Football Conference Rankings

Several outlooks (Minerrush & Underdog Dynasty) have been saying that Louisiana Tech is 3rd, but the Newsstar has us as 1st. What is yours?

Louisiana Tech
WKU
MTSU
SoMiss
ODU
UTSA
FIU
NT
Marshall
Charlotte
FAU
UTEP
Rice

Got to be a 3 way tie for #1 at this point. I don't think MTSU or WKU is better than us though. Just need to play 4 quarters.

I'll go by my personal computer rankings.

By overall rank:

#42	Louisiana Tech
#44	Old Dominion
#52	MTSU
#56	WKU
#71	Southern Miss
#76	UT San Antonio
#85	North Texas
#107	Florida Intl
#109	Charlotte
#112	Marshall
#114	FL Atlantic
#115	UTEP
#127	Rice

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Originally Posted by Blue Dawg

I'll go by my personal computer rankings.

By overall rank:

#42	Louisiana Tech
#44	Old Dominion
#52	MTSU
#56	WKU
#71	Southern Miss
#76	UT San Antonio
#85	North Texas
#107	Florida Intl
#109	Charlotte
#112	Marshall
#114	FL Atlantic
#115	UTEP
#127	Rice

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I like these! Anyway you could post the 1-128 as well?

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Originally Posted by Bearpaw

I like these! Anyway you could post the 1-128 as well?

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Yes

I would tend to put us third as well. Three way tie between WKU, MTSU and us is decided (by me) because WKU actually played both MTSU and us on the road and went 1-1. MTSU and Tech went 1-1 with Tech having one home game and one road game. MTSU had both games at home. You could argue that based on home and away you put Tech over MTSU, but I will resort to the head to head between us.

I would stick with sagarin -- WK #1 Tech-MT statistical tie. my basis is the 3 point home field advantage-- WK has never had defense but they played MT and Tech on road. They get slight advantage because of special teams ( but their guy is not as good as Barnes).

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Originally Posted by detltu

I would tend to put us third as well. Three way tie between WKU, MTSU and us is decided (by me) because WKU actually played both MTSU and us on the road and went 1-1. MTSU and Tech went 1-1 with Tech having one home game and one road game. MTSU had both games at home. You could argue that based on home and away you put Tech over MTSU, but I will resort to the head to head between us.

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....but not the head to head between us and WKU??? :rolleyes4:

Im not putting us behind MTSU, if you are going to give WKU benefit fo doubt for having lost ours as an away game, that applies to us at MTSU. I believe we are better than MTSU, despite losing the game.

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Originally Posted by Tech52

Im not putting us behind MTSU, if you are going to give WKU benefit fo doubt for having lost ours as an away game, that applies to us at MTSU. I believe we are better than MTSU, despite losing the game.

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I agree totally. We gifted the game to MTSU, at their home.

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Originally Posted by BearDawg137

I agree totally. We gifted the game to MTSU, at their home.

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The refs helped.

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Originally Posted by PawDawg

The refs helped.

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Better play calling in the last 20 seconds of the MTSU game would have won that game. Our defense only rushing three hurt us more than us helped our ability to cover in the progression of us losing the lead we had much of the game. I do not recall refs being an issue. Maybe if we were playing an SEC school I would feel differently.

We should have lost to WKU giving them the ball back with 2 minutes left and down by three and struggling to slow them down in the second half. Thankfully we got to the QB and forced a fumble.

I believe our offense is good enough (at least in conference play) that we should be able to maintain these moderately comfortable leads in the second have to win these games and not leave any doubt. Yet we seem to clamp up and struggle. Frustrating to me.

I want to think we are better than MT, but then I wonder, "What if they were as good in the first half as they were the second half?"

Which was the true MT team.. the one we blew out in the first half, or the one that blew us out in the second half?

Or maybe we lost focus and should have continued to blow them out in the second half?

In the end I have to think all 3 of Tech, MT, and WKU are evenly matched based on the round-robin final scores. 3 way tie for first.

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Originally Posted by T1

I want to think we are better than MT, but then I wonder, "What if they were as good in the first half as they were the second half?"

Which was the true MT team.. the one we blew out in the first half, or the one that blew us out in the second half?

Or maybe we lost focus and should have continued to blow them out in the second half?

In the end I have to think all 3 of Tech, MT, and WKU are evenly matched based on the round-robin final scores. 3 way tie for first.

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Here's what I think: MTSU was dropping passes in the first half, and cleaned some things up at halftime. After we went up by 20, I believe we went conservative.

Had we been in a shootout, I firmly believe we would have won, but our offense shutdown early, and it was unable to get back into rhythm.

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Originally Posted by Bearpaw

Here's what I think: MTSU was dropping passes in the first half, and cleaned some things up at halftime. After we went up by 20, I believe we went conservative.

Had we been in a shootout, I firmly believe we would have won, but our offense shutdown early, and it was unable to get back into rhythm.

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I give MT more credit for stopping our offense than it being self-inflicted. After we went up by 20, MT cut it to 13 on their next drive. We never had a comfortable lead in this game (or better stated 27 - 7 didn't last long.)

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Originally Posted by T1

I give MT more credit for stopping our offense than it being self-inflicted. After we went up by 20, MT cut it to 13 on their next drive. We never had a comfortable lead in this game.

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I don't know, penalties at bad moments, Higgins not adjusting for obvious blitzes, and a poor "drop and recover" fumble by Higgins were pretty self inflicted. We would move when we didn't shoot ourselves in the foot.

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Originally Posted by Bearpaw

I don't know, penalties at bad moments, Higgins not adjusting for obvious blitzes, and a poor "drop and recover" fumble by Higgins were pretty self inflicted. We would move when we didn't shoot ourselves in the foot.

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How DARE you critique Higgins. You do know he is a future nfl player and the greatest QB in the Nation. He would have started last year had he not been sick. Our defense sucks!

:D

Henderson leaving was also a big key.

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Originally Posted by PawDawg

How DARE you critique Higgins. You do know he is a future nfl player and the greatest QB in the Nation. He would have started last year had he not been sick. Our defense sucks!

:D

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;)

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Originally Posted by Tech52

Henderson leaving was also a big key.

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Quite true, he made a big difference in the WKU game, and really opens up our short passes (i.e. Taylor Gaines) and running game (i.e. Craft Scott). I also believe our O-line should be getting better, and will hopefully be hitting its stride in the SoMiss game.

Wild Boise-BYU game last night:

http://www.sbnation.com/2016/10/21/1...field-goal-gif

Pay close attention to HOW Boise blocked the FG. This is a GREAT special teams coaching job.

Boise somehow got THREE D Linemen lined up in a very tight space in front of the right offensive tackle. On the snap, they thoroughly overwhelmed him and quite easily blocked the FG kick.

That was a crazy game. In the first half BYU tried a fake punt from their own endzone on 4th and 19. Got stopped on the 2. Boise got a celebration penalty after the stop and was backed up to the 17. Ended up missing a field goal.

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Originally Posted by Tech77

That was a crazy game. In the first half BYU tried a fake punt from their own endzone on 4th and 19. Got stopped on the 2. Boise got a celebration penalty after the stop and was backed up to the 17. Ended up missing a field goal.

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Really !?!? Now, that is funny :)