Yeah I've seen the same. They're not good ambassadors, but considering how meh the crowd usually is at home (or was, at least; haven't been in a couple years) you deal with it.
Googling "Sam Houston State" in Google News reveals two things: a large uptick in STDs on campus, and a good victory for the football team on Saturday. HBU was just overmatched, but that was to be expected. Probably shouldn't get too big a head from this win. Interesting that Corey Avery didn't play. I hope he'll be able to go against SFA!
I feel like the season hasn't really started yet. Wins over a Division II school, a Lamar team circling the drain and an HBU team that didn't even exist a few years ago. sfa will be our first test. They've played pretty well so far this season. Maybe some of their fans will actually show up to the game this year. I'm predicting a shootout because I still have concerns about our defense giving up big plays. Sam Houston 55 sfa 38
I didn't end up going this week because I just didn't feel like watching us scrimmage a high school team in a high school stadium. I'm glad they held out Avery. There was no reason to play him in this game if he wasn't 100%, especially with SFA this weekend. We will curb stomp the lumberjacks.
Slightly nervous about the Jacks, but think we can pull it out. Was going to go this weekend, but Wife has something planned, so I'll be watching at home with the kiddo (don't feel like bringing a 2 year old by myself - it'll be easier to just watch it on TV).
A work trip ended up getting in the way of being able to go to the game this weekend. What's the crowd split between SHSU/SFA? I think I mentioned it around the time of last year's game, but outside of the first year of the game being at NRG (then Reliant), when SFA had a great team led by Jeremy Moses, the crowd has been overwhelmingly pro-SHSU.
Didn't watch the 1st half but it looks to have been just about perfect. [obligatory joke] SFA has a big (6'6" 250 lb) Conque at qb.
They had a new QB who seemed to be doing well, and replaced Conque in the last game, and started the BOTPW game. Turns out he wasn't that great. They tried using two QBs back and forth, didn't work out for them. Our offense rolled. Only threats now appear to be UCA and possibly McNeese. Keep winning, and they'll end up #2 in the country (unless NDSU falters), and they can play at home until its time to go to Frisco.
Had to miss the game for the first time ever because of a gig but watched the 1st quarter on my phone. Wow. I almost felt sorry for poor sfa. Almost.... Rest of the season is looking pretty good. Like K LoLo says, the only teams that could give us any challenge are UCA and McNeese - and they're both home games. Run the table and get home field throughout the playoffs and then lose to....I mean, play NDSU in Frisco.
I was actually relieved to see that SFA had been flipping QBs leading up to the game and that someone else was going to be splitting time with Conque. Last year, Conque running the read option gave the defense fits at times, so I was a little worried about a repeat.
That was an ugly defensive game this past week against IW. Yeah, we put up 63 and it could've been more...but to give up 48 is indefensible (literally and figuratively) against such an inferior team. As weak as the conference is this season (only Cent. Ark is still in the top 25 other than us at #2), we really need to win the conference to make sure we get in the playoffs and get a seed. Even more, we really need to get in at #2 to avoid NDSU until the championship game. I fear the way the defense has been playing sets us up for one of those down games. That game @ Nicholls on 10/22 could be tougher than it appears.
Part of the problem with our defense is our offense. We're so determined to run "100 plays a game" and go "a million miles an hour" (actual Keeler quotes) that it really makes it hard on our defense. I wish when we got a lead, we would put the brakes on the offense more and eat up clock with our running game. Instead, we're going for broke on every play no matter what the score is and it's not giving our D any time to rest. The Lamar game was the perfect example. One 10-minute drive in the 3rd quarter and that game would have been over. At any rate, all we can do it run the table and hope to maintain our #2 ranking so we don't see NDSU until Frisco. They are the only FCS team that can stop our offense. Until then, we should just get used to winning 63-48 type games, I guess....
I agree with the above to a certain extent, but in the last game, we had over 300 yards of rushing, compared to 200 yards passing. Granted, some of those were big runs (2 50+ yard runs by Corey Avery), but they're not going to just sit on the ball either. TOP was definitely in favor of IW (41:06 to 18:54), but part of that was turnovers too (2 fumbles). I'm OK with the offense, but do agree we can run more once we get ahead. But, defense still has to stop the opposing offenses from getting first downs. I dont think Nicholls is all that scary as they were when they took Georgia to the last minute. They've only won 2 games, and one was OT against SFA, the other a 7 point victory of IW. They lost 38 to 13 against McNeese. I'm still most concerned about McNeese and UCA. But have a lot of confidence in the team. I'll be attending homecoming this weekend in Huntsville.
Yep...looks like we should be #1 when the rankings come out...though I wouldn't be surprised to see NDSU maintain a lot of #1 votes. As long as they stay in a position to remain on the other side of the bracket... #3 Chattanooga lost as well. That leaves The Citadel (who beat Chattanooga) and SHSU as the only 2 undefeated teams left in FCS.
Just some notes on my experience from the game. Parking: I haven't been to Huntsville in a few years (I think 2013, maybe 14) mainly due to schedules and the kiddo. We finally made a trip up there for homecoming. Some of the lanes around the stadium are now one way only (the main road right in front of the coliseum/library and the road that passes the CJ building). Took some getting used to. We also only got there an hour or so before the game, so most parking was taken. But I really didn't see clear signage. Tailgating: It looked like tailgating was up this year. I know it was homecoming, and that's always a bigger draw, but it seemed to be an even bigger deal than normal. There were tailgaters everywhere, not just the "main" area where the alumni association and student services normally goes. In game atmosphere: There were a few new things I saw them doing. First of all, literally everything is sponsored ("That's another Bearkat 'First Financial' First Down!"). Also, they're finally utilizing the video board for more than just live shots and replays. I remember last I went the Board was brand new. They didn't use it much. They had a pretty decent team intro video. They also had a shot of some "traditions" they're trying to get started. Also had the Flex and Kiss cams. Although, the camera crew probably needs some work, but I'm sure its probably students working it. We ended up leaving right before half time. So I don't have much to say about half time or second half, or leaving the stadium. But overall, I got a good feeling about the direction they're heading.
Defense got conservative in the 2nd half which made the score closer than it really was. That seems to be the trend - get up big at halftime, take the foot off the gas (defensively) in the 2nd half. Barring a UH/SMU type blunder, Central Arkansas is the only real challenge standing between us and 11-0 heading into the playoffs. And we have them at home. All playoff games would be at home as well. Things are really shaping up well for this team (knock on wood....)
