The Good, The Bad and the Ugly- JMU

[t4pizza]

It is really hard to write this piece after witnessing the game last night. I was hoping a day of reflection would take the edge off and I could find some positives, I was wrong. App went to Hattiesburg and lost 58-10 and frankly it wasn't even as close as the score indicated.

The Good- There really wasn't anything good in this game. But for the sake of being positive, early in the game, the defense played well. 4 tipped/blocked passes, 1 which led to an interception was probably the highlight. Then the wheels fell off.

The Bad- honestly, there really is just too much to even write about here and I can't really differentiate what was bad and what was ugly because it all looked pretty ugly to me.

The Ugly- The ENTIRE Game, and I am not being hyperbolic in any way. I have never seen such a poor display by an App State football team. The fact that nothing good stands out shows just how ugly this game was. I am not going to belabor the point, we looked awful in every aspect of the game, our offense was anemic and at one point in the 4th quarter we had more penalty yards against us than yards gained by our offense. We had 1 yard rushing in the entire game, 1 yard! The defense gave up 58 points and 627 yards of offense. Our playcalling was bad at best and our coach left our gimpy, limping, clearly hurt QB in the game long enough that he eventually had to be carted off the field in an air cast. For those of you that didn't watch the game, consider yourself lucky.

[BambooRdApp]

Good- Interception and weather was perfect for football
Bad- D- gave up over 600 yards
Ugly -offense - there was none

[Bigdaddyg1]

Other than the uniforms I don’t see App State football (right now), hopefully it’s not anymore. Like many I feel almost no connection to this program. It’s hard to even speak of the prior regime given the fact that coach passed so suddenly and his tenure ended badly. When SC died so did much of the TIGMA aspect. Perhaps it’s our viewing perception but most here generally felt a big don’t give a SHI# attitude from the top down. We play at minimum 12 times a year and if this season got mailed in weeks ago that’s truly a shame. I asked this on the Winning thread. Could we simply try the “old way” of building a team. Recruit those hidden gem guys who both relish an athletic scholarship, love to play and really want to come to Boone. Build thru recruiting and development and fill gaps (not half the roster) with hungry, perhaps overlooked but talented FCS guys and a few from P4 and G5 schools. Also go get that smaller school coach who isn’t just looking for that next P4 gig. That next Coach doesn’t have to stay 20 years but maybe long enough to return that App State feeling because it ain’t there now and this method of roster retooling really isn’t the answer.

[MDaniels]

Other than the uniforms I don’t see App State football (right now), hopefully it’s not anymore. Like many I feel almost no connection to this program. It’s hard to even speak of the prior regime given the fact that coach passed so suddenly and his tenure ended badly. When SC died so did much of the TIGMA aspect. Perhaps it’s our viewing perception but most here generally felt a big don’t give a SHI# attitude from the top down. We play at minimum 12 times a year and if this season got mailed in weeks ago that’s truly a shame. I asked this on the Winning thread. Could we simply try the “old way” of building a team. Recruit those hidden gem guys who both relish an athletic scholarship, love to play and really want to come to Boone. Build thru recruiting and development and fill gaps (not half the roster) with hungry, perhaps overlooked but talented FCS guys and a few from P4 and G5 schools. Also go get that smaller school coach who isn’t just looking for that next P4 gig. That next Coach doesn’t have to stay 20 years but maybe long enough to return that App State feeling because it ain’t there now and this method of roster retooling really isn’t the answer.

AMEN

[MrCraig]

The good- rock bottom is a solid foundation.

This season may be a wash, but hope springs eternal. There's always next year.

[Seattleapp]

The good- rock bottom is a solid foundation.

This season may be a wash, but hope springs eternal. There's always next year.

It’s only a solid foundation if you have the proper builders

[Kafarmer]

I always try to stay positive and call out folks on here for such pessimism and vitriol. I still supported a Coach Clark in hopes of figuring this new world of college football out. I think a lot of his downfall was being too loyal to those around him at his own detriment. I’m sure he learned that from Coach Moore. He was too loyal to Dale Jones when the defense started dropping off. He was too loyal to Sloan as DC. After that terrible start to 2023 and the improvement moving to the Star package, he let his loyalty give him another season. He was loyal to Frank Ponce. Part of that was from past success and another in the fact that position had been an in & out door every year that he wanted to close for awhile. I will say this, it’s hard for an offense to build a game plan and be successful when virtually every game you’re in the hole on the scoreboard so early in the game. Some would say they should adjust. Well, yea, but adjusting every game is a little tough on how to prepare for the next game.

I had hoped and still hope Coach Loggains will succeed. Expectations for this year should have been tempered. We’re really not far off from pundits predictions for this year. The frustration comes from the fact we are digressing and it doesn’t seem the coaching staff has the least bit of thought on how to settle that.

I think the defense has improved but still lacks consistency. Our offense put them in a ridiculous position this past weekend. They can’t be expected to be successful against a good team when they are on the field so much.

What has happened to our run game? Dubinion started strong and still seems to have some fire in his gut. Has our offensive line become so injured that we can’t run at all? The last two games have been ridiculous.

AJ Swann was completely ineffective against JMU, for whatever reasons. Why, especially when it was so obvious he was dinged up, did we continue to send him in until he was beaten so badly he had to be carted off?

Why, when we were having no luck at all on offense would we try a fake punt from that location?

Any answers would help me!

[t4pizza]

I always try to stay positive and call out folks on here for such pessimism and vitriol. I still supported a Coach Clark in hopes of figuring this new world of college football out. I think a lot of his downfall was being too loyal to those around him at his own detriment. I’m sure he learned that from Coach Moore. He was too loyal to Dale Jones when the defense started dropping off. He was too loyal to Sloan as DC. After that terrible start to 2023 and the improvement moving to the Star package, he let his loyalty give him another season. He was loyal to Frank Ponce. Part of that was from past success and another in the fact that position had been an in & out door every year that he wanted to close for awhile. I will say this, it’s hard for an offense to build a game plan and be successful when virtually every game you’re in the hole on the scoreboard so early in the game. Some would say they should adjust. Well, yea, but adjusting every game is a little tough on how to prepare for the next game.

I had hoped and still hope Coach Loggains will succeed. Expectations for this year should have been tempered. We’re really not far off from pundits predictions for this year. The frustration comes from the fact we are digressing and it doesn’t seem the coaching staff has the least bit of thought on how to settle that.

I think the defense has improved but still lacks consistency. Our offense put them in a ridiculous position this past weekend. They can’t be expected to be successful against a good team when they are on the field so much.

What has happened to our run game? Dubinion started strong and still seems to have some fire in his gut. Has our offensive line become so injured that we can’t run at all? The last two games have been ridiculous.

AJ Swann was completely ineffective against JMU, for whatever reasons. Why, especially when it was so obvious he was dinged up, did we continue to send him in until he was beaten so badly he had to be carted off?

Why, when we were having no luck at all on offense would we try a fake punt from that location?

Any answers would help me!

Sadly, all the answers you seek rest with the coach and as we have seen throughout the year, he is not likely to answer them in any meaningful ways. But rest assured, the "93 years of combined NFL coaching experience" will find it way into any answers, like that fact has helped as at all this year.

[ASUTodd]

The good- rock bottom is a solid foundation.

This season may be a wash, but hope springs eternal. There's always next year.

I'm just confused about this season. There has to be something going on that we can't see. The regression of play from the offense is just weird. It's not a small regression either. I've beat the drum of giving Coach Dlo another year but it's getting harder. I expected us to be about .500 this year but two of these losses have just been embarrassing. Seeing Marhsall, JMU, and several other teams lose a ton of players and coaches and still be competitive is just confusing to me. Even with Coach Dlo being a new head coach, he's been around long enough to have some idea what to do. I'm hoping that something clicks and we get it right next year. Going into the game with NC State we should be 3-0. Maine is a 100% winnable game. ECU, maybe 50/50. UNCC is a MUST win and should be a 100% win. A loss to Maine should lead to firing. A win against Maine and a close loss to ECU, I can handle. A loss to UNCC not acceptable and should be a firing. This is all assuming that Maine will be our first game.