Opinion - what does S.C. State need to do

[bosshogg]

to make the "next step" in 1-AA football

I look at the facts....in the 4 years Buddy Pough has been the head coach, they have gone 7-4,8-3,9-2, & 9-2.

last year, they lost to 2 ranked teams

Hampton (by 4 points)

Coastal carolina (by 1)

now frankly I think they could have should have won both games.

SCSU has decent facilities (stadium holds 24000)

and averages 14000 people at its home games (games in orangeburg, not classics, which ain't bad seeing as orangburg is very small)

http://www.scsu.edu/Services/TicketOffice/Pictures/scsu.jpg

http://www.scsu.edu/Services/TicketOffice/Pictures/stadium_map.gif

We have a large (10 coaches and a strength guy) coaching staff, and a recruiting coordinator who has been at the school 10 years as a coach (and a few more as a player)


What do you guys think, honestly, SCSU needs to do to go from being a perennial top 20 team, to a top 10 team, and from barely making (or not making) the playoffs, to going every year

(side note) I was one of many fans who didn't want them to go this year, cause when they had it in their grasp, they let it go against Coastal)

I along with most of our fans, want SCSU to be regarded as a 1-AA power, adn not just a HBCU power...what would you guys suggest?

[TexasTerror]

Nice stadium! I'd never seen pictures of it before.

I think you need to get Ws over good I-AA programs. Hampton as we saw in the playoffs was a dud though you have to play them yearly. It seems they are committed to having a great program and as they go, that helps you guys out as well. Coastal Carolina shot themselves in the foot and missed the playoffs and if they hadn't, they'd of gotten the nod over you IMHO due to the win over you folks.

It's about scheduling a solid non-conference schedule and getting the Ws. Your non-conference was Div II WSSU, a SWAC team and Coastal Carolina. Good thing WSSU is going I-AA, eh? I guess your stuck with playing a SWAC due to Classics, which may hurt you most years pending which school and then you got to make the most of your non-conference...

Good thing is your also in the MEAC and get an auto-bid. Consistently get into the NCAAs and win a game or two each year, your a power...

[rokamortis]

I think the biggest problem you guys had is that you didn't beat any ranked teams.

1) Play a strong OOC schedule
2) Beat some of the strong OOC teams
3) Win your conference
4) Make some noise in the playoffs when you get there

Much easier said than done, but Coastal is more or less in the same boat as you guys. We have a weak conference and seemed to have gotten some respect for beating JMU and SC State. The word is if we would have put CSU away then we would have had a shot at the playoffs.

[bosshogg]

I think the biggest problem you guys had is that you didn't beat any ranked teams.

1) Play a strong OOC schedule
2) Beat some of the strong OOC teams
3) Win your conference
4) Make some noise in the playoffs when you get there

Much easier said than done, but Coastal is more or less in the same boat as you guys. We have a weak conference and seemed to have gotten some respect for beating JMU and SC State. The word is if we would have put CSU away then we would have had a shot at the playoffs..

I am almost positive you would have...

[89Hen]

Go back to playing and beat Furman a couple of times. :twocents:

[kardplayer]

I think in terms of building a power, you have to try to get a game or 2 each year with a perennially top program - even if it means getting crushed often. These games will provide a measuring stick that the coaches and AD can then use when figuring out what it takes to get you to that next level. Take a look back at how other programs built themselves up, and I'm sure you will see they did this.

The other thing I would say is to put the recruiting focus on owning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Any RB can put up huge numbers if his linemen are opening up holes the size of South Carolina. Just look at the Denver Broncos - how many RB's have put up huge numbers there?
A QB doesn't have to be as good a decision maker if he has a couple extra seconds to throw the ball
On Defense, the opposing QB has to be that much better if he has no time to throw the ball.

[FlyBoy8]

No MEAC program will become a legitimate national power until that conference as a whole gets its act together, but SCSU would benefit from a tougher schedule. No SWAC teams, no D-II teams, no Big South teams, no OVC teams and not Elon (a popular MEAC choice). Play A-10, SoCon, Southland teams and be willing to travel.

[bosshogg]

No MEAC program will become a legitimate national power until that conference as a whole gets its act together, but SCSU would benefit from a tougher schedule. No SWAC teams, no D-II teams, no Big South teams, no OVC teams and not Elon (a popular MEAC choice). Play A-10, SoCon, Southland teams and be willing to travel.


I agree with that 100%..we would have to travel, and win....

[FlyBoy8]

If Hampton and SCSU lead the way, I think there's hope for the MEAC, maybe even in the next couple years. But some philosophies have to change and some habits have to be broken. The conference needs a new direction.

[henfan]

That is a really nice stadium! I'm impressed.

I-A probably shouldn't be a realistic goal for SCSU for a lot of reasons. There's no reason to think your team couldn't build on its recent success in I-AA though. Best of luck.

[putter]

I agree with the previous posts. SC St. needs to play a upgraded OOC schedule and beat Hampton. They have already begun to make inroads to getting noticed as a quality program by being ranked most of the year. Hampton's defeat didn't help your cause so I would say the most important thing is to play a quality OOC schedule.

[SUjagTILLiDIE]

I agree with that 100%..we would have to travel, and win....
Dude you are very sad :nonono2: :nonono2: .

[89Hen]

No SWAC teams, no D-II teams, no Big South teams, no OVC teams and not Elon (a popular MEAC choice). Play A-10, SoCon, Southland teams and be willing to travel.
I don't agree with the bolded comments. If I were doing SCSt's schedule, I would absolutely try to get a 'classic' against a SWAC team as one of my OOC games. I agree on no DII, but you're opposed to in-state and ranked Coastal? As for having to travel, that's not true at all. DelSt has hosted UMass and Southern Illinois recently. There are only a couple of I-AA's that won't do home and home's. I'd say Delaware wouldn't, but even they did a couple of home and home's with The Citadel in the past. SCSt can absoultely get home games with good OOC teams.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Her'e the bottom line. You have to schedule some high-powered SoCon home-and-homes, and win them on occasion. WIth Furman, Wofford in your state, and App St and GSU not incredibly far away, you have to find a way to get these games done, and they don't even require a travel budget.

I think, of course you want a SWAC classic or two on your schedule, and of course you want a Big South team or two - Coastal is also a good measuring stick too.

D-II wins can bite you in the butt for playoff consideration, so you want to avoid them if possible.

Finally, the MEAC is getting large and unwieldy as a conference. Like someone else said, the conference "getting their act together" would be immensely helpful to allowing SCSU to get more OOC games. Worst case, just split the MEAC into divisions.

[bosshogg]

If Hampton and SCSU lead the way, I think there's hope for the MEAC, maybe even in the next couple years. But some philosophies have to change and some habits have to be broken. The conference needs a new direction.


amen to that brother......we need a new commisioner in the worst way!!!!

[OL FU]

Furman and SC STate have had home and home series inthe past. I would love to see ti happen again.

[bosshogg]

Dude you are very sad :nonono2: :nonono2: .


call it what you want.......to get games with the larger programs, we would have to be willing to travel to their place. don't get me wrong, I think it should be a home and home series, but we have to be willing to travel to play the better teams, because they are not always nearby...sometimes they are, other times not, but you have to be willing to do it....

call it sad if you like...SCSU's program has a goal to make the playoffs and do well in them.....Southern has a goal of winning the Bayou Classic every year....to some, that is sad..my opinion is , do you thing, who am I to judge...but we wnat the playoffs, and we will continue to move towards that....

this thread was for opinions.....its cool if you disagree

[Mr. C]

I echo all of the comments on improving the schedule, etc. From a talent standpoint, the biggest weakness I saw holding SC State back this year was that your QB, McCoy, was very erratic as a passer. Darby, the WR/KR was one of the most dangerous players I saw all year and he was constantly open on routes, but McCoy couldn't, or wouldn't get him the ball. If you had a passer to balance that really good rushing attack, you could have made some noise this year and likely would have been 11-0 going into the playoffs.

[89Hen]

to get games with the larger programs, we would have to be willing to travel to their place. don't get me wrong, I think it should be a home and home series, but we have to be willing to travel to play the better teams, because they are not always nearby...
:confused: Does SCSt play all three OOC opponents at home now or is SCSt unwilling to travel for the second half of a home and home? I'm not sure what you mean here.

[bosshogg]

:confused: Does SCSt play all three OOC opponents at home now or is SCSt unwilling to travel for the second half of a home and home? I'm not sure what you mean here.

this is what I mean....I would love for our OOC games to be wofford, furman, and app state, and coastal and Ga southern......but some of those guys schedules are booked thru the decade....so to strengthen our schedule, we might have to play a lehigh, or a delaware, or a texas state, or a north iowa etc....

I didn't mean SCSU won't do a home and home, I just mean that to get tougher opponents, we may have to travel to places we don't "normally go" I don't know that SCSU has ever played a new hampshire, or a Brown, or a southern illy, or a nicholls state.....we would need to be open to playing guys like that...and i am not saying we are not currently...but we haven't been willing to travel there, but we haven't playing them for whatever reason, and those are the type teams we need to play to prepare us for playoff runs...

[jwfgeol]

Furman and SC STate have had home and home series inthe past. I would love to see ti happen again.

The SC State game in 1994 was my first game as a Paladin. Very close and went down to the wire. We won 26-21 after stopping State's last second hail mary attempt. For a while it was the 10th largest crowd at Paladin Stadium. I would also like to see this cross-state rivalry rekindled.

[OL FU]

The SC State game in 1994 was my first game as a Paladin. Very close and went down to the wire. We won 26-21 after stopping State's last second hail mary attempt. For a while it was the 10th largest crowd at Paladin Stadium. I would also like to see this cross-state rivalry rekindled.

And my first Bulldog game ( not my first Paladin game) was the '82 playoff game where State shut down a very good FU offense.I made the next four or six (I can't remember) home and home series games after that. They were all fun although the last ones were not close.

Looked up a few
Furman score listed first:

83 3-13
84 28-10
85 38-31
86 34-7
87 25-7
88 38-0
89 17-7

Series went on longer than I remembered.

[thirdgendin]

And my first Bulldog game ( not my first Paladin game) was the '82 playoff game where State shut down a very good FU offense.I made the next four or six (I can't remember) home and home series games after that. They were all fun although the last ones were not close.

Looked up a few
Furman score listed first:

83 3-13
84 28-10
85 38-31
86 34-7
87 25-7
88 38-0
89 17-7

Series went on longer than I remembered.

We played them a lot in the 90's as well. I remember a Brent Rickman implosion down there in 1997 when we lost.

[jwfgeol]

Looked up a few
Furman score listed first:

83 3-13
84 28-10
85 38-31
86 34-7
87 25-7
88 38-0
89 17-7



Here were a few in the 90's with Furman listed first. No team won two in a row from 94-98.

90 24-7
94 26-21
95 21-27
96 27-13
97 6-17
98 27-19

[blueballs]

What does SC State need to do?

Join the SoCon, you would be a great addition and another public university would actually help the conference.

[gr8ness97]

join the socon? like thats gonna happen, although it would be great...and they are coming 2 wssu next year as well...i wish that we were going to the big south in a way...

[Mr. Tiger]

South Carolina State could find a home and home series with a SoCon team, but the main problem has been Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T. Those two schools were respected Division I-AA programs until Florida A&M's botched move to Division I-A and North Carolina A&T's coaching problem. I have no doubt both schools will return to glory in the next couple of years and that will make the conference stronger and South Carolina State a playoff team if they do well in league play. And don't listen to people who say don't play SWAC schools. It's completely ridiculous. :rolleyes: Grambling would have been a playoff team if it wasn't for the Bayou Classic and the SWAC Championship so a win against Grambling would have helped South Carolina State's playoff hopes. And Hampton played and beat Jackson State this season and that didn't stop them from getting to the playoffs.

[SU Jag]

Win, win, and win! Stay away from the CIAA! :)

[Eaglegus2]

Hey BossHogg............Georgia Southern has two openings on their schedule in '06. The Eagles really have enjoyed going to Orangeburg in the past. It would be a great move to have them on a home & home again.

Plus, it isn't that far for GSU fans to travel. Just a little trek up U.S. 301. :nod: :beerchug:

[HIU 93]

Hey BossHogg............Georgia Southern has two openings on their schedule in '06. The Eagles really have enjoyed going to Orangeburg in the past. It would be a great move to have them on a home & home again.

Plus, it isn't that far for GSU fans to travel. Just a little trek up U.S. 301. :nod: :beerchug:

Do you have your AD's contact info? I would LOVE to slip that to someone at Hampton. I don't know if we have anything open for 2006, but that would be a game I would love to see played.

[Mr. Tiger]

Hey BossHogg............Georgia Southern has two openings on their schedule in '06. The Eagles really have enjoyed going to Orangeburg in the past. It would be a great move to have them on a home & home again.

Plus, it isn't that far for GSU fans to travel. Just a little trek up U.S. 301. :nod: :beerchug:

One of those openings might be filled with Jackson State. Local paper reported JSU is in talks with Georgia Southern for a game next year.

[TexasTerror]

And Hampton played and beat Jackson State this season and that didn't stop them from getting to the playoffs.

It's called an auto-bid! :rolleyes:

Hampton sure showed how great they were in the playoffs. Though, I see them evolving into a consistent player each year. The coach there knows he needs a tougher non-conference schedule and I'm glad HU fans agree... :)

[bosshogg]

Hey BossHogg............Georgia Southern has two openings on their schedule in '06. The Eagles really have enjoyed going to Orangeburg in the past. It would be a great move to have them on a home & home again.

Plus, it isn't that far for GSU fans to travel. Just a little trek up U.S. 301. :nod: :beerchug:

I agree..I have been waiting on this to happen for while now....

[Mr. Tiger]

It's called an auto-bid! :rolleyes:

Hampton sure showed how great they were in the playoffs. Though, I see them evolving into a consistent player each year. The coach there knows he needs a tougher non-conference schedule and I'm glad HU fans agree... :)


There you go again. :nonono2: Hampton would have received an at-large bid even if the MEAC didn't have the auto-bid. Remember, Hampton was seeded No. 3.

[MarkCCU]

Buddy P. has done a great job in his 4 years at SCState. I think if he continues onthe track he has been on, with improvements in the schedule and players they'll began to draw greater attention for being a powerful team.



Mark....OUT!

[TexasTerror]

There you go again. :nonono2: Hampton would have received an at-large bid even if the MEAC didn't have the auto-bid. Remember, Hampton was seeded No. 3.

They sure would have and they'd of tanked just like they did as MEAC champions this past year. Your remark was Hampton playing Jackson St did not hurt them. Of course not, they won so it did not hurt them. Now a loss to them and Hampton wouldn't of been a top 4 seed...

[eaglesrthe1]

Hey BossHogg............Georgia Southern has two openings on their schedule in '06. The Eagles really have enjoyed going to Orangeburg in the past. It would be a great move to have them on a home & home again.

Plus, it isn't that far for GSU fans to travel. Just a little trek up U.S. 301. :nod: :beerchug:

One can only wish. :hurray: :hurray:
If GSU can schedule a home and home with South Dakota State, they sure should be able to have one with a team in the next state. :rolleyes:

[blukeys]

call it what you want.......to get games with the larger programs, we would have to be willing to travel to their place. don't get me wrong, I think it should be a home and home series, but we have to be willing to travel to play the better teams, because they are not always nearby...sometimes they are, other times not, but you have to be willing to do it....

call it sad if you like...SCSU's program has a goal to make the playoffs and do well in them.....Southern has a goal of winning the Bayou Classic every year....to some, that is sad..my opinion is , do you thing, who am I to judge...but we wnat the playoffs, and we will continue to move towards that....

this thread was for opinions.....its cool if you disagree

As someone who actually has gone to MEAC games for the last 20 years and am a Delaware fan my best advice is to recruit better athletes for your front 7.

I have not seen SCSU for 10 years. They used to run the WingT on offense and were willing to run the ball down your throat. They would not have been capable of doing that against a good A-10 team 10 years ago and that is even less so today. MEAC boosters look at their skill position players and assume that other I-AA conferences do not have equally good and fast skill position players. This isn't so. With the exception of a true pro prospect such as Curtis Mathes, the A-10 Skill position players are as good or better than most in the MEAC, (I will say I have never seen a MEAC RB as good as Delaware's Omar Cuff or Brian Westbrook for Villanova ) The big difference and it is huge is in the front seven players on offense and defense.

There is a marked difference in this area between the A-10, Socon, Gateway and the MEAC.

Until the MEAC teams get quality athletes at the OL, DL and LInebacking positions I seen no reason to assume that a change will occur in the MEAC Playoff performance regardless of who they schedule in the regular season!!!! :)

[bosshogg]

As someone who actually has gone to MEAC games for the last 20 years and am a Delaware fan my best advice is to recruit better athletes for your front 7.

I have not seen SCSU for 10 years. They used to run the WingT on offense and were willing to run the ball down your throat. They would not have been capable of doing that against a good A-10 team 10 years ago and that is even less so today. MEAC boosters look at their skill position players and assume that other I-AA conferences do not have equally good and fast skill position players. This isn't so. With the exception of a true pro prospect such as Curtis Mathes, the A-10 Skill position players are as good or better than most in the MEAC, (I will say I have never seen a MEAC RB as good as Delaware's Omar Cuff or Brian Westbrook for Villanova ) The big difference and it is huge is in the front seven players on offense and defense.

There is a marked difference in this area between the A-10, Socon, Gateway and the MEAC.

Until the MEAC teams get quality athletes at the OL, DL and LInebacking positions I seen no reason to assume that a change will occur in the MEAC Playoff performance regardless of who they schedule in the regular season!!!! :)

good poitn....check back with me after signing day...we hav ea few surprses!

[walliver]

I think it would help if you could play one or two OOC games later in the year. In late November when The Committee makes it decisions, games played in August and September don't seem to count for much, especially when you finish the season against relatively poor competition.

I've heard rumors that Wofford will play SC State this year in September (I haven't heard where and whether its home-and-home or another 2-for-1)

[arranger101]

We played them a lot in the 90's as well. I remember a Brent Rickman implosion down there in 1997 when we lost.

I remember that also. We had a good team that year(9-2) and went to the Heritage Bowl.

[ChickenMan]

to make the "next step" in 1-AA football





1... make the playoffs

2... win two games in the playoffs

that would do it... :nod: