RE: Finishing out the season
I can come off as half empty, but I am defintely a half full kind of guy. The positive is that we are winning against the losers. Heaven forbid we fall to the teams we have beaten this year.- Posted by tcoutouzis
Our strength of schedule this year is 119. the teams we have defeated are a combined 15-52. It is the worst I have seen in all my years as a Pirate. The best we can do is 8-4 in the regular season with this SOS. I know that we can do better than that. My other gripe is how we have been dismantled by .500 teams and better.
When CUSA gets better next year I think that we are going to be in trouble. My problem is that I am a planner so I look at the long term rather than the short term success. I don't think Ruff will be putting out 8-4 record when CUSA gets better or if we get into the Big East. I don't think we will go bowling. We will become the doormat. I hope that I am wrong, but if we can't beat good teams or at least be competitive with them meaning that we are in the game to the very end, then I see this scenario playing out in the next couple of years and we will be looking again for another coach.
You measure the strength of your team by how you play against good competition, not the bad. So far, we are 0-4 against good competition losing 48-10, 27-6, 40-20 and the infamous 56-28.
I agree with what was said above that both the optimist and the pessimist have valid arguments. Time will tell who is right.
I like your comments on ECU's strength of schedule and the stats on our competition's win/loss record of the wins we have had this year. I think it gives a true reflection of what ECU's record truely represents.
However, I don't agree that CUSA will get better next year. If anything, I see it getting worse next year with the teams leaving and the ones that will be replacing them. They are all pretty much FCS (Div. II) type teams moving up to the next level. If ECU remains in CUSA, I don't see things quite as dissmal as you stated. I see things pretty much on par with where we are at currently -- beating up on the lesser competion of CUSA and getting creamed by the good teams outside the conference we continue to schedule. And yes, heaven forbid if we should start losing to these "Div. I want-a- bees" that will then occupy CUSA.
I am still hopeful that Ruff and his staff will be able to recruit and coach us to the next level and get us out of this mediocre program exsistance. But as you said and has been stated several times before -- we are going to have to beat some good teams as well as win the games against lesser competion in order to break this current pattern. And our upcoming bowl game will be a good test to measure and see if we are moving in the right direction.
Also, a quick comment on the upcoming game with Marshall. I think (regardless of their record) it will be another good test for Ruff and ECU. This will be a very dangerous "trap" game for us. Marshall has a great deal to play for in that they will need that win to become bowl eligible. And I also remember several times over the last few years that Marshall has had our number and actually messed us up at the end of the season. I remember they have either kept us from playing for the CUSA Championship or even becoming bowl eligible ourself on more than one ocassion.
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