Big Games

[appbio91]

Does anyone else get the impression that we always fall flat in big focus games, whether it be nationally televised games or P5 matchups? Outside of our bowl games obviously.

I’m a firm believer that we lost all three of the following games moreso than our opposition won:

Penn State
Tennessee
Wake Forest

Kicking, penalties, bad bounces. We literally manufactured a way to lose all three of these big games. Is that just bad luck or something else?

And what about our ESPN games?

Obviously last night we possibly put on our worst performance ever, for a national audience. But I also thought we looked awful against Ark State. At least until late when we pulled away. Georgia Southern last season, 0-9 when we hosted them on Thursday night. It was 13-6 us going into the fourth quarter before we pulled away. And we looked awful there too.

Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Or does anyone else get this impression?

I only disagree with your inclusion of the Penn St. game; I give this team a lot of credit for coming back from down 14 in that game. We blew leads in the Tenn and WF games (and I know we had a 4th quarter lead at Penn St.)

Agree Penn St does not belong here, we played a great game, minus penalties many of which were crap. They beat us. GaSo game was a shit party from the outset so I wouldn’t call that wilting either. We have no replacement for Moore, I don’t care what Evans did against UL, Moore was a guy that would hit you in the mouth repeatedly until he went through you. Backup QB situation is a lot worse than we imagined. No way we could have won that game with the hand we were dealt. Without the three we were missing against GaSo we would have lost to UL as well. Other than those three games we have not played anybody. We were ranked on program reputation and the Penn St game. We deserved it but it put a young team in a tough position.

Oops forgot sAte that was a great win against a good team.

Wake and TN were a different problem that was dealt with. Miami, okay I agree we wilted.

[shortfatoldapp]

Yeah, it was the biggest game since we moved up!

[WataugaMan]

A number of teams above us have fallen today, therefore, the loss gets worse by the minute. Blown opportunity, how will we respond?

[Yosef84]

First game ranked...yeah, that's an emotional reaction and I get it. It's the most embarrassing loss but I disagree with it being the biggest game since moving up. EVERY conference game we play has conference implications and we will play at least 4 games on National TV this year. Yeah...I'll give you the rival thing.

It's a subjective statement, so you can believe what you want but I think your opinion is an based on the emotional reaction to a bad loss to a rival.

Here's some other games that could be considered just as big for various reasons:
Troy in 2014 - First Sunbelt win and beginning of our "run"
Arkansas State and Louisiana both in 2014 - We were underdogs and won on the road establishing our position in the conference.
All three bowl games - National TV against a strong team from rival conference.

I would say this is the biggest loss (most impact) since moving up although an argument could be made that losing to ULM last year was just as bad because we lost soul possession of the conference championship and had to rely on outside factors to get a share of it. Same comment about our loss to Arkansas State in 2015 and that game was in Boone.

We really don't know what the impact of the loss is yet. We do know it was ugly and I get that fans are basically in mourning.

[ah59396]

I get the feeling that we have a segment of our fan base that seems to lay in wait until we lose a "big game" so they can trot out this tired observation. When you cherry pick which wins count in the analysis, it's easy to justify whatever "feeling" you have.

Last night sucked. We laid the biggest egg I've seen App lay in a long time but I don't see why anyone would somehow try to force that into some sort of over all negative assessment. We have a great group of young men and an excellent staff. Last night wasn't representative. It happened and it's in the books. Let's hope the ship gets righted and we see the REAL App State on the field again next week

If you disagree with my observation and opening question that’s fine. But back it up with why you believe otherwise.

Don’t just shit on me as some casual fan that “lays low” because you don’t like my opinion. Care to share why you don’t agree?

You have 176 total posts showing since 2014, but you decide to create a thread to whine about a topic that's been talked to death. I guess that's the initial driver for the "laying in wait" comment. So, are you more than a casual fan? Is there a reason you think your opinion is more important than others? Your whole post is opinion, not fact, so somehow getting your feeling hurt and demanding facts before someone can disagrees is absurd. We were heavy underdogs going into the Tennessee and especially the Penn State game, so the losses are certainly disappointing but to say we "lost it more than they won it" is a personal assessment at best. Nobody on the board disagrees that both losses were missed opportunities and disappointing, but attributing it to a lack of coaching or some trend is opinion at best.

The coaching staff and team as a whole outplayed Wake in a game which was basically an even draw. That game came down to an off-sides call on a punt that gave Wake back the ball and resulted in their winning score in addition to a missed kick and finally a blocked kick. That stuff happens but again...it doesn't fit into a pattern for "big games."

I guess my point is that you want to define "big games" pretty narrowly and then dismiss the ones that we DID win (three bowl games for example) as if that somehow makes your point. How bout the win at UL and Arkansas State in 2014? Those were HUGE road wins in games against the favored conference leaders where we were the underdog. Do those count as "big games" or not?

Sorry that you got your feelings hurt because not everyone agrees with your OPINION. I'm curious though. Would you like to explain what the point of your observation is? Are you implying that the progress of the football program isn't "acceptable"? What changes are you suggesting?

Do yourself a favor and re-read my initial post.

1. This is a message board. It literally exists to share opinions. I shared mine, never sold it as fact, then asked for other opinions. Literally ended my post soliciting real feedback about our performance in big games.

2. I’m not sure what my post history or count has to do with fandom, but I’ll keep your lofty expectations in mind in the future. Little recommendation though, you aren’t a gatekeeper and you don’t get to establish anyone’s allegiance but your own.

3. The rest of your wall of text is pretty valid and I appreciate you sharing it. We did show well in our bowl games and maybe it’s a little recency bias on my part, but my thoughts regarding our performance in bigger games are shared by others. So they aren’t baseless.

Lastly if you think you hurt my feelings, you totally overestimate what you’re doing here.

Take it easy.

Honestly, I actually didn't reply because the tone of your initial post wasn't over the top. That's why I didn't quote it and direct my reply at you. My reply was directed towards the topic in general and to the group (yes, I'm aware others share the opinion) who echo this same thought after ever significant loss. I never said it was "baseless" but I do think the position gets taken out of context and lacks perspective. The observation was much more valid in the years immediately following 2007 when it seemed App had very disappointing performances against our P5 opponents. We see mention of the NC State loss, but that was actually 2006 and we hadn't yet discovered Armanti Edwards as the answer to our QB turnover. Those performances from 10 years ago were under different leadership, and have absolutely nothing to do with the current situation. Trends which cross over from the previous coaching staff and FCS to our current situation are meaningless in real world terms.

You're completely right about it being a message board. You have a right to express your opinion, as do I. You posted a topic that is a hot button for me and I replied. I have no delusions about my own importance either. The hurt feelings comment was directed at the tone of your reply to my initial post. Maybe you should go re-read that. I would certainly hope that nobody on here is shedding tears about what another person posts.

I apologize if the tone of my post was disproportionate or perceived that way. That wasn't the intent. My point is that I really don't see the usefulness of this type of thread. Maybe it's just to vent and express general frustration. My point is that, I think we've made SIGNIFICANT progress in the "big games" against P5 programs. We have showed up and played tough. I don't think Thursday's game belongs in a grouping with those. Thursday was a totally different issue, and I don't think there is any pattern at all of App failing to show up and perform against conference / G5 opponents. This game is a one-off.

I would say we have a new pattern of playing tough and coming up just short. That trend begins with Tennessee. These losses are more attributed to individual mistakes (not coaching or prep) during a game where we were playing against a bigger opponent with vastly superior resources and depth. Regarding Penn State, I think App played about the best I've ever seen us play and exceeded all expectation that day. Saying we gave the game away is dismissive. Our NEW pattern is a function of being on the verge but perhaps not as QUITE there yet. In our 5th year of FBS football, I still believe we are WAY ahead of schedule. Those losses while we were in FCS have nothing to do with our current program.

Fair enough. I think you make plenty of great points. Especially about the leadership changes and us being ahead of schedule. Thanks for the input and sorry for snapping back at you. Go App.

[JMappfan5]

We have crapped the bed a few times in big games BUT, I would consider all three Bowl games pretty huge wins for our brand. Let's be realistic about this season, we are 0-2 against teams that have a record better than .500. Maybe our expectations were not so realistic for such a young team. This greatest receiving corps ever cannot get off the line of scrimmage. CBs are disrupting our timing patterns. I hope we can get back to the physical football that our Coaches envision and that we are accustomed to seeing. The ULL game was VERY physical. Maybe that, coupled with a short week and with all the other things that worked against us, was just too much to overcome on the road!!! This team is hurting (more than us fans), so let's put GSU to bed and get behind this team in a strong, vocal supportive manner!!! Let's beat the feathers off a dangerous bunch of chickens and spoil their HOMECOMING!!!

[WataugaMan]

If it's any consolation LaLa beat Arky State giving them their third conference loss. It's good to see the preseason favorite to win the conference get eliminated so early.