Louisiana vs Jacksonville State in 2023 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

[ManAboutTown]

It’s about setting the program back 10 years. There is nothing that can happen in a bowl game almost nobody outside of the two fan bases will follow that could set us back 10 years. In two years we went from Huds train wreck to Napier success. From Napier to current mediocrity took 2 seasons, or 1 really. Things just aren’t that permanent. The one entity that can truly set us back for extended periods is Martin Hall.

This is where I disagree wholeheartedly. It's a national TV game against a team most people will be saying "They are FBS?" to when they see them. In less than two full seasons, we've gone from being in the same conversation as Cincy and Boise St, being picked by some to beat Texas in Austin, jockeying for Top 20 positioning, the nation's longest winning streak, BEATING the Fiesta Bowl Champs on the road and being outright SBC Champs to... wondering if we can muster 3-4K fans to travel two hours away to maybe beat Jacksonville State.

As far as perception and reputation goes, that is a fall from grace akin to Bill Cosby folks.

[ManAboutTown]

Like I said last night, Rich Rod must be lickin his chops getting to face off against Lamar the mask Morgan

What was your phrase, "3rd and Morgan"? lol

[CharlieK]

This is where I disagree wholeheartedly. It's a national TV game against a team most people will be saying "They are FBS?" to when they see them. In less than two full seasons, we've gone from being in the same conversation as Cincy and Boise St, being picked by some to beat Texas in Austin, jockeying for Top 20 positioning, the nation's longest winning streak, BEATING the Fiesta Bowl Champs on the road and being outright SBC Champs to... wondering if we can muster 3-4K fans to travel two hours away to maybe beat Jacksonville State.

As far as perception and reputation goes, that is a fall from grace akin to Bill Cosby folks.

And next year CMD could figure it out, go 11-1 and nobody will care about the New Orleans bowl.

Or he could ____ the bed, next season get fired, and be replaced by the next Napier who goes 11-1 and nobody will care about the 2023 New Orleans bowl.


My point is this game is almost insignificant as compared to the decisions Martin hall makes over the next few years. And certainly will not have a decade of influence on our trajectory.

[Million$Mullet]

What was your phrase, "3rd and Morgan"? lol

3rd and Lamar Morgan! Not sure if I dropped the F bomb during the pod but I damn sure was dropping it during the Troy game

[ManAboutTown]

And next year CMD could figure it out, go 11-1 and nobody will care about the New Orleans bowl.

Or he could ____ the bed, next season get fired, and be replaced by the next Napier who goes 11-1 and nobody will care about the 2023 New Orleans bowl.


My point is this game is almost insignificant as compared to the decisions Martin hall makes over the next few years. And certainly will not have a decade of influence on our trajectory.

I hear you. Perception is reality, especially with our fickle fanbase. Once people realize they don't need UL sports to pass their time or don't need to feel obligated to supporting UL, or enjoy their weekends better without it, they're never coming back. Couple that with Boomers dying off and you have a major issue on the horizon. Last thing we need is to take steps backward on the fields/courts of play.

[CharlieK]

I hear you. Perception is reality, especially with our fickle fanbase. Once people realize they don't need UL sports to pass their time or don't need to feel obligated to supporting UL, or enjoy their weekends better without it, they're never coming back. Couple that with Boomers dying off and you have a major issue on the horizon. Last thing we need is to take steps backward on the fields/courts of play.

Steep road ahead. People discovered during Covid that they liked watching all the games on a giant TV that costs a few hundred bucks once rather than one game that costs nearly that each time. Unless you are one of the programs with a long established history and deep fan support it will be difficult to get those people back to the stadiums. Losing, especially if it’s in embarrassing fashion, to an unknown defintely won’t help.

[MetryCajun]

Yes. I fully get that people don’t see how it sets us back. And that is the part that blows my mind.

Enlighten us.
What sets us back is if we cannot retain our all SBC players. Sunbelt football is about having a difference maker at QB and having a defense that can at least slow down offenses. That has been behind almost all of our successful teams. You have those two ingredients and you are winning 8+ games. The trick for us is to retain our good players and find 3 star players who the big guys don't want to take a chance on because they can buy proven commodities with NIL money.
Winning in two weeks would probably help, but losing a close game will not set us back 2 years much less 10 years.

[Jacob81]

JMU would wipe the floor with Jax St. Apples and Oranges again Jacob. You always leave out the ever important context.

I responded to someone saying you can’t lose to a transition school. JMU is transitioning. Jax state is transitioning. Jax state beat Florida state a few years ago when they were fcs.

[zeppelincajun]

At 13-1 or 10-1 you’re in contention for a NY6 and SBC Champions. Any bowl outside of that is a let down. This is much more than your usual “life in the belt” let down. This is “potentially damaging to the brand” let down.

I’ll pushback a little on the notion that this game will sway our brand one way or the other too drastically win or lose.

When I think of a game that had the kind of tailspin impact you are talking about I think La Tech 2014. Think about that game. 3 straight NOLA bowl wins and 9-4 seasons. All record breaking crowds for the bowl. Tulane was down and we had already beaten them twice in HUD’s tenure. ULM was nothing. Tech had been down. We were finally perception wise the clear 2nd best team in the state of Louisiana. The expectation was we would send Skip and the Dogs back to Ruston with their tails between their legs. Most people my age had never seen a UL win over Tech. Hud knew how big that game was perception wise, and he invited all of Tech’s recruits to see the beatdown we would administer. 25,000+ showed up, and…we got absolutely crushed. 28 point loss. Complete embarrassment. All illusions were exposed. We went 9-4 that year, but HUD’s descent had begun. Our balloon was as full as it had ever been and it got absolutely burst that night.

When I look at this game, I don’t see any of that. There is no expectation of this team. Hell the few people still paying attention know good and well we may lose. We clearly aren’t the 2nd best team in LA. Our balloon is about as empty as it’s been since the Baldwin days in terms of excitement. Difference this time between 2014 is no one else popped our balloon. We’ve just been slowly letting the air out since the day Napier walked off of campus. I don’t see how much more air this game could possibly let out because, let’s be honest, there just isn’t much there to begin with. Our fanbase is already down to the bare bones, old school, diehards, who support no matter what. Apathy is on 100 as it is. How much lower can one game get us? The true last gasp will be when the old timers propping this bad boy up die off. The most that will come from this game, IMO, is the mockery on Twitter of losing to CUSA school.

[BeauCajun]

Like I said last night, Rich Rod must be lickin his chops getting to face off against Lamar the mask Morgan

And I remember back when Rich Rod was a “candidate” as head coach here. Way before y’all time. When he was a hot shot coordinator.

[ManAboutTown]

Enlighten us.
What sets us back is if we cannot retain our all SBC players. Sunbelt football is about having a difference maker at QB and having a defense that can at least slow down offenses. That has been behind almost all of our successful teams. You have those two ingredients and you are winning 8+ games. The trick for us is to retain our good players and find 3 star players who the big guys don't want to take a chance on because they can buy proven commodities with NIL money.
Winning in two weeks would probably help, but losing a close game will not set us back 2 years much less 10 years.

Explained in post 108

[ManAboutTown]

I’ll pushback a little on the notion that this game will sway our brand one way or the other too drastically win or lose.

When I think of a game that had the kind of tailspin impact you are talking about I think La Tech 2014. Think about that game. 3 straight NOLA bowl wins and 9-4 seasons. All record breaking crowds for the bowl. Tulane was down and we had already beaten them twice in HUD’s tenure. ULM was nothing. Tech had been down. We were finally perception wise the clear 2nd best team in the state of Louisiana. The expectation was we would send Skip and the Dogs back to Ruston with their tails between their legs. Most people my age had never seen a UL win over Tech. Hud knew how big that game was perception wise, and he invited all of Tech’s recruits to see the beatdown we would administer. 25,000+ showed up, and…we got absolutely crushed. 28 point loss. Complete embarrassment. All illusions were exposed. We went 9-4 that year, but HUD’s descent had begun. Our balloon was as full as it had ever been and it got absolutely burst that night.

When I look at this game, I don’t see any of that. There is no expectation of this team. Hell the few people still paying attention know good and well we may lose. We clearly aren’t the 2nd best team in LA. Our balloon is about as empty as it’s been since the Baldwin days in terms of excitement. Difference this time between 2014 is no one else popped our balloon. We’ve just been slowly letting the air out since the day Napier walked off of campus. I don’t see how much more air this game could possibly let out because, let’s be honest, there just isn’t much there to begin with. Our fanbase is already down to the bare bones, old school, diehards, who support no matter what. Apathy is on 100 as it is. How much lower can one game get us? The true last gasp will be when the old timers propping this bad boy up die off. The most that will come from this game, IMO, is the mockery on Twitter of losing to CUSA school.

I think there is a large portion of what’s left of our fanbase barely hanging on by a thread, begging for something to believe in when it comes to the direction of this FB program. Perform like we did against ODU, Arkie St or USM and it could be a dagger for those people.