APPS!!

I am nervous about contact tracing and testing policies. Will AHC be testing no matter if vaccinated or showing symtptoms? We have to be nervous about whether we can avoid players being quarantined. Last thing we need is to see key starters out for a game like CCU, Miami, etc.

I think we have a chance to be very good at QB but until we see Brice do it we just don't know how that will look. I feel like our season hinges on COVID (which everyone else has), injuries (like everyone else), and QB play (CCU and ULL don't have that issue if healthy).

I agree with the first two factors. Brice is better than McCall and Lewis.

Have you seen him in practice and what traits make you say he is better than McCall and Lewis? have not seen him live in practice and I only saw highlights from Duke so I don't know. I hope you are right because we have the talent to go 11-1 if he is better than those two.

I really hope these guys understand that AHC is going to be strict and thus we have to be super careful. The potential to lose players for 2 weeks over 20 minute contact tracing despite negative tests is as big of a concern as injuries.

[t4pizza]

Contact tracing quarantines only apply to players that are not vaccinated. Very easy way to avoid that potential issue. If the team is all vaccinated, we would not have to worry about that issue. It is simple risk management.

[BambooRdApp]

Physically, Brice looks the part. The coaches have alluded to that in their discussion. Looking the part in practice and actually performing the part in live action are two different ideas. Jeff George, Andre Ware, JaMarcus Russell come to mind. Brice appears to be at a different spot mentally in terms of film study, etc. Whereas those guys relied primarily on physical skills alone. Brice has all the supporting casts to be successful with maybe exception at RB at a level of Evans...if he picks up offense..then no excuses not to play well. I hope he is the best QB we have ever had. If he is, this could be a very successful year on the Mountain.

[mike87]

Brice wears Black and Gold, therefore, Brice > McCall and Lewis.

[AppSt94]

Physically, Brice looks the part. The coaches have alluded to that in their discussion. Looking the part in practice and actually performing the part in live action are two different ideas. Jeff George, Andre Ware, JaMarcus Russell come to mind. Brice appears to be at a different spot mentally in terms of film study, etc. Whereas those guys relied primarily on physical skills alone. Brice has all the supporting casts to be successful with maybe exception at RB at a level of Evans...if he picks up offense..then no excuses not to play well. I hope he is the best QB we have ever had. If he is, this could be a very successful year on the Mountain.

He is learning on the fly against probably the second or third best defense that he will face this season. I feel as though the entire offense is getting tested daily by Dale Jones and company. It can only make them better.

[AppGrad78]

Except for a handful of highlights, I’ve never seen Brice play. So for me a comparison is impossible. But I have seen Grayson McCall, Levi Lewis and Liberty’s Malik Willis. They’re three of the best quarterbacks to come out of the G5 in some time.