Quote Originally Posted by PaladinFan View Post
GSU has to again earn the respect, I think. They were a first round playoff exit a few years ago with much better talent and a program that wasn't in constant flux. The new coaching staff is just a part of it. Players have been dismissed, quit, transferred, etc. almost routinely. The program needs stability, both in the coaching staff and the roster before things really begin full steam ahead.

This is also not the SoCon of 2005. In those days GSU really only circled two games a season (ASU and Furman). Win one of those and you had a pretty good shot at a conference title. These days are different. Elon, App, Furman, Samford, and UTC are arguably all better programs. More teams are running the option, meaning teams see it several times during the year and taking away a lot of the element of suprise that made the offense so effective for GSU.

I think GSU will get back, though probably not this year. I may stand completely corrected come the season, but right now they are not as good as Elon, App State, Furman, UTC, Samford, and potentially Wofford. They managed to hang on fairly well during the last time they made a large offensive transition, but that was in large part because of Jayson Foster. They don't have that type player right now.

Long story short, the Eagles will go as Shaw goes. If he has a good season, they can make some noise. If he struggles, they will struggle. There are some games on the schedule that were tough wins even in the years when the Eagles where one of the best programs in the country.
I agree with you... It's a whole new environment, both with the teams in the SoCon as well as the makeup of the players at GSU in regards to the old and the new Triple Option. It's not the old GSU/App/Furman league of then and GSU definitely will need some new time to adjust to the system. How long they have to adjust really depends on how the current underclassmen adjust as well as how Shaw performs.