For those doubting Bunting...

Y'all making me feel better. What I really hate is that Indiana and Illinois play each other this week.

I'll throw out Air Force (-26) vs. Army.

 

I'm riding Minn till they lose

 

The loss to Michigan was a bit of a fluke and then they just didn't show up the next week. But they should whack Wiscy who is beat up. Damn they are sweet on offense.

Not sure if I want them in Iowa in two weeks yet. Hard to believe they are done for the year on Nov 15.

 

Sigh. What a waste of time then.

Edit: I just had to add that I am not surprised though. I called it 10 posts ago.

 

here's the point i'm trying to make:

"carolina should have the attitude that it should win nine football games per year. if they don't get fired up about their potentially great program, then they need to admit that they are just a basketball school and should shut up with the blowing smoke articles like mick put out. if they do realize how great they shold be, then they need to put their foot down and say that having the worst defense in the country is absolutely unacceptable and do somethign about it rather than stay the course."

i'm not sure how what you're doing goes against that, but you sure seem to be trying to get me into it.

i think that if you asked your question at a different point in time, your list of 16 teams would be different. you seem to be saying that these are the "elite" 16 teams and nobody will ever be able to approach their greatness. nothing can ever change.

her's carolina's recent records:

2002 -- 3-9
2001 -- 8-5
2000 -- 6-5
1999 -- 3-8
1998 -- 7-5
1997 -- 11-1
1996 -- 10-2
1995 -- 7-5
1994 -- 8-4
1993 -- 10-3
1992 -- 9-3
1991 -- 7-4
1990 -- 6-4-1

and how it compares to two of your 16 "elite" teams:

LSU -- 8-5, 10-3, 8-4, 3-8, 4-7, 9-3, 10-2, 7-4-1, 4-7, 5-6, 2-9, 5-6, 5-6, 4-7

USC -- 11-2, 6-6, 5-7, 6-6, 8-5, 6-5, 6-6, 9-2-1, 8-3-1, 8-5, 6-5-1, 3-8, 8-4-1, 9-2-1

north carolina has had four 9-win seasons over the past 13 seasons (it's 11 actually). that's MORE than LSU (3) and the great southern california trojans (3).

louisiana and california annually produce some of the best prep talent in the country. i would argue that north carolina's home-grown talent is pretty damned good, too.

you seem to say that it's just an impossibility that unc can win nine games a year. i think otherwise.

 

I'm not just saying it. I've already looked it up and found that 41 of the 42 teams that I DIDN'T list says it can't be done. Not in the last 15 years anyway. Only one team sustained an 8-9 win average over a 5 year period. And that was with the luckiest hire on the planet. And when that lucky hire leaves, the party is over. The exception is not the rule. It's the exception. And I'm so sure it won't happen again because of the current landscape (see below on VT/K State) that this is the entire reason why I'd make that bet I offered.

So you feel free to think otherwise. The entire middle pack of the NCAA - minus the one lucky enough to find Mack Brown for a few years - says you are wrong. Not just wrong, but way wrong. 1 out of 42 wrong.

Meanwhile, I'll keep watching those middle folks win the 7-8 a year they can expect to win. Especially now that there aren't going to be any new conferences for folks like Va Tech to latch onto. There are only 4 "new" programs that have come along since '78 that have been added to the list. VT, FSU, K ST, and Miami. Miami and FSU are never going to be confused with K ST and VT. The latter two make their bones playing shit teams but get blown out when we play the big boys. We win a lot of games, but we are not FSU or Miami. And now that the conferences are pretty much set, no one else is joiing the club either because now one will be able to suck 13 million on the cheap from the Big East like VT did to get where we are.

So yeah, it CAN be done I guess. But to EXPECT or DEMAND it like you keep selling when it comes to UNC? That's nuts. Recent history says it's a 20 in 1000 shot at best.

 

One other thing....

You mention LSU and USC.

I'll admit LSU is a bit iffy. I thought about Auburn. It would DEFINTELY be Alabama instead of LSU if Bama were not shackled by the NCAA right now. But LSU is also a destination program that can attract coaches and talent beacuse they are in the SEC and have a history. Saban is there because it IS the SEC and because it IS LSU. I mean, he left a decent school to go to LSU.

On the other hand, USC is one of the class programs of the NCAA. Check out the final polls circa 1978. The only reason they have not succeeded in the 90's is because of bad hires. The right guy makes it easy at a place like USC. Very easy. Carroll has gotten that program back up and they will stay there for a long time. He can stick his head out of the window and recruit enough guys from LA to run a pro program if he wanted to. Carroll is there because it IS USC.

The good programs stay good unless they are dumb enough to hire DiNardo or Robinson again - or they let the boosters write too many traceable checks. But the really good programs? When they get that good coach? Watch out. USC is going to be kicking ass for years as long as Carroll hangs around.

But the Carrolls and Sabans of the world ain't never coming to places like UNC. Never, ever, ever. How many programs do you think they'd leave where they are at for?

 

Jeebus - who are you - Metro? Give us a little bit of credit. We took a calculated risk, and it worked.

 

calculated risk is a technical term for luck. i'd rather be lucky than good any day of the week