Can USM win 3 more games?

[Houston Eagle]

It's all going to come down to two things: ability to rush the football and defense. There should be a great crowd next week for the Tech game.

 

[norfolkeagle]

I'm still hanging on to my 6-6 prediction but no bowl.

 

[Eagle Fred]

3 more wins might be tough. The remaining schedule isn't too tough, excluding Marshall, but until I see more consistency I can't pick them to win three more. I do believe it is possible when you look at the remaining schedule, but here's my breakdown.

I think we'll win two straight as we beat La Tech next week at home. (No gimme though). We can beat UTEP but right now I'm included to pick against us in that one. I don't see us beating Marshall. UTSA is one I think we can win but will be tough going out there. And if I'm correct and we're on a two game losing streak, might carry into 3. UAB at home I believe, even though they aren't a bad team this year, should be a win.

I'm going with a either 4-8 or 5-7 as my prediction. And believe me, I consider either of those a success considering how down our program currently is. Monk is moving us in the right direction. It is just taking a bit of time.

 

[shortbob]

I saw the game vs UNT. Our offense and defensive lines seemed to wear down UNT. The few times our qb was pressured it was because the UNT secondary played nickel. QB did great as did our running backs and receivers. One of the two interceptions was a tipped ball. think we will be big underdogs to Marshall, small underdogs to UAB [that series is so unpredictable it is crazy].
The balls bounces our way LaTech, UTEP and UTSA are very winnable.
Our team played well last night. We scored a fg quickly after UNT tied the game at 10 and drove the second half kick off on a six minute drive. There is no lack of desire, grit or pride on this team. A couple of steller recruiting classes and we are back. SMTTT.

 

[EasyEagle]

I said we would win 4 this year. I'll stick with that prediction. Marshall is a sure loss, but you never know what could happen with the rest of the schedule. If the team continues to play with confidence and the coaches stay aggressive...who knows. This conference is so awful, you would think we might be able to win a few more.

This post was edited on 10/19 5:25 PM by EasyEagle

 

[YoungEagle]

I agree with shortbob. Marshall is almost definiely a loss. UAB is probably a loss. The other 3 games are winnable toss-ups. Of course, anything is possible. Best case is 7-5. 6-6 is very doable. This is predicated on the team we fielded last night showing up for the next 5 games!

 

[Dothan Eagle]

I tend to agree regarding Marshall. Not so sure we should concede to UAB.

 

[Pirateswm1]

Glad to see your team starting the climb back up.

 

[Eagle215]

Thanks Pirate fan.

 

[Eagle has landed]

Originally posted by EasyEagle:
I said we would win 4 this year. I'll stick with that prediction. Marshall is a sure loss, but you never know what could happen with the rest of the schedule. If the team continues to play with confidence and the coaches stay aggressive...who knows. This conference is so awful, you would think we might be able to win a few more.


This post was edited on 10/19 5:25 PM by EasyEagle

Actually, you should go look at some of the ratings, we are considered the 6th best conf. (better than the AAC or MWC) by some ranking system. This conference isn't as bad as some want you to believe. There does seem to be quite a bit of parity in the conference outside of Marshall however.

 

[Eagle Force]

What are you smoking? Our conference IS as bad as we think. Evident by any team offered to move to AAC would go in a heartbeat. We are barely above the MAC and Sunbelt.

 

[SoMissFan]

Originally posted by Eagle Force:

What are you smoking? Our conference IS as bad as we think. Evident by any team offered to move to AAC would go in a heartbeat. We are barely above the MAC and Sunbelt.

"Eagle Has Landed" is in the ballpark with his assessment- at least if your referring to football which is what this thread is about. The perception prior to the 2014 season is that the AAC was much better than C-USA. With the exception of ECU and to a lesser degree UCF, the American Conference as a whole looks no better than C-USA. There have been four inter-conference games and C-USA has 3 wins to 1 win for the AAC.

North Texas 43 SMU 6
FAU 50 Tulsa 21
UTSA 27 Houston 7

Memphis 36 Middle Tennessee 17

To give a better understanding of the true quality of the American Conference, check out the progress of the conference so far this season. Once again, ECU is having a great season and UCF is looking decent. Temple is marginal. Beyond that check out the rest of the conference. I'm not saying C-USA is a superior football conference. Just that aside from ECU, UCF, and Marshall there really isn't any significant difference in the on-field performance from either conference.

ECU 5-1
biggest win this season: Virginia Tech. Other wins against North Carolina, SMU, USF and NC Central.
UCF 4-2
biggest win this season: BYU. Other wins against Bethune-Cookman, Houston and Tulane.
Temple 4-2
biggest win this season: Vanderbilt. Other wins against Delaware St., UConn and Tulsa.
Houston 4-3
biggest win this season your pick: Grambling, UNLV, Memphis, Temple
Cincinnati 3-3
biggest win this season your pick: Toledo, Miami-OH or SMU
Memphis 3-3
biggest win this season your pick: Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee, Cincinnati.
USF 3-4
biggest win this season your pick: Western Carolina, UConn or Tulsa
Tulane 2-5
biggest win this season your pick: Southeastern Louisiana or UConn
UConn 1-5
biggest win this season against Stony Brook Sea Wolves
Tulsa 1-6
biggest win this season against Tulane
SMU 0-6
biggest win this season- nobody

 

[SoMissFan]

Originally posted by Dothan Eagle:
I tend to agree regarding Marshall. Not so sure we should concede to UAB.

This conference is very schizo this year. UAB was really looking good early in the year putting 30+ points on the board against Mississippi State. Then they lose to FIU, a team that lost to Bethune-Cookman for the 2nd year in a row. Louisiana Tech has looked fairly decent this season and after whipping North Texas they lose to FCS Northwestern State. With the exception of Marshall, it is hard to tell how any team in this conference will do one week from the next. That actually gives me hope that Southern Miss can still win several games. They certainly seem to be improving which is in their favor.

This post was edited on 10/20 7:04 PM by SoMissFan

 

[Eagle Force]

But regardless of whatever numbers you can throw out there, every member of our conference would jump at the chance to change to the AAC and that is the reality of our conference.

Who cares how good the party is. If everyone leaves for another party, then the second party is definitely the better party.

 

[YoungEagle]

Well said, SoMissFan! Very schizo!

This post was edited on 10/21 12:01 PM by YoungEagle

 

[SouthernFox]

One question with different ways to look at it. What is the better conference? I guess that depends on what you define as better. Conference USA is playing statistically better in football to this point in the season. AAC has better bowl tie ins. And yes, we will accept when the AAC asks us to join right after they lose another member. They want to get to 12 steady members to give their league champion another win and a better shot at getting in the college football playoff.

 

[Eagle Force]

I would like lto think that we would be the next team invited to the AAC but I'm somewhat skeptical that we still are "the next team" with our last two years and this year. Our attractiveness was in our history and strength of our football program. I worry that the last two years may have tainted that view of our program.

 

[SoMissFan]

Originally posted by Eagle Force:
But regardless of whatever numbers you can throw out there, every member of our conference would jump at the chance to change to the AAC and that is the reality of our conference.

Who cares how good the party is. If everyone leaves for another party, then the second party is definitely the better party.

You're correct in the overall sense. What was being talked about earlier was how this conference is doing in football in 2014 compared to the AAC. When all the invites were going out to teams like ECU, Houston, and Tulsa the impression was that the AAC was going to be best non-power conference in college football. With the exception of ECU and UCF, the AAC looks no better than C-USA or the Sun Belt.

But you're right when you say that we would leave in an instant if invited to the AAC. But the reason may no longer be because it's perceived as a superior football conference. The more likely reason is it would allow us to re-connect with our traditional rivalries like ECU, Memphis, and Tulane. It would also be hard to deny that the move would put us in a superior basketball conference with Memphis, UConn, and Cincinnati. However, the basketball program at USM probably stands a much better chance of winning a conference championship in C-USA (and hence an NCAA tournament invite) than they would by competing in the AAC.