There's a huge front page of Sports section article by Ed Hardin in today's Greensboro paper:

https://www.greensboro.com/sports/colle ... 7cf49.html

Excellent article. Very good points.

That's a very well-researched article. Ed has typically done a decent job with App coverage, when it's assigned to him (seeing as he's not our full time beat writer). Maybe as we continue to win games, the coverage map will migrate on down I-40 and even reach the triangle.

Thanks. I seldom look there. Beat South Allie!

Well written. It hit on some of the questions that we generally have, primarily “what’s next”. I thought it was interesting they mentioned a “strengthened southern conference”, with some Carolina & Georgia schools, as a potential future beyond sunbelt.

As long as we stay focused on the 1-0 mentality the Cotton Bowl is a possibility.

Very good article. I look back at what the haters were saying last year about how we'd drop like a rock (no pun intended) after Satt left, and I just laugh. The AAC may make a move in 2 years, and we are already in the conversation. Hopefully the author is right and the fun is just beginning.
For now, I know, I know... Beat USA and go 1-0.

Overall, yes, a good piece. Two things I did not like however are the first paragraph or two and that he still seems to think CUSA is a better conference than the Belt.

I cringed reading about how we’re breathing easy and in a soft portion of the schedule, specifically mentioning “cupcake” South Alabama. I don’t know about you guys but I haven’t breathed easy since the season’s opening kickoff and pretty sure I won’t until the last second ticks off the click in the last game.

I know the players have bought into the 1-0 approach and thats great but I will never be comfortable with insulting opponents and giving them bulletin board material. He didn’t do us any favors there.

As AppGrad78 , myself and others said several years ago, Ed Hardin is a solid sports reporter and has been for some time even though there were some on here who have attacked him. We must remember that not every writer will write "what we want to read" in 100% of articles.

MAD Doctor wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:48 am

Very good article. I look back at what the haters were saying last year about how we'd drop like a rock (no pun intended) after Satt left, and I just laugh. The AAC may make a move in 2 years, and we are already in the conversation. Hopefully the author is right and the fun is just beginning.
For now, I know, I know... Beat USA and go 1-0.

Yep, and regarding the AAC. Just this past weekend the AAC commissioner received NCAA waivers for 2020 and 2021 to do away with divisions and have the top 2 teams play in the AAC championship game. So I'm guessing that gives them 2 years to get a UConn replacement and go back to divisional play.
If we continue to roll in football, especially if we win at USC, then at Wake next year and even a good shot at Wisconsin...we'd have a great resume for them to consider. If Kerns can turn the basketball program around that'd definitely help. I spoke with Kerns at the Yosef Spring Tour thing and I mentioned that he had a rebuild situation that might take some time...and I loved his reply...he said "yeah but I'm not that patient, I want to win right away."
This FBS success is so freakin' fun...

VNova wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:41 am

Well written. It hit on some of the questions that we generally have, primarily “what’s next”. I thought it was interesting they mentioned a “strengthened southern conference”, with some Carolina & Georgia schools, as a potential future beyond sunbelt.

ECU isn't going for that. They have a stadium for 50,000 and will fill it when the wins flow in. They would've been an ideal fit for the old Big East had that survived but it didn't.

WVAPPeer wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:52 am

As AppGrad78 , myself and others said several years ago, Ed Hardin is a solid sports reporter and has been for some time even though there were some on here who have attacked him. We must remember that not every writer will write "what we want to read" in 100% of articles.

Ed tells it like it is, especially NASCAR.

I still say the end game is the American Conference. That's the conference that gets noticed the most outside of the P5. Eventually I think they'll want to expand either out of necessity (due a Big XII raid) or because they want to expand their footprint into the giant gap they have in their map that resides between Memphis, Cincy, ECU and UCF, and we'd fill that hole nicely.

I'll admit, geographically C-USA is a better conference with Charlotte, ODU, Marshall, MTSU, WKU and UAB within reasonable driving distance, but I'm just not impressed with what that conference is producing.

I don't know if the Cotton Bowl is in our future this year, I agree running the table is the only way that becomes a potential reality, but if this is a conversation we are having every season from here on out, we're bound to get an invite to a "better" conference. The Sun Belt has been very good to us, but it's still the Sun Belt, and seeing that every week we are breaking the glass ceiling in terms of conference history, it kind of goes to show where its success rate resides since it's inception back in 1976.

hotrod2001 wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:21 am

I still say the end game is the American Conference. That's the conference that gets noticed the most outside of the P5. Eventually I think they'll want to expand either out of necessity (due a Big XII raid) or because they want to expand their footprint into the giant gap they have in their map that resides between Memphis, Cincy, ECU and UCF, and we'd fill that hole nicely.

I'll admit, geographically C-USA is a better conference with Charlotte, ODU, Marshall, MTSU, WKU and UAB within reasonable driving distance, but I'm just not impressed with what that conference is producing.

I don't know if the Cotton Bowl is in our future this year, I agree running the table is the only way that becomes a potential reality, but if this is a conversation we are having every season from here on out, we're bound to get an invite to a "better" conference. The Sun Belt has been very good to us, but it's still the Sun Belt, and seeing that every week we are breaking the glass ceiling in terms of conference history, it kind of goes to show where its success rate resides since it's inception back in 1976.

They have an opening starting next season because UConn is dropping out but they're not rushing to replace them...looks like 2022 might be their target year.

hotrod2001 wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:21 am

I still say the end game is the American Conference. That's the conference that gets noticed the most outside of the P5. Eventually I think they'll want to expand either out of necessity (due a Big XII raid) or because they want to expand their footprint into the giant gap they have in their map that resides between Memphis, Cincy, ECU and UCF, and we'd fill that hole nicely.

I'll admit, geographically C-USA is a better conference with Charlotte, ODU, Marshall, MTSU, WKU and UAB within reasonable driving distance, but I'm just not impressed with what that conference is producing.

I don't know if the Cotton Bowl is in our future this year, I agree running the table is the only way that becomes a potential reality, but if this is a conversation we are having every season from here on out, we're bound to get an invite to a "better" conference. The Sun Belt has been very good to us, but it's still the Sun Belt, and seeing that every week we are breaking the glass ceiling in terms of conference history, it kind of goes to show where its success rate resides since it's inception back in 1976.

As much as we all would love to get into the AAC. I personally don't think we fit the mold of the schools in the AAC. I think schools like Ga State fits what the AAC is looking for and what they currently have more than we do.

I've read that the AAC wants schools that can be competitive with P5s since they're marketing and pushing the P6 thing so hard.

Rick83 wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:33 am

I've read that the AAC wants schools that can be competitive with P5s since they're marketing and pushing the P6 thing so hard.

and I know the cart is way before the horse here... but what if the AAC comes knocking in a couple years for a football only deal?

MountaineerKidd wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:27 am

As much as we all would love to get into the AAC. I personally don't think we fit the mold of the schools in the AAC. I think schools like Ga State fits what the AAC is looking for and what they currently have more than we do.

Unfortunately, I have to agree. App does not fit in with the current AAC (academically: national v regional, athletic budgets, location: urban v rural) and probably does not rank in the top 5 unless they want to do a football only invite. Outside of them picking up the service academies or BYU, I see GSU, ODU and to a lesser extent UNCC being next on their radar. All 3 reside in good tv markets with fertile recruiting grounds and both GSU and ODU bring them a new state with decent b-ball. I'd throw UAB's hat in the ring as well once we see how well things go after they open their OCS. Plus the Blazers are former conference mates and fill the gap between FL and OH.

App is in the Sun Belt for the foreseeable future and needs to focus on being the best it can be. If the football team goes undefeated and is left out of the Cotton Bowl for a 1 loss AAC team, then DG needs to reexamine scheduling. My personal scheduling preference, whether feasible or not, is 2-G5 (home and away) and 2-A5 (home and away) with no FCS teams. IMO, the next best option (I know this won't be popular or even possible on a yearly basis) is 1-G5 (away), 1-A5 (home) and 2-A5 (away--with at least 1 being regional) or 1-G5 (home) and 3-A5 (away--with 2 being regional).

Year in and year out, App will be lucky to play more than 1, maybe 2, Sun Belt teams rated in the top 65. If App's goal, outside of winning the conference, is the NY6 then scheduling is the only thing the program can control. Now obviously, outside of a handful of teams (eg. Bama, Clemson, OSU etc), A5 teams can be rated in the bottom half of college football especially 4-7 years down the road when schedules are made. However, having 2-3 road wins against A5 teams and a decent OOC G5 win would make it difficult for the committee to overlook App even if the conference isn't having a good year.

MountaineerKidd wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:27 am

hotrod2001 wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:21 am

I still say the end game is the American Conference. That's the conference that gets noticed the most outside of the P5. Eventually I think they'll want to expand either out of necessity (due a Big XII raid) or because they want to expand their footprint into the giant gap they have in their map that resides between Memphis, Cincy, ECU and UCF, and we'd fill that hole nicely.

I'll admit, geographically C-USA is a better conference with Charlotte, ODU, Marshall, MTSU, WKU and UAB within reasonable driving distance, but I'm just not impressed with what that conference is producing.

I don't know if the Cotton Bowl is in our future this year, I agree running the table is the only way that becomes a potential reality, but if this is a conversation we are having every season from here on out, we're bound to get an invite to a "better" conference. The Sun Belt has been very good to us, but it's still the Sun Belt, and seeing that every week we are breaking the glass ceiling in terms of conference history, it kind of goes to show where its success rate resides since it's inception back in 1976.

As much as we all would love to get into the AAC. I personally don't think we fit the mold of the schools in the AAC. I think schools like Ga State fits what the AAC is looking for and what they currently have more than we do.

GSU is more in the mold of C-USA with half of their programs glorified startups in major tv markets. Their program is improving but unless they decide to do a subway series with GT or UGA that stadium of theirs will never be close to full and the team is still medicore when you look at its short, overall record.

The AAC wants a seat at the P5 table. You look at how they call the conference the "P6" and touted UCF as the real national champions from a few years back, its obvious the conference has a chip on their shoulder, and one way to do that is to bring in teams that have a pedigree of winning, which we have.

With the television market argument, we are in the Charlotte market and we have a major footprint in both the Triad and Asheville/Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson markets. All three are top 30 markets, which if you put that in comparison with their current members, would put us right in the middle of the list. And then we can argue about Boone being the "small/tiny North Carolina mountain town" but you know who else resides in relatively small towns? Clemson, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Auburn and Colorado. And nobody seems to bat an eye about that. All you have to do is look at C-USA and see that just because you're in a major metropolitan area doesn't translate into success...honestly you just have to look at Charlotte to see that. For every 49ers or Pirates decal I see on a vehicle between Asheville and Greensboro, I see 10 "A's".

With us, we're a "contingency based" program. You get us the invitation to the AAC, everything else will follow. The infrastructure, the recruitment, the sponsorship, the ticket sales, etc. Texas State, Georgia State, ULM and USA aren't must see games you circle on your calendar. But I f you can get ECU, SMU, Navy, UCF, Memphis and Cincinatti coming to Kidd Brewer on an annual basis, you're going to be getting 30k+ every week in that place...as well as ESPN , ESPN2, and ESPNU coverage which is a huge step up from Espn3 and Espn+.

We just need to keep doing what we've been doing, and show that there is App and everyone else in the Sun Belt and eventually that phone call is going to come to DG.

One way to make a statement is in 2021 when we play ECU in Charlotte. We need to black out that stadium and show the AAC that the Queen City is our back yard. You show them we own Charlotte that will help our chances I think.