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Post by Crucis#1 on May 10, 2023 22:28:49 GMT -5
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Post by longsuffering on May 11, 2023 0:08:49 GMT -5
I think H,Y, Merrimack, Army, BC is a fabulous OOC schedule. Not a stinker in the bunch with the potential for all five to have have winning records next season. BC or Army may be a stinker in FBS next season but they are plus opponents for an FCS team.
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Post by mm67 on May 11, 2023 5:12:42 GMT -5
Win the games against the teams it plays during the season & HC will get into the playoffs. If the team is good enough it will continue to win in the playoffs regardless of the OOC. SOS should not be a concern. It is merely the talk of commentators in the entertainment business. This year's OOC schedule is near perfect. Why near perfect? It is a great marketing tool for the HC brand as a fine near IL college.
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Post by hcpride on May 11, 2023 6:04:25 GMT -5
I think H,Y, Merrimack, Army, BC is a fabulous OOC schedule. Not a stinker in the bunch with the potential for all five to have have winning records next season. BC or Army may be a stinker in FBS next season but they are plus opponents for an FCS team. Very similar FCS OOC to last year. The real ‘stinkers’ in the schedule reside in the PL portion. Hopefully the strength of the former will offset the latter. We’re in interesting company as the OOC games for Harvard and Yale: St Thomas, Howard, Morgan State, and Sacred Heart.
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Post by hc6774 on May 11, 2023 6:10:43 GMT -5
In addition to the PL title this year the program has set the goal to get a favorable seed to compete for the national title.
The Hero piece sets out what will it take to get a favorable seed. It includes 'dominating' FCS opponents. What does that mean & how do you do it?... honorably, if possible.
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Post by HC92 on May 11, 2023 6:21:45 GMT -5
The part about having to blow out weaker opponents is troubling but hopefully teams understand that it ain’t personal, it’s just business.
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Post by sader1970 on May 11, 2023 7:09:45 GMT -5
Respectfully disagree. You weren't around in the days of "Roll 'em up, Benny" the Syracuse coach who with a very large lead as time was expiring in the 4th quarter called a timeout to set up for a field goal to get 3 more points. Disgraceful. He was looking to get a higher ranking and Lambert Trophy for top team in the east. I want a great seed and national championship as much as anyone here but there are right ways and wrong ways. You also don't keep Matt in with a 28+ point lead in the 4th quarter for selfish reasons - why risk an injury to win by 35 or 42 points. Yeah, we gotta beat teams by more than 2-3 points or have a bunch of OT wins.
I also recognize that you aren't exactly saying that since you used the "troubling" qualifier.
If we beat both BC and Army, we darn well better get a top 4 seed. They may not be Alabama but how many other FCS teams will have beaten 2 FBS teams?
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Post by hc1998 on May 11, 2023 7:17:23 GMT -5
Its pretty simple...it isn't necessarily running up the score, but its scoring so much early, while shutting the other team down on D so that you have a large lead and ultimately win by double digits. Our first 6 weeks last year...dominating, our last 5...not so much (and yes I know we blew out Lehigh and GTown in 2 of those 5 weeks, but those were garbage teams)
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Post by sader1970 on May 11, 2023 7:25:57 GMT -5
It'll help immeasurably if we have a healthy Jake Dobbs to hold down the opponents' offenses.
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Post by hcpride on May 11, 2023 7:31:09 GMT -5
In addition to the PL title this year the program has set the goal to get a favorable seed to compete for the national title. The Hero piece sets out what will it take to get a favorable seed. It includes 'dominating' FCS opponents. What does that mean & how do you do it?... honorably, if possible. In context (given our relatively weak FCS schedule) it makes sense: Another knock on Holy Cross last year in the seeding debate was it played some close games. If you’re competing for high seeds with teams that have Top 10 strength of schedules and you’re in the 70s, you need to dominate your lesser competition. Single-digit wins over teams like Harvard, Lafayette, and Bryant didn’t help the Crusaders in 2022. “Wins are wins” doesn’t apply when trying to weigh playoff resumes.
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Post by mm67 on May 11, 2023 7:39:53 GMT -5
We won some close PL games by merely a few points. We made the playoffs. We got a seed. Now, some want to roll it up against other schools to get a higher seed? Sounds like a "mouse that roared" complex. HC has been on the losing side of a blow out loss more times than I can recall. Read some complaints about the blowout loss to FU at Yankees Stadium. OK for HC to roll it up but it is a "crime" for an opponent to roll up the score against HC. Rolling up the score stinks! Be forewarned: Every dog has his day.
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Post by rgs318 on May 11, 2023 8:54:29 GMT -5
I believe it shows little class to refer to any opponent as a "garbage" team. Take the high ground. Is it worth sacrificing our ethical standards and common courtesy to get a higher seed? I would rather see HC play an extra game if necessary and, OK, then blow them out to show the seeding committee how wrong they were. But, even then, I would not call the loser "garbage."
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Post by longsuffering on May 11, 2023 10:10:38 GMT -5
I think H,Y, Merrimack, Army, BC is a fabulous OOC schedule. Not a stinker in the bunch with the potential for all five to have have winning records next season. BC or Army may be a stinker in FBS next season but they are plus opponents for an FCS team. Very similar FCS OOC to last year. The real ‘stinkers’ in the schedule reside in the PL portion. Hopefully the strength of the former will offset the latter. We’re in interesting company as the OOC games for Harvard and Yale: St Thomas, Howard, Morgan State, and Sacred Heart. Harvard and Yale going all Catholic, all HBCU all the time. The Tommies and Crusaders were a combined 22-2 last season so if Harvard was looking for tomato cans, they got hand grenades instead. Saratoga would be pleased to know that the University of St. Thomas was founded as a Seminary in 1885. St. Thomas is in a big city (St. Paul) but I never heard of them before their football success put them on the radar screen. That has to be happening with Holy Cross football success putting the school on some radar screens, also.
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Post by Ignutz on May 11, 2023 10:19:27 GMT -5
We won some close PL games by merely a few points. We made the playoffs. We got a seed. Now, some want to roll it up against other schools to get a higher seed? Sounds like a "mouse that roared" complex. HC has been on the losing side of a blow out loss more times than I can recall. Read some complaints about the blowout loss to FU at Yankees Stadium. OK for HC to roll it up but it is a "crime" for an opponent to roll up the score against HC. Rolling up the score stinks! Be forewarned: Every dog has his day. And when you beat Bucknell 57-0, people say, "Yeah, but it's Bucknell!" There's no right answer here.
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Post by HC92 on May 11, 2023 10:28:27 GMT -5
Our goal is to win a national championship. The higher the seed we get, the more realistic that goal becomes. It’s easier to get a higher seed if we win all of our FCS games by 20+ points. Against the weaker teams, we can certainly win by 20+ points without throwing on first down in the 4th quarter with Sluka and Coker still in the game. There is a difference between running it up in a way that might be considered bad sportsmanship and making sure we win by comfortable margins so that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot by playing close games against bad opponents. I don’t know that winning by 35 rather than 25 matters. The tricky one will be when we’re up 17 late and we have to decide whether to try to get it to 24.
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Post by longsuffering on May 11, 2023 10:42:25 GMT -5
A 9-2 team with several close wins could be a very clutch team that is well coached and disciplined. What happens in the playoffs when a 9-2 team with several blow out wins plays a 9-2 team with several hard fought close wins. If it is a game that goes down to the wire, who do you like?
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Post by Sons of Vaval on May 11, 2023 11:17:45 GMT -5
I believe it shows little class to refer to any opponent as a "garbage" team. Take the high ground. Is it worth sacrificing our ethical standards and common courtesy to get a higher seed? I would rather see HC play an extra game if necessary and, OK, then blow them out to show the seeding committee how wrong they were. But, even then, I would not call the loser "garbage." Bucknell is a garbage football program. There, I said it.
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Post by hc1998 on May 11, 2023 12:11:42 GMT -5
I believe it shows little class to refer to any opponent as a "garbage" team. Take the high ground. Is it worth sacrificing our ethical standards and common courtesy to get a higher seed? I would rather see HC play an extra game if necessary and, OK, then blow them out to show the seeding committee how wrong they were. But, even then, I would not call the loser "garbage." You are right, lets just turn off the scoreboard, call it a tie, and all go out for ice cream afterwards
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Post by DFW HOYA on May 11, 2023 12:34:18 GMT -5
I believe it shows little class to refer to any opponent as a "garbage" team. Take the high ground. Is it worth sacrificing our ethical standards and common courtesy to get a higher seed? I would rather see HC play an extra game if necessary and, OK, then blow them out to show the seeding committee how wrong they were. But, even then, I would not call the loser "garbage." Bucknell is a garbage football program. There, I said it. They are not alone--the PL now has two and sometimes as many as three teams in the bottom 25 of FCS in any given season. So, would fans prefer three guaranteed wins by four and five touchdowns each season, but at the expense of strength of schedule, or the possibility of a lower seed with a better overall strength of schedule?
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Post by HC92 on May 11, 2023 14:15:47 GMT -5
A 9-2 team with several close wins could be a very clutch team that is well coached and disciplined. What happens in the playoffs when a 9-2 team with several blow out wins plays a 9-2 team with several hard fought close wins. If it is a game that goes down to the wire, who do you like? The home team. That’s why we want the better seed.
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Post by gks on May 11, 2023 14:28:37 GMT -5
I think H,Y, Merrimack, Army, BC is a fabulous OOC schedule. Not a stinker in the bunch with the potential for all five to have have winning records next season. BC or Army may be a stinker in FBS next season but they are plus opponents for an FCS team. To us provincial New Englanders these games seem great. To the powers that be on the FCS football committee not so much. I don't think the Ivy Football brand has much respect nationwide. Not that they don't have talent, which they obviously do. If you want to compete nationally this is the reality.
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Post by sader1970 on May 11, 2023 15:18:28 GMT -5
Guess what? Beat the South Dakota and North Dakota States and Montana of this world and you'll get instant respect whether you beat them in the quarters, semis or finals (especially the finals).
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Post by sader1970 on May 11, 2023 15:35:18 GMT -5
I'd like a shot at Sac State for old times ('69) sake or that other Catholic football power, Immaculate Word.
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Post by mm67 on May 11, 2023 15:39:16 GMT -5
IL games are good for the HC brand, N.Dakota et.al not so much. It comes down to priorities. Is HC going to cross the Rubicon and become a place dominated by the values of football success or is it going to continue on its traditional path by maintaining its brand as near IL? I think the answer is obvious. Maybe, IL schools will make the decision for HC by dropping HC games entirely.
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Post by sader1970 on May 11, 2023 15:43:52 GMT -5
There's been some history of IL teams dropping Holy Cross when we start beating them regularly and badly.
But I think you stay close to home for regular season games normally with perhaps one remote game, as long as it's a 1 for 1. I honestly believe Sac State would do a home and home with us. The Dakotas? Probably not.
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