2025 Football Schedule updates

[bcoach]

All the polls and publications that I saw had us winning the East if not the conference.

I have asked here and other places what that was based on and never get much of an answer.

[Bootsy]

Given the number of returning players, the strong finish in 2023 and the perceived strength of conference opponents, many people had good reason to expect App would win the East and the SBC crown. So, is it a shock that the coaching staff was talking it up?

Anyways, all of this may as well be ancient history. Let’s move forward, shall we?

[Stonewall]

Those that voted in the polls and wrote the articles would have to answer that question.

[AppSt94]

Going into last season, the biggest question marks were the fronts. Success is earned through solid line play on both sides of the ball. As we saw, injuries and losses along the OL and DL created a worse case scenario event.

[Stonewall]

Same will be true about this season. My opinion.

[AppSt94]

Same will be true about this season. My opinion.

Agree. OL and DL are over valued in the portal/NIL era and until the market stabilizes, it’s going to continue to be an issue.

[Stonewall]

I also think we have two , maybe three QBs we can win with IF we have a line that gets the job done.

[Saint3333]

Two years from now some revisionist historian will claim we entered the season not as the favorites.

This is the Jerry Moore FOIA annual discussion on smaller scale. Then someone will have to remind them.

Vicious cycle.

[T-Dog]

I think we're at a point where certain people on both sides (this includes me) won't change their minds of 2024 expectations and NIL, pay-to-pay, etc.

On the original topic, ESPN is releasing their first 3 week schedule on May 29. Colorado/GaTech got the ESPN slot for Friday night, so the Mayo Game will likely be on ESPN2 or ESPNU, the former more likely IMO.

Boise also releases their entire schedule when the initial TV schedules are announced (they got a special TV deal through the Mountain West), so we should get a kickoff for that one within the next two weeks.

[MAD Doctor]

https://youtu.be/g3i0aWjlXAY?si=--tiaz1BTkRuQI-5

[EastHallApp]

What was even more crazy was all the talk of lock in to Sun Belt champs much less New Years Bowl contender. I don't argue replacing the coach but that bar was a pipedream.

Gillin literally cited competing for a New Years Bowl as a goal in his announcment firing Clark.

I conducted a 2024 Sun Belt preseason fan poll that generated over 120 responses. Even taking out every single App State fan out of the poll, App State was still the overwhelming Sun Belt favorite in 2024. It wasn't just App fans thinking it.

How many were sober? I really would like to know what they were thinking. What did they think they knew that the other 99,9% of Sunbelt fans didn't know.

It wasn't just whatever random fans responded to his poll; we were the overwhelming pick among coaches to win the East: https://sunbeltsports.org/news/2024/7/2 ... -poll.aspx

It's easy to say with hindsight that those picks were way off. But we were coming off a 9-win season in which we finished strong, gave JMU their only loss and beat the MAC champions in a bowl game, and we had a lot of talent returning. Add in that we were a consistent winning program and it's easy to understand why we were a popular pick to have a big year.