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Post by fightsd on Oct 5, 2015 12:25:14 GMT -6
Let's take our eyes off the rearview mirror for a while and look ahead to this weekend at Macomb.
They got a close one last week with Southern Illinois. Won it on a last second FG. Just going off what I see in the game stats they seem to have a pretty balanced offense. Look to Nikko Watson to have most of the workload. He rushed for 174 net yds last weekend, but I don't know much about SIU's defense. This is a very winnable ball game and would make a world of difference for morale and momentum if we can get another road win.
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Post by nccyote on Oct 5, 2015 12:47:52 GMT -6
WIU has played a pretty tough schedule, losses to FBS Illinois and FCS #1 Coastal Carolina. Wins against pre-season #25 Eastern Illinois and SIU last week. This is going to be a very tough game on the road. I'm not very optimistic about this one.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Oct 5, 2015 18:55:29 GMT -6
I would give the Leathernecks about a 80% change to win this game. For the Yotes to finish at 3-5 or better they are likely going to need that 20% to come out on top. Fargo lurks the week after and that game is a 95% chance that the Bison win. Most likely the Yotes will come back home at 0-3 in the conference and if that indeed was the case than everyone can get out their "must win" quotes all night long for this program because Missouri State would be a "must win" if people want to see the Glenn era continue. Glenn and Beschorner will then be coaching for their lives in that one if they come in at 0-3 because if that one goes into the loss column we are looking at another 0-8 MVFC campaigne. Even if the Yotes end up beating Missouri State they probably need to pick up a couple of wins elsewhere to save the season.
My predicition is that the Yotes do defeat Missouri State but after that the rest of the games the Yotes go in as either slight or extreme underdogs. The road games are all iffy in W Ill, NDSU, UNI and Ill St. I don't see a win in any of those games. The home games left are MSU, So Ill and SDSU. The S. Illinois game may be a toss up but leaning S. Ill. The MSU game is a very possible win and the SDSU game is doubtful. Barring a fairly large upset somewhere the Yotes have 2 games that they have a decent shot at winning, both at home.
Over the next couple of weeks this teams fight and heart will really be tested. They need to give the Leathernecks a good game at worst but when they get to Fargo it will be interesting to see what Coyote team will show up to play the Bison.
The hope has got to be that Youngstown is a top 3 MVFC team at worst. If the Yotes just ran into a buzz saw with the Penguins than maybe they can recover vs Western Illinois. If the Yotes beat Western Illinois than next thing ya know they are probably 2-2 after the Missouri State game which is much more manageable and the outlook much brighter.
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Post by nccyote on Oct 5, 2015 20:13:03 GMT -6
I do think YSU is probably the 3rd best team in the league so far this year (1.NDSU, 2.Illinois St., 3. YSU, 4. SDSU/UNI). I love the MVFC and how competitive it is, but it is frustrating at times to look at conferences around the country and see how the Yotes would stack up in other leagues. I feel like if we were in the Big Sky, we would be legitimate conference contenders on a regular basis, button the Valley we look like a 2-3 win team. But thats life right now in the MVFC. If the Yotes come out and execute, than anything can happen. If they come out and lay an egg, it will be ugly. Defense will really be tested and the Offense needs to support them and score some points early. We really need to play well to keep the conference season from snow balling on us.
Go Yotes
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Post by Coyote Fan on Oct 5, 2015 20:22:35 GMT -6
In the games against the Big Sky the Yotes are pretty much break even. I would probably guess that the Yotes would probably finish middle of the pack in the conference. The Yotes have a tendency to get worse the further along the season gets. Since they usually play the big sky earlier in the year they may regress a bit if they had to play that conference in the middle or end of the season. They never win in Grand Forks, haven't had any success in Missoula and don't really see them having alot of success on the road against programs such as Montana State or Eastern Washington either. I can see the occassional win at Davis, UNC or maybe Southern Utah but I don't see enough big road wins to finish real high in the conference.
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Post by Yotes on Oct 5, 2015 22:08:37 GMT -6
In the games against the Big Sky the Yotes are pretty much break even. I would probably guess that the Yotes would probably finish middle of the pack in the conference. The Yotes have a tendency to get worse the further along the season gets. Since they usually play the big sky earlier in the year they may regress a bit if they had to play that conference in the middle or end of the season. They never win in Grand Forks, haven't had any success in Missoula and don't really see them having alot of success on the road against programs such as Montana State or Eastern Washington either. I can see the occassional win at Davis, UNC or maybe Southern Utah but I don't see enough big road wins to finish real high in the conference. We won just a single game last year against a D1 opponent. That opponent went 5-3 in the Big Sky and only missed out on the playoffs because they lost to us. I can't help but feel that USD would be a legitimate playoff contender if we were in the Big Sky, or any other FCS conference aside from the MVFC. Also, we've only played Eastern Washington once in program history. It was at home, they were ranked #1 and were defending national champions, and we won. Have you really paid attention to our games against Big Sky opponents? I understand you want to see the team fail, but there is evidence suggesting this team would be successful in another conference. |
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Post by yote14 on Oct 6, 2015 8:06:55 GMT -6
If you remove the 3 losses to Montana I can only think of one other loss to a BSC team since being D1 and that was Northern Arizona on the road a couple years ago. I know we lost to UC davis and Cal Poly during the transition process but since being D1 that lone Northern Arizona loss is the only one I can remember outside Montana.
That Northern Arizona loss was also the game I beleive we made the switch from Vander Maten to Earl and almost came back to win the game after Earl came in.
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Post by golfingyote on Oct 6, 2015 8:22:16 GMT -6
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Post by fightsd on Oct 6, 2015 8:37:19 GMT -6
Not gonna make any wild predictions here. Really this weekend comes down to which team shows up to play. The team that imposed their will on Drake or the team that came out flat against Youngstown. I get Drake was no big win, but the way they played that game will win them games in the conference. Mistake free and fired up. I've already decided I won't be surprised either way this week. I'll be listening to JVG's call of the game in the pickup out for resident pheasant opener. First time I get to wear my new blaze orange coyote hat.
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Post by yote14 on Oct 6, 2015 9:40:10 GMT -6
The game is also on ESPN3.
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Post by Yote 53 on Oct 6, 2015 10:05:29 GMT -6
Sorry, until the Yotes prove it I can't pick them. On the road, outside, conference game, solid opponent. I'm afraid it will be the same old story with the same old ending.
I'll still follow the game on the radio and pull it up on ESPN3 on my phone while I'm watching the other games of the day.
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Post by azsod73 on Oct 6, 2015 15:33:40 GMT -6
Good stuff from Mick Garry:
Five things to take away from USD football
1. Looking down the road and seeing what the Coyotes have up ahead for the next few weeks is not something the team should spend a lot of time on right now because it's not going to encourage a lot of optimism. If you're the Coyotes this week, you shouldn't think about a disappointing effort against Youngstown State, which, despite the Penguins' No. 10 ranking, sort of set up as a winnable game because it was at home. Don't think about going to Fargo in two weeks and don't think about the possibility of beginning the season 0-3.
Instead, think about how to beat Western Illinois and think about how there remains a genuine belief that the team is better this year and that executing and confirming that – something the Coyotes fell short of doing last Saturday – should be enough to keep them in the game against Western Illinois.
That's how I'd do it, anyway, and I'm an expert.
2. It's time for the offensive line to assert itself. If it is indeed a good line, then this good line will do what good lines do. Make the blocks that sustain a run game. Protect the quarterback. I would guess that by the end of the season, the Coyotes and everyone else will be aware of the fact to a greater extent than is the case this minute that USD faced a salty defense last Saturday. There was a reason things were difficult for the Coyotes. But even so, it's time to demonstrate that the line's role in keeping the offense moving is being executed.
3. Forgive Paul Anderson for trying to catch a punt and then fumbling that punt on the 1-yard-line – the same thing happened in the Seattle-Lions game Monday night, except for the fumble part – and let him return kicks again. He's the best I've seen in several years at the task. Punts aren't as big a deal because even the best returners are often taking fair catches, but he has the capacity to really boost the offense with big kickoff returns.
4. Continued progress on defense could really help the team win some conference games. There were 17 points scored on Saturday where the defense had little to do with what happened. Instances where the Coyotes guessed wrong or were pushed around a little bit still existed – and the Coyotes were again beneficiaries of opposing receivers dropping passes – but it was a comprehensive effort. Pick out Andrew Van Ginkel on a given play and follow his movement sometime. You'll be encouraged by the level of intensity involved and his potential to disrupt plays. He's still undersized for the position he's playing but I think we're looking at a guy who is going to warrant special attention much of the time which should open things up for others pursuing the quarterback.
5. Western Illinois was picked to finish eighth in the conference. They played a very tough non-conference schedule with both Eastern Illinois and Coastal Carolina in the top 25 at the time the games were played. Losing by a touchdown to No. 1 Coastal Carolina looks like an impressive loss and a sign that USD is going to have to play a really good game or the Leathernecks are going to have to play a really bad one for the Coyotes to even their conference record this week.
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Post by yotefan on Oct 6, 2015 17:59:35 GMT -6
Checked out the Western Illinois thread related to this game and only 3 fans so far have bothered to post comments. Their participation is no where near what this board has. It reminds me of our board prior to the Minnesota victory and ensuing board implosion when it was just a few of us regularly posting on here. FWIW the Leatherneck "fanbase" is already looking past USD calling this one a Western Illinois win.
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Post by fightsd on Oct 7, 2015 6:59:55 GMT -6
Checked out the Western Illinois thread related to this game and only 3 fans so far have bothered to post comments. Their participation is no where near what this board has. It reminds me of our board prior to the Minnesota victory and ensuing board implosion when it was just a few of us regularly posting on here. FWIW the Leatherneck "fanbase" is already looking past USD calling this one a Western Illinois win. I poked around their board as well. Nobody giving the coyotes a shot. I guess we probably don't deserve it, but I still don't see how anyone can look past anyone else in the MVFC. |
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Post by Yotes on Oct 7, 2015 7:58:32 GMT -6
I'm guessing about the only easy victories Western Illinois has had in the MVFC the past couple years were against us. Not surprising that their fans assume the trend continues. Especially since they appear to be a bit improved this year too.
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