Hudspeth: 'The hardest schedule I've ever been a part of'

[CajunNation]

Hud wasn't here in 1996.

He was comparing the schedule to his experience.

I know that.

I was simply pointing out the folly of ever saying the current scheduling is tough by any measure.

And, doesn't "his experience" include being an assistant at StarkVegas?

This article was all about laying the groundwork for his argument that we shouldn't fire him after the season in case we aren't Bowl eligible.

[Ragin4U]

Yeah, but you can recruit better to that kind of schedule and be competitive. We are recruiting to the Sun Belt level.

You would have to win a majority of those games to be attractive to top recruits. 2-8 would not cut it. If you could be above .500 with that schedule and knock off a ranked team or two, you are correct.

[HoustonCajun]

You would have to win a majority of those games to be attractive to top recruits. 2-8 would not cut it. If you could be above .500 with that schedule and knock off a ranked team or two, you are correct.

We were 5-6 that year with a win over Texas A&M. That was as Southwestern Louisiana and with no facilities and no financial support from Dr. A. How we recruited to that dump is beyond me. We had 5 Home games vs. Texas A&M, Houston, Ark State, Memphis and N. Illinois. Houston and UAB were games we could easily have won and gone 7-4.

Look at our facilities today. We can recruit to the new APC and IPF. Playing that kind of schedule will increase fan support with a better home and away schedule that can bring national prominence to our program. That should increase funding and help to get the football stadium renovations completed. We will then have an overall athletic complex that can compete at any level. All of which will set Louisiana up for an upward move, our goal being the AAC or Big 12. It goes without saying that we have to win to achieve all of that. If we could do it back then with all of the restrictions USL had, we can do it today as LOUISIANA.

Florida - L
Texas A&M - W
USM - L
LA Tech - W
Houston - L (24-31)
Ark State - W
UAB L (29-39)
Memphis - W
VA Tech - L
N. Illinois - W
Texas Tech - L

[SlickRick]

Absolute BS, coach.


@ Florida
Texas A&M
@ Southern Miss
@ Louisiana Tech
Houston
Arkansas State
@ UAB
Memphis
@ Virginia Tech
Northern Illinois
@ Texas Tech


Now, that is a tough schedule. 1996. We went 5-6 and beat A&M. Nearly Bowl eligible with THAT schedule as an independent. That is big boy football.

Our schedules for about the last 15 or so years have been laughable compared to the schedules from the 80's and 90's.

Don't believe me? Ask Gerald.

If we can't get Bowl eligible with the FCS game and the SBC schedule alone, then we have no business being in a Bowl game.

Hard to debate your point!

[GeauxCajuns]

We were 5-6 that year with a win over Texas A&M. That was as Southwestern Louisiana and with no facilities and no financial support from Dr. A. How we recruited to that dump is beyond me. We had 5 Home games vs. Texas A&M, Houston, Ark State, Memphis and N. Illinois. Houston and UAB were games we could easily have won and gone 7-4.

Look at our facilities today. We can recruit to the new APC and IPF. Playing that kind of schedule will increase fan support with a better home and away schedule that can bring national prominence to our program. That should increase funding and help to get the football stadium renovations completed. We will then have an overall athletic complex that can compete at any level. All of which will set Louisiana up for an upward move, our goal being the AAC or Big 12. It goes without saying that we have to win to achieve all of that. If we could do it back then with all of the restrictions USL had, we can do it today as LOUISIANA.

Florida - L
Texas A&M - W
USM - L
LA Tech - W
Houston - L (24-31)
Ark State - W
UAB L (29-39)
Memphis - W
VA Tech - L
N. Illinois - W
Texas Tech - L

we lost to UAB, who was in their first year of FBS(D1-A) at the time. we had no business losing that game, and there was all of about 2500 in that 70,000 seat stadium.

[HoustonCajun]

we lost to UAB, who was in their first year of FBS(D1-A) at the time. we had no business losing that game, and there was all of about 2500 in that 70,000 seat stadium.

I remember listening to that game and couldn't believe we lost it. That game was really the difference in a winning record that year.

[Ragin4U]

We were 5-6 that year with a win over Texas A&M. That was as Southwestern Louisiana and with no facilities and no financial support from Dr. A. How we recruited to that dump is beyond me. We had 5 Home games vs. Texas A&M, Houston, Ark State, Memphis and N. Illinois. Houston and UAB were games we could easily have won and gone 7-4.

Look at our facilities today. We can recruit to the new APC and IPF. Playing that kind of schedule will increase fan support with a better home and away schedule that can bring national prominence to our program. That should increase funding and help to get the football stadium renovations completed. We will then have an overall athletic complex that can compete at any level. All of which will set Louisiana up for an upward move, our goal being the AAC or Big 12. It goes without saying that we have to win to achieve all of that. If we could do it back then with all of the restrictions USL had, we can do it today as LOUISIANA.

Florida - L
Texas A&M - W
USM - L
LA Tech - W
Houston - L (24-31)
Ark State - W
UAB L (29-39)
Memphis - W
VA Tech - L
N. Illinois - W
Texas Tech - L

I dont understand your point. What do you think our record would be against that schedule today? While we are in a better place facility-wise, etc, than back then, so are most of the other teams on that schedule.
I guess what I'm asking is 'if we went 5-6, 4-7 against this schedule now, would you be happy?' Because I see a possible 2-9, 3-8 season against this schedule today.

[CajunNation]

As to whether we could use more P5 games as a tool to recruit players, look no further than the article posted.

"Any team can be beat on any given day," Cajuns senior safety Tracy Walker said. "That's how I really feel.

"With that being said, yes, Ole Miss and Texas A&M — they are well-respected SEC teams.

"But we're gonna to come to play," he added, "and they're gonna have to come to play with us as well."

Walker, who has played in a few road games against Power 5 opponents, welcomes the competition.

"If you don't look to compete," he said, "especially against the best, then how do you expect to be the best?

"I feel like Ole Miss, Texas A&M, they are the best. They're in the SEC, which is the best conference to me. So … I look forward to those games.

"I love big crowds," Walker added. "I love being in those atmospheres."

When he was a redshirt freshman in 2014, Walker took part in a 56-15 Cajuns loss at Ole Miss.

He had an interception when UL opened its 2015 season with a 40-33 loss at Kentucky, and another interception when the Cajuns lost 35-21 in his home state at Georgia last year.

Walker also has played in a couple of New Orleans Bowls — a 2014 win over Nevada and a loss last season to Southern Mississippi — and in a 2014 loss at highly regarded Boise State.

Yet, as he pondered this year's two SEC stages when asked about them earlier this summer, Walker started to stumble on his words.

"See," he said. "My adrenaline is starting to rush a little bit now, just thinking about it."

Like I've been saying for decades, for recruiting and reputation purposes, Bowl games vs. P5 schools > regular season games vs. P5 schools > Bowl games vs. G6 schools > regular season games vs. G6 schools.

[ManAboutTown]

The landscape of college football is unrecognizable to that era in its current form. Silly to argue the two.

We have a tough schedule this year. Not a secret.

[Turbine]

Absolute BS, coach.


@ Florida
Texas A&M
@ Southern Miss
@ Louisiana Tech
Houston
Arkansas State
@ UAB
Memphis
@ Virginia Tech
Northern Illinois
@ Texas Tech


Now, that is a tough schedule. 1996. We went 5-6 and beat A&M. Nearly Bowl eligible with THAT schedule as an independent. That is big boy football.

Our schedules for about the last 15 or so years have been laughable compared to the schedules from the 80's and 90's.

Don't believe me? Ask Gerald.

If we can't get Bowl eligible with the FCS game and the SBC schedule alone, then we have no business being in a Bowl game.

6-5 Texas Tech "forfeited" the game to UL. This was pre-vacate and the NCAA accepted their offer.