GMG_Dallas

Up to 56 to start the day. UAB at 73. A win will likely drop UAB out of the top 75 which will drop our only Quad 1 win to Quad 2.

I think you're right but for some reason some people at ESPN disagree. They list the BIG 12, ACC, or PAC12 as being left out entirely of some playoffs. I think the BIG 12 is safe with TCU's recent run despite the loss to Georgia. The ACC is safe with Clemson and Florida State. Some down years but they've won 3 of the past 10 national championships. The outlier is the PAC 12. Yes, you're better off than the MWC and AAC but once the profile of USC leaves, that changes if nobody else makes some noise at the playoff level.

The landscape is changing. P5 will no longer matter for the college football playoffs. Adding SMU and SDSU is out of desperation for a "power" conference with no playoff team since 2016. The shift is already happening in basketball where the PAC 12 only gets 2-3 basketball tournament bids per year and that's with USC and UCLA. The MWC has been getting 4. The only thing this does is bring more money to a program that doesn't need it. Yes, we'd be ecstatic but that's because we lack money and brand name. They don't. SMU going to the PAC 12 is like UT and OU going to the SEC. All it does is complicate their path to a conference championship in exchange for more money.

I've read quite a bit about how the transfer portal has hurt high school recruiting. Add in the extra covid year and you've got plenty of guys who will have ended up with 6 years of eligibility when it's all said and done. There's a few extreme cases like Frank Harris who've been in college since 2017 and are finally on their final year. There's also plenty who are like our new QB Chandler Rogers; in college since 2019 and just finished their sophomore year of eligibility. Rogers for example redshirted his true freshman year at Southern Miss in 2019. Got a Covid waiver while at Blinn, and then spent two seasons at ULM where 2021 was his redshirt freshman season and 2022 his redshirt sophomore. Still has 2 years left. Unfortunate for the high school kids who just want a chance when there's guys hanging out for 6 seasons. This may have nothing to do with Fann but judging by the amount of quality walk-ons, don't be surprised if we end up with a few legit D1 players by way of PWO. There's just too many players and not enough scholarships.

Which they already have tons of. Generally people want what they don't have, in their case, a college football playoff bid. Guess they can pile more cash on top of the stacks of cash they already have.

The PAC12 would benefit UNT more than it would SMU. I understand why the fans are excited. I'm wondering why it's so important to the decision makers when the PAC 12 can't offer SMU anything they don't already have. Other than getting to sit at the cool kids' table, what else do they get? Harder path to a conference championship so a harder path to the playoffs. Makes no sense for them if their goal is to win national championships once the playoff expansion takes place.

Y'all are really dense. Obviously there's plenty of ways the PAC 12 benefits a G5 program. If I'm SMU, I don't think any of what you listed boosts your ability to make the college football playoffs with the expansion from where you are now. Money, brand, donations, recruiting, and so on is not an issue for SMU as it is. Your goal should be to dominate your current conference to get a guaranteed playoff spot, not make your path to the playoffs harder by playing in a tougher conference in exchange for some extra money. A move to the PAC 12 makes sense to any G5 program needing the extra money, brand recognition, recruiting, and so on. That's not SMU, IMO. That's a compliment. This move is nothing more than seeking validation from the college football "powers" and it'll bite you in the butt when an AAC champion gets that 6th playoff bid and SMU watches Utah or Oregon win the PAC 12.

If only you knew how many times SMU gives 4 free tickets to every city of Dallas employee and still can't fill the stadium. Literally can't give away tickets for free. I do agree that there's little downside. I just don't see how the extra money is worth it when money isn't a problem. Your goal is to win and make the playoffs. The path is easier in the AAC. Why make the path harder in exchange for money if you don't need the cash?

If you read ESPN's article about the finalized playoff expansion, they talk about there no longer being a P5 designation for the purposes of playoffs. It'll be the 6 highest rated conference champions and they suggest the Big 12, ACC, and PAC 12 can each find themselves on the outside looking in on a regular basis. The article was before the playoffs started so with TCU beating Michigan, I think the BIG 12 is safe despite being clobbered by Georgia. The deal is, that was also before Tulane beat USC so the AAC gained a lot of respect there. It's not hard to imagine the MWC getting more respect in rankings than the PAC 12, especially if Oregon and Washington leave. They're already more respected than the PAC 12 in basketball considering they received more bids than the PAC 12 last year and are predicted to receive more this year. Factor in the PAC 12 hasn't had a team make the 4-team playoffs since 2016 and it's easy to see why it's a dying conference.

This exact reason is why I don't understand SMU's desire to move to the Pac 12. The 6 highest rated conference champions will be getting in to the playoffs. Your odds of being the PAC 12 champion competing against Oregon, Washington, Utah, and maybe Colorado are much slimmer than the AAC schools which you can clearly out-spend in NIL. If money is not an issue and recruiting is not issue with the NIL, why seek out the better TV money and P5 name so desperately? You're just complicating your path to being a conference champion.

I knew wheaton was rehabbing that knee but didn't know Siggers got hurt too. Would have been nice to have Bentley. Doesn't seem to have some much at Ole Miss.

I think we're going to have to beat UAB and FAU every time we see them AND UAB stay in the Q1 range (top 75 when at home). The one constant knock on the mid-majors is lack of Q1 wins. Doesn't help that we have no OOC Q1 wins. I personally don't think we have a chance at an at-large but I'd gladly be proven wrong.

The run game should most definitely be upgraded if that OL can click. It isn't because of lack of talent at the RB position that it wasn't working last year. Sure, last year y'all didn't have the Miami and A&M transfers but you had a 5 star RB in Wheaton and Siggers is no slouch. Always starts up front.

Absolutely comes with the territory but I think any coach would rather have the resources he has despite the higher expectations. Every respectable coach expects to win championships. I don't think 9 games will cut it this upcoming season, especially with Houston, UCF, and Cincy leaving. If he doesn't at least make the AAC championship with 10+ wins, he'll be on the hot seat with all the NIL money being spent.

I don't think the SMU powers are spending all these millions in NIL money and coaching salaries/buyouts for "a couple of really nice wins against Houston and Memphis."

Based on my uneducated, 100% fan observations, the biggest struggles of the G5 are QB and depth. Most programs can put together a quality starting 22. It's when guys start getting fatigued or hurt that they fall behind in matchups against the P5. An elite QB can mask much of that. That's where Rhett should have an advantage being a QB himself but Mordecai seemed to regress last year. If Stone doesn't perform, none of these other transfers will matter. There's only so long an elite defense can be on the field before they get gassed and start missing tackles and other assignments. All that to say, I don't really understand the appeal of the NIL from an investment standpoint. Unless Stone is elite, none of that NIL money will matter (see Texas).

57 now

It all starts with the QB. If one of the guys can be a legit FBS starter, we should have a decent to good season and the recruiting will follow.

Will be interesting to see how SMU's transfers work out. I didn't look at every player they got but out of the Miami transfers, only the RB got good playing time. One of their DL transfers was a 5th year junior last season and in 4 years of playing time, he has 60 total tackles and 3 sacks. I know stats don't paint the whole picture but that's not much production in 4 seasons. The QB transfer from Iowa has thrown about 150 total college passes, never hit 50% completion in a season, and has 3 TD passes to 4 interceptions in his time at Iowa. The Liberty transfers, Rahimi, Walker, and Meggisnon, appear to be ballers and should be impact players on defense. Guess we'll see how they work out but if our experience with transfers are any indication, all their P5 transfers who didn't do much at the P5 probably won't do much at the G5 either. I'll give a pass on some of their younger transfers like the LSU CB and A&M RB but it appears a majority of their transfers are P5 guys who don't have much playing experience at the college level.

Got it thanks. Kind of nice to see TX and OU not get everything they want. Hope they finish bottom of the BIG 12.

For me, I'm rooting for FAU to win out until they face UNT in the conference tourney. Looking at the big picture, the AAC is a 2 bid team at best this year and that's really because of UH. Losing Houston next year means the AAC is likely a 1 bid team once they're gone. Ideally, we beat FAU deep in the conference tourney, we get the AQ championship win and they get in as an at-large. I think FAU and UNT can both do damage in the NCAA tourney. If Memphis gets in and can do some damage as well, you're looking at 3 programs in the "new" AAC coming off some decent runs. We have to make sure the AAC stays nationally respected after these upcoming moves go through. Don't want this to be a repeat of our move to CUSA.

Is there a trickle down effect on this that could delay our move? https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35581970/ou-texas-join-sec-25-exit-talks-stall-sources-say

FAU saving grace is that Florida win who beat #2 Tennessee by 13 on Wednesday. Margin of error is very slim for them if they don't win the conference tourney.

UNT is up to 62 today, clearly due to beating the spread.

Good sir, I implore you to watch some NFL punters. Bryan Anger, Tress Way, Daniel Carlson are some of the better punters in the NFL. They're taking more than 1 step unless backed up in their end zone. That video is a drill, not actual game footage. 3 steps is common.