Reply To: So where are we??

[Doc QbParticipant]

I thin the ‘So Where are We’ should be revisited. We all know our D’s inefficiencies. We saw Folmar and our O come to life and put points on the board. Reasons for fear and optimism next year.

But to know where ‘we’ are, I think we need to look at our PL brethren, the Ivied we want to (dare I say) pull away from, and CAA teams we want to maybe emulate. Feel free to add points, because I think this is as interesting as our program’s situation.

Lafayette–ouch. Lame duck coach, could hurt recruiting a few cycles with no direction, a bunch of losing seasons, a losing-record-league champ getting smacked by UNH in their last playoff appearance, fans report no institutional support. Ouch. Pray Cecchini doesn’t go there in a year.

Delaware–a once proud program in disarray, their fans are in meltdown, almost dead last in FCS passing, a coach no one wants, and a fan base who wants big changes.

Fordham—what happens there? Prodigal son bolts, all world RB wants to reportedly test transfer waters. A stable program pacing our league is now a huge wildcard.

Harvard-Yale-Princeton– despite their ‘scholarshipping’ their entire 125 man rosters and multiple media outlets proclaiming buckets of players turning down FBs offers in droves—I don’t see us ‘behind’ them at all. I was at PU. I was at Yale. And UPenn. And saw Harvard on TV twice. I ain’t seeing rosters loaded with FBS talent. I just don’t. We played well against an early/vulnerable Penn, and terribly against PU. We gave them enough turnovers to justify their 50+ points and the fireworks show after. Yale, we didn’t show up. In those two loses and the two Harvard games I saw, didn’t leave me feeling we have to catch up to anything talent wise, just execution.

Villanova–probably still gets some kids we can’t, they always seem a little bigger, faster, skilled. they would be who we should chase for talent. They have had a few elite kids elevate them. Without, we gotta grow to compete with them. And what happens when Talley hangs it up?

Colgate–did league proud and Hunt answered all identity questions with this year’s edition. We played them to a single possession, a series of poor play calls kept us out of end zone to end game. Then they soundly beat UNH, hold on at JMU. Did they play up? Could we have pulled of what they did given we were on that level of play at year’s end? UNH overrated? JMU simply too pedestrian without an ACC QB? I look at ‘gates run as very promising for us all.

Duquesne–we don’t talk about them here much. Terrible stadium, NEC, blah, blah. But, I watched them play the Tribe really tough, and they had some speed. They impressed and belonged. Does that speak to the talent of the NEC or the diluting of FCS scholarship ball, more opportunities…parity?

UPenn–Bagnoli gone, we whooped ’em, then they share the league. Now they’re on the schedule again, which I love. Again, parity? We’ll see.

Bucknell–still don’t see them being a factor. It’s just how I grew up. Their O line looks like Bama’s, their D always statistically great, but they never take a significant step. Even though they smoked us two straight til this year.

HC–until Mark Duffner comes back, they won’t ascend to that heyday where he went 66-5 or something, losing only to BC and Army. Their fanbase has dwindled according to sader87 on AGS, and they have no connection to PL football despite obvious commonalities, and all of their proclaimed ‘traditional’ rivalries become FBS, dropping football, not scheduling them, etc. and Gilmore is a DC not a HC.

Thoughts? Additions? Argument? I hope some insightful banger ensues.