TigerFan54

Delaware had just 177 yards of total offense against UNH, but the Hens intercepted three passes, forced a fumble, blocked a punt and ran back a kickoff. So we'll have to contend with what looks like a ball-hawking defense and dangerous special teams. Should be a great game.

I don't think it is on CAA.TV. When I go to that site, there's only a speaker to click on, not a monitor, which means only the radio broadcast is available, right?

If I have neither of those, do I have to pay at ualbany.com or is there another alternative?

I just listened to the coaches' call-in show, and Elon's Cignetti said QB cheek's injury was non-contact and that he's having an MRI today. The backup, he said, was neck-and-neck with Cheek when they were freshman and the coach expects him to meet the challenge. We'll see. As for their top runner, Malcolm Summers, he pulled a hamstring against JMU. If they hold him out for that to fully heal, he'll be back in time for the game against us.

Glad to see that we had a decent crowd and that many folks (including a fair number in the student section) stayed around in the second half. Maybe we have a close ballgame to thank for that. Question: I didn't see Koby Young in the second half. Was he hurt?

That's pretty good. Ever since Scott Garceau left Channel 2, it seemed like the station paid little attention to sports, especially the local teams. But this Shawn Stepner has changed that.

I think getting a student group like T-Unit to push for attendance is key. Back in 2011, we had a big crowd for the Morgan opener. I expected the attendance to shrink big time the following week against Nova, but we still had about 7,500, maybe more. And here's the more telling indicator: most of the students stayed till the end (and rushed the field) even though we had a sizable lead in the fourth quarter. Partly because of that team's unexpected success (and highly entertaining offense -- like this year's), the pattern persisted. We had bitter cold weather and sleet for a night game on Halloween, but I'm pretty sure we drew 5,000, which is more than attended this past week's game in much friendlier temperatures. When we faced off against UNH on a chilly November day, the crowd was back up to 6,000 or more. Admittedly, many factors were in play, but one that can be duplicated is getting a student group to get behind the team. One other thought: One of my daughters went to JMU, graduating in 2006. When she was there, home games started at 6, and if you had a campus meal plan, the only place to get your grub was at the stadium. That pretty much guaranteed a full house. Not sure how that could be set up logistically here -- and someone would probably raise a stink that it was discriminatory -- but maybe it's worth considering.

Let's also credit the offensive line. Tom has amazing scrambling ability, but they keep giving him lots of protection too. I do wish they could open more holes for the running game, but that may come. Elon's upset of JMU was a shocker -- I didn't think the Phoenix were that good, but they must be. I see where Trevor Knight is back in the UNH lineup and threw four TD passes (admittedly against weak Holy Cross team). But I want Stony Brook to drive a stake through their hearts next week.

True -- there was a brief focus on Dan Crowley, but none on Tony Vinson, who was just a force on that team. And Meggett wasn't mentioned at all (I think he was even cropped out of a photo -- or his head was cropped out -- showing other key players on those '87-88 teams.

I agree that we need to take this one game at a time and the ranking should take care of itself. I'm a little worried about our defense too, but have a lot of confidence in the offense. It reminds me somewhat of the Crowley-Vinson team in 1993, which could score on almost every possession, and the 2011 team, which was capable of the same. On a related topic: I urge everyone to watch "The First 50" documentary. It's terrific. As I mentioned on another thread, I really appreciate how it doesn't gloss over the dark times when football almost bit the dust, and the focus on Wardell Turner near the end is very moving. Hats off to everyone involved. (That includes you too, right Mat?)

It took me a while, but I finally watched the documentary. I second Tgr4life -- it's terrific. I really appreciate how it doesn't gloss over the dark times when football almost bit the dust, and the focus on Wardell Turner near the end is very moving. Hats off to everyone involved.

I hope those second-teamers improve in a hurry, because Thomas and McNeill haven't shown me much over three years -- and Thomas' put-back inability makes him an offensive liability, while McNeill's tendency to telegraph passes makes him a turnover liability. I'd rather see young guy with potential make mistakes than veterans with low ceilings make mistakes. (I'd be ecstatic if I'm proven wrong on this.)

The unsportsman-like conduct penalty after TF's touchdown leap is mystifying -- excessive celebration? If so, that's absurd. Great win, extraordinary performance by Tom. He's a tough kid, but I do worry that when he runs so much he risks injury. (Face it -- we wouldn't be nearly so good without him.) Aidan O'Neill is steady-Eddie. I think he's had only one miss this year. One last comment -- and I hope someone from TT.com sees this: the game story must have been written by someone with little knowledge of football, and even less knowledge of the English language. The sampling below is an embarrassment to an institution that calls itself a university. (The second example makes me wonder if the writer was even at the game): "The Tigers broke out of inside its own five with a couple of Flacco rushes, but got stalled around going 28 yards, punting back to The Citadel." "Jacob Godek converted a 30-yard field goal to make it 7-3 Towson, the eventual halftime score." "The Citadel grinded into the clock with a 17-play drive with all rushes, getting back midway through Towson territory."

I'm glad we're playing Stony Brook at home -- I just hope the students come out again (and stay).

The last time we played a triple-option team (as best I can recall) was Navy back in ... 2007? We didn't defend it well, though Navy was/is many cuts above Citadel. Still, I share 88's concern.

We need finishers on offense, so I hope there are a few among the freshman class. The 6-5 attackman from Calvert Hall would seem to be an imposing figure.

Looks like we might get decent weather for Saturday's game against the Citadel. Hopefully, there's a big turnout -- especially in the student section.

In the coaches' poll, we only got 17 votes -- to rank No. 31. Nova drops to No. 14, but still pulls in 254 votes. (And Delaware, which lost to now-No. 23 Rhode Island, is ahead of us with 36 votes.) We did a little better in the STATS poll, coming in at No. 26, but still...Rhode Island was catapulted into the Top 25 by beating Delaware, but we beat a Top 10 team and get very little respect.

Here's why I'm bothered that we got so little boost by beating Villanova: We're idle this week, so we're likely to drop if teams below us win. We move up significantly in future polls only if we beat teams ranked ahead of us, so a Citadel win doesn't do much. If Stony Brook loses to Villanova that same week, they probably drop and if we beat them the following week, that won't mean as much either. Then we play W&M. A win probably wouldn't count for much in voters' eyes. My point is that our chances to bound ahead might rest on the final three games against teams currently playing well or historically tough: Maine, Elon, JMU. Even if we enter that stretch 7-1 but lose two of the final three, I'd don't like our chances, despite being 8-3 under that scenario. Here's why: If New Hampshire wins seven of its final eight (Trevor Knight is due back, from what I read), then you know UNH gets in at 7-4, which could crowd us out. I know, I know ... all this is speculative and we can't presume ANY wins in this league. But the sting of being left out in 2012 lingers.

The HERO rankings are beyond absurd -- Morgan, at 0-3 and a team we beat by 26 points, is placed 17 spots above us. And yet, the douche bags who put the rankings together claim they're based on "an objective, predictive, data-driven ranking algorithm."

You may be right about shootouts in our future. That was the case in the Enders years -- ODU (a win) and Lehigh (a loss) come to mind. And then in 2013 (with T-West providing most of the fireworks) against Eastern Illinois. It also reminds me of Tony Vinson's senior year. That team could really rack up points too.

I posted this on another thread, but will repeat it here: I was glad to see us throw to the tight end (and once to the fullback!) even though Clark wasn't there. Speaking of tight ends -- we sure didn't cover Nova's, who had eight catches, all for big gains. Any idea if there were missed assignments (again and again) or was the guy running great patterns? I'm also worried about the freshman DB, No. 6. He looked clueless at times. Will he be playing in place of someone going forward? Last of all: Though I think our coaches did a great job overall, I was disappointed by RA's penalty. He's come out on the field and thrown tantrums countless times, so I'm only surprised that more flags haven't been thrown in the past. If he's going to tell his players to keep their wits about them (Fenner's late hit in the 4th quarter was uncharacteristic of him), then the head coach has to as well.

I was glad to see us throw to the tight end (and once to the fullback) even though Clark wasn't there. Speaking of tight ends -- we sure didn't cover Nova's, who had eight catches, all for big gains. Any idea if there were missed assignments (again and again) or was the guy running great patterns? I'm also worried about the freshman DB, No. 6. He looked clueless at times. Will he be playing in place of someone going forward? Last of all: Though I think our coaches did a great job overall, I was disappointed by RA's penalty. He's come out on the field and thrown tantrums countless times, so I'm only surprised that more flags haven't been thrown in the past. If he's going to tell his players to keep their wits about them (Fenner's late hit in the 4th quarter was uncharacteristic of him), then the head coach has to as well.

If you have Verizon FIOS, it looks like the game will be available on Channel 300 (I learned that detail on the Nova website, not TT.com).

Nova will be tough to run on. They haven't given up more than 100 yards in a long time, according to their website, and Temple and Lehigh each had less than 50. On another topic, any idea why TT.com doesn't promote the "Tiger Football Report"? If I find it, it's by accident. I watched Spiro and RA just now recapping the Wake game -- and I was only the FOURTH viewer. That tells you how obscure these things are. And though Spiro teased part 2 (the Villanova preview), I don't see it anywhere. We're less than 24 hours from game time, and the preview can't be found.