Topic: Sun Belt Football Preseason Awards & Poll

[Garbanjo]

I am ready for football.  Tough schedule but also a fun schedule.  2 big time road games at OSU and Va Tech and then good conference rival home games.

I am hoping for 7-5.  The fact Huff wasn't given even a 2 year extension leads that this may be his last season.  He can make same money now as a position coach at some of the P2 schools.

Unless Huff kills it this year you cannot extend him

9 wins and/or Sun Belt title and he deserves an extension imo

[HerdEcon]

Not good enough

We put Doc out to get better, not do similar or perhaps worse

Spears has to make a great hire or Herd football is in trouble

Huff got more $$ and resources than Doc got.  Marshall and supporters are paying more for the same or potentially less. 

[Garbanjo]

Huff got more $$ and resources than Doc got.  Marshall and supporters are paying more for the same or potentially less.

Yep

No bueno

Go Herd!

[svherd]

HD article this morning states Huff feels no pressure to attain a certain number of wins. That he, CS and BS have a plan in place and the fans will no sooner than later. The article did say there was a reasonable expectation he would return in 2025. ugh!

[NewfieHerdFan]

I am ready for football.  Tough schedule but also a fun schedule.  2 big time road games at OSU and Va Tech and then good conference rival home games.

Agree. Bought my mini pack yesterday. Looking forward the App State and Coastal Carolina games. Also have my tickets for Ohio State.

[overherd1]

Interesting article in the morning paper.  Sounds like there is no expectation for a certain win total and that a "plan" is in place moving forward.  College sports have changed immensely in the last five years.  Difficult to navigate for an administration and coach I would imagine.  I just hope whatever the plan, it works and we can be competitive and successful in all sports.  I have to admit, my expectations have lowered in football for the coming year.  I hope I am surprised by the results!!

[miltonherdfan]

HD article this morning states Huff feels no pressure to attain a certain number of wins. That he, CS and BS have a plan in place and the fans will no sooner than later. The article did say there was a reasonable expectation he would return in 2025. ugh!

i can see it now, CS will offer him the "DD special" (series of 1-yr contracts, possibly incentive-laden)

[Flat Tire 2]

i can see it now, CS will offer him the "DD special" (series of 1-yr contracts, possibly incentive-laden)

I may be wrong, but I think the hiring of CJ shows the hiring philosophy of BS/CS. Nothing against Corny, but I don't think another D1 school would have hired him as a head coach. I will say, I hope CJ will turn out to be a good coach.  DD would have apparently keep his job if he didn't make a stink. If DD was acceptable to BS/CS then we know the trajectory of the two main revenue sports at Marshall; mediocre results are acceptable. I doubt we will see hires like Billy Donovan or a Jim Donnan and others who have been hired in the past. I hope I am incorrect.

I don't mean to be pessimistic, but the available pool of college applicants is dropping fast. Just check out the internet on the decline of college enrollments. Marshall in the past has relied mostly on WV high school graduates for the student base and they group is getting smaller. Maybe BS is concentrating on getting Marshall to be a viable institution (eliminating the deficit) before he invests heavily in sports? With the NIL and other issues in college sports, Marshall is getting priced out of the market. It is not realistic to expect Marshall or SBC schools to compete with the SEC programs. Most of the SBC schools are located in states with growing populations which makes hard for Marshall to even compete with them. Times are changing and smaller schools like Marshall must adapt to survive.

[MUonium]

whether accurate or not, to Herd fans it's just another year looking up at other programs instead of down.  doesn't seem to matter if it's CUSA or SBC.  always hoping i'll be pleasantly surprised.  i know which perch i'd rather end up on than not and maybe this will be a year nobody saw coming.

as far as this being Huff's make or break year, if i'm looking through Smith's or Spears' lens, i see a coach who is much more thoroughly engaged in the whole process as compared to the former guy.  meaning, he may have a much better chance at an extension should the record be borderline. 

over three years or so i've come to the  conclusion that Huff is not a BS artist, that he's just one of those people who likes to talk to people.  i now believe him when he says that he's not worried about failure, W-L record and so forth in what could be his final year at Marshall.  i applaud him for that, but either way, i expect to win and i think he does too.

as a matter of fact, my perception of late has been that recent hires of head coaches across the AD have been, first and foremost, personalities that people can get behind.  the "whole coach" is what i like to call them.  we'll see how it works out in the the mid to long term in the win-loss column.