Predict the Record: Ragin' Cajuns Football 2010

[cajunfan32]

_ My opinion:
If Bustle goes 6-6 and we go to a bowl, he will be retained.

If Bustle goes 6-6 and we do not go to a bowl, he will not be retained.

I understand this seems unfair, given that w/ 6 wins a bowl selection is beyond our control and often arbitrary. 6-6 would be a "dissapointing outcome," however all of that dissapointment would be INSTANTLY wiped away if we got invited somewhere. I'm not saying it's 100% rational, but it's 100% true. _

I think that's fair b/c he's had enough chances to get to a bowl before. And if we made a bowl game and got embarrassed then i would be on the fence as to whether bustle should be fired. As we have said before, these small bowl games are really only good for getting our name out there b/c it's a nationally televised game . if we go to a bowl and get destroyed, i think it could hurt us and we should at least consider a coaching change

[Just1More]

_ I have a question for those of you saying that anything less than 7-5 bustle will be gone (Which i do agree with btw). but would if we went 6-6 and still got to a bowl? I know it's hard for us to get to a bowl game with winning just 6 games but with our tougher non conference schedule you never know. so if this happens, is bustle gone?

Also might i mention that i still have a little hope for the georgia game now. I just have a good feeling about it plus they kicked their running back off the team and all the distractions with the firing of the AD could help. I know it sounds like i'm trying to find a reason why we have a chance but i just have a gut feeling we will make that interesting. _

He keeps his job with a bowl... no question about it. The issue that compells me the most with respect to not keeping Bustle is the affliction of being no better than a .500 team without a bowl. We would be required by common sense (not saying we have it) to make the coaching move. But, with a bowl, that opens up a new era in Cajun football. If Bustle were the coach to have gotten that bowl, he deserves the benefits (and greater possibilities it will potentially afford our program). He is not a bad coach. We are a program stuck in a rut. If he is around when we get out of that rut... he will retained... and rightfully so.

There is a lot to be said for a pragmatic coach like Bustle. He keeps the ship steadily afloat and drifting in the right direction. The problem is that he does not seem to be able to get us anywhere. He has one more year IMO... I'd love for him to confess it to the fans and the team... and make it obvious what is on the line.

I would like for Bustle to do a commercial saying "hey Cajun fans... come see me either take my team to a bowl... or come celebrate my last season with the Cajuns... you can make a difference by showing up and giving the Bustle-bowl-bound or Bustle-go-away team a better chance at that elusive bowl invite. I like my job but I realize someone else deserves it if after almost a decade I have never had more than 6 wins in a season and no bowl invites. I am putting everything I have on the line this year... come put it on the line with me! Oh, and please include the admin in my farewell parade. If we don't go to a bowl, I should be fired along with the AD and his staff. How about it Cajun fans... we either go to a bowl or all of the football management gets fired!?" Geaux Cajuns!!!

[RaginWaldo]

If Bustle stays im burning my ragin cajuns jersey to show how angry i am!!!!

i mean ummm.....wait this isnt THE DECISION? woops

[cajunfan32]

_ If Bustle stays im burning my ragin cajuns jersey to show how angry i am!!!!

i mean ummm.....wait this isnt THE DECISION? woops _

the David Walker version

[zephyr]

_ I'm pretty sure this isn't how the program sees things, thankfully. We need to win every game, inch by inch. I am afraid you are looking at the box scores of games gone by... and that is absolutely useless. Every team is in flux year to year, and that includes MTSU and Troy. Should we have, in our first years in the SBC, decided that NT was not who we should concern ourselves with... we should just beat the rest of the teams? You cannot in any way concentrate on "beating those ranked behind us... and everything will be fine." That stupid FIU outcome was a bad outcome. Period. Retrospecting it will earn you nothing.

Thankfully, that is not the way any coach in the nation prepares. You don't prepare for any opponent at the same time you prepare for any other opponent. You don't have to concern yourself with next week's matchup... this week. We need to never... ever... think about "taking care of the weaker foes" and not beat the best on our schedule.

I'm not sure what squeezed you into that line of thought Zephyr... I would guess it is the frustration of analyzing the past and wondering what "could have been". Never... ever... do you play harder... or more prepared... or with a different mindset... against one team versus another. We are going in to prepare to play the best we can. As we prepare in the week of the game X to play team X, we prepare to beat the living c r a p out of team X. _

What line of thought do you refer to? Are you speaking of the thought process that believes we need to beat the teams we SHOULD beat and play to our fullest potential against the teams often referred to as being more talented? You actually made my point by, again, referring to the FIU game last year. That was a game that we had led the entire game and had no reason to lose....but we did and it likely cost us a trip to a bowl. I understand how coaches and players think. Have you never read a thing that I've posted on this board before? I'm not sure why I find myself having to explain this. We all seem to be finding that right path to a bowl game, as fans, sitting behind our computer screens saying which teams we will beat and which ones we will not. It's all conjecture at this point, useless conjecture. However, for that win against a Troy, MTSU or god willing against a OSU, it does us no good if we don't beat the NT's, ASU's etc...This has nothing to do with how the coaches or players prepare for a future opponent or that they are sitting at practice saying "guys, this week we need to take it easy and not get beat too bad because we have FAU next week". To think that I would actually suggest this or think that a player or coach would even think that way is mind boggling.

I go into every game with that anticipation that anything can happen and look for the best out of our team's performance. I've also stated numerous times that this conference is much more balanced than in recent years and that the teams are beginning to play on a much more level playing field in terms of talent than 5-6 years ago. I realize anything can happen and that every opponent is beatable and we should approach it as that. However, my thoughts on the path to a bowl game should not be confused with our weekly preparation for opponents or thoughts that we are far inferior to anyone. That is what competition is all about.

[zephyr]

_ I have a question for those of you saying that anything less than 7-5 bustle will be gone (Which i do agree with btw). but would if we went 6-6 and still got to a bowl? I know it's hard for us to get to a bowl game with winning just 6 games but with our tougher non conference schedule you never know. so if this happens, is bustle gone?

Also might i mention that i still have a little hope for the georgia game now. I just have a good feeling about it plus they kicked their running back off the team and all the distractions with the firing of the AD could help. I know it sounds like i'm trying to find a reason why we have a chance but i just have a gut feeling we will make that interesting. _

The reason people point to the 7 win season AND bowl game is because they are both directly correlated to one another for us. We are very unlikely to go 6-6 and get to a bowl. We'd have to likely have a statement win (OSU) and Ohio and also against at least one of the favorites in the SBC to do that but 7 wins correlates to a bowl game for us. However, per your scenario, if we were to get that bowl invite but no 7 wins, I think Bustle stays. I say that because the overall objective of most fans is to accomplish something we haven't done in 40 years and that is go to a bowl. We have a difficult schedule as most have pointed out and I think that the historic accomplishment of the bowl invite would trump the lack of a winning season in regards to Bustle keeping his job.

Another thing that plays a huge role is the overall coaching landscape and how it changes year to year. It's a big risk to go .500 or even to a bowl and then fire your coach and not have solid options available. Even if you have some quality coordinators that you would target, there is no certainty that they would accept, thus leaving you in the dark (See ULM). The last thing we need is to take a big step forward but 10 steps back with a desperation hire putting you in a much worse position. I think our administration has clearly defined to coach Bustle what they expect from this program this year and he understands what they need to accomplish to remain here for the future. I also believe those standards are on parallel to what many here have as goals for this team.

[Just1More]

_ What line of thought do you refer to?

"I think that the teams we have to beat are the teams not named MTSU and Troy. If we do that and play well and surprise one of these guys, its just gravy. I don't think that's asking too much." /Zephyr

You have a great perspective of our football program, Zephyr. This post was off your usual track. That is all I pointed out. I don't know how else you could have meant it but to say that we should "approach" everyone else a little differently than MTSU or Troy. I see no plan that should involve approaching any team in the SBC with any less mission to win than any other. I am absolutely positive that Troy and MTSU did not get to the rank and success in the SBC by saying "we need to beat the teams not named X and/or Y. X and/or Y would just be gravy."

You are absolutely incorrect that all of this is pure conjecture. Just the other day I asked Coach Bustle to tell me what our fall preparations would focus on... and he told me that he had not consulted Zephyr's blog on RaginPagin and simply did not know yet. Be very careful Zephyr... you may be more responsible for how our football seasons go than you think. LMAO (respectfully)

[zephyr]

_ "I think that the teams we have to beat are the teams not named MTSU and Troy. If we do that and play well and surprise one of these guys, its just gravy. I don't think that's asking too much." /Zephyr

You have a great perspective of our football program, Zephyr. This post was off your usual track. That is all I pointed out. I don't know how else you could have meant it but to say that we should "approach" everyone else a little differently than MTSU or Troy. I see no plan that should involve approaching any team in the SBC with any less mission to win than any other. I am absolutely positive that Troy and MTSU did not get to the rank and success in the SBC by saying "we need to beat the teams not named X and/or Y. X and/or Y would just be gravy."

You are absolutely incorrect that all of this is pure conjecture. Just the other day I asked Coach Bustle to tell me what our fall preparations would focus on... and he told me that he had not consulted Zephyr's blog on RaginPagin and simply did not know yet. Be very careful Zephyr... you may be more responsible for how our football seasons go than you think. LMAO (respectfully) _

LOL....J1M, can you please go back and read my post about where I said that we should "approach" certain teams differently on our schedule than others, especially conference opponents? I curiously await your witty and highly rhetorical response as I'm eager to see where I said or suggested such a thing. I'm not sure if the boredom of the weekend has gotten to you but the post in hand was made to simply point out, from a fan's perspective that, while all conference games are of utmost importance, the games against the teams like NT and FIU and WKU etc.. are the games that we don't have room to lose if we want to win conference. MTSU and Troy are considered two of the most talented teams in our conference and I suggested that we will need to play very well to win....but we CAN win and those games extremely important only if we don't shoot ourselves in the foot by losing to a ULM or Western Kentucky.

While I may be a simpleton by nature, I'm not naive enough to think that our coaches or players approach a game differently from week to week in regards to expecting to win or lose. This is the essence of competing at this level, that no matter who you play, you can win on any given week with the proper preparation and execution.

[Just1More]

_ LOL....J1M, can you please go back and read my post about where I said that we should "approach" certain teams differently on our schedule than others, especially conference opponents? I curiously await your witty and highly rhetorical response as I'm eager to see where I said or suggested such a thing. I'm not sure if the boredom of the weekend has gotten to you but the post in hand was made to simply point out, from a fan's perspective that, while all conference games are of utmost importance, the games against the teams like NT and FIU and WKU etc.. are the games that we don't have room to lose if we want to win conference. MTSU and Troy are considered two of the most talented teams in our conference and I suggested that we will need to play very well to win....but we CAN win and those games extremely important only if we don't shoot ourselves in the foot by losing to a ULM or Western Kentucky.

While I may be a simpleton by nature, I'm not naive enough to think that our coaches or players approach a game differently from week to week in regards to expecting to win or lose. This is the essence of competing at this level, that no matter who you play, you can win on any given week with the proper preparation and execution. _

I was forced to "baby-sit" work being done at my house... and yes there was boredom involved. I took what you wrote differently... apparently... than you intended it. No problem. It sounded to me like you were saying we need to focus on beating everyone in the SBC besides Troy and MTSU... and they would just be a nice win if it happened. I actually think we will be in close contests to a lot of the SBC this year... several of which I would put on par with our program... and must upset one or both Troy and MTSU... if we intend to go bowling.

I know what you mean by avoiding losses to teams we "should" beat. I just think it is a dangerous proposition to attempt to identify those we "should" beat. If an average cut of prognosticator's "should lose to" would come true each year... the Cajuns will never make it above .500.

And you are not a simpleton.

[zephyr]

_ I was forced to "baby-sit" work being done at my house... and yes there was boredom involved. I took what you wrote differently... apparently... than you intended it. No problem. It sounded to me like you were saying we need to focus on beating everyone in the SBC besides Troy and MTSU... and they would just be a nice win if it happened. I actually think we will be in close contests to a lot of the SBC this year... several of which I would put on par with our program... and must upset one or both Troy and MTSU... if we intend to go bowling.

I know what you mean by avoiding losses to teams we "should" beat. I just think it is a dangerous proposition to attempt to identify those we "should" beat. If an average cut of prognosticator's "should lose to" would come true each year... the Cajuns will never make it above .500.

And you are not a simpleton. _

But I didn't write anything that stated such, I just want to make that clear.

[DaddyCajun]

For the Record I voted 7-5!!!

[barisaxman]

Well folks, we've just gotten the word. We don't have to worry about a bowl bid or even a winning record this year. Mr. Bitter has spoken this morning and his "due diligence" has the Cajuns going 4-8 this year in his Sunbelt Preview. He has Middle at 10-2 and Troy at 9-3. In fact, we have NO offensive players in the upper tier of the 'Belt and only a couple of defensive players making his cut. The good news is that he DOES have us better than Western Kentucky!! WOOHOO! Maybe he can come up with a good nickname for Coach Bustle (like "Elmer Fudd" for Les Miles). I'm grateful for JPB saving me the trouble of worrying about this season. I guess I'll just look forward to basketball.