Clemson Win or ECU Loss

[Black Saturday]

Easy yes to that. Clemson win gets headlines...ECU game nationally no one will notice either way. Also Clemson win potentially helps us more than ECU loss hurts us....ex/ a resume of a Sunbelt Championship with wins over ranked Liberty and ranked P5 Clemson, and some other good SB teams...could bump us into the tope ranked G5 = playoff

I think we have to run the table to get consideration for a playoff spot.

[huskie3]

Win both!

[AppWyo]

Hopefully, Clemson will beat Georgia and that will wear them out so much that they lose to us and Norfolk State and ODU whoop up on ECU so our job will be easier too.

Maybe ECU will whup up on Liberty so we will have an easier time with them as well.

[Bigdaddyg1]

Some funny and yet predictable responses some of which don’t answer the question.
Interesting scenario. A win over Clemson includes lots of national mention along with some ESPN highlights. A win over ECU is just included in the scrolling scores that evening. Our wins over them recently sent a message. I wasn’t at UNC for that win but was at USC. Looking at the stunned expressions and listening to the meltdown on the radio was awesome. We can’t do one thing about what happens to either school after we beat them. After beating Clemson we want them to run the table. If we lose to ECU we probably don’t want them to win another game! The obvious answer is beat both.

I’d be willing to bet that most of us take an ECU loss versus a home Liberty loss. Any home loss is bad but a loss to a peer G5 is brutal.

[Mjohn1988]

An ECU loss has more downside than a Clemson win has upside. Why? Because of common opponents. We both play Liberty and ODU and they play UTSA which is a favorite to win the AAC. Those results could be placed side-by-side when it comes to determining who gets the CFP spot in the playoffs.

As for the 2024 season I agree completely. But long term a Clemson win has much more upside than an ECU loss.

[KentHogan]

Need to win both for a truly special season. I know that’s high expectations, but it’s the truth.

Go App.

[MrCraig]

100% take a guaranteed Clemson win with an ECU loss. ECU isn't a conference team. The game basically doesn't matter except for in-state bragging rights and the super outside chance at a CFP bid. A Clemson upset would be another HUGE boost for the team and school at large. App would have 2 SEC and 2 ACC wins in the last 5 years. Recruiting in SC would improve even more; more kids would apply to go to school at App. It would "improve the brand," as they say.

[AppSt94]

An ECU loss has more downside than a Clemson win has upside. Why? Because of common opponents. We both play Liberty and ODU and they play UTSA which is a favorite to win the AAC. Those results could be placed side-by-side when it comes to determining who gets the CFP spot in the playoffs.

As for the 2024 season I agree completely. But long term a Clemson win has much more upside than an ECU loss.

Curious as to your line of thinking. Why do you view a Clemson win more beneficial in the long term? Are you referring to momentum for moving up?

[Mjohn1988]

An ECU loss has more downside than a Clemson win has upside. Why? Because of common opponents. We both play Liberty and ODU and they play UTSA which is a favorite to win the AAC. Those results could be placed side-by-side when it comes to determining who gets the CFP spot in the playoffs.

As for the 2024 season I agree completely. But long term a Clemson win has much more upside than an ECU loss.

Curious as to your line of thinking. Why do you view a Clemson win more beneficial in the long term? Are you referring to momentum for moving up?

Just momentum in general. Clemson is an elite program. A win at Clemson puts fuel in our tank for a year or more. A win at ECU simply can’t do that. Now a win in the playoffs would have impact similar to a Clemson win.

[AppSt94]

An ECU loss has more downside than a Clemson win has upside. Why? Because of common opponents. We both play Liberty and ODU and they play UTSA which is a favorite to win the AAC. Those results could be placed side-by-side when it comes to determining who gets the CFP spot in the playoffs.

As for the 2024 season I agree completely. But long term a Clemson win has much more upside than an ECU loss.

Curious as to your line of thinking. Why do you view a Clemson win more beneficial in the long term? Are you referring to momentum for moving up?

Just momentum in general. Clemson is an elite program. A win at Clemson puts fuel in our tank for a year or more. A win at ECU simply can’t do that. Now a win in the playoffs would have impact similar to a Clemson win.

I get that. For awhile, I was over the Michigan win. When people would bring it up, I was thinking how long can you milk that. But now I see it along the lines of Boise beating Oklahoma. Those two victories help set the two brands apart from the others. Even our more recent P5 wins are just after thoughts behind Michigan.

[Yosef84]

An ECU loss has more downside than a Clemson win has upside. Why? Because of common opponents. We both play Liberty and ODU and they play UTSA which is a favorite to win the AAC. Those results could be placed side-by-side when it comes to determining who gets the CFP spot in the playoffs.

I agree with this. Plus, if we beat Clemson but lose to ECU, the Clemson win gets discounted as a fluke. If we don't dominate afterwards, the upside will be very short lived.

[Bigdaddyg1]

Basically any loss is a bad loss. ETSU for obvious reasons. An ass whipping at Clemson is bad. Any loss to ECU is bad especially after Clemson. Home to Liberty would suck. Any Belt loss could kill a chance for the league championship. Win them all!!

[AppSt94]

We haven’t finished a conference season undefeated so I’ll be surprised if we come out unscathed.

[BambooRdApp]

We haven’t finished a conference season undefeated so I’ll be surprised if we come out unscathed.

1st time for everything

[Saint3333]

We haven’t finished a conference season undefeated so I’ll be surprised if we come out unscathed.

The odds of going 8-0 in conference are probably only slightly higher than 4-0 OOC, crazy to think about.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

Well, we got 2 in a row against ECU and we lost to Liberty last time around and Satterfield’s seat was blazing hot. Even though a loss to ECU would be terrible, I’d rather lose to them than to Liberty. Ranking of must beat 1. ETSU 2. Liberty 3. ECU 4. Clemson

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

We haven’t finished a conference season undefeated so I’ll be surprised if we come out unscathed.

I think if we lost to Clemson and Marshall or Ga Southern, but won other non-conference games and won conference championship game, we’d be looking at a potential playoff berth.

[AppDub]

My opinion is that a Clemson win is worth an ECU loss. Lots of pub to go around after knocking off one of the favorites to win the ACC. It will certainly solidify and further bolster recruiting. I don't see a kid choosing between App and ECU saying, oh they beat them last time they played so I'll head to Greenville. Besides, they don't seem to be getting many looks from the same players we are zeroing in on on the recruiting trail. The kids see App as a better program. ECU's years of underperformance have moved them to a different recruiting table from where we are it seems. Just one man's opinion.

[Bigdaddyg1]

I’ve always been curious about the recruiting effect (at App in particular) as it pertains to big wins. Have we truly signed a really player who might have been on the fence who said he chose us because we beat a certain team? Did that happen after the UNC/USC year? Does anyone ask that question to kids who sign? I’m not necessarily doubting the notion but I also don’t think a lot of high school or potential transfers really care about it. Again I’m sure marquee wins don’t hurt but we aren’t going to all of a sudden steal 4/5 stars away from Georgia or Alabama simply by knocking off Clemson. Did the A&M win get us any studs from Texas?

[AppSt94]

Beating a team head to head has no bearing on the kids that commit to a team. Athletes are just like we were at that age when we picked App. They are going to go where it is a fit across many personal factor. We don’t typically recruit the same kids that an ECU does because their coaches, like ours, are looking for different traits to fit their system. There are always back stories as to how recruits choose schools. The TE Calhoun chose ECU over App because we didn’t have room to bring him in. Hopper initially committed to ECU and then flipped to App. He was always coming to App for non football reasons.

The apparel brand that a school reps is likely a bigger factor than who wins a head to head matchup.