necfbfan
Climbing Mt. St. James
Posts: 78
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Post by necfbfan on Feb 14, 2023 8:57:33 GMT -5
I like pay games against regional FBS teams instead of traveling to Timbuktu to play a ranked FCS team on our dime to achieve the challenge and rigor we seek. Agree 1000%! Why pay to play a game against a lesser known opponent, when Holy Cross can get paid to play a game that will go a long way in raising their regional profile if they win? And not only this, but I do believe Holy Cross should be aiming for 2 FBS games per year, even in an 11 game schedule. No saying it's quite so simple, but it should be the aim. If you look at the bottom-tier FBS programs in the region, they almost function as FCS programs. Teams like UMass, Temple, UConn before Jim Mora. These are FBS games that will raise the profile of the team and earn them a nice check, while being completely winnable all the while (You culd even argue Holy Cross should be favored against these teams.) Then the second FBS game can be a tougher one. Preferably a P5 opponent like Syracuse/Boston College/Pitt/Rutgers. Beating a P5 team would be the next level for this program, and with all do respect, BC/Cuse/Rutgers are not world beaters, and defeating them is possible. In years where you can't get one of them, go for a service academy or a MAC school. I truly feel like this model would be great for fans and players alike, and would serve as a tool for attracting recruits. Plus if you win these games, you continue to rise. As for the remaining 3 games, fill it out with an Ivy team, a CAA opponent, and then take your pick.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 14, 2023 9:08:52 GMT -5
Will we have trouble finding FBS opponents who will write us a nice check if we get good enough to be favored in those games? Isn’t the idea that the FBS school is willing to pay for an assured win to boost its hopes for bowl eligibility?
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Post by cruskater31 on Feb 14, 2023 9:09:01 GMT -5
This thread on conference affiliation has it all! Redshirts, flood plains, history! I expect Paul Revere in Crusader armor to ride by shouting "The Redshirts are coming!" any minute. New favorite Crossports quote!
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Post by Ignutz on Feb 14, 2023 9:34:52 GMT -5
Will we have trouble finding FBS opponents who will write us a nice check if we get good enough to be favored in those games? Isn’t the idea that the FBS school is willing to pay for an assured win to boost its hopes for bowl eligibility? Are you suggesting that Michigan wasn't happy with their 2007 game against App. State?? Bleacher Report has this as the second biggest upset in College Football history (#1 being 41-point underdog Stanford beating USC, also in 2007). Coming in at #15 is HC beating BC 55-12 in 1942. (I hadn't realized before today that BC had only allowed 19 points all season before we hung the speed limit on 'em.)
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necfbfan
Climbing Mt. St. James
Posts: 78
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Post by necfbfan on Feb 14, 2023 10:07:09 GMT -5
Will we have trouble finding FBS opponents who will write us a nice check if we get good enough to be favored in those games? Isn’t the idea that the FBS school is willing to pay for an assured win to boost its hopes for bowl eligibility? Lol, this is a legitimate concern. I mean, if Holy Cross keeps beating these FBS teams, they might start running scared. But cross that bridge if/when we get to it, and focus on climbing the ladder now. That's how I see it. Heck, if it really does get to that point, then maybe instead of taking a paycheck game at a school like UMass/UConn, schedule a 2 for 1 with those teams? Go there twice for no pay, but they have to come to Fitton once in return.
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Post by hcpride on Feb 14, 2023 11:08:44 GMT -5
Will we have trouble finding FBS opponents who will write us a nice check if we get good enough to be favored in those games? Isn’t the idea that the FBS school is willing to pay for an assured win to boost its hopes for bowl eligibility? I think MAC schools are the sort of FBS teams that the very top FCS teams can compete with. On the field and on the recruiting trail. This past year, we've done both. One would think the MAC schools would avoid scheduling the very top FCS schools (I don't know if we looked to be at the top of FCS when the Buffalo game was originally scheduled...they played woeful Wagner the previous year)
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Post by bigfan on Feb 14, 2023 11:33:53 GMT -5
If we continue beating Harvard & Yale, watch them cancel the future games against HC. The Ivy league does not like to lose.
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Post by rgs318 on Feb 14, 2023 12:08:24 GMT -5
,,,especially to a Catholic-affiliated college.
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Post by efg72 on Feb 14, 2023 13:23:24 GMT -5
If we continue beating Harvard & Yale, watch them cancel the future games against HC. The Ivy league does not like to lose. As I recall they were very supportive of the collection of PL schools- they were looking for guaranteed wins for their OOC schedule
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Feb 14, 2023 13:42:51 GMT -5
If we continue beating Harvard & Yale, watch them cancel the future games against HC. The Ivy league does not like to lose. You fail to realize that with their recent big bump-up in endowments, practically everyone will matriculate at HYP at little or no cost. That means 110-120 on the football rosters matriculating with the equivalent of full scollies. Only the three service academies have it so good, but after four years, HYP will give you your diploma and send you on your way..
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Post by mm67 on Feb 14, 2023 14:58:13 GMT -5
It has long been my hope that someday almost all will attend HC "at little or no cost."(PP) Not going to happen any time soon but I believe it is a worthy goal.
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Post by jkh67 on Feb 14, 2023 15:08:30 GMT -5
If we continue beating Harvard & Yale, watch them cancel the future games against HC. The Ivy league does not like to lose. As I recall they were very supportive of the collection of PL schools- they were looking for guaranteed wins for their OOC schedule I don't think the IL expected "guaranteed wins" every year, but they were certainly aiming to bring to an end those annual "Black Saturdays" in late September (as I believe the NYT once described it) when most of the IL played OOC schools and lost most of those games...sometimes very badly.
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Post by jkh67 on Feb 14, 2023 15:09:44 GMT -5
I like pay games against regional FBS teams instead of traveling to Timbuktu to play a ranked FCS team on our dime to achieve the challenge and rigor we seek. Agree 1000%! Why pay to play a game against a lesser known opponent, when Holy Cross can get paid to play a game that will go a long way in raising their regional profile if they win? And not only this, but I do believe Holy Cross should be aiming for 2 FBS games per year, even in an 11 game schedule. No saying it's quite so simple, but it should be the aim. If you look at the bottom-tier FBS programs in the region, they almost function as FCS programs. Teams like UMass, Temple, UConn before Jim Mora. These are FBS games that will raise the profile of the team and earn them a nice check, while being completely winnable all the while (You culd even argue Holy Cross should be favored against these teams.) Then the second FBS game can be a tougher one. Preferably a P5 opponent like Syracuse/Boston College/Pitt/Rutgers. Beating a P5 team would be the next level for this program, and with all do respect, BC/Cuse/Rutgers are not world beaters, and defeating them is possible. In years where you can't get one of them, go for a service academy or a MAC school. I truly feel like this model would be great for fans and players alike, and would serve as a tool for attracting recruits. Plus if you win these games, you continue to rise. As for the remaining 3 games, fill it out with an Ivy team, a CAA opponent, and then take your pick.
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 14, 2023 15:10:50 GMT -5
Will we have trouble finding FBS opponents who will write us a nice check if we get good enough to be favored in those games? Isn’t the idea that the FBS school is willing to pay for an assured win to boost its hopes for bowl eligibility? Are you suggesting that Michigan wasn't happy with their 2007 game against App. State?? Bleacher Report has this as the second biggest upset in College Football history (#1 being 41-point underdog Stanford beating USC, also in 2007). Coming in at #15 is HC beating BC 55-12 in 1942. (I hadn't realized before today that BC had only allowed 19 points all season before we hung the speed limit on 'em.) "hung the speed limit on 'em" 🤣😂
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 14, 2023 15:16:09 GMT -5
As I recall they were very supportive of the collection of PL schools- they were looking for guaranteed wins for their OOC schedule I don't think the IL expected "guaranteed wins" every year, but they were certainly aiming to bring to an end those annual "Black Saturdays" in late September (as I believe the NYT once described it) when most of the IL played OOC schools and lost most of those games...sometimes very badly. Like most kid brothers and sisters, the PL inherited the black Saturdays as "hand-me-downs."
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Post by princetoncrusader on Feb 14, 2023 15:51:53 GMT -5
As I recall they were very supportive of the collection of PL schools- they were looking for guaranteed wins for their OOC schedule I don't think the IL expected "guaranteed wins" every year, but they were certainly aiming to bring to an end those annual "Black Saturdays" in late September (as I believe the NYT once described it) when most of the IL played OOC schools and lost most of those games...sometimes very badly. I do recall one year where Princeton got pounded by Delaware 63 to zero. In the following week's NYT usual Saturday college football column, the writer noted that the Tigers "were back in the Ivy League, where they belong." In the early years of the Colonial/PL, I believe there was actually a formal agreement to play 2-3 games per season against PL teams to fill out the non-conf. schedule. That seems to have gone by the wayside with Pioneer league teams increasingly showing up on Ivy schedules. Here is the Princeton schedule out to 2029 goprincetontigers.com/sports/2017/4/20/future-football-schedules.aspx
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Feb 14, 2023 16:01:40 GMT -5
There was a long, long stretch where Dartmouth never beat UNH and Yale never beat UCONN. And that included a number if years where the two YanCon teams weren't that good.
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Post by timholycross on Feb 14, 2023 16:23:14 GMT -5
Sadly, our most frequent Ivy relationship, Dartmouth (80), seems to be a thing of the past.
Harvard (70) is second, followed by Brown and Yale (62 and 33, I believe). Yale's on the schedule this decade and it appears Harvard is too, although they seem to shy away from revealing their future schedules.
Princeton (10), Columbia (8), Penn (5) and Cornell (5, HC's never beaten them) all were part of a rotation that started when the PL began; but none of that quartet has been played since 2001. Seeing as HC had a pretty weak team in and around that era, my guess is someone in power figured out that those matchups were attractive to very few and let's stick to the schools HC had a relationship with.
Miss Dartmouth, especially the road trip; don't miss Brown one iota.
Would venture to guess other PL schools' for the most part still play the Ivies they played before anyone heard of the Colonial League.
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Post by timholycross on Feb 14, 2023 16:26:52 GMT -5
It has long been my hope that someday almost all will attend HC "at little or no cost."(PP) Not going to happen any time soon but I believe it is a worthy goal. If it was true, or close to true, Father Brooks' concept of Holy Cross football would have been successful.
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Post by jkh67 on Feb 14, 2023 17:02:48 GMT -5
,,,especially to a Catholic-affiliated college. That may...or may not...have been true once upon a time, but I expect the fact that HC is a Catholic school...whatever that may mean in this day and age...is no longer a factor that would cause the IL even more pain when the lose. Which will hopefully be often in coming years!
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Post by jkh67 on Feb 14, 2023 17:05:21 GMT -5
I like pay games against regional FBS teams instead of traveling to Timbuktu to play a ranked FCS team on our dime to achieve the challenge and rigor we seek. Agree 1000%! Why pay to play a game against a lesser known opponent, when Holy Cross can get paid to play a game that will go a long way in raising their regional profile if they win? And not only this, but I do believe Holy Cross should be aiming for 2 FBS games per year, even in an 11 game schedule. No saying it's quite so simple, but it should be the aim. If you look at the bottom-tier FBS programs in the region, they almost function as FCS programs. Teams like UMass, Temple, UConn before Jim Mora. These are FBS games that will raise the profile of the team and earn them a nice check, while being completely winnable all the while (You culd even argue Holy Cross should be favored against these teams.) Then the second FBS game can be a tougher one. Preferably a P5 opponent like Syracuse/Boston College/Pitt/Rutgers. Beating a P5 team would be the next level for this program, and with all do respect, BC/Cuse/Rutgers are not world beaters, and defeating them is possible. In years where you can't get one of them, go for a service academy or a MAC school. I truly feel like this model would be great for fans and players alike, and would serve as a tool for attracting recruits. Plus if you win these games, you continue to rise. As for the remaining 3 games, fill it out with an Ivy team, a CAA opponent, and then take your pick.
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Post by jkh67 on Feb 14, 2023 17:11:59 GMT -5
I wouldn't limit our geographical horizon to the North East when it comes to scheduling FBS teams. Why not consider schools like Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and even Stanford? Those are all high quality academic institutions that we might be able to play competitively in a given year and the exposure would help spread the HC brand more broadly -- always a plus when it comes to recruiting and alumni support.
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Post by jkh67 on Feb 14, 2023 17:16:30 GMT -5
Sadly, our most frequent Ivy relationship, Dartmouth (80), seems to be a thing of the past. Harvard (70) is second, followed by Brown and Yale (62 and 33, I believe). Yale's on the schedule this decade and it appears Harvard is too, although they seem to shy away from revealing their future schedules. Princeton (10), Columbia (8), Penn (5) and Cornell (5, HC's never beaten them) all were part of a rotation that started when the PL began; but none of that quartet has been played since 2001. Seeing as HC had a pretty weak team in and around that era, my guess is someone in power figured out that those matchups were attractive to very few and let's stick to the schools HC had a relationship with. Miss Dartmouth, especially the road trip; don't miss Brown one iota. Would venture to guess other PL schools' for the most part still play the Ivies they played before anyone heard of the Colonial League. I miss the Big Green, too. Don't know why that long-standing rivalry has completely disappeared.
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Post by mm67 on Feb 14, 2023 17:17:24 GMT -5
I wouldn't limit our geographical horizon to the North East when it comes to scheduling FBS teams. Why not consider schools like Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and even Stanford? Those are all high quality academic institutions that we might be able to play competitively in a given year and the exposure would help spread the HC brand more broadly -- always a plus when it comes to recruiting and alumni support. Duke? OMG! Love it. These are heady days for the Crusader faithful, alums & fans. Let's see what happens with the BC pigeons. I have serious doubts borne out of frustration & pain. I was there in Foxboro. Troy Stafford(?) The name gives me nightmares. Damn DeOssie. Cowboy Jack Bicknell. And, Flutie? Dukies with Christian Laettner at QB would be a fine opponent. HA!!!!
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Post by jkh67 on Feb 14, 2023 17:25:47 GMT -5
If we continue beating Harvard & Yale, watch them cancel the future games against HC. The Ivy league does not like to lose. As I recall they were very supportive of the collection of PL schools- they were looking for guaranteed wins for their OOC schedule Yes they were and I believe they "promised" to play most of their OOC games against PL schools. The other part of the "deal" was that the PL would not offer athletic scholarships That may have worked for a while, but as the PL went to athletic scholarships, the number of games the Ivies committed to the PL gradually declined. Don't know whether this was cause and effect or just reflective of the big changes in college football in the last few decades.
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