Mid-Season Progress

[appstate38]

With the FCS nation approaching the half way point I wanted to know how everyone feels about how their respective teams are doing so far. If they have met, exceeded or fallen below your hopes for them this season.

As far as my Apps go I am glad that we won that first at the Big House, but as far as my expectations for them I still feel we haven't quite risen to our full potential. Injuries and young players are somewhat reducing my hopes just a bit. I still believe we have a good enough team to go for 3, but unlike last year where we seemed to roll over people and that is not the case this year. We are catching everybody's best shot and it doesn't get any easier from here on out. Plenty of potential pitfalls line the road.

[danefan]

Well I'll start since I'm slow at work.

Albany is pretty much where we thought they would be. We should be 2-2 because we should have won the Colgate game.

Our young QB is much better than I expected and I look forward to the next two or three years with him. Our defense is as solid as we thought it would be, but our kicking game has not really lived up to its billing.

The rest of the season should get interesting. I'd expect wins over Wagner, Sacred Heart, St. Francis and Monmouth. Stony Brook, Central Conn. and Robert Morris will test the Danes more, but there are no games which UA should not win on the rest of the schedule. That being said an 8-3 season with an NEC championship and GridIron classic berth would be a "nice" season. I say "nice" because at this point in our program, anything less than an at-large bid is just nice.

[89Hen]

So far the Hens have met all expectations in a good way. We knew the offense would be good, it is... we hoped the defense would be improved, it is. Special teams has been solid although has had a couple decent returns against us, nothing too big though.

That said, the bigger tests start this week with a game at UNH. The Hens are Cats have split the last six games, but interestingly have won the last 5 in a row at UNH (11-3 overall in NH). xeyebrowx

[putter]

The Griz are where they should be 4-0. Despite the lousy schedule argument the Griz have played pretty well on both sides of the ball. Injuries have started to creep up but the depth should keep the Griz going. Clean up the penalties and this team has what it takes to stay on top.

[citdog]

The 'Dogs are right on schedule at 3-1. if we take care of business the rest of the way, 2007 will be a VERY SPECIAL year for the Cadets!

[DUPFLFan]

For Drake, I would say that we are ahead of where we thought we would be. No one expected wins of Illinois State or Northern Iowa but we got one of two.

Now looks like San Diego and Dayton are the key games the rest of the way...

[catbob]

It is hard to say with MSU, because a new coach brings so much uncertainty. I would say that winning three straight, including two conference victories, is impressing a lot of folk in Bobcat land. Our margin of victory is 30 points a game right now, and the defense has scored 7, 14, and 9 in the last 3 games, respectively. Our offense isn't clicking as well as it could be, but we are averaging over 400 yards per game in total offense, and rank 10th nationally in turnover margin. We are having a bit of a problem scoring in the redzone.

Overall, I am happy with where we are, and as the team gets more and more comfortable with the new coaching staff and schemes, I can only see this team getting better!

[Killsback]

The Salukis are better than most people thought thet would be as they have simply destroyed their competition except for NIU, their FBS game, although they won that game too.

Nick Hill has been near flawless at QB so far with no interceptions and a completion percentage of around 74%.John Randle and the other four tailbacks have been fantastic thus far in replacing Arkee Whitlock and they are all versatile in their own way.

Hill has thrown the ball to 18 different receivers and the WR corp is very deep. The O-line is deep and been very good ao far. The Salukis have given up some yards on the ground, but most after games have already beend ecided. The first team "D" has only given up one TD since the NIU game.

The next two weeks will tell ahuge story..home against Youngstown and on the road at UNI on the 16th. The real Salukis willemerge the next two weeks.

[DetroitFlyer]

Dayton was rolling along nicely until we ran into Morehead State. The win at Fordham had me thinking that the Flyers were back from last season's dismal effort. Losing to Morehead State, however, brought back bad memories from our loss at Butler last season. Remember, last season UD was undefeated OOC and then went 1-6 in the PFL.... So far in 2007, we are 0-1 in the PFL....

This week's game in Dayton with Jacksonville will go a long way to determining how UD finishes up.... Win big, and contending for a PFL title might still be in the cards. Win a close one, or lose and a winning season will be a good goal.

[appfan2008]

I would say ASU has met my expectations as I fully expected us to be 4-1 right now... of course i expected that one loss to be against michigan and not wofford but overall we are doing welll...

defense (especially the line) could use some work but i really cant complain

[TigerFan17]

We have **** the bed in grand fashion. What was supposed to be one the potent passing offenses in the CAA and possibly FCS has became a joke. Schaefer, once a Walter Payton award possible, has fallen from grace in dramatic fashion and can't stop throwing picks.
Our two main backs have rushed for a combined 3 TDs.
Our only two wins are over weak OOC opponents.
We have a god awful amount of injuries which will hurt us all season.

Crapsville bar, its time for me to open a tab... xviolinx xprost2x

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

I'll hold my answer until saturday night.

[813Jag]

So far 5 games into the season Southern's looking pretty good. The main concerns were the Offensive and Defensive lines. Those have held up well so far (no injuries). The play of the defense as a whole has been good espceically in the second half of games. They've only allowed 2 touchdowns in the second half. The offense while prone to slow starts makes plays when needed. I've been impressed with the running game which was something that worried me before the season started. QB Bryant Lee has been solid and for the most part turnover free (until last week when he threw his first interception of the season.) The recievers have been making catches although they've dropped a few. But the next 2 weeks will tell the tale as Southern hosts Alabama A&M and Jackson State.

[minuteman65]

Needless to say, I'm pretty happy with UMass at 4-1, especially with their very good, if penalty-prone, showing at BC. After almost collapsing against Holy Cross, we've pretty much rolled through our FCS schedule. Provided Coen's healthy, I'd say we look great.

[LehighFan11]

I would say Lehigh has fallen below expectations not beacuse of the 3-1 start but beacuse of how they have gotten there. As a Lehigh fan its not realistic to think about an undefeated out of conference record. But, the fact that they could of easily beaten Villanova and that they havent looked overly impressive in their wins v. princeton (2nd half im referring to) and v. harvard. Defense has come together nicely but Offense is still lagging behind.

[UCABEARS75]

It is hard to say that I am happy with UCA being 1-3 after four games but considering the talent we lost from last year's team and considering that our second D-I recruiting class are now true freshmen, it is about what I expected.

We lost 28-7 to La. Tech but had more yards, first downs, and time of possession than them.

We lost on a last play field goal to NW State after leading 21-7 at the half.

We beat Tenn-Martin at home.

Then we lost to Missouri State on a last minute touchdown.

Compeitive in every game and should improve with experience and maturity.

[URMite]

Let me try this.

We've had games where we had 9 penalties for 90 yds and our opponents have had none.
We've had games where we turned the ball over twice in our own redzone and our D caused no turnovers.
We've loss a starter to injury in every game.

And yet we are still moving up.

We've had the 2 highest offensive yardage production games in our 125 year history this season. Sure they were against barely mediocre teams, but that's more than we've done in the past (even with a schedule that frequently has included the likes of VMI for more than 50 years).
Not bad for a team with 7 seniors on a 82 man roster.

Now if we can get our 2nd alltime leading receiver back from injury in a couple weeks as expected, keep turnovers relatively even, and reduce dropped passes, then everything will be just fine.

[JMU2K_DukeDawg]

Well, UNC was a joke. A couple quirky mistakes and that game was out of hand wayyyyy to early. Wish we were playing them again!

But we came away with very little lost (in terms of injuries) and a paycheck and great experience for our team in an electric environment. That experience will pay off down the road.

Since that opening weekend, we took down UNH and have cruised over the rest of an easy OOC schedule, all while our QB, Rodney Landers, gets better every week and has probably replaced Schaefer on the Payton Watch List.

RB Holloman lost for the season does hurt, but his medical redshirt means even more depth next year (Read: Revenge game vs. App St.). Also, our young RBs are getting great time and experience early on.

In JMU's second conference game, Landers hit 9 different targets. Our TE Caussin is becoming a true threat in addition to our 215 6'2" WRs and 4.3 speedy Sr WR LC Baker.

Yes, all is well in Harrisonburg so far. However, with 4 of the next 6 games away from the friendly confines of Bridgeforth Stadium, it could be a different story a month from now.

The Delaware JMU showdown (as well as both teams playing UR) looms on the schedule and should be a hell of a game on the first weekend in November. xthumbsupx

[DTSpider]

Let me try this.

We've had games where we had 9 penalties for 90 yds and our opponents have had none.
We've had games where we turned the ball over twice in our own redzone and our D caused no turnovers.
We've loss a starter to injury in every game.

And yet we are still moving up.

We've had the 2 highest offensive yardage production games in our 125 year history this season. Sure they were against barely mediocre teams, but that's more than we've done in the past (even with a schedule that frequently has included the likes of VMI for more than 50 years).
Not bad for a team with 7 seniors on a 82 man roster.

Now if we can get our 2nd alltime leading receiver back from injury in a couple weeks as expected, keep turnovers relatively even, and reduce dropped passes, then everything will be just fine.

The injuries have been horrible. 3 preseason all-conference guys will be out Saturday.

Biggest surprise has been the kickoff returns which has been a huge spark. QB keeps improving and the corps of freshmen WRs has looked pretty good.

[skinny_uncle]

The Salukis are better than most people thought thet would be as they have simply destroyed their competition except for NIU, their FBS game, although they won that game too.

Nick Hill has been near flawless at QB so far with no interceptions and a completion percentage of around 74%.John Randle and the other four tailbacks have been fantastic thus far in replacing Arkee Whitlock and they are all versatile in their own way.

Hill has thrown the ball to 18 different receivers and the WR corp is very deep. The O-line is deep and been very good ao far. The Salukis have given up some yards on the ground, but most after games have already been decided. The first team "D" has only given up one TD since the NIU game.

The next two weeks will tell ahuge story..home against Youngstown and on the road at UNI on the 16th. The real Salukis will emerge the next two weeks.
You left out what may be the biggest improvement this year. The Salukis are forcing a lot more turnovers this year. They only had 7 INTs last year for the season. They already have 11 this year.

[EKU05]

The Colonels are a better team than they were at the start of the season...that much is for certain. We are 3-0 against true FCS opponents (though WKU could certainly still be looked at as an FCS loss in many regards).

The play calling took a huge step forward against Samford this past week when we showed that we were actually willing to throw the ball down the field. If our offense can continue to spread the defense out like that our running game will be tough to stop. I'd venture to say we have one of the top 5 running back DUOS is FCS, and our veteran O-line has been nothing short of outstanding all season to this point.

The biggest improvment for the Colonels this year is that we're holding onto the ball. Last season at the same point we were -9 in the turnover department. This year we are +11. And while our defense has shown that it will give up some yards, particularly in third and long situations...our secondary has 12 picks already.

We'll find out most of what we need to know about EKU's post season chances this week at EIU in what just might turn out to be the de facto OVC title game.

[Brad82]

Rhody-zero progress.

[Seawolf97]

We are off to a 3-2 start which is where I thought we would be at this time. A win over Albany Saturday and we have a shot at a 7-4 season. Thats good turnaround from 5-6 in 2006.

[DFW HOYA]

Progress? You're kidding, right?

[walliver]

Things are going well so far.

After the 2004 season, I expected this years team to have a good shot at playing in Chattanooga in December. After watching 2005's disappointing season and 2006's good (but not great) season, I had almost lost hope. We still have a long way to go, Citadel and GSU would like revenge, Elon could be dangerous, and even Western, UTC, and Gardner-Webb could be problems (few Terrier fans have forgotten an unexpected and inexplicable loss to VMI in 2002). The team played sloppy the first three games, but hopefully will continue to play well.

[McNeese75]

Cowboys are rolling along just fine, one game at a time xnodx

[Khan4Cats]

Panthers are rolling along just fine, one game at a time xnodx

I'll paraphrase that assessment.

[Tribe4SF]

Tribe has shown some hopeful signs, but has played inconsistently. The offense appears to have returned after an uncharacteristic 2006, and Jake Phillips is producing at QB. The defense is very young, but beginning to show signs of real potential. Injuries have hit hard at RB and WR. The team is learning how to win again, after dropping several close contests last year. Special teams play must improve. On the whole, 3-2 at this point is OK.

Road games at Villanova and Maine over the next two weeks will tell the season story for W&M. Lose them both and a winning season will be a near impossibility with UMass, Hofstra, JMU and Richmond remaining. Win them both and the Tribe will have peoples' attention at 5-2.

[nwFL Griz]

Well, since I'm a noob, let me start by saying hello all!

Also, due to my location all my impressions are based on written reports, so time will tell how the Griz are in my book.

But hey, gotta love 4-0, right? (Even if the schedule is "soft," as some claim.)

[mlbowl]

Well, since I'm a noob, let me start by saying hello all!

Also, due to my location all my impressions are based on written reports, so time will tell how the Griz are in my book.

But hey, gotta love 4-0, right? (Even if the schedule is "soft," as some claim.)

Welcome to AGS...always nice to add another Griz fan.xnodx

[AshevilleApp]

.........

RB Holloman lost for the season does hurt, but his medical redshirt means even more depth next year (Read: Revenge game vs. App St.). Also, our young RBs are getting great time and experience early on.



Damn I had forgotten about that one......looking at the improved SoCon and add JMU on the schedule the 2008 App schedule is going to be a doozy!!