Battle of the Bulldogs Sept. 9 at The Joe

[70TECHGRAD]

This seems to happen a lot.

Yes, I have seen it several times and we lost every time.

[70TECHGRAD]

HogDawg is CORRECT!!!

[techdawg28]

Oh please. The idea that Holtz doesn't want to win a title or win early games is absurd. Consider who our early season games have been against. NSU aside, our schedules are often front loaded. As it stands for 2017, the only 3 games we aren't favored in are in September. That's just the way it goes. Hopefully this is the year we upset some folks.

Last season he stated in relation to the Arkansas game that we aren't just trying to get a paycheck, we're trying to win. We weren't able to on that occasion, but that doesn't mean he didn't try. IIRC during fall camp he was blaring the Arkansas fight song and crowd noise during practice to get the players used to it. So he certainly wanted to win.

[Houston Techsan]

HD, I've been saying this for years. We need winnable first games to boost our attendance at later games. Why do you think all of the P5s start out with the poor sisters of charity?

[dawg80]

Yep. The overall quality of our first 5 opponents over the past 20 years is significantly better than any other grouping of 5 the rest of the season. It usually includes 1 or 2 P5s on the road. But, that said, it doesn't mean we should just wave a white flag and not try. Unfortunately we need the money from those road P5 games. If/when we get to the point we don't need that money, we can start scheduling more sensibly.

[Docman5]

Oh please. The idea that Holtz doesn't want to win a title or win early games is absurd. Consider who our early season games have been against. NSU aside, our schedules are often front loaded. As it stands for 2017, the only 3 games we aren't favored in are in September. That's just the way it goes. Hopefully this is the year we upset some folks.

Last season he stated in relation to the Arkansas game that we aren't just trying to get a paycheck, we're trying to win. We weren't able to on that occasion, but that doesn't mean he didn't try. IIRC during fall camp he was blaring the Arkansas fight song and crowd noise during practice to get the players used to it. So he certainly wanted to win.

Well said. Unfortunately, we need the money from playing the P-5 teams. It is what G-5 teams do early in the season. The better our team is the closer we get to winning the early games against the P-5 teams. Too bad we can't play the like of Kansas or other bottom dwelling P-5s each season; then we could get the money and get more wins.

[Champ967]

HogDawg is CORRECT!!!

geeeeez -- don't encourage him.

[Houston Techsan]

Well said. Unfortunately, we need the money from playing the P-5 teams. It is what G-5 teams do early in the season. The better our team is the closer we get to winning the early games against the P-5 teams. Too bad we can't play the like of Kansas or other bottom dwelling P-5s each season; then we could get the money and get more wins.

Yeah we did Kansas and Kansas state way back in the eighties and tried again this century. Would have beaten Kansas except for the Higgins and Dixon fumbles at the goal line. Never had a chance with the Snyder Kansas State teams.

[Bearpaw]

Yeah we did Kansas and Kansas state way back in the eighties and tried again this century. Would have beaten Kansas except for the Higgins and Dixon fumbles at the goal line. Never had a chance with the Snyder Kansas State teams.

And in 2006 it was Kansas's Once in a Generation team, they won the Big 12 I believe

Edit: I was wrong, we lost to them in 2005 & 2008, with them winning the Orange Bowl in 2007. They were in bowls between 2005-2008, but dropped below 6-6 AFTER 2008

[kw2292]

Never had a chance with the Snyder Kansas State teams.

Am I dreaming that we took them to 5 or 6 overtimes 2 years ago? I watched the game at a Hotel bar in Medford, OR.

[Bearpaw]

Am I dreaming that we took them to 5 or 6 overtimes 2 years ago? I watched the game at a Hotel bar in Medford, OR.

You are correct, we should have and probably would have won that game, but one of our stars fumbled on a punt return in the 4th quarter when we were trying to put them away. Then, later in the game, 2-3 times we allowed them to convert on either 3rd/4th and very long. That game was ours to lose, I call it a WTF game that year, in the same realm as 2014's ODU, NSU, & Marshall

[HogDawg]

HogDawg is CORRECT!!!

TWSS.

[Built4Speed]

Am I dreaming that we took them to 5 or 6 overtimes 2 years ago? I watched the game at a Hotel bar in Medford, OR.

Triple OT, but yeah. 36-33 final, IIRC. My diehard tigger fan uncle and I were watching at his house in Austin. For good luck, he went and put on a royal blue Polo in the first OT. I still give him crap about how it's bad juju to wear Tech blue when you're an lsu fan.

[BearDawg137]

Here's some interesting facts:
1. the last time we played MSST in the Joe (2008) was the SAME DAY that Skip Holtz beat a ranked Virginia Tech team with ECU (part of CUSA).
2. And Holtz won that game using a special teams punt return touchdown.
3. Todd Finch was also Skip's OC that year
4. Tommy Spangler was our DC in 2008 (better than 2012 seemed; remember 2011's defensive dominance helped us beat Ole Miss and almost beat MSST again, only losing in OT)
5. Frank Scelfo, our OC under Dooley, now coaches UTSA in the same position

I'm confident Holtz can win both SEC games this year. He has on his resume wins against (ECU 2006-09, USF 2010-12, Tech 2013-present):
2005: Duke
2006: Virginia, NCST, SoMiss
2007: UNC, #22 Boise St
2008: #17 Virginia Tech, #8 West Virginia
2009: #18 Houston, #1 FCS Appalachian St, SoMiss
2010: Clemson, Miami(FL), Louisville, Rutgers
2011: #16 Notre Dame, Syracuse
2012: -
2013: SoMiss
2014: SoMiss, Illinois
2015: -
2016: #25 Navy

He's got a decent resume of wins, and I think he'll complete the Carolina Public School trifecta with a win over USCar this year, along with beating MSST at home

[BearDawg137]

Here's some interesting facts:
1. the last time we played MSST in the Joe (2008) was the SAME DAY that Skip Holtz beat a ranked Virginia Tech team with ECU (part of CUSA).
2. And Holtz won that game using a special teams punt return touchdown.
3. Todd Finch was also Skip's OC that year
4. Tommy Spangler was our DC in 2008 (better than 2012 seemed; remember 2011's defensive dominance helped us beat Ole Miss and almost beat MSST again, only losing in OT)
5. Frank Scelfo, our OC under Dooley, now coaches UTSA in the same position

I'm confident Holtz can win both SEC games this year. He has on his resume wins against (ECU 2006-09, USF 2010-12, Tech 2013-present):
2005: Duke
2006: Virginia, NCST, SoMiss
2007: UNC, #22 Boise St
2008: #17 Virginia Tech, #8 West Virginia
2009: #18 Houston, #1 FCS Appalachian St, SoMiss
2010: Clemson, Miami(FL), Louisville, Rutgers
2011: #16 Notre Dame, Syracuse
2012: -
2013: SoMiss
2014: SoMiss, Illinois
2015: -
2016: #25 Navy

He's got a decent resume of wins, and I think he'll complete the Carolina Public School trifecta with a win over USCar this year, along with beating MSST at home

I'll add in some final Sagarin, but it'll make some of the "Money 5" Conference Teams look a bit less impressive

2005: Duke (133)
2006: Virginia (68), NCST (75), SoMiss (52)
2007: UNC (69), #22 Boise St (48)
2008: #17 Virginia Tech (18), #8 West Virginia (26)
2009: #18 Houston (53), #1 FCS Appalachian St (76), SoMiss (77)
2010: Clemson (53), Miami-FL (40), Louisville (51), Rutgers (90)
2011: #16 Notre Dame (26), Syracuse (86)
2012: - (best win Nevada 80)
2013: SoMiss (199; our best win was UTEP at 186, then Lamar at 187)
2014: SoMiss (140), Illinois (83), Rice (69)
2015: - (best win ArkST 78)
2016: WKU (19), #25 Navy (61)

Skip's top 11 wins:
1. #17 VT 2008 (18)
2. WKU 2016 (19)
3. #16 Notre Dame 2011 (26)
3. #8 West Virginia 2008 (26)
5. Miami-FL 2010 (40)
6. #22 Boise St 2007 (48)
7. Louisville 2010 (51)
8. SoMiss 2006 (52)
9. Clemson 2010 (53)
9. #18 Houston 2009 (53)
11. #25 Navy 2016 (51)