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FOOTBALL Hawaii Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs San Diego State (ESPN), 7PM (CT), Saturday, December 24, 2022

If CUSA loses bowls they need to get rid of one from the Bahamas or Hawaii bowls. The fact we’re tied to both is rough but essentially saying we’re losing bowl games in the future means we HAVE to get rid of one of those.
 
For comparison bowl locations this year:

CUSA:
Bahamas
Florida
Alabama
Texas
Louisiana
Hawaii

MAC:
Bahamas
Idaho
Florida
Michigan
Alabama
Arizona

SBC:
Florida
Alabama x4
South Carolina
Louisiana x2

AAC:
Massachusetts
New Mexico
Louisiana
Texas x2
Alabama
Maryland
 
If CUSA loses bowls they need to get rid of one from the Bahamas or Hawaii bowls. The fact we’re tied to both is rough but essentially saying we’re losing bowl games in the future means we HAVE to get rid of one of those.
I agree. Some things CM said made sense. I get not wanting Rice to go because the island bowls are always announced first/early, and Rice hadn't been confirmed for an APR waiver or if it was even needed due to Buffalo.

I dont get letting UNT have a bowl in Texas. Screw them over for leaving. But again, they had a shot at conf title and Hawaii couldn't wait that long to announce. I do 100% agree with UTSA against Troy. Always think a champ should play a champ. And NO picking WKU. Don't get that either. But it does seem like Hawaii was it, and if we said no we risked no bowl at all.

But having ties to the two islands creates an issue like this having to be announced so early. I absolutely think they should drop one and grab a mainland.

I would go after Mobile and Montgomery, Florida, Louisiana, something in Texas or even New Mexico, and one of the islands. Try to keep it in the conference footprint.
 
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I agree. Some things CM said made sense. I get not wanting Rice to go because the island bowls are always announced first/early, and Rice hadn't been confirmed for an APR waiver or if it was even needed due to Buffalo.

I dont get letting UNT have a bowl in Texas. Screw them over for leaving. But again, they had a shot at conf title and Hawaii couldn't wait that long to announce. I do 100% agree with UTSA against Troy. Always think a champ should play a champ. And NO picking WKU. Don't get that either. But it does seem like Hawaii was it, and if we said no we risked no bowl at all.

But having ties to the two islands creates an issue like this having to be announced so early. I absolutely think they should drop one and grab a mainland.

I would go after Mobile and Montgomery, Florida, Louisiana, something in Texas or even New Mexico, and one of the islands. Try to keep it in the conference footprint.
I’d imagine we go to 5 maybe 6 tie ins and if we have more they go into the pool for bowl slots. I’d say these would be my choices for CUSA4.0 if it were up to me.

Myrtle Beach Bowl (good location for Liberty/ksu)

Hawaii Bowl (if we keep one island bowl, this one has a higher payout and no tv competition on that day)

Cure Bowl (keep CUSA Champ vs either MAC/SBC Champ)

Frisco Bowl (good for our western friends)

New Orleans Bowl (Central location for everyone)

If we were to go to 6 I’d get the Camellia Bowl. Another central location and perfect sized stadium for a G5 game.
 
I think we should keep the island bowls.

I get some folks are complaining that it's hard to go to them - but we can't even get fans to show up in Murfreesboro - so it's not like we'd bring hordes to.....Shreveport or wherever. I'm not going. I wouldn't support a Stockstill-led program if they played in my front yard. I highly doubt we'd have a bunch of fans going anywhere to support this staff.

The island bowls are one of the few actual bowl destinations that would stand out to me if I was a college kid.

This could sell on the recruiting trail: "Come play in CUSA and you got a shot for a free trip to Hawaii or Bahamas - sure beats Boston or Idaho in December, right?".
 
I think we should keep the island bowls.

I get some folks are complaining that it's hard to go to them - but we can't even get fans to show up in Murfreesboro - so it's not like we'd bring hordes to.....Shreveport or wherever. I'm not going. I wouldn't support a Stockstill-led program if they played in my front yard. I highly doubt we'd have a bunch of fans going anywhere to support this staff.

The island bowls are one of the few actual bowl destinations that would stand out to me if I was a college kid.

This could sell on the recruiting trail: "Come play in CUSA and you got a shot for a free trip to Hawaii or Bahamas - sure beats Boston or Idaho in December, right?".
I some what agree but you’re also looking in the short term imo. What happens if we do finally win a championship or just have a good 9-3 season? We end up in the Bahamas/Hawaii and ruin any enthusiasm our fans have. I would attend a bowl game if it were within an 8-10 hour drive. I can assure you one thing, we’d have more fans attend in Shreveport than we will in Hawaii.
 
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among bowl predictions in a NYPost article:

excerpt:

Hawaii Bowl pick (Sat. 12/24, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

San Diego State (-7) over Middle Tennessee:

The Blue Raiders enter with a three-game win streak and the memory of last year’s Bahamas Bowl victory, but the Aztecs are out of their league. Middle Tennessee lost its three games this season to bowl-eligible teams by an average of 20 points.
 
among bowl predictions in a NYPost article:

excerpt:

Hawaii Bowl pick (Sat. 12/24, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

San Diego State (-7) over Middle Tennessee:

The Blue Raiders enter with a three-game win streak and the memory of last year’s Bahamas Bowl victory, but the Aztecs are out of their league. Middle Tennessee lost its three games this season to bowl-eligible teams by an average of 20 points.
And that isn't counting JMU just because they technically weren't eligible at 8-3. That makes it an average of 24.25pts. Throw in LaT for all losses and its 22.6 pts.

If we win the bowl, it will be our only win this year over a team with a winning record.
 
I miss the bowl game atmosphere.

The last bowl game I attended was 2009. What a game. What an atmosphere. So many MT fans travelled for that game.


Those days are loooong gone

My last one was Fort Worth in 2013.

The four straight bowl losses after NOLA in 2009, then when the Bahamas and Hawaii Bowls became the Blue Raider staff’s annual vacation destination it did me in. 😂
 




 
Stock being 55-11 when he has a 100 yard rusher makes it worse that he hasn’t done more as far as coaching changes to improve the run game. Clearly that is a major key to success.
 
Stock being 55-11 when he has a 100 yard rusher makes it worse that he hasn’t done more as far as coaching changes to improve the run game. Clearly that is a major key to success.
That would require hard effort to recruit and develop a solid O-Line and a couple of solid running backs. He has zero incentive to do that.
 
That would require hard effort to recruit and develop a solid O-Line and a couple of solid running backs. He has zero incentive to do that.
Yeah, not gonna happen. I've said before he's only had three 1k yd rushers in 17yrs. And I'm saying 17 because unless Peasant has a day like Frank Gore Jr. had last week, he won't hit 1k either. Currently at 747 avg 62 per game.

If Stock didn't fix the O-Line when his own son was QB and got taken out with a broken collarbone, he isn't going to fix it at all.

WKU for example has had 6 in those 17yrs.
UAB 8. And for two they didn't even play.
Alabama, 11.

You need a balanced attack to consistently win. Hence one of the many reasons why we don't consistently win.
 
I’ve honestly been very happy with Peasant’s performance this year. If we could get that early it would be great.
 
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Yeah, not gonna happen. I've said before he's only had three 1k yd rushers in 17yrs. And I'm saying 17 because unless Peasant has a day like Frank Gore Jr. had last week, he won't hit 1k either. Currently at 747 avg 62 per game.

If Stock didn't fix the O-Line when his own son was QB and got taken out with a broken collarbone, he isn't going to fix it at all.

WKU for example has had 6 in those 17yrs.
UAB 8. And for two they didn't even play.
Alabama, 11.

You need a balanced attack to consistently win. Hence one of the many reasons why we don't consistently win.
While football has changed over the years, the one statement that still holds true is the game is won in the trenches. A very good offensive line can make an average QB/RB very, very good. I don't understand why a coach would focus on recruiting skill players if his line of scrimmage is not in order.
 

 
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