Regardless of record, I just wanted to be able to say, "This team is better than last year". As of now, I can't.

This is pretty much the worst case scenario for MT. Not only will we be confined to C-USA, it's going to be even weaker.

AF rejecting AAC and staying in MW.

This is not at all how I saw this playing out. WSU and OSU have got to be so pissed.

This also kills any chance we would have gotten into the AAC, but probably is the most stabilizing result for the G5

Also a nugget I found elsewhere. The AAC deal for $7m/yr per school ($3.5 for the former CUSA newbies), is through 2031. But apparently there is a look in clause in 2026 which could change things. So who knows.

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Update: Looks like they are going to decline. Big ramifications across the board.

Say goodbye to NMSU and UTEP. Judy probably itching to call Tarleton.

Memphis, USF, and Tulane have been invited to the PAC. Do they stay or go?

If they do I would expect AAC to add Air Force and then maybe do nothing else. Possibly UNLV (but then they would need one more).

MT01 said:

I have a pretty good hunch of what that moment is going to look like. A team's identity is usually set at this point. Which is why I'm just looking for improvement over wins right now.

Any chance this start hurts recruiting? Especially with the guys who already committed.

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I don’t think so. If they come here, they’ll probably start on day one.

MT01 said:

It's never us in this category. Regardless of whether its new coach or whatever it is. I seethe over our "leadership."

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Nothing will improve dramatically until M/M are in the rear view mirror. And throw Daddy Steve in there as well. He could make M/M go with the stroke of a pen.

RaiderDoug said:

5 of them have winning records right now.

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It's never us in this category. Regardless of whether its new coach or whatever it is. I seethe over our "leadership."

I'd also like the pushback on the narrative that turnaround can be quick if the right coach is hired. This is simply nonsense.

Some guys step into perfect situations like when taking over for a legend who has the program rolling - like the new guy at Bama, Ryan Day or Urban Meyer, Lincoln Riley at OU. This was not a perfect situation.

Nick Saban's first years at LSU, Bama, and MSU, his win % is .580. His career win % is .80.
Kirby Smart went 8-5 his first year, Mark Richt was 10-3 and got fired. Smart was actually worse his first year than his predecessor.
Heupel went 7-6 his first year at Tennessee.
Luke Fickell - his first two years coaching at Cincy and Wisconsin he went 8-14.
Matt Rhule won 3 games combined his first year at Temple and Baylor. He won 21 games combined by his 3rd year.

There are 17 new coaches in the G5. Only 5 of them have winning records right now. The 3 new coaches in CUSA are 2-10. Everyone's favorite runner up was Scotty Walden - he is 0-4 with an FCS loss at UTEP.

I know we all live in instant gratification, hot take, tiktok attention span world - but the fact is rebuilding a program takes time. There's no way around it.

MT01 said:

I have a pretty good hunch of what that moment is going to look like. A team's identity is usually set at this point. Which is why I'm just looking for improvement over wins right now.

Any chance this start hurts recruiting? Especially with the guys who already committed.

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For me, it's tough to say.

Frankly, we don't belong on the same field as Ole Miss, Duke, or Memphis right now. Regardless of how the program got to where it is in September 2024 - I just don't believe that we are equipped to do anything but collect our checks when it comes to those games. Those teams will crush a lot of better teams that aren't in complete and total rebuild mode like we are. Those games are complete and total write offs for me.

I was disappointed somewhat in WKU game. On the other hand, we haven't beaten them since 2018, and haven't kept the last 4 games within one score - so it's not like we're any worse than we have been the last few years. And to be honest, the offense at least kept throwing punches. Baby steps.

The schedule is what it is - front loaded with 2 P5 teams both of which have been very successful recently, and a G5 team that is pretty much the best G5 program in the country, and then one of the conferences premier programs in WKU.

This was never going to start well. Nick Saban would open 1-4 with this team and schedule. Every team except TTU was a good football team, some of them are very very good (OM is elite).

The good news is that the remaining schedule after Memphis is 8-18, without Liberty, it's 4-18.

LT is 1-2. NM, FIU, JSU, are all 1-3 just like us. FIU and KSU are 0-3 and 0-4. They're all bad teams. We should expect and demand much better performances vs them.

As for recruiting - bad teams can sell playing time. I do think we need to show some momentum towards the end of the season to sell in the portal and on the trail.

AustinLewis said:

For me, it's not the 1-3 that is concerning.

It's how they got there. Turnovers, injuries, mistakes, lack of explosiveness, play-calling have all concerned me at various points this season. Those struggles aren't a recipe for success for any rebuild.

It's hard not to think of something my coaching football professor said (old school football coach) : Success requires the right schedule, scheme, players, and coaches.

And right now, they didn't have the right schedule & players to run the scheme.

But the roster wasn't in the greatest shape when Mason arrived so it's gonna take some time to rebuild it. And MT is behind. Behind on facilities (Build Blue / SAPC will help) & behind on NIL/coop support. Trying to play catch up from 15 years of athletic mismanagement from people in Cope in 5 years is hard.

It's hard to beat Liberty / WKU when you're behind in ALMOST every possible way.

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Adding to this train of thought :

As much as many MT fans hoped that 2024 would be 6-6 or 7-5, 2024 with CDM is about building for 2025/2026. Schedule is more favorable. CDM gets his recruits, gets most of them redshirted, starts developing them & builds for the future. Same for 2025 class which @Shayne_Pickering is really high on.

2024 also gives CDM a chance to see what he really has under the hood & then hits the portal for some transfers.

AustinLewis said:

For me, it's not the 1-3 that is concerning.

It's how they got there. Turnovers, injuries, mistakes, lack of explosiveness, play-calling have all concerned me at various points this season. Those struggles aren't a recipe for success for any rebuild.

It's hard not to think of something my coaching football professor said (old school football coach) : Success requires the right schedule, scheme, players, and coaches.

And right now, they didn't have the right schedule & players to run the scheme.

But the roster wasn't in the greatest shape when Mason arrived so it's gonna take some time to rebuild it. And MT is behind. Behind on facilities (Build Blue / SAPC will help) & behind on NIL/coop support. Trying to play catch up from 15 years of athletic mismanagement from people in Cope in 5 years is hard.

It's hard to beat Liberty / WKU when you're behind in ALMOST every possible way.

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You stated it better than I've been trying to say it.

RaiderDoug said:

The season isn’t even halfway over and there’s still plenty of time to show all of the things we’re all looking for. Or not.

In a few weeks we can look back with a more accurate assessment as to where we are truly and where we are going.

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I have a pretty good hunch of what that moment is going to look like. A team's identity is usually set at this point. Which is why I'm just looking for improvement over wins right now.

Any chance this start hurts recruiting? Especially with the guys who already committed.

For me, it's not the 1-3 that is concerning.

It's how they got there. Turnovers, injuries, mistakes, lack of explosiveness, play-calling have all concerned me at various points this season. Those struggles aren't a recipe for success for any rebuild.

It's hard not to think of something my coaching football professor said (old school football coach) : Success requires the right schedule, scheme, players, and coaches.

And right now, they didn't have the right schedule & players to run the scheme.

But the roster wasn't in the greatest shape when Mason arrived so it's gonna take some time to rebuild it. And MT is behind. Behind on facilities (Build Blue / SAPC will help) & behind on NIL/coop support. Trying to play catch up from 15 years of athletic mismanagement from people in Cope in 5 years is hard.

It's hard to beat Liberty / WKU when you're behind in ALMOST every possible way.

MTFAN61 said:

Forgot 1 other upcoming opponent team.
Kansas St: #4 seed.
I don't believe Charlie was thinking we would get a victory over any of the above listed opponents outside of GCU. If we could pull off a road upset or 2, ie: Tennessee or Princeton I could see us climbing a couple of spots. Possibly an 8 or 9 seed. Which is unfortunately worse than a 10 seed, IMO.
To get a coveted 6 seed or better I think we would also need a victory over Iowa St or K State. Despite the fact I think we could be better than last year, either of those would be very hard victories to come by.
Normally we're given an 11 or 12 seed ranking as a quality G5. We have to remember prior to the Louisville tournament victory we had lost 10 or 11 consecutive tournament games. Some very badly. My thoughts were the Louisville victory gave us a spot or 2 bump from our typical 11 or 12 seed.

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I'd take it a step further and say they need to go 4-1 against UT, KSU, ISU, Princeton and GCU to make a run at a 6 seed, can't afford a bad loss or even one to a mediocre P5 like Purdue.

Worth noting CBU swept Grand Canyon last year and they play Liberty real early. Given how mediocre C-USA is, we need Liberty to have a good season

Years ago, think it was Bill Parcells who often gets credit for saying "You are what your record says you are". To me, our 1-3 record with mistakes we are making speaks volumes. I don't see us overcoming very much this year unless MT dramatically reduces turnovers and plays sound football on both sides of the ball. We need a few special teams breaks along the way to create momentum. Right now, I wouldn't set an expected win floor or ceiling for 2024. Goals should be focused on basic play execution, enstilling poise whenever adversity is faced, and coaches teaching players make smarter decisions week by week. "Coach speak" is not really credible a barometer at this point as to how far the team is progressing. According to CBS Sports, we're ranked 125 out of 134 FBS teams this week. Proof is in losses to Ole Miss by 49, WKU by 28, and Duke 28--that's 105 points differential in only three games. Almost lost to Tennessee Tech at end of the game had it not been for Omari Kelly's 4th and 5 catch with :31 left and Frank Peasant's subsequent touchdown run...think about it an eyelash away from sitting 0-4. If we can think about winning each quarter and staying disciplined, we'll start to see improvements towards being a competitive team that is more pleasant to watch. Right now, that performance isn't visible and jury is out on Coach DM and Company on whether year one will be a success.

Watching NPF get beat, then get up from all fours and stand there watching Levis get blown up and then walk off the field after he fumbled and there was a scramble right in front of him was certainly something. Mind you the strip sack that happened because of him. He’s been so awful this year and it really sucks but JC Latham has been great

The season isn’t even halfway over and there’s still plenty of time to show all of the things we’re all looking for. Or not.

In a few weeks we can look back with a more accurate assessment as to where we are truly and where we are going.

I couldn't care less about the oilers

MidTennMtneer said:

Try being 3rd generation Cowboys fan.
At this point I don't even care if we win or lose. I just want Jerry to be gone. Fully expecting him to hire Deion next year. Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I'd take the Titans over that.

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Im from Texas. Grew up a Cowboys fan, so I feel your pain. Moved to TN just before Oilers did, so been rolling with them ever since. Dem Boys showing a little life late in this game now!

Try being 3rd generation Cowboys fan.
At this point I don't even care if we win or lose. I just want Jerry to be gone. Fully expecting him to hire Deion next year. Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I'd take the Titans over that.

To be fair to DM I think he has a better chance of not repeating the failed CNM experiment, and I think the strategy already shifted on the offensive side. Whether that’s the right decision or not I don’t know. Looks like DM may be willing to sacrifice philosophy and culture to win games this year but if they can’t even do the basic fundamentals it doesn’t matter what style we play.

It’s too bad Bodie doesn’t have slot bubble screens in his playbook because those would have worked all day the way Duke secondary was playing back.