8-4 and in the hunt for a championship. You can't ask for more. The rants in this thread would be amusing if they weren't so sad.
Who could have guessed twelve years ago that the day would come when a team that was 8-4, defeated every team in the East, was bowl bound, won the East Championship, and was preparing to play for the conference championship would be considered unacceptable. Yes, the team is imperfect, but they are a scrappy bunch that never quits. They have my full support, and here's hoping they come back from Detroit with the trophy.
Happy Thanksgiving, BAers.
You sure as hell can ask for more, and doing so doesn't make you a bad fan.
I'm thrilled that we have 8-4 to complain about. I know that the team works hard. I have season tickets. I lived through the 1-10 years on campus. I know that it's been a feat to make this team perennially respectable. But I don't get this attitude of permanent gratitude for not just 8-4, but THIS 8-4.
We're 8-4 thanks to one of the softest schedules in FBS. We have exactly ONE win against a team with a winning record, and that win at Toledo remains the only impressive victory of the year. It's an anomaly. We tied with Fiami for the MAC East crown, and the MAC East is awful.
Nothing this team has done since the Toledo game suggests that the MACC will be competitive. I'll be doing cartwheels with everyone else if they prove me wrong, but if you're doing cartwheels now your expectations are really low.
Solid post. A ton of truth to a lot of what you said. I too a thrilled to be 8-4... but utterly underwhelmed with how they got there. If it ends with a title, I'll be super excited (stunned) but won't erase what I've watched, especially offensively, against some bad defenses.
I say we're 8-4, but with a legit offense that could be 12-0.
Do you consider a team with no double digit losses this season an improvement over the crashing losses of the last 4.5 years?
I totally think it's an improvement. There's been some pride reinstated. I felt that was lacking in recent years based on drubbings in the MAC where it appeared they just laid down.
But what hasn't improved is the offensive gameplan they keep trotting out. It's stale and predictable.
How else do you explain Akron shutting Ohio down? They had 120th ranked defense and they held us to 9 points.
It's not the 8-4 that sucks. It's the way they get there. It could and should be better. And just cause folks "complain" doesn't make them any less of a Bobcat fan. This is a message board. You're going to get a variety of viewpoints.
Giacamo, L.C., we have to consider the sources of the sour grapes and move past it. Luckily for Ohio University, this negative, mouthy minority is so far off base that they cannot be taken seriously by any people who control our programs. Bobcat fans will be backing the Bobcat players and our staff next week in Detroit. See you there!
Go to the chat room during a game. Not a mouthy minority who are tired of the staleness. You just get more of a vocal majority on here patting everyone on the back for jobs we'll done. I have a ton of friends not on this board and many more I meet at tailgates and games that feel same way...
Thanks Frank for building this program, but it's time to take it to next level. Tired of watching unexciting 7-5, 8-4 seasons while others in our league (Toledo, NIU, BG, WMU) in recent years excel and gain national attention. It's happened once in 12 years under Frank and we proceeded to fall on our face immediately after and fall back to obscurity.
I don't understand the "soft" argument. OHIO has done quite well in its conference and among peer programs. OHIO has won its division and is advancing to the league championship, for the fourth time in 12 years. The current staff has amassed a lifetime 59-37 conference record, The record indicates that OHIO typically resides in the top 1/3 of the MAC and maintains a program comparable to say, the bottom half of the Big 10, despite some disparity in resources. So please explain the "soft" argument.
This is almost laughable. I'd hope that after 12 years, we're residing in the top third of the MAC. My goodness. That's not a huge accomplishment for a staff that has been together more than a decade in this pretty mediocre league.
I'd expect Ohio to be the class of the league. Not constantly looking up at others playing catch-up to the league's best.
That 59-37 has been well documented on here in the past. It's built mainly on wins against the bottom feeders in the league. Not many of those come against the better teams, especially in the last 5 years. The Toledo and NIU games the last couple years are both nice but those 37 losses have come a lot to the better teams in this league.
We've feasted on the poor in and out of our conference for years. It's led to bowl games. That's the "soft" comment.
But as I've said before... If that's all our program is going to strive for is bowl games & occasionally a MAC East division title... Just let me know and I'll sit back and enjoy the show.
But I like to raise expectations to being a perennial MAC powerhouse, nationally ranked more often. Play for a shot at a NY6 bowl game.
We were on that track in 2012 when the wheels came off. It's been mildly underwhelming since. Maybe Friday changes that. I'll be there to see first hand.
I'm just a fan who'd like to see a little bit more from his football program and says so. Doesn't make me the devil or unappreciative of where Frank has taken us from.
Happy Gobble Gobble Day