MEAC, officially a one bid conference in 2008

[R.A.]

FAMU loses to Morgan State, for the Rattlers' 3rd loss.

Hampton loses to Winston Salem State, for the Pirates' 3rd loss.

Bethune- Cookman can still finish 9-2, but 9 wins during a 12 game season makes the Wildcats a far off stretch to gain an at- large bid.

The MEAC's now officially a one bid conference in 2008.

[TexasTerror]

Joins the SLC...any other conferences willing to acknowledge the fact that they are a one-bid league?

Welcome to the club, MEAC! Knew it wouldn't be much longer...

[siuham]

Welcome to the rest of the nation that already knew this?

[IaaScribe]

Welcome to the rest of the nation that already knew this?

Seriously.

[R.A.]

Welcome to the rest of the nation that already knew this?

Well thank you.

Now, when will you join the rest of the nation who already knows that Southern Illinois is a fluke?

-Hail Mary on the final play?
-Almost losing at home to a Hampton team that was creamed by Winston Salem State??

[siuham]

Well thank you.

Now, when will you join the rest of the nation who already knows that Southern Illinois is a fluke?

-Hail Mary on the final play?
-Almost losing at home to a Hampton team that was creamed by Winston Salem State??

-The game was tied, would have gone to OT. We also 5 turnovers and still won. Pulling out ugly games is something good teams can do.
-Losing by 5 is not creamed, nor is 'almost losing aka giving being up 30-10 at half and being up 13 with 3 minutes to go'

Running out the clock is a hard theory to grasp.

[th0m]

Joins the SLC...any other conferences willing to acknowledge the fact that they are a one-bid league?

Welcome to the club, MEAC! Knew it wouldn't be much longer...

Patriot, OVC, please come forward!

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Patriot, OVC, please come forward!

Lafayette and Colgate still have good chances to make the PL a two bid league.

[R.A.]

-The game was tied, would have gone to OT. We also 5 turnovers and still won. Pulling out ugly games is something good teams can do.
-Losing by 5 is not creamed, nor is 'almost losing aka giving being up 30-10 at half and being up 13 with 3 minutes to go'

Running out the clock is a hard theory to grasp.

xthumbsupx

xsmiley_wix

;)

xrolleyesx

[Dane96]

Lafayette and Colgate still have good chances to make the PL a two bid league.

Keep dreaming. If Colgate wins the PL, Lafayette is looking at an early start to next year.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Keep dreaming. If Colgate wins the PL, Lafayette is looking at an early start to next year.

You have inside info on that? I would think a 9-2 Top 20 Lafayette team would get serious consideration.

[siuham]

They're not going to be top 20 after this week, and they've got a good chance to drop from the top 25. It'll be tough to get back in when you play Bucknell, Holy Cross, and Lehigh to finish.

[blueballs]

One bid league... no sh-t!!!

When was the last time a MEAC team won a playoff game??? 1999???

That bid, as well as the OVC's, should be taken away and given to more deserving SoCon and CAA teams, who are actually competitive on a national level.

[gr8ness97]

One bid league... no sh-t!!!

When was the last time a MEAC team won a playoff game??? 1999???

That bid, as well as the OVC's, should be taken away and given to more deserving SoCon and CAA teams, who are actually competitive on a national level.

No. Thanks for playing

[Big Dawg]

Actually I think the selection committee would've given the nod to FAMU. Hey but check this out AGS, FAMU will ONLY lose 3 seniors from this years team so next year we will DEFINITELY be in the playoffs.

We've actually done more than expected this season so I'm happy. 6-3 right now is much better than that 3-8 season we endured last season.

Give 'em hell in the playoffs SCSU!!!

[Appstate29]

since we are at this point (and the MEAC has been less than impressive in the playoffs the past few years)
What do you MEAC guys think the league needs to do to shore up competitiveness????

[DSUrocks07]

since we are at this point (and the MEAC has been less than impressive in the playoffs the past few years)
What do you MEAC guys think the league needs to do to shore up competitiveness????

Better coaching

We have the talent to compete, (Hampton-SIU proved that) but our coaching is awful...xnodx xbawlingx

Better coaching will win our OOC games (against non-HBCUs)

Thats all there is to it, (Georgetown losing to Howard, Morgan losing to Towson, DSU losing to CCSU, I could go on...) xsmhx xsmhx xsmhx xsmhx

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Lafayette and Colgate still have good chances to make the PL a two bid league.

How?

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Colgate lose to Stony Brook? Didn't they only beat Coastal Carolina with a gift from the zebras? Didn't they lose pretty decisively to Furman at home? Sorry, but that resume isn't going to match up at all with most at large candidates.

Lafayette's OOC has been Marist, Penn, Harvard, Columbia and Liberty. Sorry, but even 5-0 with that slate just doesn't prove they are at large worthy.

I'll say it again, if the Ivy isn't going to play more nationally relevant games, the the Patriot needs to schedule fewer Ivy OOC games and more games against other FCS conferences if they want to build at large contending resumes.

[TheValleyRaider]

You have inside info on that? I would think a 9-2 Top 20 Lafayette team would get serious consideration.

In many years yes, but this year looks to be tough. There are a lot of strong teams with good resumes from the top conferences, and it's going to be very difficult for anyone outside of the CAA, SoCon, Big Sky and MVFC to put in more than their conference champion

That, and Lafayette unfortunately will have a tough time getting back into the Top 20 at this point in the season xtwocentsx

[WileECoyote06]

since we are at this point (and the MEAC has been less than impressive in the playoffs the past few years)
What do you MEAC guys think the league needs to do to shore up competitiveness????

It's a double-edged sword. Because the rankings in FCS are so heavily based on perception and media/coach/fan voting, even if the MEAC became more competitive, they would simply beat each other up and lower the seeding that the champion would get in the playoffs. Against playoff caliber teams, home-field is a very underestimated advantage.

In addition, this season the bottom MEAC teams have been uncharacteristically bad. So they drag the entire conference ranking down.

[R.A.]

since we are at this point (and the MEAC has been less than impressive in the playoffs the past few years)
What do you MEAC guys think the league needs to do to shore up competitiveness????

Coaching Coaching Coaching...

We don't have that completely well rounded coach as of yet.

We have coaches who excel in bringing in top talent. We have some that are great at coaching offense or defense.

But many of these coaches apparently don't stress enough of the fundamental aspects of the game of football... building a program from the ground up, preparation, discipline, special teams-- the things that many coaches take for granted.


Joe Taylor is different. He's the master of teaching fundamentals and disciplined football.

But his in game coaching abilities are lacking at times.

Joe Taylor is probably the most prepared coach on our level, but after halftime, opposing coaches are able to take advantage (i.e. Richmond @ Hampton 2005).

We need coaches who are well rounded... who can get their team up and ready for games every single weekend, someone who takes no part of the game for granted, we need program builders.

Look at SCSU... it's been plain as day for most of this decade that the Bulldogs under Buddy Pough have had national championship talent, seriously, size and talent wise they look like a Sun Belt team playing in the MEAC, so why are they only finally now about to make the NCAA playoffs?

Something's seriously wrong with that.

[bigchocolate]

since we are at this point (and the MEAC has been less than impressive in the playoffs the past few years)
What do you MEAC guys think the league needs to do to shore up competitiveness????


You have asked the Million dollar question. The teams have been a bit undisiplined historically. I think the last Hampton team to appear in the playoffs was more representative of the better teams at season's end. As I've stated previously Del state 2007 won the conference but was not the best team in the MEAC. Don't get me wrong U of Del would have crushed any MEAC rep last year...just not as soundly. This years Champ, if its SC State will be strong but they have extended period of time during a game where they don't play like champs.

Better Coaching:
1. I would like to see more MEAC teams hire more proven coaches. I think FAMU has the correct model. Their AD is NC A@T's all time win holder, Current head coach ..Joe Taylor. Position Coaches have previous head coaching experience and are excellent. If they can keep this core group together for a few years all will be well. You know how you guys do it @ App, Wofford, Furman.

2. SC State is loaded...They just don't have a lot of experience coach together. If SC State makes the playoffs and play a SoCon team you may be surprised. You've see this defensive group before but not with the athletes they have this year. If this team stays discipline, I can see them getting out of the 1st round. Discipline is all about coaching this late in the season.

3. Stronger OOC scheduling.

4. These programs are doing alot of the things that will make them more than competitive....Just be patient. I'm an old head and I remember a lot of the top ranked teams of today being doormats....this thing is cyclic.

[Big Dawg]

since we are at this point (and the MEAC has been less than impressive in the playoffs the past few years)
What do you MEAC guys think the league needs to do to shore up competitiveness????

Like everyone else has stated...Coaching, Coaching, Coaching.

[Native]

Like everyone else has stated...Coaching, Coaching, Coaching.

My kid played for a SWAC team and a Big Sky team. Admittedly MEAC is a step above the SWAC, but the comments in this thread also apply to the SWAC. It was a wonderful experience, but there are differences.

Loads of talent in both places. The difference is not just coaching, it is program management, as alluded to elsewhere in this thread.

It takes the full monte to build a program, and I think, for example, that coach Robinson did it successfully at Grambling for several years, but it is lacking today in the SWAC. Probably in MEAC, too, from the comments on these pages.

But don't just blame the coaches! The administration has to be supportive in the first place for the coach to build a program. The absurd internecine administrative power struggles and even lawsuits at some small colleges sap the energy and resources required to build programs.