Jump to content

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

BSUTOP25

Honest assessment on where your football program is with strengths and weaknesses

Recommended Posts

21 minutes ago, Greedy Reb said:

This is very fair and honest. It doesn't list what is honestly the biggest weakness of practically every program in the MW; location and city size. This puts a cap on how great almost all programs in the MW can become. 

The West and the South are growing.  If adding decent Texas teams ever becomes an option, the MWC would cover some nice real estate.

State Population In 1980:

California 23.67 million

Connecticut 3.11 million

Colorado 2.81 million

Illinois: 11.43 million

New Mexico: 1.30 million

Nevada 0.80 million

Texas 14.23 million

Utah 1.46 million

State Population In 2000:

California 33.99 million

Connecticut 3.41 million

Colorado 4.33 million

Illinois: 12.43 million

New Mexico: 1.82 million

Nevada 2.02 million

Texas 14.23 million

Utah 2.25 million

State Population in 2014

California 38.80 million

Connecticut 3.60 million

Colorado 5.36 million

Illinois: 12.88 million

Nevada 2.84 million

New Mexico: 2.09 million

Texas 26.96 million

Utah 2.94 million

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, WindowCoug said:

The West and the South are growing.  If adding decent Texas teams ever becomes an option, the MWC would cover some nice real estate.

State Population In 1980:

California 23.67 million

Connecticut 3.11 million

Colorado 2.81 million

Illinois: 11.43 million

New Mexico: 1.30 million

Nevada 0.80 million

Texas 14.23 million

Utah 1.46 million

State Population In 2000:

California 33.99 million

Connecticut 3.41 million

Colorado 4.33 million

Illinois: 12.43 million

New Mexico: 1.82 million

Nevada 2.02 million

Texas 14.23 20.85 million

Utah 2.25 million

State Population in 2014

California 38.80 million

Connecticut 3.60 million

Colorado 5.36 million

Illinois: 12.88 million

Nevada 2.84 million

New Mexico: 2.09 million

Texas 26.96 million

Utah 2.94 million

Corrected the 2000 Texas figure for you. Looks like you carried over the 1980 number.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Rampage said:

CSU

CSU Strengths

Recruiting talent, New stadium opens next year, offensive line talent, qb talent, receiver talent, rb talent. 

CSU Weaknesses

Head coaching, coaching adjustments on both sides of the ball, coach play-calling, Bobo does not defer if he wins the coin toss, defensive coaching, defensive talent, too many college teams in the location - Wyo, CU, AFA. Wyo and AFA should drop down a division B).

CSU Weakness - it sucks to be a CSU ram.

We'll consider dropping down a division once CSU can consistently beat us because then we will be in a very sad state of affairs. 

Union.jpg.6989c32e721d578d3952602294d1af90.jpgCampus500x283.jpg.208ead7433af78ce44bb775b8561f0c7.jpg

                                Snowies.jpg.8548e47a8f188d64d1a93ecde4744b11.jpgIMG_1401.JPG.cfa8ec5eeb3ac75f090d8d5e59dd0805.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll take a stab at doing one for UNM with more of an emphasis on players. I think everyone knows the limitations facing the program as a whole. We're lucky to produce 6 D1 caliber athletes in football per year in the entire state. The school is facing massive budget issues as the result of poor oil and gas revenues. There is real potential to develop the fan base and to have 35-40K show up to games. The problem is that because of a lack of history and tradition the majority of the fans are fickle and of the bandwagon variety. 

STRENGTHS

  • Bob Davie overseeing the program- I had my doubts, but he's done an amazing job of bringing the program back to respectability. Happy to eat crow on this one. 
  • Running backs- UNM has two 3 star kids coming off redshirt in addition to 1000 yard RB Owens returning and experienced upperclassmen like McQuarley, Woodhouse and Chestnut. Should be stacked despite the loss of Gipson. 
  • WR position- Seems strange for an option team, but true.Q' Drennan is the real deal. Pair him with 6'4 220 pound Hart-Johnson (forced to redshirt because of injury this year), Harris, and Patrick Reed and you have a decent core of returning players. You also have 3 star Anselem Umeh (I believe he redshirted this year.)
  • O-line (team returns its starting C, RG, and RT). Should be enough roster talent to compete and replace LT and LG with the youngs or move guys over.
  • LB Corp Alex Hart is going to be a monster. Kimmi Carson plays very well when he plays under control. Boatright and Ocasio are also returning contributors. Look for Juco Evahelotu Tohi to get some run too. 
  • Kicker. Jason Sanders has the potential to kick at the next level.

WEAKNESSES 

  • Kevin Cosgrove- Not a fan of his defensive scheme. Undersized CB's playing 10 yards off the LOS against 6'4 receivers= no bueno
  • Ability to pass when teams load the box. LJ has improved a little in passing the ball, but if teams are disciplined in playing assignment football against the option, they can load up the box and we don't make teams pay for it consistently. 
  • D-line- we lose Cox and Udeh. Difficult to recruit talented defensive lineman to Albuquerque. Look forward to seeing Saltes come off red-shirt. UNM needs him to be a stud.
  • CB- We've been small and weak at CB for most of Davie's tenure. It makes it worse that Cosgrove puts them on an island and that we lack edge pass rushers. UNM does have some bigger kids coming in as Jucos and coming off red-shirts.
  • TE- Gautche did an excellent job as a blocker, but never emerged as a receiving threat. Part of it was the staff not wanting to expose him to another concussion. He's gone. They have a two star kid behind him that I really don't know a lot about. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, PTR said:

Kevin Cosgrove- Not a fan of his defensive scheme. Undersized CB's playing 10 yards off the LOS against 6'4 receivers= no bueno

Wanna trade DC's? I think ours had our D convinced your RB's were some kind of alien lifeforms with ebola and just told 'em to stay away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, 307dude said:

Wanna trade DC's? I think ours had our D convinced your RB's were some kind of alien lifeforms with ebola and just told 'em to stay away.

He is right, as bad as Stanard is, Cosgrove is terrible.  Neither have any business being DCs.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, sactowndog said:

Strengths: 

culture of success: Fresno expects to compete in a gritty blue collar manner. 

Location: the valley has a number of solid 3 star recruits.  Lots of good recruiting and central to the state means parents can drive from most major population centers.

Competition: Fresno State represents the Fresno area and owns it from all affinity studies.  They have some money from Ag coming into the program.

Weaknesses:

DMA structure: the Fresno Visalia DMA is geographically tiny.  It could easily stretch from Bakersfield to Modesto and be one valley DMA.   But Fresno had no political pull and Bakersfield is independent and Modesto is part of Sac Stockton even though it's not a delta city and has no Ag presence.  

CA Ed plan: the current plan prevents Fresno from offering doctoral degrees in applied fields like Ag, Engineering and Petrochemical.   This structure inhibits growing the Academic Reputation.  It also prevents high level graduates from funding and endowing the school.

Current Program State: DeRuyter seriously damaged the program.   The talent and scholarship count is well below par.   Teddy will have to rebuild it.

Opportunities:

New Pres and AD: Welty and Boeh were horrible for the program.   Castro seems to have a strong vision and desire to grow the school both athletically and academically.   Whether Bartko can judge coaching talent remains to be seen.   

SDSU Model: SDSU showed the model and Castro has the connections to establish the joint doctoral programs the valley needs.  

New Stadium Upgrade: if Fresno can complete the Stadium upgrade it will improve the game day experience which is marginal today.

Threats:

Funding: the funding model in the MWC is very unstable making it hard to maintain a program and keep coaches

Valley economics: the trend of the poor getting poorer hits the valley hard.   Fresno needs a middle class rebound so people have money to spend on sporting events.

Current Turmoil: The DeRuyter years could have had a permanent effect.   Basketball has yet to recover from the bad years after Grant and Tarkanian.   Let's hope the casual fans can be brought back to the Stadium. 

This is pretty spot on. 

BDS.jpeg.b92a1351cc7ee6a0de0c311059007356.jpeg

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Jwherb said:

Wanted to add:

Boise State Weakness

Running the read-pass option with Rypien.  It just gums up the plays, and gives Rypien too much to try to process before the play is either blown up, or he has to adjust to reading the secondary before throwing a pick.  So long as we continue to insist on playing an inherently indecisive style of offense, we will suffer.

The only thing wrong with BSU's offense is the person playing QB.  He does not have the decision making ability to be consistent at the most important responsibility of a QB which is to limit turnovers.   Rypien is so bad BSU has had to run the ball against 9 man fronts all of 2016 because Rypien cannot handle throwing the ball to the 3 best receivers in the MWC without throwing turnovers.

The guy is horrible and BSU will lose 3 games every year he is the starter.

BSU had the most talent on offense that BSU has ever in its history had.  2 Wide receivers one with super NFL talent, one that runs perfect route's and a runningback who would be the best receiver on any other team in the MWC.  An offensive line that dominated in pass blocking.  Several very good tight ends.   Rypien with all this talent at his disposal still lost 3 games with his turnovers and should have lost to BYU and Washington State.   

Rypien cannot throw the ball safely against a defense stacking the box to stop the run.  That pretty much says it all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, bluerules009 said:

The only thing wrong with BSU's offense is the person playing QB.  He does not have the decision making ability to be consistent at the most important responsibility of a QB which is to limit turnovers.   Rypien is so bad BSU has had to run the ball against 9 man fronts all of 2016 because Rypien cannot handle throwing the ball to the 3 best receivers in the MWC without throwing turnovers.

The guy is horrible and BSU will lose 3 games every year he is the starter.

BSU had the most talent on offense that BSU has ever in its history had.  2 Wide receivers one with super NFL talent, one that runs perfect route's and a runningback who would be the best receiver on any other team in the MWC.  An offensive line that dominated in pass blocking.  Several very good tight ends.   Rypien with all this talent at his disposal still lost 3 games with his turnovers and should have lost to BYU and Washington State.   

Rypien cannot throw the ball safely against a defense stacking the box to stop the run.  That pretty much says it all.

Stop.

Drinking.

Insecticide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More or less looking at next years team.
Wyoming's Strengths: 

Wyoming economy - should see improvement after a declining energy sector the last couple years, especially important as state derives significant tax revenue from energy.  
Head Coach - no HC has done more with less as quick as he has.  Program is definitely on the upswing and getting good solid recruits.  
QB - obviously will be the strength of the offense next year. 
Running game - although may not be as proficient next year, will still be a big part of regular game plan.
Defense - YES, defense. Next year Pokes defense will be significantly improved imo.  This year their offense jumped up, next year the D will.

Weaknesses:

Obviously being in least populated state makes recruiting more challenging than anywhere else. 
Playing on the road - Pokes definitely were not same team on road as they were at home. 
Offensive and defensive coordinators - Offensively Pokes got bogged down in games and keep trying to do the same things and forced Josh Allen to have to make huge plays every series.      Defensively they had huge lapses, the NM and UNLV games were good examples.  
Depth - Pokes have had to rely on a lot of younger players due to injuries, next year won't be much different.

Question marks:

Running backs - Losing 2 top starters, the new guys coming in may be good overall but can't expect Brian Hill numbers.
Offensive line - I expect good improvement here but not sure enough to count as a strength yet.
Receivers - losing top 3 receivers, but a slew of younger receivers with good speed, have to see how they step up.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SDSU:

Strengths-

     1) Location, location, location. Close to fertile recruiting grounds. Not real tough to recruit a kid to SD.

     2) HC. RL has done a nice job of bringing a toughness to our program that probably disappeared after the firing of Claude Gilbert way back in the days when my hair was blonde rather than gray.

     3) Belief in our system.  We know who we are and what we do. We know we are going to run the rock and play ground and pound. Any system can be successful, but getting your program to embrace whatever your system is can be a challenge. It appears that the players at SDSU have bought in to this system.

 

Weaknesses:

1) Not having an on campus stadium.

2)  Playing in Qualcomm. The stadium was great in the days of my youth (60's and 70s), but with the stadium expansion, the game day atmosphere is just not there anymore. Now if SDSU West ever becomes a reality.....

3) WR: I was spoiled growing up in the days of Don Coryell when we were literally the only school in the country that threw the ball first, second and third, and then threw it some more. To see how pedestrian we have become at this position is alarming to this old fart.

4) QB: might catch some heat for this one, but I'm not sold on Christian Chapman. I know all he has done since taking the reigns is win. I think he's 12-3 as a starter, but I want to see more of an aerial threat in our package. Again, I grew up watching Dennis Shaw, Brian Sipe and Jesse Freitas and the original Air Coryell, so perhaps my view is skewed. I'll be interested to see how Chapman continues to develop, but right now, I have my questions.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, bluerules009 said:

Rypien is so bad BSU has had to run the ball against 9 man fronts all of 2016 because Rypien cannot handle throwing the ball to the 3 best receivers in the MWC without throwing turnovers

This is very likely complete horseshit. Please provide a specific instance when this happened. 

9 hours ago, bluerules009 said:

2 Wide receivers one with super NFL talent, one that runs perfect route's and a runningback who would be the best receiver on any other team in the MWC.

If Michael Gallup, Tanner Gentry and Jalen Robinette read this at the time you typed it, they would still be laughing, nine hours later. 

If we plucked some poor goat herder out of Inner Mongolia and made him start watching football last week for the first time in his life, he'd already have a better grasp on the game than you. Go back to the mountain and sticking needles in your Chris Ault voodoo doll, old man.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/28/2016 at 9:15 AM, happycamper said:

For Wyoming -

Strengths:

Only game in town. You mention this for Boise State but Wyoming is the only game in Laramie, in Cheyenne, in Casper... etc. It's also the only university at any level and only high level sports in the state. It will be supported by the legislature and the vast majority of college educated Wyomingites have a degree from UW. You could say, I suppose, that we have a very firm foundation of support. 

Right now, good coaching hire. We picked the right guy for the job at the right time. The system fits what we can recruit and it also matches up well against what the big boys want to recruit - we're getting the power backs and big blocking fullbacks at a higher talent level than you'd think because, say, Oklahoma State just doesn't have the scheme to use those players. 

Decent recruiting base when we choose to use it. Wyoming is a good destination for kids from Nebraska, from Minnesota, from Colorado, and from the rest of the midwest who maybe aren't quite good enough for NU or CU in high school but have a lot of potential and still want to play football. A well coached team of "good enough to be recruited as a walk on at local big 10 U" is a pretty good team. 

Weaknesses:

We're not sexy. That might and can change very quickly, but we don't have BSU's swagger or SDSU's nice location. 

Only game in a little town. Yeah, we get a large percentage of Wyoming, but that is still a small pond to draw from.

We're one coaching hire from disaster. We saw this with "salt the fields and leave them barren" Dimel and we struggled for decades to recover. Frankly if we had gotten Joe Glenn right after Tiller (if the time frame had changed) we would have been fine. We need a really good coach to perk us up at least a couple years a decade or we really drop off. What exacerbates this is we can get a good coach who leaves an excellent foundation that others (cough dimel cough) can't lose with. It makes it very hard to judge how good the coaches are at the moment (Like DC winning with Glenn's D and his O recruits, until Glenn's D was gone). 

Also... Rypien never had an opportunity to lead a comeback drive against Wyoming. We safetied, got the ball back, and then ran out the clock. He did have a chance to ice the game with that last drive though and totally failed. 

So this is a bit of a "meta" SWOT analysis, rather than a direct-impact, next few seasons sort of assessment.

One thing I definitely take exception with is the "We're not sexy." weakness. It's all in how it's sold. As a college town, Wyoming is one of the tops in the country, and when it comes to selling prospective students and student-athletes, it should be front and center. Fact is, Laramie and FoCo are about the only true "college towns" in the conference. Every other MWC city, the school is an afterthought. Few things are "sexier" than being unique and number one. Compared to every other MW school, winning teams in Laramie will always have the shortest route to whatever "sexy" is. Laramie's come a long way over the past twenty years- a pretty vibrant downtown bar scene, great athletic facilities made greater, with the HAPC on the horizon. Next up, big project will be residences.

The real weakness of Laramie is twofold- weather and remoteness. We are almost two hours from a major international airport. And the weather isn't for everyone (although I would argue it really boosts indoor "recreation" among our students. Hell, if you are between the ages of 18 and 30 and can't get laid in Laramie, you're living in a cloister.), but it's kind of the swap for a lot of beauty and postcard-worthy landscapes. And any non-Laramie native student who hasn't stuck around for a Laramie Summer is missing out on the payoff.

Outdoor activities, from mountain biking to rock-climbing, from snowshoeing to skiing and boarding, have never been as "sexy" as they are now, and the Front Range offers all of that in spades.

A small, picturesque town, a school with a party reputation, outdoor activities, one of the most unique University settings in America, these all add up to a definite kind of sexy in many a young person's perspective. Add in winning programs and you've got a brand that's hard to beat. 

Image result for h.l. mencken quotes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, 307dude said:

This is very likely complete horseshit. Please provide a specific instance when this happened.    Did you watch the Wyoming?BSU game retard?  There were very few snaps in that game Wyoming wasn't committing both safety's to the run game.   This is completely funny, morons like you can watch games and not even observe what is happening.  HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

If Michael Gallup, Tanner Gentry and Jalen Robinette read this at the time you typed it, they would still be laughing, nine hours later.   The truth hurts and those 3 aren't even close.

If we plucked some poor goat herder out of Inner Mongolia and made him start watching football last week for the first time in his life, he'd already have a better grasp on the game than you. Go back to the mountain and sticking needles in your Chris Ault voodoo doll, old man.  You are a complete retard.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, bluerules009 said:

Did you watch the Wyoming?BSU game retard?  There were very few snaps in that game Wyoming wasn't committing a safety to the run game.

You mean the Wyoming/BSU game where Rypien went 22-35 for 295 yards with a 127.94 rating? Yeah, clearly worst QB ever!!!

8 minutes ago, bluerules009 said:

The truth hurts and those 3 aren't even close.

I also doubt they're all friends. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, bluerules009 said:

1 interception led to TD, 1 fumble led to TD, 1 safety that won the game for wyoming

 

How is the safety not partially on his OL (and I'd never expect you to give any credit at all to Chase Appleby, our NT)? He also caught a TD pass, but you weren't going to mention that, either, were you?

You have a good day. Give 'em hell at the next weed & pest abatement board meeting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/28/2016 at 1:53 PM, retrofade said:

Strengths

We have a competent head coach for the first time in years. We're young and do still have some talented, but poorly coached, players.

Higher profile donors are coming back to the program in droves compared to the end of Hill's tenure, and during the debacle that was DeRuyter. Our stadium upgrade is on target, and will be a very good recruiting tool. We still have name and brand recognition both for the program and for the head coach. Good assistant coaches with ties to the area and program, who are also known to be good recruiters have been brought on board. 

Our academics have never been better than they are right now. We were upgraded to a National/Doctoral university with News & World Report as well as Carnegie in the last year. We have a President with a vision for significantly improving our academic standing and image, as well as to bring our athletics to another level. We also have a competent Athletic Director who is similarly dedicated to taking our athletic department above and beyond what it has been in the past. 

Weaknesses

We suck. We're significantly depleted due to our coaching staff sucking ass for the last few years, players being dismissed for idiotic reasons, and players leaving on their own. Additionally. the players that we do have weren't developed properly during DeRuyter's time running the program, and it shows. 

There are remaining concerns with Tedford's long-term health, and I'm concerned about him being a retread whose best coaching years may be behind him. 

Good take retro...having hit rock bottom presents both our weakness (no depth and marginal talent, at best, roster-wide) and our strength (brought needed change, knowledge of what Bulldog football has been and needs to be again, has opened wallets, renewed recruiting connections, etc.)

Still expect another tough year or two...but my sense is that we're on the mend...honestly, been a bizarre year for someone like me that's been close to the program for a long time and have never seen such a flat-lining in so many aspects...but I honestly knew we were 100% screwed when I sat there stewing as we played a shit FCS like Sac State pretty much even for the better part of the entire game......CTD can go to hell (yeah, I'm definitely not over it yet).     

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...