FormerPokeCenter

In 2002, we had one regular season loss, to Nebraska...I can't get to your 2002 results page, so I don't know if we had a common opponent or not.... I know we had a common opponent in 2003, Nicholls State, whom you guys came back and beat in the 4th Quarter, 27-17. We beat them 63 to 28 the same year... I don't think you would have beaten us in 2002, though it's a moot point now. You definitely beat us this year ; ) There are parts of the game that leave me optimistic, if we can build upon them. This game was exactly what we needed in several ways and I suspect you guys feel the same way about it....

Two years ago, we took one of our worst teams to FIU and beat them....They may be much improved, but still, it was the year from hell for us..... We've played UCF before and beat them, back when they had Daunte Culpepper, but nothing in the recent past... Timing in these sorts of games between I-A and I-AA is everything. Usually, we (McNeese) peak on a 5 year cycle. I can't speak for any other programs, but I suspect it's probably the same. It's hard to develop consistency with 63 scholarships. Right now, we're on an upswing after last peaking in 2002/2003. We bottomed out in 2004. Look for us to be stronger in 2007/2008. We'll have an off year in 2009, and then reload... We went to the National Finals in 2002, 1997 and the semis in 1995. Intersperced were several other two game trips into the playoffs and a couple of one and dones. I thought Saturday's game was good for both teams. Had we had a 1997 or 2002 type peak team, I think the outcoming would more than likely have been different. We had several pros off of those teams. After the 2004 nightmare and the 2005 Hurricane season, we're pleased with last Saturday because we saw flashes of what we're used to, but it was by no means a perfect game for us nor cause for celebration, just like we assume it was no cause for celebration for you. The first 2.5 quarters were a suitable starting point for us, just as I assume the game was a suitable starting point for you guys... Having said that, thanks for the game, keep us in mind for next year

Zook's problems at Florida began the moment he hired Ed Zaunbrecher to be the offensive coordinatr. While Zaunbrecher is a great guy, he's no offensive genius, having previously served as the head coach at University of Louisiana - Monroe, whose only claim to fame under Zaunbrecher, was being featured on a 60 Minutes Segment about terrible college football teams who were prostituting themselves for large paychecks...

I'll agree with you that mistakes and penalties stopped you in the first two and a half quarters. The holding penalties on the offensive line, for instance. However, I can tell you from experience that an offensive lineman generally doesn't hold unless he's getting his ass whipped The illegal formation penalties were a typical first game penalty, though....

The guy who said "classless" is a Nicholls State fan, not a McNeese fan. I think there's still some ill towards you guys from Nicholls. The same guy complained before the game about the fans at RayJay....

Well, if I were a queen, I probably would be....However, I look terrible in a tiara....I didn't check the TV thread. Lemme mosey back over there and weigh in....

Congrats USF. Nice start to the season. I believe our players delivered on our promise to show up, with chin straps buckled and play the game. We're thin at defensive tackle and we have some special teams work to do, obviously, but I'm pretty satisfied that we've made huge strides since last season. We're not what we would consider a good team, yet, but I think we're all satisfied that we're not the same uncharacteristically snake-bit team we were over the last two years... I wonder.....Do you think we have anybody who could start for you now?

I'll probably drop in from time to time And, I went to our board and looked at the post. He didn't say "classless" he said it was "mild case" of running up the score and questioned why the ball wasn't kneeled with less than 20 seconds remaining.... That's a far cry from saying "classless." Personally, I still think a straight hand off at the end of the game is fine, we still need to make the tackle, whether we're tired and out of depth or not. It's pretty obvious Leavitt was trying to run out the clock...

I don't think you guys were classless on that play. I think your running back did what any player would do in the same situation. I think the play calling late in the fourth was obviously conservative and was as a result of Leavitt being mindful of the fact that we don't have much in the way of depth....

I see, so a nice opposing fan is one who doesn't take exception to slight and one who doesn't correct your misconceptions? Gotcha, well....I don't think I'm going to have much success as a "nice" I-AA fan. I don't recall if we've ever played Hofstra, but we've handled Ga. Southern relatively well. Yes, they do like to talk smack. It would be fun if they were good at it I recall your 27-17 win over Nicholls. Despite being 5-6 that year, they did give some people fits with the option. We had trouble with them in the first quarter, too, with a final score of 63-28, the game was never really in doubt...

The point is that some of your posters have proffered the notion that there is such a huge talent gulf between a team like yours and a team like ours, that there are no players on a I-AA team that could start for a I-A team. IF the talent gulf is that large, then why is it that you only have four players in the NFL, after playing at the lofty I-A level for the last five years? During that same time frame, we've sent 5 to the NFL, including a second round draft choice, who - by the logic displayed above - apparently couldn't have been reasonably expected to even start at USF? I'm not knocking USF, just merely pointing out the ignorance about the difference between I-AA and I-A talent. Just to properly frame the question of any alleged gulf, answer this for me: Did your players get exponentially better the year you moved from I-AA to I-A, simply because you dropped a letter from your designation, or did you get superior depth because you got 22 more scholarships to offer. The answer is pretty easy.

I think a modest stipend, something along the lines of $200 a month, wouldn't be too outrageous....If a student is on a partial scholarship, the pro-rate the stipend accordingly.... If that's not acceptable, then drop the rules which limit how they can obtain income during the school year...

No living expenses are paid. They can eat on a meal plan and they get their books and tuition and fees taken care of.... That's what the whole argument is about. Besides, the whole "paid enough" argument is weak, at best. Suppose a kid whose been indentured to the football team for 4 years sustains a catastrophic career ending injury to, say, his knee. Is what he was "paid" sufficient to compensate him for this? Before you say "yes," go have a knee reconstruction or two and then tell me you feel the same way....

Again, you have a serious disconnect with reality. Your posts which suggests that the gulf of talent is so huge that none of our players could start for you is simply ignorant. If you talent level is THAT high, you should have more than 4 players in the NFL, or is your position that all your incredible talent JUST arrived at USF? I'm sure your linebackers are very good, but declaring that ALL THREE will be first day choices is more than a little optimistic...They may all three end up in the NFL, yes, but a formal declaration that all three will be first day selections? Get real. If the talent gap between I-A and I-AA is that huge, how did a little rinky dink school like us ever get any players in the Pros?

Student loans? So, you'd have them be indentured servants for four years of undergraduate work and THEN leave school with a debt? I think guaranteed student loans need a showing of need, but I could be wrong. Maybe somebody with kids currently in college could comment..

The real problem with the NCAA isn't so much that players should be paid, it's the NCAA's draconian attitude about student financial status, and other types of aid. An NCAA athlete cannot have a job during the school year.  They can't stack scholarships, or convert another scholarship's value for cash.  If an NCAA athlete accepts an athletic scholarship, he or she pretty much takes a vow of poverty, agreeing to accept only THAT financial aid. In this day and age, there are always ancillary expenses, over and above what the scholarship covers.  If a student/athlete wants to grab a soda in the Student Union, where does he get the cash? If he wants to take a girl on a date, where does he get the cash? See a movie?  Same thing. Often the only student athletes who can afford to accept a scholarship AND play by the rules are those athletes who don't need scholarships.  The upper middle class and the affluent. It's asking a lot for an impoverished player to come to a school, undertake his vow of poverty and servitude to the NCAA and have him NOT be tempted to have a side job during the year, or otherwise do things that contravene NCAA rules in order to fit in at a school like a Miami or a South Florida.  What most people who talk about "paying players" are referring to is a modest monthy stipend, or what used to be known as "laundry money." Compare and contrast this with National Merit Scholars, who are allowed to stack scholarships, convert scholarships to cash, hold any number of jobs, etc. and there's no limit to their income during the school year. If the NCAA can collect millions from Student athletes, paying them a small uniformly standard stipend, or - in the alternative - loosening up the arbitrarily restrictive rules they impose on athletes isn't too much to ask... Institutional control is one thing, but just make sure that institution isn't a form of indentured servantship or slavery....

If you honestly believe there's THAT much of a talent difference between a top tier I-AA team and a middle of the pack I-A team, you're insane... Again, you've got superior numbers. We're thin at defensive tackle this year, and will be relatively small there. If you're such a talent factory, explain why you've got a total of four players in the NFL currently? Further, we have two, and would have six were it not for a recent retirement, a couple of injuries and a positional change where Seahawks safety Kerry Joseph decided that he REALLY wanted to go back to playing Quarterback and moved to the CFL where he's been tearing up the league. To hear you guys talk, you should be populating the NFL with players, but your pro numbers aren't all that. Again, there's a serious perceptional disconnect with reality here...

Now, now, picked last? I don't think so. There are any number of our starters who could start for you guys....That's the practical reality. Your superiority, if it exists, is with depth. Louisiana leads the country in the number of pro-football players per capita. Or, at least we used to. Fla., Ga., Tx and California are all right in there, together. Louisiana has 11 schools that play Division I football, plus another one that plays NAIA. Of those, Two are legitimate 1-A, in LSU and Tulane. Another three are 1-A in name only, ULL, ULM and Louisiana Tech. There are six that play in 1-AA. McNeese, Nicholls, NW, SELA, Grambling and Southern. We have like, half the population base you guys do and just as many football programs. There's a significant stat there.....

There, now, see? An honest appraisal of the game. That wasn't so hard, was it? And, I haven't been trying to bait anybody into smack, I've simply responded in kind. I believe Doc got the Smack Angle all ginned up when he warned of the futility of trying to gain the upper hand in a contest of one-liners and word games... Unfortunately, that confrontation never materialized and what we've had here has amounted to little more than some snorting and hoofing at the ground, but no real charges and no real effort to rope and brand... The bottom line for us is that we understand that you're I-A, and that you have more scholarships than we do. We understand that you recruit in Florida, which is a hotbed of talent and we understand that you've got your sights set on repeating Miami's type of success. That's nice but that doesn't particularly scare us, after having played against one of Miami's better teams, not to mention other established I-A marquee programs. Maybe, one day in the future, we'll look back and say that we played another one in USF, but that day's not here yet. One of your earlier posters made a rather dismissive comment that you guys have been where we are. No offense but that's simply ignorant Bull flatulence. You guys have always intended to move to I-A and have been building your program accordingly, I-AA was a temporary stop along the way. You've never had to recruit for the long-haul in 1-AA and you've never had to live within a I-AA budget. You've also never had the long term success in 1-AA. The bottom line is that you haven't been where we are and to think that you have is simply either foolish or ignorant. But I digress. You've won 61 games in your history. During the same time period, playing under more restrictive financial considerations, we've won 77 games... Anyway, I'm getting off point. Tomorrow should be fun . We'll be there ready to play

I, for one, am completely shocked that USF was the overwhelming favorite in a game against a 1-AA opponent, particularly on the USF fan website. That's just such an anamoly, ya know? Never saw that one coming...

<Most of us are just trying to be nice. You make it difficult. But after saturday, we'll see if you man up. > If you go back and re-read the entire thread, you'll see that this particular thread is at this particular point after a series of measured responses to a series of lame-assed jabs by lame-assed bovine posters. I'm trying to be nice, too and I think it should be obvious that I'm excercising remarkable restraint. It's not my fault your previous posters weren't as clever as they fancied themselves to be... Proportionality is significant concept here. If I were being "mean" then I'd say you have a point. Since I'm only clarifying some misconceptions, I'd say that you're simply over sensitive. That's nothing that can't be cured by butching up and an immediate cessation of whiney-assed behaviour...

<<But it doesn't say who the quote came from ..... something you obviously are having a hard time keeping track of. >> Hopefully, the person to whom I'm responding remembers that he wrote the text between the brackets and realizes that the response is intended for him... If not, and he sits at the monitor chewing his cud, ruminating on the replly he sees, well....I guess bovine creatures are dumber than I thought....

Weak? Well, perhaps you're right. Hanging out here very clearly makes one a connoisseur of weak smack. I probably should defer to your superior knowlege and experience with weak-assed smack, given your obviously vast association therewith... I hope you guys DO play a good game because, quite frankly, you sure can't talk one.... This mouth-breathing crowd can't even spell smack, much less bring it....

Well, Prominent, it's apparently hard to be humble when you play in the Big Least Conference...

NAU QB Jason Murietta is the real deal. He may very well win the I-AA version of the Heisman this year. He was sensational as a freshman, taking NAU the playoffs. The last two years, NAU has had injuries, etc and they haven't been very good. Murietta, however, will see some time in the NFL.