How could I have missed this one?
South Dakota State 90 Ark-Pine Bluff 6
The mighty SWAC
I agree the four bowl wins in a row are nice. But, let's be honest here. The majority of college football teams make bowl games in any given season. We were barely bowl eligible last season. Two years ago we faced a third string quarterback and last season SMU's offensive plays were being called by a student. I'm glad we won nonetheless, but it would be nice to be bragging about conference championships. Speaking of recruiting, Holtz is in the perfect spot to recruit players to dominate CUSA. If he could lockdown the I-20 corridor from the Mississippi state line to the Texas state line, heck there is probably enough talent there to win CUSA. I was at Tech during the 1993 and 1994 seasons, so I greatly appreciate how the program has grown. The win totals have increased dramatically, attendance is way up, the facilities are fantastic compared to 25 years ago. But going to bowl games when most teams go to bowl games isn't anything that shouldn't be expected. And, we should win against third string quarterbacks and students calling the plays. Period. I want and lots of others want conference championships. Western Kentucky won a couple with recruiting classes rated no better than ours. Certainly our recruiting base is much better than WKU's, our recruiting classes generally out rank WKU's. The difference may be coaching, that's just a thought. Of course you are correct that things could be much worse, but they could also be much better. It is just human nature to want to experience what's better.
For most fans, Holtz has paid the dues of years gone by of under-achieving and of getting screwed out of bowls. That's why many of us, while wanting more, have been "okay" with the state of the program under Holtz. The 4-bowl streak has been fun, well, the games themselves. Not so much our losing our way into said bowls. They were all consolation prizes. But, okay, we have kind of made up for past missed bowl opportunities, great!
I want more.
Winning conference championships is the goal of every team. Be it the SEC, or CUSA, or whatever! Every team puts on their list of accomplishments, win the conference.
I remember my freshman year in high school, our varsity had a great year. Went 8-2 in the regular season, finishing 2nd to a 9-1 St. Aug. They beat us in a classic game 16-10. We then went deep into the state playoffs, winning several games, before falling in the state semis. We finished 11-3, ranked in the Top 10 in the state. By any measure it had been a good year. That following Monday, as we were turning in equipment, I vividly remember how disappointed some of the guys were, especially the seniors. Several said, "We didn't win anything!" I was surprised by that, so being the good little freshman and trying to cheer them up, I pointed out 11 wins, three playoff wins against some VERY good teams! I was like....come on guys.
"We didn't win the District Championship. We didn't win the State Championship."
We had beaten two district champions among our three playoff wins. I didn't see the big deal. But, I understand better the desire to be crowned a champion of something. For college teams, the conference championship is a huge deal. You are stamping your name on the title of a group of your peers. It is a big deal.
I remember standing in the rain after we dispatched New Mexico State, my holding the other end of Dogswin banner: WAC Champions. The players wanting it.
What about Tulsa, "give the ball to Joe." WAC Champions.
It is a big deal.
I was sitting with my dad in our Frogg Toggs at that NMST game. One of my most fond memories at a Tech game. I too want more celebrations like that, especially while 3 generations are together to watch now.
That's it! 99% of the people who post on this board remember it being much worse than it is now. We waited a generation to get into CUSA, now we are here. It would seem we have everything needed to win it. Better facilities, better recruits, more folks in attendance and a President who cares about athletics. All things, by the way, most of us didn't have when we were students.
Let's be conference champs. Hell if we beat the Tigers along the way I'm cool with that too!
The CUSA we are in now is the Sunbelt we did not want in.
Gone are Memphis, SMU, Tulsa, TCU, and many others who were once our peers. Now North Texas, Middle and Western are our peers.
Thanks to Dan Reneau for focusing on WBB while ignoring MBB and Football for 15 years.
Don't want to go too far down memory lane here, but to be honest, I don't remember Stovall's tenure all that much. The only thing I remember is the video of him hugging JRP after the Colorado State game.
Is it because Stovall is a big LSU guy that everyone was just looking for reasons to hate him?