Can we now shut up about being ranked?

[EastHallApp]

Is there a point to this post past some “I told you so” self serving?

Besides the fact that we’ve had literally hundreds of posts obsessing about our ranking vs actually talking about our opponents. I loved that we were ranked but it became a ridiculous obsession on this board and If you don’t think our team drank that koolaid I don’t know what to tell you.

If one post on this board had, or ever has anything to do with the way our team plays then we have way bigger problems than anyone has even hinted at.

Is it possible the team got overconfident? Sure. I don't know if that's what happened, but they certainly didn't play well last night, so that's one possible factor.

But let me run this crazy idea by you: We have played or will play on ESPN four of five weeks. We've had national writers from ESPN and the Athletic in town this week. We were getting growing media buzz about going to the Cotton Bowl. If the team let the hype get to them, do you think perhaps it might have had more to do with all that national media exposure than one little message board that committed the heinous crime of being excited about our team doing well?

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

Tis better to have been ranked and lost than to have never been ranked at all.

[Rick83]

It's amazing to me that almost every single sports writer (whose full-time jobs are to keep up with sports) who votes in the AP poll thought we belonged in the AP top 25 (for 3 straight weeks) based on our performance to date, and yet, some of our own fans didn't think we belonged?
Also, all of the coaches that voted for us in the coaches poll (who live, breathe, and die with college football) thought we belonged.
I just don't get some of these attitudes that we've been battling all freakin' season. And another thing, it's extremely hard to go undefeated, in fact with all of the success we've had in football I don't think we've gone undefeated since Roosevelt was in office, and i believe that was only once perhaps...losing is part of sports...fortunately in football we are blessed with a great program and don't have to feel that sting very often.

[Yosefus]

Ranking was great and good exposure for our program. Loss shed light on the fact we are not there yet.
Will forever bleed black and gold, just hope we did not bleed out last night. Don't think so.
Let's move on and hope we can still have a 10-11 win season!

[ah59396]

Tis better to have been ranked and lost than to have never been ranked at all.

I think Aristotle said that after the Greeks lost 27-21 to the Persians.

[AppStFan1]

For the record, IF we bounce back and beat South Carolina, we absolutely have a chance to get back in the rankings this year. NY6 is likely gone but top 25 is still on the table if our guys can regroup.

However, if everyone would prefer to sulk and stew on this one a couple days before moving on, I totally get that.

Are you thinking if we beat them we could sneak back in the following week? If so, that won't happen. Now, if we win out then perhaps we could get it back after winning the SBC title game but it won't happen again in the regular season and I highly doubt it happens anyway.

One thing that will keep us from being ranked regardless of what we do is if GSU wins out in the SBC. If they do then they will go to the title game and there is no way a 2nd place team in the SBC is ranked. We not only have to win out but need GSU to lose because there is no way a 3 loss SBC team is going to be ranked.

Now 2nd in the Easter division. How is app supposed to win the belt?

If GSU loses a game it can still happen but pointless to worry until they lose and we keep winning.

[AppStFan1]

For the record, IF we bounce back and beat South Carolina, we absolutely have a chance to get back in the rankings this year. NY6 is likely gone but top 25 is still on the table if our guys can regroup.

However, if everyone would prefer to sulk and stew on this one a couple days before moving on, I totally get that.

Are you thinking if we beat them we could sneak back in the following week? If so, that won't happen. Now, if we win out then perhaps we could get it back after winning the SBC title game but it won't happen again in the regular season and I highly doubt it happens anyway.

One thing that will keep us from being ranked regardless of what we do is if GSU wins out in the SBC. If they do then they will go to the title game and there is no way a 2nd place team in the SBC is ranked. We not only have to win out but need GSU to lose because there is no way a 3 loss SBC team is going to be ranked.

Not the following week, no.

I am 99% sure we will not beat South Carolina, thought it was just 50/50 prior to GSU, but if we did and finished 12-1 in the regular season then with help we could perhaps sneak in to 24-25. However, so much would have to happen and I don't see 12-1 happening so it is a massive waste of time to think about it until we are in that position after the SBC title game. We aren't top 25 caliber and the voters all saw that so I still don't think it happens. We are a good team but really in the 30-40 range just outside of it is where we belong.

The next time I think we can be ranked is if we are 3-0 next year. The issue for next year is we are too small up front for these P5 games. Hannon, Neuzil, ect are just too small and can't win battles up front against bigger lines on a regular basis. Size matters on the lines. We move very well but we need to be 6'3-6'6 and 290-320 range to really hold up against P5 lines.

[Rick83]

Just because we had a bad night and lost by 3 points to Ga Southern doesn't mean that we don't have a good shot at beating South Carolina. We were a play or two. or a correct ref call or two, or a catch-able pass or two away from winning last night.
Our guys are going to show up in Columbia and be competitive, not perfect, and maybe not win, but will be competitive with a chance to win late in the game.

[WVAPPeer]

We've been in the same situation in previous years - we must win out and others must lose - it has worked in our favor before and until it doesn't, I believe it will happen again

[AppStFan1]

It's amazing to me that almost every single sports writer (whose full-time jobs are to keep up with sports) who votes in the AP poll thought we belonged in the AP top 25 (for 3 straight weeks) based on our performance to date, and yet, some of our own fans didn't think we belonged?
Also, all of the coaches that voted for us in the coaches poll (who live, breathe, and die with college football) thought we belonged.
I just don't get some of these attitudes that we've been battling all freakin' season. And another thing, it's extremely hard to go undefeated, in fact with all of the success we've had in football I don't think we've gone undefeated since Roosevelt was in office, and i believe that was only once perhaps...losing is part of sports...fortunately in football we are blessed with a great program and don't have to feel that sting very often.

Rick,

Please read my entire post. I think if you break down the polls like I say at the end you will see where myself and others are coming from.

To your point on winning we have won in the FCS. We will win in the SBC for sure but the caliber of recruits we get year in and year out for the most part are not going to be top 25 caliber. We have a good team but not top 25 team.

I can easily explain why they thought we belonged but put a couple things in context. Read the articles of a few AP writers and you will see they have no clue. Lauren Brownlow thinks the SBC is the worst league in the FBS and yet yearly it proves to be better than MAC and CUSA by far. I could point out 10-15 other examples of writers who have no clue. Coaches usually let their SIDs vote for them. I bet less than half of those ballots are done by the coaches themselves. That goes on in FCS as well.

As for why they voted us. It looks bad for a 6-0 or 7-0 team not to be ranked if they have a P5 team. We hung with Penn State last year, beat UNC this year, and we were undefeated. Just playing someone close isn't enough to be a top 25 caliber team. You have to beat good teams to show you belong. We did not have one win over a top 40 team this year. There gets a point where the coaches and media vote for a team just because they are undefeated.

No matter who you play it is hard to go undefeated but I put more stock in who you beat. I would rank a 4-3 Big Ten or SEC team ahead of a 7-0 SBC team if the 3 losses are to top 25 teams and the SBC team isn't beating all their conference opponents every week by 25 or more. Mississippi State only beat ULL by 10, same as us, and they are nowhere near top 25 this year. That was a big sign to me that we probably don't belong. Plus, UNC is not a top 30 team either and we barely won that game.

Why do you think I kept saying we don't deserve to be ranked unless we are 9-0? I knew that is very difficult and that even though at home beating Georgia Southern and then going on the road in Columbia and getting a win is something that only a top 25 team could do.

Maybe myself and others are harder on our own team but we see more than they do. We knew that our OL was not very big, Thomas is up and down passing, and we haven't executed to a level we should.

Here is why you also can't put too much stock into what the polls say. Look at them right now: https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings

There is no way the SEC will have 1 and 2 in the final polls so that is glaring. Oregon is behind Auburn, who beat Oregon. 6 G5 teams are ranked and there is no way that 6 G5 teams are top 25. San Diego State only beat UNLV by a few points. If they beat Boise State I would say neither team should be ranked. At best, you will have about 3 G5 teams who belong in there. Even then, unless they can beat a 2-3 loss ranked P5 team in a bowl game I am still skeptical. The only G5 team that should be ranked right now in my mind is SMU and I would put them 21-25 range.

And here is the biggest reason of all that those voting are just looking at records and slotting teams. Look at some of the teams receiving votes. Do you honestly think a 63 scholarship FCS team should get a vote? Do you honestly think Wyoming and Air Force should be ranked? Some of the voters do. There are 12 different teams outside of the P5 getting votes. That looks insane and we all know that is not possible. No way a 4th best team in the MWC at 6-2 is better than Michigan State, Iowa State, etc. I mean come on.

Cincinnati lost to OSU 42-0 and could have been worse. Michigan State lost 34-10. 24 points and 42 points. MSU is not getting any votes but Cincy is ranked 17/18. That is a joke. Do you honestly think Cincy is better than MSU? Heck no.

Seriously, go look at the polls, the resumes of all those teams, their scores, and look at what I said. You tell me how in the world there should be any stock in them at this point?

[fjblair]

Ranking was great and good exposure for our program. Loss shed light on the fact we are not there yet.
Will forever bleed black and gold, just hope we did not bleed out last night. Don't think so.
Let's move on and hope we can still have a 10-11 win season!

No we are not there yet. Too many people on here wringing their hands over NY6/the SC game/rankings obsessed when this team can't beat a four win GS rebuild that passed for 16 yards. Too big for your britches reality check.
Maybe we get another shot next year.

[Rick83]

It's amazing to me that almost every single sports writer (whose full-time jobs are to keep up with sports) who votes in the AP poll thought we belonged in the AP top 25 (for 3 straight weeks) based on our performance to date, and yet, some of our own fans didn't think we belonged?
Also, all of the coaches that voted for us in the coaches poll (who live, breathe, and die with college football) thought we belonged.
I just don't get some of these attitudes that we've been battling all freakin' season. And another thing, it's extremely hard to go undefeated, in fact with all of the success we've had in football I don't think we've gone undefeated since Roosevelt was in office, and i believe that was only once perhaps...losing is part of sports...fortunately in football we are blessed with a great program and don't have to feel that sting very often.

Rick,

Please read my entire post. I think if you break down the polls like I say at the end you will see where myself and others are coming from.

To your point on winning we have won in the FCS. We will win in the SBC for sure but the caliber of recruits we get year in and year out for the most part are not going to be top 25 caliber. We have a good team but not top 25 team.

I can easily explain why they thought we belonged but put a couple things in context. Read the articles of a few AP writers and you will see they have no clue. Lauren Brownlow thinks the SBC is the worst league in the FBS and yet yearly it proves to be better than MAC and CUSA by far. I could point out 10-15 other examples of writers who have no clue. Coaches usually let their SIDs vote for them. I bet less than half of those ballots are done by the coaches themselves. That goes on in FCS as well.

As for why they voted us. It looks bad for a 6-0 or 7-0 team not to be ranked if they have a P5 team. We hung with Penn State last year, beat UNC this year, and we were undefeated. Just playing someone close isn't enough to be a top 25 caliber team. You have to beat good teams to show you belong. We did not have one win over a top 40 team this year. There gets a point where the coaches and media vote for a team just because they are undefeated.

No matter who you play it is hard to go undefeated but I put more stock in who you beat. I would rank a 4-3 Big Ten or SEC team ahead of a 7-0 SBC team if the 3 losses are to top 25 teams and the SBC team isn't beating all their conference opponents every week by 25 or more. Mississippi State only beat ULL by 10, same as us, and they are nowhere near top 25 this year. That was a big sign to me that we probably don't belong. Plus, UNC is not a top 30 team either and we barely won that game.

Why do you think I kept saying we don't deserve to be ranked unless we are 9-0? I knew that is very difficult and that even though at home beating Georgia Southern and then going on the road in Columbia and getting a win is something that only a top 25 team could do.

Maybe myself and others are harder on our own team but we see more than they do. We knew that our OL was not very big, Thomas is up and down passing, and we haven't executed to a level we should.

Here is why you also can't put too much stock into what the polls say. Look at them right now: https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings

There is no way the SEC will have 1 and 2 in the final polls so that is glaring. Oregon is behind Auburn, who beat Oregon. 6 G5 teams are ranked and there is no way that 6 G5 teams are top 25. San Diego State only beat UNLV by a few points. If they beat Boise State I would say neither team should be ranked. At best, you will have about 3 G5 teams who belong in there. Even then, unless they can beat a 2-3 loss ranked P5 team in a bowl game I am still skeptical. The only G5 team that should be ranked right now in my mind is SMU and I would put them 21-25 range.

And here is the biggest reason of all that those voting are just looking at records and slotting teams. Look at some of the teams receiving votes. Do you honestly think a 63 scholarship FCS team should get a vote? Do you honestly think Wyoming and Air Force should be ranked? Some of the voters do. There are 12 different teams outside of the P5 getting votes. That looks insane and we all know that is not possible. No way a 4th best team in the MWC at 6-2 is better than Michigan State, Iowa State, etc. I mean come on.

Cincinnati lost to OSU 42-0 and could have been worse. Michigan State lost 34-10. 24 points and 42 points. MSU is not getting any votes but Cincy is ranked 17/18. That is a joke. Do you honestly think Cincy is better than MSU? Heck no.

Seriously, go look at the polls, the resumes of all those teams, their scores, and look at what I said. You tell me how in the world there should be any stock in them at this point?

Oh yeah, I forgot, you're smarter than the rest of the college football world... I'm not going to respond to yours so no reason for you to waste your time responding to my posts...

[Yosef84]

Tis better to have been ranked and lost than to have never been ranked at all.

I think Aristotle said that after the Greeks lost 27-21 to the Persians.

Damn Persians had WAY too many on the field for the entire game and not a single whistle. Officiating was ridiculous.

[fjblair]

It's amazing to me that almost every single sports writer (whose full-time jobs are to keep up with sports) who votes in the AP poll thought we belonged in the AP top 25 (for 3 straight weeks) based on our performance to date, and yet, some of our own fans didn't think we belonged?
Also, all of the coaches that voted for us in the coaches poll (who live, breathe, and die with college football) thought we belonged.
I just don't get some of these attitudes that we've been battling all freakin' season. And another thing, it's extremely hard to go undefeated, in fact with all of the success we've had in football I don't think we've gone undefeated since Roosevelt was in office, and i believe that was only once perhaps...losing is part of sports...fortunately in football we are blessed with a great program and don't have to feel that sting very often.

I think you put way too much thought and effort into this stuff.
Rick,

Please read my entire post. I think if you break down the polls like I say at the end you will see where myself and others are coming from.

To your point on winning we have won in the FCS. We will win in the SBC for sure but the caliber of recruits we get year in and year out for the most part are not going to be top 25 caliber. We have a good team but not top 25 team.

I can easily explain why they thought we belonged but put a couple things in context. Read the articles of a few AP writers and you will see they have no clue. Lauren Brownlow thinks the SBC is the worst league in the FBS and yet yearly it proves to be better than MAC and CUSA by far. I could point out 10-15 other examples of writers who have no clue. Coaches usually let their SIDs vote for them. I bet less than half of those ballots are done by the coaches themselves. That goes on in FCS as well.

As for why they voted us. It looks bad for a 6-0 or 7-0 team not to be ranked if they have a P5 team. We hung with Penn State last year, beat UNC this year, and we were undefeated. Just playing someone close isn't enough to be a top 25 caliber team. You have to beat good teams to show you belong. We did not have one win over a top 40 team this year. There gets a point where the coaches and media vote for a team just because they are undefeated.

No matter who you play it is hard to go undefeated but I put more stock in who you beat. I would rank a 4-3 Big Ten or SEC team ahead of a 7-0 SBC team if the 3 losses are to top 25 teams and the SBC team isn't beating all their conference opponents every week by 25 or more. Mississippi State only beat ULL by 10, same as us, and they are nowhere near top 25 this year. That was a big sign to me that we probably don't belong. Plus, UNC is not a top 30 team either and we barely won that game.

Why do you think I kept saying we don't deserve to be ranked unless we are 9-0? I knew that is very difficult and that even though at home beating Georgia Southern and then going on the road in Columbia and getting a win is something that only a top 25 team could do.

Maybe myself and others are harder on our own team but we see more than they do. We knew that our OL was not very big, Thomas is up and down passing, and we haven't executed to a level we should.

Here is why you also can't put too much stock into what the polls say. Look at them right now: https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings

There is no way the SEC will have 1 and 2 in the final polls so that is glaring. Oregon is behind Auburn, who beat Oregon. 6 G5 teams are ranked and there is no way that 6 G5 teams are top 25. San Diego State only beat UNLV by a few points. If they beat Boise State I would say neither team should be ranked. At best, you will have about 3 G5 teams who belong in there. Even then, unless they can beat a 2-3 loss ranked P5 team in a bowl game I am still skeptical. The only G5 team that should be ranked right now in my mind is SMU and I would put them 21-25 range.

And here is the biggest reason of all that those voting are just looking at records and slotting teams. Look at some of the teams receiving votes. Do you honestly think a 63 scholarship FCS team should get a vote? Do you honestly think Wyoming and Air Force should be ranked? Some of the voters do. There are 12 different teams outside of the P5 getting votes. That looks insane and we all know that is not possible. No way a 4th best team in the MWC at 6-2 is better than Michigan State, Iowa State, etc. I mean come on.

Cincinnati lost to OSU 42-0 and could have been worse. Michigan State lost 34-10. 24 points and 42 points. MSU is not getting any votes but Cincy is ranked 17/18. That is a joke. Do you honestly think Cincy is better than MSU? Heck no.

Seriously, go look at the polls, the resumes of all those teams, their scores, and look at what I said. You tell me how in the world there should be any stock in them at this point?

[nomadb]

Nope, I’ll always be happy we’re ranked and I understand the value we get from it. Not my fault you’re too short sighted to see it.

It does not help if we constantly choke. We won't be ranked again this year. That is why many of us want to see we deserve it before we are ranked. We should not have been ranked and now people look at us as the time who gets ranked from beating nobody and then we play someone halfway decent and we lose.

We all want to be good enough to be ranked. Bottom line is we are a good team but a ranked team does not lose a game like this against a G5 who has 3 losses.

We can't lose a SBC game and just drop a few spots. We will fall like a rock. I bet we have less than 20 points and that will only be because those who had us 14-17 range will have us 24-25 now. We must win out to have a shot at getting back in.

We have to get a lot better. A lot of things can be pointed to here. Bad play calling, refs screwed us on a few calls, our OL was very bad in the first half, and we dropped too many passes.

Your argument is so weak. Being ranked does nothing but making it easier to be ranked again. Period. End of story. Guess what.....with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 teams a year, most ranked teams end up losing.

I couldn't agree more with the poster who said that some of you seem afraid of success because of the threat of disappointment. It's completely silly.

I'm not sure why you believe we didn't "deserve" our ranking. We deserved it as much as any other team deserves their ranking

[Yosef84]

We've done absolutely nothing to HURT our "stock" as a program. We simply won't see the huge leap forward that some folks wanted...or even expected. The App program continues to build credibility and establish itself as a force. It was fun to dream. There's nothing wrong with that. We shouldn't let our dreams dump all over our reality though. In our 6th season, we've achieved more than most programs accomplish in twice that time. We continue to set new standards and blaze new trails. I hate losing, but I won't be lowering my head to anybody, because I remember that It really is GREAT TO BE A MOUNTAINEER.

[AppStFan1]

It's amazing to me that almost every single sports writer (whose full-time jobs are to keep up with sports) who votes in the AP poll thought we belonged in the AP top 25 (for 3 straight weeks) based on our performance to date, and yet, some of our own fans didn't think we belonged?
Also, all of the coaches that voted for us in the coaches poll (who live, breathe, and die with college football) thought we belonged.
I just don't get some of these attitudes that we've been battling all freakin' season. And another thing, it's extremely hard to go undefeated, in fact with all of the success we've had in football I don't think we've gone undefeated since Roosevelt was in office, and i believe that was only once perhaps...losing is part of sports...fortunately in football we are blessed with a great program and don't have to feel that sting very often.

Rick,

Please read my entire post. I think if you break down the polls like I say at the end you will see where myself and others are coming from.

To your point on winning we have won in the FCS. We will win in the SBC for sure but the caliber of recruits we get year in and year out for the most part are not going to be top 25 caliber. We have a good team but not top 25 team.

I can easily explain why they thought we belonged but put a couple things in context. Read the articles of a few AP writers and you will see they have no clue. Lauren Brownlow thinks the SBC is the worst league in the FBS and yet yearly it proves to be better than MAC and CUSA by far. I could point out 10-15 other examples of writers who have no clue. Coaches usually let their SIDs vote for them. I bet less than half of those ballots are done by the coaches themselves. That goes on in FCS as well.

As for why they voted us. It looks bad for a 6-0 or 7-0 team not to be ranked if they have a P5 team. We hung with Penn State last year, beat UNC this year, and we were undefeated. Just playing someone close isn't enough to be a top 25 caliber team. You have to beat good teams to show you belong. We did not have one win over a top 40 team this year. There gets a point where the coaches and media vote for a team just because they are undefeated.

No matter who you play it is hard to go undefeated but I put more stock in who you beat. I would rank a 4-3 Big Ten or SEC team ahead of a 7-0 SBC team if the 3 losses are to top 25 teams and the SBC team isn't beating all their conference opponents every week by 25 or more. Mississippi State only beat ULL by 10, same as us, and they are nowhere near top 25 this year. That was a big sign to me that we probably don't belong. Plus, UNC is not a top 30 team either and we barely won that game.

Why do you think I kept saying we don't deserve to be ranked unless we are 9-0? I knew that is very difficult and that even though at home beating Georgia Southern and then going on the road in Columbia and getting a win is something that only a top 25 team could do.

Maybe myself and others are harder on our own team but we see more than they do. We knew that our OL was not very big, Thomas is up and down passing, and we haven't executed to a level we should.

Here is why you also can't put too much stock into what the polls say. Look at them right now: https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings

There is no way the SEC will have 1 and 2 in the final polls so that is glaring. Oregon is behind Auburn, who beat Oregon. 6 G5 teams are ranked and there is no way that 6 G5 teams are top 25. San Diego State only beat UNLV by a few points. If they beat Boise State I would say neither team should be ranked. At best, you will have about 3 G5 teams who belong in there. Even then, unless they can beat a 2-3 loss ranked P5 team in a bowl game I am still skeptical. The only G5 team that should be ranked right now in my mind is SMU and I would put them 21-25 range.

And here is the biggest reason of all that those voting are just looking at records and slotting teams. Look at some of the teams receiving votes. Do you honestly think a 63 scholarship FCS team should get a vote? Do you honestly think Wyoming and Air Force should be ranked? Some of the voters do. There are 12 different teams outside of the P5 getting votes. That looks insane and we all know that is not possible. No way a 4th best team in the MWC at 6-2 is better than Michigan State, Iowa State, etc. I mean come on.

Cincinnati lost to OSU 42-0 and could have been worse. Michigan State lost 34-10. 24 points and 42 points. MSU is not getting any votes but Cincy is ranked 17/18. That is a joke. Do you honestly think Cincy is better than MSU? Heck no.

Seriously, go look at the polls, the resumes of all those teams, their scores, and look at what I said. You tell me how in the world there should be any stock in them at this point?

Oh yeah, I forgot, you're smarter than the rest of the college football world... I'm not going to respond to yours so no reason for you to waste your time responding to my posts...

I'm not but I'm just saying a lot of that happens. Voters go by records. Do you seriously think there are 12 G5 teams who should be ranked? Because 12 are getting votes.

And if I'm so stupid then how come myself and others said we were not a top 25 team and we lost to a SBC team. I mean Minnesota beat GSU and nobody really thinks they are a top 25 team. They will be in the 20-30 range in 4 weeks when they drop a couple games. Look who they beat. They have zero quality wins but are top 15 because they are unbeaten and in a P5.

[AppStFan1]

Nope, I’ll always be happy we’re ranked and I understand the value we get from it. Not my fault you’re too short sighted to see it.

It does not help if we constantly choke. We won't be ranked again this year. That is why many of us want to see we deserve it before we are ranked. We should not have been ranked and now people look at us as the time who gets ranked from beating nobody and then we play someone halfway decent and we lose.

We all want to be good enough to be ranked. Bottom line is we are a good team but a ranked team does not lose a game like this against a G5 who has 3 losses.

We can't lose a SBC game and just drop a few spots. We will fall like a rock. I bet we have less than 20 points and that will only be because those who had us 14-17 range will have us 24-25 now. We must win out to have a shot at getting back in.

We have to get a lot better. A lot of things can be pointed to here. Bad play calling, refs screwed us on a few calls, our OL was very bad in the first half, and we dropped too many passes.

Your argument is so weak. Being ranked does nothing but making it easier to be ranked again. Period. End of story. Guess what.....with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 teams a year, most ranked teams end up losing.

I couldn't agree more with the poster who said that some of you seem afraid of success because of the threat of disappointment. It's completely silly.

I'm not sure why you believe we didn't "deserve" our ranking. We deserved it as much as any other team deserves their ranking

I think you guys are misinterpreting. It definitely makes it easier for us and we definitely need that extra press. I'm happy to get it in general. I also know that the more we do well and become a name the voters know the better it is for our ranking.

The difference in me and you is that you guys seem to think we really are a top 20-25 team and we aren't. Those polls are opinions. The facts are what you do on the field. We have played well but not well enough to truly deserve the ranking. We just beat a bunch of bottom tier teams. One big reason why I want to be in the AAC is because if we win 10-11 games there then I know we are a top 25 team.

I am not afraid of success but I just am a realist about our team and where we are. We have yet to be a top 25 caliber team so far. We are getting better and perhaps next year could be there. If we go 3-0 next year I'll say we definitely should be ranked.

Nobody in CUSA, Sun Belt, or MAC deserves to be ranked unless they sweep their league. We can't keep losing 1-2 SBC games a year if we expect to ever sustain or merit a national ranking until the SBC starts beating AAC, ACC, and SEC teams regularly, not just once a year or every 3 years.

We are a good team for sure and perhaps by the end we could be playing like a team who was 20-25 range but we aren't now. The good news is we have room to improve and we have a great shot to impress people next week.

[EastHallApp]

For the record, IF we bounce back and beat South Carolina, we absolutely have a chance to get back in the rankings this year. NY6 is likely gone but top 25 is still on the table if our guys can regroup.

However, if everyone would prefer to sulk and stew on this one a couple days before moving on, I totally get that.

Are you thinking if we beat them we could sneak back in the following week? If so, that won't happen. Now, if we win out then perhaps we could get it back after winning the SBC title game but it won't happen again in the regular season and I highly doubt it happens anyway.

One thing that will keep us from being ranked regardless of what we do is if GSU wins out in the SBC. If they do then they will go to the title game and there is no way a 2nd place team in the SBC is ranked. We not only have to win out but need GSU to lose because there is no way a 3 loss SBC team is going to be ranked.

Not the following week, no.

I am 99% sure we will not beat South Carolina, thought it was just 50/50 prior to GSU, but if we did and finished 12-1 in the regular season then with help we could perhaps sneak in to 24-25. However, so much would have to happen and I don't see 12-1 happening so it is a massive waste of time to think about it until we are in that position after the SBC title game. We aren't top 25 caliber and the voters all saw that so I still don't think it happens. We are a good team but really in the 30-40 range just outside of it is where we belong.

The next time I think we can be ranked is if we are 3-0 next year. The issue for next year is we are too small up front for these P5 games. Hannon, Neuzil, ect are just too small and can't win battles up front against bigger lines on a regular basis. Size matters on the lines. We move very well but we need to be 6'3-6'6 and 290-320 range to really hold up against P5 lines.

We've scored 38 and 34 against our last two P5 opponents, and were a blocked FG away from beating the one before that. But sure, our OL can't compete against them.

I'm not going to spend much time thinking about our chances of getting back into the polls until after our next game, because a loss there ends it for good and that may well be what happens. But I think I can speak for many when I say, save the ad nauseam lectures about how talking or thinking about the top 25 is such a "massive waste of time" when you're posting twice as much as anyone else about it.

[AppStFan1]

For the record, IF we bounce back and beat South Carolina, we absolutely have a chance to get back in the rankings this year. NY6 is likely gone but top 25 is still on the table if our guys can regroup.

However, if everyone would prefer to sulk and stew on this one a couple days before moving on, I totally get that.

Are you thinking if we beat them we could sneak back in the following week? If so, that won't happen. Now, if we win out then perhaps we could get it back after winning the SBC title game but it won't happen again in the regular season and I highly doubt it happens anyway.

One thing that will keep us from being ranked regardless of what we do is if GSU wins out in the SBC. If they do then they will go to the title game and there is no way a 2nd place team in the SBC is ranked. We not only have to win out but need GSU to lose because there is no way a 3 loss SBC team is going to be ranked.

Not the following week, no.

I am 99% sure we will not beat South Carolina, thought it was just 50/50 prior to GSU, but if we did and finished 12-1 in the regular season then with help we could perhaps sneak in to 24-25. However, so much would have to happen and I don't see 12-1 happening so it is a massive waste of time to think about it until we are in that position after the SBC title game. We aren't top 25 caliber and the voters all saw that so I still don't think it happens. We are a good team but really in the 30-40 range just outside of it is where we belong.

The next time I think we can be ranked is if we are 3-0 next year. The issue for next year is we are too small up front for these P5 games. Hannon, Neuzil, ect are just too small and can't win battles up front against bigger lines on a regular basis. Size matters on the lines. We move very well but we need to be 6'3-6'6 and 290-320 range to really hold up against P5 lines.

We've scored 38 and 34 against our last two P5 opponents, and were a blocked FG away from beating the one before that. But sure, our OL can't compete against them.

I'm not going to spend much time thinking about our chances of getting back into the polls until after our next game, because a loss there ends it for good and that may well be what happens. But I think I can speak for many when I say, save the ad nauseam lectures about how talking or thinking about the top 25 is such a "massive waste of time" when you're posting twice as much as anyone else about it.

I was talking about competing against SEC DLs since one of them is our next opponent. GSU showed we can't just power run the ball on those teams. Even against UNC we moved the ball best throwing the ball. If you call quick passes and zone plays you can slow them down somewhat. My point was that we are not big enough to handle those guys week in and week out. GSU manhandled us up front until we stopped trying to run up the middle.

Part of being a top 25 team is coaching and Drink will even tell you, which he said after the game, that he called a bad game. Coaching has to improve, which I think he will do better at least in Columbia.

We just can't lose SBC games because voters don't respect the SBC. We must win all of our games to truly be considered a legit top 25 team. I care as much as the publicity as you do but I am a realist and know that until our schedule improves greatly the only way we can truly uphold our ranking is to go undefeated while in the SBC.