MMW

it was the best running performance in school history by a QB and the best in FBS QBs this year.

If the season ended today QF would be the starter next year.

Garbage time

Flowers walking around. No limp but no smiles. I think he got a Charlie horse on that last play.

Agreed

We used to really stifle in the red zone.

These rejects are not doing Flowers any favors today.

I was trying to figure out a way of saying this but I think you did a better job than I could. I think the "they just walked away" quote came from the dad but I agree, we don't really know both sides of this.

Fair enough (and I can't believe I am defending Holtz) but the staff evaluated him and did not want to extend an offer. That is going to suck for him even if they sat him down and bought him an ice cream cone to break the news or simply walked away. It sucks for the kid but I am sure it happens dozens of times at every camp across the country. He evidently used it as motivation and that is a sign of character.

Not a fan of Hotlz and his recruiting efforts but it sounds like this kid might have looked like a reach given the fact that nobody else offered him. We have a lot of people floating around that are more plugged into local recruits than I am. My question is, was there outrage on this board (or any USF board for that matter) when this kid did not get an offer? I think the answer to that question is more than likely "no" and furthermore, the USF recruiting boards reaction if he did commit would be "WHO?".

Recently UCF has won two C-USA CC's and two AAC CC's and the Fiesta bowl and you are discounting that because they are having a down year. The obvious, and painful, question you are forcing me to ask is what exactly have we done? I think the best argument for distinquishing ourselves from them was when we were in the BE and they were stuck in C-USA. Even though they were winning the league we could joke that is was just crappy C-USA. I was among the people that thought them beneath us. But I see now that I was wrong. They are in the same league as us and have won it two more times than we have won anything. If we can prove to be anything but an average team and occasional giant killer we would be on their level. Great, now I want to throw up.

Sure, could you elaborate?

As much as I would love to see us move beyond them, I am afraid to tell you that it will never happen. Well, I shouldn't say never but I can't envision a more realistic scenario than a giant sink hole swallowing up their campus (while miraculously not injuring anyone hopefully).

Agreed, but I think someone mentioned that beggars can't be choosers. Look at it this way, the team gets a few more weeks of practice, comes away with a win (hopefully!) and has some positive momentum going into next season. This bowl would be a very good outcome but it is still going to be tough.

I think Skip Holtz's is still available on eBay somewhere.

Mack surpassed Ford during the Syracuse game if I'm not mistaken.

I think we are a kick ass FCS. As long as we aren't playing McNeese state.

Are you suggesting that it hurts from a recruiting perspective? I am not agreeing or disagreeing just curious? Defensive penetration disrupts all backfields.

It seems teams have a lot of trouble adjusting to the 3 back set. I think I can understand why, it is like having four running backs. So why not use this set all the time? Is this considered a gimmick? What can a defense do to stop it?

Randolph was a gamer in spite of his size but I would take our current group over who we had then. Let's see, Erskine or Mack/Tice/Johnson...Erksine was a hard worked but would never see the field. Did we have any tight ends back then? We did and I liked their grit but they were blockers if I recall. We don't use Price and Dillon enough but it is not due to lack of talent. I do not think it is crazy to say Grothe had to do more with a lot less. I did watch the games like everyone else and I saw teams like Rutgers neutralize him (since he was only one person) and what happened to the offense. Who else did we have back then to step up and make plays? I am glad we are comparing the two because Grothe was awesome and I like the idea of having a good QB again but the comparison is difficult to make because they were different, the teams were different and even the competition was different.

It started against Cinci and ended against UCONN and they were the only two wins that season.

Grothe had WR's to throw too but I don't think he had any tight ends like we do now and he has no run support. He was our running game. My point is he had to put the game on his shoulders every week and if you pressured him and took away his run option we were in a tough spot. When we have three running backs in and they are all better that what Grothe had it makes it a challenge for defenses. Comparing Grothe to Flowers apples to oranges. They are asked to do different things.

One thing that is consistent over the years is smazza's distaste for certain things, like our coach, our QB and punctuation - in no particular order.

Grothe, a lot like BJ, had to do it all by himself. He was our best QB and I would take him back in a heartbeat. He had guts and was a gamer but teams eventually would play to stop him. Since he had little help it eventually worked. Flowers has more playmakers around him (although very young). We have talent at WR and TE's and of course a running game. That being said, he is a solid QB and I look forward to his development. If he takes the next step we will be a tough team to beat.

We have to win next week. I won't say I like my chances even then. I hope I am wrong.