My Take On Others: Nobody saw this coming, and if they did they’re lying

[87ASUgrad]

Conor O'Neill, Winston-Salem Journal, article on Clemson Football beating Alabama...and he ranks Appalachian State at #20 in his final poll:

"My Take On Others: Nobody saw this coming, and if they did they’re lying."

https://www.journalnow.com/sports/wfu/m ... c1b28.html

#BeatETSU

[Rick83]

Great article.
This quote is really heart-breaking:

"App State played its bowl game on Dec. 15, which was probably forgotten by most voters."

So close...love that he's got us at 20 and higher than NC State.

[97APP]

Great article.
This quote is really heart-breaking:

"App State played its bowl game on Dec. 15, which was probably forgotten by most voters."

So close...love that he's got us at 20 and higher than NC State.

Yep, and heartbreaking because it's true. The Dec 15th date hurt us. IMO, if the Sun Belt continues to send its champion to the NO Bowl, it needs to find a way to obtain a better date - closer to New Year's Day/Eve.

[bigdaddyg]

Great article.
This quote is really heart-breaking:

"App State played its bowl game on Dec. 15, which was probably forgotten by most voters."

So close...love that he's got us at 20 and higher than NC State.

Yep, and heartbreaking because it's true. The Dec 15th date hurt us. IMO, if the Sun Belt continues to send its champion to the NO Bowl, it needs to find a way to obtain a better date - closer to New Year's Day/Eve.

Seems really ridiculous now that all the dust has settled for the NO Bowl to be played so early. Bowls should at least be ranked by best teams involved. A conference champion in any bowl should have their game closer to the end of the bowl season. Their were games after the NO Bowl involving 7-5 or even 6-6 teams.

[Yosef84]

It's funny how we flip back and forth on the timing depending on the perspective. The dates closer to the holidays are not desirable for fans who want to attend because of the conflict with family commitments. The earlier date is to far from the final poll vote. There will always be a down side. I guess we will just have to run the table and go to the NY6 bowl to avoid these issues.

[goapps93]

After Christmas would be much better. Holiday gatherings are generally over and more time to plan and prepare for the trip.

[MDaniels84]

I would actually rather have a minimum requirement of 8 wins to go bowling. Then, App would be assured of a better bowl opponent for the most part.

[WASU 93]

It's funny how we flip back and forth on the timing depending on the perspective. The dates closer to the holidays are not desirable for fans who want to attend because of the conflict with family commitments. The earlier date is to far from the final poll vote. There will always be a down side. I guess we will just have to run the table and go to the NY6 bowl to avoid these issues.

Agreed. I was also thinking last night what is cost to be an Alabama or Clemson fan over the last 4 seasons. Not that we wouldn't want to be there. But, this year alone Clemson fans that attended both games had (most likely) a flight to Dallas. Hotel room, meals, entertainment and game tickets in Dallas. Then, on one week's notice, they had to find flights to the Bay Area, add hotels, meals, game tickets etc. Plus, this was a guaranteed two days of vacation at work (Monday/Tuesday).

Clemson has had 7 Playoff games in the last 4 years and Bama has had 8. That's a ton of money, if you went to all of the games.

New Orleans was drivable, affordable (tickets outside the SuperDome were $20 or less) and on a Saturday, where you did not have to miss work.

[Black Saturday]

I would actually rather have a minimum requirement of 8 wins to go bowling. Then, App would be assured of a better bowl opponent for the most part.

Then the number of bowls would have to be reduced to less than 25. Selection would be scrutinized harder. Not sure the money is going to say yes to reduction

[Black Saturday]

It's funny how we flip back and forth on the timing depending on the perspective. The dates closer to the holidays are not desirable for fans who want to attend because of the conflict with family commitments. The earlier date is to far from the final poll vote. There will always be a down side. I guess we will just have to run the table and go to the NY6 bowl to avoid these issues.

Agreed. I was also thinking last night what is cost to be an Alabama or Clemson fan over the last 4 seasons. Not that we wouldn't want to be there. But, this year alone Clemson fans that attended both games had (most likely) a flight to Dallas. Hotel room, meals, entertainment and game tickets in Dallas. Then, on one week's notice, they had to find flights to the Bay Area, add hotels, meals, game tickets etc. Plus, this was a guaranteed two days of vacation at work (Monday/Tuesday).

Clemson has had 7 Playoff games in the last 4 years and Bama has had 8. That's a ton of money, if you went to all of the games.

New Orleans was drivable, affordable (tickets outside the SuperDome were $20 or less) and on a Saturday, where you did not have to miss work.

I'm sure since Clemson won, you may not hear much yak from their fans about the location, but leading up to the game there was noise about the location in a town that couldn't care less about college football and was displaced from the heart of football country along with the costs and difficulty of getting to Santa Clara. The NCAA should be able to project who is going to have a shot at being in the final game over the next several years out, but has failed to make themselves look like they have a clue.

[WASU 93]

It's funny how we flip back and forth on the timing depending on the perspective. The dates closer to the holidays are not desirable for fans who want to attend because of the conflict with family commitments. The earlier date is to far from the final poll vote. There will always be a down side. I guess we will just have to run the table and go to the NY6 bowl to avoid these issues.

Agreed. I was also thinking last night what is cost to be an Alabama or Clemson fan over the last 4 seasons. Not that we wouldn't want to be there. But, this year alone Clemson fans that attended both games had (most likely) a flight to Dallas. Hotel room, meals, entertainment and game tickets in Dallas. Then, on one week's notice, they had to find flights to the Bay Area, add hotels, meals, game tickets etc. Plus, this was a guaranteed two days of vacation at work (Monday/Tuesday).

Clemson has had 7 Playoff games in the last 4 years and Bama has had 8. That's a ton of money, if you went to all of the games.

New Orleans was drivable, affordable (tickets outside the SuperDome were $20 or less) and on a Saturday, where you did not have to miss work.

I'm sure since Clemson won, you may not hear much yak from their fans about the location, but leading up to the game there was noise about the location in a town that couldn't care less about college football and was displaced from the heart of football country along with the costs and difficulty of getting to Santa Clara. The NCAA should be able to project who is going to have a shot at being in the final game over the next several years out, but has failed to make themselves look like they have a clue.

Just like everything else, the Championship game location is all about money. While the San Jose/Santa Clara area could care less, i guarantee those suites were filled with executives from Google, Microsoft, Apple and the rest of Silicon Valley--all of which have interest in colleges, universities, and students.
They know the fan bases will show up wherever the game is played.

[wb247]

Agreed. I was also thinking last night what is cost to be an Alabama or Clemson fan over the last 4 seasons. Not that we wouldn't want to be there. But, this year alone Clemson fans that attended both games had (most likely) a flight to Dallas. Hotel room, meals, entertainment and game tickets in Dallas. Then, on one week's notice, they had to find flights to the Bay Area, add hotels, meals, game tickets etc. Plus, this was a guaranteed two days of vacation at work (Monday/Tuesday).

Yep. I don't miss playoffs at all and feel like anyone arguing for expansion doesn't have any plans on attending or works for a company that will send them to the games as part of their job. I've got a hard time believing we'd have taken more than 1500 fans to San Francisco this year, had that been an option.

[Apple@chin1]

Agreed. I was also thinking last night what is cost to be an Alabama or Clemson fan over the last 4 seasons. Not that we wouldn't want to be there. But, this year alone Clemson fans that attended both games had (most likely) a flight to Dallas. Hotel room, meals, entertainment and game tickets in Dallas. Then, on one week's notice, they had to find flights to the Bay Area, add hotels, meals, game tickets etc. Plus, this was a guaranteed two days of vacation at work (Monday/Tuesday).

Yep. I don't miss playoffs at all and feel like anyone arguing for expansion doesn't have any plans on attending or works for a company that will send them to the games as part of their job. I've got a hard time believing we'd have taken more than 1500 fans to San Francisco this year, had that been an option.

It would’ve definitely been a minimum of 2000. Taco Bell supplied 500 tickets to each school for their student sections!

[weavneerfan]

A huge percentage of both Clemson and Alabama fans have never set foot in a classroom in Clemson or Tuscaloosa. Of the 5 people that I knew who went to the game, only 2 had been students at Clemson. Yet tons of the "non alum" fans are still boosters.
That is one of the huge separations between G5 and the larger P5 schools.