Well we know who the top team in the state is now...by far. can we say we are even number 2?
Well we know who the top team in the state is now...by far. can we say we are even number 2?
I hate to say it, but no we are not....
Man! Good question! I don't think any team is worthy of being #2 in the state. I guess you would have to go with Tulane because of their fine win over ULM. I would rank them like this:
1. LSU
2. Tulane
3. Evangel Christian
4. Tech
5. McNeese
6. Northwestern
7. UL-L
8. John Curtis
9. Airline (loss to WM was a fluke)
10. UL-M
11. Grambling
12. Southern
Am I leaving anyone out?
we can not even see #2 :-(Originally Posted by Screenname
LSU is the top cat, Tulane 2nd, MSU, ULL, ULM and Tech in a distant third.
Tulane is now 5-3, and the Wave need just two more wins to get bowl eligible. They will definitely beat Navy, but after that it's iffy.
I'd rank Louisiana D-1 schools like this as of now.
1. LSU (No doubt)
2. Tulane (They seem to get better every game)
3. McNeese St. (They could give two-thirds of D1-A teams a heck of a fight. The ONLY reason this program can't be 1-A is inconsistent fan support)
4. Northwestern St.(Same for the Demons)
5. Louisiana Tech (OUCH! This team had so much promise)
6. UL-Lafayette (Tough road so far, but I'm convinced the blowout of UAB and close loss to New Mexico St. are signs of better things to come)
7. ULM (Playing much better since Keasler is gone. They might win four games this year)
8. Grambling St. (Looks like they're well on their way to another black college title. Still can't hang with "white" D1-AAs)
9. Nicholls St. (Another bad year for the Colonels)
10. Southern (Headed for worst season ever under Pete Richardson)
According to the Sagarin computer ratings (through games played 10/19/02), McNeese State is #2 in the state:
LSU (#7)
McNeese State (#75)
Tulane (#77)
Tech (#97)
Northwestern (#121)
UL-L (#122)
Grambling (#145)
Nicholls State (#147)
UL-M (#151)
Southern (#200)
Buddy,
You better watch out or you'll get a rep for knowing what you're talking about. What's really spooky is seeing McNeese 22 spots above Tech. It's also hard to believe Tech's 2-5 and Nicholls is 6-2.
To make things even worse, the Bulldogs are, to put it very kindly, trending down.
The only piece of good news I could find is that there are no more winless teams on the schedule and, with luck, no more freshmen QB's starting their first ever college game.
By the by, does any one know how many Tech folks showed up for the game? It seemed at least half the crowd (14K+ :?: -and folks say Tech pads attendance.) was over on Tech's side of the field.
Depressed Dallas Dawg
McNeese isn't any good---ULM almost beat them and they were blown-out by the only decent team they played (Nebraska). Being 6-2 and still ranked #75 doesn't speak highly of your schedule. That being said, it is hard to rank anyone other than LSU above them because at least they know how to schedule games they can win!
<<. McNeese St. (They could give two-thirds of D1-A teams a heck of a fight. The ONLY reason this program can't be 1-A is inconsistent fan support)>>
I hesitate to even say it because McNeese going IA is not something I support, but McNeese has more consistent and better fan support than most teams that have gone from IAA to IA have had. I believe their worst average attendance over the past 10 years has been around 12,000 per game. They were down to 12,379 in 2000 but they had two home games under really horrible cold/wet weather conditions. They had 14,280 in 2001 and are at 17,580 so far in 2002. And all that's a hard turnstyle count rather than a "paid attendance" thing. When you see They wouldn't have far to go in terms of the attendance requirement if they DID opt to try IA...which I hope they don't.
Of course ANY lower level team is going to have problems if it doesn't win some games. It's always a risk. But when you compare where McNeese is now to where most other IAA programs were when they switched to IA McNeese is in relatively good position.
<<McNeese isn't any good---ULM almost beat them and they were blown-out by the only decent team they played (Nebraska). Being 6-2 and still ranked #75 doesn't speak highly of your schedule. That being said, it is hard to rank anyone other than LSU above them because at least they know how to schedule games they can win! >>
McNeese is good for what they are...a IAA team. They're 6-1 (not 6-2) against what has generally been regarded as the toughest schedule at their level in the country (may not be true by power ratings...haven't checked...but it'll be up there among IAAs).
I understand the perception based on the narrow 24-19 win over ULM. It was the first instance of something that worries me as a McNeese fan...totally dominating a game physically yet barely winning. They had 22 first downs to ULM's 11, 329 rushing yards to ULM's 35, and 443 total yards to ULM's 287...yet they found themselves clinging to a 5 point lead and pinned back inside their own five yard line in serious jeapordy of losing the game with around 3 mintues left.
Same basic thing happened to them last night against Jacksonville State. They outrushed the opponent 292 to 111 and outgained them 433 to 219 in total yards yet had to get a fourth down sack around midfield with two minutes left in order to finally breath easy in a 28-20 nail biter.
That underacheiving on the scoreboard will get them if it continues.
I wouldn't have said this a month ago but right now I'd have to give the nod to Tulane.
I have seen all these teams play so this list is the only one needing to be looked at.
lol.
1. LSU
2. Tulane
3. McNeese
4. Tech
5. ULL
6. Northwestern
7. UL-M
11. Grambling
12. Southern