Why don’t we just play Western Carolina as our FCS game every year?

[appgrad95&97]

8 Sunbelt games leaves 4 out of conference games. Two of those should be in state (UNCC, WF, UNC, NCSU, ECU and Duke). The other two should be in SC (USC/Clemson), GA (UGA/GT); TN (UT, Vandy, MTSU, Memphis) or Va (UVA. VaTech, ODU). 17 schools in NC and the states that border. Honestly, it can't be that complicated.

Complicated when most of those P5 schools won't play us.

How do you know they won't? I don't get that at all. They might do a home-and-home. But I am not aware of any evidence that P5 schools won't play us.

[Neer86]

8 Sunbelt games leaves 4 out of conference games. Two of those should be in state (UNCC, WF, UNC, NCSU, ECU and Duke). The other two should be in SC (USC/Clemson), GA (UGA/GT); TN (UT, Vandy, MTSU, Memphis) or Va (UVA. VaTech, ODU). 17 schools in NC and the states that border. Honestly, it can't be that complicated.

Complicated when most of those P5 schools won't play us.

How do you know they won't? I don't get that at all. They might do a home-and-home. But I am not aware of any evidence that P5 schools won't play us.

well, you could look at this year's schedule.

[EastHallApp]

8 Sunbelt games leaves 4 out of conference games. Two of those should be in state (UNCC, WF, UNC, NCSU, ECU and Duke). The other two should be in SC (USC/Clemson), GA (UGA/GT); TN (UT, Vandy, MTSU, Memphis) or Va (UVA. VaTech, ODU). 17 schools in NC and the states that border. Honestly, it can't be that complicated.

Complicated when most of those P5 schools won't play us.

How do you know they won't? I don't get that at all. They might do a home-and-home. But I am not aware of any evidence that P5 schools won't play us.

Six of the 12 P5s you mentioned us in fact have played us since we moved up to FBS, so I agree it's not that much of a limiting factor.

But I think strictly limiting OOC schedules to bordering states is too confining. Would have meant no Michigan, no Penn State, no H&H with Miami, no Marshall series... plus would shut the door on a lot of potential other series for the future (UCF, Boise, Houston, etc.).

[appgrad95&97]

8 Sunbelt games leaves 4 out of conference games. Two of those should be in state (UNCC, WF, UNC, NCSU, ECU and Duke). The other two should be in SC (USC/Clemson), GA (UGA/GT); TN (UT, Vandy, MTSU, Memphis) or Va (UVA. VaTech, ODU). 17 schools in NC and the states that border. Honestly, it can't be that complicated.

Complicated when most of those P5 schools won't play us.

How do you know they won't? I don't get that at all. They might do a home-and-home. But I am not aware of any evidence that P5 schools won't play us.

well, you could look at this year's schedule.

Don't we have games scheduled with WF, UNC, and USC? The idea that P5s are scared of us is APPsoulte nonsense. An argument can be made that we don't move the needle for most P5s. I can understand an NCSU or Duke not wanting to pay us to play them. A Vany or GT might have legit concerns about us. But our record against P5s can't scare anyone. We have TAMU scheduled, and they need all the non conference wins they can get given the SECW.

[appgrad95&97]

8 Sunbelt games leaves 4 out of conference games. Two of those should be in state (UNCC, WF, UNC, NCSU, ECU and Duke). The other two should be in SC (USC/Clemson), GA (UGA/GT); TN (UT, Vandy, MTSU, Memphis) or Va (UVA. VaTech, ODU). 17 schools in NC and the states that border. Honestly, it can't be that complicated.

Complicated when most of those P5 schools won't play us.

How do you know they won't? I don't get that at all. They might do a home-and-home. But I am not aware of any evidence that P5 schools won't play us.

Six of the 12 P5s you mentioned us in fact have played us since we moved up to FBS, so I agree it's not that much of a limiting factor.

But I think strictly limiting OOC schedules to bordering states is too confining. Would have meant no Michigan, no Penn State, no H&H with Miami, no Marshall series... plus would shut the door on a lot of potential other series for the future (UCF, Boise, Houston, etc.).

I cannot argue with your point at all.

[EastHallApp]

8 Sunbelt games leaves 4 out of conference games. Two of those should be in state (UNCC, WF, UNC, NCSU, ECU and Duke). The other two should be in SC (USC/Clemson), GA (UGA/GT); TN (UT, Vandy, MTSU, Memphis) or Va (UVA. VaTech, ODU). 17 schools in NC and the states that border. Honestly, it can't be that complicated.

Complicated when most of those P5 schools won't play us.

How do you know they won't? I don't get that at all. They might do a home-and-home. But I am not aware of any evidence that P5 schools won't play us.

Six of the 12 P5s you mentioned us in fact have played us since we moved up to FBS, so I agree it's not that much of a limiting factor.

But I think strictly limiting OOC schedules to bordering states is too confining. Would have meant no Michigan, no Penn State, no H&H with Miami, no Marshall series... plus would shut the door on a lot of potential other series for the future (UCF, Boise, Houston, etc.).

I cannot argue with your point at all.

I think you suggest a good approach though; you don't deal in absolutes, but you give priority to those regional games. You still seek out high-profile games farther away, but if it comes down to, say, either ODU vs. UMass, or Wake vs. Kansas, you play the nearby team.

[appgrad95&97]

Complicated when most of those P5 schools won't play us.

How do you know they won't? I don't get that at all. They might do a home-and-home. But I am not aware of any evidence that P5 schools won't play us.

Six of the 12 P5s you mentioned us in fact have played us since we moved up to FBS, so I agree it's not that much of a limiting factor.

But I think strictly limiting OOC schedules to bordering states is too confining. Would have meant no Michigan, no Penn State, no H&H with Miami, no Marshall series... plus would shut the door on a lot of potential other series for the future (UCF, Boise, Houston, etc.).

I cannot argue with your point at all.

I think you suggest a good approach though; you don't deal in absolutes, but you give priority to those regional games. You still seek out high-profile games farther away, but if it comes down to, say, either ODU vs. UMass, or Wake vs. Kansas, you play the nearby team.

Again, you're right. My original point was about better options than Western. I will add to that that personally, I'd rather play @ a regional P5 than host an ETSU or Cambell or Gardner Webb., etc.

[Neer86]

[/quote]Don't we have games scheduled with WF, UNC, and USC? The idea that P5s are scared of us is APPsoulte nonsense. An argument can be made that we don't move the needle for most P5s. I can understand an NCSU or Duke not wanting to pay us to play them. A Vany or GT might have legit concerns about us. But our record against P5s can't scare anyone. We have TAMU scheduled, and they need all the non conference wins they can get given the SECW.
[/quote]


You seem to think we can just choose whoever we want to play in a given year. We can't. Wake backed out rather than play us this year when the game fell within the new parameters. They chose an easier opponent.

We tried to find better opponents after our two P5 games dropped us. We couldn't. The teams that were allowed to play us this year didn't want anything to do with us.

Let's be gracious that Wake and UNC have scheduled us in the future, and so has ECU, Clemson and SoCar. ECU required an act by the state legislature to get ACC schools to add them to their schedule a few years back. I appreciate their willingness to play us a few times in the future, and especially a couple of visits to Boone.

To play only P5 schools from the Carolinas would be a financial disaster. Nobody outside of Clemson, and probably not even them, would be able to give us a check anywhere close to what Wisconsin was going to give us.

But it goes way beyond all that. When we travel to Happy Valley, Tennessee, Auburn, we're putting our presence in recruiting areas that can see our success and getting exposure to more national recruits. Our focus should be a few games with P5 teams in the Carolinas but after that, just the opposite of what you suggest. We need to play games in recruiting hotbeds to promote the brand.

Why should focus on building a regional brand when we already have a national brand? Build the national brand.

[AppinATL]

Is there a good reason here? Obviously the history is tremendous. It’s also meaningful for all of the western portion of the state.

I’d like to think we aren’t too high and mighty that we can’t appreciate our past.

What would be so bad about playing Western Carolina and keeping the Old Mountain Jug going?

Simple economics. Western needs big money games in order to stay afloat. We can’t afford to pay what they need to make. Thats why they offer themselves up to get their butts destroyed by Alabama and their ilk a couple of times a year.