LaTech as a ticket to "The League"

[dawg80]

Where are you getting this from? Boise was never dismissed. Nevada didn't come on the scene until just before they left the WAC. Hawaii only had a couple of years over all. Fresno did hang around in spurts, but was never on the level of Boise.

EXACTLY MY POINT!!!!!

Except, Boazy was dismissed early on. I guess you didn't stay up late watching the ESPN College Football Final Show, which usually started about midnight our time. Maybe you are thinking of around 2004 and later AFTER Boazy had become the darling of CFB. I am talking about the very beginning: 2001, 2002, and even into 2003. The same point where we are with WKU and its early success in CUSA. Yep, even as Boazy was winning conference championships it was Fresno State with their "play anyone, anywhere" slogan, and the "great coach" Pat Hill who was getting all the press and all the love, especially from the pundits on ESPN. And then the Boazy-Fresno game would be on national TV, on ESPN, hyped as this great showdown, and surely Fresno would set things right....only, they didn't. Boazy kept beating 'em and winning WAC championships.

Doesn't matter. It was only a cautionary warning to not dismiss WKU as a mere flash in the pan. But hey! now they have a new coach, Mike Sanford. Maybe he'll turn out to be a bust. But then, Boazy went from Koetter to Hawkins to Peterson and never missed a beat after they got rolling.

[dawg80]

The media is starting to take notice now. http://www.cbssports.com/college-foo...ny6-contender/

"Since joining the league in 2014, the Hilltoppers have won the C-USA championship twice and been to three consecutive bowl games -- winning all three, including Tuesday's dominant 51-31 victory against Memphis in the Boca Raton Bowl........ If one thing is certain about WKU's future in C-USA, it's that it should be on top of the hill for a long time to come."

Yes, perfect. Very, very good article. Gee, I didn't see us mentioned at all in that article.

"If one thing is certain about WKU's future in C-USA, it's that it should be on top of the hill for a long time to come."

Damn! one would think I wrote that article, you know, using some CBSsports.com guy as a ghost writer. Wink, wink.

Only, I didn't. I am 100% exonerated. Once again we see that dawg80 is smack on point, ahead of the curve. While a certain poster lives in la-la land in total denial.

[Bearpaw]

Yes, perfect. Very, very good article. Gee, I didn't see us mentioned at all in that article.

"If one thing is certain about WKU's future in C-USA, it's that it should be on top of the hill for a long time to come."

Damn! one would think I wrote that article, you know, using some CBSsports.com guy as a ghost writer. Wink, wink.

Only, I didn't. I am 100% exonerated. Once again we see that dawg80 is smack on point, ahead of the curve. While a certain poster lives in la-la land in total denial.

So, your point is... we should not dismiss WKU as a momentary flash in the pan? If so, what do you suggest we as fans do about it, try to get Coach Holtz to try harder?

[HogDawg]

I'm not even trying to make the case that WKU = Boazy. Although, we don't know what the next 5-7 years might bring. That was not my point.

Point is WKU has won back-to-back conference titles and we have ZERO CUSA titles. So, as I said, we are looking up at them standing on the highest pedestal.

True, La Tech hasn't won a CUSA title, but we're 2-2 vs WKU in head to head games the past 3 years. I don't really think WKU is "ahead" of LA Tech in anything other than CUSA titles. To the contrary, I think LA Tech is "ahead" of WKU on several fronts. Our athletes are better (more get drafted), our facilities are better ($40M invested over the past 3 years) and our crowd support to date has been larger (though not by much) and deeper. The difference has been coaching. I know we say this a lot, but it's very true that Skip Holtz's teams have started a very negative trend of under-achieving in many of the big games.

[Dogsince65]

I heard Barnes was relegated to the practice squad, not cut. If he was cut, he will definitely be picked up--he's been productive in limited action.

read an article ( one day sportsdawg will show me how to link ) from Detroit. Adarius was cut ( needed a defensive end) from main roster and immediately signed to practice squad-- "lions have not given up on Adarius Barnes" was title.

[boxerdog]

read an article ( one day sportsdawg will show me how to link ) from Detroit. Adarius was cut ( needed a defensive end) from main roster and immediately signed to practice squad-- "lions have not given up on Adarius Barnes" was title.

Barnes playing for the Lions tonight.

[champion110]

What is the goal of a G5 team, other than getting into a P5 conference and winning bowls and championships on that level?

I contend that the goal is to represent the school well, gain big time fan support, and become known nationally. That is done by winning, of course, but someone has to see the wins. We have done the winning and are becoming a name team nationally, especially for a G5 program.

The importance of some games are more important than others. Here are the keys:

Win conference championships
Win against P5 teams
Win Bowl games
Win Bowl games against P5 opponents

I honestly believe that us winning the last 3 bowl games on national tv may be more important for our program than winning the conference championship. The biggest win in the past 3 years for us nationally was beating Illinois in the HOD Bowl, second was this year against Navy. THOSE games get our name out there and are national attention grabbers. The New Orleans Bowl was great, but it was a Belt team - not sure, even with the big win, it was that impressive nationally.

Winning a conference championship game on tv is great, but the bigger audience is HOD or Armed Forces Bowl over beating WKU or Marshall on tv.

The next step is to get to a P5 bowl, though, and we have to win the conference championship and get in the top 25 to accomplish that feat. I hope we are able to keep building on the success we have had. Currently, we are known as a CUSA power and I bet the casual football fan 3 states away is not even aware that we haven't won CUSA the last 3 years.

[dawg80]

I understand your points, but you can not dismiss the importance of winning the conference championship. If you go out to market Tech Football as a "product" with national appeal then inevitably the issue of "well, you guys want to be considered as a national presence in CFB, but you're not even the best team in your own conference. Maybe the nation should be addressing WKU instead." Sorry, but you can't simply brush off being the best in your own conference.

I'll say it again....even though some on this forum think it was otherwise....Boazy did not garner the national attention it obtained until AFTER they vanquished Fresno State and inserted themselves as King of the WAC. Yes, Boazy did get some attention in the early years, mostly for being that school with the Smurf Turf, and yes they were recognized as being good and playing exciting football. But it was NOT until after they finally slayed that dragon in the Valley that Boazy became the Boazy many remember now. When was that incredible Fiesta Bowl when they beat OK 43-42? Oh, it was 1/1/2007 after the 2006 season. That's when Boazy became Boazy!!! I'm talking about 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005....get it?

So....point is. If we want to truly be a national name in football, we HAVE to become the kingpins of our conference first.

[collinellis]

True, La Tech hasn't won a CUSA title, but we're 2-2 vs WKU in head to head games the past 3 years. I don't really think WKU is "ahead" of LA Tech in anything other than CUSA titles. To the contrary, I think LA Tech is "ahead" of WKU on several fronts. Our athletes are better (more get drafted), our facilities are better ($40M invested over the past 3 years) and our crowd support to date has been larger (though not by much) and deeper. The difference has been coaching. I know we say this a lot, but it's very true that Skip Holtz's teams have started a very negative trend of under-achieving in many of the big games.

Losing Brohm is going to hurt WKU! He was the best coac in the conference and it wasn't close.