Labor Day weekend -- Let's start the NSU game hype!

[PawDawg]

If traveling in from Texas on I-20 also know that I-20 thru Shreveport will jar your teeth out and I-220 still has construction at I-49 interchange and that may slow you a bit.

It's best to put both hands on the wheel and stay on I-20.

[ETxBullDawg]

It's best to put both hands on the wheel and stay on I-20.

Guess you never been down I-20 from state line to Haughton in a motorhome.... I-220 definitely better option. Road so bad thru Shrev/BC that storage compartment doors pop open.... We call it 30 miles of hell.

[PawDawg]

Guess you never been down I-20 from state line to Haughton in a motorhome.... I-220 definitely better option. Road so bad thru Shrev/BC that storage compartment doors pop open.... We call it 30 miles of hell.

Funny! I got the visual Eddie.

[ETxBullDawg]

Funny! I got the visual Eddie.

You are a funny man "Clark" !!! You never cease to amaze me with your wit and humor.

[ForkEmDemons]

We opened 2014 with a road loss at Oklahoma, 48-16, but everyone was encouraged that the offense actually showed a little life. Then we crushed ULALA and UNT in back to back road games. That NSU game, on Sept 20th, was our home opener. We had played UNT on a Thursday, thus we had a couple of extra days rest. You keep talking about our struggles in 2013....but hell!!! do you even know what NSU's W-L records have looked like over that time period!? Try winless one year. One year they beat an NAIA school, and lost EVERY Div I game they played! They did finish 2014 at 6-6. Wins over Southern, Tech, Incarnate Word, Sam Houston State, Abilene Christian & Nicholls State.

I usually go to 2 - 4 of their games every year. It's pathetic! Glorified high school. They announce crowds of 4,000+ But I have been at games when there were no more than 1,000 people in attendance. The level of play is much inferior to what we see on a weekly basis. Everyone keeps saying, Tech will throttle NSU! Win by many TDs! Yep...we should. But then again, we SHOULD have done that in 2014 too. But didn't...

The X Factor that many of you dismiss, and simply don't understand, is how much this means to NSU. One relic does his annual rant about Tech being in the same conference with NSU and the rest of the losers in the SLC. And, how tragic it is that Tech ruined the GREAT tradition that was the annual State Fair Game. I kid you not. Youngsters around here get indoctrinated to hate Tech (and love LSU) early. And even the players, kids from Texas and other states, who know nothing about the history of "the rivalry" get schooled on "Tech is the enemy." I had one young man, who rented from me, a walk-on, who played at Holy Cross HS, who upon learning I was a Rummel Raider said, "well, at least you're not a Tech guy." When I told him I was indeed a Tech Dawg, he recoiled like I had said I had a contagious disease. And that was pre-2014 when we hadn't played NSU in 20 years.

A few of us are behind enemy lines down here.

There is literally nothing in your post aside from the first paragraph that is remotely true.

First NSU at minimum will have between 4,000-5,000 every game. I'll be honest, that number really sucks but our program has been down for a pretty long time at this point. Not much excitement with a team that has struggled and been mismanaged going on a decade. Despite that we have still drawn strong crowd in a decent amount of games (9,000+). I do hope we can right the ship and start drawing regular crowds north of 10,000 soon but we have a LONG way to go in rebuilding the program.

Secondly, despite what you want to think this isn't the biggest game of the year for the Demons. The McNeese game is way more important and means way more for the Demons team and fans. Same with games against Nicholls, SLU, SHSU and SFA. Reason is that we need to win those to win a conference title and have a shot at a national title. Would this win be great? sure, but it isn't the game we have circled on our schedule. It is definitely a game we are looking forward to due to the tradition and proximity of the schools.

The vast majority of us respect the Tech program so it is a good test for us against what should be a very solid Bulldog squad.

I've never seen anyone in Natchitoches care enough about Tech to say anything negative about someone wearing Tech gear. I've seen plenty of people wearing Tech gear throughout the years in Natchitoches and have never seen them get dirty looks or anything. Maybe in the 70's and 80's when the rivalry was strong but those days are long gone and so is any animosity between the two schools.

If anyone was negative to you I would think it would be more because of your "holier than thou" attitude and the fact that you constantly trash NSU more than you being a Tech fan. That wasn't directed to any other Tech fans, just you. I've been to many sporting events at La Tech and have never had a bad experience and have always been treated quite well and respectfully while wearing my NSU gear.

With that said, I will admit I don't like our chances in this game. Our program is at a very low point and we weren't competitive against teams that simply weren't that good the last two years. I think we have talent to be better but the coaching simply hasn't been up to par. We do have some coaching changes which hopefully will give us some improvement.

We play like we did last year and I see Tech running away with the game and scoring 50+. If we have made improvements and the changes have worked then I think there is a good chance we can give you guys an entertaining game.

Look forward to the game in Ruston on Saturday. Best of luck to the Dogs and with the exception of this weekend I hope the Dogs have a successful season with hopefully a nice bowl game at the end.

Fork Em Demons!

[HogDawg]

That particular one (35W) has been under construction what seems like forever.

But 35W doesn't stand between me and getting to Ruston.

[HogDawg]

If traveling in from Texas on I-20 also know that I-20 thru Shreveport will jar your teeth out and I-220 still has construction at I-49 interchange and that may slow you a bit.

So true. I-20 going right thru Shreveport --especially near Indy Stadium-- may be the bumpiest interstate highway in America. A close second is I-20 near Airline Drive in Bossier. I don't know why S-B let that highway get so bad.

[dawg80]

Nope! sorry forkemdemons dude, your post is full of lies, and some half truths. I won't waste time going thru them point for point. But, I will mention one thing.

There are commemorative footballs from the 2014 game all over campus and town. Just about every lawyer has one in their office, as do other businesses. The president's office at NSU has one prominently displayed....or it did as recently as May, 2017 which was the last time I was there. Funny thing, I don't see ANY footballs with scores of McNeese games scattered all over Natchitoches. Why is that? Hmmm....if McNeese is your big rival, the game you care the most about, where are all reminders of NSU victories from years gone by?

The rock near the Student Union was painted with "We Wrecked Tech" after the 2014 game and stayed painted that way for weeks. Curious...NSU beat SHSU, a ranked conference foe that year, but no one cared enough to paint the rock with that news. Why is that?

I could name names and post some of the things they are saying now....not what they said back in the '70's about "the rivalry." But, I won't. Yes, it's true, there is no "rivalry" anymore. The last State Fair Game was in 1987, and this marks only the third time we've played in the past 30 years. The old relics who bemoan the end of the SF tradition are fading away.

BTW, I catch grief on this board for defending NSU on some issues. Especially from Dawg06! Oh well.

[PawDawg]

But 35W doesn't stand between me and getting to Ruston.

Do you travel through Greenville and Hwy 69?

[Blue Dawg]

BTW, I catch grief on this board for defending NSU on some issues. Especially from Dawg06! Oh well.

You come through when it counts

[ForkEmDemons]

Nope! sorry forkemdemons dude, your post is full of lies, and some half truths. I won't waste time going thru them point for point. But, I will mention one thing.

There are commemorative footballs from the 2014 game all over campus and town. Just about every lawyer has one in their office, as do other businesses. The president's office at NSU has one prominently displayed....or it did as recently as May, 2017 which was the last time I was there. Funny thing, I don't see ANY footballs with scores of McNeese games scattered all over Natchitoches. Why is that? Hmmm....if McNeese is your big rival, the game you care the most about, where are all reminders of NSU victories from years gone by? .

We haven't beaten McNeese since 2004 so that may be a reason. We also haven't had sniffed a conference title and have only had 1 winning season since then which would explain the lack of "celebration". In 2004 we indeed had things for that McNeese win and had a video released by the department a few years prior to that.

We have also sold things related to success in other sports (such as NSU basketball defeating Iowa).

The main issue is that the football team has been quite poor since 2004 and there really has been little to celebrate going on 13 years now. We aren't going to have footballs on desks proclaiming a 48-27 loss to McNeese or a 48-16 loss to SHSU. Really, we got our butts kicked last year.

The rock near the Student Union was painted with "We Wrecked Tech" after the 2014 game and stayed painted that way for weeks. Curious...NSU beat SHSU, a ranked conference foe that year, but no one cared enough to paint the rock with that news. Why is that?

It was painted shortly after the Sam Houston game and then again in preperation for the McNeese game and then after the Nicholls game that year

I could name names and post some of the things they are saying now....not what they said back in the '70's about "the rivalry." But, I won't. Yes, it's true, there is no "rivalry" anymore. The last State Fair Game was in 1987, and this marks only the third time we've played in the past 30 years. The old relics who bemoan the end of the SF tradition are fading away.

Agreed, those old rivalries are fading. I personally would like to see NSU and Tech play more. No travel cost and a guarenteed good crowd. I see only positives in continuing to play, though I am aware that it will never be a yearly thing again. I am sure there are some older Demon fans that are getting up for this rivalry and saying things just as I am sure some older Tech fans are doing the same. The game still means something to them. For the majority it simply isn't a "rivalvry" any more, just a game against an in-state team, which is more enjoyable than playing at Troy or North Texas. I do enjoy in-state game whether it is NSU-Tech or ULL-Tulane.

BTW, I catch grief on this board for defending NSU on some issues. Especially from Dawg06! Oh well.

I suppose I should share thanks for the support.

[dawg80]

Good post! keep it classy.

Weather is looking great for tomorrow. Looking forward to a great day of college football. I think "it'll be closer than the experts think" like Lee Corso is fond of saying. But, who really knows? We have struggled against some so-called weaker opponents, like Central Arkansas, and have smoked some pretty good teams, like Western Kentucky 59-10 the year they won a bowl game. At the end of the day, it's just a game.

Safe travels to all.

[ForkEmDemons]

Good post! keep it classy.

Weather is looking great for tomorrow. Looking forward to a great day of college football. I think "it'll be closer than the experts think" like Lee Corso is fond of saying. But, who really knows? We have struggled against some so-called weaker opponents, like Central Arkansas, and have smoked some pretty good teams, like Western Kentucky 59-10 the year they won a bowl game. At the end of the day, it's just a game.

Safe travels to all.

Depends on which team shows up. If we play like we did last year then the Bulldogs will name their score on us and it will be more than over at halftime. (see: every time we have played Baylor, those were UGLY games).

Hopefully we can show up and give the Dogs a game.

Safe travels as well.

[Tech77]

This was a fun atmosphere last time. Good crowd and a good experience until we fell apart and lost the game. Lots of Northwestern fans at the game, and everything was pretty cordial. I think it will be another good atmosphere Saturday, and surely we won't lay another egg. Surely....

[ForkEmDemons]

This was a fun atmosphere last time. Good crowd and a good experience until we fell apart and lost the game. Lots of Northwestern fans at the game, and everything was pretty cordial. I think it will be another good atmosphere Saturday, and surely we won't lay another egg. Surely....

There is always a chance Tech lays another egg....and don't call me Shirley