Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Skip navigation

Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

Post

http://saturdaysoundoffs.blogspot.com/2008/07/2-days-florida-and-florida-atlantic.html

The Florida Atlantic Owls won the Sun Belt. Amazing. Or is it? Howard Schnellenberger has had this program brimming with confidence ever since they began making runs at the FCS level. This was the goal. Again, or is it? Florida Atlantic is a program on the rise and, who knows, maybe they will have the BCS in their sight. Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Let's look at FAU for the 2008 season.


THE OFFENSE: The offense is led by the Sun Belt's new star, Rusty Smith. Smith led the Owls to the 16th ranked passing offense which was arguably the most potent in conference history. The rushing attack never really got going which was kind of an issue, but Charles Pierre, William Rose, B.J. Manley, and the best name in college football today, D'Ivory Edgecomb, were respectable at different times throughout the season and picked up most of the slack in other games (USF notably). Even though Manley is gone, the other three are back and the ground game should get better with time. The receivers make up for a good duo and they kind of remind me of Kansas' WRs. Cortez Gent is one tall and skinny dude for a receiver and he's got great hands. Jason Harmon is their athletic target at TE and he's got plenty of speed for his large frame. If Frantz Simeon can come back at full speed and Lester Jean can live up to the promise of this spring, this could be a top-10 offense. I'm dead serious…..


THE DEFENSE: This area of the team could use some work. Florida Atlantic got by with their creation of turnovers, but they can't always rely on that stat to be on their good side year in and year out. There's room for improvement, but it all starts with the run defense. Most of the Sun Belt relies on the ground game to do their damage and that showed during their games with Oklahoma State, UL Lafayette, and South Florida. Jervonte Jackson is a solid interior presence for the line and Jermaine Council will move over to DE. Frantz Joseph is one of the best LBs in the entire Sun Belt conference and probably one of the best from any non-BCS conference. Tavious Polo is something else. It was obvious, judging from watching some games and by analyzing his interception stats, that teams began shying away from him. He's a legit pro prospect despite his smallish stature. I heard someone say one time that he would be a "good stalker" :) . Still, with all of the potential positives, this side has to get better if they don't want to get slammed by some of the better opponents on their schedule.


THE SCHEDULE:

Aug. 30 at Texas
Sept. 6 UAB
Sept. 13 at Michigan State
Sept. 20 at Minnesota
Sept. 30 at Middle Tennessee
Oct. 7 Troy
Oct. 18 at Western Kentucky
Oct. 25 at UL Monroe
Nov. 8 North Texas
Nov. 15 UL Lafayette
Nov. 22 at Arkansas State
Nov. 29 FIU

The schedule only presents the Owls with two home games (UAB, Troy) through October 25th which isn't a positive thing. They get to face three BCS conference teams in Texas, Michigan State, and Minnesota. The Sun Belt schedule could be harder, but the good news is that they get Troy at home.

Don't Even Think About It: @ Texas
Ehhhhh…..Maybe….: @ Michigan State, @ Minnesota (I'll save it for later, but the Gophers will get better)
Good/Probable Shot At It: UAB, @ MTSU, Troy, @ WKU, @ UL Monroe, North Texas, UL Lafayette, @ Arkansas State, FIU


THE OUTLOOK: Believe the hype! This team is undoubtedly the best that the Sun Belt has to offer this year and the best the Sun Belt has ever had to offer. The offense can hang up some big points and while the defense has to get better in a jiffy, it's plausible. There are some major upset possibilities this year and that give Schnellenberger's team opportunities to make noise nationally. Rusty Smith will put up some huge numbers and make the ever so appreciated trip to New Orleans for the postseason.


BOWL GAME?: New Orleans Bowl.

Florida Atlantic University Owls
2007 Sun Belt Football Champions 2007 New Orleans Bowl Champions 2008 Motor City Bowl Champions 2011 Sun Belt Basketball Champions No Bowls without Owls
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

I don't remember what projection it was but someone had us playing vs the East Carolina University Pirates (CUSA) in the New Orleans Bowl. Elsewhere I saw them projected to place first in CUSA… still, it would be interesting. I hear ECU averages as many fans as UCF did this year, which means they could bring a lot of people to the NO Bowl.

If we went again, I don't know how many people would make the trip but I kinda doubt it would be more than 5,000.

And New Orleans is what… like the drinking capital of the free world. If a great football team and the promise of endless streets of bars can't get people to make the trip, I don't know what will.
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

If we go 10-2 we will see the fan base balloon and heck that might even get us a "better bowl" (non-bcs, but higher payout). We would need help from CUSA or Big East not having enough 6-6 teams, but the St. Pete bowl, for example, would be ALOT better in terms of number of fans and payout ($1M compared to $325k for NO Bowl).  We would also need a sunbelt team, likely Troy, to do well enough to be a bowl lock so that they could then go to the NO bowl.

A Scenario for the Big East:
WVU goes to BCS Bowl
USF goes to Gator Bowl
Rutgers goes to International Bowl
Pittsburgh goes to PapaJohns
Cincy goes to Texas Bowl
UCONN 5-7
Louisville 4-8
Syracuse 2-10

That leaves Meineke Car Care ($750k), and St. Pete Bowl open for grabs…

Just floatin ideas

Florida Atlantic University Owls
2007 Sun Belt Football Champions 2007 New Orleans Bowl Champions 2008 Motor City Bowl Champions 2011 Sun Belt Basketball Champions No Bowls without Owls
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

The fans will be expecting nothing less then a return trip to New Orleans this year, so YES they are definitely believing all the HYPE that is being thrown around.

The team had winning the Belt & trip to NO as a goal last year and this year should be no different, only thing that might get in the way is if they start reading a believing all the hype that is being thrown their way.  They will have to work even harder then last year to achieve the same end result, no one will lay down for them to repeat as champions ( we didn't do it for Troy last year ).

How will this team handle all the hype?
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

Success will help build the fan base we need and should help bring newer fans in.

The biggest problem we have & the rest of the Belt faces is average fans that do attend games.

Even if FAU was to average 20K per game (could be termed sell-out by Lockhart standards), only a certain percentage of those fans will ever travel.  With an average of 20K, for a fan base to travel consistently of say 5K that represents 25% of your fan base is outstanding and not very likely.  I would expect about a 5% rate of fans willing to travel.

Once we have some facilities in place on campus it will help draw some Alumni's back to campus.  You can start seeing former Alumni's starting to make a connection back with their Alma Mater and YES, sports and the successes of the football team is helping tremendously in that aspect.  And with the help of some of the newer graduates, like Smitty doing some behind the scene works, will only help that cause to in building a fans base.  It is with functions & events that will help draw Alumni's back and help support their Alma Mater.  The New Orleans Bowl was a great example of that, I met so many Alumni"s that was their first connection back with their Alma Mater and I can say that with many other road games that I have attended.  It is a slow process, but if we continue go to Bowl games it only help speed the process up a bit.

Having great facilities on campus is also about the possibilities it holds in helping bringing Alumni's back to campus, giving them a sense of pride in their university, which hopefully opens up their pocket books.  With out the facilities you have a much harder sell.  Having great facilities help out tremendously and help set the social setting needed to attratct them.
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

It all rests on the stadium. The stadium remains the missing piece to the entire puzzle.
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

what a good write up!
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

SeminOWL2006 said

If we go 10-2 we will see the fan base balloon and heck that might even get us a "better bowl" (non-bcs, but higher payout). We would need help from CUSA or Big East not having enough 6-6 teams, but the St. Pete bowl, for example, would be ALOT better in terms of number of fans and payout ($1M compared to $325k for NO Bowl).  We would also need a sunbelt team, likely Troy, to do well enough to be a bowl lock so that they could then go to the NO bowl.

I thought we're contractually obligated to the NO bowl unless we get an at-large BCS bid.  But I could be wrong about that.
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

SeminOWL2006 said

http://saturdaysoundoffs.blogspot.com/2008/07/2-days-florida-and-florida-atlantic.html

The Florida Atlantic Owls won the Sun Belt. Amazing. Or is it? Howard Schnellenberger has had this program brimming with confidence ever since they began making runs at the FCS level. This was the goal. Again, or is it? Florida Atlantic is a program on the rise and, who knows, maybe they will have the BCS in their sight. Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Let's look at FAU for the 2008 season.


THE OFFENSE: The offense is led by the Sun Belt's new star, Rusty Smith. Smith led the Owls to the 16th ranked passing offense which was arguably the most potent in conference history. The rushing attack never really got going which was kind of an issue, but Charles Pierre, William Rose, B.J. Manley, and the best name in college football today, D'Ivory Edgecomb, were respectable at different times throughout the season and picked up most of the slack in other games (USF notably). Even though Manley is gone, the other three are back and the ground game should get better with time. The receivers make up for a good duo and they kind of remind me of Kansas' WRs. Cortez Gent is one tall and skinny dude for a receiver and he's got great hands. Jason Harmon is their athletic target at TE and he's got plenty of speed for his large frame. If Frantz Simeon can come back at full speed and Lester Jean can live up to the promise of this spring, this could be a top-10 offense. I'm dead serious…..


THE DEFENSE: This area of the team could use some work. Florida Atlantic got by with their creation of turnovers, but they can't always rely on that stat to be on their good side year in and year out. There's room for improvement, but it all starts with the run defense. Most of the Sun Belt relies on the ground game to do their damage and that showed during their games with Oklahoma State, UL Lafayette, and South Florida. Jervonte Jackson is a solid interior presence for the line and Jermaine Council will move over to DE. Frantz Joseph is one of the best LBs in the entire Sun Belt conference and probably one of the best from any non-BCS conference. Tavious Polo is something else. It was obvious, judging from watching some games and by analyzing his interception stats, that teams began shying away from him. He's a legit pro prospect despite his smallish stature. I heard someone say one time that he would be a "good stalker" :) . Still, with all of the potential positives, this side has to get better if they don't want to get slammed by some of the better opponents on their schedule.


THE SCHEDULE:

Aug. 30 at Texas
Sept. 6 UAB
Sept. 13 at Michigan State
Sept. 20 at Minnesota
Sept. 30 at Middle Tennessee
Oct. 7 Troy
Oct. 18 at Western Kentucky
Oct. 25 at UL Monroe
Nov. 8 North Texas
Nov. 15 UL Lafayette
Nov. 22 at Arkansas State
Nov. 29 FIU

The schedule only presents the Owls with two home games (UAB, Troy) through October 25th which isn't a positive thing. They get to face three BCS conference teams in Texas, Michigan State, and Minnesota. The Sun Belt schedule could be harder, but the good news is that they get Troy at home.

Don't Even Think About It: @ Texas
Ehhhhh…..Maybe….: @ Michigan State, @ Minnesota (I'll save it for later, but the Gophers will get better)
Good/Probable Shot At It: UAB, @ MTSU, Troy, @ WKU, @ UL Monroe, North Texas, UL Lafayette, @ Arkansas State, FIU


THE OUTLOOK: Believe the hype! This team is undoubtedly the best that the Sun Belt has to offer this year and the best the Sun Belt has ever had to offer. The offense can hang up some big points and while the defense has to get better in a jiffy, it's plausible. There are some major upset possibilities this year and that give Schnellenberger's team opportunities to make noise nationally. Rusty Smith will put up some huge numbers and make the ever so appreciated trip to New Orleans for the postseason.


BOWL GAME?: New Orleans Bowl.


Wow, this guy is pretty good.  I was looking at the archive and before last season started he picked us to win the Sun Belt. ;D
Back to the top

Post

Re: Another Writeup "Believe the hype"

Bytor said

Success will help build the fan base we need and should help bring newer fans in.

The biggest problem we have & the rest of the Belt faces is average fans that do attend games.

Even if FAU was to average 20K per game (could be termed sell-out by Lockhart standards), only a certain percentage of those fans will ever travel.  With an average of 20K, for a fan base to travel consistently of say 5K that represents 25% of your fan base is outstanding and not very likely.  I would expect about a 5% rate of fans willing to travel.

Once we have some facilities in place on campus it will help draw some Alumni's back to campus.  You can start seeing former Alumni's starting to make a connection back with their Alma Mater and YES, sports and the successes of the football team is helping tremendously in that aspect.  And with the help of some of the newer graduates, like Smitty doing some behind the scene works, will only help that cause to in building a fans base.  It is with functions & events that will help draw Alumni's back and help support their Alma Mater.  The New Orleans Bowl was a great example of that, I met so many Alumni"s that was their first connection back with their Alma Mater and I can say that with many other road games that I have attended.  It is a slow process, but if we continue go to Bowl games it only help speed the process up a bit.

Having great facilities on campus is also about the possibilities it holds in helping bringing Alumni's back to campus, giving them a sense of pride in their university, which hopefully opens up their pocket books.  With out the facilities you have a much harder sell.  Having great facilities help out tremendously and help set the social setting needed to attratct them.

I hope you in-state guys are planning to attend at least some of the Homecoming events this year (the www.fau.edu/homecoming page is not updated yet)… at least the Parade, Fall Family Fest, unveiling of the obelisk, etc. I know you're going to the game (does anyone else wish we played FIU for our Homecoming game every year? A rivalry game for Homecoming?) and I don't know what the Comedy Show costs outsiders… last time it was $12. This year the students have requested Nick Swardson but we'll see if they can get him.

Regarding getting alumni to give back to the university… I think the biggest obstacle there is the perception that you have to make a substantial donation ($1000+) to make a difference (when you can just donate $20/month or even like my friend at work, a 2007 grad, he gives $25/year). I love these Senior Class Gift projects and I sincerely hope the Obelisk isn't the last one.



Back to the top
Control functions: