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Middle Tennessee +6 @ James Madison U

sWiley

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Jul 25, 2012
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12pm kick off, September 3rd

6 point dog on the road

no total posted yet


Money line should be around +200, so 2 to 1 on your money if you bet MT straight up.
 
Not gonna lie, it's pretty disheartening to see that we will open our season as a 6 point dog on the road against an FCS program.

I understand JMU is coming up to FBS, but when we play them they're still essentially an FCS program. And if this line is to be believed, we will not win this game.

20 years ago I would have never imagined we would still be such a weak program. But I guess that's just what we are.

You know, there are 5 stages in the grieving process. And the final stage is acceptance. I've reached that final stage and accepted the fact that we are a nobody and never will be anybody. Just good ole Middle Tennessee State. Doormat sounding name, and a doormat on the gridiron.

We deserve to be exactly where we are though. What major upgrades have we made to our football program in the last 20 years? Some turf and a TV? Not gonna cut it.
 
Not gonna lie, it's pretty disheartening to see that we will open our season as a 6 point dog on the road against an FCS program.

I understand JMU is coming up to FBS, but when we play them they're still essentially an FCS program. And if this line is to be believed, we will not win this game.

20 years ago I would have never imagined we would still be such a weak program. But I guess that's just what we are.

You know, there are 5 stages in the grieving process. And the final stage is acceptance. I've reached that final stage and accepted the fact that we are a nobody and never will be anybody. Just good ole Middle Tennessee State. Doormat sounding name, and a doormat on the gridiron.

We deserve to be exactly where we are though. What major upgrades have we made to our football program in the last 20 years? Some turf and a TV? Not gonna cut it.
Would you expect most CUSA programs to be favored on the road against North Dakota Stare?
 
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I wouldn’t expect to see a line period, because most CUSA programs are not opening their season on the road at an FCS power house.

literally the dumbest thing a CUSA program can do
And that is basically what we are doing.
 
JMU will be a fully transitioning FBS opponent that will count towards bowl eligibility. This isn’t an FCS team. They are also going to be full on scholarships. Honestly I’m not surprised, they are the better team and at home. Hopefully we don’t lay an egg. Plenty of other FBS teams will be making the trip to JMU this year too.
 
JMU will be a fully transitioning FBS opponent that will count towards bowl eligibility. This isn’t an FCS team. They are also going to be full on scholarships. Honestly I’m not surprised, they are the better team and at home. Hopefully we don’t lay an egg. Plenty of other FBS teams will be making the trip to JMU this year too.
Sadly, I’m hoping for early season losses to JMU and TSU to help push him out the door. Attendance figures for the rest of the season should be enough to force change from the top down but, given our track record, they may just ride the plane all the way into the ground.
 
I haven’t been here long enough to fully be able to understand the hate for Rick. He has been mediocre for sure but he has done well, imo, with what he has been given. Fan engagement is the number one thing that needs improvement and unfortunately it seems leadership has upset enough of you that the only way to bring it back is a complete overhaul.
 
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I haven’t been here long enough to fully be able to understand the hate for Rick. He has been mediocre for sure but he has done well, imo, with what he has been given. Fan engagement is the number one thing that needs improvement and unfortunately it seems leadership has upset enough of you that the only way to bring it back is a complete overhaul.
I don’t hate CRS. I supported him unconditionally for 8 years. We were even competitors in college. I’m extremely dissatisfied with his performance after his bosses gave him a golden parachute for a .500 record and he passed that gift on to his coaching buddies. One of them even bragged about it publicly (not having to recruit) to a friend of mine at a function in Memphis. Fact.
 
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JMU will be a fully transitioning FBS opponent that will count towards bowl eligibility. This isn’t an FCS team. They are also going to be full on scholarships. Honestly I’m not surprised, they are the better team and at home. Hopefully we don’t lay an egg. Plenty of other FBS teams will be making the trip to JMU this year too.

The problem, I think we would be underdogs even if JMU was still a FCS school with 22 less scholarships.
 
We should be better at this point in our program. The fact is we're not. That's on Stockstill and staff, Massaro, McPhee, and throw Smith and his fellow trustees in there as well. What we really need is a thorough house cleaning and disinfectant, an extinction level event for our coaches and administrators. Sadly a loss to JMU won't be it.
 
JMU is no joke and is the most consistent team in FCS in the last 5 years with the exception of NDSU. It's a stupid game to schedule. JMU could probably beat everyone in our conference and will do well in the belt. ODU, Marshall, and USM are stupid for going there. They won't ever win a title there having to deal with ULL, App st, coastal and now JMU. However, over time, JMU may wear down due to lack of interest of opponents. It happened to ODU.
 
JMU is no joke and is the most consistent team in FCS in the last 5 years with the exception of NDSU. It's a stupid game to schedule. JMU could probably beat everyone in our conference and will do well in the belt. ODU, Marshall, and USM are stupid for going there. They won't ever win a title there having to deal with ULL, App st, coastal and now JMU. However, over time, JMU may wear down due to lack of interest of opponents. It happened to ODU.
I think the SBCe will be good for rivalries. I would take it in a heartbeat.
 
JMU is not the JMU of old, my son has played them 4 times.They aren't big and they lost a lot of talent. They are having issues getting kids in school and JMU is not giving them exemptions either. JMU out finesse teams, they won't have a speed advantage like they did in FCS with the transfers they would get.
 
JMU lost their top LB to transfer to Texas this week.
 
MT has historically had a tough time opening against these 1AA and transitional programs at home, now being on the road it would not surprise me if the line does not get to 10 1/2 by kickoff.
 
We do have Ali and Lane back so with those 2 alone, I like our chances a lot more. If we can block a corpse, we should be productive on O.
 
Yeah I think we will move the ball. After reading the JMU board it seems they have lost a decent amount of offensive production. Who knows what it will look like but I’m not completely doom and gloom. I thought this should have been a JMU -3 type of spread. The environment will be a tough one to deal with for our guys but this is very winnable.
 
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We were not favored to win by much vs. Monmouth who also was a consistent FCS playoff team and we smoked them. Who knows?
 
The fact remains that 4 years after taking this job, our current HC loses to McNeese St (at home), and 16 seasons later we’re still having serious debates over whether our Blue Raiders can beat Monmouth and James Madison.

yay.

Acceptance is the final stage of the grieving process. It's time to accept what we are and what we will always be.

A directional, podunk state university that signs athletes with minimal to no D1 offers. It is what we've always been. It is what we always will be. Accept it.

Furthermore, we deserve to be exactly where we are. We've made no commitment towards our major athletics programs in the last two decades or more, so why should we expect any fruitful results?
 
Acceptance is the final stage of the grieving process. It's time to accept what we are and what we will always be.

A directional, podunk state university that signs athletes with minimal to no D1 offers. It is what we've always been. It is what we always will be. Accept it.

Furthermore, we deserve to be exactly where we are. We've made no commitment towards our major athletics programs in the last two decades or more, so why should we expect any fruitful results?
I’m curious what everyone was hoping for. I think Middle has potential to be a top 20% G5 team but that’s about it. There isn’t going to be a P5 invite and running a Boise or UCF scenario is unlikely. It is what it is.
 
The fact remains that 4 years after taking this job, our current HC loses to McNeese St (at home), and 16 seasons later we’re still having serious debates over whether our Blue Raiders can beat Monmouth and James Madison.

yay.
So we are facing a team that has the potential beat just about every G5 team they face but yet we are a bad team because of it? Also, we haven't played the game yet. Just like Monmouth. We beat Monmouth 50-13. If we beat JMU, are we still a bad team that got lucky? I just don't get the constant doom and gloom. We won our first bowl game since 2017. We clearly made progress. Memphis went 6-6 as well. Are they on the edge of ruin now? Am I a Stock fan? No way. Do I want another coach? Yes. However, we are at least winning again. I'll simply take what I can get.

The same year we lost to McNeese St, We also beat the crap out of Memphis and Ga Tech. We went 8-4.
 
Winning?? After 2 straight losing seasons, MT finished at 4-4 last year in arguably the weakest football conference in the nation. They backed into a bowl game no one could or wanted to attend other than the team, coaching staff and “official party”. It’s ironic that two “pillars” of those Memphis teams you reference have now been on Stock’s staff for nearly a decade.

After 16 seasons of this, fans and alumni deserve better and shouldn’t have to just “accept it.”
 
I’m curious what everyone was hoping for. I think Middle has potential to be a top 20% G5 team but that’s about it. There isn’t going to be a P5 invite and running a Boise or UCF scenario is unlikely. It is what it is.

I don't expect a P5 invite (I think the "P5" will be smaller in the future but that is for another discussion) nor do I expect a Top 5/10 run. I think your top 20% assessment is about right.

What I do expect in both football and MBB is this.
* Winning season every year overall and in conference
* conference championship game...every single EVERY single recruiting class should leave this school with a championship ring. I don't think 1 champ every 4 years or so is asking for much.
* Ranked. No, not top 5 or 10 run. But no reason we can't be ranked every year or every other year consistently. 20-25 and I'll be happy.

I don't expect to become the next Boise but there is NO reason we can't be more than what we are. We aren't though simply because of the people in the positions of power. Not because of being "middle" as some say.
 
When I was in my 20s and Dr. James Walker and Lee Fowler were at the helm, I think we all thought that we would be a major player in football. This isn't nostalgia. This isn't "back in my day..." There was a serious commitment to football.

I agree with you....we aren't ever going to be a P5 team but we have/had the potential to be a serious contender on the field.


It has been lost with Sydney and Chris. Worthy of a case study of bad decisions and bad hires.

When we joined the Sunbelt, I remember hoping we never ended up like the 'older' 1-A teams like ULL and ULM because it seemed like they made the jump and got stuck. We did the same thing....a possibly even worse.


I’m curious what everyone was hoping for. I think Middle has potential to be a top 20% G5 team but that’s about it. There isn’t going to be a P5 invite and running a Boise or UCF scenario is unlikely. It is what it is.
 
Moving "1-A All the Way" was a HUGE deal. I started in fall of 98. The excitement among the administration, students, etc was big. Stadium upgrades, all that. Then the big 1-A Day Celebration in 99 (still have the little plastic football they gave out), full stadium. It was fun.

Such optimism and hope with Walker, Boots running things, what we thought was a great hire with Andy Mac. Then when Stock got hired it was a big deal. (Hey, a new hire created excitement...how about that) Bowl off the bat and the standard was set. Bowl every year baby! We are there!

And we haven't moved an inch since.
 
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So we are facing a team that has the potential beat just about every G5 team they face but yet we are a bad team because of it? Also, we haven't played the game yet. Just like Monmouth. We beat Monmouth 50-13. If we beat JMU, are we still a bad team that got lucky? I just don't get the constant doom and gloom. We won our first bowl game since 2017. We clearly made progress. Memphis went 6-6 as well. Are they on the edge of ruin now? Am I a Stock fan? No way. Do I want another coach? Yes. However, we are at least winning again. I'll simply take what I can get.

The same year we lost to McNeese St, We also beat the crap out of Memphis and Ga Tech. We went 8-4.
Memphis is on its 4th HC since they fired TW in ‘09. The 1st was a former player/career assistant (sound familiar?) who was not ready and let go after 2 seasons. His first and only win in 2010 was ……….MTSU.
#2 and #3 were hired away by Va. Tech and FSU, respectively after successful runs. I personally wish FSU had listened to Brock’s social media pleas to his old teammates to hire Stock and left Norvell alone so he could coach the Cotton Bowl vs.. Penn St.
#4 was 8-3 in his rookie season during COVID. Yes, he was 6-6 last season but elected to start a true freshman QB which will pay huge dividends this season.
 
When I was in my 20s and Dr. James Walker and Lee Fowler were at the helm, I think we all thought that we would be a major player in football. This isn't nostalgia. This isn't "back in my day..." There was a serious commitment to football.

I agree with you....we aren't ever going to be a P5 team but we have/had the potential to be a serious contender on the field.


It has been lost with Sydney and Chris. Worthy of a case study of bad decisions and bad hires.

When we joined the Sunbelt, I remember hoping we never ended up like the 'older' 1-A teams like ULL and ULM because it seemed like they made the jump and got stuck. We did the same thing....a possibly even worse.
The move was 10 years to late.... they should've moved in the late 80's when akron and youngstown moved on the MAC
 
Memphis is on its 4th HC since they fired TW in ‘09. The 1st was a former player/career assistant (sound familiar?) who was not ready and let go after 2 seasons. His first and only win in 2010 was ……….MTSU.
#2 and #3 were hired away by Va. Tech and FSU, respectively after successful runs. I personally wish FSU had listened to Brock’s social media pleas to his old teammates to hire Stock and left Norvell alone so he could coach the Cotton Bowl vs.. Penn St.
#4 was 8-3 in his rookie season during COVID. Yes, he was 6-6 last season but elected to start a true freshman QB which will pay huge dividends this season.
*Sniff Sniff* Man, smells like a Memphis Ninja in here....
 
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I think Middle has potential to be a top 20% G5 team but that’s about it.
See, this is what all of us have thought and hoped for…..for the last 20 years.

And it hasn’t happened.

You are just late to the party. Come back in 20 years when Stock Jr is coach and we are still 6-6 playing in the toilet bowl and zero progress has been made moving the program forward.

Then we will see how you feel.
 
See, this is what all of us have thought and hoped for…..for the last 20 years.

And it hasn’t happened.

You are just late to the party. Come back in 20 years when Stock Jr is coach and we are still 6-6 playing in the toilet bowl and zero progress has been made moving the program forward.

Then we will see how you feel.
Well thats what "Potential" is, the possibility of it happening, which to say it is IMPOSSIBLE is just wrong.

Im hopeful that if we can rise and maintain at the top of the new CUSA, then sustained success begets more success. The insane growth of Murfreesboro will only help as well.
 
Well thats what "Potential" is, the possibility of it happening, which to say it is IMPOSSIBLE is just wrong.

Im hopeful that if we can rise and maintain at the top of the new CUSA, then sustained success begets more success. The insane growth of Murfreesboro will only help as well.
Waiting 16 years, now 17 seasons for “potential” to bubble up is a pipe dream.
 
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