I won't cast any aspersions on UMHB for scheduling this game—it's so hard to get 10 games as any Texas D3 team and it's been near impossible for UMHB and HSU in recent years. But this is a sad state of affairs. If this is what the future of our programs in D3 looks like I think it would be wrong not to seriously consider leaving D3.

Quote from: Ralph Turner on November 12, 2023, 06:19:28 PM

Quote from: CowboyAlum261 on November 12, 2023, 05:31:40 PM
Tough to understand why HSU at Trinity winner gets shipped to 10-0, defending national champion North Central in the second round. I thought for sure we'd end up in a 4-team pod with Whitworth and Chapman. Oh well, nothing to do but line up and try to beat the team in front of you.

Whitworth had defeated Chapman in the regular season.

I understand, but they are playing each other in the first round nonetheless. I figured the HSU/Trinity winner would play the Whitworth/Chapman winner. Nope, NCC instead.

Tough to understand why HSU at Trinity winner gets shipped to 10-0, defending national champion North Central in the second round. I thought for sure we'd end up in a 4-team pod with Whitworth and Chapman. Oh well, nothing to do but line up and try to beat the team in front of you.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on November 02, 2023, 02:37:36 PM
One thing I didn't consider because I thought it was a mistake ... but HSU has one less game against D3 (6-1 vs 7-1 presently), apparently due to the SRSU D2 transition.  For ranking purposes that game only counts as a secondary criteria to be used if everything else is even.  The fact that HSU played one less D3 game could end up being a factor.

I thought the ASC received a waiver to continue to allow SRSU to count as a D3 opponent? That would be a huge bummer for the decision to be made on that basis, when HSU had no choice whether or not to schedule SRSU.

Quote from: jknezek on November 02, 2023, 12:24:46 PM

Quote from: Ron Boerger on November 02, 2023, 12:15:20 PM

Quote from: jknezek on November 02, 2023, 12:05:47 PM
I think you are looking at a toss-up here. If these two teams get paired together, and I agree that's likely even if it shouldn't happen, both have solid cases for hosting. There is simply no way to know, ahead of time, which of the criteria the committee will rely on to make that final decision.

Agree, but you'll get a really good insight with next week's regional rankings.  The national committee can override the regional's rankings but it doesn't happen often.

If both teams finish as expected, I'm not sure why the National would override the Regional. There just won't be cause as the two teams will be close by criteria. Hard to make a case of an egregious mistake when the difference is paper thin.

I tend to agree that this question will be pretty much answered by the real regional rankings.

Quote from: D3Navy on November 02, 2023, 09:41:44 AM

Quote from: CowboyAlum261 on November 01, 2023, 09:47:28 PM
Wondering if chalk holds and Trinity and HSU win out of it is a sure thing that Trinity will host in the first round. Both teams, based on today's regional ranking, would be 1-1 against RRO. HSU has the slightest advantage in SOS. The common results against UMHB probably favor Trinity, but based on what Coach Moore said in the podcast I'm not sure difference in margin of victory is something they will look at there. I also tend to think HSU's RR win over UWL is better than Trinity's RR win over Berry, but again I'm not sure that is something the RAC will consider. This one really seems like a toss-up—maybe they look at last year's result and give the edge to Trinity?

Would the comparison of each team's loss make a difference?  Trinity lost a game it should have won while HSU was thumped.  Not a common opponent but clear differences in quality.

A good point I should have included. But, to crufootball's point, Coach Moore really made it sound like MOV will not be considered, and that all RR wins/losses will be treated the same—ie, win vs region 1 #7 is treated the same as win over region 6 #1. If that's true, I think the committee has a really hard time picking between these two teams...

Wondering if chalk holds and Trinity and HSU win out of it is a sure thing that Trinity will host in the first round. Both teams, based on today's regional ranking, would be 1-1 against RRO. HSU has the slightest advantage in SOS. The common results against UMHB probably favor Trinity, but based on what Coach Moore said in the podcast I'm not sure difference in margin of victory is something they will look at there. I also tend to think HSU's RR win over UWL is better than Trinity's RR win over Berry, but again I'm not sure that is something the RAC will consider. This one really seems like a toss-up—maybe they look at last year's result and give the edge to Trinity?

Mitchell and Michna combined for 24 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. This team is different with those 2 playing defense, and I wish we could re-play Endicott with those 2 healthy. And the HSU run game was effective enough to win the game. This game is exactly what we will need to see if HSU is going to advance in the playoffs.

I really don't think this Cru team is that different from some of the great sides from years past. It just feels like the mindset has changed. Those classic Cru teams would just line up and smother people. I think they still have the personnel to do that, the team just doesn't seem to have that philosophy anymore.

The future is uncertain for both of these schools. My sincere hope, is that no matter where we end up—D3, D2, NAIA, or something else—these schools are able to stay together. This is a great rivalry and I think the two schools are good for each other. Here's hoping this game keeps going for a long time.

I tend to think the return of Mitchell and Michna last week are just as important as Glynn's return to form. I'd imagine this is a typical UMHB/HSU low-scoring slug match. I think with both teams fully healthy it's probably a coin flip game. I agree the key will be HSU's ability to run the ball. I also think special teams could play a big role. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a 13-10 type of game in either direction. No matter what, it should be fun.

I've heard on the rumor mill that HSU to the SCAC is a no go because HSU is unwilling to play any games, in any sport, on Sundays. And while HSU probably has the facilities to go D2, I don't think they have the money to do so. I still think the ASC's best hope is a combination of getting some current members to start sponsoring football, and bringing in some NAIA teams. If Letourneau and Concordia started up programs, and you could bring in Texas Wesleyan and SAGU, you'd have a viable 8-team conference again. I don't see many other options.

Quote from: crufootball on September 25, 2022, 12:29:46 PM

Quote from: zipmac22 on September 25, 2022, 12:18:52 PM
Was there a reason why UMHB didn't also broadcast the game? I understand and appreciate the HSU broadcasters favoring their team when talking through the game, but the visiting team should be able to have as much support as well.

Not sure why they aren't but according to the schedule they won't be streaming any more of the road games this year but looks like they still will do audio so you could attempt to sync the other teams video to our audio.

On another note, every HSU player had TDE on the back of their jersey, anyone know what that means?

Toughness, Determination, Effort. 3 things we will definitely need in order to stay engaged in the next 7 games. All we can do now is try to get back to the high level we are used to and try to roll through the rest of the conference as much as possible. I can tell you, Abilene is about to be home to a lot of newly-minted UW-Platteville fans as well—our only hope for the postseason is for Platteville to way outperform expectations and make a run for 1st or 2nd place in the WIAC.

Quote from: UMHB03 on May 14, 2022, 01:56:18 PM

Quote from: CowboyAlum261 on May 13, 2022, 05:50:22 PM
So, with the threat of a revived SCAC poaching a big chunk of the current ASC membership, is it possible the ASC would try to persuade some of the state's NAIA programs to make the switch to D3? Texas Wesleyan is probably a good fit for the ASC, and SAGU and Wayland Baptist could be interesting fits as well. Add in Texas College and the ASC could get all the way back to 10. Obviously, there are huge differences between D3 and the NAIA, and this whole conversation is probably premature, but I wonder if anybody is thinking about that as a potential solution to an anticipated SCAC raid.

Other than Texas Wesleyan, which is building a new stadium and has potential to be a solid program, I don't think any of the other NAIA programs in the region would do anything but water down the competition and weaken SOS.

I agree Wesleyan makes the most sense. And, as a DFW resident, it would be great to have a team so close. I have no idea what Wesleyan's institutional goals are, but I tend to think they'd fit in better in D3 and the ASC than in NAIA and the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Also, so much ASC talent comes from the DFW area, I would think the opportunity to have a conference game here every couple of years would be very attractive to the rest of the conference. However, all of this is obviously way above my pay grade—I'm just a prognosticator trying to kill time until the season starts!

Quote from: Ralph Turner on May 16, 2022, 02:21:48 PM

Quote from: CowboyAlum261 on May 13, 2022, 05:50:22 PM
So, with the threat of a revived SCAC poaching a big chunk of the current ASC membership, is it possible the  ASC would try to persuade some of the state's NAIA programs to make the switch to D3? Texas Wesleyan is probably a good fit for the ASC, and SAGU and Wayland Baptist could be interesting fits as well. Add in Texas College and the ASC could get all the way back to 10. Obviously, there are huge differences between D3 and the NAIA, and this whole conversation is probably premature, but I wonder if anybody is thinking about that as a potential solution to an anticipated SCAC raid.

Please provide a link to your source.

Thanks

I have no source—other than the speculation on this board (Pat included) that the recent change to give 6-team conferences automatic bids along with the Centenary news might make a resurgent 6-team SCAC a possibility. It's a compelling narrative, but at this point based on nothing more than the rampant speculation that tends to fill the offseason (when we have no actual football to talk about).

So, with the threat of a revived SCAC poaching a big chunk of the current ASC membership, is it possible the ASC would try to persuade some of the state's NAIA programs to make the switch to D3? Texas Wesleyan is probably a good fit for the ASC, and SAGU and Wayland Baptist could be interesting fits as well. Add in Texas College and the ASC could get all the way back to 10. Obviously, there are huge differences between D3 and the NAIA, and this whole conversation is probably premature, but I wonder if anybody is thinking about that as a potential solution to an anticipated SCAC raid.

Quote from: Etchglow on February 10, 2022, 07:13:05 PM

Quote from: BSCpanthers on February 10, 2022, 05:07:09 PM
Over the next year+ we are going to be seeing a lot of movement in conferences with the min required for AQ goes to 6.  As associate members leave to play football in their full time conferences, teams should have more spots for OOC games, but also have more options for those OOC games because these teams that were associate members are now available for those OOC games.

The more I think about it, depending on the island size I could see this actually helping. There are (or will be) 13 teams in the Ark-La-Tx areas. If there were two conferences of 6 teams, you're talking what, 5 non-confeeence games and 5 conference games? Each conference would need that as well. This would be an improvement over now where the SAA only needs 1-2 non-confeeence games and the ASC needs 3+.

My fear is that the ASC will be left with only 6 when the affiliate-members bolt for another league. An ASC with only Sul Ross and McMcurry (geographically isolated to the point they have no other option) and then HSU, HPU, UMHB, and ETBU (tied together in several ways because of Baptist faith) would present real scheduling challenges for both HSU and UMHB. Having to fill 5 non-conference games would be brutal, even if there is another 6-team conference primarily based in Texas. Not many schools want to sign up for the type of game that HSU, and to a greater extent UMHB, are likely to play.

For example, this year, HSU is probably going to end up playing 2 non-D3 non-conference games because they cannot get any D3 opponents to play them. I've heard that Coach Burleson has personally called more than 100 D-3 programs, offering a home-and-home where HSU would travel this year, and no school has agreed. To the extent HSU experiences this problem, I imagine it is even harder for UMHB.

I hope I am wrong and that the ASC will be able to bring in some of the new programs to stay a larger league, but I'm not optimistic.