ULM

[GSUwasGump’sFallbackSchool]

Behavior changes are often slow and hard to notice. My posts are meant to deter that creep over time.

When you set goals discussion of mediocrity is is a cancer.

I can’t imagine you get an average of 38k people in Kidd Brewer after another mediocre year. Then the complaint will be “oh, we need fan support. fans please show up!” And it’ll fall on deaf ears, Troy is still recovering from this after their years spent floundering.

The “conference got tougher excuse” also falls flat when we have the most (or one of) talented roster and recruiting class. It’s like if Ohio State fans making an excuse that their conference got harder, after they added their new teams.

We’ve killed it on keeping talent out of the portal, and bringing talent in. In the past 4 years, outside of the P5 rosters, which loss has come to a more talented team? ‘21 UL is the only one I can think of.

[ASUTodd]

Behavior changes are often slow and hard to notice. My posts are meant to deter that creep over time.

When you set goals discussion of mediocrity is is a cancer.

I love the term, "shifting baseline". People don't realize their baseline shifts and slowly they start accepting the very things they said they never would. Then one day they wake up and ask..... "well crap, how'd I get here?"

[Bigdaddyg1]

Back at the height of our FCS Championship runs it was felt by many (at least by me) that we could have competed in several G5 conferences even with the limited roster. Obviously injuries and limited depth would be issues for any FCS team especially later in the season. I think that in most years there isn't a world of difference between the top 10 or so FCS and the mid to lower G5's (most of the MAC, the newer CUSA, etc). While the Sunbelt has definitely become a tougher conference the hope has been that App would keep up with talent and coaching. Has any other top school in our conference experienced the coaching turnover that we have had? Got to be a huge factor. Have we lost any key recruits who went a different direction because of our coaching changes?

[biggie]

[kornegaylw]

I refuse to lower our expectations due to the SBC getting better. We were the catalyst for that improvement and should continue to step up.

We should be leading the way not just be one of the top five programs in a G5 conference.

That statement makes no sense...We are leading the way and we are a premier non-traditional conference program. I can assure that we are b/c here in TX people knew who App was before we beat A&M.

1. #1 Attendance in the SB
2. Average #3 SB in recruiting rankings since 2019
3. ESPN Game Day in 2022
4. ESPN CFB Promo Commericals 2023
5. More prime time ESPN games than any other SB school
6. Every SB wants to beat us which means we're the class of the conference

[311neers]

I refuse to lower our expectations due to the SBC getting better. We were the catalyst for that improvement and should continue to step up.

We should be leading the way not just be one of the top five programs in a G5 conference.

That statement makes no sense...We are leading the way and we are a premier non-traditional conference program. I can assure that we are b/c here in TX people knew who App was before we beat A&M.

1. #1 Attendance in the SB
2. Average #3 SB in recruiting rankings since 2019
3. ESPN Game Day in 2022
4. ESPN CFB Promo Commericals 2023
5. More prime time ESPN games than any other SB school
6. Every SB wants to beat us which means we're the class of the conference

Think he meant leading the way in terms of wins and winning the SBC. All that you listed above is great, but that will die off if we continue to put out 6-6 and 7-5 seasons. Winning is the top of the chain, those you listed don't come if we go 6-6 every year or 7-5. At the moment, we are lagging behind JMU, Marshall, Troy, (ULL and Coastal and argument too) but we aren't far behind them and can jump them sooner than most thought. We've got a great opportunity and a good enough team to jump back into the race.

[BambooRdApp]

I refuse to lower our expectations due to the SBC getting better. We were the catalyst for that improvement and should continue to step up.

We should be leading the way not just be one of the top five programs in a G5 conference.

That statement makes no sense...We are leading the way and we are a premier non-traditional conference program. I can assure that we are b/c here in TX people knew who App was before we beat A&M.

1. #1 Attendance in the SB
2. Average #3 SB in recruiting rankings since 2019
3. ESPN Game Day in 2022
4. ESPN CFB Promo Commericals 2023
5. More prime time ESPN games than any other SB school
6. Every SB wants to beat us which means we're the class of the conference

On No 1..by a wide margin. So far this year, only reason Marshall is like within 10k of us is due to Tech coming to Huntington

[kornegaylw]

I refuse to lower our expectations due to the SBC getting better. We were the catalyst for that improvement and should continue to step up.

We should be leading the way not just be one of the top five programs in a G5 conference.

That statement makes no sense...We are leading the way and we are a premier non-traditional conference program. I can assure that we are b/c here in TX people knew who App was before we beat A&M.

1. #1 Attendance in the SB
2. Average #3 SB in recruiting rankings since 2019
3. ESPN Game Day in 2022
4. ESPN CFB Promo Commericals 2023
5. More prime time ESPN games than any other SB school
6. Every SB wants to beat us which means we're the class of the conference

Think he meant leading the way in terms of wins and winning the SBC. All that you listed above is great, but that will die off if we continue to put out 6-6 and 7-5 seasons. Winning is the top of the chain, those you listed don't come if we go 6-6 every year or 7-5. At the moment, we are lagging behind JMU, Marshall, Troy, (ULL and Coastal and argument too) but we aren't far behind them and can jump them sooner than most thought. We've got a great opportunity and a good enough team to jump back into the race.

I don't have the time to look up the stats but since joining the Sun Belt I would bet we have the highest winning percentage for conference games and we have 4 conference titles. In that time period the next closest is 3 way tie with Troy, ArkSt & UL with 2. So he is still wrong.

Wining breads the stats above and in turn the stats above bread winning.

[Mjohn1988]

Here is huge point about the level of our SBC competition.

Does anyone believe that the SBC teams in 2014-2019 is anywhere near what we have in last 3 years? Especially the last two years with newest additions?

The SBC is absolutely much stronger top to bottom than when Satt and Drink coached here. As such, an equivalent W/L record would be a bigger accomplishment today. We have to be fair and acknowledge that reality. That doesn't mean I don't expect a lot out of our program but I also have to be fair and factual in any comparison of those two periods in FBS.

The reality is SC does have a bigger task than the two before him. It's like we moved up to the AAC from a few years ago, would we expect to rule the conference right away. As such, winning the SBC today is a bigger accomplishment then when we came into the conference. I do want to rule the conference but that will mean a lot more now than the SBC of 10 yrs ago.

This is such a great point. We moved up in conference prestige and most of our fans don't even realize it

Most of our fans couldn’t tell you if this weeks game is even against a conference opponent.

[t4pizza]

I think most our fans know that ULM is a conference opponent by now. That statement might have been true in 2016 but by now they know the lay of the conference, or they really aren't fans.

[appgrad95&97]

I refuse to lower our expectations due to the SBC getting better. We were the catalyst for that improvement and should continue to step up.

We should be leading the way not just be one of the top five programs in a G5 conference.

That statement makes no sense...We are leading the way and we are a premier non-traditional conference program. I can assure that we are b/c here in TX people knew who App was before we beat A&M.

1. #1 Attendance in the SB
2. Average #3 SB in recruiting rankings since 2019
3. ESPN Game Day in 2022
4. ESPN CFB Promo Commericals 2023
5. More prime time ESPN games than any other SB school
6. Every SB wants to beat us which means we're the class of the conference

Think he meant leading the way in terms of wins and winning the SBC. All that you listed above is great, but that will die off if we continue to put out 6-6 and 7-5 seasons. Winning is the top of the chain, those you listed don't come if we go 6-6 every year or 7-5. At the moment, we are lagging behind JMU, Marshall, Troy, (ULL and Coastal and argument too) but we aren't far behind them and can jump them sooner than most thought. We've got a great opportunity and a good enough team to jump back into the race.

I don't have the time to look up the stats but since joining the Sun Belt I would bet we have the highest winning percentage for conference games and we have 4 conference titles. In that time period the next closest is 3 way tie with Troy, ArkSt & UL with 2. So he is still wrong.

Wining breads the stats above and in turn the stats above bread winning.

This is what I think divides us. Some think last year was a one off and well be back to competing for conference titles this year. We're obviously not going to win the SB every year but we should be in the mix. Others believe that last year was part of a trend. We went 3-5 in conference (and that took a miracle).

[AppNC]

To anyone going to the game may I suggest eating at Catfish Charlie's. It was absolutely delicious when we went down. The mozzarella sticks are amazing as was the seafood.

[BambooRdApp]

I refuse to lower our expectations due to the SBC getting better. We were the catalyst for that improvement and should continue to step up.

We should be leading the way not just be one of the top five programs in a G5 conference.

That statement makes no sense...We are leading the way and we are a premier non-traditional conference program. I can assure that we are b/c here in TX people knew who App was before we beat A&M.

1. #1 Attendance in the SB
2. Average #3 SB in recruiting rankings since 2019
3. ESPN Game Day in 2022
4. ESPN CFB Promo Commericals 2023
5. More prime time ESPN games than any other SB school
6. Every SB wants to beat us which means we're the class of the conference

Think he meant leading the way in terms of wins and winning the SBC. All that you listed above is great, but that will die off if we continue to put out 6-6 and 7-5 seasons. Winning is the top of the chain, those you listed don't come if we go 6-6 every year or 7-5. At the moment, we are lagging behind JMU, Marshall, Troy, (ULL and Coastal and argument too) but we aren't far behind them and can jump them sooner than most thought. We've got a great opportunity and a good enough team to jump back into the race.

I don't have the time to look up the stats but since joining the Sun Belt I would bet we have the highest winning percentage for conference games and we have 4 conference titles. In that time period the next closest is 3 way tie with Troy, ArkSt & UL with 2. So he is still wrong.

Wining breads the stats above and in turn the stats above bread winning.

This is what I think divides us. Some think last year was a one off and well be back to competing for conference titles this year. We're obviously not going to win the SB every year but we should be in the mix. Others believe that last year was part of a trend. We went 3-5 in conference (and that took a miracle).

Actually there is a 3rd group. A group that we thought we would be decent last year..but would be mediocre this year due to changes in coach in for 3 straight years impacting recruiting and thinking we would be back to App St levels in 2024.

Well 3 injuries to our 3 best defensive players last year changed expectations mid season.
I am and have been for last 3 years thought this year would be the medicore year ..and it may still be.... however our defense, thus far has impressed me thus far..still have much season to go.

[canes_mj]

I refuse to lower our expectations due to the SBC getting better. We were the catalyst for that improvement and should continue to step up.

We should be leading the way not just be one of the top five programs in a G5 conference.

That statement makes no sense...We are leading the way and we are a premier non-traditional conference program. I can assure that we are b/c here in TX people knew who App was before we beat A&M.

1. #1 Attendance in the SB
2. Average #3 SB in recruiting rankings since 2019
3. ESPN Game Day in 2022
4. ESPN CFB Promo Commericals 2023
5. More prime time ESPN games than any other SB school
6. Every SB wants to beat us which means we're the class of the conference

Think he meant leading the way in terms of wins and winning the SBC. All that you listed above is great, but that will die off if we continue to put out 6-6 and 7-5 seasons. Winning is the top of the chain, those you listed don't come if we go 6-6 every year or 7-5. At the moment, we are lagging behind JMU, Marshall, Troy, (ULL and Coastal and argument too) but we aren't far behind them and can jump them sooner than most thought. We've got a great opportunity and a good enough team to jump back into the race.

I don't have the time to look up the stats but since joining the Sun Belt I would bet we have the highest winning percentage for conference games and we have 4 conference titles. In that time period the next closest is 3 way tie with Troy, ArkSt & UL with 2. So he is still wrong.

Wining breads the stats above and in turn the stats above bread winning.

This is what I think divides us. Some think last year was a one off and well be back to competing for conference titles this year. We're obviously not going to win the SB every year but we should be in the mix. Others believe that last year was part of a trend. We went 3-5 in conference (and that took a miracle).

Good analysis. This same debate and discussion is going on on just about every sports message board in the world. We all want generally the same thing, we just have different ideas of how to get there. One thing I find a slippery slope is thinking this or that year should be good, and next year down, and so on...."wait 'til next year"...next year seldom comes for programs with that mindset (that's not at all in your post, just speaking generally).

This is a different discussion, but philosophically I feel coaches should be at App no more than 4-6 yrs. Jerry Moore was an outlier, and that's not happening again. But in that time span, they do good enough and bring us success and titles and get hired away; or they don't meet goals and we replace them with someone who will. I get that Clarke loves App...but if any coach is at App again for 10+ yrs, it's because we're stuck in mediocrity limbo with a .500 +/- 1-2 games lifer.

[appgrad95&97]

That statement makes no sense...We are leading the way and we are a premier non-traditional conference program. I can assure that we are b/c here in TX people knew who App was before we beat A&M.

1. #1 Attendance in the SB
2. Average #3 SB in recruiting rankings since 2019
3. ESPN Game Day in 2022
4. ESPN CFB Promo Commericals 2023
5. More prime time ESPN games than any other SB school
6. Every SB wants to beat us which means we're the class of the conference

Think he meant leading the way in terms of wins and winning the SBC. All that you listed above is great, but that will die off if we continue to put out 6-6 and 7-5 seasons. Winning is the top of the chain, those you listed don't come if we go 6-6 every year or 7-5. At the moment, we are lagging behind JMU, Marshall, Troy, (ULL and Coastal and argument too) but we aren't far behind them and can jump them sooner than most thought. We've got a great opportunity and a good enough team to jump back into the race.

I don't have the time to look up the stats but since joining the Sun Belt I would bet we have the highest winning percentage for conference games and we have 4 conference titles. In that time period the next closest is 3 way tie with Troy, ArkSt & UL with 2. So he is still wrong.

Wining breads the stats above and in turn the stats above bread winning.

This is what I think divides us. Some think last year was a one off and well be back to competing for conference titles this year. We're obviously not going to win the SB every year but we should be in the mix. Others believe that last year was part of a trend. We went 3-5 in conference (and that took a miracle).

Actually there is a 3rd group. A group that we thought we would be decent last year..but would be mediocre this year due to changes in coach in for 3 straight years impacting recruiting and thinking we would be back to App St levels in 2024.

Well 3 injuries to our 3 best defensive players last year changed expectations mid season.
I am and have been for last 3 years thought this year would be the medicore year ..and it may still be.... however our defense, thus far has impressed me thus far..still have much season to go.

That's very fair. But we were below average last year. 4-6 against FBS opponents. Injuries happen. They hurt every team. I am terrified about what will happen if Nate gets hurt.

Now I get we are not Alabama, but they worked through as many coaching changes as anyone (obviously, not head coach, but coordinators).

Is the problem (if there is one) recruiting or player development? That's an honest question.

[t4pizza]

Think he meant leading the way in terms of wins and winning the SBC. All that you listed above is great, but that will die off if we continue to put out 6-6 and 7-5 seasons. Winning is the top of the chain, those you listed don't come if we go 6-6 every year or 7-5. At the moment, we are lagging behind JMU, Marshall, Troy, (ULL and Coastal and argument too) but we aren't far behind them and can jump them sooner than most thought. We've got a great opportunity and a good enough team to jump back into the race.

I don't have the time to look up the stats but since joining the Sun Belt I would bet we have the highest winning percentage for conference games and we have 4 conference titles. In that time period the next closest is 3 way tie with Troy, ArkSt & UL with 2. So he is still wrong.

Wining breads the stats above and in turn the stats above bread winning.

This is what I think divides us. Some think last year was a one off and well be back to competing for conference titles this year. We're obviously not going to win the SB every year but we should be in the mix. Others believe that last year was part of a trend. We went 3-5 in conference (and that took a miracle).

Actually there is a 3rd group. A group that we thought we would be decent last year..but would be mediocre this year due to changes in coach in for 3 straight years impacting recruiting and thinking we would be back to App St levels in 2024.

Well 3 injuries to our 3 best defensive players last year changed expectations mid season.
I am and have been for last 3 years thought this year would be the medicore year ..and it may still be.... however our defense, thus far has impressed me thus far..still have much season to go.

That's very fair. But we were below average last year. 4-6 against FBS opponents. Injuries happen. They hurt every team. I am terrified about what will happen if Nate gets hurt.

Now I get we are not Alabama, but they worked through as many coaching changes as anyone (obviously, not head coach, but coordinators).

Is the problem (if there is one) recruiting or player development? That's an honest question.

The best way to answer your question about recruiting or development is just to look at our current 2 deep chart. Look to see how many 5th-6th (covid) year juniors and seniors there are in that group that are App recruits and not transfer portal additions. The recruiting classes prior to Clark taking over are what should be our older seasoned players and we are very much lacking in those numbers. So on that front it was a recruiting miss for those years (albeit some really good players like Nate are in the small group). Now we have a lot of 3rd year sophomores and younger kids that are playing meaningful minutes and I would say those were recruiting hits and proof of good development.

It is just a fact that with coaching turnover it is often difficult to keep recruits, and I am not just talking about the head coach I am including coordinators and position coaches. I would argue that we have had more coaching turnover than any of our Sun Belt brethren and perhaps any G5 team. We haven't had the same offensive coordinator in back to back years since Satt was our coach and we often change position coaches for various reasons. Kids that are recruited by one coach often fall to the wayside when another coach comes on board and perhaps values different traits/styles of play than the previous coach that recruited them. I am not making excuses here, just pointing to facts.

All that being said, we seem to have righted the ship from last year. Our defense is vastly improved and our offense can move the ball on anyone at times. Last year sucked, no question about it. And if we don't turn this year around it will suck too (and Clark will be gone). I just happen to believe that the worst times are behind us and we are back on a positive trajectory. We have the coaches we want in place, our recruits are being developed and the players all seem to buy in. I still find it very telling that despite the terrible year we had last year, none of our key players departed via the transfer portal (Jalen is an exception bc for 200k anyone would leave) despite many on here that claimed there would be a mass exodus. That shows they all still have faith in our coaching staff, perhaps more of our fans should have the same faith as the players.

[BambooRdApp]

Think he meant leading the way in terms of wins and winning the SBC. All that you listed above is great, but that will die off if we continue to put out 6-6 and 7-5 seasons. Winning is the top of the chain, those you listed don't come if we go 6-6 every year or 7-5. At the moment, we are lagging behind JMU, Marshall, Troy, (ULL and Coastal and argument too) but we aren't far behind them and can jump them sooner than most thought. We've got a great opportunity and a good enough team to jump back into the race.

I don't have the time to look up the stats but since joining the Sun Belt I would bet we have the highest winning percentage for conference games and we have 4 conference titles. In that time period the next closest is 3 way tie with Troy, ArkSt & UL with 2. So he is still wrong.

Wining breads the stats above and in turn the stats above bread winning.

This is what I think divides us. Some think last year was a one off and well be back to competing for conference titles this year. We're obviously not going to win the SB every year but we should be in the mix. Others believe that last year was part of a trend. We went 3-5 in conference (and that took a miracle).

Actually there is a 3rd group. A group that we thought we would be decent last year..but would be mediocre this year due to changes in coach in for 3 straight years impacting recruiting and thinking we would be back to App St levels in 2024.

Well 3 injuries to our 3 best defensive players last year changed expectations mid season.
I am and have been for last 3 years thought this year would be the medicore year ..and it may still be.... however our defense, thus far has impressed me thus far..still have much season to go.

That's very fair. But we were below average last year. 4-6 against FBS opponents. Injuries happen. They hurt every team. I am terrified about what will happen if Nate gets hurt.

Now I get we are not Alabama, but they worked through as many coaching changes as anyone (obviously, not head coach, but coordinators).

Is the problem (if there is one) recruiting or player development? That's an honest question.

Injuries happen...and would have impacted 2019. If our 3 best players on D got injured in 2019, the results would not have been so glamorous. When you consider the injuries and the fact that we did not have depth last year as Satt and Dinks recruiting classes were not there to provide depth.
You cannot say that I understand there are injuries without understanding how that impacts us given lack of stellar recruiting classes...and then say...but we were 4-6 against fbs competition...has no logic to me.
You have your opinion. Mine has been and always been that we have been hurt in getting our type players for to coaching changes and as I outlined above when I thought we would be back to App St football. It is not an excuse. It has been my position since the HC was hired

[biggie]

Just me or is the message board activity for ULM seem really low? Always like to browse the opponents boards each week. Can only find their rivals site and only activity is on the premium site and it isn't much. Have they just been down that long?

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

I saw where Bowden called us Appy State and Appalayshun. You know he did it on purpose because I guarantee he says it the right way in normal conversation. He’s from Georgia, not Vermont.

[AtlAppMan]

I saw where Bowden called us Appy State and Appalyshun. You know he did it on purpose because I guarantee he says it the right way in normal conversation. He’s from Georgia, not Vermont.

So is it wise for Bowden to talk trash to App State? I don't know about others but I want to see our boys go down to Monroe and as Trace Adkins said, "Whoop a man's a$$"