TigerFan54

Incredible third set -- NE kept fending off match point, with Towson finally prevailing at 30-28. The Huskies were a tough out, and Delaware might be too. The Hens beat W&M 3-2 after gutting out a 3-2 win over Charleston. Despite a less-than-stellar record, they have to be pumped up. Even if we lose, we ought to get into the NCAAs with only two losses. And we beat Pitt, which is in the top 10 nationally at 25-3.

Listening to RA praise Hampton in his Q&A with Spiro, you would think they were leading the league. Typical salesmanship.

NT is putting up POY performances. Please, Nic, keep it up.

Shocker in the opening round: No. 7 seed W&M beats Hofstra, 3-2, after the pride led 2-0. 

I'm fairly confident we'll improve enough at some point to approximate the level of play we displayed late last year when we won four out of five games by 20-30 points: just dominant play all around, especially down low where CT became a potent offensive weapon. In those games, we were a force. BUT, it concerns me that our old habits die hard, even with a largely veteran group. By that, I mean stretches  where "bad Cam" emerges and tries to do too much, committing costly turnovers in the process; too many times when we're flatfooted at both ends of the court; and times when poor free-throw shooting seems contagious. And, frankly, too many times when PS's substitution decisions are head-scratching (a polite way of saying "boneheaded"). Yes, each season is a work in progress, so I'll stay hopeful for now that Mr. Hyde doesn't show up at inopportune times (the CAA tournament in particular) to undo Dr. Jekyll's otherwise good work.

51 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

 Referencing these vague innuendos strikes me as sort of a passive aggressive way of deflecting blame 

Agreed. RA may be the least self-reflective guy on the planet.

Here's my thought on the rest of the season: Everyone on this board -- those who just read the comments as well as those who contribute them -- email the new AD to register your displeasure. And cc the school president.

Devin Matthews averaged 10.4 yards per carry ... on four carries. Can someone explain why he was on the sideline most of the game while Mighty Mouse D'Ago Hunter (3.4 yards per carry) got the lion's share of snaps? (And where was Mystery Man Joachim Bangda, whom RA described as "another bullet in our arsenal" in his interview with Spiro?)

Of course, these and other questions of this sort have been asked by us for years on this board. Please, God, make it stop. Send the bad man away.

Field hockey got a 4-1 win over Ohio U. Very encouraging for a program that's just beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Agreed -- this team's continued success deserves great fan support. 

A few thoughts:

RA has been flagged at least three times in his years here for poor sideline conduct. Having watch football since the 1960s, I've NEVER seen another coach -- even Gordy, who could get pretty riled up at the officials -- get flagged. This is not just an embarrassment, it's shameful.

Why is No. 0 in the backfield at all? He's tiny, provides no protection for the QB, and averaged 3.1 yards per carry. Reynolds averaged 6 yards. The math is obvious, or should be.

Piggy's passing skills are modest, at best, but his mobility gives him playmaking ability. If he gets hurt at West Virginia, we might not win another game.

If he stays healthy, my expectation is we win two more games, three max. (I hope I'm wrong, that Bangda finally gets on the field and proves to be a stud, that we start gelling in general. But it's hard to ignore what I've seen, and how hollow the head coach's past overstatements have proven to be.)

1-10 teams can surprise you -- witness our turnaround from 2010 to 2011. But my expectation is a Towson win despite some uneven play.

Thanks for the report, Mat. I was there for about an hour and, like you, thought TJ was putting a nice touch on the ball. It'll be a real shame if he's done, but it would create an opportunity for someone else. I suspect RA goes with Piggy because of his experience. If he starts throwing INTs or otherwise failing in clutch situations, then Scott Smith probably gets his chance. (Despite the impressive comparison to Schaeffer, I believe you have to have a mobile QB to be successful at this level.)

I wasn't impressed by the placekicking, and kickoffs weren't deep. 

V-ball has been consistently good for many years. They deserve plenty of attention and praise.

I'll be there. On a related topic, it appears that there will be no TV/streaming coverage of the Bucknell game. I hope that ain't so.

Mat: How does the long snapper look? (It's someone new this year, yes?)

Anybody know the formula for playing certain CAA teams (UNCW, Elon, Stony Brook, Hampton) just once? Will other schools rotate into those single-game slots year to year? Will some natural rivals (U-Del) always be played twice a season?

Mat: No mention of TJIII among the QBs -- is he hurt or has he fallen down the depth chart?

Also, RA says, "Last year's group wasn't excited about being together. 
They are excited about playing together. These guys like hanging out together." But I recall him saying something much different this time last year, especially about the camaraderie of the quarterbacks. So it's hard to take his assessment at face value.

Nice reply from Steve Irvine:

Thanks for pointing that out to me. Sorry for my mistake. Not sure how I didn't notice that but it certainly wasn't intentional. Hope things go well for the Tigers this year. 

Inexplicably, the writer's email address at the bottom of the story misspells his name:

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email steve.irwin@1819news.com.

I tried to send him a polite correction, but the email bounced back as undeliverable. I checked the top of the story, and his name is Irvine. Strange. Anyway, I re-sent the email to that address; am curious to see if he responds.

Yes, thanks for the thorough write-up.

I think you mistyped here:

"Can we be patient. We know we can get Towson, but we'd rather not. We got Pitt late last year in August."

I know the college game has changed irreversibly, but I really don't like this constant reshuffling of the deck via no-sit-out transfers. It penalizes the guys who choose to stay for 4-5 (or 4-6!) years and diminishes loyalty/enthusiasm.

In 2011, we had the perfect arrangement of three dynamic forces: 

1. First three games (and, I think, four of the first five) were at home, when the weather was good.

2. The team played well from the start, and won.

3. T-Unit (if I'm remembering correctly) was well organized and worked hard to get frats and other student groups out.

The result was solid student attendance all year long. Doesn't look like we can replicate No. 1 anytime soon, but hopefully No. 2 comes to fruition and SOMEBODY is motivated enough to generate T-Unit 2.0.

Forgot about Julian Blair -- he was a good player too. (And he was the last guy to touch the ball on that crazy kickoff return against Northeastern as time ran out, which set up the miracle win (Crowley to Orlando TD) on the untimed final play after the penalty on NE.