average.....again

[keithj]

Do me a favor, lifetime and redbug, DROP DEAD.

GEAUX CAJUNS

Wow, what an ___hole!

Stay classy...

This year, in my opinion, was great in terms of what was expected before the season started. I think the K-State win set up higher expectations, and thus we got a let down at the end.

The way I see it, we're the number 2 team in the state after taking down Moanroe. I take solace in this.

At anyrate, I am ready for next year's beatdowns.

[RedBug58]

_ Ah, our beloved Sun Belt Conference. They screw us every time, whether it is our name, officiating, etc. This conference is a joke. I swear I think we would be better off being an independent. Scheduling? Would never be a problem as every conference is looking to schedule OOC games. Playing for a conference title and automatic tournament bid and bowl bid? When was the last time we did that in any sport except softball? And, we just got that automatic conference bid a year or so ago. Before that, we got a bid to the playoffs every year despite being in the SBC without an automatic bid. How many times did we win the baseball conference championship, yet that didn't hurt our tournament selection. Revenue? What revenue does this conference generate for us? Seems like we could make a lot more money playing a better schedule without having to share with anyone else. Want to stake a claim for our Louisiana name as an Independent, something our conference won't help us with? Want to establish separation from ULM and LA Tech? Want to be in a better position to be picked for another conference later when/if conference reallignment reoccurs?

We really have no other conference options right now. So, are we better off in the worse conference in the country with no direct benefits from our affiliation or as an Independent along with Notre Dame, Army and Navy? Can we schedule better, get more recognition, more revenue, and still go to bowl games and get NCAA invites as an Independent? If 7 wins is the barometer, does it matter what conference we are in or that we are even in a conference? Our AD might have to work a little harder to schedule, but so what? Do we have natural rivalries in the SBC? None. Could we still schedule games vs. SBC members if needed? They need to schedule games, too.

Our last great year of scheduling in football was in 1996 when we went 5-6 vs. the following schools. Could we recruit better athletes to play this kind of schedule or vs. what we currently play? Would UL be perceived differently both statewide and nationally?

Florida (A)
Texas A&M (H)
Southern Miss (A)
LA Tech (A)
Houston (H)
Ark. State (H)
UAB (A)
Memphis (H)
VA Tech (A)
N. Illinois (H)
Texas Tech (A)

I know many will say this is a rediculous idea. If we were in a better conference, I wouldn't be making this suggestion. Our long term objective should be to build up our program to be admitted to a better conference later, because who knows what options might be available if there is another conference reallignment. Can we progress faster athletically as an Independent and gain more recognition and notoriety? Are we just treating water in the SBC? Just what is the biggest argument for staying in the SBC? _

Nice post & very interesting. That was a good schedule with A&M, Houston, & Memphis at home...To me, that DOES look better than the Sunbelt. I think I have a higher opinion of you now.......

[Just1More]

_ The last few years I haven't seen a whole lot of "Bustle Love" so I'm not sure who you can possibly be referring to. _

Good... less hearts to break.

[Rasta]

"average.....again" implies that this team was average. This team was way below average, AGAIN.

[DrumRoll]

_ "average.....again" implies that this team was average. This team was way below average, AGAIN. _

Go look in the mirror and tell us what a TROLL looks like...

[Rasta]

_ Go look in the mirror and tell us what a TROLL looks like... _

Nevermind then sir, I must be really out of my mind. They once again finished middle of the road in the worst conference in America. That must certainly make them "average." That makes me a "TROLL" I suppose. Idiot.

[rhineaux]

_ I apologize for the harsh words. I just see this thing building. It is taking a little longer. I have always heard that we just need to compete in football and that would be a positive step because of a stinky history. Well wake
we are competing and winning games. Not as many as we would like. But
you have to win 6 on a regular basis before you get to 7. Well we are pretty
good at getting to 6. Now lets build on that and get to seven. You see what Coach Bustle is doing is building a program. Wake up. This was supposed to be a tough year. Look at what we lost. Guess what is was
a good year. Lets all take a deep breathe and enjoy what we have. _

Here are a couple things to ponder…You told someone else to do a little research, so I decided to do a little over the past couple days and wanted to share it with you. Not trying to change your mind, but just trying to show that simply looking at a record, or where the team “was projected to finish” by prognosticators (especially when there are so many fans that say those people don’t know what they’re talking about when they project the team to fall short) does not tell the whole story.

10/20/07 – 26-45…4 TDs-0 INTs…308 yds…434 Total Yards. Lost 39-32
11/15/08 – 17-26…4 TDs-0 INTs…290 yds…523 Total Yards. Lost 40-29
10/24/09 – 18-28…4 TDs-0 INTs…359 yds…624 Total Yards. Lost 51-29

Those are Rusty Smith’s and FAU’s stats the last three times he played UL. Each time, the Cajuns played the same time of “Soft Zone” or Prevent Defense for a majority of the game. What’s worse is that (this year) Bustle defended the scheme and said the players didn’t make enough plays, and that they tipped their blitzes too early, ignoring that each and every time they’ve used this type of game plan, it has given the same result. See all of 2007. See the differences in last season Pre-UTEP and Post-UTEP. I can’t figure out the logic behind getting torched by a QB 2 years in a row, using the same general scheme in the 3rd year, getting torched again, and then saying that the game plan was sound.


10/31/09
Total Stats –--------------------------------- 22-41…1 TD-1 INT…250 yds…395 Total Yards. 24 First downs. 28:10 TOP. Lost 20-17 in OT
Total Excluding final drives of both halves –---- 12-26…0 TD-1 INT…140 yds…266 Total Yards. 13 First Downs. 7 Points in 24:46
Final drives of each half –--------------------- 10-15…1 TD-0 INT…110 yds…129 Total Yards. 9 First Downs. 10 points in 3:37

These are Paul McCall’s and FIU’s stats from a few weeks ago. See statements above. The D played well the entire game except for those two drives, when they played more of a Prevent style of Defense, and it ended up costing them the game. If it happens once or twice, it’s one thing. But, they’ve reverted back to this numerous times. Paul McCall looked like Peyton Manning on those two drives, as he picked the Defense apart.

10/7/2006
This was the last time UL beat an FBS team that finished the season with a winning record.

Trends…
W,W,L,L,W,W,L,L,W,L,W,L...Was this team really that consistent? This team was never able to get right this year. From game to game, and sometimes from half to half, it seemed like there were different players in the Uni’s.

I will give Bustle one thing; he did reverse one negative trend this year. I believe that this was the first year in his tenure at UL that he did NOT have a 3 game losing streak.

So...Is this program still progressing?

[DrumRoll]

_ Nevermind then sir, I must be really out of my mind.

Nope, just clueless, lifeless, and dumber than cat mess...

[MissingMandy]

_ "average.....again" implies that this team was average. This team was way below average, AGAIN. _

You're so wrong...........

[Cajun90]

You're so wrong...........

Please refrain from feeding the animals in the future. They become dependent upon us and will take up residence like a stray cat.