Reality Check

[AppSt94]

We are still in the running for that bid. Of course we need to win the conference and need some help, but to say that we no longer a contender based off of one bad game is a defeatist mentality.

No were not at all.

There are a lot of ifs that have to happen, but yes, we are still. Boise winning the MWC is not a foregone conclusion. Same with the AAC. Now I’m not holding out hope that we get it, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility yet. We will know more after the So Car game.

[MrCraig]

NY6-no longer on the table
Conf Championship-we will need help on.
Bowl eligible-done.

I am concerned with USC and Ga. State, we were exposed last night and will have to bear down to win out from here.
Very disappointed but that's the way seasons come and go.
No need to throw blame on players or coaches. Just hope they all learn from what they did not vs GaSo the last 2 years.
Go App!

What exactly did GS expose?

They exposed how hard it is to run a modern, passing offense in cold, rain, snow, and wind. They exposed how hard the triple option can be to defend if you have to defend it the whole game. That’s about it. One game does not a season make.

[AppSt94]

I thought that we defended the option fairly well considering TOP. We only gave up those two long runs.

[WataugaMan]

I don't know about anyone else, if we lay a beat down on SC I damn sure would feel a hell of a lot better!

[Rick83]

It always sucks to lose but it starts feeling better after getting another win. Losing two in a row would really suck...I think we're going to see our explosive offense back on Saturday.

[AppInDC]

We are still in the running for that bid. Of course we need to win the conference and need some help, but to say that we no longer a contender based off of one bad game is a defeatist mentality.

No were not at all.

There are a lot of ifs that have to happen, but yes, we are still. Boise winning the MWC is not a foregone conclusion. Same with the AAC. Now I’m not holding out hope that we get it, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility yet. We will know more after the So Car game.

I don't think App will get the bid but I agree that they're technically not out of it. Broken record, but we need to remember it's between the conference champions for the bid. App doesn't have to be better than half a dozen American or Mountain West teams. Just the one champ. Consider this scenario:

App beats South Carolina and wins out including Sun Belt title.
Cincy drops two conference games (let's say at South Florida and Memphis) and UCF wins out taking the division and winning the American title game
One of Utah State/Hawaii/Fresno State wins out or just gets to Mountain West title game and wins it.
Just to be safe, let's say LA Tech and UAB don't win C-USA

So then we have the following choices:

Two loss UCF with one P5 win against Stanford
Three loss C-USA champion
Three loss MWC champ at best
Four loss MAC champ at best
One loss App with two P5 wins

UCF may get edge based on recent history but I don't think it's a slam dunk

Again, this scenario is probably very unlikely. Probably a solid chance SMU or one of the one lossers from American/MWC win out and then it's going to be hard to argue for App with a straight face. But it's not quite over yet.

[AppSt94]

Exactly! Lot of ifs. But a lot of football left.

[AppInDC]

Also if you are nervous about UCF, change the scenario to Navy loses to Notre Dame but wins out in American and takes title. Then you have a two loss Navy in contention being selected before the Army-Navy game. I don't know how that would work and it might provide interesting politics. Would the CFP committe choose a two loss team who may have three losses before they play a New Year's Day bowl? Honestly don't know.

[1992APPSTATE]

The NY6 folks need to tune into the SMU v Memphis game on now for a healthy reality check. I don't need 25 years of coaching experience or a Walter Camp Award to clearly see that both of these teams are on a different level. Just be patient, we can eventually get there.

[appstatealum]

The NY6 folks need to tune into the SMU v Memphis game on now for a healthy reality check. I don't need 25 years of coaching experience or a Walter Camp Award to clearly see that both of these teams are on a different level. Just be patient, we can eventually get there.

I get your point... But we could contend with either of these teams. Throw SMUs offense in sub freezing Temps and 50 miles/hour wind, they'd look rough. But their QB would probably go through his porgressions

[AppStFan1]

The NY6 folks need to tune into the SMU v Memphis game on now for a healthy reality check. I don't need 25 years of coaching experience or a Walter Camp Award to clearly see that both of these teams are on a different level. Just be patient, we can eventually get there.

Both of those teams are better than us. It is fair that we need their champ to have 2-3 losses for us to even have a shot. Both of those teams would beat us by 17 or so. Are we at their level? No. Can we get there one day? Yes.

[App91]

NY6-no longer on the table
Conf Championship-we will need help on.
Bowl eligible-done.

I am concerned with USC and Ga. State, we were exposed last night and will have to bear down to win out from here.
Very disappointed but that's the way seasons come and go.
No need to throw blame on players or coaches. Just hope they all learn from what they did not vs GaSo the last 2 years.
Go App!

Attitude...focus. this is a hated rival. You dont play uninspired and flat with mental lapses.

What exactly did GS expose?

[AppSt94]

NY6-no longer on the table
Conf Championship-we will need help on.
Bowl eligible-done.

I am concerned with USC and Ga. State, we were exposed last night and will have to bear down to win out from here.
Very disappointed but that's the way seasons come and go.
No need to throw blame on players or coaches. Just hope they all learn from what they did not vs GaSo the last 2 years.
Go App!

Attitude...focus. this is a hated rival. You dont play uninspired and flat with mental lapses.

What exactly did GS expose?

An uninspired and flat team would have folded and gone home. We didn’t execute and found a way to stay in it until the end. That’s what good teams do, and you know what? The better team doesn’t always win. Be mad if you want. That’s your prerogative. But you and many more are looking for excuses to justify your disappointment. Discipline, culture, what the coach was wearing, our QB. It is sad. The sun came up the next day. We play again in 6 days and we are going bowling. We are still in the hunt to win the conference and host the CCG. The goals that many of you had turned into expectations given the start to the season. It was highly improbable that we were going to go undefeated. We can still beat everyone on our schedule. Will we? Remains to be seen. Enjoy the ride of being 7-1. Let the coaches figure out what’s wrong and correct it.

[t4pizza]

Tonight was the reality check we needed. We aren't a top 20 team. We aren't going to the NY6 bowl. We aren't going undefeated this season. We can't be complacent with our success. We can't rest on our laurels. We have to keep moving forward. We have to get better each and every game. #WeAreMountaineers

Not sure why we "needed" a reality check???? We needed to be better coached and play better but not sure a reality check is what we needed. I don't think the effort we saw was a result of being complacent, or resting on our laurels, or not trying to move forward. We just played a really bad game, no different than most of the other teams in college football including Georgia, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, etc.

[MrCraig]

The NY6 folks need to tune into the SMU v Memphis game on now for a healthy reality check. I don't need 25 years of coaching experience or a Walter Camp Award to clearly see that both of these teams are on a different level. Just be patient, we can eventually get there.

I disagree. Memphis and SMU are both very good, but I don't think they are far and away better than App. Neither team played great defense. It was a great game, but I think App versus either one of them would be a great game too. I watched the whole game and didn't see anything that either team had that is much better than App. Looking at both team's schedules, SMU has a big win over TCU. Memphis has a win over a terrible Ole Miss team. Other than that, they haven't done anything that App hasn't done.

[Rekdiver]

Reality check: Thinking i can win the Lottery..............

[Kafarmer]

It’s real simple..... at this point we need to win out and see where the chips fall. Missed a big opportunity for whatever reasons we all want to crow about. 1-0 this week over the Gamecocks and SEC will help to feel a little better!