TSU88

TU picked to finish last in the conference, barely behind Drexel. Objectively, it’s hard to argue with that, given that we return only 3 players from last year’s team, with those 3 having averaged about 12 points a game, combined. Maybe we’ll surprise a few people along the way, one can only hope. Realistically though, this season may be about building for next season & beyond

It’s a good problem for us fans to have, deciding which conference teams we’d like to see win or lose. Most important though is that we handle our own business.

I’ll be pulling for Richmond (playing Elon), W&M (playing Maine), UNH (playing Delaware) & Stony Brook (playing Rhode Island) this weekend. It’s fun to be scoreboard watching for the 1st time since 2013.

There are 6 polls cited in TU12’s post in this thread. My limited math skills suggest that our ranking, based on an average of these 6 polls, is 12th in the country. I just don’t see where we’re getting hosed. And, at the risk of repeating myself ad nauseum, we’re getting in the playoffs if we win 8 or more games. I predicted that if we beat Stony Brook we might crack the top 15. We’re 14th in the coaches poll. Let’s get a W vs the Scooby Doo’s this weekend & then see which of our conference foes get bumped off.

We moved up 4 spots in the coaches poll, after not blowing the doors off W&M. That doesn’t seem too bad

First things first, we need to handle our business this Saturday up in Albany. They are 2-4, with one of their W’s being by 3 over Morgan State, who we beat handily. But, they have a RB who averages 91 yards a game & 2 receivers who each average over 70 ypg. I take nothing for granted. IF we prevail Saturday we’re 6-1, with 4 tough games remaining (UD, Maine, Elon & JMU). So, a W vs Albany means, at least as I see it, that we could split those last 4 games & finish 8-3, which I think gets us in the playoffs without question. 7-4, who knows? 6-5, well, we probably don’t deserve to make it. The aura of JMU invincibility has been pierced by Elon, who then promptly turned around & lost to UD. So, anything goes-there is no foe left on our schedule that I consider either a guaranteed W or L. Let the games begin.

I agree. It’s more a function of getting some insight in terms of how we performed, collectively & individually, against a P5 opponent

I’d be very interested to know how we fare in the scrimmage versus Rutgers.

Any word on DeBerry’s injury? He didn’t leave the sidelines, but was limping from what I could see. He’s a difference maker out there

I forgot to mention that EK was there-talked to him as well. Seems to be adjusting well to life after college basketball.

I attended the scrimmage before heading over to the football game. Great day to be a Tiger. I was really impressed with Fobbs. This kid is a scorer. He might not make up for all of Zane Martin’s points, but he has the potential to be a high volume scorer. Also very impressed with Timberlake & Bertrand. The future is bright IMHO. TJ Howard had a miserable day shooting, but I liked the fact he was confident enough to keep firing. I assume he’s a better shooter than he showed today. Didnt see much out of Solomon U or Yagi. It’ll be interesting to see how much PT they get this season. Thomas looked very good but we’ve been down this road before. I need to see him do it in the regular season. Sanders had his moments. I think we should be solid up front with him, Thomas & a somewhat beefed up Tunstall. I think we’re trying to get Gray cleared to play this season. We’ll see. On a personal note. I’m now a big Dottin fan. Young man came up to me after the scrimmage and introduced himself. Super personable. The kind of kid you want to root for & who represents the school well.

Good team W. Showed resiliency in coming back from halftime deficit. D did good “bend but don’t break” job, holding W&M to 1 TD. Also generated a pass rush today. I hope DeBerry isn’t hurt too badly (left the game in 2nd half & didn’t return). Flacco & Simpson are a great 1-2 punch. Unfortunately, we now seem to have a FG kicker issue. Can someone smarter than me (which is most everyone) explain to me why we eschewed an XP attempt & went for an 8-yard 2 point conversion, when not making it still gave W&M a glimmer of hope of tying the game with 2 TD’s & 2 two-Point conversions? On to Albany. Gotta beat the Scooby-Doo’s before what now appears to be a huge matchup with UD, who beat Elon today

Spot on post. This ain’t brain surgery or rocket science. Win Saturday & we’re 1 step closer to 8 W’s, which gets us to the show.

So in all 4 of the polls listed in this thread we’re in the top 20, ranking as high as 10, & no lower than 19.

The fact that JMU is in the middle of nowhere supports, rather than refutes, my thesis. Being in the middle of nowhere increases the likelihood that attendance at the local college sporting events will be higher, given that there is little if any competition for the hearts & minds of the students & locals. This also generates loyalty. TU is right smack in the middle of a metropolitan area, which, by its very nature, has more tugs on the attention of students & locals. I actually broached your idea of a $500-$1,000 a game giveaway to a student in attendance at the football game that week, with the drawing for the winner being held in the 4th quarter of the game, with a requirement that the winning student actually have to still be there in the 4th Q. The response was basically “are you going to pay for it, because we don’t have the money for that in the budget.”