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Post by GoYotes on Aug 22, 2023 9:26:35 GMT -6
It never fails, end of August rolls around and my mind gets consumed by Coyote football. I lay in bed thinking about matchups, depth charts, what time Leo's opens on game days, etc. My question to the board: What does success look like to you this season? I think we can all agree that last season was a step backwards. The schedule is much kinder this year. For me, the goal is a playoff win. There's 8 regular season games on the schedule that I consider games we could/should win. Mizzou and the XDSUs will be uphill battles. Not saying we can't knock them off, but they are the toughest games on the schedule. 8 wins, a playoff berth, and a first round win would be exceptional. 6 or 7 wins and a trip to the playoffs would still be a success. Anything less then 6 wins and I will be very disappointed. I'm keeping my expectations tempered, but it would be wonderful to still be excited about Coyote football in November as opposed in addition to looking forward to basketball season for a change. |
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Post by elcoyote on Aug 22, 2023 10:34:47 GMT -6
Good to know I’m not alone in my obsession. I think 6 regular season wins is the minimum for success, but hope for 7. I see 5 no-excuse games on our schedule. YSU, SIU, and UND look like toss ups, and two of those are at home. Obviously, circumstances will change throughout the season, but that’s how things look right now. I will hold on expecting a playoff win until I see that we’re in and know the matchup. Otherwise, in general, I want to see a more consistent offense, a consistently stout defense, and no quit. I think you nailed it with one exception: in my mind 7 wins is the minimum for a successful season. |
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Post by Yote 53 on Aug 22, 2023 10:51:46 GMT -6
7 wins is the bare minimum, IMO. Anything less is unacceptable.
Maybe it is fatigue from being disappointed every year, but my only thoughts of Coyote football right now is looking ahead at the schedule and seeing what kind of conflicts there are with kid's activities and other events I have going on. Going to a game feels like a chore, like something I have to fit in instead of something I look forward to. It's been that way for a few years now. That's not a good sign if it's happening to me. Look at the overall attendance lately. Yep, the program has a problem and there better be some success this season or it's going to get worse.
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Post by Yotes on Aug 22, 2023 11:05:01 GMT -6
I'm feeling the same as the prior poster. It has been a long time since I was truly excited. I go to every game but lord knows I haven't been optimistic most of the time.
Based on the schedule and tenure of the coach, a playoff bid should be minimum expectation for this season. Anything less and there should be difficult conversations.
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Post by fromthetailgate on Aug 22, 2023 12:22:44 GMT -6
Considering our D1 history, 7 wins will have me dancing in the streets. Would love to see 7-8 wins, but a winning record at 6-5 would be a step in the right direction at least. I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than utterly disappointed (again). Ready for tailgate season!
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Post by bobo on Aug 22, 2023 15:43:09 GMT -6
Love the enthusiasm and the being excited for the team. (no sarcasm) Wow, haven't even started and the demeanor is already in full force. Football at the collegiate level is about the players and the program, it's not about how we as fans or parents feel on a Saturday afternoon. We have some very, very talented kids on this team with some very good coaches (and nice men), but most important, there are some amazing young men that are out there giving it the best they can at that moment. Not one of them goes into a game or a moment saying I hope I and we fail here and now. Do they "show the fight" we thought "we did" at their age, maybe not as much as we tend to remember of ourselves at times. But it's our privilege to watch and cheer them on in their journey as a team.
I actually think 7 wins is a legit expectation for this team, but that's why they play the games. Can we stay healthy and play sound defense vs the big boys in the MVFC? I am quite confident that our defense can and will keep us in games early. And at the same time, we need to develop the ability to figure out an effective passing game utilizing our best skill players in a variety of ways. Most of all, our best and most explosive players NEED to touch the ball early and often. I have no doubt we will be able to run the ball effectively all year.
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Post by Yote 53 on Aug 22, 2023 19:36:49 GMT -6
That's fine you are maybe more optimistic than I. My point is I'm tired of being constantly let down. Since we play Missouri to start this season, I'll put it to you this way...
Show Me
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Post by fightsd on Aug 23, 2023 5:49:57 GMT -6
Love the enthusiasm and the being excited for the team. (no sarcasm) Wow, haven't even started and the demeanor is already in full force. Football at the collegiate level is about the players and the program, it's not about how we as fans or parents feel on a Saturday afternoon. We have some very, very talented kids on this team with some very good coaches (and nice men), but most important, there are some amazing young men that are out there giving it the best they can at that moment. Not one of them goes into a game or a moment saying I hope I and we fail here and now. Do they "show the fight" we thought "we did" at their age, maybe not as much as we tend to remember of ourselves at times. But it's our privilege to watch and cheer them on in their journey as a team. I actually think 7 wins is a legit expectation for this team, but that's why they play the games. Can we stay healthy and play sound defense vs the big boys in the MVFC? I am quite confident that our defense can and will keep us in games early. And at the same time, we need to develop the ability to figure out an effective passing game utilizing our best skill players in a variety of ways. Most of all, our best and most explosive players NEED to touch the ball early and often. I have no doubt we will be able to run the ball effectively all year. I like that you said it's our privilege to watch them and not our job. I get tired of people saying that we have some obligation to be there and blindly support everything. I'm more optimistic this year than I have been, maybe foolishly. But show me the wins, show me the progress. |
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MD
Sophomore Member
Make the secondary logo great again..
Posts: 221 
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Post by MD on Aug 23, 2023 10:20:05 GMT -6
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Post by captaincoyote on Sept 19, 2023 12:45:25 GMT -6
According to whoever Red Herring Bets is, we currently have a 34% chance of making the playoffs. It will be interesting to track this value over the season. reddit.com/r/fcs/s/jo9Cuw4na3 |
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Post by kiyoat on Sept 19, 2023 14:43:23 GMT -6
According to whoever Red Herring Bets is, we currently have a 34% chance of making the playoffs. It will be interesting to track this value over the season. reddit.com/r/fcs/s/jo9Cuw4na3I'll add it to the MVFC thread |
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Post by easmus on Sept 21, 2023 14:06:15 GMT -6
Feels to me like the pivot point in the season will be the YSU game. I REALLY wish the Murray state and YSU games were flip-flopped. I fear the atmosphere will be dull for the YSU game, and we could realistically use a DDays crowd to will the team to victory. Win that game and you are looking at a likely 4-2 record heading on the road for a winnable game against Indy State. That game should also be a W. Now you’re sitting 5-2 with the defending champs coming into the dome. Hopefully the team would be playing with a lot of confidence. But it wouldn’t be a must win. They would simply need to win 2 of their last 4 to obtain 7 wins and 5 wins in the MVFC which SHOULD be enough for a playoff bid.
Lose that YSU game and be sitting 3-3 as you go to Indy State and the path to 7 wins looks a lot more daunting.
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Post by easmus on Oct 1, 2023 7:21:54 GMT -6
My take was rational but I am happy it didn’t age well. The path to the playoffs is wide open now. Just need to stay focused and keep working hard. They now have the benefit of believing that they can beat anyone, which has to help immensely.
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Post by captaincoyote on Oct 2, 2023 10:03:58 GMT -6
We’re now ranked 15th by STATS and 21st in the coaches poll. Still some respect to earn!
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dbyote
Senior Member
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Post by dbyote on Oct 2, 2023 10:08:09 GMT -6
We’re now ranked 15th by STATS and 21st in the coaches poll. Still some respect to earn! That's probably about right. It's pretty unreasonable to think we would jump any higher than that. I've said for years we're a top 25 program. The problem is at least 5 teams in our conference are better than us week in and week out and we have a hard time finishing in the top half of the conference. MVFC is head and shoulders better than everyone but maybe the Big Sky and possibly the Southland. |
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