App will be favored, potentially by a TD.

Fairly bold prediction on their part, considering the recent past for each team. They did win their last 2 last year, but also got absolutely smacked in the mouth by a not-very-good Ga State team. Not a prediction, but I expect us to win.

we need a QB to step up, and that's very important. However, we have a new OC, and that's very important as well.

This will also be a test for Coach Clark. This is the kind of game we've gotten use to winning.

He thinks a 6-6 ECU team beats App State? Might as well count on ECU not being bowl eligible. Not a prediction, stating fact.

Bulletin Board material.

Neer86 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:06 pm

we need a QB to step up, and that's very important. However, we have a new OC, and that's very important as well.

This will also be a test for Coach Clark. This is the kind of game we've gotten use to winning.

I’m not sure about this being a “game we’ve gotten used to winning”. Just because i don’t think we’ve played a game like it yet. We haven’t had an AAC opponent since moving up, which i think the majority of the AAC is better than the G5 non-conference games we play. I think ECU is a bigger game than Charlotte, but not as big as Carolina. I think this game could go either way, but i do agree this is a test for Clark. He failed his 3 biggest tests of 2020.

We stole one from Georgia State. I’m optimistic but not over confident.

Ok that was a dumb “prediction “. Whoever wrote that really said nothing but who cares. The dude or dudette obviously doesn’t know that we have a few decent players returning

bigdaddyg wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:34 pm

Ok that was a dumb “prediction “. Whoever wrote that really said nothing but who cares. The dude or dudette obviously doesn’t know that we have a few decent players returning

Actually he is the site Publisher for Hoist the Colours. He does know our team very well. I didn’t see anything wrong with his prediction. It seemed as though he was pandering to his base. Why would he pick against ECU in what is considered a Sun Belt opponent?

If this were 2018-19, I'd have full confidence that we'd drag them up and down the field. More likely than not we'd have beaten them this year, but I doubt it would have been pretty.

I think we'll be favored next year, but we really don't know how much ECU might improve in year 3 under Houston, nor - more importantly - whether we can get back to where we were in previous years.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but picking ECU to win is well within the normal range of homerism for a fan site.

Mike Houston historically has had his teams ready to roll in year three. Couple that with a senior QB/captain that was raised a Pirate fan, you can bet everything they will be more than ready. Houston is a damn good coach.

They lost quite a few games by a score or less last year. They will be a tough beat bringing in a new QB

ECU did finish the 2020 season in better fashion than they started. And they lost some very close games as well. But I do like the bulletin board material. Great addition to the pile Clark will have to put up closer to time.

August is a long way off for both teams. Maybe we'll have a better idea of what App looks like after spring practice wraps up.

AppStateNews wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:30 am

Mike Houston historically has had his teams ready to roll in year three.

I've seen this point a couple times, and I'm not quite sure what it refers to. His left Citadel after his second season there, and his third JMU team fell off a bit after a great first couple years. His third year at Lenoir-Rhyne was his best, though they were already pretty good before that. Are we going back to his high school years here?

ECU Wins 1-0

AppStateNews wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:30 am

Mike Houston historically has had his teams ready to roll in year three. Couple that with a senior QB/captain that was raised a Pirate fan, you can bet everything they will be more than ready. Houston is a damn good coach.

They lost quite a few games by a score or less last year. They will be a tough beat bringing in a new QB

I pay pretty close attention to the ECU program. I thought Houston was a good hire for them, but after 2 years of watching him at ECU I’m not exactly positive how “damn good of a coach” he is, and those around the ECU program are starting to wonder as well. In year two with the same QB you referred to and he gets his butt handed to him by Georgia State and goes down 31-7 at Tulane before getting wins to close the season against a horrible Temple squad and an SMU squad with nothing to play for and a 11am kick.

They had a young DL who got a bunch of reps last year, but just plainly lacks talent still. The OL, which was shaky, lost their NFL LT and will be replacing him with either a RSFR coming off injury or a grad transfer from State who has played in 2 games in 5 years. Just to consider, ECU did find a running game with 2 FR backs last year, and they ran to the left side about 50 more times than the right side, can’t imagine losing the NFL LT helps them out there.

I’m by no means already counting this game in the win column, but i do believe if we get the QB spot figured out we should be in a pretty good spot. I just think we have advantages on the OL and DL lines and those can be pretty big disadvantages to overcome.

The Pirates did progress in a number of areas last season. But overall performance was uneven from week to week, so it's difficult to draw clear conclusions showing progression (or regression, for that matter).

Bringing in Chris Foster to coach RB's was definitely a solid move. The Pirates can build on the positive momentum they built with that freshman RB tandem last year. And it may sound crazy but I see Ahlers as a wildcard for ECU. I mean, kid has mad talent to spare. But sometimes when the Pirate offense is struggling, Ahlers has a tendency to "pull a Zac" and try to do too much. We've seen over several seasons how this gets him into trouble. When he was out last season, their offense actually seemed to look better (or at least more cohesive).

I think we'll know how legit their offense is well before the end of summer camp by watching how well the ECU O-Line performs against what could prove to be another lukewarm Pirate defense.

Yosef10 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:41 pm

Neer86 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:06 pm

we need a QB to step up, and that's very important. However, we have a new OC, and that's very important as well.

This will also be a test for Coach Clark. This is the kind of game we've gotten use to winning.

I’m not sure about this being a “game we’ve gotten used to winning”. Just because i don’t think we’ve played a game like it yet. We haven’t had an AAC opponent since moving up, which i think the majority of the AAC is better than the G5 non-conference games we play. I think ECU is a bigger game than Charlotte, but not as big as Carolina. I think this game could go either way, but i do agree this is a test for Clark. He failed his 3 biggest tests of 2020.

I wonder how many could see ECU losing to us but beating South Carolina? Gamecocks are in bad shape. If ECU beats us then they should expect to beat SC. I'm not shocked they think ECU beats us but only because of their egos.

This is a huge test for us, like you said, but we should win the game. I feel like ECU is the 5th or 6th best team we play. If we lose to ECU then I would guess we lose to Miami, Marshall, CCU, Louisiana, and maybe Georgia Southern.

Say we go 6-6 or 7-5 in 2021 after a drop from 13 to 9 wins in 2020 don't you think that Shawn could find himself on the hot seat without improvement in wins in 2022? I would think a drop from 13 to 9 to 6 to 5 would put him out the door for sure. With the talent we just brought in, the talent coming back, and the prestige of our team I don't see how 5-7 wins should even be a fear for us for at least 2021. I just hope we beat ECU by a good margin and get back into the double digits. I know we can do it. This season is a big test for Shawn. People get passes for 2020 but now the free passes are over for coaches to be given a ton of excuses. We have the talent to win double digit games in 2021.

Who will be designated the home team?

Blackshirt68 wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 06, 2021 6:49 pm

Who will be designated the home team?

We are and will get the lion's share of the gate proceeds.