7 Saturdays...Annual Sunbelt Championship Game takes place in Boone every year,spacemonkey wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 6:56 pmMy "stated goal"....To enjoy 6 Saturdays in BOONE at App Football games with friends. Bowl Games are a bonus weekend with said friends. I love our national exposure on weeknight games but I hope we stop playing them. IF we don't though, It will be alright.
Always a grinning.
We are definitely out of the NY6 running this year, and I think we all know that. The ONE sliver lining to the pandemic year is that somehow losses or growing pains as a new team/staff are perceived as a little more excusable. If this had been a normal year and we got killed by Wisconsin and lost to Wake Forest, a backslide would have been noticeable, but with all the weird things going on with this season, it isn't quite as apparent, at least not yet. Hopefully we clean up the mistakes, the coaches find their stride and the staff/team dynamic connects and in a (hopefully) normal next year, we can pick up where we left off in the '19 seasoncitroknight wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 5:54 pmAs an outsider, I think App is out of NY6 running for this year but still setting up to be an annual contender. If you look big picture, App is only getting better with recruiting finally taking a step up compared to the other top SBC teams. So before it was App coaching up players and now going forward App can coach and develop players while starting at the same base talent level.MtnMan09 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:01 amI think part of the reason people are "upset" right now is we came so close to a NY6 trip last year (and all the validation/recognition that would bring). Then we thought well this is our year to do it. We can plug and play at Coach because we had so many guys coming back to what was going to be the "best app team ever," but we killed that dream in just the second game of the season. Without black and gold tinted glasses on I think we may have lost our window on that game for a bit. This realization, understandably, has people down.
Don't get discouraged by this year. It was the perfect storm, new first time coach, shortened off season due to pandemic, no home crowds, and a good Marshall opponent. For reference, look at Boise, the G5 gold standard. They're a NY6 contender every year but have only gone once I'm the 6 years of the CFP. Just 2014, the first year. There's always next year. 2019 wasn't quite how I wanted for UCF but with a freshman QB we did what we could, built up, finish ranked and turn the page to try again this year.
The Rock wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:04 amWe are definitely out of the NY6 running this year, and I think we all know that. The ONE sliver lining to the pandemic year is that somehow losses or growing pains as a new team/staff are perceived as a little more excusable. If this had been a normal year and we got killed by Wisconsin and lost to Wake Forest, a backslide would have been noticeable, but with all the weird things going on with this season, it isn't quite as apparent, at least not yet. Hopefully we clean up the mistakes, the coaches find their stride and the staff/team dynamic connects and in a (hopefully) normal next year, we can pick up where we left off in the '19 seasoncitroknight wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 5:54 pmAs an outsider, I think App is out of NY6 running for this year but still setting up to be an annual contender. If you look big picture, App is only getting better with recruiting finally taking a step up compared to the other top SBC teams. So before it was App coaching up players and now going forward App can coach and develop players while starting at the same base talent level.MtnMan09 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:01 amI think part of the reason people are "upset" right now is we came so close to a NY6 trip last year (and all the validation/recognition that would bring). Then we thought well this is our year to do it. We can plug and play at Coach because we had so many guys coming back to what was going to be the "best app team ever," but we killed that dream in just the second game of the season. Without black and gold tinted glasses on I think we may have lost our window on that game for a bit. This realization, understandably, has people down.
Don't get discouraged by this year. It was the perfect storm, new first time coach, shortened off season due to pandemic, no home crowds, and a good Marshall opponent. For reference, look at Boise, the G5 gold standard. They're a NY6 contender every year but have only gone once I'm the 6 years of the CFP. Just 2014, the first year. There's always next year. 2019 wasn't quite how I wanted for UCF but with a freshman QB we did what we could, built up, finish ranked and turn the page to try again this year.
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I do not agree with you that the backslide isn't as apparent, I think everyone that follows football sees it for what it is. A good program that is clearly struggling with our third coach in three years. I still see loses and growing pains the same regardless of covid and I think many others do as well. I do not think as many eyes are on college football as in non covid years so in that aspect alone it may be lessened. But for those that are paying attention, its still the same. Unlike P5 teams, there is no analysis when G5 teams fall off, the media just stops talking about them. When P5 teams struggle or lose we hear all kinds of reasons, explanations and theories but it just isn't that way with G5, with G5 it is just a loss and then we are forgotten about until we win enough more games to put us back in the spotlight. I doubt we get any love from any media member leading up to our game against Louisiana despite the fact that we have always owned them. That will be our first chance to start making people notice us again. Hope we are up to that challenge.
You’ve described my sentiment well. It’s very challenging to sustain high level success. That’s why there’s only a few teams in the country that do it. Everyone besides Clemson, Ohio State and Bama rely on windows of opportunity as they cycle through recruiting classes, optimal schedules, etc.MtnMan09 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:01 amI think part of the reason people are "upset" right now is we came so close to a NY6 trip last year (and all the validation/recognition that would bring). Then we thought well this is our year to do it. We can plug and play at Coach because we had so many guys coming back to what was going to be the "best app team ever," but we killed that dream in just the second game of the season. Without black and gold tinted glasses on I think we may have lost our window on that game for a bit. This realization, understandably, has people down.
And success is all relative for sure. I think Boise fans, for example, are probably antsy at this point and I've seen many upset with their coach because they're not having undefeated and one loss seasons with major bowl trips. Yet the worst season theyve had under this coach is a single 9 win season. All the rest have been 10+ win seasons. I'd love for UCF to maintain at this level and "bad seasons" to be 9 or 10 win seasons.ah59396 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 10:31 amYou’ve described my sentiment well. It’s very challenging to sustain high level success. That’s why there’s only a few teams in the country that do it. Everyone besides Clemson, Ohio State and Bama rely on windows of opportunity as they cycle through recruiting classes, optimal schedules, etc.MtnMan09 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:01 amI think part of the reason people are "upset" right now is we came so close to a NY6 trip last year (and all the validation/recognition that would bring). Then we thought well this is our year to do it. We can plug and play at Coach because we had so many guys coming back to what was going to be the "best app team ever," but we killed that dream in just the second game of the season. Without black and gold tinted glasses on I think we may have lost our window on that game for a bit. This realization, understandably, has people down.
Are we in one now? Did we miss the boat? Tough to tell.
I’m a Panthers fan and I’ll go to the grave convinced we got robbed in SuperBowl50 but we also absolutely had to win that game. Sometimes you just have a magic season and need to capitalize on it, the Panthers were unable to and look where we are now. On the brink of a 3-5 year rebuild, already 5 years away from 15-1.
NFL is different but it’s an analogy I like to use regardless.
Yeah but that goes back to why I believe people feel the way that they do. We've already reached the point where people are going to be upset with anything less than a 10 win season. Part of that is fueled by the national perception that the Sunbelt sucks so any conference loss beyond UL (or maybe Troy/Ark State on a given year) is bad news. So if thats the floor (realistic or not) then the ceiling has to be NY6 or bust. I'd love to be in a conference where there wasnt so much pressure to have to win every single game to be relevant or considered successful, but like it or not, thats where we are at.citroknight wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:05 pmAnd success is all relative for sure. I think Boise fans, for example, are probably antsy at this point and I've seen many upset with their coach because they're not having undefeated and one loss seasons with major bowl trips. Yet the worst season theyve had under this coach is a single 9 win season. All the rest have been 10+ win seasons. I'd love for UCF to maintain at this level and "bad seasons" to be 9 or 10 win seasons.ah59396 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 10:31 amYou’ve described my sentiment well. It’s very challenging to sustain high level success. That’s why there’s only a few teams in the country that do it. Everyone besides Clemson, Ohio State and Bama rely on windows of opportunity as they cycle through recruiting classes, optimal schedules, etc.MtnMan09 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:01 amI think part of the reason people are "upset" right now is we came so close to a NY6 trip last year (and all the validation/recognition that would bring). Then we thought well this is our year to do it. We can plug and play at Coach because we had so many guys coming back to what was going to be the "best app team ever," but we killed that dream in just the second game of the season. Without black and gold tinted glasses on I think we may have lost our window on that game for a bit. This realization, understandably, has people down.
Are we in one now? Did we miss the boat? Tough to tell.
I’m a Panthers fan and I’ll go to the grave convinced we got robbed in SuperBowl50 but we also absolutely had to win that game. Sometimes you just have a magic season and need to capitalize on it, the Panthers were unable to and look where we are now. On the brink of a 3-5 year rebuild, already 5 years away from 15-1.
NFL is different but it’s an analogy I like to use regardless.
Without question. Success and failure are relative.citroknight wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:05 pm
And success is all relative for sure. I think Boise fans, for example, are probably antsy at this point and I've seen many upset with their coach because they're not having undefeated and one loss seasons with major bowl trips. Yet the worst season theyve had under this coach is a single 9 win season. All the rest have been 10+ win seasons. I'd love for UCF to maintain at this level and "bad seasons" to be 9 or 10 win seasons.